Hi, all! Experienced player and DM, but new to homebrewing. Looking for advice.
I found the "Rattelyr" dragon from 3e, and was hoping to modify it for 5e by heavily basing the stat block off an Adult Blue Dragon with the following ability scores:
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 23 10 21 14 13 17
I think it makes more sense for a rattlesnake-like dragon to have a MUCH higher DEX than strength. BUT, boosting DEX means boosting AC, and the blue dragon already has an AC of 19 and is of size Huge. The Rattelyr is unable to fly, but has aboveground speed 50ft and burrow speed 30ft. Same scales, just desert colors. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to boost the DEX score and lower STR while not going crazy with the AC? My party will be interacting this creature around level 10-12 (the party levels up together by milestone, not XP).
This is almost definitely late but I just used a rattelyr dragon myself and I had the same issue. I elected to give it unique biology like it has super soft underbelly so while it's ac is high if the party targets it's belly the AC is much lower so it's super high ac is balanced by a weakness. Just mention that it moves out of the way of attacks when they miss so it feels like dex not armor. And then have it so after they figure it out it starts to maneuver it's belly not facing them as easy or burrowing more. That way it feels more like an interactive fight anyway.
Hi, all! Experienced player and DM, but new to homebrewing. Looking for advice.
I found the "Rattelyr" dragon from 3e, and was hoping to modify it for 5e by heavily basing the stat block off an Adult Blue Dragon with the following ability scores:
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
23 10 21 14 13 17
I think it makes more sense for a rattlesnake-like dragon to have a MUCH higher DEX than strength. BUT, boosting DEX means boosting AC, and the blue dragon already has an AC of 19 and is of size Huge. The Rattelyr is unable to fly, but has aboveground speed 50ft and burrow speed 30ft. Same scales, just desert colors. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to boost the DEX score and lower STR while not going crazy with the AC? My party will be interacting this creature around level 10-12 (the party levels up together by milestone, not XP).
Many thanks. LL.
This is almost definitely late but I just used a rattelyr dragon myself and I had the same issue. I elected to give it unique biology like it has super soft underbelly so while it's ac is high if the party targets it's belly the AC is much lower so it's super high ac is balanced by a weakness. Just mention that it moves out of the way of attacks when they miss so it feels like dex not armor. And then have it so after they figure it out it starts to maneuver it's belly not facing them as easy or burrowing more. That way it feels more like an interactive fight anyway.
The simpler answer is to say it has softer scales and lower the Natural Armor contribution to AC.
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