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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Edena_of_Neith" data-source="post: 3631774" data-attributes="member: 2020">Back in Wormy, I saw a giant kick at a Stoneskinned character, and the result was a giant with a very sore foot.  Or something like that (the memory is vague now.)  That's where I got the inspiration for Stoneskin.  Stoneskin is a funny critter, in it's 2nd edition incarnation.  If a Stoneskinned mosquito was on the road, and a car hit it at 70 miles per hour, the mosquito would be squished.  Why?  Because the car wasn't attacking it.  But, if the driver somehow (incredibly!!) saw the mosquito ahead of time, and decided 'I'll squash that little pesky mosquito, hahaha!' then the result would be an auto accident, and the mosquito would be unharmed.  Intent determines the matter.  A lot of 2nd edition spells were like that.  Magic is magic, and it doesn't always work quite the way a tactician would expect it to.  For that matter, it doesn't always work the way any sane person would expect it to.  It's ... magic.  Now, if I wish to bring a 2nd edition spell forward to 3rd edition, and use it as a House Rule, that does not make my game a Non-D&D game.  Most D&D games use House Rules, and they are still considered D&D games.  My games are no exception.  I'm not 'fudging' the dragon (except for the Dragonfear aspect which I did not use.)  The dragon saw a tasty elven girl, and wanted her as a fresh meal, not a burnt to a crisp meal.  Sorta like a person wants his cold drink cold, not boiling hot.  The dragon in no way saw this group of puny, pathetic adventurers as a threat.  Why?  Because it has killed every group of adventurers that dared to challenge it for the last thousand years.  It has flattened villages, towns, and even one entire city.  It, to quote Smaug, kills where it wishes, and none dare resist.  So it does not breathe on them.  Frankly, the dragon is curious about them ... or, at least, curious about what treasure (unmelted) and items (intact) they might have it could add to it's treasure hoard.    And perhaps it can take the other female back as a prisoner, and make a birdcage for the pretty thing while it sings (the last singer grew staid, and the dragon fried her in sheer disgust at the lousy songs.)  It just so happens that this particular dragon has Cloned itself.  If the party somehow kills it, the clone will wake up.  The clone will realize that someone killed it, that someone out there dared to strike at it.  You know red dragons.  You think Smaug was mad?  That's nothing.  That's a crying infant compared to the anger of this dragon.  There is no retribution too great, no destruction too vast, no violence too extreme, to be venting on everyone in general, for this affront.  In one thousand years, nobody has done this thing.  The dragon intends to level such vengeance that nobody for the next thousand years will dare even whisper of fighting back.  The dragon does not have a crystal ball, but it will eventually find out who killed it.  And then it will seek out the party.  THIS time, it will come in it's full might and power, and then some.    Now, the party could have avoided all this.    All the party had to do was hide in the bard's Rope Trick when they first saw the dragon in the distance.  The dragon would have passed by, ignored the puny magic it discerned, and headed for the herd of prime deer it was hunting.  The five ogres yonder in the forest were also hiding from the dragon.  The party could now fight them, an encounter much more along their level of power.  And wait until they are much stronger, before attempting such grand heroics as dragonslaying.  It's the party's choice.    In this case, party chose to fight.  They chose to stand and fight.  They chose to heroically fight and kill the dragon.  And bully for them, they killed it.  They will be renowned (and infamous) and certainly higher level as a reward.  But there will be consequences.  There always are.  The utterly infuriated dragon, who will NEVER rest until it attains vengeance even if it has to spend another thousand years finding the adventurers, is only the beginning of those consequences.</blockquote>

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