From: J and/or Ellen (ekjim@earthlink.net)
Date: Sat 15 Dec 2001 - 15:16:55 EET
Twenty-something years ago, I read an article in Omni magazine that speculated about possible anatomy of dragons. It answered both the how-could-something-ever-breathe-fire and the how-could-it-get-off-the-ground issues by assuming that the source of its firebreathing was hydrogen. Thus, as Steve says, a dragon could be waaaaay less dense than a giant. (And possibly a Hindenburg when defeated in combat.)
----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Perrin
To: rq-rules@crashbox.com
Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2001 12:18 AM
Subject: Re: [RQ-Rules] Wonky Dragon Math
Check your Superworld Companion, which I believe you have, for the table on SIZ as weight. As I recall it also worked for RQ. SIZ as height was always more nebulous. All it can do is provide a very loose fit. Dragons are probably bigger than Giants with the same SIZ, for instance, because they are airborne and are probably less dense per cubic foot than a giant is.
Best I can do for you.
Steve
----- Original Message -----
From: MurfNMurf@aol.com
To: rq-rules@crashbox.com
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2001 9:45 PM
Subject: [RQ-Rules] Wonky Dragon Math
Hey gang,
Maybe as some sort of _block_ left over from my encounter with the mind-numbing plethora of differing Dragon-types you see in D&D, I've always prettymuch stayed clear of the things myself; both in D&D, and since making the switch to RQ many, many moons ago.
Anyhow, thanks to a couple of conversations and the recounting of a few Adventure Tales among our gaming group, I've recently gotten to thinking about Dragons in RQ.
Wondering, and with a _somewhat_ firm grasp of the square cube law (acquired during skylarking on this list some time back concerning the Jolanti), I started looking up Dragon stats in the BRP-related stuff I owned. My idea was to get an idea of the the thing's dimensions, then push the square cube law both up & down to see what could be done. The only Dragons with notes concerning _any_ sorts of dimensions are the Stormbringer Dragon, with a wingspan of 30' across, and a length of 40', and the Wyvern, which is apparently about the size of a horse.
Well, I didn't let the lack of _actual_ measurable stats stand in my way, and ended up using the RQ3 rulebook-provided Dragon with its SIZ of 20D6. Which works out to be a range of 20-120, with an average of 70 at "X" dimensions (_whatever_ they might be).
Since for every doubling of linear measurements, volume, and thus weight, increases 8 times, I assumed that this worked backwards as well; so every halfing of linear measurements, volume, and thus weight, would have the weight being divided by 8.
Working under this premise, a Dragon that is 1/2 "X" dimensions would have a SIZ range of 4-74, with an average of 46. And a halfing of _that_ Dragon's dimensions would result in a Dragon with a SIZ range of 1-50, with an average of 23.
Anyone have any idea what "X" should be? Steve Perrin? You were there. Fill us in :)
-Ken-
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