Dead Dragon - Money to be made

[TeddyB]

Hey guys -

Myself and a fellow party member are planning to go in and slay a young adult Green Dragon in a high power 3.5 campaign.

I have 2 Questions:

First: Do you think a "Ring of Cube Riding" (Arms and Equipment Guide Page 85) will make one immune to their Acid Breath? (My thinking is that it would because the cube constantly secretes acid and you are not sitting in the cube with acid dripping on you)

Second: What kind of money do you think can be made from selling a dead dragon? And I would like for you guys to offer me a small breakdown if possible. Myself and my team mate have extensive skill in "Slay and Fillet" so we have no issues selling piecemeal and extracting the various parts. (Scales, Acid Gland, Stomach[Dragons Bile Poison], etc)

You guys are awesome! :-)

[Erik Vale]

1: No Clue

2:
It's horde, keep what you want and sell the rest.
Selling Acid Glands.
Fangs/Claws/eyes/other as trinkets/Spell Components.
Cook the meat into rations.
Cook tongue/other into fine cuisine.
Dragon Scale for Druid armour.
Eggs [if any] as future mounts.

[Skysaber]

Hey guys -

Myself and a fellow party member are planning to go in and slay a young adult Green Dragon in a high power 3.5 campaign.

Second: What kind of money do you think can be made from selling a dead dragon? And I would like for you guys to offer me a small breakdown if possible. Myself and my team mate have extensive skill in "Slay and Fillet" so we have no issues selling piecemeal and extracting the various parts. (Scales, Acid Gland, Stomach[Dragons Bile Poison], etc)

You guys are awesome! :-)

In Disney's "Pete's Dragon" they have a little song and dance number entitled "Every little piece is worth gold." And with dragons that is certainly true.

DMG will let you turn dragon hide into armor.

Draconomicon will let you turn their blood into Dragonblood Elixirs which are extraordinary, not magical. Green dragon's blood grants Suggestion. You can also turn their bones into bows. That nifty little necromancy spell Shape Bone (same level and effect as Wood Shape, but bone) allows you to turn practically the entire skeleton into bows for use or sale this way, and dragons have got a lot of bones. Don't forget dragonfang weapons (last time I know of TSR supplying numbers on the matter, dragons had 64 teeth).

But the real payout comes if you can find a copy of AEG Dragons. They have an entire chapter devoted to using dragon parts, and it starts out with using dragons blood as an ingredient allowing you to make scrolls or potions without xp cost, and it just gets better from there.

[Amnestic]

1: No Clue

2:
It's horde, keep what you want and sell the rest.
Selling Acid Glands.
Fangs/Claws/eyes/other as trinkets/Spell Components.
Cook the meat into rations.
Cook tongue/other into fine cuisine.
Dragon Scale for Druid armour.
Eggs [if any] as future mounts.

The blood can be turned into Dragoncraft Elixirs (Draconomicon) as well. 1 gallon=1 elixir, and in the case of Green Dragons each Elixir sells for 1200gp. The section prior to that indicates that the Dragoncraft part individually sells for 1/3rd the elixir price, so you can get up to 400gp for each gallon of raw dragon blood.

As for how much blood is in a dragon (and how much useable blood there is) I think that's probably up to the DM.

[UnjustCustos]

I believe there was a Dragon Mag article about parting away a dead black dragon. Will continue to look for it.

[BWR]

I know Dragon #248 has some stuff on that. Is that the one you were thinking of?

[Coidzor]

Dragonbone can be made into dragoncraft items, IIRC.

[dascarletm]

If the dragon was "of note," or dragons are rare in general. Some nobles will probably pay handsomely for the worlds rarest steak. Only sell a few at a time in various cities.

:smallamused:And they laughed at me for taking Profession (Cook) and Craft (Meal)!:smallamused:

[Seharvepernfan]

I was going to post most of what has been said already, so I'll just second all of it.

[Alleran]

DMG will let you turn dragon hide into armor.

Draconomicon will let you turn their blood into Dragonblood Elixirs which are extraordinary, not magical. Green dragon's blood grants Suggestion. You can also turn their bones into bows. That nifty little necromancy spell Shape Bone (same level and effect as Wood Shape, but bone) allows you to turn practically the entire skeleton into bows for use or sale this way, and dragons have got a lot of bones. Don't forget dragonfang weapons (last time I know of TSR supplying numbers on the matter, dragons had 64 teeth).
I wonder what the maximum possible payout from a dead dragon is. As in, the maximum amount of material and/or bonus loot you can get out of one. Has anybody run the numbers on it before?

[TeddyB]

Thanks Guys, This is Great stuff! I will look for that dragon mag and the AEG Dragons! (Non XP Magic Items sounds EPIC to me!) many Thanks for the responses.

Any estimates on an overall value for a piecemeal dragon (if you consider keeping NONE of it and sell it all - Just to make things simple for our DM)

[Wookie-ranger]

Also try to find a "friendly" necromancer (DN, lich, Draco-lich, etc).
They would probably pay a pretty penny for a full dragon skeleton or even the full corpse.

[hydraa]

If you can easily kill said dragon (and have some one with a evil bent to them) and a ready source of diamonds

And if the sale amount of the parts is above 10000 (+910 for casting (scroll 2275) Resurrection and +360 (700 for scroll) for casting charm monster to make it think kindly about to be resurrected)
(this can be done 9 times)

or if the sale amount of the parts is above 25000 (+1530 (scroll 3825) for casting True Resurrection and +360 (scroll 700) for casting charm monster to make it think kindly about to be resurrected)
This might be infinite

You can have a steady source of income (and xp?) until the market is saturated.

[TuggyNE]

If you can easily kill said dragon (and have some one with a evil bent to them) and a ready source of diamonds

And if the sale amount of the parts is above 10000 (+910 for casting (scroll 2275) Resurrection and +360 (700 for scroll) for casting charm monster to make it think kindly about to be resurrected)
(this can be done 9 times)

or if the sale amount of the parts is above 25000 (+1530 (scroll 3825) for casting True Resurrection and +360 (scroll 700) for casting charm monster to make it think kindly about to be resurrected)
This might be infinite

You can have a steady source of income (and xp?) until the market is saturated.

How do you cast charm monster on a corpse, which is an object, not a creature?

[Erik Vale]

I can now see a team of dragons doing that. Painless death, sell peices for old for horde, ressurection, repeat.

Would save on dragons going apesh*t on druids who want to wear armour.

[Eldonauran]

As a DM, I highly encourage the players to do what you are suggesting. It creates numerous plot hooks for me to exploit, especially when the older dragons get wind of you slaughtering, butchering and consuming their brethern for their goods, like common cattle.

:smallamused: Please.... continue.

[Pally din]

As a DM, I highly encourage the players to do what you are suggesting. It creates numerous plot hooks for me to exploit, especially when the older dragons get wind of you slaughtering, butchering and consuming their brethern for their goods, like common cattle.

:smallamused: Please.... continue.

Yeah, first thing I thought of was the black dragon assassin created by Rich. http://www.giantitp.com/articles/U2hDQPsRjbwSamZsbE7.html In other words, what is your life worth to you?

[Slipperychicken]

You can have a steady source of income (and xp?) until the market is saturated.

I bet it would be cheaper to use Revivify (to keep it alive. Remember it has no save), Revenance to extend the lifespan long enough to grab the organs before you have to cast Revivify, and Regeneration (to keep its parts coming back).

It would be tricky, but doable, if you either worked very fast, or had a contraption similar to a cow-skinner, which strips the Dragon down as far as you can in the ~9 minutes Revenance would be active. Or you would work organ-harvesting in the 9 rounds (~54 seconds) while it's "dead", until you have to cast Revenance.


Also, your alignment is going straight down the tubes :smallbiggrin:

[Skysaber]

Any estimates on an overall value for a piecemeal dragon (if you consider keeping NONE of it and sell it all - Just to make things simple for our DM)

Such an estimate would require you to know not only the weight of the dragon (which MIGHT be available in obscure sourcebooks), but also the percentages of bone, fat, blood, etc - which vary widely, and as far as I know are completely unsupported, leaving you with 100% guesswork as even natural animals vary widely in those percentages (from a lamb, whose dressed weight is around 80% meat, to a cow, where dressed weight is 40% meat) not only from species to species, but from individual to individual.

Also, to get the most out of selling it depends upon advertising, and as others have pointed out, other dragons do not take too kindly to known butchers of dragon corpses.

Best use is just to quietly turn it into magic items, which you use yourself, and keep quiet about where they came from - which, it's 90% likely that if you did sell it all you'd just buy magic items anyway, so this just skips the painful and dangerous part of getting a reputation you do not want.

[Slipperychicken]

Also, to get the most out of selling it depends upon advertising, and as others have pointed out, other dragons do not take too kindly to known butchers of dragon corpses.


Ehh. The marginal aggro you're going to get from more Dragons is probably less than the marginal profit from dragon corpses.

Also, if you're butchering dragon corpses for cash, drawing their aggro is only going to get you more supply.

[hydraa]

How do you cast charm monster on a corpse, which is an object, not a creature?

The idea was to charm, have the other member kill, that way the dragon would not refuse the rez request

[TuggyNE]

The idea was to charm, have the other member kill, that way the dragon would not refuse the rez request

Hmm. Well, like charm person, charm monster is broken by "any threatening act by your or your apparent allies", so if you can kill the dragon without it noticing a threat (or without realizing you're allied with its attacker), then that might reasonably work… assuming the charm travels with the dragon's soul, instead of getting left on the invalid target that its corpse now is.

Kind of iffy on the whole.

[hydraa]

I bet it would be cheaper to use Revivify (to keep it alive. Remember it has no save), Revenance to extend the lifespan long enough to grab the organs before you have to cast Revivify, and Regeneration (to keep its parts coming back).

It would be tricky, but doable, if you either worked very fast, or had a contraption similar to a cow-skinner, which strips the Dragon down as far as you can in the ~9 minutes Revenance would be active. Or you would work organ-harvesting in the 9 rounds (~54 seconds) while it's "dead", until you have to cast Revenance.


Also, your alignment is going straight down the tubes :smallbiggrin:


revivify works like raise dead, whole body needs to be there
Reverence specifies used on dead ally and also works like raise dead
but as suggested regenerate takes 2d10 rounds to grow new parts

Also still have the pesky problem of the soul refusing to come back to make this work

And is it not a good act to kill a evil creatue :smallwink:

[Coidzor]

I wonder what the maximum possible payout from a dead dragon is. As in, the maximum amount of material and/or bonus loot you can get out of one. Has anybody run the numbers on it before?

Would require some kind of way of figuring out how much of its mass was hide/scales, bone, and meat, I think.

[ericp65]

Also note, if you haven't already, that the method of killing the dragon will determine how much of the corpse's parts are salvageable. Even so, most of the internal organs should remain intact, and at least a few of them are useful as spell components :)

[Alleran]

Would require some kind of way of figuring out how much of its mass was hide/scales, bone, and meat, I think.
Well, Draconomicon (3rd edition) does have some preliminary information on that sort of thing. For example, a gargantuan dragon weighs approximately 160,000 pounds (roughly the same across all tables). No precise numbers on what masses what, though a dragon does have approximately five hundred bones in its body.

[HurinTheCursed]

If you have the draconomicon your possibilities are multiplied (but the possible trouble as well).
If you're high on cash, you can use the skin to add a light elementary protection on an armor / cape / shield
Otherwise, bones makes GREAT bows: longer range, no strength limit (mine's +6) and they're cheap
Finally, teeth and nails will get you weapons that deal 1 elementary non-magical damage, that stacks cheaply with alteration.

The rest's been said. Beware of the weight though, and an unguent of timelessness might be useful to keep non-edible part in good state.

[Bakeru]

First: Do you think a "Ring of Cube Riding" (Arms and Equipment Guide Page 85) will make one immune to their Acid Breath? (My thinking is that it would because the cube constantly secretes acid and you are not sitting in the cube with acid dripping on you)Maaaaybe if you're inside a cube when the dragon breathes on you. It only activates when you're in contact with a Gelatious Cube, not when in contact with dragon breath.

[TentacleSurpris]

If you have a dead dragon, you need scrolls or wands of two spells:

1. Speak with dead. "Hello mr dead dragon. How are you liking the afterlife. Will you agree to serve me if I raise you from the dead? I've already shown you that I can destroy you easily."

2. Resurrection. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Cohort Beyatch."

This trick is also useful if you have 3300 gp to spend on a suit of dragonhide full plate, which according to the rules necessarily comes from a colossal (i.e. great wyrm) dragon. Just get one favor and release him.

[TuggyNE]

If you have a dead dragon, you need scrolls or wands of two spells:

1. Speak with dead. "Hello mr dead dragon. How are you liking the afterlife. Will you agree to serve me if I raise you from the dead? I've already shown you that I can destroy you easily."

2. Resurrection. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Cohort Beyatch."

Why would they accept resurrection in the first place, though?

[Bakeru]

Why would they accept resurrection in the first place, though?Because being alive is usually considered better than being dead? And they don't expect anyone else to resurrect them?

[TuggyNE]

Because being alive is usually considered better than being dead? And they don't expect anyone else to resurrect them?

Given the existence of an afterlife (presumably one that suits them reasonably well), it's more likely the trauma of dying that's undesirable, as well as fear of change and what-not. Going through the process again, but this time in reverse, to suffer considerable degradation at the whims of some jerk? No thank you!

The very reason raise dead and company have "willing only" is because sometimes people are happier where they are, even dead, than being raised by someone whose goals they really don't agree with. (And I can only suppose that dragons are likely to do better in whatever afterlife they go to than most other creatures, really.)

[Bakeru]

The very reason raise dead and company have "willing only" is because sometimes people are happier where they are, even dead, than being raised by someone whose goals they really don't agree with. (And I can only suppose that dragons are likely to do better in whatever afterlife they go to than most other creatures, really.)Actually, I'm pretty sure that's to make sure you can't capture and torture-kill-resurrect-loop them.

Also, who knows, maybe he still has something to do.

[TuggyNE]

Actually, I'm pretty sure that's to make sure you can't capture and torture-kill-resurrect-loop them.

That too. But, uh, how is that substantially different from this? :smalltongue:

[Bakeru]

That too. But, uh, how is that substantially different from this? :smalltongue:Because this is "Ok, I killed you, nothing personal. I'm offering to resurrect you again if you repay me with service."

However, it should be noted that (in 3.5 at the very least, not sure about pathfinder), "speak with dead" does not actually speak to the departed, but only to the residual memories left in the corpse. So, negotiate with the dragon corpse all you want, the resurrected dragon isn't going to remember it.