Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celtavian" data-source="post: 6473796" data-attributes="member: 5834">Just to explain some of our thinking, in 3E/Pathfinder dragons would wait out buffs. Intelligent dragons wouldn't even bother engaging in a fight where they were at a disadvantage due to surprise or dealing with a party moving in for an ambush. They would note the scents of their attackers and leave knowing that most parties entering their lair were buffed up to fight them. The dragon waited a sufficient time to let buffs run out completely destroying the pre-buff strategy many parties use fighting powerful creatures. This strategy was effective because the dragon would then set up an ambush of its own fully buffed. The dragon didn't mind a party taking its treasure because it would track the enemy and kill them piecemeal if it needed to. Basically, in 3E/Pathfinder we made fighting a dragon supremely dangerous. You absolutely wanted to kill it rather than let it track you down and kill you at inopportune times seeking to regain its treasure.This strategy in 5E leads to odd outcomes. Spells don't last near as long, so it is easier for dragons to wait out buffs. Casters don't have access to consumables and have fewer spell slots, so it's far easier for dragons to wait for resource depletion. So buffs generally have to be cast when we see the dragon. With concentration being as it is, when you see the dragon is too late. If you cast the spell prior to getting hammered by the breath weapon, you risk your concentration being broken. If you cast the spell prior to entry, you risk the dragon waiting out the duration of the spell. Given you can't protect even half your party from breath weapon damage due to concentration, you have plan who does what. We haven't figured that part out well enough yet.We'll get there. We have to be more patient and plan spell deployment better. Draw the dragon into a fight while the fly spell is active. This was a particularly bad set up for us. We're not accustomed to the buffing limitations in 5E. It will take a bit of time to plan spell deployment given the limitations. That should lead to better outcomes...I hope.</blockquote>

Verification