How does one maintain a dragon egg?

[The Inquisition]

I'm DMing a game and plan on giving a couple of characters dragon eggs. Unfortunately, some of them are going to be much more mobile than others. Assuming I would go with this idea, how could I make it so that moving them while keeping them incubated (Say a 4 foot red dragon egg that has to be 140+ F at all times) is possible, like a bag of holding?
I'm pretty sure this isn't possible at all, and have to rewrite it completely and think of another, but just in case...

[jiriku]

Picture the egg, buried in a mound of red-hot charcoal, and the charcoal, surrounded by a layer of insulating sand, all of this contained in a modestly sized chest or trunk. It will easily fit in the back of a wagon, or on a mule.

[The Inquisition]

Thanks for your help.

[Bronk]

The rules for the rest of the main dragon types are in the Draconomicon...

[atemu1234]

The rules for the rest of the main dragon types are in the Draconomicon...

And it provides a simple guideline from which a DM can work for other types of dragon, for the most part.

[Slipperychicken]

I'd say that a good Handle Animal check with the proper tools (such as lots of well-heated blankets and pressure to emulate conditions inside a dragon's nest) should do the job nicely. Casting Endure Elements on the egg (the egg probably isn't a creature, but I'd let it fly) may help out a lot with heat issues.

It's unlikely that the dragon would roost on its eggs 24/7, since it would probably need to leave at times to get food and other essentials. Because of this, lapses in heat are likely acceptable, at least for relatively short periods of time as long as the egg itself is quite warm, or after the hatchling inside is mature enough to start generating its own heat.

[Peelee]

I'd say that a good Handle Animal check with the proper tools (such as lots of well-heated blankets and pressure to emulate conditions inside a dragon's nest) should do the job nicely. Casting Endure Elements on the egg (the egg probably isn't a creature, but I'd let it fly) may help out a lot with heat issues.

It's unlikely that the dragon would roost on its eggs 24/7, since it would probably need to leave at times to get food and other essentials. Because of this, lapses in heat are likely acceptable, at least for relatively short periods of time as long as the egg itself is quite warm, or after the hatchling inside is mature enough to start generating its own heat.

Conditions in a red dragons nest range from the egg being in open flame to immersed in lava. Endure Elements ain't gonna cut it. The aforementioned sand & charcoal plan was a good one, probably with a daily replacement of charcoal

[Chronos]

My party was in this situation, too, and we solved it by packing them in compost... though this was for green dragon eggs, not red, which don't require nearly as much heat.

[Killer Angel]

for a hot "enviroment"... Lesser planar ally: flamebrother salamander (or something similar).

[VoxRationis]

Picture the egg, buried in a mound of red-hot charcoal, and the charcoal, surrounded by a layer of insulating sand, all of this contained in a modestly sized chest or trunk. It will easily fit in the back of a wagon, or on a mule.

I feel sorry for the mule. Red dragon hatchlings are Medium, which means their eggs are as well. That's a lot of egg, and consequently thus a lot of sand and a lot of charcoal.

I personally think the "open flame" condition is easier to meet with pre-industrial technological standards, though that might not be as portable.

I'm with Chronos; if possible, find a different kind of dragon. Black and green dragons have much less stringent requirements. The cold dragons require snow, but even the ancient Romans had a thriving snow import business, so you could probably pick up a good quantity at a big city.

[Slipperychicken]

What if someone developed a magical incubator for dragon-eggs? Then you could just put the egg inside it, and place the incubator in a portable hole.

Also, putting it on a cart may be problematic, considering how cart rides are often bumpy and shaky. Such motion could harm the unborn dragon.

[Peelee]

What if someone developed a magical incubator for dragon-eggs? Then you could just put the egg inside it, and place the incubator in a portable hole.

Also, putting it on a cart may be problematic, considering how cart rides are often bumpy and shaky. Such motion could harm the unborn dragon.

The incubator would need to be able to have different settings for different dragons. Also, I doubt a cart ride would be enough to disturb the dragon egg.

Draconomicon actually has rules for all this, and WOTC was kind enough to post them online here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20031107a). Much less DM discretion required than you would otherwise think.

[atemu1234]

I doubt a cart ride would be enough to disturb the dragon egg.

Have you ever actually been on a horse-drawn carriage before? Not exactly a four-door sedan.

[Slipperychicken]

Have you ever actually been on a horse-drawn carriage before? Not exactly a four-door sedan.

Don't forget that this thing is most likely riding over cluttered dirt roads or cobblestones, and not the smoothly-paved asphalt of the 21st century. And that's if you're on a road at all. So it can get really bumpy. Probably enough to trigger that "Nest disturbed, but restored by nondragon" con check. Granted, I'm sure there would be ways to insulate against a carriage-ride's bumps.

[The Inquisition]

The rules for the rest of the main dragon types are in the Draconomicon...

I know that. I was asking for a way to transport it in these conditions, if possible, as I was curious to see imput from others that I may apply to the players.

Thank you all for your help, I'll do my best to look over all of your thoughtful answers!

[Peelee]

I know that. I was asking for a way to transport it in these conditions, if possible, as I was curious to see imput from others that I may apply to the players.

Thank you all for your help, I'll do my best to look over all of your thoughtful answers!

I noticed that you knew this already; it was posted for the benefit of slipperychicken, for the purpose of showing that much less DM judgment was necessary, as there were listed rules for much of what he posted.

As to the bumpiness of the Wagon ride, this is a dragon egg with listed hardness. If you enforce rules of "bumpiness" to go with the egg, I would also expect those same rules to govern water casks, the orderliness of the contents of said wagon, and anything else potentially affected by said bumpiness. As for me, I'd call the ride "less strenuous than passing out of a FRIGGIN DRAGON's egghole," and leave it at that. Unless you threw the egg into battle or the wagon drove into a ditch.