Though it's not my first time DMing it's my parties first time playing for the most part. I'm planning a big campaign for them, but I want to incorporate dragons to give them the whole Dungeons and Dragons experience. I've looked at a few stories, but huge arcs like the tyranny of dragons take away from the major plot I've been creating. I just want a few ideas, or maybe a reference to a 7 or 8 level one-shot that includes dragons. I just need a way of both incorporating dragons and having them be able to fight one
There are dragons who can polymorph themselves (actually I think most can). You could, just for fun, take one of your bad guys and make them a dragon in disguise, forwarding some draconic agenda within the story you already have.
It’s kind of trite, but there’s always the idea of a dragon wreaking havoc on a village or city or whatever. The characters, good heroes that they are, decide to help, hunt it down and fight it. And it’s easy to insert as a side quest at really any point.
If you want it bigger, you can add a cult or a bunch of kobolds doing the havoc on behalf of the dragon. Then they fight through them and make the dragon a boss fight.
And maybe the dragon just happens to have some kind of maguffin in the treasure hoard that will help the party in the main quest, if you want to tie it in.
In my campaign as a home brew not all dragons are evil. My group recently saved a twilight white dragon from his chains. Also one of my players found out that he's part prismatic dragon as well. That's how fun and crazy things can go when you write things up.
So just remember that you can incorporate an evil dragon as well as good ones. Players don't have to see all the evil and fight them. They can see the softer, kind ones as well.
My players unleashed an evil sorcerer and ancient black dragon in the first session at level one. Lol. Didn't expect that to happen. But they've also freed an ancient golden dragon and as mentioned a white one as well who are thankful to the players and rewarded them greatly since then.
So make the story how you like to introduce them to dragons. It doesn't always have to be a battle with one.
In my campaign as a home brew not all dragons are evil. My group recently saved a twilight white dragon from his chains. Also one of my players found out that he's part prismatic dragon as well. That's how fun and crazy things can go when you write things up.
So just remember that you can incorporate an evil dragon as well as good ones. Players don't have to see all the evil and fight them. They can see the softer, kind ones as well.
My players unleashed an evil sorcerer and ancient black dragon in the first session at level one. Lol. Didn't expect that to happen. But they've also freed an ancient golden dragon and as mentioned a white one as well who are thankful to the players and rewarded them greatly since then.
So make the story how you like to introduce them to dragons. It doesn't always have to be a battle with one.
It's not necessary to homebrew that not all dragons are evil. In lore, chromatic (red, blue, green, white, you get the idea) dragons are evil, while metallic dragons are good.
You could do something like a couple dragons being bad neighbors to each other. This can go as a two Chromatics, like a Black Dragon and a Green Dragon fighting for a similar territory where neither one is a good guy per se. One Chromatic one Metallic, Bronze dragon living along a coastal area maybe along the mouth of a river, suddenly has a nasty Black Dragon polluting the water coming downstream and ruining his domain. This would be a little more black and white of side with good or side with evil, Another pair that would work is Blue Dragon and Brass Dragon. The third option would be the more diplomatic 'bad neighbors' scenario. Two Metallic Dragons just can't seem to agree on anything and the party has to somehow get them not not duke it out in the nearby area filled with a city and farmland and all the other things that they might accidentally destroy. Maybe even have a "Last Time" they fought 700 sheep were killed a whole town was crushed or something similar (bonus points for humor with horror).
Maybe that could be a starting point for something.
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I pinched the Arauthor encounter from Rise of Tiamat. There were a number of changes, but the meat of it was sound. I'd have a look at Rise and see if there's something you can easily repurpose.
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Though it's not my first time DMing it's my parties first time playing for the most part. I'm planning a big campaign for them, but I want to incorporate dragons to give them the whole Dungeons and Dragons experience. I've looked at a few stories, but huge arcs like the tyranny of dragons take away from the major plot I've been creating. I just want a few ideas, or maybe a reference to a 7 or 8 level one-shot that includes dragons. I just need a way of both incorporating dragons and having them be able to fight one
There are dragons who can polymorph themselves (actually I think most can). You could, just for fun, take one of your bad guys and make them a dragon in disguise, forwarding some draconic agenda within the story you already have.
It’s kind of trite, but there’s always the idea of a dragon wreaking havoc on a village or city or whatever. The characters, good heroes that they are, decide to help, hunt it down and fight it. And it’s easy to insert as a side quest at really any point.
If you want it bigger, you can add a cult or a bunch of kobolds doing the havoc on behalf of the dragon. Then they fight through them and make the dragon a boss fight.
And maybe the dragon just happens to have some kind of maguffin in the treasure hoard that will help the party in the main quest, if you want to tie it in.
You're the DM so make it up.
In my campaign as a home brew not all dragons are evil. My group recently saved a twilight white dragon from his chains. Also one of my players found out that he's part prismatic dragon as well. That's how fun and crazy things can go when you write things up.
So just remember that you can incorporate an evil dragon as well as good ones. Players don't have to see all the evil and fight them. They can see the softer, kind ones as well.
My players unleashed an evil sorcerer and ancient black dragon in the first session at level one. Lol. Didn't expect that to happen. But they've also freed an ancient golden dragon and as mentioned a white one as well who are thankful to the players and rewarded them greatly since then.
So make the story how you like to introduce them to dragons. It doesn't always have to be a battle with one.
It's not necessary to homebrew that not all dragons are evil. In lore, chromatic (red, blue, green, white, you get the idea) dragons are evil, while metallic dragons are good.
You could do something like a couple dragons being bad neighbors to each other. This can go as a two Chromatics, like a Black Dragon and a Green Dragon fighting for a similar territory where neither one is a good guy per se. One Chromatic one Metallic, Bronze dragon living along a coastal area maybe along the mouth of a river, suddenly has a nasty Black Dragon polluting the water coming downstream and ruining his domain. This would be a little more black and white of side with good or side with evil, Another pair that would work is Blue Dragon and Brass Dragon. The third option would be the more diplomatic 'bad neighbors' scenario. Two Metallic Dragons just can't seem to agree on anything and the party has to somehow get them not not duke it out in the nearby area filled with a city and farmland and all the other things that they might accidentally destroy. Maybe even have a "Last Time" they fought 700 sheep were killed a whole town was crushed or something similar (bonus points for humor with horror).
Maybe that could be a starting point for something.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
I pinched the Arauthor encounter from Rise of Tiamat. There were a number of changes, but the meat of it was sound. I'd have a look at Rise and see if there's something you can easily repurpose.