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Even half dragons are terrifying. I had a GM who insisted if I was going to play a half elf/half dragon character I had to take the half dragon template rather then my planned build of sorcerer 10/dragon disciple 10 to represent the draconic heritage coming in over time. I then rolled a 17 strength, 16 dex, and 16 con. Oh, and 18 charisma. Now, add the half-dragon template. Which bumped those up to 25 strength (same as a hill giant or young red dragon), 18 dex, 18 con, and 20 charisma. When I cast mage armor I had more AC then the fighter or barbarian. I had a much better to-hit then the fighter or barbarian. And I did a lot more damage in melee then either of them. Only drawback is that I *only* had 10 hit points, and *only* got 1d6+4 hit points per level. Oh, and the +3 level adjustment, not that that GM actually used level adjustments.


SouthofRedPaws said:
Um what happened to Hooky?
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He attacked and killed Clockblocker. He got chewed up by a auto cannon on the Rig (with Vista ensuring most of the bullets did in fact hit him), electrocuted, arc lanced by Dauntless (I think), plus whatever Armsmaster did. Yes, Clockblocker got better. But he did still get killed by stabbypuppy.
 
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Yea, half dragon is pretty beefy too, especially with that Adult level Breath weapon, so right away you're at something like 6d8 damage in a cone, GREAT for clearing mooks.

That LA can really back fire at low levels though, you in theory are a big beefy front line fighter, but losing 3 levels worth of HP really hurts your ability to play shot for shot with other meat walls till you level up more.

Half Dragon really shines for trolling your players though. Its only a +2 CR. Apply it to a Toad, a half green dragon toad. They might not even notice. There's just a particularly belligerent toad in the road as they are walking.... right up until it unleashes a 6d8 30ft cone of acid across everything. And hey, that's a CR three as the whole party limps back to town half dead.

At low levels that breath weapon hits HARD.

Also, your DM did you a favor. Dragon Disciple might be the single worst designed prestige class in 3.x. It spends 10 levels to give you a 3 level template. It requires spellcasting ability to get into, but doesn't advance spellcasting, needs skill that beatstick classes don't get so they can't get into it fast either. It's bad for spellcasters, and its bad for brute characters. It's a theme without any thought given it its mechanics. It's an awesome idea, its execution is horrible. The only thing that annoys me more is Favored Soul, just becasue it managed to mess up in more ways, if not as blatantly.
 
To be honest, I consider the dragon disciple to be a pretty fair tradeoff. You give up a third of your casting ability, sure. And yeah, you're locked out of higher level spells until epic levels. But in exchange you get increased melee presence, more HP, and you are garenteed to get winged flight. The template only gives you winged flight if you were Large to begin with, I think. Not to mention, most of the high level spells are kind of game breaking. So not having access to them? It's good for a game balance standpoint. There's a reason why Paizo favors 6th level casters for most casting classes that aren't D&D Core legacy. For a player character, the half-dragon (or half anything) template is broken as hell, with the only mitigating factor being the fact you are a 1 HD level 4 character.

Remember, a half-dragon sorc has a 1d6 hit die (one size larger then normal). However levels of dragon disciple give 1d8 hit points (plus con bonus). I think.

EDIT: Also, in Neverwinter Nights the dragon disciple prestige is absolutely beastly in the Underdark expansion. Think it defaults to red dragon, and fire immunity lets you laugh at the final boss. Not to mention it lets you absolutely wreck most things in melee even though all your equipment is gone at the start of the expansion.
 
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For some classes, giving up 3 levels worth of class features is actually worse than the fact that you have only 1/4th the HP of the party's other starting characters. Monk comes to mind, tho mostly for unarmed strike and AC progression.

Speaking of: Half-Dragon Kobold Monk. Flurry of Blows + draconic strength (especially as they get access to Greater Mighty Whallop later, that's a kobald-designed spell), even on a small-sized monk, can be quite hilarious. ^^

Not quite as hilarious as a small-sized lizardfolk standing on top of an unconscious Giant and going "RAWR!"
 
FaerieKnight79 said:
. There's a reason why Paizo favors 6th level casters for most casting classes that aren't D&D Core legacy.
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Yea, 3.x is actually more like 4 different games.

At 1-4 its standard low fantasy stuff, LotR movie fodder. (yes, LotR has some really high powered stuff in its lore, but they don't really appear on screen)

At 5-10 it picks up, spellcasters get the real AoE, a fireball suddenly means a room full of orcs is a joke. We're playing a different game now, the powers jumped. A 6th level party can chainsaw its way through non-magical threats.

11-15 and were cooking with gas, PrC's are coming in, specializations are being sorted out, PC's playing to their strength with some pre-planning are nearly unstoppable. Terrain Hazards are other peoples problems. Greater Dispell Magic means even magical hazards better watch out.

At 16-20 you can bend reality over your knee and make it beg for mercy. And tomorrow you can decide the new way to do it, because at this point it actually is multiple choice. Your tank thinks siege engines tickle, your spellcasters can wipe out armies, and you wear enough wealth in magical gear to buy a medium sized country with, and if its not for sale conquering it isn't very difficult either. If you had a good plan, good allies, and or both, you might be making a few deities nervous. Offing a Duke of Hell would take a good plan, but its totally doable.

There are sharp jumps in power in a few places where new abilities and capabilities unlock that really change the face of the game. I've actually played a couple of games where we just, stopped leveling up, because we'd hit the part of the power curve that was the sweet spot for our enjoyment. Nothing as formal as the E6 ruleset, we just decided to stick around at the part we liked.
 
Good solid chapter. 👍

Now, knowing that this is a D&D crossover - with emphasis on the second D - what I want to know is where are all the native spellcasters? Is magic available, and they just not know it? If that's the case, where's the sorcerers? Or, and heh, is that what Myrddin is?I could see him as a mid to high level sorcerer. Plus, isn't there a group that is ridiculed because they 'think' their powers are magical? If it turned out they were operating like a Shadowrun group, I'll laugh my ass off. :D
 
Jonn Wolfe said:
Good solid chapter. 👍

Now, knowing that this is a D&D crossover - with emphasis on the second D - what I want to know is where are all the native spellcasters? Is magic available, and they just not know it? If that's the case, where's the sorcerers? Or, and heh, is that what Myrddin is?I could see him as a mid to high level sorcerer. Plus, isn't there a group that is ridiculed because they 'think' their powers are magical? If it turned out they were operating like a Shadowrun group, I'll laugh my ass off. :D
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The group is the Adepts, out of New York, I think.

At least we know where all the dimension hoppers, horizon walkers and that type are...

They took one look at a world that has three Tarrasque type monsters that are active every few months and noped clean the hell out.

Probably spread the word about nightmare world while doing so.
 
There were capes that thought their powers were magic. I could see the Adepts easily being a group of magic-users of various stripes in this version. With native deities,forces, and creatures already present, creatures capable of shapeshifting could also already be playing cape, if they saw any point to it.Or as cover for their own activities.
 
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Re: Hookwolf
  1. Got shot three times with a 20mm Anti-Materiel Rifle from Miss Militia.
  2. Took a 10 second burst from a Goalkeeper 35mm CIWS gun from The Rig.
  3. Took another 20mm shot from Miss Militia.
  4. Got breathed on by Naurelin.
  5. Got breathed on by Panameliathyx
  6. Got Arc Lanced by Dauntless
  7. Got Nanothorned by Armsmaster, who himself was injured previously.
  8. He went to pieces after that, a broken man.
Re: Native casters
There are native casters scattered about Earth Bet. Myrddin might be a dabbler in the Arcane. There are mythical creatures about - Paige's roommate Helen is a civilized Harpy, after all. Magic for a long time has been at really low levels, so there aren't many left. Things have been slowly building again, for some reason...​
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Its been mentioned elasewhere that certain parties will probably be taking an interest in Brockton Bay, and the Adepts have come up. So have the Elite, Accord, the Fallen, and Myrddin. Ironically, the Butcher and the Teeth are trying to get as far away from Brockton Bay as they can, aiming for Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.​
 
Kryslin said:
Re: Native casters
There are native casters scattered about Earth Bet. Myrddin might be a dabbler in the Arcane. There are mythical creatures about - Paige's roommate Helen is a civilized Harpy, after all. Magic for a long time has been at really low levels, so there aren't many left. Things have been slowly building again, for some reason...​
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Is it because of the entities arrival? I once read a fic where it was discovered punching holes in the dimensional barrier repeatedly made it easier to draw upon magical energies. And at least some version of D&D have it that magic draws upon other planes to fuel it.

Also why is there anything supernatural left? Won't they have moved to a more friendly plane or is there something that couldn't do so went into hiding to escape persecution?
 
CastleTrime said:
Is it because of the entities arrival? I once read a fic where it was discovered punching holes in the dimensional barrier repeatedly made it easier to draw upon magical energies. And at least some version of D&D have it that magic draws upon other planes to fuel it.

Also why is there anything supernatural left? Won't they have moved to a more friendly plane or is there something that couldn't do so went into hiding to escape persecution?
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It sounds like the major Powers had for various reason had to stay hands off (and possibly simi-exiled). Tia and her brother's arrival may have opened the gates so that others can return.
 
Kryslin said:
Ironically, the Butcher and the Teeth are trying to get as far away from Brockton Bay as they can, aiming for Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
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...Why? The Butcher gets stronger when killed, taking over the body of whoever killed them while retaining a lesser version of all previous powers and the mental voice of all previous Butcher hosts. That is the full extent of the in-universe evidence anyone has as to how the Butcher works. (Yes I know it only works on parahumans, and tries to jump to the nearest parahuman if not killed by one.)

Unless the Shard(s) has/have been giving Butcher "this be bad news" hints, why wouldn't they want to get killed by a dragon?
 
ForestGardener said:
...Why? The Butcher gets stronger when killed, taking over the body of whoever killed them while retaining a lesser version of all previous powers and the mental voice of all previous Butcher hosts. That is the full extent of the in-universe evidence anyone has as to how the Butcher works. (Yes I know it only works on parahumans, and tries to jump to the nearest parahuman if not killed by one.)

Unless the Shard(s) has/have been giving Butcher "this be bad news" hints, why wouldn't they want to get killed by a dragon?
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I expect that the Butcher's shard is sensing that at least some of the shards connected to parahumans in the area in and around Brocton bay have had Bad and Unfathomable things happen to them, even if Butcher's shard isn't fully aware of just what those things might be.

Also, if the Butcher does end up taking over a dragon, how the hell would the Teeth be able to ensure that the new Butcher would be inclined to take up his or her position as their leader?
 
Actually, the only notes I have on the Butcher state "Moving West." I believe I've even brought it up in a chapter, though that may not be here. Suffice to say that the assumption of the Butcher's shard is basically going "Nope, let's go that way instead!" is likely the correct one. Why?

As noted, I suspect some of the higher level healing spells may, at the very least, make the Butcher much less dangerous to deal with, Heal dealing with the insanity caused by the 13 other voices in the Butcher's head, and shard based influences. Mind Blank would do it as well for a day. Miracle, should anyone every get it in the context of the story would as well. That would completely destroy the Butcher (as would Wish -- "Hey Vicky, where's your Ook of Infinite Spells?") The shard would want no part of that.,

Or, it could be a Ziz plot. Apparently, it's always a Ziz plot.

Or it might be something else lurking in Boston, caused the Teeth to act like that Badger going "Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope! Aaaaaaaah!" Hmm, Mind Flayer? Beholder? Aboleth in the Charles River? Lolth setting up a Tea shop? A bunch of conceptually invulnerable miniature ponies dancing around going "poneis malditos, poneis malditos, la la la la la la la!" (Which would drive Accord mad as well...)

Or, most likely, the Author has no clue as to "Why".

Take your pick.
 
I forget, has Nilbog already been pulverized? Because if not, you could easily drop a certain armoured Adventurer with a hate boner for all things green and horrible and an inexplicable ability to attract female attention on them. That entire series is basically a DND campagne in Anime form after all. Hmm, now I'm almost tempted to try writing that omake...
 
Dis Lexic said:
I forget, has Nilbog already been pulverized? Because if not, you could easily drop a certain armoured Adventurer with a hate boner for all things green and horrible and an inexplicable ability to attract female attention on them. That entire series is basically a DND campagne in Anime form after all. Hmm, now I'm almost tempted to try writing that omake...
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Nilbog, who had managed to regain some semblance of sanity, was dying from a nuclear warhead that had been buried under Ellisburg by unknown parties. He was more worried about his creations than his own life, so Tamamo and the good doG teleported the entire town to a different location. He at least got to die knowing that his children would be allowed to live fairly normal lives with normal lifespans.
 
jmcdavid said:
Nilbog, who had managed to regain some semblance of sanity, was dying from a nuclear warhead that had been buried under Ellisburg by unknown parties. He was more worried about his creations than his own life, so Tamamo and the good doG teleported the entire town to a different location. He at least got to die knowing that his children would be allowed to live fairly normal lives with normal lifespans.
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Ah, so thats a no but hes still been removed by making him less of a dick. Never mind then!
 
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