The dragon's not a sorcerer?

[Snake-Aes]

Feels like a Wizard.
"I have a passion for the arcane arts..even moreso than others of my kind."

That does seem to hint that the dragon spent some time playing wizard with it's xp. Is this confirming enough? :p

[Sholos]

I don't see why. "Greater passion" might simply translate into having practiced, thus giving another Sorceror level or two. Especially considering the fact that wizard levels wouldn't stack for her.

[Captain Six]

She might be V's personal rival and gets all those wizard/sorcerer levels for free anyways. It's not the dragon's fault she has such a powerful race.

[dresdor]

Maybe it's because I don't want the kids to die, but I get the feeling that the dragon is some kind of illusion by the imp. Killing the kids seems harsh, even if other parts of the story mesh well..


In reality I doubt the dragon is fake, but I want it to be.

[ericgrau]

More ranks in knowledge(arcana), perhaps, or who knows. All dragons cast as sorcerer.

[Captain Six]

More ranks in knowledge(arcana), perhaps, or who knows. All dragons cast as sorcerer.

Yes, but pretty weakly and after a very long time. I think it's been pretty well implied by the comic that the dragon took extra class levels to augment the natural ability.

[Chronos]

Ancient black dragons normally cast as 11th-level sorcerers, but this one is casting 6th and 7th level spells, which means she took at least three levels of the sorcerer class in addition to what she gets racially.

[factotum]

Maybe it's because I don't want the kids to die, but I get the feeling that the dragon is some kind of illusion by the imp.

An illusion who managed to cancel out V's fly spell and then slam him into the ground at high speed? If Qarr was powerful enough to cast illusions like THAT he wouldn't need V in the first place!

[BRC]

An illusion who managed to cancel out V's fly spell and then slam him into the ground at high speed? If Qarr was powerful enough to cast illusions like THAT he wouldn't need V in the first place!
Plus, the Dragon knew details of V's home and past. No, the Dragon is very very real. And I wouldn't put it past the giant to kill off V's kids.

On the other hand, I wouldn't put it past the giant to make V's mate an epic-level ranger with Favored Enemy: Dragons who is wearing a ring of Arming.

[KillianHawkeye]

On the other hand, I wouldn't put it past the giant to make V's mate an epic-level ranger with Favored Enemy: Dragons who is wearing a ring of Arming.

If that was the case, I doubt that V's reaction would have been so full of despair and anger. Unless of course, he/she had been gone from home for so long that this information wasn't available. But how much adventuring could V's mate do while raising the children, anyway?

[Yehomer]

Plus, the Dragon knew details of V's home and past. No, the Dragon is very very real. And I wouldn't put it past the giant to kill off V's kids.

On the other hand, I wouldn't put it past the giant to make V's mate an epic-level ranger with Favored Enemy: Dragons who is wearing a ring of Arming.

What's a ring of arming?

[Lord_Drayakir]

Don't forget, the "ARRRRGH!" could've been "ARRRGH! Why am I get worked up over this?! My house has GREEN shutters and the dragon is colorblind." Or something.

Not that I care for V's kids, but it's something to consider. Or the elven ranger theory. Or the theory that V's house is surrounded by wizards. Or that the dragon is actually a hallucination, representing V's self-loathing.

[Zeful]

Feels like a Wizard.
"I have a passion for the arcane arts..even moreso than others of my kind."

That does seem to hint that the dragon spent some time playing wizard with it's xp. Is this confirming enough? :p

It would need to be almost a 13th level wizard to cast greater teleport, which would give it a 30+ CR. Compare to a 2nd level Sorcerer to do the same thing, since the class levels stack with the dragon's innate sorcerer casting.

[Optimystik]

What's a ring of arming?

It's a ring you can stash your gear (armor and weapons) in, allowing you to get dressed quickly in an emergency... such as, say, an ancient black dragon teleporting to your house :smalltongue:


Feels like a Wizard.
"I have a passion for the arcane arts..even moreso than others of my kind."

That does seem to hint that the dragon spent some time playing wizard with it's xp. Is this confirming enough? :p

"Passion" sounds more sorcerer-y to me. Besides, it makes more sense that sorcerer levels would stack with her racial powers, thus granting access to high-level magic.

[GoC]

It would need to be almost a 13th level wizard to cast greater teleport, which would give it a 30+ CR. Compare to a 2nd level Sorcerer to do the same thing, since the class levels stack with the dragon's innate sorcerer casting.

Actually the wizard levels would be considered non-associated class levels, counting for half.
Still a CR 24 though.

[Aron Times]

The ancient black dragon probably has extra sorcerer levels and/or a prestige class that grants sorcerer spellcasting to augment her innate 11th-level sorcerer abilities.

Either way, V is screwed.

[Twilight Jack]

The BBEG in a short-term campaign I once ran was a young adult blue dragon with a few wizard levels. Of course, from there I loaded him up on levels of ultimate magus. By the time I was done with that, he was a 12th level wizard/11th level sorcerer who could sacrifice sorcerer spells to fuel the metamagic on his wizard spells. CR 17 or so. Then I started in on the archmage levels. Good times.

Somehow I doubt that's what Rich has done here, though. Once you're an ancient dragon to begin with, you don't need nearly as much to raise eyebrows. Going the ultimate magus route at that level pumps her CR to 23 by the most efficient route able to cast greater teleport. By that point, she'd need wizard 3/ultimate magus 5, and would cast as a wizard 8/sorcerer 14. She doesn't need it. Put me down for three levels of sorcerer and a non-epic (though still very impressive) CR.

[Akatosh]

Plus, the Dragon knew details of V's home and past. No, the Dragon is very very real.

UNLESS, of course, V just got clonked on the head by the imp / fell "asleep" after it left and is just having a nightmare.

... okay, now I'm just making stuff up.

[Fitzclowningham]

Actually, Akatosh, I had just been having very similar thoughts. Not about a klonk on the head, but possibly an illusion. Not having tranced in a long while, it's possible V could be very suggestible at the moment. Qarr could be using the opportunity to create a situation in V's mind where it's imperative that he gets assistance.

[Snake-Aes]

Actually, Akatosh, I had just been having very similar thoughts. Not about a klonk on the head, but possibly an illusion. Not having tranced in a long while, it's possible V could be very suggestible at the moment. Qarr could be using the opportunity to create a situation in V's mind where it's imperative that he gets assistance.

For the illusion to do what it did, Qarr would have to have a solid illusion spell, with enough power to make it Huge. This is unlikely.

Talking like that about V's family and house is not playing green, it's casting 7 prismatic walls and picking the green of each one.

Currently, nothing indicates anything so far is more than meets the eye.

[Querzis]

Passion in the arcane arts definitly sounds like a sorcerer. A wizard would be knowledge of the arcane arts.

[Roupe]

oots is not a carbon copy of the D6D rulebooks, so the dragon can be different than its D&D kin.

Game masters can also always overrule the rule book for many reasons. Game masters have also been known to change monsters, because players have read the rulebook or the adventure module and need to be challenged.

It is also clear that this dragon is different than the rest of its kind .

Thus nothing prevents this individual dragon to have been modified to be a innate wizard instead.

Having said all this, the dragon has most likely several extra Sorcerer levels. Why settle for less?

I wonder -if the dragons would successively retreat to a different plane of existence, would that save it from the snarl? Most likely not.