Where do good dragons get the treasure they hoard?

Vaxalon · Jun 21, 2004

Where do good dragons get their treasure?

A proud dragon would never hire himself out.

Do they do what adventurers do, and seek out evil things and take theirs?

Oni · Jun 21, 2004

I imagine they take it from wouldbe dragon slayers, evil dragons and other such beasts they have slain. Gifts from the lesser beings they protect. I guess in similar ways to the way good PC's gain enourmous amounts of wealth.

Chupacabra · Jun 21, 2004

Answer: from the DM.

No seriously, I would say either tribute from "lesser" beings who may pay for protection or the answer to some ancient mystery, or the spoils of war taken from evil enemies.

alsih2o · Jun 21, 2004

Questing.

You should see their special mounts.

der_kluge · Jun 21, 2004

From all the orcs and giants that attack them, of course!

One does assume that a good dragon horde would be full of "evil" items, and lots of odd things that orcs and "lesser" species would have in their possession.

Epametheus · Jun 21, 2004

The same way adventurers get money, for the most part -- they smite evil and loot its many lairs.

Bronze dragons actually will hire themselves out as a mercenaries, according to the Draconomicon. The lawful dragons are perfectly sociable, and I don't think a bronze or a silver (especially a silver that's pretending to be a normal mortal at the moment) would be horribly offended at taking orders from someone else.

Actually, I could see an army employing a hired bronze dragon as something like a fire-and-forget missile -- order the dragon to capture a facility, leave the dragon with some troops to hold said facility, and let the dragon figure out how it's going to accomplish said capture.

Dragons are primordially greedy, and even a gold will never turn down a gift from someone that they can tolerate. Metallic dragons take treasure from the strong (though not necessarily to the dragon; ex of this would be a bronze battling pirates) and from the evil, as opposed to seizing it from anyone they can, as the chromatic dragons would.

Old One · Jun 21, 2004

I always imagined that many good dragons would spend a fair amount of time in human/elven/half-elven form...joining adventuring bands, subtley affecting action from behind the scences, etc.

As others have noted:

(1) From evil dragons and/or other foul beasts

(2) From misguided or evil dragon-slayers

(3) Depending on the campaign, he/she could set-up a viable commercial enterprise - Dragonwing Express

! OK...sounds corny, but a dragon could make a mint transporting goods or people from one place to another, especially while they are younger.

(4) Tribute and/or gifts from those the dragon helps/assists.

I would also imagine that much of the dragon's monetary wealth would be converted into things aesthetically pleasing to the dragon, instead of laying about in an unkempt horde. The more avaricious of the metallic goods (copper/bronze) might very well invest their starting wealth in various commercial enterprises...seeking to become vastly wealthy.

In fact, horde gathering for this type of dragon might well be a "game", with friendly competition between dragons to see who can accumulate the most prodigious horde and/or who can use their wealth to throw the best parties. Commercial enterprises of such wyrms would be fairly safe from bandit and intelligent monster activity, once the dragon's trade mark is known.

Bandit leader, "That caravan bears the mark of wyrm X...leave it be or we will all reside in it's stomach! Let's wait for easier prey..."

~ Old One

Rodrigo Istalindir · Jun 21, 2004

Color-blind adventurers.

Lots of possibilities:

1. Evil dragonslayers.
2. In exchange for protecting a nearby village.
3. Raiding the lairs of evil dragons
4. Gifts or payment from adventurers seeking wisdom, arcane lore, etc

Sarellion · Jun 21, 2004

Some of the hoards could be heirlooms from the time when dragons ruled the land and the humansized stuff was made as tribute to the dragons.

Other stuff I thought of has been mentioned already.