While in drake form will it be possible to cast spells? What are my actions limited to?

Well, odds are you don't have opposable thumbs, so anything involving that is out. Spellcasting is fine provided you don't have a geas requiring gestures or speaking.

Wouldn't claws count as gestures?

- J.

Depends on how you've defined it. If it's intricate kuji-kiri, then claws are out. If it's just madly waving your arms about while shouting: "I am the walrus!", it's probably ok.

I guess what I'm saying is that 'gestures' is a relative term now, isn't it?

- J.

Core rulebook: P.297 - Western Dragon entry:
"... their forepaws exhibit opposable digits with the hind paws adapted into feet."

Also, on p.59 of the Runners Companion, they are described as:
"...normal metahumans who have the innate ability to assume a small dragon-like form, called dracoforms."

Nothing mentions that the smaller dracoforms lack the opposable thumbs of normal dragons. So, apart from size, there is no reason a character would have problems with manipulating certain items - and why not even specially adapted items.

With that in mind, there is no reason you would be restricted in spellcasting, summoning etc. and even a gesture Geas, unless specific to the metahuman form, would not be a problem

Hmm.

Somewhat of a tangent - could you take one geas multiple times? I know you can take a different condition multiple times, but could you say take the "incantation" geasa for each magic point you gain and each initiation, so that once you cannot speak, you cannot cast at all and become mundane?

you know of course, that those geasa can lead to permanent mundane?

Given my habit of hoarding edge, I'm not too fussed. Not that you could, as if every point was based on speech you'd be unable to use magic after a crisis of confidence. Just curious; my next character won't be a magician but the one after, using speech as a basis for magical ability is a nice idea.

WHy do you question me?

That can't be right AH (not arguing that what you provided is the text). Drakes are described as being miniture versions of the draco-form they resemble.

Thus an Oriental Drake looks like a miniture Oriental Dragon. Western Drake - Western Dragon and so forth.

Western Drakes should have opposable thumbs too.

I don't like that... it makes Western Drake form (Even moreso) different from their main (SR4) listing...
Meh, whatever works for the GM; I would rule that they are just miniature versions of their larger forebears and have thumbs.

An opposable digit is not always a thumb, and does not imply a degree of manual dexterity more complicated than "grab and hold."

It is written just as AH quoted.
Than I agreed with you that it's retarded, they (or if memory doesn't betry me AH himself) could have imposed the equivalent of impaired sense (tact) quality (using the same mechanics of cyberlimbs with feedback deactived) due scaled paws not being very sensible; and obviously the western drake being so large to be able to grant +1 reach it also imoses a special adaptation for gear (dwarves to use normalsized gear, human to use troll-size ones, troll requiring oversized gear just for their drake form), or to face relevant penality.
Than I'm unhappy with the whole implementation of drakes, in particular I don't like them being an On/Off things, they should grant minor bonusses at the beginning and grow stronger with karma (a dragon takes time to grow, drakes too).

pray tell, what can YOU do with your thumb aside from using it to grab and hold? O.o
with the humand hand, you don't even need the thumb for holding most things. only things that are too big.
like about 10cm diameter or something like that . . around bigger things you can't even wrap your thumb and you can still hold things like big boxes and stuff O.o

there is grab, hold and MANIPULATE.

i can do most things i use my thumb for with other fingers too O.o
granted, it's not so easy, but it does work . .

I have been thinking that myself... Make the characters work for it: Kinda like Ryu from Breath Of Fire. Start off crappy, grows to something UBER with Karma.

Yes but the karma cost should be high enough to not make normal character development useless, it's hard being a dragon.

Interesting, would it be too stupid in truly EPIC campaigns to let a drake develop all the abilities of a full Dragon? If you could you would never leave your dragon form except to go to the stuffer shack

This isn't Dark Sun where you grow up to be a Dragon King, it's Shadowrun, and the drakes are based on Earthdawn drakes. I know everyone likes to play pretty-pretty princess dracoform every now and again, but SR drakes are never going to grow up to be dragons. They can grow up to be very powerful, and we might add some special options on to them later (a bit of glitter on your rhinestone-encrusted princess hat), but there are some essential limitations to the character concept. Just like elves don't tend to grow horns as they get older.

Come on AH; Elves with horns would just be crazy

But apparently they do get nifty cranial ridges. Just look at AH's avatar for proof!

I guess Trolls and Elves are more related than we originally thought.

Lol.

He said Princess.

- J.

Three things.
1- Can Drakes learn Dragonspeech? As a Metamagic, but only from a BIG DRAGON or something?
2- IN Dark Sun you cannot grow up to be the Dragon King as the Sorcerer-King of Allanak/Tuuluk (It's been a bit, I think those are the names) will rape your mind the moment you register on his Power Sense ™. Of course, to register on his sense you have to be someone who could pose a threat in the next fourty, fifty centuries.
3- COULD you, as per my previous question, take the incantation geas on every point of magic you have?

Strangely Enough I just came across that same question as I was making a Drake combat mage..Whoever answers first gets a cookie!

What? Take incantation geas for ALL the magic you have?
That would be pretty stupid, if you mess up and suffer a crisis of confidence, you may well be screwed

hmm . . drake starts out with natural magic attribute.
and if you buy one point from magician quality you are now at magic 2 . .
so if you breakt 2 geasa and have a crysis of confidence, can the drake lose his natural magic through that and become completely mundane?
what about his shifting forms? O.o

He loses everything to do with being a Drake, exceptions occur with background count etc.



Runners companion p.75

Yes.


Technically, though really you shouldn't take two geasa with the same limitation - its redundant.

All it takes is an unfaithfull wife/husband

Anyway what do you mean? That elves can't be horny?

I'm sure I can work it out. And if the GM doesn't like it we'll just lower the benefit you get from it. Ta.


Aren't the Dragon Kin recipients of things like horns, tails, spines?