#### 30 WAYS TO USE DRAGONS ####
   * Because, really, can we ever get enough of them? *

Author: Willow Willis
Re-publication date: 2022

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Dragons are truly awesome creatures. Too awesome in a lot of ways, really. 
Because of their power, their magnificence and their near-immortal lifespans, a 
GM might hesitate to include one in a campaign as anything other than an end 
boss. 

As a long-time dragon lover, I found this to be a real shame and strove to come 
up with ways that even low-level parties can encounter and experience dragons 
for themselves. Here, then, are 30 non-traditional ways to bring these 
wonderful beasts into your own campaign. 

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1. Dangerous Tenant: A local official suspects that the resident sorceress is a 
dragon in disguise. Though she has lived in the town for several years, the 
locals have become uncomfortable in her presence -- attributing all sorts of 
misfortunes to her. These include a recent drought, several attacks by an 
unidentified wild animal, and a burglary from the local manor. The official 
would like to see her evicted quietly before things come to a boil, but is too 
much of a coward to bring it up with her himself.

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2. The Beggar: Sometime during the PCs' travels, they come across a beggar, 
ship-wrecked sailor, old blind woman, starving child, etc. who asks for their 
help. Of course, this person is really a good dragon in disguise, and is 
judging the party by their actions. If they act charitably, the dragon will 
remember the deed and possibly reward them later. If not . . . well, the dragon 
will remember that, too.

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3. Battle in the Skies: The party is travelling through an open field when an 
ear-splitting roar shakes the earth. Looking up, they see two dragons in the 
sky engaged in deadly combat. They are both too focused on their enemy to pay 
any heed to lesser creatures like the PCs. After a few minutes, one of the 
dragons gets the upper hand and deals what appears to be a death blow to the 
other. The loser falls to the earth somewhere in the forest near the party 
while the other flies off. Do the PCs go to investigate?

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4. Roadblock: The players have been tasked with retrieving an archaeological 
treasure for a wealthy patron. They are given a map to the location, supplies 
and the best intelligence available about the hazards they will face. 
Unfortunately, the intelligence is a little out-dated and they arrive to find a 
dragon curled up for a snooze around (or simply near) the entrance. They will 
either have to fight the dragon (unlikely), sneak around it without waking it 
up, or find another way in. Variation: have the dragon lying across the road 
through some dangerous terrain (mountain pass, best road through the swamp, 
etc). Going back to find a different road will add weeks to their traveling 
time, but sneaking around will probably involve climbing or braving some other 
hazardous terrain.

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5. Cat and Mouse: With a loud crack of its wings, a dragon that had been hiding 
in the clouds descends upon the unsuspecting village. It's a young beast, 
though still powerful, and is intent on chasing the villagers and their 
livestock for a bit of sport. Within a few minutes, any villager that has been 
foolish enough to run has been killed, and all that remain have hidden inside 
their houses. The dragon will then go to work on the livestock near town, 
having a long, leisurely meal while watching the town with one eye. Anyone who 
emerges from their hiding place will be set upon instantly. The dragon will 
leave only when its hunger has been sated and the village has begun to bore 
him. The focus for the PCs will probably be to remain hidden, though you can 
put extra pressure on the party by assigning them some time-critical mission 
outside the village. Alternatively, the dragon could begin torching random 
houses if it gets bored enough.

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6. Dragon, RUN! The PCs have either royally pissed a dragon off, or happen to 
be in exactly the wrong place when a dragon makes its monthly hunting foray 
into the woods. If hunting, the beast will chase any game large enough to 
provide at least a mouthful or two of nourishment, including the party members. 
The PCs will have to do everything it takes to survive -- distracting the 
hungry beast with other prey (possibly the party horses), hiding in the brush 
and splitting up are some things they might try. The dragon may respond to 
diplomacy, but it is very hungry and therefore more inclined to eat any 
captured prey.

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7. Impending Doom: While sharing a drink in the local inn, a terrified farm boy 
bursts through the door, babbling hysterically about a dragon that is walking 
up the road towards the village. The dragon is intent on a bit of sport, and is 
flaming a house here or there as he makes his leisurely way towards the 
village. The innkeeper and several of the other men stand up, and declare that 
they will try to draw the dragon off. They will press the PCs for help with 
either distracting the dragon long enough for the people to evacuate, or 
diverting the dragon from the village entirely. If the PCs refused, they will 
be asked to at least remain behind and help with the evacuation.

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8. Dance For Me: So the worst has happened: the party has been cornered by an 
old, powerful dragon that could rend them limb from limb. However, the dragon 
announces that killing them would be a 'waste' as it would only provide him 
with a few moments of entertainment at best. Instead, the dragon promises to 
spare their lives if they can entertain him instead for a time. Just about 
anything will do -- riddles from the wizard, a gladiatorial match between the 
fighters, songs from the bard -- almost any craft or hobby that the PCs possess 
can be used as a performance. If the party fails to perform or does so 
horribly, the dragon can pick off the offending party members (a bad fate for 
an NPC or two). Too many poor performances could result in a total party kill.

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9. A Last Request: The PCs have come across a dragon that is gravely injured, 
and will die soon if not helped. Depending on the personality of the dragon, it 
may try to beg, threaten or bargain with them for healing. Or, it may ask them 
to complete one last, important task in the dragon's stead. This could be 
carrying out the dragon's revenge, completing a quest that the dragon had been 
sworn to do, returning something to its mate, caring for its now-orphaned 
young, etc.

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10. Babysitting: The players have found themselves entrusted with the big 
responsibility of caring for a clutch of dragon wyrmlings. This could be a 
temporary arrangement, perhaps as a favor to a good dragon parent whose 
presence is in dire need elsewhere. The PCs will have to provide sufficient 
food, entertainment and protection for the wyrmlings while the dragon is gone. 
If things get out of hand, the younglings could go on a rampage or get into all 
sorts of mischief -- perhaps trashing the PCs' digs while they are at it. When 
momma dragon returns, she will want a full account of everything that happened, 
and will be very upset if her young were mistreated. If this is a permanent 
arrangement, however, the PCs will have to find some way to accommodate the 
orphaned wyrmlings while they adventure (and keep them from being speared by 
overly-nervous townsfolk).

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11. The Enemy of My Enemy: The PCs come across a dragon and a hero engaged in 
mortal combat. Do they jump in on either side to help? Run away? Watch for 
awhile before continuing on their way? If the player characters stand around to 
watch for too long, the combatants may notice them and start competing with 
each other to get the heroes to join their cause: 'Puny humans! Help me kill 
this miserable man and I will reward you with one thing from my hoard.' 'You 
there! Help me slay this dragon and I shall introduce you to the Duke!'

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12. Natural Disaster: The players have arrived at their destination only to 
find it in smoking ruins. The dragon responsible for the devastation can be 
seen high in the sky, flying away to the East. Any survivors will be desperate 
for help in the rebuilding, and worried about the fate of a town a day's ride 
away -- the dragon looked like it was heading in that direction, after all. 
This can be treated as a natural disaster; watch out for looters, rioting, 
shortages of all kinds of goods, the spread of disease, and possible arrival of 
peacekeeping troops by His Majesty's order. The fate of the PCs' patron or 
original quest objective (if any) is left up to the GM.

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13. Treasure Map: A man in the local tavern is showing off a map that leads to 
an abandoned or unguarded dragon's hoard (or so he claims). If pressed, he will 
admit that he got the map from another chap but was too frightened or 
superstitious to go and claim the treasure for himself. No one else in the 
tavern is interested in buying a map to the 'cursed' or 'fool's' gold, but he 
will gladly sell it to the PCs for the right price.

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14. Stolen Goods: What a deal! While shopping for magic items in the big city, 
the PCs find a vendor who will sell them several unique or powerful items at 
bargain-basement prices. The merchant has a habit of nervously scanning the 
sky. If asked, he'll mutter something about bad weather ruining his stock. The 
merchant will be almost too willing to negotiate on the price of some of the 
treasure. If the PCs eventually cave into their greed and buy his stock, they 
will wake the next day to find the merchant gone (left town as soon as they 
were out of sight). And no wonder: the characters have come into possession of 
items recently stolen from a dragon's hoard -- and the dragon will want them 
back.

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15. Horrid Gossip: During their travels, the PCs come upon a dragon sunbathing 
on a nearby rock. The dragon is feeling either bored or lonely this morning, 
and will attempt to engage the PCs in small talk. Should the PCs refuse, the 
dragon will react with anger and attempt to knock them out in one way or 
another (possibly with a breath weapon or spell), and the PCs that succumb to 
the attack will wake to find themselves buried up to the neck in soil, gravel, 
sand. There they shall remain until rescue comes, or until the dragon's taste 
for gossip is sated. Weather they talk to it willingly or not, the PCs may be 
able to get a lot of valuable information out of the dragon, if they are 
clever. After all, one never can predict what a dragon knows.

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16. Captive Dragon: While walking through the city, the PCs come upon an 
impressively large carnival that is drawing a huge crowd of onlookers. The main 
attraction is a young adult dragon that has been chained to the massive center 
post of the tent. Muzzled, wings clipped, and de-clawed, it is thoroughly 
incapacitated. The Master of Ceremonies is showing off by walking up and down 
the dragon's back, while spinning a tale of the dragon's heinous deeds and 
subsequent capture by a hero of the realm. A hawker is selling tomatoes and 
other rotten fruit to throw at the beast, though some of the crowd has taken to 
throwing stones.

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17. Juvenile Delinquent: About a day's ride outside of the nearest town, the 
party witnesses a young dragon wyrmling (about the size of a horse) preying on 
a shepherd's flock. Those with keen eyes will notice the poor boy cowering 
under a large boulder near the side of the road. The dragon is obviously too 
young to have left the nest on its own, though there is no sign of it's mother 
anywhere nearby. Do the PCs kill or drive the wyrmling off, and risk possible 
retribution from its mother at a later date? Do they try to help the shepherd 
escape, or just stand by to observe?
 
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18. Best Laid Plans: A dragon's schemes are often elaborate and can take 
centuries to come to fruition. Unfortunately, the meddling PCs have unwittingly 
disrupted the well-laid plans of a (now-angry) adult dragon. They must find a 
way to appease the beast before earning it's eternal enmity. Depending on how 
paranoid the dragon is, it may even believe that the PCs are spies or 
mercenaries acting on the behalf of its most hated enemy. It's likely to send 
it's goons after the PCs long before trying to approach them itself.

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19. Family History: Though many dragons are schemers or hoarders, this 
particular wyrm is a watcher. It has been clandestinely following the deeds of 
a particular bloodline of mortals for centuries, and has decided to get in 
contact with the current generation for reasons of its own. Unfortunately for 
the PCs, the current heir to the bloodline is a party member and the dragon is 
demanding an audience. It won't take no for an answer. While the dragon will 
avoid harming the targeted PC at all costs, it cares very little for the rest 
of the party and won't hesitate to brush them out of the way if necessary. On 
the bright side, the dragon is very happy to answer any questions that the PC 
has about his/her ancestry in exchange for a highly intimate interview about 
his/her life. It may answer other story-related questions as well.

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20. A Clutch of Trouble: During their adventures, the PCs come across an 
abandoned or untended clutch of dragon eggs. Those versed in dragon lore 
recognize that they belong to a species that often leaves its young to fend for 
themselves. As they watch, the first of the eggs start rocking, and sharp 
little reptilian beaks begin to shatter the shells with loud popping sounds. If 
the PCs stick around to watch, the young wyrmlings will stumble out of the 
shells and take a few minutes to steady themselves (and wait for a few of their 
fellows to hatch) before immediately setting upon the PCs as the nearest source 
of food. The PCs will have to fend off additional hungry wyrmlings until the 
whole clutch is either destroyed or driven off. For harder combat, have the 
characters discover the clutch after all of the wyrmlings are already out of 
their shell, so that all of them can attack simultaneously.

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21. 'Dragon' Bandits: While passing through a small village, the party is 
approached by a desperate group of villagers, who plead with the party to rid 
them of a dragon in the hills. It has been terrorizing them for months, 
demanding tributes of food and drink, pretty girls and treasure be placed on a 
nearby hillside every month on the night of the new moon. If the party 
investigates, they will find that the dragon first came in the night several 
months ago with great noise and fire, and burnt down several houses. The next 
morning a note of demands was found tacked to the town well. There's just one 
suspicious part: none of the villagers have every actually *seen* the dragon in 
question. Eventually, the party will discover that the whole thing is an 
elaborate ruse pulled by a group of bandits camped out in the hills. Their 
leader is a wizard who is capable of creating lots of smoke, fire and several 
illusory effects. The group has been living comfortably off the tributes of 
food and drink, and the kidnapped village girls are held in a central tent for 
the pleasure of all.

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22. Sacrificial Lambs: After a night of drinking and carousing in the local 
tavern, the whole party wakes to find themselves tied to a stake in a field. 
The villagers that drugged them plan to use them as the annual sacrifice to a 
dragon that has been terrorizing the village for a decade. The PCs have until 
sunset to figure out a way to escape. Introducing them to the young village 
maids that would have been offered up (if the PCs hadn't come along) would be a 
nice touch. They could hang garlands around the characters' necks in thanks.

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23. A Dangerous Secret: The party has discovered that a prominent political 
figure is a dragon in disguise -- a secret that the dragon would very much like 
to keep. The dragon may bribe or threaten them to keep her secret safe, and 
will become their eternal enemy if she is exposed. Will the PCs blackmail her 
into doing something for them (garnering her anger), pledge to keep her secret 
freely to avoid her displeasure, or attempt to report her to the authorities? 
What happens if her secret is exposed and the PCs had nothing to do with it?
 
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24. Draconian Heist: One evening, the PCs spot a dragon perched on the roof of 
a large manor house, obviously trying to remain incognito. It's concentrating 
very hard on something within the house, and doesn't notice them. If the PCs 
choose to investigate, they risk angering the dragon but will likely foil its 
plans. If not, the next day will bring tidings of a cunning robbery at the 
manor that involved several valuable works of art. The owner of the manor will 
be very interested in retrieving said pieces and bringing the thief to justice.

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25. Gotta Catch 'Em All: The party has developed a reputation for handling 
dangerous beasts, and has been hired by a rich patron to retrieve a dragon 
wyrmling for his private collection. The wyrmling must arrive subdued and 
relatively undamaged for the party to receive their award. He will provide them 
with tips on where the desired species of dragon may be found, and will outfit 
them for the mission as best he can. The GM may either have them find a clutch 
of unhatched dragon eggs (risky, because you can't be sure what species they 
are unless they are guarded), or a real, live wyrmling several months/years out 
of the shell (knock it out, DON'T kill it).
 
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26. Dragon's Tears: The PCs have been tasked with retrieving a difficult spell 
component -- a dragon's tear. They must track down a dragon, find some way to 
make it cry, then collect the tear. Some dragons may cry freely for the party 
after they have performed a task or quest for it in turn, but others feel no 
grief at all. Tears of laughter, or tears elicited by onions may be the only 
recourse in these cases.

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27. Substitute Kids: A dragon mother lost her hatchlings in a recent accident, 
and has become delirious with grief. To cope, she has kidnapped several village 
children and is raising them as 'her' children in her lair. Of course, this 
does not sit well with the townsfolk. They have pooled together their limited 
resources and are seeking a group of professionals to conduct a rescue mission.

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28. Deal With The Devil: One of the PC's ancestors owed a dragon a debt (or so 
the dragon claims), and that dragon has come to collect. The dragon will expect 
the PC to know all about his great-great-great-great grandfather King Reginald 
the II, and will react with disbelief and/or outrage if the PC claims no 
knowledge. He will pompously display the original contract (signed in blood), 
that clearly shows that the dragon is entitled to a king's ransom in gold and 
jewels every 500 years for past services rendered by the dragon. Close 
inspection of the document will reveal one or several loopholes, however (the 
debt is only owed as long as the King's descendants remained on the throne, the 
debt actually belongs to whomever holds the throne currently, the dragon hasn't 
exactly upheld his end of the deal faithfully, the contract is a forgery, etc, 
etc)
 
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29. You Touched My Prize Whatzit! During their travels, the PCs have 
unwittingly disturbed a dragon hoard. Dragons often have very unusual tastes, 
so be creative with the hoard -- a great library full of rare texts; an ancient 
forest, carefully tended by the beast for centuries; a beach blanketed in sands 
gathered from every corner of the world; a secluded village of 'lesser' 
creatures that have been hand-picked (read: kidnapped) by the dragon for some 
desired trait (town of lost nobles, anyone?). Now that the PCs have blundered 
across the hoard, the dragon will seek to either drive them away or demand 
compensation for any damage that they have caused.
 
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30. A Dragon in Debt: The party has discovered evidence that one of the PC's 
ancestors performed a great service to a dragon in need, which left the dragon 
beholden to that PC's family line until the debt was repaid. The dragon could 
be of great service to the party on exactly one occasion if the PC decides to 
call in the old debt, though pissing it off by asking too much would be most 
unwise. If it is an evil dragon, perhaps the PC should think twice before 
entrusting it with any sensitive task. Alternatively, the party could discover 
that one of the PC's relatives is trying to call in the debt for himself.