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

[mattcolville]

I'd say no.
I had a player like that over a year ago. It doesnt just stop, he or she will continue to ask for rediculous things that they know better than to get.
For instance I had a player literally ask to be Squall Leonheart from FF8 in my Forgotten Realms game. This was after he asked if the Lantanese could make a Sword with a Gun the Hilt. I said no and the crazy requests kept on coming.

This is a player archetype I've encountered before. Some players think that the draw of an RPG is getting to play characters they've loved and fantasized about.

Interestingly, when I was at WotC I read their market data that included a questionnaire about different settings.

The list of settings included actual IPs, some of which WotC owned, some of which they did not, like Dune or LotR or Harry Potter, and some mythical settings like King Arthur and Robin Hood.

And the questions were; "are you interested in playing in this setting?"

And then; "Would you like to create your own unique characters in this setting" and "Would you like to play the iconic characters from this setting?"

That was fascinating. You might think it's weird for someone to want to play an Anime character, but lots of otherwise typical gamers would love to play King Arthur or Robin Hood.

 

[That One Guy]

My gut reaction is to say no. I have told several players 'no' when they requested really weird and gameplot trivializing stuff before. Sometimes I keep it in mind for future sessions or... a sort of be careful what you wish for. OTOH, if it is a request that can work with the plot... then I go for it.

Because I do not understand your story, my response is to say no. But... if you can make it somehow actually plot okay... do it. Just don't compromise your game for one player.

 

[Nylanfs]

Hmm the phoenix has a glamor(sp?) cast on it. It's actually a baby dragon, although I definitely would take the player aside ant point out the age catagories (granted it could be close to the wyrmling stage) but the "pet" is going to outlive the character, plus the "pet" is going to end up being smarter than the character also.

 

[The Red Priest]

Tell him that if he holds his breath until he turns blue, stamps his feet really hard and really fast and says things like "I don't like you anymore, and I'm not going to be your friend if you don't let me have a baby dragon", then you might, just might let phoenix reincarnate as a dragon if he rolls "00" on d100. Three times in a row.

 

[The Red Priest]

Alright. A little less caustically now.

In no way should a character ever be given a dragon as a pet.* If a player wants his character to have a pet dragon, then the character should go out and acquire a dragon egg, or new hatchling, and then take the years of training to raise the little fella. Another method would be to subdue some teenage or adult dragon and subject the thing. Forget ancient dragons, unless the PC is on par with a character like Ged, an ancient should rather die than submit.

Anything else is the musings of a spoiled player and/or coddling indulgence by a DM.

Heh.. I told you this would only be a little less caustic.

*Unless it's given to the character by a really bad dude who has nasty evil designs on the PC and the dragon is some kind of a plant. That's the only time a PC should be given a dragon.

 

[El Mahdi]

. . . In no way should a character ever be given a dragon as a pet.* . . .

*Unless it's given to the character by a really bad dude who has nasty evil designs on the PC and the dragon is some kind of a plant. That's the only time a PC should be given a dragon.

*Or if his name is Hagrid.

 

[Nifft]

I'd let him retire his Elf and make a new Dragonborn.

I'd let him trade the pet Phoenix for a pet Wyrmling (but he'd have to find someone willing to make the trade, and do a little questing).

Not ret-cons, but things that allow him to be happy in game.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Scribble]

I'm currious why the "no retcons" thing? Just personal taste?

Retiring the character for a new one is the easiest route I'd say, but I've had some adventures in the past where characters were "transformed" into new characters. It added to the story, and worked well...

 

[Filcher]

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

This...the thing immolates itself and rises as a tiny winged wyrm.

 

[Filcher]

Alright. A little less caustically now.

In no way should a character ever be given a dragon as a pet.* If a player wants his character to have a pet dragon, then the character should go out and acquire a dragon egg, or new hatchling, and then take the years of training to raise the little fella. Another method would be to subdue some teenage or adult dragon and subject the thing. Forget ancient dragons, unless the PC is on par with a character like Ged, an ancient should rather die than submit.

Anything else is the musings of a spoiled player and/or coddling indulgence by a DM.

Heh.. I told you this would only be a little less caustic.

*Unless it's given to the character by a really bad dude who has nasty evil designs on the PC and the dragon is some kind of a plant. That's the only time a PC should be given a dragon.

Normally, I'd agree w/ this, but we don't know the age of the players (maybe I missed it). Remember all the monty haul campaigns we ran as kids? Every one ended riding dragons simply as mounts. This is the same thing.