So he calls himself "Dragonslayer"...

[Plane Sailing]

Which leads to the question about the DM's response. ... What is it about a PC calling himself "dragonslayer" that demands any particular action by the DM? Why is it important that the PC be reprimanded in some way for a bit of self-esteem boosting? Is this a DM-gawd who punishes pride, and why is that?

This is pretty much my opinion too. I think it would be great that the PC decided to call himself that, I can't see anything wrong with it and any reason for wanting to smack him down or do anything tricksy to him because of it.

Pretty much single-handedly slaying a Large creature with 10d12+30hps, a breath weapon that does 4-40 damage and five attacks at up to +14 to hit is some pretty serious heroism right there unless he was something like 10th level.

And even so... how many dragons of any kind have people seen? For all they know might this be how big dragons get nowadays?

 

[Voadam]

If I was a warrior who slew a dragon singlehandedly I'd add dragonslayer to my name.

What's the complaint, that it was a young horse-sized wingless dragon so it does not count? It only had 95 hit points, so that's not really anything deserving of the title dragon?

Why are people calling him a liar? He did slay a dragon. If I was his companion I'd call him dragonslayer.

Yes there are tougher dragons out there that he can't handle. That does not mean he did not kill a dragon.

 

[thullgrim]

to my way of thinking I'm not out to punish the character, but facts are, you go around slaying a dragon and people w/ a similiar problem are going to ask you to help them with it. Particularly as you are a paladin and pretty much about helping people to begin with. I mean, its like being the American Idol guy who did not make it but everyone is talking about. He did something that makes him famous, he goes around and everyone wants him to repeat the schtick. I think people asking the paladin to help them with their monster problem is simply a logical result of past actions and of what people know about his dragonslaying. I think its great that the player decided to add a title to his character, it makes the character part of the world. Its only natural the world will react to his actions in turn.

Thullgrim

 

[MooseHB]

If I was a warrior who slew a dragon singlehandedly I'd add dragonslayer to my name.

What's the complaint, that it was a young horse-sized wingless dragon so it does not count? It only had 95 hit points, so that's not really anything deserving of the title dragon?

Why are people calling him a liar? He did slay a dragon. If I was his companion I'd call him dragonslayer.

Yes there are tougher dragons out there that he can't handle. That does not mean he did not kill a dragon.

He killed a dragon, so it is accurate to call himself that.

Is it good role-playing of the character? Is this Paladin following the tenets of his order to proclaim this truth, or is it self-aggrandizement that strays from his order's mores? Is the player being truthful to the game, or is his new title an ego stroking for the player himself?

There are lots of ways to play this out, already posted. The goal is to have a fun game. If using this can add to the fun, great. If this becomes one-upsmanship between you and a player, it could break up the game. If this is a single player who is disrupting the game, look for a replacement. If this is the best player at the table, I suspect he will handle the consequences of this action. Good players play their character "warts and all."

Your response will be best served to align with the answers to those questions. That's the advice I have.

 

[Flyspeck23]

Which leads to the question about the DM's response. ... What is it about a PC calling himself "dragonslayer" that demands any particular action by the DM? Why is it important that the PC be reprimanded in some way for a bit of self-esteem boosting? Is this a DM-gawd who punishes pride, and why is that?

Everything that's happening is in some way the DM's doing. So what's wrong with asking what repercussions this kind of behavior might cause in the campaign?
I think both solutions (people asking for help and believing the paladin can do almost anything, and other dragons being angry at the paladin) would make sense, and neither would mean that the DM (me) lays the smack down on the paladin.
Behavior should have consequences... if not, than we're essentially talking "one dungeon crawl after the other".

If I was a warrior who slew a dragon singlehandedly I'd add dragonslayer to my name.

What's the complaint, that it was a young horse-sized wingless dragon so it does not count? It only had 95 hit points, so that's not really anything deserving of the title dragon?

Why are people calling him a liar? He did slay a dragon. If I was his companion I'd call him dragonslayer.

Yes there are tougher dragons out there that he can't handle. That does not mean he did not kill a dragon.

By singlehandedly I wanted to say: he was the only one who dealt damage to the dragon. He was not alone in the fight, nor was he the sole target of the dragon. He isn't lying when he says he killed the dragon, but he couldn't have done it alone, so it's at least an exaggeration.
In the same fight, another player singlehandedly (by the same meaning as above) defeated a lv8 sorcerer. Should that PC now call himself "Sorcererslayer"?
This boils down to: would people in the campaign world take him seriously? Most people know that dragons exist, and know that they are a lot larger than a horse when grown up, so if this "dragonslayer" (who can't lie) tells them the dragon was as large as a brown bear, will they laugh at him?

To make it clear: it's not forbidden or anything for the players to call themselves any way they want (how could it be?), but as said before: a name of such "grandeur" should have consequences - even if these consequences are just a slightly different attitude of some NPCs.

There are lots of ways to play this out, already posted. The goal is to have a fun game. If using this can add to the fun, great. If this becomes one-upsmanship between you and a player, it could break up the game. If this is a single player who is disrupting the game, look for a replacement. If this is the best player at the table, I suspect he will handle the consequences of this action. Good players play their character "warts and all."

It's no "one-upsmanship", nor is he disrupting the game, so there's no danger to the campaign. And I think the player wouldn't mind for "warts and all"

 

[rowport]

I think that his taking the title is quite cool for the game, actually. It shows that he is into the action, it is role-play appropriate (at least for many fighter-types), and it invites several other plot points, as others have mentioned. Any time a player creates new story fodder for the GM, that is good news for the game.

A bit off-topic, but related... In one of the games I play, I have a Monk who has taken to adding new titles for virtually every creature he encounters- out of game it is intentionally silly, but it also works in game, since he is arrogant and self-centered (low CHA). In game effects, the other PCs already respond to his titular obsession, and I suspect that NPCs will soon begin to do so as well. Frankly, he would love to claim "Sorcerer-slayer", as is sounds better than "Rat-killer" that the other PCs call him now.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I also believe that the paladin's self-proclaimed nickname is a very positive thing. It helps give your campaign history, because even at 20th-level, your players are going to remember how the paladin claimed his new moniker.

And IMO, what we're looking at is a nickname, rather than an actual title. A title implies aristocracy, or an established order of some kind. What your paladin has done is simply take on a nickname in the same way that warriors do in wuxia. (Lo Pan, the Jade Dragon. Mai of the Seven Swords, etc.)

I'd let him keep his nickname unmolested. At some point later I might hook an adventure or two on the name, but it wouldn't be anything punishingly difficult.

 

[Driddle]

As was originally posted -- "Somehow it seems wrong to take on the title of 'Dragonslayer' if you basically killed a whelp... so I tried to talk the paladin out of it" -- it was implied that the DM, personally, felt the title was unjustified. The first post did not clarify concern about NPC interaction; indeed, that aspect was only developed later in this thread, and mostly by responders.

That a PC's actions should have an impact on his game world was not the question. If, indeed, he's running around the kingdom posting billboards and introducing himself at royal parties and such as a "dragonslayer," then by all means play up the situation as is appropriate. ("What, exactly, did you kill?" the king asked.) But if it's merely a personal nickname and a bit of pride, there's no reason for the DM to let his own ego get in the way and step in.

 

[Emperor Valerian]

Heh... I find this so ironic because there's an NPC in my game that runs around actively trying to get rid of his title of "Dragonslayer." (A party bard in his previous group only saw him standing over the body of the dragon and wrote a song about it that became famous. The poor elf has spent the last 50 years telling people he really didn't slay the dragon, only to be ignored and proffered wine...)

 

[Black Omega]

May you live in interesting times. May you come to the attention of those in power.

Old chinese curse but a cool one. Personally, I'd not talk the player out of it. But I'd just keep an eye on how much he plays it up. If he uses it anytime he introduces himself, people are going to ask questions about the event. Even if he's truthful, many people will be impressed. It's still a pretty tough dragon, though young. It certainly might draw higher level attention than the group would otherwise get if the title is used all the time. That doesn't mean people coming to kill them, necessarily. People already mentioned the requests for help.

And how about a bad guy group who comes after the group, knowing the group is weaker and figuring that party had to have gotten good loot from killing the dragon, loot they would be too weak to defend. If they find during the attack, the group doesn't have cool stuff then there is no need for the fight and they'd be wasting their time killing the group, but the group's annoyed them so it's worth keeping an eye on them for when they do get loot. Used sparingly, this could make for a good, not necessarily lethal challenge. And the PC's will love when they finally get tough enough to smack the bad guys around.

I doubt really old dragons would bother with him. "Who? Hmm..who did he kill? None of the really tough dragons in this area are dead that I'm aware of. He probably killed a whelp. Yawn."