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5 months ago ::
Jan 07, 2013 - 9:31PM
#1
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Date Joined:
May 12, 2009
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Wandering Monsters
Spawn of TiamatBy James WyattDragons, you say? Where are they? Today James goes over those fearsome beasties known as chromatic dragons. Come read about them and give us your insights about these terrifying opponents.Talk about this column here.
Yan
Montréal, Canada
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5 months ago ::
Jan 07, 2013 - 9:44PM
#2
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Date Joined:
Jul 24, 2002
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I think Wyatt hit the major notes here.
Personally, I'd like to see the Reds better match up to the Golds in overall power. As they are the iconic dragon foe, perhaps they should also be the "alpha" dragon species.
And seeing as a lot of dragons use camouflage, perhaps the Blues could have lighter coloured undersides to blend into the desert skies.
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5 months ago ::
Jan 07, 2013 - 9:45PM
#3
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Date Joined:
Mar 31, 2012
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Fun article. Not much new, and a bit redundant though.
The biggest change I made to dragons in my home game was to make them a higher level challenge. To me dragons should be one of the pinnacle monsters of the Prime Material Plane, not something to be fought and defeated by a party of 4th or 5th level characters, which I have seen many times over the years.
This is Dungeons and Dragons, so I get that people want to beat the most famous monsters in the game. But what I think happens is: Beat a dragon. Now what.
It is going to be what it s going to be, and by all means people have your fun, but I would prefer if dragonslaying be on the itinerary of a party of 10-20th level characters so that they are not looking to the outer planes for a real fight.
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5 months ago ::
Jan 07, 2013 - 9:50PM
#4
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I found that article pretty vague... 
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5 months ago ::
Jan 07, 2013 - 10:13PM
#5
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Date Joined:
Jul 24, 2002
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Fun article. Not much new, and a bit redundant though.
The biggest change I made to dragons in my home game was to make them a higher level challenge. To me dragons should be one of the pinnacle monsters of the Prime Material Plane, not something to be fought and defeated by a party of 4th or 5th level characters, which I have seen many times over the years.
I don't mind having various age groups of dragons allowing lower level characters a shot at young dragons, just so long as the oldest dragons present an appropriate challenge for chacters at least into the mid teens and up.
But I'm also okay if dragons aren't the pinnacle monster on the Prime, but perhaps the pinnacle race of monsters. Unique creatures like the Tarrasque should be able to destroy *any* non-unique dragon. That said, I'd certainly pay for front-row seats to Fyrillicus vs the Tarrasque. 
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5 months ago ::
Jan 07, 2013 - 10:20PM
#6
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Date Joined:
May 12, 2009
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5—I'm running in terror from these awesome dragons. 
Yan
Montréal, Canada
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5 months ago ::
Jan 07, 2013 - 11:00PM
#7
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Date Joined:
Jun 15, 2006
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Sometimes I wonder dragons are too powerful and clever to not impose a feudal regime to humanoids...
Let´s imagine a young dragon who has left his mother´s lair. He is alone, without hunt zone...what would he do to survive? A option would be using a humanoid shape and infiltrarte in humanoid society, to be for example only a jewel trader (jewels cut by kobold vassals). Some ones would adviser of kings and nobles...
"Say me what you're showing off for, and I'll say you what you lack!" (Spanish saying)
Book 13 Anaclet 23
Confucius said: "The Superior Man is in harmony but does not follow the crowd. The inferior man follows the crowd, but is not in harmony"
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5 months ago ::
Jan 07, 2013 - 11:12PM
#8
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Fun article. Not much new, and a bit redundant though.
The biggest change I made to dragons in my home game was to make them a higher level challenge. To me dragons should be one of the pinnacle monsters of the Prime Material Plane, not something to be fought and defeated by a party of 4th or 5th level characters, which I have seen many times over the years.
I don't mind having various age groups of dragons allowing lower level characters a shot at young dragons, just so long as the oldest dragons present an appropriate challenge for chacters at least into the mid teens and up.
But I'm also okay if dragons aren't the pinnacle monster on the Prime, but perhaps the pinnacle race of monsters. Unique creatures like the Tarrasque should be able to destroy *any* non-unique dragon. That said, I'd certainly pay for front-row seats to Fyrillicus vs the Tarrasque.
I would be fine with dragons at any level as a solo type monster. A whole party should quake in fear of a single level appropriate dragon...
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5 months ago ::
Jan 08, 2013 - 2:16AM
#9
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Ordinarily I'd be bothered by something like All Dragons Have Automatic Magical Fear Aura, because that's not remotely a real dragon trope at all, much less something that should be a universal, but it's something that's just sort of part of D&D dragons, so whatever.
Aside from that, though, this is the best monster article in a long time. I love that dragons aren't automatically all powerful spellcasters, and I love the focus on their characterizations. Well, two adjectives each, but that's better than nothing. The actual characterizations do make the largely meaningless alignment categories plastered at the top of the article look a little bit like they're past their sell-by date, but any remotely nuanced characterization (even if it's just two adjectives) is going to inevitably do that.
Dwarves invented beer so they could toast to their axes. Dwarves invented axes to kill people and take their beer.
"Feel free to claim I said anything you like. How's someone going to call you out on it? Are they going to be all like, 'I know all of the things that Gary said, and that's not one of them?'"
- Gary Gygax
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5 months ago ::
Jan 08, 2013 - 4:26AM
#10
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Date Joined:
Aug 22, 2007
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Liked the article
Just one issue
In the desert, it is not Blue dragons vs Brass dragons.
It's Blue vs Brass vs Brown in the desert.
Orzel, Halfelven son of Zel, Mystic Ranger, Bane to Dragons, Death to Undeath, Killer of Abyssals, King of the Wilds.
Constitution Based Class for Next!
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