|
1 year ago ::
Jan 13, 2012 - 2:44AM
#1
|
Date Joined:
Oct 13, 2011
|
It seems to me that in almost every game I've been a player in these days, metallic dragons are often depicted as only slightly less evil than their chromatic counterparts. In the last game I DM'd the players became extremely wary around a Lawful Good gold dragon that genuinely wanted to help the PCs fight against an entrenched cult of Tiamat in Skuld (Mulhorand was not destroyed in my Faerun). And I can count other times when I would introduce a metallic dragon and the PCs would either attack it on sight or be overly cautious with them.
Would it seem that Good-aligned metallic dragons are dwindling in games these days?
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Jan 13, 2012 - 3:04AM
#2
|
Date Joined:
Jan 17, 2009
|
Personally I've never used truly 'good' dragons, dragons are sentient beings, they're as much in the grey area as any other race. But they all share a view on the fleeting lives of mortal races as we look at ants or dayflies, unless a mortal truly distinguishes himself as extraordinary a dragon doesn't care whether he lives or dies.
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Jan 13, 2012 - 5:22AM
#3
|
Date Joined:
Sep 22, 2009
|
So far, the only metallic dragon my players have encountered ended up as part of their group. I'm not sure if I ever consciously picked an alignment for him, but he would have been either Good or Lawful Good.
In general, if I use a metallic dragon, it's practically never Evil/Chaotic Evil. Its actual alignment depends on what kind of dragon it is, and what encounters it has had with mortals before. If it's a gold who rules a remnant of Arkhosia, it's probably Good or Lawful Good. If it's an iron dragon living in the wilderness without contact with other sentient beings, it's probably Unaligned.
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Jan 13, 2012 - 5:39AM
#4
|
|
|
dragons in general are kind of dwindling in my games bc in 4e they were really, really weak to start with and even updated dont pose the kind of threat i want; i want complete unabashed fear if i put a dragon in the game. i have edited a couple for use in my own games but they dont have a big presence
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Jan 13, 2012 - 6:29AM
#5
|
Date Joined:
Oct 24, 2001
|
In our current campaign, dragons are much less concerned with good and evil than the rest of the world seems to be. Our dragons are societally lawful neutral, with individual dragons running the full gamut. But to an outsider, they almost all seem purely neutral.
With their longevity, they see things on a much less immediate scale. A good dragon may be looking at the immediate good, the long-term good, the greater good, or even the selfish good when making a given decision. A wise dragon will balance all of these. A foolish dragon may sacrifice any one of these for another.
"In game" our dragons' decisions don't seem to fit the normal definitions of good and evil used by lesser beings.
Here are the PHB essentia, in my opinion: - Three Basic Rules (p 11)
- Power Types and Usage (p 54)
- Skills (p178-179)
- Feats (p 192)
- Rest and Recovery (p 263)
- All of Chapter 9 [Combat] (p 264-295)
A player needs to read the sections for building his or her character -- race, class, powers, feats, equipment, etc. But those are PC-specific. The above list is for everyone, regardless of the race or class or build or concept they are playing.
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Jan 13, 2012 - 7:38AM
#6
|
Date Joined:
Jan 21, 2003
|
It seems to me that in almost every game I've been a player in these days, metallic dragons are often depicted as only slightly less evil than their chromatic counterparts. In the last game I DM'd the players became extremely wary around a Lawful Good gold dragon that genuinely wanted to help the PCs fight against an entrenched cult of Tiamat in Skuld (Mulhorand was not destroyed in my Faerun). And I can count other times when I would introduce a metallic dragon and the PCs would either attack it on sight or be overly cautious with them.
Would it seem that Good-aligned metallic dragons are dwindling in games these days?
You gotta understand..if its in the monster manual, its ment to be fought, not reasoned with. That's part of why all metalic dragons are now normally neutral, not normally good. Same reason Angels arn't all good anymore.
So of course most DMs and most PCs will be expecting a fight..that's why its there, to fight it. It honestly takes a different mindset of PCs to want to talk with em.
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Jan 13, 2012 - 7:47AM
#7
|
Date Joined:
Sep 22, 2006
|
I occasionally use a larger, more powerful Dragon as an NPC. I usually keep the Chromatic Dragons as villians, but I probably have room for a Bronze or a Steel dragon in my current game...
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Jan 13, 2012 - 7:52AM
#8
|
Date Joined:
Aug 11, 2006
|
> That's part of why all metalic dragons are now normally neutral, not normally
> good.
That's why the Monster Manual presents the non-good metallic dragons that the party fights. The good ones that the party doesn't fight don't need stat blocks.
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Jan 13, 2012 - 8:27AM
#9
|
Date Joined:
Jan 21, 2003
|
> That's part of why all metalic dragons are now normally neutral, not normally
> good.
That's why the Monster Manual presents the non-good metallic dragons that the party fights. The good ones that the party doesn't fight don't need stat blocks.
See? Just as I said.
Everything in that book is there to fight! So stop trying to reason with them, stop trying to make them into non fighting encounters. And get to fighting. Cause come on..isn't combat the best thing about D&D ever?
|
|
|
|
1 year ago ::
Jan 13, 2012 - 8:49AM
#10
|
Date Joined:
Oct 24, 2001
|
Everything in that book is there to fight! So stop trying to reason with them, stop trying to make them into non fighting encounters. And get to fighting. Cause come on..isn't combat the best thing about D&D ever?
I initially thought your first post was helpful, but the follow-up casts it in a slightly different [torch] light.
Here are the PHB essentia, in my opinion: - Three Basic Rules (p 11)
- Power Types and Usage (p 54)
- Skills (p178-179)
- Feats (p 192)
- Rest and Recovery (p 263)
- All of Chapter 9 [Combat] (p 264-295)
A player needs to read the sections for building his or her character -- race, class, powers, feats, equipment, etc. But those are PC-specific. The above list is for everyone, regardless of the race or class or build or concept they are playing.
|
|
|
