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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 8533822" data-attributes="member: 20323">I actually was formulating a more nuanced view than "no stats for good creatures like gold dragons", and I  think a design approach that's less universal (while still maintaining stats to fight metallic dragons) would open up space to think about monsters more holistically.A quick example: What if, instead of 4 stat blocks for each metallic dragon type (i.e. Ancient Gold, Adult Gold, Young Gold, Gold Wyrming, Ancient Brass, Adult Brass, etc), there were just 4 stat blocks for ALL metallics. So you'd have Ancient Metallic, Adult Metallic, Young Metallic, Metallic Wyrmling. All that would change are little things like movement types, resistances, breath weapon damage, maybe mention of polymorphing into human form worth a sidebar – but otherwise metallics are really similar.That gives you the stats / verisimilitude / simulationist needs for when combat goes down with a metallic dragon, without going to the excessive stat "explosion" that we see for chromatics (which arguably need better mechanical differentiation, but that's another topic that ENPublishing, MCDM, and others are addressing).Now we've freed up lots of page space to explore non-combat uses of the various metallic dragons, which is how they're more likely to be used at the table (in my experience at least) ...Copper dragons are incorrigible pranksters whose pranks are meant to teach good lessons, right? They're the trickster spirits of dragon-kind. Why not present a handful of pranks that a copper dragon might spring on a party to test their worth for a potential quest, or to see if they're worth being pardoned for some offense, or simply for some comic relief.Gold dragons often have their own massive quests of good, right? Maybe a couple sample quests & a table of "why the gold dragon can't complete the quest itself and needs help of humanoid allies?"At extreme #1 is the traditional D&D route – all monsters have same stat blocks.At extreme #2 is the kinda 4e approach – good monsters don't get stats.One way to bridge those extremes is that some monsters – the real nasty villainous sorts & those who often appear as antagonists – deserve more complexity in their stat block. Because they are encountered more often. Because they have suspense/anticipation built up around their nastiness.But other monsters – arguably many good-aligned ones - don't need the same degree of mechanical complexity. And instead their page count should devote equal or greater space (compared to the stat block) to the monster's intended use in negotiation, or whatever other non-combat encounter the designers envision for it.In other words, what's interesting about the gold dragon is NOT its combat stat block, but the way its quest tugs at your heart strings & the twist about why such a mighty dragon needs your help.</blockquote>

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