I like the idea -- which I have read a few times over the years from different sources, so I don't know where it originated -- that in D&D there are only really 2 species of dragon: chromatic and metallic. A chromatic dragon goes through all the colors, molting both as it ages and when it moves environments. Sometimes a dragon just decides to stay someplace and thus you get an Old White, but much more commonly a dragon hunts out its territory and has to move on. Therefore it is much more likely that any of your Ancient dragons are going to be Red or Blue or Silver or Gold.
D&D 5E Is Neil Gaiman Wrong?
Well, elephants are thought to be about as smart as a person (just differently smart, so no pachyderm projectile weapons). An average intelligence (or smarter dragon) doesn't have to be "demi-human" kind of smart. It can still be "dragon smart" and not necessarily recognizable as an "intelligent creature" from the self centered perspective of two-legs.
Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
Maybe. Except no. Not at all.
It's not my position to comment on the relative intelligence of creatures, but while elephants aren't dumb, they also aren't as intelligent as the average human.
It's also not the point made in the "game world" of the Monster Manual in 1e, which in the introduction specifically discusses the intelligence rankings and says that if they are "intelligent creature" or "cunning" smart that will be listed in the description, NOT in the intelligence block.
So ... I just can't agree with this from a "real world" or "game" perspective.
Iry
Hero
It's up to you. The default dragons of D&D are assumed to be beatable with considerable effort. But if you want dragons to be unkillable then simply make it so, or introduce a Smaug style weakness that requires questing to accomplish.
I go both ways. I've had dragons that were killable through brute force, some that require questing, and in one game there were only 5 dragons and they were over a mile long. People sought them out as sages, not engines of destruction.
I go both ways. I've had dragons that were killable through brute force, some that require questing, and in one game there were only 5 dragons and they were over a mile long. People sought them out as sages, not engines of destruction.
LuisCarlos17f
Legend
We can agree dragons are in the top of the food chain, but they aren't totally invincible. They can be killed by giants, maybe the closest one to a natural enemy.
Usually as predators dragons would rather bigger preys. Would you kill a rabbit when you can hunt a great deer?
If the dragon sleeps in a cave, this could become a trap if it's attacked with siege engines as catapults.
Or be tricked to go to a small room within a building to fall in the trap.
Paladins with flying mounts could attack against the wings and altough the dragon survived the fall it could be attacked with giant crossbows.
Elves could discover a lot of magic tricks.
Even a dragon could discover it shouldn't attack the temple in a little village to be not punished by an angry god. Worse if it's tricked to attack the temple or the shaman of the enemy tribe.
Usually as predators dragons would rather bigger preys. Would you kill a rabbit when you can hunt a great deer?
If the dragon sleeps in a cave, this could become a trap if it's attacked with siege engines as catapults.
Or be tricked to go to a small room within a building to fall in the trap.
Paladins with flying mounts could attack against the wings and altough the dragon survived the fall it could be attacked with giant crossbows.
Elves could discover a lot of magic tricks.
Even a dragon could discover it shouldn't attack the temple in a little village to be not punished by an angry god. Worse if it's tricked to attack the temple or the shaman of the enemy tribe.
I mean, it's your game. Talky dragons can certainly be interesting. I was just pointing out that just because a dragon is "smart" doesn't mean you have to play it with human intelligence.
As to the real world stuff, the idea of "intelligence" is such a human-centric notion it certainly isn't worth arguing over.
Different people have different appetites for "awesome" (for lack of a better term). Not everyone likes super powered heroes, and even those of us that do don't necessarily like them all the time.
Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad (he/him)
Humanity hunted mastodons to extinction and routinely hunt blue whales. I am not even understanding the objection - humanity is clever and uses tools which can slay even the largest of beasts.
