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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dark Dragon" data-source="post: 6253677" data-attributes="member: 1115"><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> Well, sometimes I DM the foes in order to "train" the players for a particular encounter which may (or may not) take place later in the campaign but with different monsters using a similar tactical approach. If the players remember their training, it will help them to overcome that challenge in a better way. If not, they may complain, but only until I remind them of that "training".So far, the players know that I expect that they use their PCs as efficient as possible, i.e., it is more a "combat as war" encounter style of play. Works not always, but sufficiently often. However, the players mostly don't know if it is "combat as sport" or not. Last session saw more the former, when the pseudodragon familiars of the PCs could shine and take out the outer guard perimeter of the cultists without an alarm to be sound. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f60e.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":cool:" title="Cool    :cool:"  data-smilie="6"data-shortname=":cool:" /> When the little dragons tried to proceeded to the inner perimeter, they were outmatched, hence the PCs stepped in and slaughtered the remaining guards. That's the way I do it as well for most dragons: they are tied to a theme and/or strategy. The red dragon of the coming battle is going after the rule "Safety first": he knows his weaknesses (and that foes will try to target them) and invested a lot of time to find ways to suppress/remove them. He does not want to loose a fight due to poor defenses. So his spell selection focuses on abjuration (alarm, resist energy, protection from energy, dispel magic, stoneskin), illusion (mirror image, invisibility, greater invisibility), and some healing spells. His offensive spells won't be that much, but some unusual spells out of the splat books will be among them (haven't completed the list yet). The dragon relies on his physical prowess and favors physical combat over arcane duels. Of course, the dragon won't fight fair. He will single out or focus on one foe until that foe is no threat anymore (=dead, or teleported away). He will use any means and battle field settings to his advantage, and does not care much about his allies. As a dragon, he wants his share of the treasure (=100%), because he knows that the cultists need his help, not vice versa. <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devil.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":devil:" title="Devil    :devil:" data-shortname=":devil:" /></blockquote>

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