One of the players in my home game has recently been entrusted with the care of a purple dragon egg that she helped rescue from a Quasit. Basically I'm asking for ideas of where I can go from here.
***If you are one of my players Stop reading now!***
Any help with the following questions would be greatly appreciated!
How much longer might this egg gestate?
What would be the power level of a baby purple dragon?
Suggestions for building a purple dragon?
What might the dragon's progression be once hatched?
What might its breath weapon be?
Who might want to do what with it?
How would the people of Sandpoint react if word got out of its existence?
Do you have any other comments or suggestions?
The dragon is currently being carried by the wozard in a specially made dragon egg incubator cooked up by a local alchemist.
What might its breath weapon be?
For the most part, you can probably follow similar progression to most standard dragons (as seen here).
But just as a fun side note in regards to the breath weapon, I think 4E had Purple dragons use a psychic breath weapon. PF doesn't really feature psychic damage as far as I know (except maybe in psionics? I don't really know much about that), but there is precedent for a Sonic breath weapon, such as the Imperial Sovereign Dragon, which could seem a bit similar.
If you want to stick to more standard fare though, Electricity seems to match its color the best (...or perhaps Cold?)
Well you may want to peak at how true dragons work and age. Blue and Red both usually turn out to be pretty evil, but games vary. I doubt it would manage to age beyond wrymling in the game without any sort of magical help, if even hatches. Still, owning a dragon egg is pretty cool. Owning a dragon also cool!
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have you considered a huge omelette?
How much longer might this egg gestate?
It should hatch at the speed of plot.
What would be the power level of a baby purple dragon?
Pretty low. You don't want it to overshadow the players, and it is a newborn.
Suggestions for building a purple dragon?What might its breath weapon be?
Use a red. Add electricity immunity. Make the breath weapon some funky electrically charged plasma thats half fire and half electric damage
What might the dragon's progression be once hatched?
use red.
Who might want to do what with it?
-Grandpa dragon might want it back
- Do gooders (including paladins)may want to kill it.
-Kobold tribes may want to worship it
-Somoe prophecy nuts might think its fulfills a prophecy
-a corrupt noble or tribesman may want it as a mount for their son or grandson. (since teh thing will be 50 before they can ride it)
How would the people of Sandpoint react if word got out of its existence?
Ruuuuuuuuun!
on golarion good dragons aren't any rarer than evil ones, but they tend to keep to themselves more and the evil ones tend to get a lot more notice. People have a generally negative opinion of dragons, but won't have any idea that a purple one is rare or evil unless they have a rank in knowledge arcana.
The dragon is currently being carried by the wozard in a specially made dragon egg incubator cooked up by a local alchemist.
hehehe.. nice.
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it opens its own theme park in central florida, and calls itself 'figment'.
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What might its breath weapon be?
Inner Sea Bestiary introduced Plasma weaponry, which deals half fire and half electricity damage.
I vote plasma breath weapon. Because plasma.
Heck, I'd be tempted to call it a plasma dragon rather than a purple dragon. Because plasma.
:)
edit-I'd probably make such a breath weapon act as a line, like the Annihilator Robot's plasma lance attack.
I am going to go on a nurture over nature view for the dragon's alignment, at least as long as the party is alive. It may not care for others outside those four, but it'll at least treat them well. I'm thinking it will be born true neutral.
Secondly, I love the plasma line idea. That is fabulous and will be kept.
Also: I made a thread that Mikaze posted in. Day made.
I'll note I always liked AD&D 2e Draconomicon as a source of ideas. It's got stuff on raising dragons (starting p.46), dragon incubation periods (p.51), chromatic crossbreeds (p.64-65), and lots more, but feel free to toss anything you don't like.
How much longer might this egg gestate?
I'd go with 260 days (halfway between red and blue) total period, so how long it has been gestating?
What would be the power level of a baby purple dragon?
Well, it would be a wyrmling, since it's 0-5 years old.
Suggestions for building a purple dragon?
What might the dragon's progression be once hatched?
What might its breath weapon be?
Flip a coin whether you'd rather use the base HD and AC for a blue or a red, since they're too close to average. Base size small, which will be wyrmling size, too. Ground speed 40 ft, probably burrow 10 ft (better then red's 0, not as good as blue's 20). Base/wyrmling ability scores Str 15, Dex 14, Con 14, Wis 10, Int 11, Cha 10. Call the breath weapon a line like a blue, but 2d10 like a red (or perhaps reverse those), and I'd make it a fire-electricity admixture (plasma, if you'd like to follow Mikzae). I'd use an average of the caster level progressions (so none when young and younger, 2nd when juvenile, 4th as young adult . . 18th as great wyrm).
You can invent a customized list of special abilities and SLAs, mix and match between the two lists, flip a coin between the two lists entire, or pick the SLAs for one parent and the other special abilities from the other. DR progression is usefully the same for both types.
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Truly shock them.
Let it be the reincarnation of Cindermaw the Clan Eater.
Of course, a baby Aashaq's Wyvern works too.
Wasn't there actual stats for the Purple Dragon in the 3.5 days?
Kill it, it's chromatic, and thus an evil dragon! Best to kill it before it gets started!
Its amazing how much we have to fear of rainbow colored dragons.
Purple dragon
Breath weapon: A purple dragon's breath weapon can take on three different forms. It can manifest as a cone of searing energy, a burst of blinding power, or a deadly blade of pure energy.
Terrain: Temperate Plains
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Notes: Described in the Dragon Compendium Vol. 1
Long, lean bodied dragons with deep purple to midnight black scales. These fancy themselves to be the lords of all dragonkind, believing themselves arisen from the long dead sister of Tiamat. They are among the most intelligent of dragons, able to gather and control vast numbers of minions. Their energy-related attacks make them powerful fighters.
4th edition has purple dragons here, page 175 has their 4ed stats.
It is psychic in 4thed.
1e purple dragons rocked hardcore as a hybrid of blue and red.
The good stats of a red dragon, immune to electricity and fire.
The breath weapon was, in 3e/PF terms, a line of actinic, ravening energy that gave Godzilla his due credit [arcane energy, GET SOME!, GET SOME!!]. Think a sunbeam writ large.
"protection from energy? This is bad comedy."
"Purple dragon, is that you?"
"Here's a hint!!"
*Failed Reflex save = total destruction.*
"Uh, what'd he say his name is?"
*Bowing before the new King en masse*
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1e purple dragons rocked hardcore as a hybrid of blue and red.
The good stats of a red dragon, immune to electricity and fire.
The breath weapon was, in 3e/PF terms, a line of actinic, ravening energy that gave Godzilla his due credit [arcane energy, GET SOME!, GET SOME!!]. Think a sunbeam writ large."protection from energy? This is bad comedy."
"Purple dragon, is that you?"
"Here's a hint!!"
*Failed Reflex save = total destruction.*
"Uh, what'd he say his name is?"
*Bowing before the new King en masse*
THen the plot twist is that the dragon is an emmisarry of some sentient planet that wants to devour ours and sent the dragon to slay te one capable of stopping it.
"Dragon, on this day One shall stand, and One shall fall!"
"Why do you instist on throwing away your Life?"
"I could ask you the same."
"No!!! I'll crush you with my bare Claws!!"
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I've never raised a purple egg,
I've never even seen one.
But if thats what you have to raise,
I hope its not a mean one!
I've never raised a purple egg,
I've never even seen one.
But if thats what you have to raise,
I hope its not a mean one!
Marvelous. :D
A Wizard character of mine once had to raise a white dragon after an egg we recovered hatched and the hatchling imprinted on him. Our DM had endless fun with that one.
Good luck with yours! ;D
Have it hatch into Togepi.
Give it to a unicorn so she can pass her Magic Exam. It may help if the exam coincides with a nearby Sonic Rainboom.
You are all excellent. Maybe some hungry bugbears will be in the area...
@John Kerpan I love the poem :D
@master_marshmallow I kinda was feeling a Togepi vibe when I had them find it.
I'm going with the plasma breath weapon (half electricity, half fire) with a red dragon's stat array.
Would letting it level in warrior be too much?
Would letting it level in warrior be too much?
Thats what I did when I had hatchling NPCs. Worked out well without making them get too powerful, and certainly helped keep them alive without making them too deadly.
Dooooooot.
Letting it level in warrior would only be "too much" if you, personally, feel that it would be. Personally, I'd say make it fighter levels, but drop the armor/weapon stuff (or don't, but make it related to saddles, barding, and the like... okay, super-awesome purple dragon images coming in...).
In 3.X Dragons could gain levels and then as they grew up, they gestalted their levels with racial HD (so a dragon with 5HD of dragon and 5 levels of fighter and never gained more would "grow up" and have 10HD of dragon, but be treated as if still having 5 fighter levels, for example). (Based on that idea, warrior becomes pretty meh.)
Also keep in mind that wyrmlings (the youngest dragons, basically hatchlings) are actually pretty big, if I recall.
Actually, looking up...
Black is tiny
Blues are small
Greens are small
Reds are small
Whites are tiny
Forests are small
Seas are small
Skys are small (I know how to spell "skies", but we're talking about dragon types)
Sovereigns are small
underworlds are small
Brasses are tiny
Bronzes are small
Coppers are tiny
Golds are small
Silvers are small
Brines are tiny
Clouds are small
Crystals are tiny
Magmas are tiny
Umbrals are small
Based on the Size and reach estimates, and the fact that most dragons are "small size", they'd likely be anywhere from 2 to 4 feet in size (I'd guess closer to 2ft, though as there are some tiny dragons, and thus probably running on the high side of tiny and low side of small, though ranges, of course, apply).
One of the kind of nifty things is that several of the Blue Dragon's powers and abilities (and some of their traits like desert-dwelling) actually fit quite well with a red-dragons penchant for fire and heat-related things. So that's a thing to think about/look at, too.
Uh... and here was just dotting because I didn't have time to respond/read the whole thread right now. Sorry.
(Dot)
@Tacticslion
No need to apologize! That is all really useful stuff so thanks! When you have time you can enjoy the omelette jokes XD
@MrSin
Awesome. That makes me feel... vidicated? Glad I wasn't the first to think of it.
@MrSin
Awesome. That makes me feel... vidicated? Glad I wasn't the first to think of it.
I once had to build an entire pirate crew of a specific size, ECL, and using so many variants for a game. I had to do something to keep my hatchlings up to par but not overpowering. Its definitely not overpowering because its just bab and fort save really.
@MrSin
So do you think there would be a significant difference between giving it fighter levels, or those levels being in warrior? There is a fighter in the party and I don't want to overshadow him.
@MrSin
So do you think there would be a significant difference between giving it fighter levels, or those levels being in warrior? There is a fighter in the party and I don't want to overshadow him.
I'd keep them a few levels behind in either case. I don't think there would be a huge difference, but I don't imagine an unarmed fighter being that deadly. I could be wrong!
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The players are mistaken. It is actually a cockatrice egg.
Personally I'd give the creature heroic levels(Who's heard of a dragon who multiclassed warrior?) but definitely keep it's adjusted CR way below the parties.
When it hatches, it'll be CR 6 if it's using red progression. I'd wait till the party's at least APL 8 or 9 to hatch the thing(Hatching at the rate of plot lol), then have it advance in levels on a "slow" progression or when you feel appropriate. Shouldn't age past wyrmling in the case of a single campaign.
And if the players want it to advance faster, have them take leadership or something and count it as a cohort. Otherwise sounds like a cool plot line.