How to run a Shadow Dragon

[Arctic Wolf]

If you haven't done the encounter yet, maybe you could add in a bigger threatening reach since they are fighting this dragon in the shadows which allows him to attack anyone and the only way to get to hit him is having the PCs use a radiant attack against the fog to show them where it is and have it reset every round. Just a quick idea to throw in there

 

[rasguy]

Threatening reach is a perfect tweak for this monster.

 

[Grimmjow]

well guys thanks for you help , it went great. I almost killed two of them within the first 3 rounds and they ended up running. I had to come up with a reason for the dragon not to pursue but i think it'll work out. Anyway now there scared of dragons which is what i wanted, thanks for all your help.

 

[rasguy]

What tactics did you end up using? I'm curious how the battle turned so badly for the PC's.

Being scared of dragons is probably a good thing.

 

[Arctic Wolf]

well guys thanks for you help , it went great. I almost killed two of them within the first 3 rounds and they ended up running. I had to come up with a reason for the dragon not to pursue but i think it'll work out. Anyway now there scared of dragons which is what i wanted, thanks for all your help.

Glad to hear that it worked . I might take a page from this and use the shadow dragon in my upcoming campaign. Will be fun heh.

 

[Incenjucar]

I used a shadow dragon wyrmling once - just a wyrmling - with a few orc bodyguards. The orcs fell quickly enough, but the wyrmling's tricks knocked the party down to just the warlock and the wizard, and the warlock had no blast attacks. They're fantastic if used right. Glad it went well.

 

[Grimmjow]

What tactics did you end up using? I'm curious how the battle turned so badly for the PC's.

What i did is put it in a fog so the players coulnt see it at all times, other wise, like others said, they would have crushed it. My avenger had a new power that let him immobilize it but with the bonus to saving throws that the dragon had, he was moving the next round of combat. anyway, I'm sure they would have done better but when they can't see what they are fighting, and its a level 8 solo against level 5 players, its not really their fault

 

[Grimmjow]

i hate bringing this back up but i am sending the dragon after them again, this time without the fog.

What kind of monsters should i had so they dont just cut it to peices?

 

[rasguy]

I would use some minions so the dragon has an opportunity to flank for combat advantage. The minions wouldn't deal a bunch of damage and could be popped by the party pretty fast.

Otherwise maybe a couple of soldiers so they have enough toughness to stick around for a couple of turns. Brutes would probably deal too much damage. Artillery could be interesting if you have a big enough map to allow some moving around and spread out the monsters. A controller would just be evil and probably lethal.

 

[Grimmjow]

Two blazing skeletons maybe?