Drakes, Allowing them as PC's Options

[Stormdrake]

Has any one allowed one or more of their players to be a drake? The concept sounds pretty cool but want to hear how others have handled it, if they have.

[Abstruse]

I'm thinking of making one of the PCs in my group a drake without them knowing it. I'm starting the campaign in the 2050s though, so the comet won't be around for a while to "wake" him. Oh, and he used to belong to Lofwyr. Needless to say, this is going to be LOTS of fun watching the PCs try to figure out what SK security keeps trying to snag them until the comet comes...

The Abstruse One

[Kagetenshi]

I have. The character ended up getting snatched away by forces unknown after a hellish week or so of life.

~J

[Stormdrake]

Because it was too unbalanced or for some other reason?

[Kagetenshi]

Because it was too unbalanced, and not in the player's favour. Being hunted by dragons isn't a good thing.
Well, that and the character had just managed to botch a run, leaving themself vulnerable.

~J

[Crimson Jack]

Yeah, I'm not exactly certain why anyone would ever want to play a drake given that they're hunted by dragons. Dragons being entities that have virtually limitless resources. If GMed properly, that's unavoidable death. If not, it makes for a really strong PC.

I'll only use them as NPCs.

[toturi]

Same here, I only use drakes as NPCs. And not often...

Mostly as antagonists/enemies.

[Lucyfersam]

While I have yet to have a drake in my game or play one, I have created one that might be played in the future and considered how I might incorporate one into my game. If they take the hunted flaw version of the drake, then the only real chance of survival is to take the Draco Foundation up on its offer for help, which opens up many an interesting plot hook. Alternatively, depending on which dragon ends up snaging them, there are possibilities that don't necessarily end their career. A dragon could quite feasibly use a drake while keeping them in there career as a shadowrunner, it gives the dragon a team of shadowrunners to call on, and if they play there cards right a good spy on the corporate world at large.
The one drake I've created in hopes of playing some day is a pirate in service of the Sea Dragon, who most of the time acts as a normal pirate and reports back to the Sea Dragon everything of note, and will try to get the ship she's on (she's first mate) to get involved in things when the Sea Dragon needs something done.

[Stormdrake]

While having to take the flaw of hunted at a -6 means trouble the book does say that the dragons know when you first change. It does not say they know exactly were you are or who. Yes it should be a pain to hide but then as a shadowrunner you are always hiding any how. If this does not appeal to the individual as stated earlier you could take the draco corp up on their offer which as written seems to allow the character to still pursue his or hers own life. The other option is of course to buy the +6 edge of dragon patronage and picking a exsisting dragon or making one up with your ST. A fun twist could be that you are working for a adult dragon and not a great. He could be an up and comer that needs all of his assets in the field rather than as a voice box for the public. Just a couple ideas. Would love to try playing one and see what happens.

[Raén]

From what I understood, drakes are hunted by Dragons, but those dragons don't want to kill them, they want to recruit them, so I don't think a dragon would kill a drake, unless, of course, the drake said: "I prefer to work for another dragon..."

[Synner]

[Nightlynx]

I'd allow one of my players to be a Drake if I start a new campaign and if that campaign is designed to include the "disturbances" caused by the drake and his hunters/master.

In a "normal" campaign, I won't allow drakes like I won't allow to freaky SURGEies or something similar. :evil:

Greetings,
Nyx

[Stormdrake]

Something else to add to the mix. Dragons can summon both elementals and spirits. Does that ability pass on to drakes? They after all were created by dragon magic and share many of their physical powers. If I were running a story I would allow the constructed ones this ability but say the bred ones have either lost it or never had this ability due to the decrease in their power.

As to the hunted flaw that comes with being a drake this might be the best argument for doing it to established characters rather than newly created ones. Established characters have built a base of contacts and resources to aid them in dodging the scaly inquisition.

[TinkerGnome]

The ability to summon multiple types of spirits isn't limited to dragons (IEs should be able to do it, too, ie, the Path of the Righ). Being able to do this is more of a statement on how the person learns his magic and what shapes his learning. It is possible that any dragon mage raised by a dragon would gain this ability (the dragon having helped the drake form his impressions of magic, etc, even before he awakened). However, most of the drakes popping up out there would be subject to the same envirnmental factors which limit the rest of metahumanity.

Someone will eventually develop a way of thinking that will let them do the same thing, and eventually there will be little or no difference between mages and shaman (what's the plural of that one? Hmm...). That's a ways off, though.

[Stormdrake]

Than pretty much all of the created Drakes would have this ability as they were manufactured by their dragon creator. The breeding drakes would like you said have to learn their magic from the human perception.

There are ways around the whole hunted by dragons thing. An example would be that a character has the flaw but his first manifestation occurred behind mirrored or reflecting wards. (These wards are from SRII Awakenings book and they hide what occurs magically within them from outside view.) So instead of the character starting with a flat -6 flaw of hunted you say he has a dark secret of -2 or -3 with a combination of hunted of -3 or -4. Done this way the hunted aspect would be more of a general hunt by all dragons for drakes rather than the specific character. Of course should the characters dark secret become general knowledge than the hunted flaw goes back up to -6. In this case the player would not get any corresponding build points for dark secret or hunted. Just a thought.

[TinkerGnome]

[Lucyfersam]

Alternatively (although this would be hard/impossible for a starting character as it requires being an initiate), the drake could have first transformed on a metaplane, which should be outside of even great dragons normal sensory range. It might be fun to start a character who will be a drake, and so as not to completely derail whatever the rest of the campaign is have them change while on a astral quest.

[Siege]

Basically:

Drakes have the potential to be amazingly powerful as well as amazingly complicated critters.

As long as the player isn't trying to be a twinkie and just be bigger/badder/uglier than anything else.

In the hands of a role-player, it could be quite entertaining.

-Siege

[Ancient History]

I'd allow someone who chose to be a drake player in a campaign starting back in 2050 to manifest at the end of Harlequin's Back.

[Nightlynx]

[Person 404]

[Stormdrake]

Too true. The amount of abuse a drake character takes from the hunted flaw is up to the gm really. The more the player flaunts his drakehood the more he is hunted by the dragons is my feeling.

[Adarael]

[GunnerJ]

Pardon, but who is this Scale person? A published NPC? If so, then what are his stats like (without giving too much away)?

[Ancient History]

Sacle is a published NPC (references available on my SR/ED page), and as has been recently revealed in DotSW (like we thought) he is Lofwyr's drake. A True Drake, not Bred. No stats are given, but assume he's your average drake and then start adding until you hit Superhuman.