D&D 5E Which Dragon should I choose?

[Herosmith14]

If you're so rigid in your thinking of dragons that any dragon that's CG must be just like a brass dragon then, no, don't choose a CG Red Dragon.

Here's another possibility: Lawful Neutral Crystalline Dragon. They are very smart (Int 17-18) and very serious and orderly. It might be just the thing to run a mercenary company that is organized but isn't as concerned with what its employer wants. That might fit Lawful Neutral well enough. Only downside is that they like to live in cold and are really, really big in their older age categories.

Like I said, I am considering crystalline dragons, I just don't know where to find lore and 5e stats for them.

 

[Herosmith14]

If I'm going by the game's fiction, Brass and Green dragons are my favorite choices. They're both described as interested and active in humanoid activities. Brass dragons would totally do this sort of thing just for the interaction and entertainment they'd get.

And I could see a Green Dragon doing this as a business endeavour. He'd be fine with them doing good because it keeps the humanoid societies out of his hair, which means the wealth can keep rolling in. It only needs to be one branch of his many schemes. And maybe part of the scheme has him "firing" the more evil mercenaries out of this organization, but in reality he's just shuffling them to another outfit that he uses for his more nefarious doings.

That's a fun idea you have with the green dragon. I'll have to put em higher on the list.

 

[Satyrn]

That's a fun idea you have with the green dragon. I'll have to put em higher on the list.

Thank you. I had to run a green dragon a little while back, and while trying to do so I was inspired by it's write up in the 5e monster manual. The bits titled Manipulative Schemers and Living Treasures especially.

Which brings up another suggestion on how you can pick your dragon: Read through their descriptions in the MM and go with the one that inspires most.

 

[gyor]

I'd go with Bronze, in FR Bronze are known to sign onto human militaries, so I could totally see it.

 

[neogod22]

Like I said, I am considering crystalline dragons, I just don't know where to find lore and 5e stats for them.

There are none for 5e yet. You have to look in previous editions.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

[jgsugden]

The obvious answer is a gnome.

D&D is a role playing game. Characters play a role in a story. The best games take place within fun stories.

Look to the movies, books and tv for inspiration. A common trope in great stories is the unexpected or opposite: Having something at the heart of an organization devoted to X not being in line with the devoted beliefs of the organization. I've had a secret order of paladins that were organized and guided (in secret) by the king of crime - who guided the order to take down his rivals, and even to hurt his own endeavors in places to keep suspicion off him or to take out a problematic lieutenant. I've had a Blue Dragon (king of the deserts) being the mastermind behind plots 10,000 miles away in a frozen wasteland. And I would certainly consider having the creator and leader of your organization being someone that could not qualify to join as a member.

Maybe he is like the Wizard of Oz, a charlatan trickster that has everyone convinced he is a dragon. Maybe he is insane and believes himself to be a dragon. Maybe his inner circle knows he is not draconic, but doesn't care as he is devoted to the service of Bahamut. Maybe he created a powerful organization for good that had no explicit ties to the dragons, but his most powerful lieutenant corrupted it for his own purposes.

 

[DEFCON 1]

An Awakened Hydra.

Yes, I know the Awaken spell can only be used on beasts and plants, and the hydra is a monstrosity... but this is a special occasion. Some wizard at some point in the past worked out how to accomplish this odd casting of Awaken, and ended up giving this hydra a 10 INT. Then at some point perhaps either the hydra turned on the wizard and took its stuff, or perhaps the wizard made the hydra his/her heir and gave it all of its stuff after the wizard passed on (including some magical method for the hydra to shapeshift.)

And now... since the hydra knows it can't compete against other real dragons in the magic department (since all of its magic is items it got from the wizard), it's become more focused on martial endeavors, including setting up its own mercenary company.

 

[Eltab]

How about a dracolich?

(Not one bound to the Cult of the Dragon, of course.) He expects to live forever - so he can think up, keep track of, and implement generation-long plans.
Maybe the mercenary company is intended to get draco-folk together in emotionally intense situations, some of them will decide to mate for life and eventually bear young.
The youngsters, representing an effort at a (semi-)directed breeding plan, is the leader's REAL goal. He gets beings who are tough, strong, lucky, smart, plus a culture to pass on learnable skills.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

An Awakened Hydra.

Yes, I know the Awaken spell can only be used on beasts and plants, and the hydra is a monstrosity... but this is a special occasion. Some wizard at some point in the past worked out how to accomplish this odd casting of Awaken, and ended up giving this hydra a 10 INT. Then at some point perhaps either the hydra turned on the wizard and took its stuff, or perhaps the wizard made the hydra his/her heir and gave it all of its stuff after the wizard passed on (including some magical method for the hydra to shapeshift.)

And now... since the hydra knows it can't compete against other real dragons in the magic department (since all of its magic is items it got from the wizard), it's become more focused on martial endeavors, including setting up its own mercenary company.

Hail Hydra!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

(Looks at own current level title...)

Yes. "Hail Hydra" indeed.