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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stormtalon" data-source="post: 3992579" data-attributes="member: 5541">And that, right there, is the best counter to your arguments, Derren.  Fait accompli.  It's done, it's happening, learn to live with it.  Many of us see it as an improvement and have plenty of ways to make dragons powerful, terrifying and meaningful opponents without them having to lean on the crutch of spellcasting.  And yes, for dragons the thought of being reduced to "big scaly wizards" would be a serious blow to the ego.Still, let's look at your 500 archer argument -- the most ludicrous and tenuous one you tossed out there.  The logistical impossibility of it has already been addressed, so I won't rehash that here.  There still remains the problem that as a matter of course, such an assemblage of ranged militiamen are Target #1 for the dragon.  Take into account the Dragon's fear aura and they'll get off maybe one attack before the sheer terror of its presence sends them scattering and dropping their bows in panic -- after which they become fodder for its initial breath weapon attack.  Presto, no more archers to harry him.Additionally, most of the arrows shot at him would be non-magical anyway -- or at BEST temporarily enchanted -- and for those, there's something you're not considering.  Think back to the sample fight Wizards posted that involved a dragon.  He had this nasty emanation coming from him that caused damage of the same type as his breath weapon to anyone within 30' or so.  I can't think of a DM out there who wouldn't rule that standard, non-masterwork, non-permanently enchanted arrows would even make it through something like that.  They'll burn up, or corrode, or freeze so brittle that they shatter harmlessly against his scales -- even a blue dragon's electricity could deflect the steel arrowheads away from him.  Even the iconic dragon Smaug wasn't brought down by just any arrow -- it took the Black Arrow, a relic handed down for generations, to fell him.As far as a dragon is concerned, he's got little or nothing to fear from even a large militia.  They can't hurt him.  Hell, they're not supposed to be able to hurt him -- their concern is with things like bandits, roving bands of orcs & gnolls and other day-to-day threats.  When something big like a dragon comes knocking, they have to hope and pray that there's some nearby heroes who can distract and maybe defeat it before too much of the town becomes a shattered ruin.  That's one of the absolute base assumptions of the game -- that there are things out there that only a group of special and dedicated heroes chosen somehow by a shared destiny can defeat  -- and it's not changing.</blockquote>

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