Results 31 to 60 of 60
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2022-05-13, 01:52 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2006
- Location
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
In greek myth besides the golden fleece
Ladon guards the golden apples
Python guards the center of the earth
Ismenian dragon is the progeny of Ares meant to guard a sacred spring near future city of Thebes
Note in Greek the name for Dragon is Drake specifically drákōn (from derkomai, "to see," the root of the English term, "dragon") Thus a Dragon literally means "to watch over something", to guard it in Greek.
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Arguably you can go back further where cattle and goat raiding myths, and often a chaos god which was a serpent / dragon / hydra / naga is tied to such herd animals being stolen at
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Likewise while not mythical pretty much everywhere the silk road touched there were myths of Gryphons guarding gold. Not specific myths though, just dozens of imagery captured in dozens of cultures.Stupendous Man drawn by Linklele
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2022-05-13, 06:57 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
- Location
- Raleigh NC
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Shadowrun, in other words.
I cannot tell you how sad I am that setting does not get more love.
ETA: I see others have made the same point. In any case, in Tolkien's stories the dragons Smaug and Glaurung are Greed personified and thus collect purely for the sake of collecting. I assume if they lived in the modern world they would also collect rare Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon, create the greatest decks ever yet never play a round, for fear they might lose one.
I hadn't heard the theory of snakes hiding in dark holes where humans hide treasure; it's an interesting thought.
Respectfully,
Brian P.Last edited by pendell; 2022-05-13 at 07:03 AM.
"Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
-Valery Legasov in Chernobyl
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2022-05-13, 10:12 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2013
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2022-05-13, 11:38 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
- Location
- St. Louis
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Ask me about our low price vacation plans in the Elemental Plane of Puppies and PieSpoiler
Evoker avatar by kpenguin. Evoker Pony by Dirtytabs. Grey Mouser, disciple of cupcakes by me. Any and all commiepuppies by BRC
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2022-05-13, 02:32 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
- Location
- Switzerland
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Ah yes. The elusive Cryptodragon.
Resident Vancian Apologist
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2022-05-14, 02:55 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2007
- Location
- Cippa's River Meadow
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
In the anime/cartoon Flight of Dragons, the dragons need some form of soft, non-flammable bedding to sleep on and gold turns out to be the most convenient non-toxic material.
The younger dragons still have an 'OOH SHINEY!' mentality, so the more elaborate gold pieces they find, the better.
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2022-05-14, 07:37 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2020
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Treasure for dragon is self-important. Treasure is life, treasure is meaning. The bigger the treasure, the more meaning. They don't need treasure for other things - other things exist to acquire more treasure!
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2022-05-14, 08:40 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2018
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Allegorical covetousness - the dragons don't need gold, but they want it. They want yours. They want you to not have it so that it can be theirs. It is not currency, though the more a dragon has, the more covetousness is evoked in their peers, a desired side-effect. Gaining gold is less about being compulsive than it is about the lucre of simply being a dragon, the wages owed for existing. It already belongs to them, shortlife, so hand it over.
“Rule is what lies between what is said and what is understood.”~Raja Rudatha, the Spider Prince
Golem Arcana
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2022-05-14, 11:26 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2011
- Location
- Why am I here?
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
I remember something from one of the 3.5 books, might have been Draconomicon, that dragons can use their hoard to become a genus loci. So basically it's a powerful spell component. Same reason why a lot of things would hoard gold.
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2022-05-14, 12:10 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2009
- Location
- Washington D.C.
- Gender
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2022-05-14, 12:11 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
- Location
- Hudson Valley, NY
- Gender
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2022-05-14, 01:00 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2017
- Location
- France
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Forum Wisdom
Mage avatar by smutmulch & linklele.
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2022-05-14, 01:03 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2009
- Location
- Washington D.C.
- Gender
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2022-05-14, 02:07 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2017
- Location
- France
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Forum Wisdom
Mage avatar by smutmulch & linklele.
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2022-05-14, 03:05 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
- Location
- right behind you
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
They dont need all that gold. The problem is, they keep getting worshipped by kobolds who think the only way their "patron" will protect them is if they make frequent offerings. They can at least eat the food, but the gold? Thats an obnoxious amount of clutter in their lair. But its a gift and you dont refuse gifts unless you want to be rude. Kinda like moms and the fridge being covered in terrible pictures drawn by their kids. They have to keep them all or else risk upsetting them.
"Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europae vincendarum"
Translation: "Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe."
"If you don't get those cameras out of my face, I'm gonna go 8.6 on the Richter scale with gastric emissions that'll clear this room."
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2022-05-14, 03:45 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2009
- Location
- Washington D.C.
- Gender
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2022-05-14, 03:50 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
- Location
- In my library
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
I've now got this mental image of a dragon kidnapping a princess, and refusing to give her back unless the king accepts enough gold to crash the economy.
And yes, I was very much referencing Shadowrun in my first post.
Another idea, which probably works great for nonsentient dragonkin, they take shiny stuff so their lair is more attractive to mates.
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2022-05-14, 04:08 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2015
- Location
- Germany
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
"If it lives it can be killed.
If it is dead it can be eaten."
Ronkong Coma "the way of the bookhunter" III Catacombium
(Walter Moers "Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher")
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2022-05-14, 04:54 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2017
- Location
- France
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Forum Wisdom
Mage avatar by smutmulch & linklele.
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2022-05-14, 05:01 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
- Location
- Raleigh NC
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Why do dragons hoard all their gold? Simple? Because there's a fixed limit to how much they can put in their 401ks every year. Also, gold is untraceable and is a great hedge against inflation.
Tongue-in-cheek,
Brian P."Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
-Valery Legasov in Chernobyl
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2022-05-14, 05:13 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
- Location
- right behind you
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
"Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europae vincendarum"
Translation: "Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe."
"If you don't get those cameras out of my face, I'm gonna go 8.6 on the Richter scale with gastric emissions that'll clear this room."
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2022-05-14, 07:26 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2008
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Just piggybacking on Draconomicon 3.5, it's super painful and depressing for a dragon to die of old age, unlike any other creature ever, so they get to choose to either "become a guardian" or "depart," if they don't want to feel their bodies catastrophically collapse all around them. Doing so requires the dragon to consume over 130,000gp in treasure, and most of that needs to have been part of he hoard for at least 200 years.
Obligatory, okay, they could also become a dragolich instead of departing, becoming a guardian, or dying, but I think that option technically applies to anyone at that point."Okay, so I'm going to quick draw and dual wield these one-pound caltrops as improvised weapons..."
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"Oh, hey, look! Blue Eyes Black Lotus!" "Wait what, do you sacrifice a mana to the... Does it like, summon a... What would that card even do!?" "Oh, it's got a four-energy attack. Completely unviable in actual play, so don't worry about it."
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2022-05-14, 08:32 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
- Location
- St. Louis
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Idea for fluff: The dragons assign memories of people or events on each of their chosen token. It's really hard to keep your memories straight for a mortal, so it becomes a way for an ancient being to create a link to its vast past. Some of the treasure is as of yet unassigned, but it would mean taking from a dragon hoard isn't stealing from a bank, you just stole the memorial to their great-grand-daughter, a young bard that sought them out for advice before tragically dying in order to prevent a great tragedy.
You touch the pile, there's no more talking. There is only rage.Last edited by MCerberus; 2022-05-14 at 08:33 PM.
Ask me about our low price vacation plans in the Elemental Plane of Puppies and PieSpoiler
Evoker avatar by kpenguin. Evoker Pony by Dirtytabs. Grey Mouser, disciple of cupcakes by me. Any and all commiepuppies by BRC
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2022-05-14, 08:41 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2014
- Location
- Avatar By Astral Seal!
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
I have a LOT of Homebrew!
Spoiler: Former AvatarsSpoiler: Avatar (Not In Use) By Linkele
Spoiler: Individual Avatar Pics
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2022-05-15, 02:47 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2006
- Location
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
Sounds like the Dragon(s) is lonely, wait does this explain all the Half-Dragons, and other Dragonblood races?
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Edit I am now imaging a Dragon voiced by Sean Connery kidnapping a women who will keep him company and then extorting the local medieval peasants to support him, so he can support her for he likes it when she is happy. Who needs knights and lords, with the occasional king when one can have Dragons and Peasants as the basis of your medieval economy?Last edited by Ramza00; 2022-05-15 at 02:50 PM.
Stupendous Man drawn by Linklele
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2022-05-15, 05:20 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2018
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
“Rule is what lies between what is said and what is understood.”~Raja Rudatha, the Spider Prince
Golem Arcana
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2022-05-15, 06:42 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
- Location
- Switzerland
- Gender
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2022-05-15, 08:21 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2007
- Gender
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2022-05-16, 06:09 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
- Location
- Hudson Valley, NY
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
"We are the people our parents warned us about!" - J.Buffett
Avatar by Tannhaeuser
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2022-05-16, 07:25 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2007
- Location
- San Antonio, Texas
- Gender
Re: Why do dragons need all that gold, anyway?
The Cranky Gamer
*It isn't realism, it's verisimilitude; the appearance of truth within the framework of the game.
*Picard management tip: Debate honestly. The goal is to arrive at the truth, not at your preconception.
*Mutant Dawn for Savage Worlds!
*The One Deck Engine: Gaming on a budget
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