Question about a pet dragon

[Hituro]

Hello! So my wife is going to be playing D&D with my group and she made her character already, an Elf Druid. She is also wanting to have a pet dragon (She's a huge Daenerys fan from GoT). I'm not sure how to really implement this. I told her that her dragon would have to be a wyrmling so as not to be over powered. Do I treat this dragon as an additional PC? or is there some way to add a pet besides her regular Animal Companion? I mean, I almost think I would have to make it a PC as she wants it to breathe fire on goblins :p Any advise on this would be greatly appreciated :)

[eggynack]

My two traditional ways of solving the "druid with pet dragon" problem (surprisingly common) are phynxkin companion (DrM, 13), which isn't technically a dragon, but is at least dragonblooded, and taking urban companion (https://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) to get a familiar, and using dragon companion (draconomicon, 104) to get a wyrmling. The latter isn't technically RAW, because dragon familiar requires an arcane spellcaster level of 7, but drawing broad equivalencies like that is one of the best ways to add something to the game that's reasonably balanced with what already exists. You may even want to make the dragon a bit more powerful than normal, to reflect the fact that the familiar that urban companion grants is more powerful than normal familiars. Either way, these methods should work reasonably well.

[Windstorm]

Hello! So my wife is going to be playing D&D with my group and she made her character already, an Elf Druid. She is also wanting to have a pet dragon (She's a huge Daenerys fan from GoT). I'm not sure how to really implement this. I told her that her dragon would have to be a wyrmling so as not to be over powered. Do I treat this dragon as an additional PC? or is there some way to add a pet besides her regular Animal Companion? I mean, I almost think I would have to make it a PC as she wants it to breathe fire on goblins :p Any advise on this would be greatly appreciated :)

The leadership feat doesn't really have a huge number of restrictions aside from being 6th level, that sounds like a good fit, especially if you use one of the smaller dragons. Brass are the smallest of the metallics, and bronze probably has the best temperament. remember that dragons have both hit die and a level adjustment, which might make it difficult to acquire before 8th level.

The other method is draconic cohort from the draconomicon which allows you to pull from the list on p139 at an ecl 3 less than listed

[Hituro]

Omg you guys are awesome. I need a copy of the draconomicon now :D

[Sir Chuckles]

Also remember that Dragons are sentient creatures.

That seems to be lost to a lot of people.

[NikitaDarkstar]

You could also offer her a pseudodragon or fairy dragon. They don't grow to the same silly sizes, aren't quite as powerful (granted, not fire breathing either...) and easier to add without messing things like balance up to much.

That said all dragons are highly intelligent creatures so it'd be more of a companion than a pet, and keeping track of it on it's own sheet would probably be a good idea.

[eggynack]

Omg you guys are awesome. I need a copy of the draconomicon now :D
Glad ya liked it. Incidentally, if she's looking at the draconomicon anyway, she may want to take a long glance at dragon wild shape. That feat is just bonkers.

[Hituro]

With dragons being sentient as a companion would I act out the dragon or would she be playing 2 characters?

[eggynack]

With dragons being sentient as a companion would I act out the dragon or would she be playing 2 characters?
That's really up to you, as some would argue that even standard animal companions should be run by the DM, though perhaps not in a particularly interesting way. You two should probably just figure out how you feel about the issue, and how about many characters each of you feels comfortable with her having control over, and make the decision on that basis. Or you could just make the decision on your own, though that should probably only be if you're choosing to run the character.

[SouthpawSoldier]

Best to have another player take on the role. As a DMPC, you risk the companion being a tool of deus ex machina. You also will probably have enough on your hands running the game.

Letting her run both is iffy for a couple reasons. She's a new player (at least, that's the impression I'm gettng from the original post), and she's going to have enough fun getting the hang of Vancian casting and running a druid. Learning two characters at once exacerbates the issue.

You also risk her role playing both identically, treating the companion as an extension of her original character. I see it all the time with casters and familiars/companions. Druids/rangers especially are bad with this, as the animal companion is supposed to be slightly better than typical for the species. Metagaming like having the companion provide flanking, things of that nature.

Handing it off to another player keeps it unique. Rather than her playing the dragon as she wants, now she's forced to interact with it the way any other character would; providing treats/training, negotiating with it for tasks, dealing with situations where it does what IT wants to, instead of what she wants.

Give it to the fighter/ranger, so he doesn't get bored.

[NikitaDarkstar]

That's really up to you. Some groups and players prefer to act out their companions etc. Others prefer the DM doing it. It really comes down to personal taste there.

[Hituro]

Best to have another player take on the role. As a DMPC, you risk the companion being a tool of deus ex machina. You also will probably have enough on your hands running the game.

Letter her run both is iffy for a couple reasons. She's a new player (at least, that's the impression I'm gettng from the original post), and she's going to have enough fun getting the hang of Vancian casting and running a druid. Learning two at once exacerbates the issue.

You also risk her role playing both identically, treating the companion as an extension of her original character. I see it all the time with casters and familiars/companions. Druids/rangers especially are bad with this, as the animal companion is supposed to be slightly better than typical for the species. Metagaming like having the companion provide flanking, thingss of that nature.

Handing it off to another player, keeps it unique. Rather than her playing the dragon as she wants, now she's forced to interact with it the way any other character would; providing treats/training, negotiating with it for tasks, dealing with situations where it does what IT wants to, instead of what she wants.

Give it to the fighter/ranger, so he doesn't get bored.

You make a good point. My one friend has played before as is going to be a half Orc barbarian. Perhaps I will let him control the dragon