Lure it into a cave maybe? Dragons are smart, but they're also proud and greedy. A baited trap might be the way to go.
Just because a creature is smart doesn't mean he/she can't make mistakes or that is doesn't have a personality or skills(or lack thereof) or goals.
Also, what levels are the elves?
Bows have much more range (especially with Far Shot) than a breath weapon. If the elves are spread out and concentrate on shooting arrows (from cover/concealment, probably), they have a good chance of doing significant damage before the dragon can do the same to all of them (assuming the elves are "elite" troops; i.e., 5th-6th level in PC classes, or possibly a bit higher, and have appropriate equipment/magical support); 16 NPC elves with 6 levels in PC classes is around CR 13 (which may not be enough to definitely kill an adult green dragon, but should be able to drive it off).
As others have stated, restricting the dragon's mobility (confined spaces, spells like entangle/web/black tentacles/etc., or possibly even large nets in conjunction with a covered pit) will make things easier.
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You could take inspiration from nineteenth century whalers, Moby Dick style. Use harpoons attached to rope or chains to limit the dragon's mobility and tie it down. It might well not work in the Pathfinder ruleset but does seem thematic.
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Ok recruits, listen up, all dragons are smart. How they live and fight depends on how feral they are. But every one you fight should be approached with respect and preparation.
First order of business is to get resist energy going to reduce the effectiveness of the breath weapon. It also helps to flank a dragon so it catches the least amount of people in the breath weapon.
Next you take this thing here. *he shows a magical sword to the class* This here is a sword. Very easy to use. Pointy end goes into the dragon. *you hear a lot of ooos and ahhs* The better the weapon the better your chances. A dragon bane weapon is the best of course.
Next this is a bow. *he holds up a long bow* when the big bastard is not in reach of your sword...shoot him with a bow. *a few hushed remarks of genius* remember like your sword good arrows are needed.
Armor will be important but not over the weapons. As a dragon will hit and his claws shred armor. It's just best to kill him before he kills you.
Ok Recruits that ends our lesson.
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Feed your warriors lots of ingested poison with a long onset time when they go to fight it. That way, if they end up getting eaten, they'll help kill the beast regardless. Every dose of poison ups the DC by 2, so just load it up.
If the battle goes well, supply purgatives.
I like how Barbra Hambly did it in _Dragonsbane_. Poison a heavy barbed iron lance, wait over the entrance of the cave until the dragon sticks its head out, and jump on it from above. Praying helps.
When I was in Montana last month I learned about Wolf Lichen. They would stuff a dead sheep with it, and when wolves ate it they would die. Think it would work if you stuffed a cow, and left it near the mouth of a dragon cave?
You've got a whole bunch of archers, right? Gather up the best and use grappling arrows to drag it down and tie it up, or at least tangle it in all the rope. For the hooks to catch on you've got 6 limbs with claws, a head with jaws and horns, and a tail with spikes or the like, all covered in various sizes of scales. Would work especially well if the ropes were fastened to the ground or something heavy before loosing the arrows.
Elves get +2 vs. SR, right? Train a bunch to cast magic missile at him.
Or scatter a TON of archers all over the woods near his lair. Is there a tribal spellcaster that can enchant some arrows?
Maybe just a cult of dedicated dragonslayers that can provide archer inquisitors using bane?
Hey guys, I was wondering what tactics will allow people to take down an adult or older green dragon that plays smart.
This isn't an adventure, its a backstory myth, so, how would you face a green dragon with an entire ancient (bronze age) elven kingdom to kill it?
If it's a myth you're all going from the wrong angle. It's not a PvP arena, it's a myth/story.
Also an adult green is only CR 12. So solution is simple. High level elven heroes.
Archetypal protagonists brainstorming:
elven archer/ranger for woodcraft
elven cavalier (or paladin?) griffon rider or eagle rider with longspear/lance ?
elven mage
elven trickster (bard?)
elven druid
must include a unicorn
Trope brainstorming:
- dragon is a trickster (shapechanger?)
- dragon demands tribute
- dragon kidnaps maiden
- hero party forms
- must track dragon
- there's a traitor in the party
- someone must sacrifice themself
- love prevails
- dragon is vain and greedy
- dragon is tricked somehow
For the true story I would cast the dragon as one of the part members in disguise. But this would not be in the publicly available version of the myth. Only hints of it. Also myths can be contradicting and muddled. Have several versions.
Also read up on Hero's Journey a.k.a. monomyth.
Though I kind of struggle imagining a bronze age elven society. Elves always had this advanced ,etallurgy and society/culture though in harmony with nature vibe, even for ancient times.
See also this thread for ideas about clever green dragon encounters
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Not so much kill it, but my wizard once made great use of the scroll of Limited Wish/Geas combo to force a particularly tough dragon to fly to Osirion and count every grain of sand in the Western desert.
It only flew away for a few days of course but by then we had looted it's horde, cleared the dungeon and were well on our merry way.
(Yes, I'm sure there is some way to subvert that clause and get out of it, but it was so funny the GM just ran with it without trying to think of a way around it)
So when did the dragon come back and why/how did he not hunt and kill your party gruesomely in their sleep?
what if all of the fire breathing heated up the atmosphere to such a point, that it started a storm and the dragon was struck by lightning?
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I forget exactly how long it took now, I think it was away for 22 days (11 days under the compulsion and then 11 days flying back).
It was in a really remote area - not like we were staying in a village close by, I mean. So after we were done we teleported back to our main base of operations some 600+ miles away. No doubt it could track us down with divination magic and so on, and who knows maybe some day it will.
More importantly, why did it only take him a few days?
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More importantly, why did it only take him a few days?
Simply due to the duration of the Geas. Counting all those grains of sand seemed like a task that would be "open-ended... that the recipient cannot complete through his own actions" so the duration becomes one day per level instead of 'until discharged.'
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How big is the dragon's ego? If it's incredibly proud of itself, that can be used to gain an advantage against it.
Dang it, RDM managed to ninja me regarding that. But yes, if the dragon is an arrogant one, then it might fall due to underestimating the party.
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Dennis L. McKiernan wrote a bunch of books taking place in the "present" his fantasy world. In many of them, characters occasionally talked about the legendary time when a man killed a dragon. I think in his world it only ever happened one time. Prince Elgo killed the dragon Sleeth. Everybody knew about it but nobody knew how.
It was part of the backstory "history" of his fantasy world.
Then he finally wrote a book about it called Dragondoom. It it, we finally learn how Elgo slew Sleeth. I admit, it was a bit of a letdown. Not that the book was bad, but because I had read so many of his novels where Elgo slaying Sleeth was an ancient legend, spoken in awe, steeped in mystery - when the author finally pulled back the curtain and revealed the mystery, it took some of the cool factor away from the legend.
Long story short, your ancient dragon slaying might be better if it remains spoken in awe and steeped in mystery.
Don't pull back the curtain.
Richard K. Morgan's A Land Fit For Heroes series has a character they call Dragonbane because he killed a dragon. Which kind of peeves some of his friends, because they also helped kill the dragon. :-P