New Generator: Roleplaying A Black Dragon
Dragon encounters are supposed to be special. Black dragons are supposed to be nasty. Put them together and you get….crickets. It is tricky pulling off a great dragon encounter, especially when player expectations run high from watching movies and imagining Smaug and looking at gorgeous art in monster books.
The good news is you just need to be memorable. You do not need to be better than Tolkein. Just make dragon encounters fun and entertaining. Be larger than life when you game master dragons. Stand up on your chair and flap your arms. Raise your voice. Put on some heavy metal.
You can also make your next black dragon encounter unforgettable with this month’s Q-Workshop generator: roleplaying and black dragon, inspired by black and yellow dragon dice.
Create an unforgettable black dragon for your campaign by rolling for:
- Mannerism
- Goals and Dreams
- Motive
- Weakness
- Voice
- Smell
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Mannerisms |
---|---|
1 | Gets loud and preachy about listening to and obeying them |
2 | Cracks knuckles continuously and cannot stay still |
3 | Laughs at terror and misfortune, weeps at others’ good luck, angers when people make jokes (about anything) |
4 | Gets angry and defensive whenever family is brought up (theirs or even others’) |
5 | Bad breath to the extreme, is a close-talker and laughs often |
6 | Self-centered, takes everything personally, needs constant reaffirmation |
7 | Blows breath out through the mouth in exasperation |
8 | Has a hacking cough and bemoans the constant ache in their scales |
9 | Constantly repeats what others say, but sarcastically |
10 | Has frequent and strong facial, tail and wing tics |
11 | Suffers an existential crisis and demands others tell them the meaning of existence; when stressed they repeat all the gods’ names in alphabetical order over and over |
12 | Has taken a vow of silence and mimes everything |
13 | They have alzheimer’s disease but get very mad when reminded or corrected about things |
14 | Gloomy, pessimistic and quick to criticize or point out fault |
15 | Thinks they are mighty and ought to be worshipped; demands sacrifices |
16 | Always apologizing, cannot make decisions, but angers quickly if they think they are being taken advantage ok |
17 | Greedy, grumpy and gaudy; prefers treasure they can wear and show off |
18 | Loves torture and violence and to see others suffer |
19 | Thinks they are charming when they are actually stuffy, arrogant and self-absorbed; |
20 | Has multiple-personalities – roll d4 more times |
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Secrets |
---|---|
1 | Is actually of the opposite gender |
2 | Fears mice and other small creatures |
3 | Is deaf but good at reading lips |
4 | Accidentally killed their mate and still grieves |
5 | Is in love with a human (or other race) |
6 | Allies with a devil to achieve its goal |
7 | Cannot say no to their children |
8 | Finds gold poisonous, even contact causes pain |
9 | Breath weapon does not work |
10 | Is hunted by several other black dragons |
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Weaknesses |
---|---|
1 | Chocolate and wine |
2 | Singing |
3 | Orc beer |
4 | Poetry |
5 | Goblin jokes |
6 | Pirates |
7 | Flowers |
8 | Fresh bread |
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Voices |
---|---|
1 | Sssibiliant, almossst a whisssper |
2 | Foghorn Leghorn, I say Foghorn J. Leghorn, son |
3 | SHOUTS ALL THE TIME |
4 | Backwards talks, he does |
5 | Deep…slow…and…menacing (speak from your diaphragm) |
6 | highpitchedandfast likeanimp |
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What do they smell like? |
---|---|
1 | Ozone |
2 | Sulphur |
3 | Burnt hair |
4 | Vinegar |
If you are a fan of the fantastic Q-Workshop dice that inpsire these generators, you might have seen the Q-workshop STRIKE dice movie. Well, Q-Workshop has released a Making Of sequel movie with behind-the-scenes looks into the rolls roles they all played.
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October 25th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by JohnnFour, Jason K. Jason K said: RT @JohnnFour: Campaign Mastery – New Generator: Roleplaying A Black Dragon http://bit.ly/beEXKX #rpg […]
October 26th, 2010 at 2:08 am
10 points awesomeness!
October 26th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
[…] one thing: Random Tables for you and your campaign. Inspired by posts at <a href=”http://www.campaignmastery.com/blog/new-generator-roleplaying-a-black-dragon/“>GM-Mastery I finally got off my duff and decided to write a blog about my experiences […]
October 28th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
I initially skipped over this post because the first seven mannerisms on it looked like a generic list of NPC mannerisms. Once I saw the dragon-specific mannerisms farther down, they were pretty cool. I like the idea of dragons wanting to kill their parents or please their children, or being in conflict with other dragons. The ancient forgetful dragon also seems a cool type.
October 29th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Good call Noumenon. I can see how those might look generic, though when crafting them I pictured a black dragon having each, and discarded several that I thought unsuitable for a big evil acidic critter.