Draconomicon Experiences

Engilbrand

First Post
Have you already used the Draconomicon? Are you planning to in the near future? What adventures have you made for PCs?

I recently had 2 players show up, so I decided to have them make 5th level characters and busted out the Draconomicon. I was able to run the entire one-shot with the book. The PCs were a Swiftcurrent Genasi Swordmage and an Eladrin Ranger with 2 swords. We only had a few hours, and it wasn't meant to be a high roleplay night.

They showed up at a cave by a volcano they had heard held a massive Red Dragon which was planning to leave the area for some reason. At the entry, there were two Dragonkin Sentries. About halfway through the fight, an Ambush Drake was called from a bit inside the cave. The Drake was brutal, and the Sentry ability to cause ongoing fire damage messed up the Ranger for a while. He just couldn't catch a break.
Upon entering, they eventually came up an area that went three ways. Far up ahead was a well lit area. To the right was an area that looked like it was connected to the bigger cavern. To the left was a dark path that led to a door. They went that way.
Upon charging in, the Ranger found himself facing 2 Dragonborn Sellswords and 6 Sentries that I retooled as Minions. He failed some Perception checks on a Sentry who was working at a table. He charged over and killed the thing without a problem. Unfortunately, that Sentry was working was some Alchemist Fire at a workstation. He dropped his flask and ignited the table. The Ranger was a bit scorched. The Swordmage came in and started doing his thing. It took a bit, but they did what they needed in the room. The one figure of note was a Sellsword who had the Girdle of Rock Throwing or whatever it's called from the recent Bazaar article. They liked that. The Ranger took it and two large rocks from the area so that they could go storm the cavern.
Upon entering, they saw a small pool of lava, a Red Dragon egg, a Pact-bound Dragonkin (or whatever it's called), and 4 Dragongkin Defenders retooled as Minions. They witnessed the end of a ritual where the Pact one, which I'll know refer to as the Sorcerror, touched his staff to the egg and blasted it with fire, freeing the Wyrmling. As battle commences, I give the Dragon a turn or two to start figuring out what's happening. By the time it's ready, the Swordmage has killed the Minions. As the Dragon advanced, the Ranger chucked both rocks at it. He even used an AP to get it to happen. Unfortunately, they both missed.
A battle then ensues with the Ranger shooting the Sorcerror and vice versa, while the Swordmage throws down with the Dragon. (By this point, the Ranger had entered the cavern with 1 Healing Surge and no potions, and the Swordmage had 5 potions and enough Healing Surges. They both also had Bloodcut Armor, which grants Resistance 10 at the cost of a Healing Surge.) They race around the cavern killing each other. The Dragon used an AP and hit with 3 out of 4 attacks on the Swordmage. He had done the smart thing and taken the Cleric multiclass, so he was able to get some decent healing in. By midnight, I knew that the place was closing and we had to finish. The Ranger was right next to the Sorcerror, and they both had almost no life. I just had the Sorcerror hit him in the head with his staff, and he got lucky and knocked the Ranger out. Thanks to the Kobold Victory table, he was Stunned for his next round. The Swordmage, meanwhile, used his final HS to activate his armor and ran to the other side of the pool. The Dragon finally used it's wings, flew across the pond, and used it's semi-worthless breath weapon on him to finish the night.

We all had a ton of fun. I love being able to make things up on the fly and have them work out. One player, Sarge, had talked about having an old edition fear of dragons. The other player, Jeff, is still new to 4th and hadn't played D&D in a long time, so he's still getting the hang of things. They both liked being able to go toe to toe with a dragon, though. The stats for Wyrmlings are pretty neat.

Which brings me back to the beginning. What stories do you have about the Draconomicon? Either that you've done, or that you're planning.
 

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Very cool story!

I've just started a new FR campaign, but I wanna throw my characters a dragon some time pretty soon. I love Draconomicon, and I really wanna give 4e dragons a shot. I'm debating about what to throw them though, though a Black or White seems most appropriate for the adventure.
 

I made a white dragon with some wyrmlings for my 3rd-level bastardized Keep on the Shadowfell game. They're allied with Kalarel, and they're working on destroying the last remnants of the Keegan family (which is the only thing protecting Winterhaven from collapsing into the Shadowfell).
 



I am using 2 Bone Mongrel Dracolich instead of

the green dragon towards the end of Thundrspire Labyrinth

But they won't get there until next week or in 14 days.
 

I don't have the book, will check if something's worth at DDI Compendium... in general I try to avoid putting dragons in my campaigns... they kill fast or die fast...
 

They don't kill fast or die fast anymore. The battle that I described lasted for quite a few rounds. They're beefy and have some decent damage abilities, but nothing too powerful or weak.
 

The gray dragon has me wanting to make a mini-campaign or setting where the only dragon type is the gray. Something closer to Dragonslayer, mixed with Reign of Fire, some Beastmaster and Conan the Barbarian.
 

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