Carrying over a discussion I saw on reddit, but it didn't really seem like it was getting anywhere. I was interested, so I thought I'd bring it over here.
A more detailed version of the question at hand would be: if a metallic dragon was born in or adapted to the Shadowfell to become a shadow dragon, would they still retain their goodness? The template for the shadow variant in the Monster Manual says nothing about changing the original dragon's alignment, and the Shadowfell is no more or less evil than the Prime or Feywild, but it's malaise tends to send those who succumb to it on an evil path.
I'm really not too sure about it all. Is it just one of those things the DM ultimately gets to decide on?
Yeah, I would say it's up to your DM, or the person controlling the character. I would be inclined to agree that they don't change to evil, but will probably shift towards chaos or neutrality.
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'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
Can a Shadow Dragon be good? Possibly, especially in an extraordinary setting where things happen that are even more extraordinary. Can the storyteller explain how? That's up to the relationship between the storyteller and the audience.
Stranger things have happened in D&D storytelling.
I remember way back when a non-evil Drow got under the skin of a good portion of the fandom. Not so crazy an idea anymore.
Not every spark will catch fire, but excitement comes less likely from the expected. Good-aligned Shadow Dragon? Unexpected, definitely. The trick is using it to mean something or many might feel that it's a shoehorned idea.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
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Carrying over a discussion I saw on reddit, but it didn't really seem like it was getting anywhere. I was interested, so I thought I'd bring it over here.
A more detailed version of the question at hand would be: if a metallic dragon was born in or adapted to the Shadowfell to become a shadow dragon, would they still retain their goodness? The template for the shadow variant in the Monster Manual says nothing about changing the original dragon's alignment, and the Shadowfell is no more or less evil than the Prime or Feywild, but it's malaise tends to send those who succumb to it on an evil path.
I'm really not too sure about it all. Is it just one of those things the DM ultimately gets to decide on?
Insert interesting signature here.
Yeah, I would say it's up to your DM, or the person controlling the character. I would be inclined to agree that they don't change to evil, but will probably shift towards chaos or neutrality.
'The Cleverness of mushrooms always surprises me!' - Ivern Bramblefoot.
I'll worldbuild for your DnD games!
Just a D&D enjoyer, check out my fiverr page if you need any worldbuilding done for ya!
They would at the best turn LE or CN. They would not stay good.
There is no dawn after eternal night.
Homebrew: Magic items, Subclasses
It could be that a good wyrm couldn't become a Shadow Dragon in the first place.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Can a Shadow Dragon be good? Possibly, especially in an extraordinary setting where things happen that are even more extraordinary. Can the storyteller explain how? That's up to the relationship between the storyteller and the audience.
Stranger things have happened in D&D storytelling.
I remember way back when a non-evil Drow got under the skin of a good portion of the fandom. Not so crazy an idea anymore.
Not every spark will catch fire, but excitement comes less likely from the expected. Good-aligned Shadow Dragon? Unexpected, definitely. The trick is using it to mean something or many might feel that it's a shoehorned idea.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.