Basic Old D&D Dragonborn conversion?

[Blas_de_Lezo]

Does anybody know if there is, somewhere, a homebrew conversion of the Dragonborn to the Basic D&D? You know, the old D&D rule set that you couldn't choose between race and class and you chose directly between Fighter, Dwarf, Elf, Cleric, Magic User, Halfling and Thief.

[hamlet]

Not that I'm aware of, honestly. Might be able to jigger one up based on the lizard man or something . . .

[Blas_de_Lezo]

Yeah, I was thinking precisely that.

A simple conversion would be:

- Minimun stats: Str 9, Cha 12
- Prime Requisites: Strenght, Charisma
- Hit Dice: d8
- Fighter Attack, armor/weapons and saving throws.
- Infravision
- Languages: Common and Draconic (I think they called it "Dragon" back then)
- Breath Weapon: you can use your action to breath fire in a 15 feet cone for 1-6 damage (success in a Dragon Breath saving throw halves this damage). At level 9+, the damage increases to 2-12. To use this breath again, roll 1d6 on your turn, a result of 6 recharges your breath.
- Dwarf experience chart.


What do you think? Too overpowered? Too weak? Any Old D&D expert or DM around here? I'd like to have it simple, as Old D&D characters didn't have so much abilities and powers as today.

[Grac]

Why charisma?

[hamlet]

It'd work, though BECMI doesn't have any precedent for a "recharge" kind of function. It'd probably be more along the lines of 1-3 times per day per actual dragons. If you were going to get really sticklerish for the rules, you could probably also say that the breath does damage equal to half the PC's current hit points minimum 1 point or maybe 1 point per 2 levels.

That's quibbling though.

[Blas_de_Lezo]

I also thought about a breath weapon damage related to actual hp, but it results in a maybe very strong breath when at full HP. The 1-3 uses per day is a good idea.

[Blas_de_Lezo]

Why charisma?

All demihuman races-classes such as elf, dwarf and halfling have two abilities requirements. Strenght seemed appropiated for one, and for the second, after thinking about all abilities, Charisma seems to me as the best suited second requirement for a dragonkin.

[Grac]

Why charisma?
Edit:
Oh, looked at racial descriptions lol.

Also the changing damage for breath weapon, and the recharge mechanic seem weird, since the recharge mechanic is to determine when a dragon breathes, not how often, which is set at 3/day.

Maybe replace it with:
Dragonborn are an ancient race of humanoid dragon soldiers, averaging 6 feet tall and 250 pounds. Like true dragons, Dragonborn are fascinated with gold and treasure and can be dangerous opponents, able to fight with all melee and thrown weapons.

The prime requisites for Dragonborn are strength and charisma. If a dragonborn has a score of 13 or greater in strength and charisma the character will gain a +5% bonus on earned experience points. If the dragonborn's charisma is 13 or greater and his or her strength is 16 or greater, that character will earn a +10% bonus on earned experience points.

RESTRICTIONS: Dragonborn use ten-sided dice (d10) to determine their hit points. They may advance to a maximum of 6th level of experience. They may not wear armour or use bows, crossbows, or slings, but may use all melee and thrown weapons and may use shields.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Dragonborn have infravision (heat-sensing light) which allows them to see 60 feet in the dark. Once per day a dragonborn can breathe fire in a cone 30 feet long and 10 feet wide, dealing damage equal to the dragonborn's remaining hit points. Dragonborn's hide hardens as they age, lowering their armour class by 1 each level. All Dragonborn speak Common, Draconic, and the alignment tongue of their character, plus the languages of kobolds, goblins, and orcs.

XP, to hit, and save as elf table.

Reasons:
Humans reach 14
Dwarves reach 12
Elves reach 10
Halflings reach 8
So obviously new races should reach 6
Breath weapon does same damage as dragon breath, but ⅓ the times and ⅓ the area.
Other stuffs I thought was cOoL and not overpowered. As in, I'd totally play this class, even with the low level limit.

Finally, I'm really not comfortable with the charisma requirement, implying Dragonborn are all charming suave things, but then with the low level limit, I imagine not many players would want the class, so they would not be overpowered in the campaign world.

[hamlet]

Points of order:

1) No class uses 10 sided dice for hit dice. Max is 8 and that's fighters. Eight sided dice is more appropriate.

2) Depending on which version of Basic (i.e., Basic, Expert, Companion, Rules Cyclopedia) level limits get fuzzy. I'd say I'd rather set the max level at somewhere between 8 and 12 with an optional rule for advancement to 36 as in the appendices of RC.

3) I think I prefer the breath weapon at 1d6 thrice per day becoming 2d6 at a higher level. It just works out a little cleaner. You could probably up it to 3d6 at ultimate level so that it stays strong, but beware overpowering fighters.

4) I like the idea that they're not allowed to wear all armor. Perhaps something like some padded/hide armor or something, but it would cost extra having to be specially made for them.

[Blas_de_Lezo]

Well, this started as a question, and maybe something cool ins taking shape here. I'm going to write down some of your suggestions and maybe do the hole conversion!

I like the idea of the armor/weapon restriction, no ranged weapons, no plate armor.

Any more ideas?

[Lord Torath]

What's the reason for forbidding bows/crossbows/slings (and presumably hoopaks/staff-slings, atlatls, and anything else dedicated to launching a projectile)? Is it something to do with the belief systems of Dragonborn?

[Blas_de_Lezo]

What's the reason for forbidding bows/crossbows/slings (and presumably hoopaks/staff-slings, atlatls, and anything else dedicated to launching a projectile)? Is it something to do with the belief systems of Dragonborn?

Well the restrictions/proficiencies in D&D BECMI were quite random... lol ;)
I suppose we could include a flavor text saying that dragonborns are ancient-styled warriors who think fighting with bows and ranged weapons is for cowards, and when they need to fight distant oponents they prefer using their breath, or maybe using thrown weapons as spears, javelins or handaxes (just as the ancient epic warriors from the Illiad, who considered right to throw a spear but thought Paris was a coward because he shooted a bow).

[Rakaydos]

The 2nd edition Council of Wyrms Halfdragon is the spiritual forefather of the 4e+ Dragonborn, so it might be a good source for backconverting.
A quick google turns up this page:
http://www.pvv.ntnu.no/~leirbakk/rpg...alfdragon.html

" Weapon proficiencies: An exile usually selects weapons much different from the traditional weapons (if any) of its nondragon parent. Easily concealed weapons, such as daggers, saps, short swords, darts, and slings are common. Large weapons common to nobility or regular armies, such as lances, polearms, or two-handed swords are very rarely used.

Nonweapon proficiencies: Bonus--survival. Required--none. Recommended, general--direction sense, fire-building, fishing, weather sense. Recommended, warrior--endurance, hunting, running. Recommended, rogue--juggling.

Equipment: An exile can use any weapons, armor, and equipment suitable to his class.

Special benefits: Exiles receive one additional nonweapon proficiency slot to fill when they are first created. Those who have thieving skills also receive an additional 15 discretionary skill points to distribute at creation.

Special hindrances: Because of the universal dislike of half-dragons--and especially exiles--members of this kit receive a -3 penalty to encounter reactions when dealing with NPCs. Additionally, it is very unlikely that the exile will have learned to speak any dragon language."
"Ability-score modifiers: +2 Strength, -2 Wisdom, +1 Charisma."