In our game we encountered a young dragon and my barbarian was able to single handedly defeat it(ran with <30 hp). In the fight I made use of a net to temporarily disable the beast. However the flimsy net was disentigrated by the breath weapon.
Now my character wants to have a new net made that can withstand a large sized dragon. I looked into the rules for adamantine, mitheral, and went thru the old magic item compendium. The problem is we aren't sure of the resulting price, wieght, and usability of the new net.
The GM suggested that a net made from a metal would probably have the same mass as a chain shirt for a starting point. Ideas?
A large dragon (draconomicon) is 2500 lbs. Each dragon has a very different breath weapon too.
I think you'd have to hunt evil or good dragons and empower your net with mitheral and holy or infernal power. A net that worked on all dragons would be an artifact in my books.
Something like a net made for Poseidon by Hephaestus himself would work for dragons, maybe even huge ones. Major mojo.
In our game we encountered a young dragon and my barbarian was able to single handedly defeat it(ran with <30 hp). In the fight I made use of a net to temporarily disable the beast. However the flimsy net was disentigrated by the breath weapon.
Now my character wants to have a new net made that can withstand a large sized dragon. I looked into the rules for adamantine, mitheral, and went thru the old magic item compendium. The problem is we aren't sure of the resulting price, wieght, and usability of the new net.
The GM suggested that a net made from a metal would probably have the same mass as a chain shirt for a starting point. Ideas?
Damaging Magic Weapons: An attacker cannot damage a magic weapon that has an enhancement bonus unless his weapon has at least as high an enhancement bonus as the weapon struck.
+1 net can't be sundered by non-magic weapons.
Energy Attacks
Energy attacks deal half damage to most objects. Divide the damage by 2 before applying the object's hardness. Some energy types might be particularly effective against certain objects, subject to GM discretion. For example, fire might do full damage against parchment, cloth, and other objects that burn easily. Sonic might do full damage against glass and crystal objects.
I'm fairly sure hardness and hitpoints increase for magic weapons but I can't find the rule. Regardless a +5 net should be pretty hard to destroy.
Hardening
Source Pathfinder Campaign Setting 207
School transmutation; Level artifice 7, sorcerer/wizard 6
Casting
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Effect
Range touch
Target one item of a volume no greater than 10 cu. ft./level
Duration permanent
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes (object)
Description
This spell increases the hardness of materials by 1 point per 2 caster levels. The hardening spell does not in any way affect resistance to other forms of transformation.
This spell affects up to 10 cubic feet per level. If cast upon a metal or mineral, the spell affects 1 cubic foot per level.
this spell is probably your real ticket for this item.
Grasshopper thanks for reminding me of some of the rules for magic weapons particularly about energy damage being half before hardness is applied.
I'm having the item built for a 10th level character so Im not looking to build anything epic here. Just something effective.
Make your net out of a bunch of ropes of entanglement made from mithral, woven together in a net formation. Make it holy for evil dragons or unholy for good dragons (or both if your impartial). You could add the bane special ability for obvious reasons. You could add seeking, distance, and/or returning to benefit you in your ranged attack with it. Also, add one/some/all the energy resistance qualities.
Since you are using it to capture dragons, you could build the net big enough to capture a Large, Huge, or Gargantuan size dragon. Then place a permanent shrink item spell with command words that will allow you to shrink the net to a throwable size, then as you throw it, give the other command word to enlarge it, so that it's big enough to entangle your dragon.
What do you think?
there were items like this in a dragon magazine. wing clips, nets, and lasso on a stick items if If i remember right
You could also make a net out of Mithril links and hooks. Treat as a +2 Dragonbane Net that can grow to cover the target. Would require the spells Fly, Enlarge Item* and possibly Protection from Energy and cost a pretty penny, but would be damn effective against any Dragon Huge-Size or smaller. Of course, a weapon designed to foil Dragons will also attract their attention, and the Draconic mindset isn't above hiring out Humanoids to recover said weapon so A) the Dragon can destroy it or B) use it on their own rivals.
* Enlarge Item is a homebrew spell I cooked up, effectively the reverse of Shrink Item but only able to expand up to 2 size categories, rather than 1/16th dimensions as per Shrink Item. Handy for turning that rock into a boulder to block off a passageway or turning that twig into a makeshift club in a pinch.
Not to rain on your parade, but any net big enough and tough enough to entangle a decent-sized dragon is going to likely be very large and very heavy, unless it is made of extremely special and/or magical materials.
If it is of mundane materials, I don't see how any normal sized being could throw it. Maybe you could cast it from a catapult though, or mount it statically and try to lure the dragon into it.
If it is magical, following the lines of some of the other posters, it will be extremely expensive. A lot of moolah for a special use item. If you know you are going to be facing dragons, might be worth it, though.