So, we are 5 heroes level 12, and it seems that next session or the one after we will be fighting a black dragon. I assume he's ancient although we've never seen him yet.
So, party is a Paladin oath of the crown, totem barbarian, land druid, assassin and me, a blade singer.
so I was thinking what do I need to prepare for a black dragon. I thought about synaptic static, it targets INT, no concentration and a nice debuff.
I want tasha to spam his legendary resistance, absorb elements for the breath weapon... any other ideas? in and out of the box?
wall of force for the minions? steel wind strike for no save fireball?
I would start by talking with your allies. There is only one other full caster in the party, so if your goal is to spam the dragon's LR, you really want to coordinate on that plan--both of you need to hammer the dragon with save-or-lose spells every round. If you try to go it alone, the fight is likely to be over before you manage to chew through its LR. I suggest
earthbind for the druid. For you,
phantasmal force is ideal (targets the dragon's Int save, which is by far its weakest, and can reliably inflict blindness even if your DM takes a very narrow view of what it can do).
Tasha's is a decent backup plan.
Edit: Just noticed the blindsight on the dragon. See what limits your DM puts on phantasmal force
, e.g., if you create illusory chains, will the dragon be restrained, or will it continue to move freely and rationalize it as "the chains broke?" It's still the ideal spell if you can inflict a serious debuff, but if not, use Tasha's hideous laughter
instead.
I'd say that is likely your best tactic if you expect the dragon to come at you solo. If you think it will have minions or allies, you might do better to sweep them off the field while your heavy hitters focus fire on the dragon itself.
Fireball is always good for this.
Synaptic static is nice if you can manage to tag the dragon with it - give it a nasty little debuff to cope with while also blasting its allies.
Wall of force is spectacular but a little more risky. One blast of the breath weapon has a high chance to end your concentration. Even with
absorb elements, a failed saving throw means a DC 17 Con save to hold onto the spell.
Other spells to have on tap:
- Absorb elements. I don't think I need to explain this one.
- Dimension door. Remember that this spell allows you to take 1 passenger. I can't stress enough how valuable that is when your heavy hitters are melee and you're facing a high-speed flying foe. Can also be used to grab a fallen ally and bug out if things start going south.
- Heroes' feast. Okay, this one isn't on your spell list, but it is on the druid's. The druid should absolutely prepare and cast it the night before the battle (if possible). Immunity to fear is pure gold when facing a dragon. The other buffs are gravy.
- Mass suggestion if you think the dragon will have minions. This spell is crazy-good at dealing with minions. "Your master is a treacherous beast that will devour you all, unless you help us destroy it now." Hey, notice something about the duration of mass suggestion? That's right... no concentration.
- Shield. Not all of the dragon's attacks are acid damage. Hopefully you'll be able to avoid being singled out in melee, but if it does happen, this spell will seriously save your bacon.
Also consider
counterspell and
dispel magic if you think the dragon might have spellcaster minions, or be a spellcaster itself.
Passwall could help you set up an ambush.
Protection from energy is good for obvious reasons, and you and the druid both have access to it, so you could buff the paladin and the barbarian before combat. (I suggest targeting the paladin and the barbarian, since you and the druid can protect yourselves with
absorb elements, and the assassin has a high Dex save and Evasion.)