Can Chromatic dragons be redeemed?
One of my characters currently has a bit of a captive audience in the form of an imprisoned Great Wyrm Black Dragon Matriarch (Trapped by a mutual foe aeons ago), locked in a magic circle so complex that he honestly can't unlock it yet.
I've managed to cut a deal with it that in turn for me unleashing it, it'll ravish our enemy and basically rampage like Godzilla all over his back yard, focusing on him before and above anyone else (Including innocent people), problem being my character is heavily good aligned and I know I can't trust a CE dragon with a huge chip on her shoulder to keep her side of the deal. More importantly even if she destroys out mutual enemy its unleashing an only slightly lesser evil upon the world and once she's done with him, well.
So I'm planning to use research on the circle as a cover to talk to the beast. Mechanically my character is smarter and more charming (But not as wise, otherwise he wouldn't be trying this) than the dragon.
What are my chances in all honesty? My most likely angle of attack far as I can tell is starting with a NE philosophy of the benefits of using others, then working up to TN its good to work together/you benefit personally in the long run from not eating villages then up to NG.
Which is probably as far as I'll be able to get 'em I'm guessing.
Anyone else got any amusing stories of unlikely allies or redemption.
Ravage. I think you mean ravage your enemies...
If you're hoping to redeem the dragon, you've already messed it up by making the price of freedom killing dozens-to-hundreds of people (even acknowledging that innocents will be killed). As a GM, I'd be eyeing neutral for your character and talking it over with you for character development reasons.
Ravage. I think you mean ravage your enemies...
If you're hoping to redeem the dragon, you've already messed it up by making the price of freedom killing dozens-to-hundreds of people (even acknowledging that innocents will be killed). As a GM, I'd be eyeing neutral for your character and talking it over with you for character development reasons.
Only one specific enemy. The Whispering Tyrant to be specific.
The dragon is the mother of the dragon that was made into the Horns of Naraga; Karamorros is her name I think.
And I'm more worried about having an agreement that she help me go after him, then her going rogue because she can't resist tormenting some other people for giggles since, well, Black dragon.
A dragon still has to 'eat'. And you just offered this one freedom in exchange for destroying everything around, for your benefit. I don't think there's any redemption in sight.
Oddly one of the things the circle does is that she doesn't have to eat anymore. She's in this bizarre state of not dead when she should be having spent aeons trapped in the Wizards Pit.
And I'm not gaining much by freeing her, she's one of many potential allies in this particular fight and one of the more risky ones to make contact with at that. In fact I won't even really benefit from picking a fight with the Tyrant.
But, you know, someone has to before he breaks free and all that jazz.
1. What does your GM think?...
7. What does your GM think?
In order:
1: He's fairly evens on it, on the one hand Black Dragons are Bad and she's old, canny and terrible. On the other hand she lost her two children and has been in the dungeon a very, very long time and probably hates the Whispering to a degree that'd even worry other Black Dragons, so using him as a directing point was a good call in his eyes.He's solidly neutral on the idea of recruiting her.
2: Golarion setting, according to Dragons Revisited Chromatics can be redeemed, its just hard.
4: Fairly well I like to hope.
6: Not the sort of player that'd know or offer if he was. I prefer doing things legit.
Even if you somehow evoke an epiphany in the Ancient Dragon, she still has millennia of bad habits and assumptions. I can just see the confused dragon wondering what all the fuss is about as she finishes up snacking on that flock of sheep, and that shepherd or two.
And, yes, turning her loose in all her evil glory out onto the enemy's already oppressed peoples is not going to look good on your quarterly evaluations.
Even if you somehow evoke an epiphany in the Ancient Dragon, she still has millennia of bad habits and assumptions. I can just see the confused dragon wondering what all the fuss is about as she finishes up snacking on that flock of sheep, and that shepherd or two.
And, yes, turning her loose in all her evil glory out onto the enemy's already oppressed peoples is not going to look good on your quarterly evaluations.
That's as may be, but from personal experience once those epiphanies start, if they're real, it's hard to stop them from continuing.
Besides, that sounds like *wonderful* role play territory; depending on the conscience of the player characters, they may feel somewhat responsible for the dragon's actions at this point and there may be a need to shepherd her growth.
Being a good aligned character making that sort of deal with the dragon would bring into question your own morality.
Agree on wonderful roleplay opportunity, it drove us to distraction in a similar situation, and yes, the flock and shepherds incident did actually happen, it was just FUN.
As to maintaining an epiphany, in my experience, it takes effort. IRL I had two friends go through a "life changing" situation. Both were shaken up pretty bad and swore that would never let that kind of thing happen again. One did go and change her life, one didn't.
Remember, the lightbulb has to really want to change.