Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Arakano 06-16-04, 01:23 PM	Hi everybody! Next time we play, I want the group to encounter an adult black dragon on their travel through the underdark. The dragon should ambush them in a cavern. Now, what tactics would you suggest? I am not so good at dragon tactics, espeacially in indoor-fights. So, I would be very grateful for help.
Wolf72 06-16-04, 05:50 PM	you might want to make several of the [pitch black] caves underwater ... and smelly! ... Ft. Benning, GA-swamp smelly even! an underground lake would be about right for a black dragon.
Insanity 06-16-04, 07:14 PM	Lets look at what an average dragon from the book would have: HD 19; hp 199; AB +24; Fort +15, Ref +11, Will +12; SR 18; FrPr 20; DR 5/magic; Spells 3rd sorcerer; Sp darkness, corrupt water What the dragon can get are 5 feats (1 starting + 4 extra from HD), knows 5 0-level and 3 1st-level spells, and 161 skill points. The dragon is most likely going to get damaged fairly quickly in a straight melee fight, but is of insufficient caster level to affect the PCs. Its spells should revolved around enhancing its own abilities. Bluff against dexterous chars to negate their Dex mod to AC and any AC bonus feat related to Dex. For spells I think the following would be good: 0-level: presdigitation, resistance, detect magic 1st-level: true strike, shield presdigitation may be useful for distractions, it lasts for an hour and can be used to move an 1 lb object. could be used to create "real" noises from dropping objects in the area. resistance, +1 on saves, take everything you can get. if it ends or it dispelled, cast it again. its only a 0-level spell. detect magic, see who has magic items, weapons or armor. true strike, avoid the concealment miss chance against the PCs in its darkness and receive a +20 AB as well. shield, +4 AC and negates any magic missile thrown at the dragon. Any 11th combat oriented classes probably won't have too much trouble in straight melee. The BAB of any combat oriented single classed character would be +11, and with Str, magic, and feats probably could hit the dragon's unmodified AC most of the time. DR 5/magic isn't a lot of defense. The dragon should avoid prolonged melee. Corrupt water may be less useful at first, but it could be used to spoil any potions in its area of effect, which at the dragon's age is 180 ft. The dragon has a SR of 18, so spells from a 11th caster would most likely affect the dragon, only needing a roll of 7 or higher. Awaken Spell Resistance from the Draconomicon would help this a bit, increasing the SR to 20, now increasing the needed roll to 9 or higher, almost a 50/50 chance. Clinging Breath and Recover Breath from the Draconomicon are a good combo, breath weapon will burn opponents longer and recover quicker. best bet is for the dragon to try and separate the PCs, and deal with them one at a time. If a lake is in the combat area, try and throw/push armor wearing PCs in the deep water. watch them sink and drown in that full plate as they scramble to get it off, dropping their weapon in the process, which will sink to the bottom. grappling the PCs while under water is plausible, it has a grapple check of +29, quite hard for any PC to break I'd imagine. The dragon can breathe underwater indefinitely, and the PC most likely can't. even water breathing will have to end at some point. Some suggestions
Arakano 06-18-04, 04:26 AM	Thanks, guys. I think IŽll go with the lake-idea. Prepares the PCs for the Mega-aboleth ahead of them... :smirk: