A little help in self discovery as a dragon [Archive] - Wizards Community

A little help in self discovery as a dragon [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
NotBruce
03-02-06, 02:35 AM we are playing in a all Dragon champaign, I am playing a Topaz Dragon (CN) and I have somehow placed my self as the leader.

I enjoy being the leader, but I do not quite know if it fits my alignment. that and I think that I am not being the best of leaders. example: taking time to hit on the evil sorceress in the middle of combat(I still wish i could have turned her away from the dark side)

Anyway, got any tips on being a CN leader, and RPing a dragon all together?
annalivvie
03-02-06, 09:19 AM I like this question because I love playing dragons, additionally, your predicament about being CN and the reluctant leader are exciting as well. First, you're playing a dragon and probably are pretty young, because of power levels. Don't try to play a 2 year old dragon as exceedingly mature. It's alright, if you are very young to play yourself with a little immaturity. Also, as a CN character, trying to woo the evil sorceress in mid-battle is a riot, and sort of par for the course. I would say, play your little as a little vain, and a little apathetic unless things have a direct impact on your character. Make decisions as a leader that are right for your character, and don't be afraid to have some serious ulterior motives. If I were you, I would definitely be playing him as the cheeky anti-hero that you can't help but love. As a Topaz Dragon that is CN and the party leader, play a strong risk taker who answers to no one but himself, and who does whatever it takes to get the job done.
annalivvie
03-02-06, 09:21 AM You might be able to get some great inspiration from the anime, "Bastard". Check it out, it'll give you some great ideas for game play. That's the character your character reminds me of in my mind. Good luck.
WhrenKehrsyn
03-02-06, 02:58 PM I dont know much about gem dragons (I wish Draconomicon had given them similar treatment as chromatics and metallics got) so I cant comment too much on that. I usually see the CN alignment as very whimsical, things go from conception to execution in one step, without any of the usual inbetween stuff. In a leader I think this can be bad. My best advice is dont think before you decide things. Respond to things instinctually.

Inconsistency in decisions is good too, like on one occasion take a course of action that breaks the rules and/or law, later, when confronted with a similar or same situation insist the group respect the law and any other rules (by thier nature chaotic creatures will sometimes act in lawful ways).

Ultimately youre a bad leader I think, the kind where the other players should realize youre constantly putting them in danger, often unneccessarily, and rarely choosing the 'best' options. Like a previous poster said as a leader hell be something of a risk taker, but not because of the risk, rather because it never occured to him that there was risk.
Harrow Blade
03-03-06, 12:49 AM I too often find that my character, no matter the class/stats etc, ends up in some sort of leadership role in the group. this is due to the fact I tend to be a leader personally and so it comes naturally and perhaps this is the same or similar for you.
As to your character perhaps they just wanted to try it on for size, see how it fit but will eventually realise that it is not for the long term. You may at some stage want to declare "We'll I've had a go at this leadership thing, now it's your turn (insert other character)"

CN alignment does not lend it self to a leadership role well as previous posters have said. However if your character is flamboyant or well spoken you may find yourself in the role of spokes dragon. I do like the touch of hitting on the sorceress. try doing things that will add thrill and excitement to your characters life simply because it 'might' be fun.
NotBruce
03-05-06, 05:18 PM yea you are right on me being a bad leader, but it is a little of the i was the one that did not take a step back when the leader was supposed to step forward. I like leading partys. The trouble is, that I Feel bad when my tactical choices gets people Dead.

example: the town is under attack form a bezerker barbarian, a fire caster (my love :D ) an invisible(and a lot of DM fluff(that was not raw)) and some cleric w/undead. my choice: split up the party. we will get things done faster. this ended up with one char death (the one is sent to take care of the freszed berserker) and a DM save (the two I sent to deal with the cleric). how ever i did take care of the caster (this is when I fell for her) and the one i sent to deal with the rogue won.

any way i think i will continue my bad (impulsive) leadership, cuse it is fun

I am kind of sad on how it worked out with the Fire caster. she was a drow and I am not in to that S&M stuff.
DBoot
03-06-06, 01:39 AM CN characters tend to be somewhat self absorbed. They value their own freedom, but won't neccisarily stick up for the freedom of others. They don't make natural leaders. Your character is likely a reluctant leader, and dislikes being burdened by being responsible for others. So to clear his conscience he might try to disuade the others in some ways. Perhaps something like

'I'm going to go X' where X is some activity or destination or what not. If the party follows him, he stops, turn around and enquires 'Why are you following me?' Whatever their answer, he'll reply 'Do whatever you want. Just remember, it's your decision. I'm not responsible for you.'

If this doesn't cause the rest of the group to reconsider leadership structure, then neglect to 'lead' in any coherant way. Hitting on an evil sorcereress, stealing a farmer's cow for a quick meal, etc... do what you want, mostly (within the moral limits of the character of course). If a situation appears where things are deadly, he might be willing to pick up the reigns. 'Okay, you want to follow me? Make yourself useful and fireball that guy over there'

How things progress are up to the way your character and the group interact. Eventually he might feel more comfortable in the position (though he might maintain a veneer of apathy toward the rest of the group's actions), and become a competant leader. Or he can become increasingly maverick to the point that the other players really do decide to restructure the party. In which case you can just go along with it. 'Yeah. Alright. I guess.'
NotBruce
03-08-06, 11:25 AM Well Part of the trouble is that this is a hard campaign, that needs good leadership, already I would say that I have saved the party form a TPK about 3 times.(hitting on firecasters aside(our party is mostly cold based)) I think part of the trouble is that the party is not used to this grade of power. heck one of the dragons is trying to say that he is not good at combat.(we are adult dragons just for the record.) often times no one knows what to do, but me. heck on one TPK save had I not directed the party to trip/flank/aid other, they would still be there hoping for nat 20s.

we have played 3 times and we have 5 character deaths, including me (the DM has been kind about handing out true res scrolls for our NPC Druid (or was that greater res?)) in any case I would love to play the bad party leader it sounds like a lot of fun role playing wise but I happen to enjoy living. I could talk to the DM about toning it down some but... I also like the difficulty of the game (heck I think he is being far too giving about the res scrolls) I would not mind going down in a blaze of glory. I love my character but I do not want him saved(repeatedly) by DM intervention.

so any tips on being a good CN leader? We need the leadership and I am the only one (I think) with the skill to do so, or at lest the only one that did not step back when a leader was asked to step forward.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
NotBruce 03-02-06, 02:35 AM	we are playing in a all Dragon champaign, I am playing a Topaz Dragon (CN) and I have somehow placed my self as the leader. I enjoy being the leader, but I do not quite know if it fits my alignment. that and I think that I am not being the best of leaders. example: taking time to hit on the evil sorceress in the middle of combat(I still wish i could have turned her away from the dark side) Anyway, got any tips on being a CN leader, and RPing a dragon all together?
annalivvie 03-02-06, 09:19 AM	I like this question because I love playing dragons, additionally, your predicament about being CN and the reluctant leader are exciting as well. First, you're playing a dragon and probably are pretty young, because of power levels. Don't try to play a 2 year old dragon as exceedingly mature. It's alright, if you are very young to play yourself with a little immaturity. Also, as a CN character, trying to woo the evil sorceress in mid-battle is a riot, and sort of par for the course. I would say, play your little as a little vain, and a little apathetic unless things have a direct impact on your character. Make decisions as a leader that are right for your character, and don't be afraid to have some serious ulterior motives. If I were you, I would definitely be playing him as the cheeky anti-hero that you can't help but love. As a Topaz Dragon that is CN and the party leader, play a strong risk taker who answers to no one but himself, and who does whatever it takes to get the job done.
annalivvie 03-02-06, 09:21 AM	You might be able to get some great inspiration from the anime, "Bastard". Check it out, it'll give you some great ideas for game play. That's the character your character reminds me of in my mind. Good luck.
WhrenKehrsyn 03-02-06, 02:58 PM	I dont know much about gem dragons (I wish Draconomicon had given them similar treatment as chromatics and metallics got) so I cant comment too much on that. I usually see the CN alignment as very whimsical, things go from conception to execution in one step, without any of the usual inbetween stuff. In a leader I think this can be bad. My best advice is dont think before you decide things. Respond to things instinctually. Inconsistency in decisions is good too, like on one occasion take a course of action that breaks the rules and/or law, later, when confronted with a similar or same situation insist the group respect the law and any other rules (by thier nature chaotic creatures will sometimes act in lawful ways). Ultimately youre a bad leader I think, the kind where the other players should realize youre constantly putting them in danger, often unneccessarily, and rarely choosing the 'best' options. Like a previous poster said as a leader hell be something of a risk taker, but not because of the risk, rather because it never occured to him that there was risk.
Harrow Blade 03-03-06, 12:49 AM	I too often find that my character, no matter the class/stats etc, ends up in some sort of leadership role in the group. this is due to the fact I tend to be a leader personally and so it comes naturally and perhaps this is the same or similar for you. As to your character perhaps they just wanted to try it on for size, see how it fit but will eventually realise that it is not for the long term. You may at some stage want to declare "We'll I've had a go at this leadership thing, now it's your turn (insert other character)" CN alignment does not lend it self to a leadership role well as previous posters have said. However if your character is flamboyant or well spoken you may find yourself in the role of spokes dragon. I do like the touch of hitting on the sorceress. try doing things that will add thrill and excitement to your characters life simply because it 'might' be fun.
NotBruce 03-05-06, 05:18 PM	yea you are right on me being a bad leader, but it is a little of the i was the one that did not take a step back when the leader was supposed to step forward. I like leading partys. The trouble is, that I Feel bad when my tactical choices gets people Dead. example: the town is under attack form a bezerker barbarian, a fire caster (my love :D ) an invisible(and a lot of DM fluff(that was not raw)) and some cleric w/undead. my choice: split up the party. we will get things done faster. this ended up with one char death (the one is sent to take care of the freszed berserker) and a DM save (the two I sent to deal with the cleric). how ever i did take care of the caster (this is when I fell for her) and the one i sent to deal with the rogue won. any way i think i will continue my bad (impulsive) leadership, cuse it is fun I am kind of sad on how it worked out with the Fire caster. she was a drow and I am not in to that S&M stuff.
DBoot 03-06-06, 01:39 AM	CN characters tend to be somewhat self absorbed. They value their own freedom, but won't neccisarily stick up for the freedom of others. They don't make natural leaders. Your character is likely a reluctant leader, and dislikes being burdened by being responsible for others. So to clear his conscience he might try to disuade the others in some ways. Perhaps something like 'I'm going to go X' where X is some activity or destination or what not. If the party follows him, he stops, turn around and enquires 'Why are you following me?' Whatever their answer, he'll reply 'Do whatever you want. Just remember, it's your decision. I'm not responsible for you.' If this doesn't cause the rest of the group to reconsider leadership structure, then neglect to 'lead' in any coherant way. Hitting on an evil sorcereress, stealing a farmer's cow for a quick meal, etc... do what you want, mostly (within the moral limits of the character of course). If a situation appears where things are deadly, he might be willing to pick up the reigns. 'Okay, you want to follow me? Make yourself useful and fireball that guy over there' How things progress are up to the way your character and the group interact. Eventually he might feel more comfortable in the position (though he might maintain a veneer of apathy toward the rest of the group's actions), and become a competant leader. Or he can become increasingly maverick to the point that the other players really do decide to restructure the party. In which case you can just go along with it. 'Yeah. Alright. I guess.'
NotBruce 03-08-06, 11:25 AM	Well Part of the trouble is that this is a hard campaign, that needs good leadership, already I would say that I have saved the party form a TPK about 3 times.(hitting on firecasters aside(our party is mostly cold based)) I think part of the trouble is that the party is not used to this grade of power. heck one of the dragons is trying to say that he is not good at combat.(we are adult dragons just for the record.) often times no one knows what to do, but me. heck on one TPK save had I not directed the party to trip/flank/aid other, they would still be there hoping for nat 20s. we have played 3 times and we have 5 character deaths, including me (the DM has been kind about handing out true res scrolls for our NPC Druid (or was that greater res?)) in any case I would love to play the bad party leader it sounds like a lot of fun role playing wise but I happen to enjoy living. I could talk to the DM about toning it down some but... I also like the difficulty of the game (heck I think he is being far too giving about the res scrolls) I would not mind going down in a blaze of glory. I love my character but I do not want him saved(repeatedly) by DM intervention. so any tips on being a good CN leader? We need the leadership and I am the only one (I think) with the skill to do so, or at lest the only one that did not step back when a leader was asked to step forward.