Fighting a dragon (3.0)

[Sinjin the Rogue]

There is more to fear than fear itself, of this I can attest. I find myself pondering my own mortality as I face the end of the trail on which fate had set me long ago. The wise man knows that no matter how strong he is, there is always someone, or some thing, stronger. Therefore, as powerful as my companions and I have become, our lives are about to be measured by the sum of our actions in what will be our last battle, and I know that victory is far from assured.

We have come a long way since the Sunless Citadel. We've lost a few of our companions but we have also made new friends who have taken up the cause. We have achieved wide renown through our successes in defeating Gulthias the vampire, Helketrin the Efreet and Imperagon, the Lord of the Iron Fortress, but with every success, the looming presence of the dragon Shivathaxinagia (Ashardalon sp?) has tightened its treacherous grip on the world. Now, we shall face our greatest test, and as we make ready to do battle, I have come to seek advice from you, the sages and strategists that you are.

[PLEASE NO SPOILERS!]

We are:

Sir Pendril de Thane; Human Paladin 10/Knight Templar of Heironeous 8
Kalen; Human Cleric of Heironeous 18
Garroc; "The Bull", Human Fighter 10/Weapon Master 8
Zwibble; Halfling Rogue 18
And your's truly, the humble Gilidarius; Human Wizard 18.

We know that Shivathaxinagia is a red dragon, and that the legend of Dydd makes her out to be at least six hundred to one thousand years of age. I cannot fathom how we will defeat such a terrible foe.

 

[Super_Nerd]

well... I don't know your question/topic/whatever.

Do you want tips on how to kill a dragon???

Or our stories of killing dragons???

or maybe you just wanted to tell us your story???

So maybe a outlined question/topic would help

 

[Sinjin the Rogue]

The question is, what are some good tactics to use in defeating a an ancient or older dragon? I don't want spoilers from Bastion of Broken Souls, just some strategies.

 

[Snipehunt]

3.0 dragons are broken, they're much tougher than their CR. Buff up as much as possible. Esp. 3.0 haste.

Have lots of resistance to whatever element the dragon uses. Try to use range as much as possible , 3.0 bows/arrows are the best. Make sure you have something to use to fly. Have a handy "getaway" spell handy. Don't bother w/ the fort. save or die spells, they're almost useless.

If you have gate, gate in a solar.

Use lots of area denial spells, if you're inside. Walls of force, fire wall (energy substitute for appropriate element), and so on are good.

 

[TuDogz]

Without knowing the particulars of your groups damage output or the nature of the combat locale, it is tough to give a specific strategy. However there are some rules our party uses when confronting dragons.

1) Always be patient. You can die any day but there are probably only one or two good ways to fight any given Wyrm. Have the rogue scout well with etheralness and find a way to get suprise. Be willing to wait.

2) Eliminate the breath weapon. Load up on elemental protection, be redundant.

3) Everybody fights. You need as many victims err... targets as you can get. Righteous might, divine power and Tenser's transformation let every one get in 40-50 points before the dragon figures out how many square feet of lair he can paint with your juicy bits.

4) Someone or sometwo will die. Don't fight dragons if you don't like the thrill of agonizing death. Given that all high level characters are clinical pyschopaths this usually isn't a problem.

5) Every fight devolves to melee. Dragon SR is brutal and an ancient red is going to have vicious saves. Find a way to last both rounds of the combat. Stoneskin, shield other. (If it goes to three rounds you might still have a chance, at 4 rounds any dragon worthy of the name is in mop up mode.)

6) Turn off it's magic if you can. With the aid of a MM Rod, a chained, maximized greater dispel is a great way to shut down all the dragons items for 4 rounds. SR won't help the items. Target absolutely everything the dragon has equipped and anything lying near if you have additional targets.

7) Crits are your friend. Do everything you can to bring down the power of El Kabong.

This is the wisdom of TuDogz, dragon slayer. All 7 points of it.

 

[Sinjin the Rogue]

Thanks for the suggestions. Just a couple of things to note:

"1) Always be patient. You can die any day but there are probably only one or two good ways to fight any given Wyrm. Have the rogue scout well with etheralness and find a way to get suprise. Be willing to wait."

Etherealness and spells like blink and ghostform are not usable. We are going to be fighting on the Positive energy Plane, which does not have access to the ethereal plane, so ethereal spells don't work.

"2) Eliminate the breath weapon. Load up on elemental protection, be redundant."

We have that covered with Energy Immunity.

"3) Everybody fights. You need as many victims err... targets as you can get. Righteous might, divine power and Tenser's transformation let every one get in 40-50 points before the dragon figures out how many square feet of lair he can paint with your juicy bits."

Everyone is prepared to fight, except the wizard. While I have the spell Tensor's Transformation", the fact that it prevents spell casting for the duration of the spell is something to consider. If things go bad, we have no way to teleport to safety. I also have Shapechange, which I will consider using to shapechange into a red dragon as a last resort. Unfortunately, Shapechange does not give the recipient the attack modifiers of the form into which he changes, only the strength bonus. So, buffing wil be about al I can do.

"5) Every fight devolves to melee. Dragon SR is brutal and an ancient red is going to have vicious saves. Find a way to last both rounds of the combat. Stoneskin, shield other. (If it goes to three rounds you might still have a chance, at 4 rounds any dragon worthy of the name is in mop up mode.)"

I have a few tactics up my sleeve, but I can't say what they are because my DM might read this, and I don't want to tip him off. Suffice it to say though that we realize melee is going to have to carry us, and my job is going to be to try to keep everyone alive.

"7) Crits are your friend. Do everything you can to bring down the power of El Kabong."

Our fighter/weapon master crafted a +3 vorpal bastard sword. I usually buff him with greater magic weapon to make it a +5 weapon. Hopefully, he'll be able to roll some heads with it, but his problem will be getting close enough to the dragon to use the sword. I'm sure the dragon has a huge reach and probably multiple attacks of opportunity, so we will probably have to bum rush the dragon all at once so that someone can get close enough to attack.

"If you have gate, gate in a solar."

 

[TuDogz]

What are the ramifications of fighting on the positive material plane? Will there be high healing rates for everyone?

 

[Kae'Yoss]

The best advice I can give you concerning fighting dragons?

Don't!

Failing that, there are other tips I can give you.

- One thing TuDogz said but didn't emphasize enough: Be redundant! Don't pack your buffs once. Pack them at least thrice, including Mass Haste. Quickened spells help you against that, as does the extra partial action from haste. Try contigencies (maybe even improved versions of the spell).

- Some spells that will help you: Freedom of Movement (you don't want to be grappled by a dragon, do you?), Protection from Elements (for fire), Stoneskin (It will decrease the damage from the Dragon a little), everything that increases your AC. Be prepared to receive a targeted dispel magic. Get Spell Resistance (as the Spell) on you all.

- Since the offensive powers of the spellcasters will be hindered by the dragon's saving throws, they should concentrate on protecting, buffing and healing the others (and themselves). Healing is very important! Make sure that you have lots of Heal and Mass Heal spells packed.

- If your DM hasn't changed Harm, use it! If you get over the DR of the dragon (which might take several tries), the dragon will be done for. Usually a cheesy tactic, but against that enemy, you'll need it.

- Try to learn as much as possible about the dragon and his tactics, and about his lair. Incorporate this knowledge into your tactics, but be prepared to change it, cause the dragon might have spread misinformation.

- Use True Seeing - you don't want to beat up an illusion, wasting spell durations and precious spells.

- Be prepared to die! Inform someone where you are going, ideally a priest. Tell them to true ressurect the cleric if you aren't back by (insert reasonable date here). So you can cast TR on the others.

- Use all your resources. You have no use for that 10.000 gp you saved when you're dead (but remember to have enough cash to pay for resurrections).

- Use scrolls and staffs and potions and all other perishables for the spells if your slots aren't enough.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

What are the ramifications of fighting on the positive material plane? Will there be high healing rates for everyone?

The Pos grants fast healing. If you're in an area where the energy's strong, it might even pump you full of energy until you explode. Literally. So protection from planar traits is nice (there's a spell for that).

 

[Sinjin the Rogue]

"What are the ramifications of fighting on the positive material plane? Will there be high healing rates for everyone? "

The Positive Energy Plane provides everyone with fast healing of five hit points per round. This healing even adds to your maximum hit points, but, if you go over your maximum hit points, you have to make a fortitude save or you explode from the energy. So, I had to craft wonderous items for the whole party that provides permanent Positive energy Protection. We all chose to use the goggle slot, so basically, we are all running around with sunglasses on.

However, while we wear the goggles, we cannot be healed by magical healing. so, as soon as someone takes damage, he/she will have to spend a standard action to remove the goggles in order to be able to be healed.