Why Do Dragons Kidnap Princesses?

[JNAProductions]

I've got an upcoming session, Monday, which I plan to have a good ol' cliche "Dragon kidnapped a princess, go save her."

Knowing my players, it will probably go awry before they leave the castle, but hey. Gotta prepare at least a bit.

So, as the title said:

Why Do Dragons Kidnap Princesses?

[SniffyRockroot]

Studies show pet ownership is good for one's health.

[JNAProductions]

Studies show pet ownership is good for one's health.

Horrible answer, but god-DAMN did it make me laugh. So props to you, good person. :)

[LoneStarNorth]

I once had a dragon kidnap two princesses from two warring kindgoms, let them both loose on an island, and tell them that if one of them kills the other, it'll burn down their enemy's capital city. Dragons get bored, I guess.

Or maybe they're hoping the princess will fall in love with them so they can marry into the royal family.

[johnbragg]

Dragons are powerful enough that they participate in the Divine Rank/worship-energy ecosystem.

They kidnap princesses (and collect hoards) because it impresses and terrifies masses of humanoids, from whom they harvest psychic energy, mostly in the form of fear.

Or, an ancient race of fantastically powerful snake-men used freaky bio-magical archanotech alchemy to create them, and princesses are a form of treasure with politico-economic significance.

Dragons: Gigantic bio-engineered terror weapons. Genetically programmed to assert dominance over a region through displays of terrifying force, gather up all useful local resources, and then hand over the materiel thus accumulated to the Snake Man armies when they finally turn up. Their hoarding behaviour is a result of this latter instinct; and now, as dragons sit on their hoards, they are occasionally troubled by the thought that they know they should be turning all this loot and magic over to someone, they just can't quite remember who...

http://udan-adan.blogspot.com/2016/04/give-me-snake-man-and-i-will-explain.html

[LudicSavant]

I've got an upcoming session, Monday, which I plan to have a good ol' cliche "Dragon kidnapped a princess, go save her."

Knowing my players, it will probably go awry before they leave the castle, but hey. Gotta prepare at least a bit.

So, as the title said:

Why Do Dragons Kidnap Princesses?

Ransoming nobles to increase their horde.

Inspiring terror to encourage tribute and sacrifice.

Holding things that other races consider valuable to increase their prestige.

Attracting magic-item laden adventurers to their lair, handily delivering them more loot to sleep on.

[KorvinStarmast]

Why Do Dragons Kidnap Princesses?
Why do fish fornicate in water? Because it's in their nature.
Put another way: Who cares?

It's a trope. Wallow in it and enjoy it. Overthinking gets in the way of fun.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Not all dragon's value material wealth above all. Green Dragon's specifically are the type that like to take sentient creatures that they can use as tools.

Green dragons accept the servitude of sentient creatures such as goblinoids, ettercaps, ettins, kobolds, orcs, and yuan-ti. They also delight in corrupting and bending elves to their will. A green dragon sometimes wracks its minions’ minds with fear to the point of insanity, with the fog that spreads throughout its forest reflecting those minions’ tortured dreams.

Living Treasures. A green dragon’s favored treasures are the sentient creatures it bends to its will, including significant figures such as popular heroes, well-known sages, and renowned bards.

A Green Dragon could take a princess for any number of reasons, a small list including:
-Planting a spy in the kingdom to ensure it doesn't threaten their lair
-Ransom
-A damsel to bait foolish adventurers with
-A toy to be disposed of when it becomes boring

Personally I find Green Dragon's to be among the worst kind. They're well aware of how underhanded and vile their scheming is and they revel in it.

[Peelee]

Solidarity (https://imgur.com/gallery/msKUG).

[JNAProductions]

Solidarity (https://imgur.com/gallery/msKUG).

Might use this.

[mucat]

Dragons get bored. When you kidnap a princess, all the tiny local people scurry around as if you'd just kicked an anthill where the ants have slightly fewer legs, and it's really funny to watch. Kidnapping the Junior Vice President of Marketing is nowhere near as amusing.

[Kane0]

Studies show pet ownership is good for one's health.



http://udan-adan.blogspot.com/2016/04/give-me-snake-man-and-i-will-explain.html

Excellent posts to the both of you.

[Tawmis]

I've got an upcoming session, Monday, which I plan to have a good ol' cliche "Dragon kidnapped a princess, go save her."
Knowing my players, it will probably go awry before they leave the castle, but hey. Gotta prepare at least a bit.
So, as the title said:
Why Do Dragons Kidnap Princesses?

You could have some fun with it... What if it wasn't a Dragon who did it?
What if Kobolds did it - to appease a nearby Dragon (who actually doesn't really care about the princess - but the notion that she's of monetary value is appealing to it).
That way the party thinks it's Kobolds they're going after...
And end up face to face with a Dragon (undoubtedly seriously underestimating the threat).

[No brains]

The players confront the dragon!

"Why did you kidnap the princess!?"

"Did I kidnap a princess!? Why DID I kidnap a princess!?"

This is only the tip of the iceberg.:smallamused:

[Xania]

Although this doesn't make a lot of sense to me, there was some book where a water dragon brought her to some plane in the bottom of the lake and had her enchanted doing nothing but caring for the dragon's eggs.

[Grey Watcher]

There's always this explanation, if you're looking for a tongue-in-cheek subversion.

http://portsherry.com/comic/helping-the-princess/

If you want a more play-it-straight answer, then the suggestions of a pet or a means of extorting the reigning monarch make the most sense to me.

[jjordan]

To consume them and usurp their connection to the land, using this new connection to help them establish a lair and dominion over the new territory.

They don't. The princess is escaping an abusive situation and has made a deal with the dragon to help her overthrow her family.

Because she was promised to the dragon in return for his assistance in putting the current family in power. The dragon needs her as a vessel to hold a portion of its power and allow it to gather the artifacts it needs to ascend to godhood.

Surprise! Turns out the princess' parents have failed to tell her something about her heritage. Now that she's of age she's about to come into her power and it's going to be a dangerous time.

[Segev]

Due to backstory shenanigans, I had a juvenile red dragon who was stuck impersonating a human and got cursed to LE alignment. He legitimately managed to befriend a princess and liked her, but his human identity was that of a nameless orphan (no family to back any noble claims). So he had a kobold sorcerer he could terrorize into obedience impersonate a dragon and kidnap the princess so he could go on a quest with some adventurers to rescue her and hopefully use the hero status that’d give him as sufficient leverage to become her betrothed.

He also plotted to get her cousin, the heir to the kingdom, assassinated so she’d be next in line for the throne.

[Pex]

Bait for canned food to deliver themselves.

[Corran]

Why do dragons kidnap princesses...?
Why explore Undermountain or the jungles of Chult? Why climb mountains? Why anything?
Some beings collect stumps. This dragon collects princesses. :smallsmile:

Ransom could be an obvious answer. But it's boring....

I'd make the princess a good singer. Now the princess is to the dragon what a canary is to humans.

[False God]

Honestly I've never had a dragon kidnap a princess. Why does anyone kidnap anyone else? Money, power, or rape. Pick whichever flavor fits your party because much like the ending to Mass Effect 3, it won't make much difference.

Or, I dunno, turn the situation on its head and have the princess "elope" with the dragon. Or maybe she's allying with the dragon to take down her power-made brother or something.

[iTreeby]

1) The dragon was paid to kill the princess but is holding out for more money.

2) The dragon collects princesses a la "castle in the air." won't post spoilers beyond, someone kidnaps ALL the princesses.

3) Dragon needs to hire an elite team and the easiest way to assembleaa team is to steal a princess.

4) The princess is or is involved in the creation of an exotic material component.

5) the dragon needs a date for the city of brass disco night.

6) revenge on the king who killed its offspring.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

I will say he got her as a trophy.
Dragons like collections.


Honestly I've never had a dragon kidnap a princess. Why does anyone kidnap anyone else? Money, power, or rape. Pick whichever flavor fits your party because much like the ending to Mass Effect 3, it won't make much difference.

Or, I dunno, turn the situation on its head and have the princess "elope" with the dragon. Or maybe she's allying with the dragon to take down her power-made brother or something.

You are great :)

[Seclora]

Firstly, Princesses are a status symbol. Having one is sort of like displaying a Pineapple at a fancy Victorian dinner party, useless but it does remind everyone how rich and/or powerful you are. Does it impress Kings and Knights? No, but why would a Dragon want to impress them anyways?

Secondly, Dragons are not known for their fine manipulation, and sometimes it helps to have someone with calligraphy training to help you scribe scrolls, dictate self-aggrandizing poetry, and put up warning signs to discourage the sort of lower lifeforms that wouldn't stand a chance of saving against your Frightening Presence anyways.

Lastly, Xorvintaal. In 3.5, there was a form of Draconic Calvinball called Xorvintaal in which Dragons would dedicate their lives to moving around mortal servants to inconvenience each other and steal each other's stuff in order to rack up points that only they even knew existed. It turns out that Dragon Nerds don't play Houses and Humans, they play Magic; The Gathering but all the cards are real people, things, and places. Princesses have ****ty stats on average, but you can always sacrifice one to get a team of adventurers or a capable Knight into the right position.

[ImperiousLeader]

From silly to sinister:

In an unfortunate typo, the Dragon was originally tasked with rounding up her older brothers, the princes.
This is the first part to a long scheme. While the Princess is captured, the Dragon intends to turn her into a Manchurian candidate and overthrow the kingdom from within years later.
On a dare.
The volcano the Dragon nests in is in danger of becoming active, the Princess is to be sacrificed at the appropriate time to appease the Volcano.
Humans carry rabbit feet for good luck.
It's actually part of a weird tradition to teach noble children humility. Making the nobility walk among the commoners is literally beneath them, but captured and enslaved to a Dragon is like a fantasy internship.

[Ironheart]

5) the dragon needs a date for the city of brass disco night.


I accept no other answer than this.

A dragon might auction the princess off to foreign powers if the foreign powers would be interested in leverage. I assume this is a crown princess?

[Cheesegear]

Depends on the Colour;

Black; They wouldn't. The Princess would just be dead.

Blue; Probably because the Princess' Crown is full of gems. Would probably try and even get the Princess on its side.

Green; To hunt the most dangerous game of all...Humanoids. The Princess is a symbol of how the Green Dragon was able to kidnap the Princess in the first place, also, knowing Humanoids, the Princess will serve as bait to lure out even more powerful adventurers - if not the ruling Monarch themselves.

Red; Because they can.

White; The Dragon was looking for treasure. Killed the Princess. Kept searching for treasure.

Metallics are much more hard to pin down, as they're Good, and probably wouldn't kidnap anyone, except for...

Bronze; TELL ME STORIES.

Copper; ...I'm so lonely. :smallfrown:

[Anymage]

Solidarity (https://imgur.com/gallery/msKUG).


There's always this explanation, if you're looking for a tongue-in-cheek subversion.

http://portsherry.com/comic/helping-the-princess/

Really the best answers here.

If you want to go with a straight up evil dragon, it has demands and kidnaps someone important to the king to use as a hostage. It doesn't care about princesses, except insofar as they can be used to extort their more connected/powerful relatives.

[Composer99]

Princess meat is just ever so scrumptious when grilled to perfection.

Alternately, a subversion of sorts, the princess was betrothed to a far-away noble house upon which the dragon wishes revenge, and which she herself hates with malice aplenty. What is perceived as kidnapping was a voluntary flight by the princess, who intends to partake of the knowledge she has gained from her travels in the lands of that house so they can destroy their mutual enemy.

[Mercurias]

This princess isn't just a valuable political figure. She's a mercantile prodigy, and her dealings have generated enough income to bring her family's lands out from poverty and into a new golden age.

The dragon realized its hoard has hardly grown in the last few decades. It's been piled up in the back of a cave all that time, the human equivalent of being stuffed into a mattress.

A plan forms. Why not make this princess advise the dragon on making its own dealings, using its own hoard as an investment towards large-scale business ventures, which will generate an even larger hoard for the dragon!

Or mayhaps that's too much work, after the dragon thinks about it, and it would much rather kidnap the woman and terrorize her into sharing what she knows about trade routes, banks, and auction houses where precious jewels are sold.

Either way, the dragon stands to gain.

[Jerrykhor]

I guess its the same reason why they hoard treasure and loot even thought they can't use them: Because.

There's no rhyme or reason for dragon behaviour, and we should not presume to understand them. They exist to be defeated and looted. And sometimes get a princess in the process.

Maybe its just a strange fetish of dragonkin.

[qube]

Why Do Dragons Kidnap Princesses?It's tradition!


You did something because it had always been done, and the explanation was 'But we've always done it this way.' A million dead people dragons can't have been wrong, can they?


If you left off traditions because you didn't know why they started you'd be no better than a foreigner drake / lizard ....

~~Terry Pratchett

[Cheesegear]

There's no rhyme or reason for dragon behaviour

Yes there is. The MM isn't exactly vague.

[Ninja_Prawn]

In a spin on the 'mercantile prodigy' one, maybe the dragon just needs someone to audit its hoard, and is too much of a cheapskate to pay a professional, so it just kidnaps the princess and forces her to work under threat of being eaten.

Or how about: the king/queen and the dragon are estranged partners; the princess is a half-dragon. This 'kidnapping' is actually just another chapter in an ongoing child custody battle.

Or the queen was kidnapped by a dragon when she was younger, but it turned out to be a really positive experience that helped her to find herself, so she arranges for her daughter to be kidnapped by the same dragon.

Princess (being kidnapped): "What? Nooooo! Unhand me, dragon!"
Queen (smiling and waving): "Bye honey, have fun! See you in a couple of months!"
Princess (realising what's going on): "Muuuumm! What the fuuuuuu..." (fades into distance)
Queen: "Ah, so nostalgic."

It's not actually a kidnapping, just a very elaborate escape room. The princess escapes just before the party arrives, and is now posing for a portrait and holding up a chalkboard with her escape time on it.

The princess is an evil sorceress who is plotting to murder her older siblings and usurp the throne to usher in a reign of terror. The dragon, a concerned citizen who recognises that its hoard grows much faster when the surrounding lands are prosperous and peaceful, kidnaps the princess to prevent her from completing her plan.

It was all a mix up: the dragon was actually contracted to steal The Princess Anastasia, a treasure galleon sailing back from the New World laden with gold and exotic spices. Now it's stuck with a very demanding hostage and some very disgruntled clients...

[hymer]

I think it's been hinted at already, but I want to spell it out:

My suggestion is that dragons take princesses because of their enormous value. As part of their hoarding instinct, they realize that the next generation of royals are at the root of all sorts of sentimental and political effects. Like a peacock's feathers, holding the only daughter of a powerful king is dangerous and awesome, and exactly the thing to impress rivals and potential mates.

[Asmotherion]

Perhaps the princess is his grand-grandaughter in a big linage that started from him and he's disapointed on how her father runs the land so he wants to educate her on how to be a great ruler;

This can go both for Chromatics and Metalic ones.

[Sindal]

Proper etiquette classes and slumber parties so they can talk about boys.

[SpawnOfMorbo]

I've got an upcoming session, Monday, which I plan to have a good ol' cliche "Dragon kidnapped a princess, go save her."

Knowing my players, it will probably go awry before they leave the castle, but hey. Gotta prepare at least a bit.

So, as the title said:

Why Do Dragons Kidnap Princesses?

To impress their parents. Weird coming of age rituals from ages long past, some dragon named K'uu Pah used to do it and started a tradition.

When the party defeats the dragon, but before it dies, the dragon can explain itself... Then the party could hear the parents coming so they need to flee papa and mama dragon... With a princess in tow...

[DeTess]

There's a free (or at least the first cope of chapters are free) choose-your own adventure focussed on being a dragon (https://www.choiceofgames.com/dragon/) that basically opens with this question (actually, it opens with dealing with one of the knights send to get the princess back, but whatever). Its got some humorous observations and general observations on the trope, so I'd recommend taking 5 minutes to read/play through that first segment.

[deuterio12]

Perhaps the princess is his grand-grandaughter in a big linage that started from him and he's disapointed on how her father runs the land so he wants to educate her on how to be a great ruler;

This can go both for Chromatics and Metalic ones.

"I go away for a couple centuries and this is how you've been educating the kids? I'll show you how it's done!"

Really liked this one, really offers a lot of story possibilities.:smallbiggrin:

[Zetakya]

The Dragon needs heroes for an inscrutable quest of its own, and the quickest way to get an appropriate party for the job is to kidnap a Princess and wait for the King to send some along. The trick, traps and encounters along the way are intended solely to teach the party the skills it needs to know for the Dragon's real quest.

[Sigreid]

Ransom, blackmail, to prove they can take anything they want, to possess what the king values most, to fulfill a bargain with another powerful individual, snacks.

[Imbalance]

Metaphorical obligations.

[Chronos]

Dragons don't collect treasure because it has any particular use to them. They collect treasure because it's treasure. Hoarding is in their inherent nature. And a princess is, to a dragon, just another sort of treasure.

[Sigreid]

Dragons don't collect treasure because it has any particular use to them. They collect treasure because it's treasure. Hoarding is in their inherent nature. And a princess is, to a dragon, just another sort of treasure.

In some Norse myths dragons were people transformed into literal monsters by their greed.

[paladinn]

The real reasons are lost to the ages.. the dragons don't speak of it. But the dragonborn are very grateful

[Seclora]

In some Norse myths dragons were people transformed into literal monsters by their greed.

Ah yes, Fafnir the Dwarf.

An answer to the question, which came first, the Dragon or the Hoard?

[Segev]

In a game I ran, I had a player whose mother was a nymph and whose father was a traditional paladin prince. Her sisters all got the half-fae template, but she took after her father, and was merely mundanely beautiful. This made her quite envious and gave her quite the inferiority complex. All her sisters got suitors all the time. Her only other sibling who took after their father was her brother, and boys can get away with being not-enchantingly-beautiful as far as she was concerned.

She would sneak out of the castle after leaving ransom notes supposedly written by dragons, and find a dragon's cave to camp in. Usually to the confusion of the dragon. Waiting for a dashing hero to come "rescue" her so she could have a dramatic romance.

Unfortunately, her brother usually was the one to come pick her up, much to her consternation.

[Dessunri]

Might use this.

OH MAN THAT'S FUNNY! Totally using that in a campaign sometime.

[GlenSmash!]

Not quite a dragon, but I think it's relevant.

https://i.redd.it/242a77xoru801.jpg

[Segev]

Not quite a dragon, but I think it's relevant.

https://i.redd.it/242a77xoru801.jpg

Dragon-turtles still have the Dragon type.



Also, just for the turnabout, a female dragon might kidnap a prince because she's really bad at asking a guy out.

I do like Wendy the dragon helping her princess friend find a young, charming knight to rescue romance her. Not sure how well it'd work in practice, though: the dragon's impression of the guy is made when he's trying to bluster and in just a few minutes, at most.

Another variant on this theme: the princess is (unbeknownst to the populace) half dragon, and her mom "kidnapped" her as a way of filtering suitors.

[The Glyphstone]

The princess is actually fleeing an arranged marriage she despises, and volunteered to be 'kidnapped' as a way out of it.

[Sigreid]

The king paid the dragon to remove a troublesome daughter.

[Segev]

The king paid the dragon to remove a troublesome daughter.

The dragon didn't kidnap the princess. Somebody else did, or killed her, or something, and framed the dragon so that nobody would find out. Even if the dragon is slain and the princess not found, obviously the dragon ate her, dress and all, right?

[Demonslayer666]

To give the knight an altruistic reason to fight the dragon.

[Moltenbrisingr]

Kidnapping a princess is basically the same as creating an assembly line of weapons, armor, healing potions, magical items, gold and etc. Maybe the dragon is simply a shrewd businessdragon who runs a pawn shop in a major town (via teleportation circle) and sells the weapons and items that he collects for the adventurers. You could even have the dragon spreading the news that the princess had been kidnapped to various adventurers so that they then go to try and rescue her and then he sells their items. This would also work if the dragon and pawn shop owner where not the same being just in cahoots.

[loki_ragnarock]

The princess is a renowned artificer who has laid down the arcane schematics for an orb of dragon kind.

As the dragon had no desire to be magically enslaved, it has decided to gently intervene. Dragons remember the last time a group of humans managed to get ahold of such artifacts, and curse the name Jeremy Irons to this day. They are almost universally familiar with what is required to produce them, ensuring that the various materials and ideas never coincide in one place. When such ideas and materials do appear in the same place, the dragons typically band together and dragon nuke the entire area, scouring it of all life and stealing or destroying all such treasures and materials to distribute to the far corners of the world.

The dragon didn't want to resort to watching a large swath of its territory reduced to rubble and ash, so has destroyed her lab and notes and kidnapped the princess in the hope that it can cause her to forget the mystic formulae for the production of the orb without also killing her. This has proven difficult, as she's got a photographic memory.


Or, all that, but wants to gain the precise knowledge of how to produce the orb to enslave other dragons and is trying to extract the knowledge from an intractable academic who is concerned about patent protections.

[Segev]

Solidarity (https://imgur.com/gallery/msKUG).

Referenced this post indirectly already, but just had a thought. What if the Bard (https://img.fireden.net/tg/image/1455/36/1455364659372.jpg) is the next one to show up to rescue her? (Warning: image NSFW due to topless monstergirl(s))

[Ninja_Prawn]

All the other dragons were doing it (probably for reasons listed in this thread); this one just wanted to fit in.

The princess is the dragon. She was just using her shapechanger powers to pretend to be a human for a few years. Then she got bored, turned back into a dragon, and flew back to her cave. The media reported it as a 'kidnapping' due to a mistranslation.

An archfey is running an interplanar scavenger hunt. Contestants have to obtain the following before midnight: one diamond, two clubs, three men in a tub, the sign from the door of a popular pub, a princess, a frog, a queen's corgi dog, and a book without an epilogue.

[Max_Killjoy]

Solidarity (https://imgur.com/gallery/msKUG).

Love it -- will have to remember that one.

[No brains]

There is no princess. The princess was an illusion.
There is no dragon. The dragon was also an illusion.
The entire city where the players got this quest? Also an illusion.
The mastermind was an illusionist who played a 'social experiment', scryed by their wizard friends.
The party hath been punk'd.

[Gallowglass]

I mean, you obviously have never eaten a princess or you would already know the answer to that. They are delicious!

[M Placeholder]

Because the Wedge shape of the Princess is a 1970's design classic, and there aren't many left, thanks to really bad build quality and poor rustproofing.

[NRSASD]

The princess is actually fleeing an arranged marriage she despises, and volunteered to be 'kidnapped' as a way out of it.

This was actually a PC's backstory in my campaign

[Snails]

Proper etiquette classes and slumber parties so they can talk about boys.

To needlessly fail the Bechdel test, apparently.

[LibraryOgre]

In Hackmaster, Dragons are not born. Instead, a Drake who eats enough maidens will, eventually, be able to turn into a dragon, after a decade-long hibernation in a bone cocoon.

[Sigreid]

In truth, the princess has kidnapped the dragon!

[Xetheral]

It wasn't a Kidnapping... it was an Extraction. The princess hired the dragon to get her out of that stifling MegaCorp she was born into.

"What? I said we're playing fifth edition... you're the one who foolishly assumed I meant D&D. Now get out your d6's and make sure you have a lot of them, because that dragon has a fully-automatic grenade launcher with an airburst link and we're using chunky salsa rules."

[Xania]

In truth, the princess has kidnapped the dragon!


Could be, judging by the comments in the videos with Smaug in it :smalleek:

[Tiadoppler]

Curiosity: The dragon lives on a timescale of centuries, dealing in life and death, blood and flame, while the (spoiled) princess lives on a timescale of hours, where momentary fashions and social drama are the most important things she can imagine. It's all about having the opportunity to explore a new perspective.



Scavenger Hunt: The dragon is competing for a great prize, and must collect a dozen rare items, including the daughter of a king, to win a legendary artifact.



Competition: Dragons compete in a regular tournament to capture and hold princesses for as long as possible, under certain rules (no planar travel, no teleportation, must keep princess in a known cave or lair, etc.). When the party nears victory, the dragon states his time for the record and teleports away, disappointed or proud (depending on the party's speed).



The Power of Stories: Stories of dragons kidnapping princesses have existed for hundreds or thousands of years. None of the dragons really know why the stories are so common (most princesses don't seem that interesting, after all), but every once in a while, a dragon gets drunk and decides to try it for himself, to see if it's all it's cracked up to be. This perpetuates the stories.



Disguise: The princess is actually a shapeshifted dragon. The princess disappeared, and someone saw the dragon fly away. The assumption is that the princess has been kidnapped.


The real princess died in an accident years ago. A dragon took the opportunity to infiltrate the kingdom for their own purposes.

The real princess wanted to run away, so they made a deal with a dragon to impersonate them long enough to get a good head start on their overbearing family.

There is no real princess. A manipulative dragon has brainwashed the royal family into believing that they are the heir to the throne.

The ruling family is made up entirely of shapeshifted dragons. Their whelp daughter was incautious with her disguise, and her mother is punishing her by sending a couple of low-level adventuring parties after her.

The princess is cursed to assume a monstrous form (dragon) under certain circumstances. The problem is: she likes it.



Fashion Advice: The dragon has awoken from a slumber of centuries, and their wardrobe is equally outdated. To successfully blend in with this new time period, they need a makeover. The dragon's intent was to pay the princess with ancient jewels and then release her once her work was done, but obnoxious adventurers keep interrupting their fitting sessions.



Socio-Political Advice: The dragon has awoken from a slumber of centuries, and their knowledge of the surrounding nations is equally outdated. To update their intelligence on their territory, they require a high-ranking political expert, or, barring that, a talkative gossip.

[Barebarian]

I've always imagined they find they have a lot in common :smallbiggrin:

[Tawmis]

I've got an upcoming session, Monday, which I plan to have a good ol' cliche "Dragon kidnapped a princess, go save her."
Knowing my players, it will probably go awry before they leave the castle, but hey. Gotta prepare at least a bit.
So, as the title said:
Why Do Dragons Kidnap Princesses?

So it turns out that the King is looking for a suitable man for his daughter's hand in marriage...
And has arranged a dragon to abduct his own daughter and put the suitors through a test...

I highly recommend making the castle an endless amount of traps and borrow music and sounds from the one true source of why Dragons abduct princesses. (https://youtu.be/bRU0TaJq2eA)

[Barebarian]

So it turns out that the King is looking for a suitable man for his daughter's hand in marriage...
And has arranged a dragon to abduct his own daughter and put the suitors through a test...

I highly recommend making the castle an endless amount of traps and borrow music and sounds from the one true source of why Dragons abduct princesses. (https://youtu.be/bRU0TaJq2eA)

I see you're a man of culture :smallbiggrin:

[Yanagi]

When a dragon kidnaps a princess, the first thing you do is go to the kingdom's archives and make sure the king didn't abruptly buy a whole bunch of Princess Life Insurance a few months ago.

[Tawmis]

I see you're a man of culture :smallbiggrin:

Finally! Someone says I have some culture... :smalltongue:

[Barebarian]

When a dragon kidnaps a princess, the first thing you do is go to the kingdom's archives and make sure the king didn't abruptly buy a whole bunch of Princess Life Insurance a few months ago.

But then again, who hasn't? Correlation is not causation! :smallwink: :smalltongue:

[Tawmis]

When a dragon kidnaps a princess, the first thing you do is go to the kingdom's archives and make sure the king didn't abruptly buy a whole bunch of Princess Life Insurance a few months ago.

https://i.imgflip.com/360s0b.jpg (https://imgflip.com/i/360s0b)via Imgflip Meme Generator (https://imgflip.com/memegenerator)

[Mordaedil]

All the other dragons were doing it (probably for reasons listed in this thread); this one just wanted to fit in.

The princess is the dragon. She was just using her shapechanger powers to pretend to be a human for a few years. Then she got bored, turned back into a dragon, and flew back to her cave. The media reported it as a 'kidnapping' due to a mistranslation.

An archfey is running an interplanar scavenger hunt. Contestants have to obtain the following before midnight: one diamond, two clubs, three men in a tub, the sign from the door of a popular pub, a princess, a frog, a queen's corgi dog, and a book without an epilogue.
I like this one, as well as some of the other suggestions in similar vein suggested here. Normal stories of kidnapping princesses at face value is hopelessly low-int representation, while even the dumbest dragons are close to human intelligence. There has to be more to it, but I think it doesn't hurt to leave it to adapt itself to the players a bit.

If they are decide to investigate things back in the kingdom where she was kidnapped from, maybe have it reveal that she was going to be married off for political reasons, while if they decide to head out immediately, favor one of the plots where the dragon has sights on overthrowing the monarchy.

Basically adapt the plot to what the players do as to be the most rewarding for their efforts.

But also just pick two or three of the paths you'd like the best.

[Yanagi]

But then again, who hasn't? Correlation is not causation! :smallwink: :smalltongue:

*sigh*

You're right.

In a fantasy setting princess insurance is probably pretty common.

Not as common as venture capitalist dungeoneering firms, but pretty common.

[Barebarian]

*sigh*

You're right.

In a fantasy setting princess insurance is probably pretty common.

Not as common as venture capitalist dungeoneering firms, but pretty common.

Now the REAL question, is did the princess take out insurance on HERSELF before running off with her dragon boyfriend? :smallwink:

[Yora]

Dragons don't kidnap princesses. People select royalty for human sacrifice.

[Talion]

How else would they gain legal ownership over the country's ketchup mines? (https://www.nuklearpower.com/2002/07/13/episode-172-the-inhabitant-of-the-cave/) Someone has to sign over the deeds and resource rights to that, or else that valuable ketchup might go into provincial, non-Dragon hands. And besides, its the only way to get enough of the stuff to mask the taste of unwashed adventurers.

[Barebarian]

An 8 bit theater link? 8O I never thought I'd live to see the day! :smalltongue:

[Ninja_Prawn]

hopelessly low-int representation

Yeah, dragons should be all about those galaxy brain plays!

https://i.imgflip.com/360uxg.jpg

[Barebarian]

That's amazing Prawn XD

[Yanagi]

Now the REAL question, is did the princess take out insurance on HERSELF before running off with her dragon boyfriend? :smallwink:

See, if she buys it herself, that's shady but only somewhat alarming. If somebody else buys its, that's the beginning of a "Law and Order: Fantasy Kingdom" episode. Unless your adventurer team works insurance fraud.

When you really start to worry is when the princess starts taking out loans and investing heavily in derivative market for princess futures. I mean, when you're insider trading on how many princesses are disappearing per annum....

edit: That's who employs all the mid-level necromancers who are too basic to set up a dracula factory; insurance companies.

[Sigreid]

All you need is one princess and dinner will deliver itself on a semi regular basis for a while.

[SirGraystone]

Princess is promise by her father in marriage to an older man.
Dragon take human form and visit the castle.
Princess very unhappy to have to wed older man.
Dragon rescue Princess and takes her away.
Dragon and Princess fall in love and are happy together.

Enter the PCs who are send on a quest to rescue the Princess from the Dragon,
so the wedding can happen and bring peace between the two kingdoms.

[Particle_Man]

There is no princess. The princess was an illusion.
There is no dragon. The dragon was also an illusion.
The entire city where the players got this quest? Also an illusion.
The mastermind was an illusionist who played a 'social experiment', scryed by their wizard friends.
The party hath been punk'd.

Then go full David Lynch as the party realizes that they are the princess and dragon.

[Segev]

The dragon IS the man to whom the King negotiated his daughter's marriage, and whether the dragon tricked them about his species or not, the marriage is necessary for peace. The evil vizier (who wants the treaty to fail as part of his bid to depose the King and usurp the throne for himself) and a foolhardy but mostly goodhearted noble youth (who is crushing on the princess, and may have been her boyfriend before her arranged marriage) plead with the party to rescue her from the dragon, and leave out the "arranged marriage" part of it.

Whether the princess is against the arranged marriage and cooperates in the rescue, is resigned to the arranged marriage because she knew it would be her duty no matter what (and at least her husband turns into a hot guy for consumation), or has actually fallen for her husband (who has all the best gifts and actually works to make her happy), the party has some tricky choices. Actually, the first would be the trickiest, because "princess doesn't want to be married to her arranged husband, but the political rammifications of breaking the treaty are myriad and bad" is a decent plotline in and of itself. Still best if the dragon in question is not cruel to her, but nevertheless requires the marriage for the treaty.

[TakeitVillain]

Why not have a dragon kidnap a prince? It makes more sense politically and makes it more interesting...😏

[Sigreid]

Why not have a dragon kidnap a prince? It makes more sense politically and makes it more interesting...😏

Because damsels need un-distressing! 😁

Seriously though, sure. Traditionally the rescuing the princess from the monster is how the prince proves he is a worthy groom and valiant leader but flipping the script works.

[Particle_Man]

I could see a party of princesses preemptively finding and slaying every dragon they can find.

[patchyman]

Ransoming nobles to increase their horde.

Inspiring terror to encourage tribute and sacrifice.

Holding things that other races consider valuable to increase their prestige.

Attracting magic-item laden adventurers to their lair, handily delivering them more loot to sleep on.

Need the opposable thumbs to do stuff around the lair.

If you are really evil....Princess just ran away, Dragon got incorrectly blamed.

[Sigreid]

Same reason Jabba kept Leia around in a skimpy outfit. She couldn't have been sexy to him, but it did display his power.

[Barebarian]

Actually I read in one star wars book that Jabba had a "biped fetish" that other hutts found disgusting, I'd say such a deviation would be far more common among beings who can shapeshift. :P

[Sigreid]

Actually I read in one star wars book that Jabba had a "biped fetish" that other hutts found disgusting, I'd say such a deviation would be far more common among beings who can shapeshift. :P

Silver dragons in particular are known in the lore to have a bit of an obsession with the humanoid races.

[Blackhawk748]

As has been stated, ransom. Its very common in that era and would net the dragon a freaking crapload of money. Princesses may not be the direct heir (typically, but this is fantasy so feel free to ignore that) but they do let the kingdom easily establish Marriage Alliances and broker very lucrative deals with otehr kingdoms.

Or they could just be a spiteful **** and hate the kingdom, so they take the Kings favored daughter to punish him.


Solidarity (https://imgur.com/gallery/msKUG).

Using that at some point


The players confront the dragon!

"Why did you kidnap the princess!?"

"Did I kidnap a princess!? Why DID I kidnap a princess!?"

This is only the tip of the iceberg.:smallamused:

Probably gonna use this too. A dragon who is rather absent minded would be great.

[Barebarian]

Even better if the dragon really did have a complicated plan before he forgot :D

[Xania]

Chinese dragons sometimes can turn humans into other dragons, and they are not the only weird ones

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2529/5140/products/northern-dragon-princess-diamond-painting-kit-ytg-official-store-30x30cm-12x12-in-square_1024x1024.jpg?v=1558620039

[Fable Wright]

Tax reasons, mostly. Hostages count as 'dependents' to the Dragon IRS, and you get to claim exemptions based on their living expenses for the last 10 years. And who has a higher standard of living than a princess?

[HorizonWalker]

The Dragon foresees that this kingdom will one day fall, as all kingdoms do in time. In the pursuit of preservation and archiving and other such things, the Dragon has kidnapped the princess with the intent of stuffing her into a vat of Quintessence(time stasis gel).

This isn't the first time the Dragon has done this. There's other vats containing other princesses. Some are recent- they never did find the Princess of Guilder when she was kidnapped two years ago- and some are not- this Princess is dressed in fashions nobody has ever seen before, and judging by the way she speaks Elvish, she's somewhere in the ballpark of a thousand years old.

[JNAProductions]

The Dragon foresees that this kingdom will one day fall, as all kingdoms do in time. In the pursuit of preservation and archiving and other such things, the Dragon has kidnapped the princess with the intent of stuffing her into a vat of Quintessence(time stasis gel).

This isn't the first time the Dragon has done this. There's other vats containing other princesses. Some are recent- they never did find the Princess of Guilder when she was kidnapped two years ago- and some are not- this Princess is dressed in fashions nobody has ever seen before, and judging by the way she speaks Elvish, she's somewhere in the ballpark of a thousand years old.

Also good idea.

[No brains]

Probably gonna use this too. A dragon who is rather absent minded would be great.
I was going for more of a 'the dragon was possessed/ mind controlled conspiracy'...

Even better if the dragon really did have a complicated plan before he forgot :D
...But that's funny!

Tax reasons, mostly. Hostages count as 'dependents' to the Dragon IRS, and you get to claim exemptions based on their living expenses for the last 10 years. And who has a higher standard of living than a princess?
Man, whoever convinced dragons to pay taxes must be absolutely swimming in it!

[False God]

Why not have a dragon kidnap a prince? It makes more sense politically and makes it more interesting...😏

Maybe the dragon is playing an IRL game of Dream Daddy?

[SpawnOfMorbo]

Because damsels need un-distressing! 😁

Seriously though, sure. Traditionally the rescuing the princess from the monster is how the prince proves he is a worthy groom and valiant leader but flipping the script works.

Shrek is still one of the best D&D movies ever.

[Brookshw]

Because damsels need un-distressing! 😁

Seriously though, sure. Traditionally the rescuing the princess from the monster is how the prince proves he is a worthy groom and valiant leader but flipping the script works.

Well, hell, if we're flipping the script have a kingdom kidnap the dragon's kid to keep it in line.

[Sparky McDibben]

Well, hell, if we're flipping the script have a kingdom kidnap the dragon's kid to keep it in line.

So, the Dragon Prince? Seriously though I love this idea - absolutely fantastic idea to have the adventurers hired by the dragon!!

[M Placeholder]

Dragon is paid/manipulated to kidnap a Princess, in order to throw Kingdom into political turmoil and set the ball rolling for an eventual coup d'etat.

[Jakinbandw]

The Dragon gave the kingdom a loan a while back and now the Kingdom keeps missing their payments. The dragon put the princess in as collateral because he figured the king wouldn't want to lose his own daughter due to not paying, but it turns out he was wrong.

Now the Dragon has to hold on to the princess because otherwise his other debtors would think they could take advantage of him and this whole thing has gone off the rails and...

Look guys, just pay the last three payments the kingdom owes and the princess is yours. I don't care. Better yet, kill the king and bring me my owed share and you'll never see me again. This has just been quite the fiasco.

[Nagog]

I'm a terrible person for saying it (and other reasons too, but), Draconic Soul Sorcerers have to come from somewhere. XD

[Seclora]

The Dragon gave the kingdom a loan a while back and now the Kingdom keeps missing their payments. The dragon put the princess in as collateral because he figured the king wouldn't want to lose his own daughter due to not paying, but it turns out he was wrong.

Now the Dragon has to hold on to the princess because otherwise his other debtors would think they could take advantage of him and this whole thing has gone off the rails and...

Look guys, just pay the last three payments the kingdom owes and the princess is yours. I don't care. Better yet, kill the king and bring me my owed share and you'll never see me again. This has just been quite the fiasco.

Follow-up quest, the Princess is pretty livid that her father abandoned her to avoid paying the Dragon. She offers you all titles, land, and gold if you help her take over the Kingdom.

[Max_Killjoy]

I'm a terrible person for saying it (and other reasons too, but), Draconic Soul Sorcerers have to come from somewhere. XD

I think that's the unspoken assumed one that a lot of posters have been not saying.

[Particle_Man]

It does raise the question of why a dragon wants to generate draconic soul sorcerers, unless that is just a side effect of the dragon's ardour. It also works with dragons kidnapping princes, of course.

[Peelee]

Silver dragons in particular are known in the lore to have a bit of an obsession with the humanoid races.

I dunno about "obsession," but I do like all y'all a fair bit.

[Particle_Man]

Everyone has a type. :smallsmile:

[Asmotherion]

it could also be that the (metalic) Dragon and the Princess simply eloped and are currently on their honeymoon. The queen was not on board so she assumed abduction.

[LibraryOgre]

I dunno about "obsession," but I do like all y'all a fair bit.

Hey, your cousin decided she was gonna marry and a knight and kill the Queen of Darkness, and then her sister decided to marry an elf.

Your family is pretty freaky, is all I'm saying.

[Envyus]

Should be noted that Dragon's Kidnapping Princesses is not really a D&D Dragon thing.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Should be noted that Dragon's Kidnapping Princesses is not really a D&D Dragon thing.

Is that really true? Green Dragons would do it in a heartbeat like I'd posted on page 1.

Green dragons accept the servitude of sentient creatures such as goblinoids, ettercaps, ettins, kobolds, orcs, and yuan-ti. They also delight in corrupting and bending elves to their will. A green dragon sometimes wracks its minions’ minds with fear to the point of insanity, with the fog that spreads throughout its forest reflecting those minions’ tortured dreams.

Living Treasures. A green dragon’s favored treasures are the sentient creatures it bends to its will, including significant figures such as popular heroes, well-known sages, and renowned bards.

SKT comes pretty close to this as well.
In SKT the main villain is an Ancient Dragon. In the adventure she:
-Poses as a Giant advisor in an attempt to overthrow the giant princess's rule and literally steal the throne (it's magic)
-Corrupts the princesses sisters into following her. Technically they were already evil but it didn't help their case being given the opportunity
-Facilitated the kidnapping of the Storm Giant's King.

[Envyus]

Is that really true? Green Dragons would do it in a heartbeat like I'd posted on page 1.


SKT comes pretty close to this as well.
In SKT the main villain is an Ancient Dragon. In the adventure she:
-Poses as a Giant advisor in an attempt to overthrow the giant princess's rule and literally steal the throne (it's magic)
-Corrupts the princesses sisters into following her. Technically they were already evil but it didn't help their case being given the opportunity
-Facilitated the kidnapping of the Storm Giant's King.

None of that is kidnapping a princess for no reason.

[Sigreid]

None of that is kidnapping a princess for no reason.

Oh, there's always a reason. Even if they just want a snack that's a reason.

[ProsecutorGodot]

None of that is kidnapping a princess for no reason.

Who said there wasn't a reason? This entire discussion is several pages of perfectly valid reasons.

It's also evidence that Dragon's kidnapping royalty (stereotypically the Princess) is a very DND thing. Not only is it written into some official adventurers, the monster manual encourages it for a certain species of Dragon.