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View Full Version : [4e/FR] Dragonborn in pre-ruining Forgotten Realms



LibraryOgre
2009-09-29, 11:20 AM
So, since WotC hasn't released a serious attempt at a FR book for 4e, and my Vampire game is going down the tubes (someone has 45XP worth of new powers. My character has 22 XP... and that's because I cheated and added 10 to the total of my last character when I made my new one), I'm thinking of running a 4e game, set in old grey box Forgotten Realms. The original one. Before there was a time of Troubles. Why use the old setting? To prove that it works. That you can play Old Grey Box setting (and, by extension, Campaign Setting, FRA, or 3e Campaign Setting) with 4e rules.

Now, I'll wind up including some source material from later editions (i.e. religion descriptions from the Faiths and Avatars series, world data from other places if there's nothing useful for 1e, etc.), but most of its going to be straight up 1e source material, 4e rules.

The problem, however, is Dragonborn. I don't want to straight-up disallow them... they've proven really popular with my other 4e group... but they don't particularly fit into the 1e world.

Can anyone think of ways that they might fit into 1e without too much shoe-horning?

Draz74
2009-09-29, 11:22 AM
They're Half-Dragons?

Drakyn
2009-09-29, 11:28 AM
Maybe you could say Bahamut's testing out prototypes of the 3.whateverish dragonborn before mass production?

LibraryOgre
2009-09-29, 11:30 AM
They're Half-Dragons?

Possible, but remember that, prior to 3e, half dragons were rare to the point of being unheard of; first product which makes mention of them is Council of Wyrms, from 1994, and a subsequent Dragon article.


Maybe you could say Bahamut's testing out prototypes of the 3.whateverish dragonborn before mass production?

Bahamut is, at best, an obscure Untherian deity; I don't recall if he's actually in the Realms.

Mando Knight
2009-09-29, 11:42 AM
Bahamut is, at best, an obscure Untherian deity; I don't recall if he's actually in the Realms.

Being an Untherian deity, he (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Bahamut) kinda, y'know, is in the Realms. Mostly worshiped by metallic dragons and their servants before he fills in for Tyr, though.

Sipex
2009-09-29, 11:45 AM
Simple, have them still be rare. The PCs are often known for playing rare or unique species anyways.

LibraryOgre
2009-09-29, 11:47 AM
Being an Untherian deity, he (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Bahamut) kinda, y'know, is in the Realms. Mostly worshiped by metallic dragons and their servants before he fills in for Tyr, though.

I don't know Unther that well... I knew Tiamat was in the area, but couldn't remember if he was actually around.

Drakyn
2009-09-29, 11:51 AM
I don't know Unther that well... I knew Tiamat was in the area, but couldn't remember if he was actually around.

Well, given that he is, it doesn't matter if he's obscureish so long as the dragonborn are also rare. My suggestion was basically for PCs only anyways - they could be sort of the first "test run" of this here newfangled dragonborn creationmajiggery he wants to try out.

Draz74
2009-09-29, 11:58 AM
Possible, but remember that, prior to 3e, half dragons were rare to the point of being unheard of; first product which makes mention of them is Council of Wyrms, from 1994, and a subsequent Dragon article.

I have an old 2e "Monstrous Compendium" that also includes them. I thought it was older than 1994, but I could be very wrong about that. It took monsters from a number of sources and re-presented them; it probably came out in '94 or '95 and is an exact copy of the CoW/Dragon content you're talking about. Still, it's at least more evidence that half-dragons had been "heard of" before 3e. (I created several Half-Dragon NPCs in my campaigns before 3e.)

hamishspence
2009-09-29, 12:18 PM
3.5 dragonborn were a template rather than a normal race, but they did exist. Races of the Dragon details them and Dragons of Faerun covers them and Bahamut in Faerun.

Tehnar
2009-09-29, 12:20 PM
Wasn't there in some forgotten realms novels a bipedal dragon like creature? I think it was in Nightmasks, and I think his name was Dragonbait or something like that. I recall he was a paladin, and I think he was in the Realms before the time of troubles. I think they called the race "saurial". Maybe you could go with that.

Or an advanced and inteligent form of lizardman.

hamishspence
2009-09-29, 12:27 PM
Saurials were a race from a different material plane, which wree transplanted to Faerun- not many- just the population of one small village.

They do not have a breath weapon (but then, neither did 3.5 dragonborn).

The breath weapon may be the most distinctive thing about 4th ed dragonborn.