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I'm talking trans-oceanic here, so no stopping, no landing, no nuthin' but flapping and maybe a little gliding. Let's say best-case scenario.
I'd love it if one of the whiz-kids out there actually felt like figuring it out for me, but I'd also be happy if someone just explained to me how to do it. I haven't committed any rules to memory but I'm thinking it would be something like traveling whatever distance per day is allowed by their fly speed, then pushing into exhaustion and forced marches, etc. as long as their Constitution would allow.
Thoughts?
Thanks.
Well, all creatures can travel (moving at normal speed only, not double moving or running or whatnot) for 8 hours without rest. Any more than that requires continuing Constitution checks, made every hour the creature continues to travel. The DC starts at 10 and increases by 2 for every additional hour spent traveling. Assuming that the dragon is a great wyrm red dragon (with a Con of 31) and he somehow makes all of his Constitution checks until they become impossible, he could travel for 19 hours without taking any nonlethal damage (traveling a distance of 2280000 feet, or a little under 432 miles). Then, every hour after that he'd start taking nonlethal damage. Assuming he takes an average of 1 point of nonlethal damage every hour (the best case scenario), he could keep going for another 661 hours (total travel time: about 28 days) before he falls unconscious. This would put him at a total distance of 81600000 feet, or 15454.54 miles when traveling non-stop.
oops. Just caught a mistake in my math. The dragon would have become exhausted on the second hour of taking nonlethal damage, which would have reduced his speed to 1/2. So, his total distance would have been: 7965.9 miles
What about not being able to sustain flight when he reaches 1/2 hp?
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What about not being able to sustain flight when he reaches 1/2 hp?
That rule doesn't exist in 3E... you can fly just fine with 1 hp out of 1,000 hp... you are only limited in natural flight if you are over light encumberance.
And just a note Dragons do not check every hour past 8 they check every 2 hours after
Dragon Overland Movement
Chromatic and metallic dragons are exceedingly strong flyers and can cover vast distances quickly...Dragons do not tire as quickly as other creatures when moving overland on the ground. If a dragon attempts a hustle or a forced march, check for nonlethal damage once every 2 hours instead of every hour.
Ah.. oops! That changes things a bit. My original calculation then would be a little short of the actual distance...
Dragon flight is one of the great laws-of-physics-bending conceits of fantasy gaming. Because volume increases more quickly than surface area as (body) size increases (try calculating surface area and volume for a few cubes of various side lengths), a creature that big would never be able to fly. At the other end, tiny bugs catch a lot of air because their surface-volume ratio is so high. They have so much surface relative to their body volume that they almost can't help flying.
I believe in the Draconomicon it is stated that dragons fly because of some sort of magic. So, yeah.. physics-bending at its best.
As far as he wants.
Did I miss somthing or is it true that in 3.5 a flying creature can still fly when reduced below 1/2 hp!!
Is that some wak old rule I have been carrying around since 1st ed?
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Draconomicon; Page 18, Flight - Paragraph I: Some sages speculate that a dragon's ability to fly is partially magical; however, dragons have been known to to take wing and maneuver inside antimagic areas where their spells and breath weapons do not work. A dragon owes its ability to fly, and its flight characteristics to its peculiar anatomy and metabolism. A dragon weighs much less than a strictly terrestrial creature of the same size does, and its muscles- particularly the ones that enable it to fly- are exceptionally strong, giving the dragon's wings enough power to lift the dragon into the air.
Monster Manual 3.5E; page 70 - Dragon Overland Movement(Overland Flight Sidebar): *Paraphrase* Based on the Dragon's Tactical Flight Speed, a Dragon with a speed of 100 feet can travel 120 miles in Eight hours. A Dragon with a speed of 150 feet can travel 160 miles in Eight hours. A Dragon with a speed of 200 feet can travel 240 miles in Eight hours. A Dragon with a speed of 250 feet can travel 320 miles in Eight hours.
From this point forward, the dragons in question will be considered to be as follows: First listed dragon with a speed of 100 feet is a Very Young Black Dragon. Second listed dragon with a speed of 150 feet is a Very Old Green Dragon. Third dragon listed with a speed of 200 feet is a Great Wyrm Bronze Dragon. Fourth dragon listed with a speed of 250 feet is a Great Wyrm Gold Dragon.
Each dragon shall have max hitpoints for its age, and will be considered to succeed every constitution check untill it becomes impossible. Furthermore, every failed constitution check will take minimum Nonlethal damage untill unconsciousness.
The listings will follow this patern. Dragon (stats): Eight Hours = <distance>, <total time up to first failed save and exhaustion setting in> = <distance>, <total flight time to unconscious> = <total overall distance>
Note: Since Dragons get two hours instead of one for Constitution checks, I am taking their one hour normal speed and multiplying that by hitpoints, instead of half the normal one hour speed, because they are now flying that in two hours instead of one, balancing it out.
Black Dragon (91 HP, Con 13): 8 hours = 120 miles, (14)22 Hours = 540 miles, (174)196 hours = 1905 miles
Green Dragon (522 HP, Con 23): 8 hours = 160 miles, (34)42 Hours = 1360 miles, (1044)1086 hours = 11960 miles
Bronze Dragon (780 HP, Con 27): 8 hours = 240 miles, (38)46 Hours = 2520 miles, (1560)1606 hours = 23400 miles
Gold Dragon (943 HP, Con 33): Eight hours = 320 miles, (44)52 Hours = 3840 miles, (1886)1938 hours = 41560 miles
To put this in perspective...
A Very Young Black Dragon could fly from Indianapolis to El Paso, TX and half-way back again.
A Very Old Green Dragon could fly back-and-forth from the East Coast to the West Coast of the Continental US FIVE times.
A Great Wyrm Bronze Dragon could almost circumnavigate the world once along the equator.
A Great Wyrm Gold Dragon could circumnavigate the world once, double back, and fly two thirds the way around again.
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Did I miss somthing or is it true that in 3.5 a flying creature can still fly when reduced below 1/2 hp!!
Is that some wak old rule I have been carrying around since 1st ed?
No, the point being made is that there are no fractions. When Nonlethal damage matches or exceeds your total current hitpoints, you fall unconscious.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16
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No, the point being made is that there are no fractions. When Nonlethal damage matches or exceeds your total current hitpoints, you fall unconscious.Did I miss somthing or is it true that in 3.5 a flying creature can still fly when reduced below 1/2 hp!!
Is that some wak old rule I have been carrying around since 1st ed?
Well no that wasn't my point... there is no rule in 3rd edition that says you can't fly below half normal hit points. That is most assuredly a 2nd ed rule.
However it is correct that if your nonlethal damage exceeds your current hit points you fall unconscious and can't fly (with wings).
This is all the SRD says about a creature with a Fly speed.
Fly
A creature with a fly speed can move through the air at the indicated speed if carrying no more than a light load. (Note that medium armor does not necessarily constitute a medium load.) All fly speeds include a parenthetical note indicating maneuverability, as follows:Perfect: The creature can perform almost any aerial maneuver it wishes. It moves through the air as well as a human moves over smooth ground.
Good: The creature is very agile in the air (like a housefly or a hummingbird), but cannot change direction as readily as those with perfect maneuverability.
Average: The creature can fly as adroitly as a small bird.
Poor: The creature flies as well as a very large bird.
Clumsy: The creature can barely maneuver at all.
A creature that flies can make dive attacks. A dive attack works just like a charge, but the diving creature must move a minimum of 30 feet and descend at least 10 feet. It can make only claw or talon attacks, but these deal double damage. A creature can use the run action while flying, provided it flies in a straight line.Flight (Ex or Su)
A creature with this ability can cease or resume flight as a free action. If the ability is supernatural, it becomes ineffective in an antimagic field, and the creature loses its ability to fly for as long as the antimagic effect persists.