How does one dragon blackmail another? B.A.D.D. advice?

[Errant]

IMC the PCs have acquired some renown & the fighter of the group is pushing to claim lordship of his own domain. For campaign reasons I'd like him to claim lordship over a small village within a settled kingdom (ala Nyrond in Greyhawk).

I had the idea that the lordship became vacant because the last (much loved & heirless) young lord was killed in a recent civil war when he was ambushed leading his followers and many of the villagers to battle. Only by calling upon a pact made by his grandfather with two silver dragons (who the grandfather aided in battle against an older red dragon, helping drive it off), was the lord able to save any of his people. The lord was killed in battle, but one of the dragons responded, broke the encircling ambush & allowed many of the villagers to escape the trap.

The lordship remains vacant, because the silver dragon that saved the villagers, occupied the lord's keep (or at least his courtyard) shortly thereafter & has driven off everyone trying to take up the lord's position ever since. The king is reluctant to resort to force because the villagers are very protective of the dragon that saved so many of them & the dragon has been known to have lived in the region peacefully, with its mate, for decades.

The reason the dragon occupies the keep is that while he was responding to the late lord's call, its mate was attacked & defeated by the red dragon that has long harbored a grudge for its humiliating defeat by the silvers and their human ally. On the male's return to the lair, it observed the signs of battle & found the red perched triumphantly atop it.

Primed to attack in a (probably doomed) attempt to avenge its mate, the silver was stopped & then left to occupy the lord's keep by something the red said.

What could the red dragon have said to the silver that would persuade the silver to try & prevent the lord's position ever being refilled?

I'm thinking the red didn't kill the female silver, just imprisoned it (or its soul) somehow.

Any suggestions on how a mature adult(ish) red dragon could imprison an adult silver dragon &/or blackmail its mate into meddling in human affairs?

 

[willpax]

Under one of the red dragon's claws is a large silver egg.

 

[Crothian]

Egg is good. The mate's soul is good. Silver Dragons are a LG so maybe the Red has a some great, evil artifact that it promises the Silver. The Silver is willing to do as the Red asks to get the artifact.

 

[Breakstone]

I like the egg idea.

Also, there could be a certain half-silver dragon that the silver dragon doesn't want anyone to know about...

 

[Errant]

Thanks for the feedback folks.

I thought about an egg. Then I remembered the Dragonlance saga & had a feeling the egg angle had become a bit cliche'd & predictable.

I'm running an alt-Greyhawk campaign which is still based a lot on the Living Greyhawk setting & seem to remember something about the king of Nyrond's betrothed being struck down that basically left her alive but comatose.

I was trying to think of a spell or something that could trap someone's soul indefinitely while leaving their body untouched. Something that could be build into an item the red dragon could have acquired & use to trap the female silver's soul. I think I'd have to invent something from scratch though.

Or...

It occured to me the red could have defeated/subdued the silver female (are there male/female gender terms suitable for dragons?) in one-one-one combat, then reduced(?) her long enough to carry her off & physically imprison her somewhere.

Any more thoughts?

 

[Crothian]

How about the Red has the Silver's mate captured. Or, that's what the Silver thinks. In reality the Red haas a magical device that allows her to change into a Siulver. So the Red is actually the mate.

 

[Polydamas]

"You want to avenge your mate. I understand that. But let's not be foolish...you don't stand a prayer of defeating me. And after I killed you, I'd devour every one of those stupid villagers you and your ally were so fond of.

Do the smart thing, Silver. Walk away from this. You'll survive....I did. I'm done with you. My revenge against you and your mate is complete. My honor reclaimed, all that nonsense.

The humans still must pay for my shame however. If another human shows up and proclaims himself lord of that stupid square of dirt, I'll butcher everyone in a ten mile radius. They'll send someone new eventually, I suppose.

Unless you prevent it."

 

[Dimenhydrinate]

"You want to avenge your mate. I understand that. But let's not be foolish...you don't stand a prayer of defeating me. And after I killed you, I'd devour every one of those stupid villagers you and your ally were so fond of.

Do the smart thing, Silver. Walk away from this. You'll survive....I did. I'm done with you. My revenge against you and your mate is complete. My honor reclaimed, all that nonsense.

The humans still must pay for my shame however. If another human shows up and proclaims himself lord of that stupid square of dirt, I'll butcher everyone in a ten mile radius. They'll send someone new eventually, I suppose.

Unless you prevent it."

SWEET!!!!!!! I just love Red Dragons...

 

[Errant]

"You want to avenge your mate. I understand that. But let's not be foolish...you don't stand a prayer of defeating me. And after I killed you, I'd devour every one of those stupid villagers you and your ally were so fond of... <snip>

Oooh! Very nice Polydamas. Cruel, devious & manipulative. Just what you'd expect from a red dragon. Especially since it uses the silver's own 'good nature' against it by threatening the villagers.

But can you think of a reason why the silver doesn't just call on some help to take vengance on the dragon? The silver by himself may not stand a prayer, but with a few/small-army-of allies...

 

[Gilladian]

Perhaps the red dragon has taken some of the more "valuable" villagers into his private cave to "visit with them". In other words, they are immediate hostages.

Also, the red will spy on the silver constantly, and any evidence of communication with outsiders would be met with sudden reprisal. It's pretty hard to sneak up on or to fool a wily, alert dragon. He can launch himself into the air, breathe fire on a village or three and be back in his lair within what, maybe half an hour at most? So as soon as the silver leaves to find help, or sends a messenger anywhere, boom, there's trouble.

Gilladian