Dragon Encounters

How to Use – Combat Encounter 1 (difficulty 4)

For good territory for a bronze dragon wyrmling, or wyrmlings (I see little reason to assume that good alignment dragon wyrmlings would be solitary), I would suggest a cave complex.

Because this is a good dragon, and because one of a bronze dragon’s lair effects is to cause the lichen to light up the area*, this will be a pleasant, brightly lit, attractive cave, with significant sections open to the sun, and gorgeous waterfalls spilling past.

The waterfalls are key. First of all, they and the not-as-brightly-lit parts of the lichen will combine to create slipping hazards.

Second, it the players think of it as part of the scenery, they might not think of the fact that said waterfalls also represent a deadly drop to anyone pushed there by the dragons’ repulsion breath.

Third, a waterfall is better than a crevice, as you can’t jump over a waterfall without the weight of the water pulling you down. Climbing back up a waterfall after falling down one is even worse, as you have to deal with slippery surfaces and poor visibility as well as the water’s pressure.

Forth, a waterfall is a curtain of water that you can’t see past. The wyrmling will take plentiful advantage of it to hide after attacking until its breath weapon recharges. Or, it can use the parts of the cave the players can’t see to navigate around the cave and catch them in sneak attacks from behind.

Fifth, waterfalls are noisy. Any communication between the players will be hard by the dragon. If you’re really feeling nasty, the noise of a waterfall is probably loud enough that players who fell won’t be able to hear the players that didn’t. In theory as least, that means you can tell said players that they aren’t able to communicate with each other. (In practice, first make certain that the players will listen to you if you tell them this.)

* Which doesn’t apply to wyrmlings, as only adult and ancient dragons have lair actions. I know. However, wyrmlings rarely live by themselves. Is this wyrmling by itself because its parents are dead, or did they just step out for a few days/hours? (or you could just invent a type of lichen that is naturally shiny)

Combat Encounter 2: (difficulty varies)

For a combat encounter where the dragon(s) aren’t [as] hostile, the players are traveling next to a beach. They see a cave a little way up a cliff face. Chances are this will be enough to prompt an investigation, but you can always add rumors of nefarious activity somewhere along the seashore. This will at least help set the mood.

As they enter, they get hit by the repulsion breath of one or more wyrmlings, and get knocked straight into the middle of a group of monsters down below. They see the wyrmlings charging them, so that there can be no doubt who did it.

The question is, will the players realize that the wyrmling(s) were acting in [mistaken] self-defense? They were hiding from said monsters, and they attacked the players because they panicked and assumed that they had been found by the monsters.

They will try to make it right. As the players fall, and find themselves forced to fight the monsters, the wyrmlings will join the combat together with them. However, they’ll be too flustered to think of explaining themselves, and the players might very well conclude that it’s a three-way fight, with each side against the other two.

Complicating matters even more will be if one of the wyrmlings gets knocked out by an enemy.

The general practice is to consider any NPC who is knocked unconscious as automatically dead, but I’d suggest making an exception for this fight, and letting the wyrmlings roll death saves, if necessary. Aside from forcing the players to rescue them, it will also serve to lessen the consequences of attacking them before realizing.