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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ambrus" data-source="post: 5302849" data-attributes="member: 17691">I believe the thing to keep in mind when roleplaying a noble dragon is their agelessness and worldliness. Impressing/scaring/intimidating mere humans comes far too easily to them; by the time the dragon has reached the status of great wyrm it's probably had hundreds if not thousands of interactions with dozens of generations of humans. It's long since grown tired of the hassle such appearances can entail if not handled carefully. A brief revelation of the dragon's true nature is enough to send whole villages fleeing, spawn sycophantic cults or indadvertedly summon every would-be dragon slayer in the environs. It might have been a fun ego-trip for the first few centuries, but it gets old quickly when all the dragon wants is to chat for a bit, learn the news or perhaps trade for some supplies for its lair.Think as the dragon might. Whatever method he's using to alter his form, the dragon most likely is able to choose the particular details of his appearance, so consider what his initial purpose is in adopting the disguise. Form always follows function. If he's simply traveling and wishes to observe but not directly interact with people, then he'd likely assume an innocuous though mobile form such as that of a sparrow. If he wishes to simply converse with the party, perhaps to learn the local news or to find out what their purpose is, but isn't in the mood to overwhelm them by revealing his true nature, then he'd probably take the form a kindly old pilgrim begging to share a meal with them (if only to assess their kindness). If the dragon is seeking social interaction or an evening of entertainment, then it might assume the persona of a traveling merchant or minor nobleman with enough gold to buy drinks, tip barmaids and pay for minstrels. If he's on a righteous mission and, for some reason, needs to interact with locals he'll probably appear as a stalwart cleric of a righteous faith or perhaps an errant knight in shinning armour.If, on the other hand, he wants to speaks with the party and wishes to impress them with his draconic awesomeness (but would rather not have to deal with the awkwardness of them peeing themselves) then he might adopt the cliched form of a tall, broad shouldered man in regal robes, cascading golden hair, a metallic sheen to his skin, glowing eyes, elongated fingernails, smoke curling from his nostrils and enough wealth displayed to make a king jealous. In short, he'll appear in whatever form will net him the desired reaction from those he approaches.I suspect however that such an old timeless soul as a great wyrm gold dragon wouldn't feel the need to be so ostentatious. Why? He has nothing to fear, no need to impress and nothing to prove; he knows how awesome he is. I'd suggest having your dragon appear as a kindly old monk with a  buddha-like serenity about him. He'd be dignified though unassuming, wise though humble, kind though detached. Or perhaps it could adopt the form of a small child; wise beyond its years though remaining light-hearted and innocent.Hope that helps. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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