Hey, 2 questions regarding dragons.
1. Under True Dragons, it says dragons cast spells as Sorcerers. But the statblocks given for gold dragons include Prayer, Divine Favor, Cure spells, and other divine spells. What gives? And how would this interact with giving a gold dragon Sorcerer levels?
2. If a gold dragon were to use its Alter Self ability to take the form of a humanoid, put on humanoid armor and magic items, and then change back - what would happen to that equipment?
2. Just like a Druid, it would meld into that form. To make matters simple, you can either treat it as you would a druid wildshaping or say that the equipment is non functional.
Which is an excellent way to make dragons more powerful - some equipment still functions after being melded, so let your imagination run wild with the way a dragon could shapechange, grab meldable gear, then change back to a dragon and still benefit from that gear.
Several dragons have specific texts that the treat cleric spells as being on the sorcerer spell list.
Golds, Silvers, and Reds do iirc.
Actually I think it is a little unclear what happens if you put an item one while polymorphed, as opposed to putting an item on, and then polymorphing. In one case you are adding magic, and hence magical things happen, in the other a magical effect is stopping so it is harder to explain magical effects happening to equipment. From a rules/balance etc. basis it seems like something similar should indeed happen, but there are then issues such a what happens when the creature dies...do the magic items remain in limbo forever?
Actually I think it is a little unclear what happens if you put an item one while polymorphed, as opposed to putting an item on, and then polymorphing. In one case you are adding magic, and hence magical things happen, in the other a magical effect is stopping so it is harder to explain magical effects happening to equipment. From a rules/balance etc. basis it seems like something similar should indeed happen, but there are then issues such a what happens when the creature dies...do the magic items remain in limbo forever?
I like to have them un-meld: they become their solid normal forms and still try to share space with the creature (not at a molecular scale; no explosions please) which may mean they burst out of the skin if they're big enough relative to the corpse, or they are just inside the body if they're small enough - if the PCs don't explore thoroughly (and realistically, why would they perform a full autopsy on everything they kill?), they might never even know that small item is in there (I would suggest some kind of Perception check).
Your PCs don't routinely butcher everything they kill in the hopes of selling off the parts? Even just as carnivore food you can make 2 1/2 copper for every 5lbs.