Taking down a dragon

Shrykull · Post by **Shrykull** » 2003-08-03 12:01am

What would be a good way to do it, having high level mages pelt it with direct damage spells (they'll have to get through it's SR though) I thought maybe one of the best ways was hasted high strength fighters, piled on with all the usual bonus's and protections, protection from fire and acid, prayer bless and divine favor, etc who could hit it fast and hard, what about a monk hasted, could it do 2 full round actions, 2 flurry of blows attacks?

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-08-03 12:04am

Depends a lot upon both the Intelligence of said beast and Age.

If young you could set a few traps and poisons in it's food and literally weaken it so your party stands a chance.

If older you had better hope that you have a few well placed divewrsions and traps to hurt the beast...because it has more then enough firepower to mow down a good sized group.

It should go without saying that having some way to ground it as well as not facing it in it's lair are keys to victory.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2003-08-03 12:47am

IMO, there is no "good" way to kill an older dragon without things getting messy. Most are two to three times as smart as a lot of high level PCs and if played well aren't going to be duped by anything. Never, ever, ever underestimate a dragon, I say. They can smash, burn/freeze/melt/corrode/whatever, crush, slash, stab, maim, slay, etc. The best can even BURNiNATE THE PEASANTS. They have no built-in weaknesses, with the following exceptions:

Their elemental polar opposite.
Their extreme vanity (which is well justified).
Their relatively low dexterity.

You can't fool them, you can't hide from them, you can't run from them, and you can't slug it out with them. You need both luck and a lot of high level spell casters.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2003-08-03 12:50am

*smirks*
How to kill a White Great Wyrm:

Have the Drow cast Sphere of Darkness, centered right between the dragon's eyes.
Have the Barbarian Hero throw his magic hammer to the ceiling, breaking the Huge Frickin' Icy stalagtite over the dragon's body.
Watch stalagtite fall on dragon from a great height, crushing the Wyrm underneath its weight.
(--The Crystal Shard)

How to kill a Red Wyrm, Part 1:

Convince the Wyrm to aid you in fighting the avatar of a forgotten god of rot.
Have the Wyrm breathe down the mouth of the avatar.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
(-- Azure Bonds)

How to kill the Red Wyrm, Part 2:

Break the Staff of Magi across Wyrm's nose.
(--Witch of Shadowdale)

How to kill the Red Wyrm, Part 3

Have the Bronze dragon distract the Wyrm
Have the Half-Dragon/half Kobold spit acid in Wyrm's eyes.
Have the small army of Kobolds rolling 20's to hit.
(-- Nitram's AD&D game. Yes, it really happened.)

How to kill the dragon rampaging across the countryside:

Find the greatest mage of the land.
Watch him die.
Have his apprentice bring him back to life in the heart of the dragon's lair.
Watch as dragon swoop-attacks mage and carry him off.
Have apprentice break the mage's power-crystal.
KABOOOM! Dead mage and dragon.
(--Dragonslayer movie)

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2003-08-03 12:52am

Repeat after me.

I shalt not fuck with Dragons, for I am crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2003-08-03 12:53am

OOOOOOOOOOPS! I forgot the Best One!!

Have a little bird tell you where the Wyrm's weak spot is.
Take your Black Arrow, that has Never Failed You, and aim for the missing scale.
Watch Arrow sink to the feathers into the Dragon's heart.
(--The Hobbit)

Exonerate · Post by **Exonerate** » 2003-08-03 01:48am

LadyTevar wrote:OOOOOOOOOOPS! I forgot the Best One!!

Have a little bird tell you where the Wyrm's weak spot is.
Take your Black Arrow, that has Never Failed You, and aim for the missing scale.
Watch Arrow sink to the feathers into the Dragon's heart.
(--The Hobbit)

Damn you. I was going to post that

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-08-03 02:26am

Talos, nothing shall defeat it

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2003-08-03 04:51am

Well... To take out an older dragon....

I like to summon minions to distract the dragon in melee... then pelt it with direct damage spells.

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2003-08-03 04:57am

SirNitram wrote:I shalt not fuck with Dragons, for I am crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.

Discerning dragons prefer horseradish, from what I've been told. Ketchup is too bland.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2003-08-03 05:14am

I have a half-orc F/M who just LOVED his work. He found the safest place to be on a dragon: The back of its head!

A well-timed Critical Strike spell again and again and again. I had sticky stuff to keep me on.

Of course, it WAS a white dragon Great Wyrm; They're the dumbest of all dragons.

We got FAT treasure for that fight. They kept moving around and distracting the dragon with arrows and spells, and we had a knight on a griffon. He got knocked out twice, once to -9, but not dead.

Funniest story ever for why 3ed is inferior to 2nd: The knight did massive damage to a 40 HD demon, and the demon rolled a 1 on his shock check. Died in the first round.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-08-03 06:59am

Sea Skimmer wrote:Talos, nothing shall defeat it

With the introduction of Afghanistan: D20 we can probably precisely calculate that.

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-08-03 09:37am

One lucky arrow to the voonerables.

Everyone knows that.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-08-03 11:21am

Make it star in a movie with Kevin Costner...

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2003-08-03 12:15pm

Yes, let us speak of "taking down" dragons.

By the way, in the story this picture is based on the guy with the skull mask
sort of reminded me of Darth Vader. He's supposed to be ~7ft tall and very
powerful.

Iceberg · Post by **Iceberg** » 2003-08-03 12:45pm

Standard Missile SM-2MR works for me. Or if you can pinpoint it on the ground while it's sleeping, TLAM-N (before 1995), TLAM or TACTOM.

lance · Post by **lance** » 2003-08-03 12:56pm

How you take down a dragon in 5 easy steps

1 Find out age and type of opposing dragon,
2 Get good or evil dragon most suited to fighting this type of dragon in the same age group.
3 Offer said dragon 50% of the other dragons horde.
4 When said dragon says 95 agree.
5 Attack! According to your new bosses well made plan.

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2003-08-03 01:02pm

lance wrote:How you take down a dragon in 5 easy steps

1 Find out age and type of opposing dragon,
2 Get good or evil dragon most suited to fighting this type of dragon in the same age group.
3 Offer said dragon 50% of the other dragons horde.
4 When said dragon says 95 agree.
5 Attack! According to your new bosses well made plan.

I like the idea except for possibly being "allied" with an evil dragon. Somehow I think I am screwed after we kill the other dragon.

Iceberg · Post by **Iceberg** » 2003-08-03 01:17pm

I also wonder how dragons would react to MANPADs, RPGs, AMRs, shoulder-launched ATGMs, SAMs and the other assorted hazards that exist on the modern battlefield for large, well-armored and ugly targets...

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2003-08-03 01:34pm

Bah! Who needs MANPADS when you can call in an ICBM strike?

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-08-03 01:36pm

Yeah, but those ICBM strikes do you a hell of a lot of good, when you realize that the dragon in question, backrolled Bush, really owns microsoft, and now has your exact location, and a black ops team on the way.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2003-08-03 01:37pm

Crayz9000 wrote:Bah! Who needs MANPADS when you can call in an ICBM strike?

Teleport Without Error.

After all, that silo will go to waste without a dragon to live in it.. Just have to eat the little two-legs in it.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-08-03 01:43pm

wait, you don't mean he doesn't know there's a dragon underneath Mt. Chyanne, just like the world's banking is controlled by that dragon in the Swiss Alps and that other one, under Hong Kong Harbour....

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2003-08-03 01:47pm

It's one thing to beat a dragon in a straight fight...

It's quite another to survive when one of them begins plotting with you in mind.

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2003-08-03 01:51pm

Just wondering... would an Islamic terrorist with a nuclear bomb strapped to his chest be considered terminal indigestion if eaten?