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View Full Version : Player Help My DM, the Gollum Black Dragon Wyrmling



Ghost Nappa
2014-10-27, 04:13 PM
So 5th edition back-pedaled a bit on this issue (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?307159-Having-stats-for-every-stage-of-growth-encourages-killing-of-dragon-children&p=16152989#post16152989).

I'm including it here because while the situation is arising from a 5th edition campaign, it's not a particularly new problem.

Campaign Context: The large island continent we are living on has been isolated from the rest of the world for some time due to the presence of dragons on all sides cutting off any effective contact.

Our group received a note from a trusted source (read: everyone else in the party trusts him, I kind of don't) to go and talk with a merchant regarding a rare mineral resource. The merchant seemed honest enough, and explained a close, tight-lipped friend had told him of a cave nearby where the mineral had been found. This would be a huge deal internationally as the only other known source of it was on the other side of the continent. He was paying us to confirm its existence. (We were also given a similar quest by a government agent explaining that they wanted time to prepare the world for the influx of people that might try to come en-masse for a potential gold rush).

We went into the cave and were attacked by 2 kuo-toas (and 3 more whom we managed to convince to leave us alone) when we found a Black dragon wyrmling.

We spent a lot of time trying to talk with the creature (read: our Paladin did, because he was the only person who spoke Draconic) but it was utterly and totally obsessed with eating (it apparently had not eaten recently because the Kuo-toas had blocked the door to its "lair.")

It finally got sick of us and attacked and we have currently knocked it out...But I'm a bit concerned. According to the 5EMM, a Wyrmling is under 5 years old (p.86)

My DMs were surprised when half of us had immediate qualms (despite repeated reminders that my character loathes killing and does it more as a fight-or-flight reflex, and has regretted it everytime) simply because we immediately noticed that the phrasing for the encounter was intending to be just another monster slaying.

There were a couple setting specific things that led me to freak out, but mostly I disturbed at the time that I didn't really know what to do. But mostly because it was incredibly unclear if the wyrmling was redeemable. It was young and impressionable and seemed to be just a very hungry Gollum-like character, but the whole encounter struck me as baffling and I had no idea how to begin explaining my general discomfort.

Can I get some advice please?

Jay R
2014-10-27, 04:18 PM
Can I get some advice please?

Yes. But only from your DM.

We can't give any advice on the moral strictures enforced in that game.

Spacewolf
2014-10-27, 04:23 PM
Sounds like your DM is pretty decent for at least giving you the chance to talk with the dragon rather than it just attacking you out of the blue, so presumably the reason he is expecting you just to kill it is that he prescribes to the Monster Manual and views Black Dragons as always evil regardless of upbringing.

Personally I would wait till it wakes up feed it and if it gets more sociable free it. If not well freeing it might still be the best option. Would give the DM a good chance to set up some future interaction as well if he takes the opportunity.

Of course he might try being abit of an ass and say that freeing the dragon is an issue for you paladin in which case you would probably have to say something about how killing baby intelligent beings who as far as you are aware haven't done anything wrong is rarely the good course of action..

Haldir
2014-10-28, 03:24 PM
Even if it is irredeemably evil, it's still probably a useful piece of leverage against the other Dragons who seem to be cronking up all the jazz in your setting.