I was watching a lore about dragons in the Forgotten realms, and they mentioned something interesting about the life cycle of dragons. It's a MrRhexx video, and he seems to do a good job at parsing through old lore sources for this info.
Dragons almost never die from actual old age, but in the rare event that a dragon does get old enough and knows their time has come, they can eat their treasure hoard, and then vanish - presumably to go to heaven. This step in their life cycle is so crucial that a dragon can become a ghost if their treasure hoard is stolen and they are unable to make a new one before they die.
Here's a note from Ed Greenwood from Dragon Magazine #247 -- Wyrms of the North: Miirym, "The Sentinel Wyrm" (nobl.ca) "Eventually worn out by advanced age and the attacks of foolish would-be intruders -- notably several bands of Calishite wizards, who planned and then tried to carry out elaborate spell attacks on Candlekeep in the Year of the Shieldtree (1181 DR) and the Year of the Tomb (1182 DR) -- Miirym "died." That is, her body rotted and fell apart, losing flesh before bones, and then bone after bone crumbled away to dust, while the spells that bound her animated her still, keeping her sentient . . . if not entirely sane."
The archmage Torth who bound Miirym's spirit to Candlekeep didn't do so with a magic spell. He stole Miirym's treasure and hid it away somewhere that Miirym would never be able to find it, and now she is unable to pass on from this plane. Perhaps he cast a spell on the dragon to keep it from travelling beyond it's territory, but the real reason that all of the efforts to break Miirym's binding have failed is because the only way to release a dragon that has died of old age and become a ghost is to return its treasure horde.
That right there could be an entire campaign. To find and return the dragons treasure, so that they could finally find peace in whatever afterlife awaits dragons. Also, to rid candlekeep of her ghost/spirit. I would have to sit down and think of it, but having the soul of an insane dragon being the BBEG, and the only way to defeat it and save candlekeep, to return its treasure to it, seems like a cool campaign to me.
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
That must be the reason she attacked Candlkekeep in the first place. The Monster Manual says Silver dragons love humans and are very curious and friendly toward them. So attacking Candlekeep just to add the books to her board and devour scholars doesn't make sense unless she was baited into doing it. Maybe Torth stole her horde with the intent of enslaving her as the security system for the keep?
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I was watching a lore about dragons in the Forgotten realms, and they mentioned something interesting about the life cycle of dragons. It's a MrRhexx video, and he seems to do a good job at parsing through old lore sources for this info.
Dragons almost never die from actual old age, but in the rare event that a dragon does get old enough and knows their time has come, they can eat their treasure hoard, and then vanish - presumably to go to heaven. This step in their life cycle is so crucial that a dragon can become a ghost if their treasure hoard is stolen and they are unable to make a new one before they die.
Here's a note from Ed Greenwood from Dragon Magazine #247 -- Wyrms of the North: Miirym, "The Sentinel Wyrm" (nobl.ca)
"Eventually worn out by advanced age and the attacks of foolish would-be intruders -- notably several bands of Calishite wizards, who planned and then tried to carry out elaborate spell attacks on Candlekeep in the Year of the Shieldtree (1181 DR) and the Year of the Tomb (1182 DR) -- Miirym "died." That is, her body rotted and fell apart, losing flesh before bones, and then bone after bone crumbled away to dust, while the spells that bound her animated her still, keeping her sentient . . . if not entirely sane."
The archmage Torth who bound Miirym's spirit to Candlekeep didn't do so with a magic spell. He stole Miirym's treasure and hid it away somewhere that Miirym would never be able to find it, and now she is unable to pass on from this plane. Perhaps he cast a spell on the dragon to keep it from travelling beyond it's territory, but the real reason that all of the efforts to break Miirym's binding have failed is because the only way to release a dragon that has died of old age and become a ghost is to return its treasure horde.
That right there could be an entire campaign. To find and return the dragons treasure, so that they could finally find peace in whatever afterlife awaits dragons. Also, to rid candlekeep of her ghost/spirit. I would have to sit down and think of it, but having the soul of an insane dragon being the BBEG, and the only way to defeat it and save candlekeep, to return its treasure to it, seems like a cool campaign to me.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
That must be the reason she attacked Candlkekeep in the first place. The Monster Manual says Silver dragons love humans and are very curious and friendly toward them. So attacking Candlekeep just to add the books to her board and devour scholars doesn't make sense unless she was baited into doing it. Maybe Torth stole her horde with the intent of enslaving her as the security system for the keep?