A player wants his pet baby phoenix to grow into a dragon . . .

fissionessence · Sep 13, 2008

Early in the the campaign, one of the players got a pet baby phoenix. I thought that would be pretty cool, and it's rooted in the overarching plot of the campaign story along with some other 'gifts' the players have gotten since then.

But this guy loves dragons. When we converted to 4E, he wanted to change his elf character into a dragonborn. I [very] reluctantly let him, allowing him to use dragonborn stats, but still look like an elf and not use dragon breath until a few sessions later when some harpies fortuitously dropped a dragon claw pendant that allows him to assume his 'dragon form'. (Fortunately, I've also found a way to fuse this with the storyline, though he doesn't know it yet.)

So yeah, he loves dragons. And now he keeps hinting that it would be really cool if his baby phoenix grew up into a dragon . . . what should I do?

He obviously really wants it, and so part of me wants to make it happen. At the same time, I don't want to keep making serious comprimises to my setting and continuity just to give him stuff that he thinks is cool.

What do you think?

~

mattcolville · Sep 13, 2008

fissionessence said:
Early in the the campaign, one of the players got a pet baby phoenix. I thought that would be pretty cool, and it's rooted in the overarching plot of the campaign story along with some other 'gifts' the players have gotten since then.

But this guy loves dragons. When we converted to 4E, he wanted to change his elf character into a dragonborn. I [very] reluctantly let him, allowing him to use dragonborn stats, but still look like an elf and not use dragon breath until a few sessions later when some harpies fortuitously dropped a dragon claw pendant that allows him to assume his 'dragon form'. (Fortunately, I've also found a way to fuse this with the storyline, though he doesn't know it yet.)

So yeah, he loves dragons. And now he keeps hinting that it would be really cool if his baby phoenix grew up into a dragon . . . what should I do?

He obviously really wants it, and so part of me wants to make it happen. At the same time, I don't want to keep making serious comprimises to my setting and continuity just to give him stuff that he thinks is cool.

What do you think?

~

I wouldn't even bat an eye. I'd say "Ok, it's a dragon." Hell, I'd let him play a Dragonborn too.

I mean, there aren't dragonborn in my setting. But if it was obvious to me a player was going to be really unhappy unless he got to play a Dragonborn, I'd say "Ok, you're a Dragonborn" and make him special.

If in all other ways the player is engaging with your setting and your campaign, this seems a negligible problem. If, on the other hand, he's basically just a warm body at the table rolling dice, ignoring all the roleplaying, and fantasizing about being a Dragon, making him Dragonborn or giving him a Dragon isn't going to solve the problem.

Gilladian · Sep 13, 2008

What in essence makes makes a dragon baby so much different from a phoenix baby? Could you simply point out to him the similarities and ask him why it is so important to change the differences?

Remind him that both creatures are rare enough that most people don't know the difference between the two. He can just call it a "dragon" even though it is a bird.

Or maybe you could link dragons and phoenixes together into a cool backstory in the campaign; the best, greatest dragon ever known had as his closest companion a phoenix - everyone seeing him and the phoenix together is reminded of this heroic legendary figure, and speaks of him as similarly gifted!

SkidAce · Sep 13, 2008

Kill it (in story) and later have it rise/reincarnate as a dragon. It's what phoenixes do...

demonking1 · Sep 13, 2008

You could say that the phoenix has grown into the dragon due to radiation from the pendant, that could work.

Klaus · Sep 13, 2008

mattcolville said:
I wouldn't even bat an eye. I'd say "Ok, it's a dragon." Hell, I'd let him play a Dragonborn too.

I mean, there aren't dragonborn in my setting. But if it was obvious to me a player was going to be really unhappy unless he got to play a Dragonborn, I'd say "Ok, you're a Dragonborn" and make him special.

If in all other ways the player is engaging with your setting and your campaign, this seems a negligible problem. If, on the other hand, he's basically just a warm body at the table rolling dice, ignoring all the roleplaying, and fantasizing about being a Dragon, making him Dragonborn or giving him a Dragon isn't going to solve the problem.

This.

If it's so important to have an in-game reason for the retcon, just say that the pendant reacted to both the elf and the phoenix and turned them both into dragons.

Aeolius · Sep 13, 2008

Have fun with it.

Though the game is 4e, perhaps the baby phoenix is half-Sunwyrm (FF) or half-Hellfire Wyrm (MM2).

Reynard · Sep 13, 2008

My first thought was "Why didn't he make a new Dragonborn character?" Why the need to disrupt continuity if all the character wanted was to play a Dragonborn. And since the previous character had "earned" the baby pheonix, it's reasonable to bring the new character in with a baby dragon.

RangerWickett · Sep 13, 2008

You could have them die horribly in a fire.

RangerWickett · Sep 13, 2008

And then be reborn by the power of the phoenix, but reshaped into dragon form by the power of the amulet.

(See, I don't have players. I only want them to die in a fire for good reasons.)

A player wants his pet baby phoenix to grow into a dragon . . .

fissionessence

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mattcolville

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Gilladian

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SkidAce

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demonking1

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Klaus

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Aeolius

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Reynard

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RangerWickett

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RangerWickett

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