[FoxBoy]

I've looked all over but never found a definitive answer, so exactly how tall is a 'small drake'?

RC, PG 75: Common Drakes resemble small western dragons.

SR4A, PG 304: A western dragon’s head and body are 20 meters long. It stands 3 meters at shoulder height, its tail is 17 meters long, and its wingspan is 30 meters.

So how far down does it scale for 'small'? 50% of a full dragon? 25%?

Edit: Case in point: Troll common Drake, body of 13 and str 14 in draco form. Just how big is that sucker now?

[FastJack]

You'd stay about the same size, just resemble a Western Dragon. So, if you're troll is 2½ m tall and 350 kg, then he'd be about 2 meters long with a 2 meter long tail. You don't grow overmuch when you shapeshift.

[FoxBoy]

Well that's a disappointment and a relief both, as it closes some options and opens other.

Two more. Vehicles do not count as structures as far as Smashing Blow (SM, 179) is concerned, correct?
And Mystic Armor, Drake's hide, and form fitting armor stack at full value (10 + mystic armor)?

[FastJack]

The Mystic Armor and Hardened armor are only available when shifted into Drake form. Form-fitting body armor is tailored to either their Drake Form or their Troll Form. It wouldn't change when they shapeshifted between forms. If you have the armor tailored for their Drake form, then yes, it would stack.

[FoxBoy]

Good grief... I may scale this guy back a bit a lot.

Currently, 27 dice to soak damage. According to the law of averages, DV of 10+ just to have a chance to hurt him.
Armor of 14/10.

Claws/bite: 16P, 9 dice to hit + reach (troll and dragon both) = somewhat easy to dodge... but all he has to do is hit once. Against barriers? 32P (38P if you average in the number of successes and then double). I could see him reaching through a wall to get someone...

Roughly.. it'll take 1 action to go through reinforced concrete, and this is for a 400 BP NPC.

[Nomad Zophiel]

*snerks* Form Fitting Drake Armor. "OK, we got your measurments and fed them to the fabricator. Try this on and let me see how it fits." 

[FastJack]

*snerks* Form Fitting Drake Armor. "OK, we got your measurments and fed them to the fabricator. Try this on and let me see how it fits." 

What, you don't think Lofwyr already has some tailored?

[FoxBoy]

*snickers* yea I know, it's silly... but looking at it from a dragon's point of view, it actually makes sense. Having a drake that's equipped as he is?

Dragon (via loudspeaker): "Well now! You wish to play, little humans... very well, meet my pet."
Armored drake comes out, hissing as his berserk power gets activated.
Dragon: "Have fun! Oh... my child? Please make sure you clean up the mess when your done toying with them..."

That's when you know your fragged.

[Ultra Violet]

I for my part give Drakes (especially Common Drakes) a little more height. Why? The Common Drake description mentions following: "They are larger than other drakes" and the given modifiers are much the same as a troll has to a human. So I assume that its bulk has the same effect. A human who shifts into a Common Drake become tall and bully, like a troll. A troll shifting into a Common Drake become, in the same way, much more... (he gets +2 reach and more) i.e. a 2,5 meter troll would become a 3,25 meter tall western dragon, and it would weight at least 450 kg.

[KarmaInferno]

*snickers* yea I know, it's silly... but looking at it from a dragon's point of view, it actually makes sense. Having a drake that's equipped as he is?

Dragon (via loudspeaker): "Well now! You wish to play, little humans... very well, meet my pet."
Armored drake comes out, hissing as his berserk power gets activated.
Dragon: "Have fun! Oh... my child? Please make sure you clean up the mess when your done toying with them..."

That's when you know your fragged.

Unfortunately Dragons can't normally use loudspeakers.





-k

[FoxBoy]

Picky picky... I'm sure they'll find a way.

There's at least (or at most) one dragon that has/had a datajack, so I'm sure they'll find a way.

[FastJack]

Hell, as long as they have their "voice" with them, they can use loudspeakers just fine.

[Ultra Violet]

I think what KarmaInferno meant is, that Drakes cannot speak in their Dracoform. And with the only exception of the Oriental Drakes, they cannot use or operate most metahuman equipment. And last but not least Cyberware implants (like datajacks) do not carry over to their Dracoform. (see RC p. 75-76)

There are possible ways: First a ‘trode nets especially designed for Drakes, but somebody has to help to put it on. And the second way I see is the metamagic power dragonspeech. A third would be a translation spell or other spells that allow communication with others.