Players love
facing off against a dragon.
Taking down
the ultimate fantasy RPG foe is a real delight.
But you know
what’s intimidating? Roleplaying a dragon as the GM.
Dragons are
supposed to be fearsome monsters, greedy for gold and completely egotistical.
As a GM, trying to inhabit a headspace where you want to kill anyone who
intrudes your lair, steal their gold and tell them all how awesome you are
while you’re at it can be tough.
We
remembered some of our favorite dragons and past entertaining encounters while
peering at some old copies of the Monster Manual for advice.
Here are a
few things to remember:
Dragons are greedy. Dragons love expanding that treasure
hoard. They should be eyeballing the fighter’s magical greatsword and
attempting to convince the thief to leave his bag of gold behind. Alternately,
he’ll fry those guys with his breath weapon and find those things in the
leftover rubble.
Be egotistical. Remember how Smaug kind of toyed
with Bilbo? He attempted to intimidate the hobbit by asking questions while
showing off his mighty strength. If you’re playing the dragon, he knows he’s
the smartest and most powerful person in the room. Play him that way.
Dragons are smart. If you’re the GM, you should know
everything that’s going on in your game, including player strengths and
weaknesses and the available terrain. Dragons are incredibly intelligent and
should be keenly aware of their surroundings. As the GM, allow yourself to
metagame a little bit and think of the way the dragon would take out the
players.
Make the hoard interesting. Surely, there’s lots of gold that
dragon has been piling up. But what magic items has he plucked off wary
adventurers who previously infiltrated his lair? What mundane items could he
have been picking up? What does the dragon collect? Is the dragon’s wealth made
primarily of coins or of items of great value? Does the dragon collect trophies
of any kind?
Who works for the dragon? Maybe he’s a solitary creature, but
the dragon may also have minions to do his bidding or perhaps a right-hand-man
who helps him find new targets for pillaging. He may have slaves working in his
lair or a cult that worships him like a god.
What are his tactics? We don’t just mean in battle. The
dragon should know his own lair very well (he built it after all) and should
know in advance how he’d play out a battle. He’d also know how to play out a
conversation. Don’t be afraid to write down lines and/or the direction you’d
like to steer the conversation.
What does the dragon find tasty? Maybe he ate a dwarf once and really
enjoys the taste, so seeing a bearded party member might get him excited. On
the other hand, perhaps an elf once helped the dragon collect a host of
treasure, and he now he has a soft spot for elves.
The dragon may not want to fight. Maybe he simply wants to talk.
Dragons will defend their lairs and their hoards, but they don’t always
necessarily do so with violence. That could involve pitting the players against
one of the dragon’s other enemies or sending them up against a foe the dragon
thinks they’ll never survive.
Dragons can be lazy. Sitting on a pile of gold can be so
much more fun than flying around and breathing fire on everything. A dragon may
find it easier to set a load of traps in and around his lair or send someone
else to do his bidding. Of course, once those have run their course, a dragon
is usually more than happy for a little bloodshed.
Dragons are usually loners. But not
always. Once the
dragon is taken down players expect that they’ve defeated the boss enemy. But
what if there’s another dragon (perhaps its father or big brother or mentor)
lurking around somewhere? Or perhaps there was a wizard working in concert with
the dragon, and now he’s upset he lost his protection? Surprise your players by
continuing the fight after the dragon is gone.
Some dragons can change shape. If your dragon can polymorph, he may
have already met the players. Keep that character’s draconic nature a secret.
Revealing it at the right time will blow your players away.
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