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View Full Version : What to do with a headless dragon corpse?



monkey3
2010-11-16, 11:21 AM
Lets say there's a headless dragon corpse available. Is there any way to animate it such that you "grow" the head back? Certainly a headless dragon zombie is useless, as it can't breath, and it is missing its best attack. Can you even animate such a crippled zombie?

Ideally, I'd like to use 4th or loser level spells (or equivalent magic items).

Force
2010-11-16, 11:30 AM
Not sure if you can zombify it or not (a corpse has to be "mostly intact" according to the SRD), but even headless a zombie dragon still gives you free overland flight for your party (assuming it's large enough and your party is small enough). That can be handy assuming you aren't teleporting everywhere. It still has its claw and tail attacks, as well.

Animate dead with desecrate will work if you have caster level problems.

Yora
2010-11-16, 11:33 AM
Hunt down a wyvern an put its head on the dragons neck. Might look a bit silly, but if it's a zombie, nobody will care anyway. :smallbiggrin:

Nachtritter
2010-11-16, 11:38 AM
If you were really feeling cruel, sew the head of anyone or anything to it, animate it, see if the GM rules it retains the original monster's intelligence, and have a ball.

"Throk... alive! Throk alive! Throk - OH NO! WHAT YOU DO TO THROK! YOU MAKE THROK A MONSTER!"

Noedig
2010-11-16, 11:41 AM
^^LOL!

If you had some way of regenerating it that would be ideal, or you could find an appropriate dragon skull in an academy of some kind, and put some leather or whatever on it.

Dr.Epic
2010-11-16, 11:52 AM
I'd imagine you could reattach the head and once animated as a zombie the head would be functional.

monkey3
2010-11-16, 12:49 PM
I'd imagine you could reattach the head and once animated as a zombie the head would be functional.

Sure, if I had the head... But it is long gone.

I am pretty sure sticking a random head on a body would not satisfy the "almost intact" corpse condition for Animate Dead. I want a pretty DM-proof solution. Cheese is acceptable, making up rules, probably not.

Is there a <4lvl solution that can regenerate the head? If I had the head Mending would reattach it, but I don't

Toliudar
2010-11-16, 12:59 PM
Use Stone shape to make a statue of a dragon's head. Get a scroll of Stone to Flesh to turn it into an unliving dragon head. Attach the head to the dragon. Zombify.

Alternately - hollow out the body, attach a weapons platform on the neck stump, and turn it into a construct.

Christopher K.
2010-11-16, 01:10 PM
I'm thinking Toliudar's construct would be a better option. Make a quadrupedal tank just for the wow factor.