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<blockquote data-quote="Jeremy Ackerman-Yost" data-source="post: 379188" data-attributes="member: 4720">If it's going to be a one-shot deal, do you even need to have a new monster?&nbsp; That almost makes it too easy.&nbsp; Just kill the creature that's bringing about the illusions.&nbsp; Doesn't address the real issue.&nbsp; In the case of the paladin cited earlier, maybe the dragon originates from the ex-paladin himself, with no separate creature projecting it.&nbsp; We've already got a world with wizards, dragons, and what not, so do we really need anything other than the sheer power of this guy's negative emotions?&nbsp;&nbsp; His guilt over his actions and his fear of being discovered has piled up over the years and taken on a life of its own, in the form of the dragon.&nbsp; The PCs could even defeat the dragon one or several times, but each time it just comes back, bigger and badder than before because the paladin stil hasn't confronted his past.&nbsp; Obviously, the easy way out is to kill the paladin.&nbsp; In theory, that removes the source of the dragon.&nbsp; Alternatively, the PCs could bring the paladin to peace by helping him (or making him) confront his past (i.e. publicly take responsibility for what he did, or seek the forgiveness of the comrades he abandoned and the god he failed, or whatever else seems appropriate).&nbsp; Thereby they eliminate the source of the dragon, and get a warm fuzzy feeling for the redemption they helped bring about.If there was some kind of illusion-making critter wandering around, they could just kill it, leaving the broken shell of an ex-paladin still sitting there, even more bitter than before because he failed AGAIN.&nbsp; And the presence of the creature takes the heat off the paladin as well, since he's not directly responsible for the dragon.&nbsp; He could treat it like it was an outside force that just happened to be feeding on him.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Jeremy Ackerman-Yost, post: 379188, member: 4720"] If it's going to be a one-shot deal, do you even need to have a new monster? That almost makes it too easy. Just kill the creature that's bringing about the illusions. Doesn't address the real issue. In the case of the paladin cited earlier, maybe the dragon originates from the ex-paladin himself, with no separate creature projecting it. We've already got a world with wizards, dragons, and what not, so do we really need anything other than the sheer power of this guy's negative emotions? His guilt over his actions and his fear of being discovered has piled up over the years and taken on a life of its own, in the form of the dragon. The PCs could even defeat the dragon one or several times, but each time it just comes back, bigger and badder than before because the paladin stil hasn't confronted his past. Obviously, the easy way out is to kill the paladin. In theory, that removes the source of the dragon. Alternatively, the PCs could bring the paladin to peace by helping him (or making him) confront his past (i.e. publicly take responsibility for what he did, or seek the forgiveness of the comrades he abandoned and the god he failed, or whatever else seems appropriate). Thereby they eliminate the source of the dragon, and get a warm fuzzy feeling for the redemption they helped bring about. If there was some kind of illusion-making critter wandering around, they could just kill it, leaving the broken shell of an ex-paladin still sitting there, even more bitter than before because he failed [i]AGAIN[/i]. And the presence of the creature takes the heat off the paladin as well, since he's not directly responsible for the dragon. He could treat it like it was an outside force that just [i]happened[/i] to be feeding on him. [/QUOTE]

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