Boneless dragons?
Boneless dragons?
What sort of stats would a DRAGON boneless have? Theoretically it’s possible at least.
-
ewancummins
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 28523
- Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:35 pm
Re: Boneless dragons?
In which edition?
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.
-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
Re: Boneless dragons?
2nd edition is what I was thinking of:I honestly don’t know if boneless were used in any other editions right off hand.
-
Wolfglide of the Fraternity
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 12:33 am
Re: Boneless dragons?
There are boneless in Denizens of Dread for 3rd edition.
According to those rules, a boneless cannot be more than 20 HD, so that rules out any dragon older than adult (and some older than young adult). It would only keep its wing slams (if at least Medium), tail slap (if at least Large), and crush (if at least Huge) attacks, and it would replace its claw attacks with weaker slaps. However, if it is large enough to have multiple natural attacks, it can probably still use them on other attackers while it is throttling someone it has grabbed, which makes it more interesting to fight.
Some of its new abilities would need to be altered for logical reasons. For example, with regard to older dragons, I doubt dragonflesh can be crammed through a 1 inch crack, and there is no way one could compact a dead dragon---even without bones---into 1 cubic foot of space.
I could see one of these things arising naturally from the remains of a dragon that was butchered for its scales and bones. It could mindlessly hunt down its killers and anyone wearing things made from its bones and skin. There was a pair of books that appeared in Morrowind and Skyrim about the creation of bonemold armor, which followed this theme:
Bone, Part One
Bone, Part Two
One might also arise from the work of a necromancer who wanted the scales and bones for some construction, and decided not to waste the rest of the dragon.
According to those rules, a boneless cannot be more than 20 HD, so that rules out any dragon older than adult (and some older than young adult). It would only keep its wing slams (if at least Medium), tail slap (if at least Large), and crush (if at least Huge) attacks, and it would replace its claw attacks with weaker slaps. However, if it is large enough to have multiple natural attacks, it can probably still use them on other attackers while it is throttling someone it has grabbed, which makes it more interesting to fight.
Some of its new abilities would need to be altered for logical reasons. For example, with regard to older dragons, I doubt dragonflesh can be crammed through a 1 inch crack, and there is no way one could compact a dead dragon---even without bones---into 1 cubic foot of space.
I could see one of these things arising naturally from the remains of a dragon that was butchered for its scales and bones. It could mindlessly hunt down its killers and anyone wearing things made from its bones and skin. There was a pair of books that appeared in Morrowind and Skyrim about the creation of bonemold armor, which followed this theme:
Bone, Part One
Bone, Part Two
One might also arise from the work of a necromancer who wanted the scales and bones for some construction, and decided not to waste the rest of the dragon.
Re: Boneless dragons?
Any new thoughts on this subject? What other creatures could possibly be made into boneless?
-
Mephisto of the FoS
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 1429
- Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2020 3:55 pm
- Location: Athens-Greece
- Contact:
Re: Boneless dragons?
Amoebas 
"I am not omniscient, but I know a lot."
-Mephistopheles from Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
-Mephistopheles from Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
-
Wolfglide of the Fraternity
- Evil Genius
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 12:33 am
Re: Boneless dragons?
I hear boneless chicken is popular.
As for serious suggestions, the boneless dragon concept could be extended to boneless sea serpents.
It is also a great way to hide and transport larger undead servants, even if a boneless is too big to be crammed into 1 cubic foot of space. Being able to fit a sizable undead troll into a large chest would make a nasty surprise for thieves.
If one made a boneless that could quickly wrap around or disengage from a separately animated skeleton, it would be somewhat like the Rev-9 from Terminator: Dark Fate.
As for serious suggestions, the boneless dragon concept could be extended to boneless sea serpents.
It is also a great way to hide and transport larger undead servants, even if a boneless is too big to be crammed into 1 cubic foot of space. Being able to fit a sizable undead troll into a large chest would make a nasty surprise for thieves.
If one made a boneless that could quickly wrap around or disengage from a separately animated skeleton, it would be somewhat like the Rev-9 from Terminator: Dark Fate.