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Here's a possible "fix". As lighttigersoul said, have the Gold and the Black fighting to buy time, while the players complete a ritual that will turn the Black Dragon to humanoid form. Don't make it that he is "unbeatable" in Dragon form, just have it that he's, well, very, very powerful/loaded with magic whatever and the Gold dragon isn't sure he can beat him, but there's this (three/four/five) man ritual that, if completed, will "weaken" him. He figures he can keep the BD occupied while you three scurry about preparing and performing the ritual, because the BD isn't going to pay attention to you while the gold is going on. So there's a big dragon fight in the sky (causing the occasional terrain issue, such as thrown trees or stray attacks flying their direction). Have some level-appropriate (or slightly below level appropriate due to the terrain hazards) enemies attack them, either lackeys of the dragon or ritual byproducts (OK guys we're nearly do OH poo poo THE RITUAL IS ON FIRE AH THE FIRE HAS TURNED INTO FIRE IMPS AHH AHH). So now it's not Dragon A vs Dragon B while the PCs watch, it's PCs trying to do a complex task while being attacked in waves, with some dragons doing something in the background. There's a few ways you can go now... either a) BD incapacitates GD on the last round of the ritual, so it's PCs vs injured Humanoid Dragon, or b) the ritual turns BOTH dragons Humanoid, GD is incapacitated (by falling froma great height, or because he got turned first and got smacked down by big black before he turns too, whatever), so now it's PCs vs injured Humanoid Dragon. PCs kill BD, do some quick first aid on GD, they now have a VERY grateful GD. You have: Level appropriate combat with terrain hazards and a required goal, followed by a level appropriate boss fight, followed by a nice social interaction with a grateful Gold Dragon. Sounds like a fun encounter to me! Bonus plot hooks: GD may be trapped in Humanoid form due the ritual! How can he be returned to GD form? Sounds like a quest chain! Why was he fighting a black dragon in the first place, and was there anything he needed to do after that being stuck as a puny Human may make difficult? Sounds like a quest chain! Perfect excuse for the "do it yourself" crowd. "Go kill it yourself?" "I would if I was STILL A GODDAMN DRAGON." Grumpy mentor who knows everything but can't do anything himself due to events the PCs were directly involved in? Sounds like a good Plot Dispenser to me. Edit: Gold Dragon may even have been counting on questioning the BD, but his incapacitation and the resultant death of BD has just made his life much more complicated. You don't even have to reveal straight away that he's stuck. You can have the dragon says "Yay! That all worked out. Well, I'm off. This should wear off in a day or two, thanks for your help." (a couple of sessions later) "You see an oddly familiar, and rather upset, looking man...." Splicer fucked around with this message at 13:06 on Jun 22, 2009 |
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Jun 22, 2009 12:57
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 13:21 |
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