It's called ranged weapons. Ranged combat is almost always better than melee. Also it's a dragon, which tells us two things:
1. It's not going to have any treasure on it right now so you need to track it to its lair.
2. It's a FREAKING DRAGON. Engaging in combat against it isn't necessarily a good idea, as an intelligent creature you might be able to talk to it instead of simple slaughter.
Or you know ignore the dragon in flight and wait to find out if it is hostile before assuming it is. Just because it's flying doesn't mean it's going to attack you.
What's the terrain? That is always important, as if you can get under cover of a forest or something then flying isn't so much in the dragon's best interest if he wants to attack.
Also if he's looking for the goods in the caravan use that to your advantage and use the caravan as a shield (he won't breath on it as that will break his rewards).
And the dragon's color?
|
Its white. I have figured what I would do (flyby + breathe, retreat upon seeing an archer....attack at night, find boulders to drop, bully goblins to make swarm filled jars to drop at night. Maybe I am paranoid), and we have few options. I played the cleric (because no one would, after my guy died) and others have died and have yet to play an arcane. I think our party composition could likely lead to dire consequences on this one.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
It sounds like the GM caught you guys with your metaphorical pants down in regards to equipment you should have no matter what your class. So...I would hide. Hide like the world is ending, which it will if you can't attack a flying dragon. Find a cave or other enclosed space so that if the GM absolutely wants to attack you with a dragon you can at least fight it on the ground. Try to use diplomacy with the dragon. They like stuff and so you may be able to bribe it or offer to do something for it (even dragons need lackies) in returns for your lives.
A little more info on things would go a long way.
What color is the dragon? What size is it? This will give people an idea of what you are really dealing with. You would treat a golden dragon completely different from a black / red dragon.
If the bard has arcane strike that would be very good as any weapon he uses will pierce the dragon's DR, I'm assuming the archer has a magic bow so that gives you two shooters.
What are the specs on your cleric/fighter?
flying summons, spiritual weapon, produce flame (120' range, fire vulnerability.) all viable using cleric spells.
|
|
My dwarf cleric has defensive and caves as domains. Thats a touch attack acid dart, and he uses a bardiche. Luckily I have most of my removal spells on scrolls, so I can prep attacks as needed. Searing Light might be an idea, or summon monster 2 or 3 (for air elementals or lantern archons), plus communal resist energy cold to disuade breathing on us.
Hmmm...if the dragon flies low but does not initiate combat your bard could fascinate the dragon and then suggest that it go pilfer a tower full of loot that's 500 miles to the "that way". P.S. This is a total freaking longshot.
Also take a look at the bards spells. At 7th lvl you have spells like charm monster, etc that could be used to get the dragon to leave instead of fight it.
Lantern archons are always a plus, in this case they should serve well, as they have aid and the rays (plus decent DR). Unfortunately you lost the spells that could have really helped here in the form of shape earth, but magic stone gives another weapon you can use that is magical -- three stones isn't a lot but off a sling its still more than you had. Protection from energy is on your list so you have that going for you, but I like communal resist energy more myself. Are you channeling positive?
This will obviously vary from DM to DM, but remember that while dragons are generally smart and employ good tactics (although white dragons really aren't that smart) they are also as a rule INCREDIBLY arrogant. This means that they can often be goaded into tactically unsound situations because they are likely to assume that humanoids can't possibly pose a serious threat to their mighty selves. This obviously only matters if your DM is playing monsters true to their descriptions. If your group struggles with a "DM vs. players" mentality, it could be a different story. Also, make knowledge (arcana) checks to see what you know about white dragons. I can only assume that your bard has some ability in that skill, and learning about the dragon would be a perfect use of his loremaster ability.
All that being said, my strategy would be to figure out what ranged attacks, especially fire ones (produce flame is a good suggestion), you can scrounge up and then just focus on keeping your archer buffed and alive if the dragon decides to just strafe you with his breath weapon. Archery does a great deal of damage, and the dragon really won't last all that long trading attacks like that; you should be able keep up with a breath weapon every 1d4 rounds, especially if you don't clump up. IMO, the real danger from dragons is their full attack. They have a lot of attacks, high strength, and so on, and there is a very real danger of a character being dropped from full HP by an appropriate-CR dragon's full attack, so be prepared for the dragon to land and start attacking.
If the dragon is small enough (e.g. Large size or smaller), a tanglefoot bag could make it incapable of flying for a few rounds.
7th level party, a bard and a cleric6/fighter 1 are the casters. 1 ranger/archer type, a rogue, a melee fighter and a monk make up the party. we are a week out of town, and only have 1 good archer. I think we are screwed, unless we can lure it to the ground (since we cannot fly at all).
Why do you need to kill it at all?
The best thing about a flying dragon, is it's not guarding it's lair when it's flying.
Yes well, think of yourself like a mole or a rat. When one sees a hawk or owl flying about, it hides.
There is also role playing, bluffing, bartering, bribing.
In a pinch surrendering and whimpering.
But restricting it's advantage by moving to cover or underground somehow seems like a good idea.
use bluff checks to play dead