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Rucka
Acolyte
USA
8 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Jun 2004 : 17:42:13
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The party I run for encountered and killed a juvenile green dragon. The nearest major city to the encounter is Baldur's Gate, about a day from the encounter. Since they encountered the dragon well outside of its lair, and honestly have no hope in the hells of finding said lair, one of the more enterprising players suggested that there might be a bounty for the drake.
I'm trying to figure out what--if any--the bounty would be. Also, I'm curious if there's a source that might suggest what various dragon parts could be sold for; the heart, for instance, or the claws, or teeth, etc.
Thanks!
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2004 : 17:56:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Rucka
I'm trying to figure out what--if any--the bounty would be.
Thanks!
I think your imagination can run wild here. Perhaps a rich merchant/noble lost a relative to this creature, if so the bounty could be huge or this rich merchant/noble might wish to reward the party in other ways.
You have a great chance here to set something up for future sessions with your players. |
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Arion Elenim
Senior Scribe
933 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2004 : 18:13:49
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An interesting twist with the vengeance angle might be as follows:
Said noble or whomever offers the reward to the PCs is actually discovered to be a member of a fanatic group who wants to destroy ALL dragons, good or bad.
This gives the PCs several dimensions to explore rather than just being handed a bunch of gold - taking the reward and joining the fanatics in their genocide or just simply falling into their favor, refusing the reward and opposing them, accepting the reward and using it against them....
This might be useful in continual gaming, introducing new NPCs and factions, and allowing the PCs to discover how they feel about such acts as genocide, etc...
Just a thought!  |
My latest Realms-based short story, about a bard, a paladin of Lathander and the letter of the law, Debts Repaid. It takes place before the "shattering" and gives the bard Arion a last gasp before he plunges into the present.http://candlekeep.com/campaign/logs/log-debts.htm |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2004 : 18:30:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Arion Elenim
This might be useful in continual gaming, introducing new NPCs and factions, and allowing the PCs to discover how they feel about such acts as genocide, etc...
Just a thought!
And if the DM has read or wishes to read The Rage by Richard Lee Byers, he could even take this event and tie it in somehow to The Year of Rogue Dragons. |
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Rucka
Acolyte
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2004 : 19:12:34
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Actually just finished reading The Rage a couple of days ago; thought it was one of the best FR novels I'd read in a long time.
These are all excellent suggestions--thanks!
If I were to go with the Rich Merchant Angle, what do y'all think is a "reasonable" reward for slaying such a fell and terrible beasty? |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2004 : 19:31:26
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quote:
Originally posted by Rucka
If I were to go with the Rich Merchant Angle, what do y'all think is a "reasonable" reward for slaying such a fell and terrible beasty?
Monetary? Hmm, not sure. Fixed on the monetary angle or open to alternate suggestions for how a merchant might try to reward the characters? |
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Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2004 : 19:46:01
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The reward should value approximately what the party would have received as part of the dragon's lair. Perhaps the merchant gives the party an old, run down villa containing secret hidey-holes he never new about containing certain items (so the party doesn't feel cheated out of its magical reward). Or perhaps it's just some land he has no use for, but has a gold piece value far higher than he expected.
On average, a juvenile green dragon, as a CR 8 creature with triple standard treasure, would give about 10,000 gp worth of coins, a few valuable gems, a couple of art items, 2 or 3 minor magical items, and a "medium" magical item.
Going with the run-down villa idea above, let us say that the land and the building are worth 5,000 gp or so. The rest of the value of the treasure would be tied up in paintings, gems, magical items, and possibly other valuable things scattered around the building that no one ever thought to look for. The PCs themselves would need to use a bit of clever thinking, and remember to use detect magic, in order to realize they've gotten their just rewards, and you will always have the option of a relative the former owner--driven out by the rich merchant for unpaid debts--returning to try and claim these valuables, stowed their without anyone's knowledge. |
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Rucka
Acolyte
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2004 : 20:16:32
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| Sirius-I've got an uber-plot I'm trying to keep the PCs on, so monetary/magic is better, but I'm certainly open to suggestions. The party had two encounters during the session in question--5th level party, and the two encounters were both roughly EL 8--and neither of them netted any "material" gain (though saving the innocent farmers from the dragon certainly didn't hurt their reputation any!), and they've been forced to outlay a lot of their supplies and gold recently, so I'd like to give them a little of it back. |
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Sarta
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2004 : 22:55:47
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I'm surprised the pc's aren't interrogating it with speak to dead.
Sarta |
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DDH_101
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1272 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2004 : 23:37:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Rucka
I'm trying to figure out what--if any--the bounty would be. Also, I'm curious if there's a source that might suggest what various dragon parts could be sold for; the heart, for instance, or the claws, or teeth, etc.
Thanks!
Ruka, it really depends on who and where you sell these parts to. Some cities may not care much about dragons or cannot afford paying a lot for dragon parts. The heart may appeal to wizard guilds, since it may be a component for experiments or spell-casting. The claws and teeth can be used to make weapons (ex. daggers) so some blacksmiths and weapon smiths may be willing to pay a large sum for it. The scales, obviously, will be used to make dragonskin armour so maybe the players can use it to make themselves some new protection. |
"Trust in the shadows, for the bright way makes you an easy target." -Mask |
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Arion Elenim
Senior Scribe
933 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2004 : 00:01:20
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Well, the amount of the reward depends on who the NPC is who is offering it...
If he is a zealot of a group of dragon-killers, then I would imagine they would have QUITE a lot of horde cash lying around.
In that case, an OBSCENE amount of money (say, 10,000 in gold) might be tempting, but at the same time make them worry about what they're getting into...
If there is a noble involved, perhaps a smaller amount might be apt.......say 2000 in gold with another offer in mind...say another quest to kill the dragon's parent, or save another loved one, for a much larger sum of money...
One thing that I as a DM have found is that giving the PCs lots and lots of gold does not neccesarily unbalance things...as it is YOU who controls what they are able to BUY.
In other words, don't be afraid of lots of gold...as the PCs can't force your merchants to have WHATEVER they want for sale. |
My latest Realms-based short story, about a bard, a paladin of Lathander and the letter of the law, Debts Repaid. It takes place before the "shattering" and gives the bard Arion a last gasp before he plunges into the present.http://candlekeep.com/campaign/logs/log-debts.htm |
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AutoSponge
Acolyte
18 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2004 : 00:31:49
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| Use the suggested treasure by CR but not greater than a town's wealth can support. Anything else can either upset the players or unbalance the game. (this is provided they didn't get that treasure from the hoard, don't duplicate rewards). |
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Jarren Longblade
Seeker
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2004 : 05:21:39
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Why don't you make the PC chose their award. Have on group of Good or Netural aligned people offer them say 8000gp and a few magic items, Then have say representives from the Cult of the Dragon offer 12000gp and magic items and see which way the PC's go. Give them a choice to either sell for less but avoid evil. If they sell it to the rep from the cult of the dragon then who knows maybe in the near future the PC's will see a familiar shape approach them from a distance only to have said Green Dragon coming back at them from the dead |
One of the few thing you don't want to hear while deer hunting with your brother-in-law "DUCK" |
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kahonen
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
358 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jun 2004 : 12:56:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Garen Thal
The reward should value approximately what the party would have received as part of the dragon's lair.
I can't understand the reasoning behind this conclusion.
I certainly wouldn't reward a party in the way you describe. If the party encounters a creature outside of its lair and wants the treasure its lair contains, they should track it there.
It appears that you are suggesting that if the party knows where the lair is, they should be given the treasure in the lair plus a similar amount for killing the dragon. |
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Lashan
Learned Scribe
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jun 2004 : 18:58:26
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I haven't seen this booklet yet, but it might have really cool stuff for spell casters. Some parts of the dragon might be made to make instant meta-magic feats. http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/detail.php?qsID=202&qsSeries=Encyclopaedia
I know that Dragon had an article where certain monster parts or rare items gave instant meta-magic feats for certain spells. Perhaps you could use certain bits of the dragon to give the same? |
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Rucka
Acolyte
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jun 2004 : 23:46:41
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| That's a really cool idea, Lashan! I'll have to check the book out! |
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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2004 : 00:22:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Lashan
I haven't seen this booklet yet, but it might have really cool stuff for spell casters. Some parts of the dragon might be made to make instant meta-magic feats. http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/detail.php?qsID=202&qsSeries=Encyclopaedia
I know that Dragon had an article where certain monster parts or rare items gave instant meta-magic feats for certain spells. Perhaps you could use certain bits of the dragon to give the same?
The above article was reprinted in Unearthed Arcana. |
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Lashan
Learned Scribe
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2004 : 17:56:23
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Ahh...yes. It was one of the few parts of that book that I found useful. From what I remember from the list, it had quite a few items listed. I am not even sure if anything on it had do to with green dragons, but it might have dragons in general.
I'm not sure about the Mongoose Publishing book and what it has in it. I've read reviews of it at enworld.org and they give it high ratings. I've also found that after Mongoose comes out with an idea, it is usually repeated, though somewhat differently, in Dragon or another product. So, I assume that since it was done in the Dragon and UA, then it is very similiar to the Mongoose book. |
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Help with Dragon Bounty
