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

[Filcher]

I take it back. Don't let him "get" a dragon. Let him learn about where to get dragon eggs (from angry momma dragons, of course) and have him work for it over many sessions.

You get your hooks into the player, he gets to work for what he wants, and your campaign is stronger for it.

 

[Scribble]

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.

I don't think it's nessesarily Monty Haul to have a dragon as a mount. It's only Monty Haul if the DM fails to account for how it effects the campaign.

 

[Quaker]

Sounds like you have a real opportunity. You know exactly what your player wants, which means you can use that desire as a hook or other form of adventure material. I'm still at the stage where I have to kind of guess and pander to whims to get a game moving.

As far as the effect on your plot, don't sweat it. The players won't know the difference and you might be able to come up with something cooler as a result.

 

[Nifft]

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

It's a control thing.

PCs can say, "I'd like to find a Staff of Power!", but they can't say, "wouldn't it be great if this thing I found were a Staff of Power?" ... because then you're edging into the territory of, "wouldn't it be great if this were a waterfall rather than a 300 foot high ant hill?" ... and, goddamn it, I prepped a goddamn session based on a goddamn 300 foot high ant hill, and you will LIKE it.

I don't think it's nessesarily Monty Haul to have a dragon as a mount. It's only Monty Haul if the DM fails to account for how it effects the campaign.

You're smart, so I know you meant "effects the campaign" in the literate yet non-obvious sense.

Please make me believe.

Thanks, -- N

 

[Blair Goatsblood]

One flying healing potion dispenser coming up!

My character really wants to be able to use a toilet made of gold, but the DM has not seen fit to put one in any dungeons....

 

[The Red Priest]

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.

Actually, the Monty Haul experience is not universal. BITD, our group didn't come into D&D until college. Age, however, should not be an excuse to start with powerful characters, in that, it creates an expectation for entitlement that's not universally shared at all D&D tables.

So, now you know that you have to put my suggestion into perspective, in that, characters should start as dirt and climb their way to the top, and not start half-way up. IMO, it makes for better players (notice I'm not saying better characters, though they surround good players) and for a higher sense of accomplishment. When you start off being afraid of more than two or three goblins at a time and end up being able to take out ancient dragons capable of frying high level characters even after the later make their save vs. breath weapon, then you've got some tales to tell. Yes, you are certainly going to break your fair share of eggs (dead characters) along this path, but think of the awesome-ness of the ones that make it.

If you start off being able to kill a few dozen goblins and baby dragons, well, then the path to glory is just that much shorter, that much less sweet and much less worth hearing about. After all, who couldn't succeed with a born superhero? In fact, if you didn't succeed after starting with such advantages, that would be shameful.

 

[The Red Priest]

One flying healing potion dispenser coming up!

My character really wants to be able to use a toilet made of god, but the DM has not seen fit to put one in any dungeons....

Oh heck, I'd let your character set its butt down on a toilet made of a god. Of course, your character will thereafter wish it never had done so.

 

[Scribble]

It's a control thing.

PCs can say, "I'd like to find a Staff of Power!", but they can't say, "wouldn't it be great if this thing I found were a Staff of Power?" ... because then you're edging into the territory of, "wouldn't it be great if this were a waterfall rather than a 300 foot high ant hill?" ... and, goddamn it, I prepped a goddamn session based on a goddamn 300 foot high ant hill, and you will LIKE it.

Shrug... I see the two as one in the same really. I agree calling out a retcon is not my favored way to go, except in rare cases.

Such as: We staretd 4e playing in KoTS, but then got the books a bit later. Some players wanted new characters now that we had the whole shebang, but I also wanted KoTS to be the start of the campaign. We retconned some things to make life easier.

usually I will do an invisible retcon. You want a staff of power... having a staff of power is reasonable in this campaign? I might just make that thing you found a staff of power afteral... You just never knew. Kind of like the One Ring thing.

You're smart, so I know you meant "effects the campaign" in the literate yet non-obvious sense.

Please make me believe.

Thanks, -- N

Maybe I'm not as smart as you think... Because I'm not sure I understand what you mean?

I'm saying that the act of putting something into play doesn't always = monty haul just by virtue of being powerull or expensive.

In my opinion at least, it's only monty haul if I put that item into the game, and then make no attempt to account for it in the future.

Example?

Your group of 1st level characters fighting a bunch of kobolds stumbles upon a dragon. You befriend the dragon, and continue in future adventures to face challanges set up for a group of your level without a dragon.-Monty Haul

Your group of 1st level characters fighting a bunch of kobolds stumbles upon a dragon. You befriend the dragon. Future adventures, however, consist of chalanges that account for 1st level characters with a dragon.- Not Monty Haul.

Also in 4e at least, you can really modify the dragon so it fits your campaign. Lower the level of whatever it is to equal one that fits your campaign.

 

[Blair Goatsblood]

Oh heck, I'd let your character set its butt down on a toilet made of a god. Of course, your character will thereafter wish it never had done so.

Whoops! I meant Gold.

 

[Blair Goatsblood]

Whoah, a 4E baby dragon?? That sounds like quite the handful.