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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dark Dragon" data-source="post: 6257654" data-attributes="member: 1115">Shivering Touch is not (yet?) available in my group. The splat book selection is limited to FRCS, PGtF, MoF, MonoF, Complete Arcane, Divine, Warrior, Adventurer, Scoundrel, Mage, Champion, Dragon Magic, Draconomicon, PHB, DMG, MM, MM1&2. The DM can of course use whatever he/she sees fit, I use for instance LoD, DoF, and BoVD as well.But I consider Shivering Touch very close of being broken: 3d6 DEX DAMAGE for a level 3 spell without a save??? And it does not say that the spell is discharged after the attack (duration: 1 round/level). Other spells like Vampiric Touch, Contagion, or Poison (+/- same level) are instantaneous, with a save or slow damage progression, Touch of Idiocy just gives a non-stacking penalty... I may be mistaken about touch spell discharge however. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f615.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":confused:" title="Confused    :confused:"  data-smilie="5"data-shortname=":confused:" /> I guess they are discharged on the first successful attack, but I rarely use them in-game...IIRC, holding a spell charge and subsequently casting another spell would discharge the first spell. So it would not work if the dragon casts Blinding Breath immediately before his attack...Agreed about Ray of Enfeeblement, it complicates matters somewhat if AMF joins in. Chill Touch would be an alternative, but as you said, 1st level spells for a CR 21 creature are, well, not tipping the balance that much. Shield is always nice, though.Hmm, I don't see much gain if the dragon takes Practiced Spellcaster... Scintillating Scales is nice, if you take the version from Spell Compendium. If you use the Draconomicon version, it is not as good: deflection bonus equal to CON modifier, natural armor decreases by 1/2 CON modifier. Still it is a good spell, and it would give the dragon a free ring slot (remove the RoP +3). Did I miss an erratum about Scintillating Scales?Indeed, Quicken and Maximize Breath are worthy alternatives. Drawback: Maximize Breath is a full round action, so no fly-by attack. And it can't be combined with Quicken Breath... But I have to consider Quicken Breath!True, but I always keep in mind that the dragon did not pop into existence as a very old creature but it developed and learned spells that were good in the beginning, and that faded in power later. Magic Missile is nice because it also hits incorporeal creatures, and dragons have as all other corporeal creatures their difficulties with ghosts and co. As all other dragon that the PCs encounter, this one has a background as well, and it may happen that the group learns some bits and bites about it.And I appreciate your thoughts very much <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> I know that this encounter is a thin red line regarding storyline, playing evil foes in an evil way, game balance, and fun. A TPK is no fun at all, and the same holds for killing a PC when he cannot fight back at least. Still I hope that the party uses its abilities and equipment efficiently. The use of the evil artefact would offer some helpful options, but it is ethically very questionable and will have a negative impact on the cleric's alignment (he is LG, but the artefact's evilness has become obvious on several occasions; remember the One Ring?! <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devil.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":devil:" title="Devil    :devil:" data-shortname=":devil:" /> ). The group knows this, but they saw no other options but to keep it so that an evil guy cannot get it without a fight...For AMF (and other short-ranged emanations) I was thinking about if the emanation starts on the surface of the caster. This would make AMF and dragons even more powerful though, and be in violation of the RAW, but it would remove some strange situations with big creatures being partially protected by an AMF, while their limbs could be enhanced by spells and attacked by foes with magical energy. The latter point is even contradictive to the rules that say that there is no facing, and there are no called shots to limbs or heads UNLESS specifically said otherwise (like heads of a hydra, eyes of a beholder). A dragon in an AMF is theoretically not subject to called shots, and the DM could rule that it is still protected by the spell even if it does not fit into the sphere at 100 %.</blockquote>

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