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Dragon fighting tactics?
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<blockquote data-quote="Brother MacLaren" data-source="post: 2356771" data-attributes="member: 15999"><p>I think some of you are overestimating this dragon. </p><p>An Adult Black Dragon is not gigantic, it's about the size of a horse. Size Large.</p><p>It isn't a genius, it's fairly bright and cunning (Int 12, Wis 13).</p><p>It's strong, but not overly so - it can fly with a 600-lb load, so with an Enlarge Person spell it can't carry you in flight.</p><p>It has a 10' reach only with its bite - which does 2d6+6, not a devastating amount to an 11th-level PC.</p><p>Its breath weapon does 12d4 (average 30), which an 11th-level caster can mostly negate with a 3rd-level <em>Mass Resist Energy </em> spell.</p><p>Its spellcasting ability is minimal and its SR will stop about 1/3 of spells from an 11th-level caster.</p><p><em>It has only natural healing ability</em>. Hit-and-teleport tactics can wear it down if you can do more than 19 hp per day and take less damage than you can recover (and make the dragon use up wands, potions, and scrolls). </p><p>Most importantly, the PCs know what they're up against and the dragon does not. Who are these humans? Are they ordinary humans or are they legendary heroes? What kind of resistances do they have? This dragon can't scry. The PCs can.</p><p>An 11th-level paladin can easily hit on a charging smite (backed up by Bull's Strength, Greater Magic Weapon, and a boosted Inspire Courage), and with Spirited Charge it will hurt the dragon a lot. Use Fly on the mount (and on the paladin in case he's dismounted).</p><p></p><p>Now, that said, this party will be in trouble. No single-classed caster, so the SR will be tougher and some high-level spells will be unavailable. The rogue's sneak attack ability won't be that useful due to the dragon's blindsense. I don't know much about 3.5 psionics so I can't say how useful that will be. </p><p></p><p>Basically, Mass Resist Energy and Enlarge Person are good options to start with (even though it can't Snatch, it could try grapple-and-move). Lantern archons would be a good summons, as they can do guaranteed damage each round.</p><p></p><p>I don't know the details of Quicken Breath Weapon, but it sounds insane. If any feat is so good that every PC would take it, it's overpowered. QBW sounds (from its name) so good that every single dragon would take it. But, again, a 3rd-level spell and you negate most of this dragon's breath weapon (and it won't be able to tell that the spell is applied to all of the PCs until it's tried several breath weapon attacks).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Brother MacLaren, post: 2356771, member: 15999"] I think some of you are overestimating this dragon. An Adult Black Dragon is not gigantic, it's about the size of a horse. Size Large. It isn't a genius, it's fairly bright and cunning (Int 12, Wis 13). It's strong, but not overly so - it can fly with a 600-lb load, so with an Enlarge Person spell it can't carry you in flight. It has a 10' reach only with its bite - which does 2d6+6, not a devastating amount to an 11th-level PC. Its breath weapon does 12d4 (average 30), which an 11th-level caster can mostly negate with a 3rd-level [I]Mass Resist Energy [/I] spell. Its spellcasting ability is minimal and its SR will stop about 1/3 of spells from an 11th-level caster. [I]It has only natural healing ability[/I]. Hit-and-teleport tactics can wear it down if you can do more than 19 hp per day and take less damage than you can recover (and make the dragon use up wands, potions, and scrolls). Most importantly, the PCs know what they're up against and the dragon does not. Who are these humans? Are they ordinary humans or are they legendary heroes? What kind of resistances do they have? This dragon can't scry. The PCs can. An 11th-level paladin can easily hit on a charging smite (backed up by Bull's Strength, Greater Magic Weapon, and a boosted Inspire Courage), and with Spirited Charge it will hurt the dragon a lot. Use Fly on the mount (and on the paladin in case he's dismounted). Now, that said, this party will be in trouble. No single-classed caster, so the SR will be tougher and some high-level spells will be unavailable. The rogue's sneak attack ability won't be that useful due to the dragon's blindsense. I don't know much about 3.5 psionics so I can't say how useful that will be. Basically, Mass Resist Energy and Enlarge Person are good options to start with (even though it can't Snatch, it could try grapple-and-move). Lantern archons would be a good summons, as they can do guaranteed damage each round. I don't know the details of Quicken Breath Weapon, but it sounds insane. If any feat is so good that every PC would take it, it's overpowered. QBW sounds (from its name) so good that every single dragon would take it. But, again, a 3rd-level spell and you negate most of this dragon's breath weapon (and it won't be able to tell that the spell is applied to all of the PCs until it's tried several breath weapon attacks). [/QUOTE]
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