Nice. I used a dragon encounter in the 4th game of my current campaign after reading somewhere about dragon duels and challenges vs. PCs. It was cool letting the low level characters meet a low level dragon. It was more of a roleplaying encounter than a combat encounter, but the dragon himself (after a failed skill challenge) presented the PCs with a combat challenge. My players got a kick out of it. Here is the session summary:
4th Session
After spending the night in the cave, the party swam back to the main cavern to proceed eastward through a large cavern opening. Cautiously scouting ahead in the dark, Geyorg noticed that the chamber the group was entering was a vast rocky cavern with a number or 10’ rock ledges dropping down below. Together, with light cast upon Karyak’s helm, the party advanced into the large cavern. Moments after stepping forward, they heard the sound of beating wings, and as their eyes adjusted to the cavern they saw a small brass dragon fly toward them and land just a few feet before them. The dragon spoke with the group and asked them why they were there. Karyak began by telling the truth, but not the whole truth. He mentioned that they were exploring the area for their benefactor, Lord Berris. The group continued to parlay; Xaxis used his Dragon lore to help him converse in Draconic with the dragon. He learned that the Dragon’s name was Telliscore, a young Brass Dragon who had to flee from his lair far to the north about two years ago. It seemed as if the Dragon was not upset at all that the party had killed the kobolds. Telliscore said he used them to defend himself but he was growing tired of them. While Xaxis and Karyak were speaking with Telliscore, Grimgold, the Dwarven fighter tried to assess any weakness or injuries that Telliscore might have, and Geyorg, the rogue scanned the area looking for a good place to hide, if a fight broke out. The Dwarf and the Eladrin Rogue made Telliscore uncomfortable. He said, “The silent ones are always dangerous.”
Attempting to calm the Dragon and redirect the conversation, Karyak used his religious knowledge to try to comfort the young Dragon, but Telliscore did not care about Pelor, and Karyak’s attempt at empathy did not work. (The party failed a skill challenge – Speaking with Telliscore).
At this point, Telliscore challenged the party to a duel to sharpen his own combat skills, which in turn, would also give the adventurers a chance to sharpen their own skills. Telliscore set the rules: “If you bloody me before I knock you all down, you’ll be victorious. If I knock you all down before you bloody me, I am the victor. I assure you, I shall not kill you. Besides I’m not even hungry now.” Telliscore even allowed the adventurers to position themselves before beginning the challenge.
The combat started with Xaxis’ burning hands. He soon realized that the Dragon was somewhat resistant to the flames, but not completely resistant. Then, Telliscore flew up to Xaxis and clawed him. Then he shifted one square and braced himself. Grimgold rushed up the rock ledge to get to the Dragon, and he connected with a might blow, Villain’s Menace, making Telliscore easier to hit and increasing damage for Grimgold’s future attacks. Geyorg, also climbed up the ledge, but he stayed 20’ from the Dragon and fired a crossbow bolt at the beast, hitting it in the rump. Karyak clambered up the rocks and also scored a hit, injuring Telliscore even more. The next turn, Telliscore used his breath weapon and fire burnt both Karyak and Grimgold. Karyak screamed in pain, bloodied and singed. Then, Telliscore used his Frightful Presence, stunning all but Grimgold. Grimgold noticed that his companions were out of action, at least for this round, and he charged Telliscore for all he was worth. Using his Shield Bash, Grimgold damaged Telliscore and knocked him prone. Then, with an extra action (action point) he hacked away at the prone Dragon, cutting him deep enough to end the contest. Telliscore was impressed by the group’s performance.
Seeing that Telliscore kept his word, Karyak healed everyone, including Telliscore, and the party continued a longer conversation with Telliscore, on much better terms. The party learned how Telliscore’s mother, Tiscari, pushed young Telliscore out of the lair as horrible Dragon hunters attacked. Telliscore had to flee. The party spoke of Sand’s End and told Telliscore about their own mission, and when they mentioned that they were sent to find a magically warded box, Telliscore went to his treasure trove, shuffled through his gold and other items, and awarded the very box the group was seeking to them. Xaxis looked it over and determined that the wards on the box were truly powerful, beyond his own comprehension at this time.
Telliscore asked the party to do him one small favor. He wanted them to help him seal off the entrance to his cave from where they entered, so that no other creatures could find him. He wanted to remain hidden here for at least another year, at which time he planned to fly back to the north to see what happened to his mother. The party agreed to help. Grimgold used his dungeoneering skills, Geyorg used his thievery skills, Xaxis used his arcane knowledge as Karyak aided the others, and the group was able to collapse the bridge over the underground river, move larger boulders to block the cave entrances, cover over the kobold pit trap, and reactivate the electrical trap in the original cellar to the Dwarven ruin. (Skill Challenge Success) Once that was done, the group made their way back to Sand’s End.
