L&E-created critters: drakes

A smaller, weaker, animal intelligence dracoform, the drakes have been bred over time into two primary breeds, one for racing and the other for warfare.

 

Racing Drake

% in Lair: 10%
Wilderness Enc: Flight (2d6+1)/Nest (2d6+1)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 90' (30'), fly 300' (100')
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 2+2
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d6+1
Save: F1
Morale: 0
Treasure Type: C
XP: 35

Weight: 600 lbs
Carrying Capacity: 12 stone
Trainability: +2
Training Period: 2 months
Age Periods: E/0/0.6/3/6/22/33/44/55
Trained Value: 600
Special ability: Swift
Supply cost: 16

 

War Drake

% in Lair: 10%
Wilderness Enc: Desolation (1d6+1)/Nest (1d6+1)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 90' (30'), fly 240' (80')
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 5*
Attacks: 3 (claw, claw, bite)
Damage: 1d4/1d4/2d4
Save: F5
Morale: +4
Treasure Type: N
XP: 350

Weight: 2300 pounds
Carrying Capacity: 46 stone
Trainability: +4
Training Period: 3 months
Age Periods: E/0/0.7/3.5/7/28/42/56/70
Trained Value: 11,500 gp
Special Abilities: Berserk (+2 to hit with melee attacks), Tough
Supply cost: 48

 

Racing drakes are ridden by small, light riders. Almost all (93.75%) of these drakes can be trained to act as mounts. The rare few that cannot are often trained to act as scouts or hunters of huge beasts, with Attack, Down, Heel, and Stay being the most common tricks for those that can only learn 4. A few halflings have tried using them as skirmishing combat mounts, but the (relative) skittishness of these drakes has made this a miserable failure, as is usual for halfling warfare. When not being raced, they're used for couriers between cities.

War drakes are much less common, and are ridden by elite warriors. Most (81.25%) of hatched eggs can be trained to serve as war mounts. The ones that cannot are used similar to the less intelligent racing drakes, although Guard or Seek may be substituted or added to the other tricks. War drakes without Down or War Mount training can never retreat from combat due to their aggressiveness (represented by the Berserk special ability).

That's awesome. Whatcha thinking for wingspan/length? 46 stone on the War Drake's CC makes me think maybe it could have more than one rider?

Also:

[quote="The Dark"] ...a miserable failure, as is usual for halfling warfare... [/quote]

Ha!

The Racing Drake is on the small end of Large (2 HD is Man-Sized, 2+1 to 4+2 is Large). I would put it at around 8.5' in length, 25' in wingspan.

The War Drake is a small Huge (4+3 HD is the smallest Huge, 9+1 is the biggest), so it would be around 13' long with a 40' wingspan.

 

The carrying capacities would have to account for rider weight, so the Racing Drake can be ridden by a halfling, gnome, or elf normally, or a light human or dwarf. On the humanoid side, goblins or kobolds could ride them (and kobolds could double up). War drakes could carry one very heavily armored warrior or two lighter armored fighters.

Two things I noticed while creating these:

1. There's no way that I saw to generate supply cost for creatures. I used same-size dragons for these, since they'd be similar.

2. While the example makes clear that carrying capacity is in stone, the text doesn't make it obvious that there's a unit change from pounds to stone, which made me re-read that section a few times. I originally thought my Racing Drake was going to wind up with only a 12 pound carrying capacity.

Supply cost is by size and digestive type (can't think of hte technical term, but herbivore/omnivore vs carnivore). I'd wager we can get something added to that effect.

Below, a table I made up on a lark, thinking about that very question....I think it's right. Was meant mostly for 'animal' type things, hence "bales" of plant and "barrels" of meat.

 

Herbivore/Omnivore, Weekly Supply Cost & Weight

Size

Cost (gp)

Stone

Units (Bales)

Cost of Unit (gp)

 

Man-sized

1

1 5/6

4/10

1 gp, 3 sp

 

Large

4

14

3 1/10

1 gp, 3 sp

 

Huge

12

42

9 1/3

1 gp, 3 sp

 

Gigantic

48

168

37 1/3

1 gp, 3 sp

 

Colossal

240

840

186 2/3

1 gp, 3 sp

 

Carnivore, Weekly Supply Cost & Weight

Size

Cost (gp)

Stone

Units (Barrel)

Cost of Unit (gp)

 

Man-sized

2

10

6/10

3 gp, 3 sp

 

Large

16

80

4 ¾

3 gp, 3 sp

 

Huge

48

240

14 1/3

3 gp, 3 sp

 

Gigantic

192

960

57 ½

3 gp, 3 sp

 

Colossal

960

4800

287 ¼

3 gp, 3 sp