Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Oofta" data-source="post: 8822149" data-attributes="member: 6801845">As others have said, you have a few options.&nbsp; It's a Scooby Doo mystery and the ghost dragon is completely fake.&nbsp; However, this could be a letdown for the group.&nbsp; Another option is that it's real and, IMHO, should be terrifying.&nbsp; This is a monster of legend something that, if it notices them, could easily wipe them out with a ghostly sneeze.&nbsp; So the DM needs to set up a way for them to find this out, and that sometimes retreat is the better part of valor.&nbsp; Have NPCs warn them on their way, let them know that a local kingdom is sending a small army to take care of it once and for all and let them run into the lone survivor of a brigade barely alive having only escaped by sheer luck.&nbsp; Heck, have them get close and then just let the fear effect make them run away.&nbsp; Or combine the two, someone was using the legend of a ghost dragon for their own means but accidentally woke the real ghost dragon up and now it's really, really pissed.This sets up the ghost dragon as a long term nemesis, one that possibly now knows about their existence and will literally haunt their dreams.&nbsp; An alternative is that the dragon offers to make them a deal or casts geas (or similar) or they die.&nbsp; This makes a story arc of either having a new master and dealing with that or looking for a way to break the control.On a related note, I'd also have them talk to the players.&nbsp; I run an open more-or-less sandbox campaign, but I simply ask that we not completely change direction during a session.&nbsp; Something like this needs to be discussed as a group and even if it's not an ad-lib I still prefer to have some prep time to ensure I can set up encounters that will be enjoyable.&nbsp; Most groups are fine with the reality that DMs don't have an entire world prepped, even if they're okay with the PCs going off the rails.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Oofta, post: 8822149, member: 6801845"] As others have said, you have a few options. It's a Scooby Doo mystery and the ghost dragon is completely fake. However, this could be a letdown for the group. Another option is that it's real and, IMHO, should be terrifying. This is a monster of legend something that, if it notices them, could easily wipe them out with a ghostly sneeze. So the DM needs to set up a way for them to find this out, and that sometimes retreat is the better part of valor. Have NPCs warn them on their way, let them know that a local kingdom is sending a small army to take care of it once and for all and let them run into the lone survivor of a brigade barely alive having only escaped by sheer luck. Heck, have them get close and then just let the fear effect make them run away. Or combine the two, someone was using the legend of a ghost dragon for their own means but accidentally woke the real ghost dragon up and now it's really, really pissed. This sets up the ghost dragon as a long term nemesis, one that possibly now knows about their existence and will literally haunt their dreams. An alternative is that the dragon offers to make them a deal or casts geas (or similar) or they die. This makes a story arc of either having a new master and dealing with that or looking for a way to break the control. On a related note, I'd also have them talk to the players. I run an open more-or-less sandbox campaign, but I simply ask that we not completely change direction during a session. Something like this needs to be discussed as a group and even if it's not an ad-lib I still prefer to have some prep time to ensure I can set up encounters that will be enjoyable. Most groups are fine with the reality that DMs don't have an entire world prepped, even if they're okay with the PCs going off the rails. [/QUOTE]

Verification