D&D 5E Is Neil Gaiman Wrong?

[Umbran]

I mean, when did "humans" start gaining traction as a species? Only after the dinosaurs went extinct.

Um, with respect, dinosaurs went out 65 million years ago. Homo erectus became a thing about 2 million years ago. There's a 60+ million year gap, such that there's no real connection between those events.

 

[Umbran]

I have a player that totally despise the idea of beings from the size of a dragon's toe facing a Gargantuan Magical Intelligent beast. He can't concede on that.

Consider this - a human takes up a 5x5 square. A gargantuan creature takes up a 20x20 square. It is the size of a house, but not a very big house. So, you might want to check the "size of a dragon's toe" thing.

Humans, without magic and superpowers, can demolish a house. So, with magic and tools and superpowers, why not demolish a house-sized creature?

 

[Mort]

Um, with respect, dinosaurs went out 65 million years ago. Homo erectus became a thing about 2 million years ago. There's a 60+ million year gap, such that there's no real connection between those events.

This guy just sat around, snapping his fingers. Wherever he went, he kept snapping his fingers. People were beginning to get annoyed. Finally a man walked up to him and asked him why he kept snapping his fingers.

"To keep the elephants away," was the reply.

"Elephants? There aren't any elephants within 1,000 miles of here!"

"Then it must be working!"

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

My brother described what he liked about d&d a long time ago. I don’t want to kill a hill giant. I want to kill 20 hill giants.

I don't want to be a mere hobomurderer.

I want to be a wandering genocidal maniac.

Just think of all the species and races that need killin'.

 

[Guest 6801328]

I don't want to be a mere hobomurderer.

I want to be a wandering genocidal maniac.

Just think of all the species and races that need killin'.

Gnomes.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Gnomes.

?

That's kind of on the opposite end from the hill giant spectrum, I guess, but once you get a good bloodlust going it's hard to stop.

 

[not-so-newguy]

Gnomes.

 

[CleverNickName]

Neil Gaiman is as wrong as you want him to be. The way I see it, not all dragons are Dragons, and "defeat" doesn't always mean "kill."

• That wyvern on the east side of the moor, that's been poaching cattle and terrorizing the countryside? Sure it can be slain. Get a posse together and go hunting!
• That fire-breathing dragon that just moved in to the mountaintop next door, the one that kidnapped the princess and started bankrupting the kingdom with extortion? Sure, you can slay it...but you're gonna need a knight or two in shining armor, possibly wielding a magical McGuffin.
• Tiamat, the 5-headed Draconic Goddess, the Progenitor of Hell? She's not going to be slain by a mere mortal. No, the best you can hope for is to somehow lock her away with a powerful binding spell, until her cult of followers somehow manage to unleash her upon the world once more.

 

[Deset Gled]

Can dragons be defeated?

...

I have a player that totally despise the idea of beings from the size of a dragon's toe facing a Gargantuan Magical Intelligent beast. He can't concede on that. There is no argument, no magic weapon, no number of warriors, nothing.

I'd recommend both of you (or anyone, really) pick up a copy of Shadow of the Colossus. I played through it on PS2, and there's an HD remake out there.

One of the things that makes SotC completely stand out is its sense of scale. You play a human that is literally tasked with killing 16 colossi. The aspect of size in this is something that should be experienced to understand. You have a sword and a bow and a horse. Even traveling across the world takes a serious amount of time; and there are no low-level goons or random encounters.

After experiencing that game, I can concede your player has a point. It's too easy to handwave scale in D+D. A lot of times people just look and squares and hitpoints and just plain don't get how impressive a big bad monster should be. But SotC shows the other side as well; that which is large can still fall.

 

[Minigiant]

Don'tthe reallybig really old dragon lay low in the lairs for years not bothering anyone directly out of fear of their enemies?

In D&D, it's the young ones that are challenged by parties. Ifan ancient dragon is challenged by a party, it's an epic level party collocted from epic heroes across the world. AKA that dragon done messed up bad.