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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Aug 2016 : 17:07:21
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According to the Secrets of the Magister sourcebook, the Masister Ohland Grethar was killed by a black dragon Starlaurynguldar.
That black dragon then promptly died by drowning.
However, black dragons have an innate water breathing capability, so this does not make any sense.
Thoughts anyone?
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6447 Posts |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36968 Posts |
Posted - 29 Aug 2016 : 17:52:59
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| His water breathing ability was obviously negated in some way, perhaps by a lingering effect of the spell battle. |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 29 Aug 2016 : 20:16:37
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quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
A flaw of the rules rather than the lore id say.
A problem with all the editions that ive seen is that all monsters of the same type are identical except for hp, spells, and equipment. You always know exactly what a monster is capable of just by having encountered it before.
Feats added some variety, but not loads, and added a bucket fulle of complexities to monster creation.
Wouldnt it be great if there were a rule system where each monster was an individual.
My simple solution would be that this black dragon could not breathe water or could not do so indefinitely.
I tend to think the opposite; that black dragons can breath water is part of their ecology. They tend to live in water, so of course they can breath in it. This is especially true since SotM was at then very end of 2nd E - so there had been no big rules change in a very long time. |
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TBeholder
Great Reader
2511 Posts |
Posted - 29 Aug 2016 : 21:52:33
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quote:
Originally posted by The Masked Mage
That black dragon then promptly died by drowning.
However, black dragons have an innate water breathing capability, so this does not make any sense.
Humans die of suffocation all the time, usually without leaving the atmosphere. Humans have an innate air breathing ability. Does this make sense to you?
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
His water breathing ability was obviously negated in some way, perhaps by a lingering effect of the spell battle.
Or water was spoiled in some way making it unbreathable. Also possibly by a lingering effect of the spell battle. |
People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1885 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2016 : 02:31:05
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| I'd say something blocked the magic. To my knowledge, black dragons don't have gills so their water breathing must be magical...thereby capable of being blocked by antimagic of some sort. That's how I'd spin it anyway. |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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Aeraellien
Acolyte
4 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2016 : 17:44:12
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Does drowning relate to it having died while underwater (having not been killed by the actions of something else) or from suffocation while underwater?
In addition to what all others have stated; it could have been able to breathe while underwater but its lungs were constricted by atmospheric pressure at depth, or starvation, or dehydration. |
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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2016 : 22:14:38
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To my mind, the word drowning means to die due to breathing that is impaired by water. But if water does not impair your breathing its not possible. This does not mean being otherwise asphyxiated while in water - if someone is strangled in water, for example, they don't die drown, they asphyxiate.
I never thought of the dragon's water breathing as a magical effect - is it magical when amphibians without gills breath through their skin? Various dragons are adapted to living in different atmospheres. I do think that if we were to accept that it was a magical effect that it could somehow be disrupted.
Also, fouled water would not affect a black dragon. They actually go out of their way to foul the water they live in, and have a (magical) ability to do so.
Ultimately I think it would take a pretty stupid - or at least incredibly un-self-aware - dragon to lose its ability to breath water during a battle and then fly straight out to sea so it could drown. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36968 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2016 : 03:36:22
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| It occurs to me that there could have been some lingering spell effect that changed the water into some other liquid, as well. |
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Immortalis
Acolyte
28 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2016 : 11:40:03
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| Fouled water could indead affect a dragon. Lots of native peoples use natural soap to pollute the water getting rid of the oxygen and drowning/suffocating the fish. If there is no oxygen in the water and he was unable to get to the surface then it could happen. |
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The death of Starlaurynguldar
