How many Dragons are in Faerun?

[Pokonic]

A simple question that, under a microscope, is causing me headaches. You see, as our currant dragon-focused game is going on, the issue about just how many dragons around so-and-so came up. Just going by the basics ( Needs quite a bit of land, most likely will die before it will hit it's prime, being huge honking apex preditors), it seems like it might be best to see if anyone else can come up with a sutable number.

[Palanan]

Well, you may have seen it already, but this handy range map (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/wn/20041201a) gives you a basic notion of some of the dragons roaming around.

As for how a massive, mobile, K-selected predator species can exist for millennia in relatively large numbers...well, I'm assuming there are vast, undiscovered herds of rothe north of the Spine of the World, which the dragons visit on a regular basis. :smalltongue:

[Pokonic]

Well, you may have seen it already, but this handy range map (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/wn/20041201a) gives you a basic notion of some of the dragons roaming around.


Ah, Wyrms of the North. One of the best dragon-related things on the net, in my opinon.


Also, yeah, the running of the rothe, seemingly the only reason how half the superpredaters on this bloody planet ( no, realy, between half the uberwizerds of this world and the shear amount of powerful monsters, Athas is looking kind of secure as a vacation spot) can support themselves. :smalltongue:

[Mando Knight]

So, around 20 "important" ones in the Sword Coast alone.

[Jeraa]

As for how a massive, mobile, K-selected predator species can exist for millennia in relatively large numbers...well, I'm assuming there are vast, undiscovered herds of rothe north of the Spine of the World, which the dragons visit on a regular basis. :smalltongue:

Another possibility is the Create Food and Water spell. Of the 10 true dragons in the Monster Manual, all but 3 (black, green, and white) get access to cleric spells. The majority of the rest can cast the spell at the Mature Adult category (blues must be Old). I have no idea if that would be enough food for a dragon of that size, though.

But according to the Draconomicon, all dragons can eat literally anything. They can live off rocks and dirt if they wanted/needed to. (But most still prefer meat, eating up to half their body weight every day if enough is available.)

Also, don't forget schools of fish, for the ones that can swim.

[gbprime]

But according to the Draconomicon, all dragons can eat literally anything. They can live off rocks and dirt if they wanted/needed to. (But most still prefer meat, eating up to half their body weight every day if enough is available.)

Yeah, elemental-powered metabolisms allow them to conform to the first rule of the campaign... there are exactly as many as required by the DM for the plot. :smallbiggrin:

[MesiDoomstalker]

But according to the Draconomicon, all dragons can eat literally anything. They can live off rocks and dirt if they wanted/needed to. (But most still prefer meat, eating up to half their body weight every day if enough is available.)

IIRC, they don't even need to eat till full to live either. Good dragons tend to eat the absolute bare minimum to limit the impact on lesser species.

[Bhaakon]

So, around 20 "important" ones in the Sword Coast alone.

Plus the 40 unnamed ones mentioned in the intro. At least.

[Alleran]

Many dragons (the ones with the ability to shapeshift, at any rate) live within Waterdeep, if those are being counted.

As for a total number, I'm not sure other than somewhere between "lots" and "a great deal" on the population scale.

[evildmguy]

IIRC, they don't even need to eat till full to live either. Good dragons tend to eat the absolute bare minimum to limit the impact on lesser species.

Wait. So, all of the good dragons are on weight watchers? I don't want to be around when they fall off of that wagon!

As to the OP, I'm curious as to why you want/need an exact count of dragons? Are the PCs going around killing them all? Or just evil ones?

I would assume this would either be tough to find out or no one has done a count. So, give them a number and you can always say it was what they knew at the moment.

edg

[ThiagoMartell]

According to Year of Rogue Dragons, there are about one hundred metallic dragons in Faerun. Dunno about chromatic.

They don't seem to count young dragons, btw.

[Milo v3]

Many dragons (the ones with the ability to shapeshift, at any rate) live within Waterdeep, if those are being counted.

As for a total number, I'm not sure other than somewhere between "lots" and "a great deal" on the population scale.

Really...
I was sure it said that there is only a tiny amount of dragons in Waterdeep because of that shield thingy. Maybe I read City of Splendor's wrong.

[Deepbluediver]

Also, yeah, the running of the rothe, seemingly the only reason how half the superpredaters on this bloody planet ( no, realy, between half the uberwizerds of this world and the shear amount of powerful monsters, Athas is looking kind of secure as a vacation spot) can support themselves. :smalltongue:

This is the major reason I prefer games that lack most of the dinosaur-sized supermonsters that pop up in the Monster Manual.
I've always envisioned dragons as long lived, intelligent, apex-predators, but more along the size of a lion or horse, rather than a T-rex.

Which also makes it a lot easier for them to hide from would-be dragonslayers, incidentally.

[Kansaschaser]

According to the "Dragons of Faerun" spreadsheet I found online, there are...

256 Living Dragons

23 Dracoliches

4 Fiendish

4 Disembodied Dracoliches

2 Ghostly

and 1 Incorporeal Sentinel

There are over 134 Dead/Destroyed Dragons.

[Pokonic]

As to the OP, I'm curious as to why you want/need an exact count of dragons? Are the PCs going around killing them all? Or just evil ones?


Well, the basic idea when this was posted was that the coldish war between Chromatic and Metallic dragons went hot. Hence, there were Skyrimish random attacks by both Chromatics and Metallics on places that they think have agents on the other side.


According to Year of Rogue Dragons, there are about one hundred metallic dragons in Faerun. Dunno about chromatic.

They don't seem to count young dragons, btw.

Hmm... roughtly twenty of each kind that are indipendent and able to support themselves? I suppose that there could be about two cluches of hachlings around for each, which would give us about...30 realy, realy young dragons around.



According to the "Dragons of Faerun" spreadsheet I found online, there are...

256 Living Dragons

23 Dracoliches

4 Fiendish

4 Disembodied Dracoliches

2 Ghostly

and 1 Incorporeal Sentinel

There are over 134 Dead/Destroyed Dragons.

Huh, neat.

[Agent 451]

Another possibility is the Create Food and Water spell. Of the 10 true dragons in the Monster Manual, all but 3 (black, green, and white) get access to cleric spells. The majority of the rest can cast the spell at the Mature Adult category (blues must be Old). I have no idea if that would be enough food for a dragon of that size, though.

But according to the Draconomicon, all dragons can eat literally anything. They can live off rocks and dirt if they wanted/needed to. (But most still prefer meat, eating up to half their body weight every day if enough is available.)

Also, don't forget schools of fish, for the ones that can swim.

Maybe they all eat when polymorphed....

[Marnath]

Really...
I was sure it said that there is only a tiny amount of dragons in Waterdeep because of that shield thingy. Maybe I read City of Splendor's wrong.

Only a handful. In order for a creature of the dragon type to enter Waterdeep they either need to befriend the insanely powerful isolationist archmage who owns the key to the wards, or be able to pass a DC 41 antipathy effect. So basically, only the first one.

[Alleran]

Only a handful. In order for a creature of the dragon type to enter Waterdeep they either need to befriend the insanely powerful isolationist archmage who owns the key to the wards, or be able to pass a DC 41 antipathy effect. So basically, only the first one.
He's a Wizard 17 / Archmage 1, actually. Potentially powerful (9th level spells), but he's not into the epic levels (and he also picked Arcane Fire, so there goes a 9th level spell slot...). Not particularly good INT either (only 19!), and his feats are a bit off. He has SF for Conjuration and Evocation, some item creation stuff (Staff, Wondrous Item, Scroll and Ring), a juvenile green dragon cohort, and Two Weapon Fighting. And he has terrible saves (his highest is Will, and that's only +14).

Yes, he's still a wizard with 9th level spells (and his 9th level memorised spell is Gate), but he's nowhere near what he could be.

Mostly the issue with befriending him is that he's Neutral Evil, so he's bound to screw you over if he gets a chance to improve himself in the process. And since other dragons don't like his control of the dragonward, every time he leaves the city he has to make all the precautions of an 18th level caster and more, since a lot of dragons would happily kill him off if they had the chance.

[vartan]

2 Ghostly

and 1 Incorporeal Sentinel



I can think of Eldenser (the Wyrm who lives in Blades) and the dragon that guards Candlekeep, but who is the 2nd "ghostly" dragon?

[ryu]

Steve the previously nameless?

[Grail]

B5 comment here.
Q to JMS: How fast does a Starfury travel?
A by JMS: At the speed of plot.

How many Dragons are in Faerun?
How many do you need? Make it so.

[Marnath]

I think one time I took the population numbers for each region and arbitrarily decided that 0.5% of that number was dragons of mixed types and it still worked out to something like 50-100 per region. Which seems perfectly reasonable to me. Maybe roll a d6 to see how many of them are old enough to actually mean something to the wider world.

[Kansaschaser]

I can think of Eldenser (the Wyrm who lives in Blades) and the dragon that guards Candlekeep, but who is the 2nd "ghostly" dragon?

Ghaulantatra, "Old Mother Wyrm" - Ghostly - Female - Great Wyrm - White
Halatathlaer - Ghostly - Male - Ancient - Copper
Miirym, "The Sentinel Wyrm" - Incorporeal Sentinel - Female - Great Wyrm - Silver