Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 jaz0n Dec 30, 2008 17:42:29	I'm pulling up an old character I created a while back for casual forum RPing, so I can insert him into a DnD campaign. The problem I'm running into is, he's a late generation dragon-blood, so he only has traces of the bloodline... meaning nowhere close enough for a half-dragon template. I'm aware that I can roleplay him through as a dragon disciple, and I've considered that, but I've decided that for the current campaign, I want to leave him where he is race-wise. That all being said, I would really like some feedback on the feasability of bringing his character trats into a DnD setting. 1. Increased regeneration. As a dragon-blooded creature, he still retains the ability to recover from wounds at a super-human rate (i'm aware that this isn't in the DnD rulings for dragons, this is something that I pulled from my own lore and backstory). In the DnD realm, this would equate to regenerating an additional 1 hp every round (every 2 rounds?) 2. Low light vision. His eyes retain a slight reptilian nature, giving him extraordinary vision in low-light situations. In the DnD realm, this would equate to Low-Light vision up to 30 ft. 3. Extended Lifetime. His draconic heritage has expanded his life by a significant amount. While he may not live as long as a true dragon, he will probably live several human lifetimes. If I could get some thoughts on this, it would be amazingly helpful (P.S. We're using the 3.5 ruleset)
#2 copycatzero Dec 30, 2008 17:55:24	As far as the regeneration thing goes (putting aside the fact that it, as you acknowledged, has nothing to do with dragons in D&D), I don't know of any non-LA race that has regeneration in 3.5. Indeed, going by Savage Species, regeneration is worth a +2 LA. That being said, what you want is fast healing (which, confusingly, is called regeneration in 4E), which Savage Species would say is so low in your case that it doesn't warrant a LA. As for the rest of it... you're starting to make an elf. I would recommend taking the elf, ripping out all the fluff and replacing it with your own, and then tweaking a couple of the things to make it more in-line with your concept (for example, replacing the weapon proficiency and automatic Search checks with your fast healing 1). If that doesn't work out quite the way you want, consider looking into the bloodlines from Unearthed Arcana, which is actually exactly what you're looking for, concept-wise (just not necessarily mechanics-wise).
#3 jaz0n Dec 30, 2008 18:02:42	Thank you for the info. I did get the feeling that the last two points felt a bit elvish, but I felt them only fitting for my character's background and heritage. He's not a PC I've played very much, so his traits haven't been as fleshed out as I would otherwise have liked (hence why i'm bothering you nice people to see what I should do lol). Ripping off the elf template is actually a really good idea, but it comes with a problem. The character is, for most intents and purposes, human. That being the case, I feel that I would have to work in the human bonuses (extra feats, etc)... but I would like to avoid having to deal with any extra LAs if I can. (it's my first time playing with this GM, and I don't wanna be a pain in his ass with this whole thing)
#4 fragsie Dec 30, 2008 20:15:21	What you are after already exists in d&d as a draconic bloodline in the book Unearthed Arcana (3.5) I'm not sure off hand whether all of the abilities you mention are there but i wouldn't have thought it would be too difficult to tweak them in. To give you an idea of what a bloodline does: they come in 3 categories, minor, intermediate or major; a minor bloodline gives you a small thematic bonus every 4 levels, an intermediate every 2 levels and a major every level. Over the course of his career, a character with a bloodline becomes more powerful than one without a bloodline. Because the power gain is gradual over a span of twenty levels, a static level adjustment doesn’t truly refl ect this difference. Instead, a bloodline character must take one or more levels of “bloodline” at various points in his career, as noted on Table 1–2: Bloodline Levels. Before a character with a bloodline reaches the indicated character level, he must take one class level of “bloodline.” Class levels of “bloodline” do not increase a character’s character level the way a normal class level does, but they do provide certain benefi ts (see below). If the character does not take a class level of bloodline before reaching the character level indicated on the table, he gains no further bloodline traits and must take a 20% penalty on all future XP gains. As soon as he meets the minimum bloodline level, he gains all bloodline abilities due him according to his character level, and the XP penalty no longer applies.
#5 jaz0n Dec 30, 2008 21:52:18	What you are after already exists in d&d as a draconic bloodline in the book Unearthed Arcana (3.5) I'm not sure off hand whether all of the abilities you mention are there but i wouldn't have thought it would be too difficult to tweak them in. To give you an idea of what a bloodline does: they come in 3 categories, minor, intermediate or major; a minor bloodline gives you a small thematic bonus every 4 levels, an intermediate every 2 levels and a major every level. There is a minor and an intermediate bloodline for each dragon type from the 3.5 monster manual, and a major one for the red and gold dragons. Wonderful information. I'll have to do more research to find out how the dragon levels work... it's a little hard to find the info online for some reason. Though I may end up having to make my own dragon type for this character.
#6 rikiji Dec 31, 2008 13:22:40	The dragon splatbooks (Races of the Dragon and Dragon Magic) also have other options for dragon-blooded characters if you want to avoid templates. There are feats in those books that grant a lot of what you're talking about (most of them require a level of sorceror, iirc, but for a dragon-blooded character in 3.5 that's almost a given anyways).