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Dragons: What role do they play in your campaigns?
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<blockquote data-quote="J-H" data-source="post: 8308347" data-attributes="member: 7020951"><p>Here's how they've been in play so far:</p><p></p><p>Castle Dracula: </p><p>1) The party fought 2 or 3 (forget which) adult dragon skeletons in the treasury. The party was about 10th level at the time and had a paladin and a zealot barbarian with a maul and GWM. The skeletons didn't last long. Not really an end boss, but definitely unusual for the party.</p><p></p><p>2) (spoiler)Dracula turns into a vampire shadow dragon as a second form, because this is Castlevania without the TM, dangit! He didn't do much talking. The breath weapon was his main source of damage. It was an epic fight, but he rolled poorly. End Boss.</p><p></p><p>Current campaign (Aztec Aaracokra):</p><p>1) Young adult black dragon swims up to the 13th-level party's small ship at night, intending to sneak over the top, roar, and extort loot. The rogue on watch spots him, starts chatting in draconic while the dragon is still setting up, and ends up humoring him, flattering him, and handing him 1,000gp as the price of passage through his territory. Half of the party wanted to kill him, but didn't want to jump in and mess up the negotiations.</p><p>(Had the party fought him, he'd have gone "Oh, oops" when multiple magic weapons lit up and hit him, and then run away).</p><p>I was very surprised but it was fun.</p><p>Not an end boss, but more an opportunity for the players to feel the difference between level 3 & level 13 tangibly.</p><p></p><p>2) (spoiler) Ancient modified green dragon guarding an artifact. Very plot relevant, enough HP to last through 5 rounds of combat, and a bit arrogant. Not an end boss but certainly a major fight, especially since he started the fight invisible and nobody had True Sight or See Invisibility. The Paladin ended up getting Hasted, Misty Stepping onto the dragon's back, and then Smiting him repeatedly.</p><p>He's still alive, and the party may end up trying to hire him as an ally for a major battle. Not sure.</p><p></p><p>3) The other dragon in the region is a mid-CR white. At this point (party about to hit 15) he is not going to be a deadly challenge for them. I'm not sure if they will end up bribing him, hiring him, or killing him.</p><p></p><p>So, to sum it up:</p><p>1 End Boss</p><p>1 Regional Boss</p><p>2 Solo Monsters that may not be fights</p><p>1 Set of Undead</p><p></p><p>Action economy issues are still a thing, especially since the stock Draconic legendary actions are only useful <em>if</em> the dragon wants to be in melee. Smart dragons don't want to be right next to 3 melee PCs...they want to be doing hit and run, casting spells, or using their breath weapon.</p><p></p><p>Dragons are definitely not a creature you want to over-use.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="J-H, post: 8308347, member: 7020951"] Here's how they've been in play so far: Castle Dracula: 1) The party fought 2 or 3 (forget which) adult dragon skeletons in the treasury. The party was about 10th level at the time and had a paladin and a zealot barbarian with a maul and GWM. The skeletons didn't last long. Not really an end boss, but definitely unusual for the party. 2) (spoiler)Dracula turns into a vampire shadow dragon as a second form, because this is Castlevania without the TM, dangit! He didn't do much talking. The breath weapon was his main source of damage. It was an epic fight, but he rolled poorly. End Boss. Current campaign (Aztec Aaracokra): 1) Young adult black dragon swims up to the 13th-level party's small ship at night, intending to sneak over the top, roar, and extort loot. The rogue on watch spots him, starts chatting in draconic while the dragon is still setting up, and ends up humoring him, flattering him, and handing him 1,000gp as the price of passage through his territory. Half of the party wanted to kill him, but didn't want to jump in and mess up the negotiations. (Had the party fought him, he'd have gone "Oh, oops" when multiple magic weapons lit up and hit him, and then run away). I was very surprised but it was fun. Not an end boss, but more an opportunity for the players to feel the difference between level 3 & level 13 tangibly. 2) (spoiler) Ancient modified green dragon guarding an artifact. Very plot relevant, enough HP to last through 5 rounds of combat, and a bit arrogant. Not an end boss but certainly a major fight, especially since he started the fight invisible and nobody had True Sight or See Invisibility. The Paladin ended up getting Hasted, Misty Stepping onto the dragon's back, and then Smiting him repeatedly. He's still alive, and the party may end up trying to hire him as an ally for a major battle. Not sure. 3) The other dragon in the region is a mid-CR white. At this point (party about to hit 15) he is not going to be a deadly challenge for them. I'm not sure if they will end up bribing him, hiring him, or killing him. So, to sum it up: 1 End Boss 1 Regional Boss 2 Solo Monsters that may not be fights 1 Set of Undead Action economy issues are still a thing, especially since the stock Draconic legendary actions are only useful [I]if[/I] the dragon wants to be in melee. Smart dragons don't want to be right next to 3 melee PCs...they want to be doing hit and run, casting spells, or using their breath weapon. Dragons are definitely not a creature you want to over-use. [/QUOTE]
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