Do all dragons of a particular type have the same alignment? The Bestiary indicates that the answer to this is No as it reads, "chromatic dragons are almost universally evil ... metallic dragons are generally good." The "almost" and "generally" would seem to give some space for a non-evil chromatic dragon or a non-good metallic one, the later being more likely than the former.
Does this reading of the Bestiary make sense, and would a dragon with an unusual alignment be a legitimate possibility?
In D&D 3.xx, the alignment of Dragons was supposed to be fixed, even so, as a DM, I made numerous exceptions, such as lawful Black and Red dragons in the direct service of Tiamat... in PF, the indicated alignement is just a general guideline to the alignement of the average member of the species, as a GM, you are free to present your players with unusual or exceptional beings as NPCs. This is especially true in PF vs D&D dragons since you no longer have Tiamat and Bahamut to keep the chromatic/metallic dragons in line and inspire them.
I'd still make a good chromatic dragon or an evil metallic one truly exceptional.
Dragons aren´t outsiders, so yes, their alignment isn´t fixed. Your reading is correct, there being the option for non-standard dragons.
Even outsider alignment isn't fixed. It is just exceedingly rare for an outsider to be a different than normal alignment.
Thanks
A variant I like is that dragon's bodies are literally manifestations of their souls. A red dragon that becomes LE turns blue. A blue dragon that becomes LG turns silver or gold, etc...
It preserves both "All morally accountable creatures have free will" and "Dragons are color coded for your convenience".
A similar trope would be there are no LE angels, but there are devils who were once angels then fell.
I remember reading somewhere something similar to this, except that instead of changing species completely, a redeemed Chromatic would find their scales starting to shine and gleam, and a fallen Metallic would start to lose all luster and fade until they just became a dull color (gray for silver, brown for copper, yellow for gold, and so on). Still preserves the "It's scales weren't all shiny" color-coding, but allowing for true variation within the breeds.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So basically:
LG Red Dragon
CE Gold Dragon
CG Green Dragon
I remember reading somewhere something similar to this, except that instead of changing species completely, a redeemed Chromatic would find their scales starting to shine and gleam, and a fallen Metallic would start to lose all luster and fade until they just became a dull color (gray for silver, brown for copper, yellow for gold, and so on). Still preserves the "It's scales weren't all shiny" color-coding, but allowing for true variation within the breeds.
I like this!!!
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
When a metallic dragon falls, it's called "tarnishing." Sadly, I don't think there's a fancy word for chromatic dragons rising. Silver dragons are the most likely to tarnish, and green dragons are the most likely to rise. If you get a chance, check out Dragons Revisited. It's a pretty awesome book.
When a metallic dragon falls, it's called "tarnishing." Sadly, I don't think there's a fancy word for chromatic dragons rising. Silver dragons are the most likely to tarnish, and green dragons are the most likely to rise. If you get a chance, check out Dragons Revisited. It's a pretty awesome book.
Maybe have chromatic dragon "polish" and get a gem-like luster?
Hey, maybe that could explain how the first gem dragons arose in 3E games: some chromatic dragons' alignments wandered a little north of evil, and now they're really shiny but still only neutral.