D&D 5E Leveling the Pet Baby Dragon?

[Deviation]

Playing a largely homebrew game where my PCs decided to not kill the baby dragon they were sent to kill as part of a quest and, instead, chose to befriend and tame/bribe it by feeding it gold and gemstones (they feed the dragon gold. it's hilarious) But now we're at a point where My PCs are just hitting level 8...and the baby dragon is still CR2. Any advice on how to effectively make a slightly beefier baby dragon without using Young Dragon stats? I'm looking for something in between- something that reflects that the Dragon has grown with them but is still effectively a child. I'd rather not force a tearful good bye because tbh I love playing a baby dragon that eats gold and learned to curse in Orcish. I'm also using Baby Dragon as a hidden morality tool- Morality is important in my campaign and by effectively raising this baby dragon it'll grow to reflect the views they taught it (next session I'm gonna have the dragon try to kill someone slimy but not deserving of death for the reason of "but don't we kill things that anger us?")

TL;DR- subtle ways to show a baby green dragon has grown/learn without using Young Green Dragon Stats?

 

[Herobizkit]

Personally, I would handle growth through role-playing. If the players are worried about the Dragon dying, why are they dragging her around into dangerous situations? Not very responsible parenting, if you ask me.

When my players discovered a Wyrmling White Dragon, I used the stats for the Pesudodragon instead of what's presented in the book and tacked on the Dragonborn's cold breath weapon for its own. Eventually, she became a familiar (using the 'acquired Familiar' rules in the DMG [or MM? I forget which]).

If you've used the creature as is, she SHOULD be an inconvenience - that's what children are.

If you want to be REALLY crazy, you could give a Green Dragon Wyrmling some PC character levels. Assume she's a level 2 "Green Dragon Wyrmling" and then multi-class her as something else. She's got high enough Stats in STR, CON, INT and CHA to qualify for some classes...

 

[woodja]

You could always just treat her as a ranger pet and level up the same way those do?

 

[CapnZapp]

But now we're at a point where My PCs are just hitting level 8...and the baby dragon is still CR2. Any advice on how to effectively make a slightly beefier baby dragon without using Young Dragon stats? I'm looking for something in between- something that reflects that the Dragon has grown with them but is still effectively a child.

Do it like the WotC writers do it - with (dis)advantage.

Instead of coming up with new stats the way it was done for previous editions, try the much less fiddly way:

Baby Dragon stats ->
Baby Dragon stats with advantage ->
Young Dragon stats with disadvantage ->
Young Dragon stats

You might want to skip the second stage in your case, seeing your characters are level 8 already.

 

[CapnZapp]

Personally, I would handle growth through role-playing. If the players are worried about the Dragon dying, why are they dragging her around into dangerous situations? Not very responsible parenting, if you ask me.

If you feel it is a drag to enter dangerous situations you're not playing the same game I play.

Sorry but this is Dungeons & Dragons. If you can't bring it along on your adventures, why even have it?

Anything that dies to a random fireball isn't worth having. Compare to ranger/druid animal companion.

 

[woodja]

You could always just treat her as a ranger pet and level up the same way those do?

Expanding on the above - assume base stats are level 2 - level the pet up by giving it an extra hit dice. start with d8 or maybe make it a fighter so it gets d10 (and extra attack at 5). Then factor in ASI at 4, 6 and 8 to boost the stats.

Will still be weaker than a young green dragon at 8, but will a more fitting companion for the group.

 

[Eltab]

Do dragons in your campaign grow smoothly and continuously, like mammals?
Do they 'shed their skin' and grow in spurts, like a snake or some other reptiles?
Do they metamorphosis - and grow all at once - like a butterfly?

The PCs might go into town for something, and when they return to their base, Baby Dragon (CR2) is in no condition to go adventuring. A few days later, Youngling Dragon (CR8) wakes up feeling voraciously hungry, adrenaline-charged, and spoiling for a fight...

 

[Deviation]

oooh having a molt or something would be very interesting! It'd be an interesting side quest - get them worried about poor Ishok and maybe get into researching about dragons and how to help them through a molt...maybe not level up all the way up to young dragon level but. I was looking into some interesting sidequests so this could prove a good one.

As for why keep something not useful in a fight...I take the RP part of TTRPG seriously- this isn't a hack and slash campaign, despite the dnd rules, hence the largely homebrew adendum I tagged on

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

You can always just add more hit dice (or just HP) to the dragon. You should probably play up the fact that they're bringing their pet along into danger though, so they will actually think about precautions.