Human Form Dragons

[Burn_Boy]

First off, I don't know if this carried over into Pathfinder (although the Draconic Sorcerer Bloodline certainly makes it seem so) but I have a question about dragons in the "human" form.

We never really touched on the subject in our 3.5 games since our wonderful DM did everything he could to slaughter us all the moment we hit level 5. Needless to say you don't see too many dragons at level 5.

One horrid DM down and a new ruleset to play by we've actually been getting to levels where dragons would actually be a decent enemy to fight and who doesn't love fighting great big gigantic snakes with wings eh?

I know in the old ruleset dragons could take human form. I remember laughing at the fact that silver dragons preferred human form due to liking our food, and a joke in Neverwinter Nights that the kobold (Deekin?) used to mention that his boss white dragon would sometimes go into town to eat pie. Anywho this brings me to my final point, can dragons in Pathfinder assume human form?

And if they can, would you have to make them like your average run of the mill human? I find it difficult to believe that a old dragon taking human form could be mistaken for Boris the Blacksmith or something.

The reason I ask is because, in my upcoming campaign, the heroes are going to have to appease a Great Wyrm gold dragon, not a being to trifle with and I don't want a creature so powerful and wise to look like any average Joe they could meet in town. Now I know that as GM I could make him a ten foot tall gold tinted demigod, but my players really don't like it when I make an NPC "better" than them. I mean they are the PCs and it IS their game but is it so hard to believe there might be someone better than you out there?

So, your thoughts on how to handle dragons in human form?

 

[Kaisoku]

Well, if you gave them the "Alter Self" spell (since older dragons cast spells), they could change into a medium or small humanoid, but still have all their physical stats.

That's some pretty strong and hardy human if you ask me. You could describe it as looking fairly typical for the race of creature it's turned into, but he acts as if he still extremely high strength and con, ac, etc.
A Great Wyrm (Colossal) turning into a Human (Medium) and then applying the +2 Str bonus from Alter Self, will have the physical stats of Str 29, Dex 10, and Con 21... before any magic items or spells.
That's a conceivable chance to break through manacles, or nearly an auto-pass on breaking open a simple door in one shot.

Plus... since the spell lets him look however he wants, and I'm sure the dragon has cash to shell out on looking good, he's probably going to at least look affluent (if not like nobility).

Glowing or serpentine eyes, smoke leaking from his nose, metallic sheen on of the skin... these are all too obvious and would probably make it a bit cliche.
You could, however, make the hairstyle similar to the horn pattern/shape they have in their normal form, as well as slightly longer fingernails (or shaped/coloured like their claws).
And maybe let them be able to rumble/yell similar to their normal voice. He won't have his Frightful Presence, but nothing says he can't have a somewhat abnormally booming voice.

 

[ffanxii4ever]

Personally, I would go with something similar to what Kaisoku said, except possibly a little less obvious.
A Great Wyrm Gold Dragon is OLD but is powerful, and I would probably play that up to a fair bit. Make them meet an incredibly old but incredibly fit man dressed in the most ornate clothing with gold woven into the fabric at every possible point. His golden eyes would possess the wisdom of the ages and his voice would make a king fall to his knees and swear his allegiance. And I would probably make him a little bit arrogant (as a Great Wyrm deserves to be), but less of a "I'm more powerful than you" arrogance and more of a "You WILL give me the respect I deserve" arrogance. And if the PC's start to disrespect him, well, he would immediately start to throw some magic around in an attempt to awe them a little bit; you know, start making the ground shake, start to hear all manners of insect and animal flee from him. And then I would start to break out the smoke from the nostrils, the fire in the eyes, the browning and burning grass beneath his feat, the visible waves of heat in the air, and the heating of all metal nearby. And if they still are screwing with him, maybe he would walk over and physically lift a PC up and throw him a couple dozen yards away. But that's just me.

 

[BryonD]

Bronze, Silver, and Gold Dragons gain the Change Shape ability automatically.

This allows them to take animal or humanoid form.

 

[Burn_Boy]

Thanks for the input guys. I particularly like the serpentine eyes, metallic sheen to his skin and such. I did the same with my Dragon Disiciple. It was this big long thing were he got hit with this magic spell that was designed not to do damage, but just cause pain and a human body couldn't withstand it so his draconic heritage was "forced" on him to keep him alive.

Anyhow, I wanted to talk about Frightful Presence. Having your adventures wandering through a haunted mountain or forest and having an Ancient Red Dragon pop up in front of them should send them running while ruining their pants. Frightful Presence also is in the good dragons stat blocks and one would assume that if Goldy wanted to talk to the PCs he'd change to human form to keep them from running like scared children. I would assume though that if a dragon made it to "Great Wyrm" status he might be able to switch Frightful Presence on for a second to cow any belligerent PCs back into line. The whole booming voice, shimmering heat and such would also work but my players, by my fault, are kinda numb to shows of power and it wouldn't do anything to their attitude whereas a unsuccessful Will save might at least keep them from speaking.

Your thoughts?

 

[freyar]

Frightful Presence usually requires attacking or charging. (Pathfinder seems to have changed some of the specifics; dragons in 3.5 had to attack, charge, or fly overhead.) In any case, they don't need to be in human shape to avoid triggering it. However, changing from human shape to natural dragon form right in front of the PCs might be dramatic enough to trigger it.

 

[Kaisoku]

Polymorph effects remove access to extraordinary and supernatural abilities... so it'd be a DM fiat change to let a dragon in altered human form use his frightful presence.

You could make it a feat: Can "turn on" Frightful presence at any time, including when in a form that doesn't normally allow it (such as when polymorphed).

Only really helps dragons.. and perhaps the occasional Eidolon build (they still have frightful presence, right?).

 

[Ambrus]

I believe the thing to keep in mind when roleplaying a noble dragon is their agelessness and worldliness. Impressing/scaring/intimidating mere humans comes far too easily to them; by the time the dragon has reached the status of great wyrm it's probably had hundreds if not thousands of interactions with dozens of generations of humans. It's long since grown tired of the hassle such appearances can entail if not handled carefully. A brief revelation of the dragon's true nature is enough to send whole villages fleeing, spawn sycophantic cults or indadvertedly summon every would-be dragon slayer in the environs. It might have been a fun ego-trip for the first few centuries, but it gets old quickly when all the dragon wants is to chat for a bit, learn the news or perhaps trade for some supplies for its lair.

Think as the dragon might. Whatever method he's using to alter his form, the dragon most likely is able to choose the particular details of his appearance, so consider what his initial purpose is in adopting the disguise. Form always follows function. If he's simply traveling and wishes to observe but not directly interact with people, then he'd likely assume an innocuous though mobile form such as that of a sparrow. If he wishes to simply converse with the party, perhaps to learn the local news or to find out what their purpose is, but isn't in the mood to overwhelm them by revealing his true nature, then he'd probably take the form a kindly old pilgrim begging to share a meal with them (if only to assess their kindness). If the dragon is seeking social interaction or an evening of entertainment, then it might assume the persona of a traveling merchant or minor nobleman with enough gold to buy drinks, tip barmaids and pay for minstrels. If he's on a righteous mission and, for some reason, needs to interact with locals he'll probably appear as a stalwart cleric of a righteous faith or perhaps an errant knight in shinning armour.

If, on the other hand, he wants to speaks with the party and wishes to impress them with his draconic awesomeness (but would rather not have to deal with the awkwardness of them peeing themselves) then he might adopt the cliched form of a tall, broad shouldered man in regal robes, cascading golden hair, a metallic sheen to his skin, glowing eyes, elongated fingernails, smoke curling from his nostrils and enough wealth displayed to make a king jealous. In short, he'll appear in whatever form will net him the desired reaction from those he approaches.

I suspect however that such an old timeless soul as a great wyrm gold dragon wouldn't feel the need to be so ostentatious. Why? He has nothing to fear, no need to impress and nothing to prove; he knows how awesome he is. I'd suggest having your dragon appear as a kindly old monk with a buddha-like serenity about him. He'd be dignified though unassuming, wise though humble, kind though detached. Or perhaps it could adopt the form of a small child; wise beyond its years though remaining light-hearted and innocent.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mostlyjoe]

Also, figure out how strong the Dragon's Ego is.

Some would only assume "nobel" versions of whatever they turn into. Why by a hawk when you can be an Eagle, why be a beggar when you can pass yourselff as a landed nobel. Etc.

 

[Thanael]

I've always had a problem with 3Es and no PFs alter form ability and Dragons.

Iirc they loose most supernatural abilities in polymorphing to a human and they loose their racial attribute modifiers. So it could well be that a grandwyrm gold dragon in human form has a Strengh of 10. It boogles the mind.

I far prefer the depictions that are often used in novels (Road of the Patriarch comes to mind, also generally Shadowrun) where dragons in human form have superhuman strength and abilities.