"they swap stories about fiendish lair traps and defenses like we take Instagram snaps of our last restaurant meal." ....And you, dear adventurer, are the meal on their table.
-Silver dragons: Can comfortably polymorph, but prefer to stay in their true form -Steel dragons: Can comfortably polymorph, but prefer to stay in the form of whatever race is being imitated -Quicksilver dragons: Often don’t even know they’re polymorphed dragons, and in the case they do its, to them, their true form
The nicest dragon you'd ever want to meet. Their regional effect of creating buoying winds to keep non-evil creatures from falling to their deaths within 1 mile of their lairs is a cool way to both introduce a silver dragon into a campaign and save a PC or group of PCs from an unlucky death. For example: DM: "Okay, paladin, make a Strength (Athletics) check to climb the cliff" Paladin: (rolls) Oh crap, a 1! I slip and fall, don't I? DM: Yep. As you try to grab a handhold, it breaks in your hand, and you fall what looks to be...about a thousand feet. Paladin: Well, guess I'm dead. DM: (thinking) No way I'm letting someone die this early into the campaign! How to save them? Hmm...oh, I know! Paladin: I'll roll up another... DM: By the way, your character is some sort of good, right? Paladin: He's neutral good, but why does that matter? He's dead anyway! DM: As you plummet, a massive updraft suddenly starts up right where you are, slowing your fall and allowing you to land safely on the ground below without so much as a scratch. Other PCs: What?! DM: As you look around, you suddenly see a massive, glistening silver creature swooping overhead, and it lands on a nearby ledge. It looks down the way the paladin fell and yells out "You're welcome!" in Common in a very friendly way. What do you do now?
A specific silver dragon raising, training, partnering with, losing, and mourning, generation after generation of a knightly bloodline would not be out of the question. Local farmer: "ach no, laddie, yea've got it wrong. It's not the dragoon order of Tyrissia. It's the dragon knight, Tyrissia, and her riders in training." For another good take on how to play a Dragon NPC, read R.A. Heinlien's "the star beast".
Haha, I'm imagining when the group at the table becomes relatively well known adventurers, suddenly getting a wealthy client that wants to be taken on some of the adventures every once in awhile. They think, "Oh God, a babysitting mission," but they pay really well each time. They're kind of dorky, but very friendly. Constantly using outdated lingo😂
@@AmigoRoberto , Assisting outright would give away the Silver Dragon. If a Silver Dragon is pretending to be a Noble in order to go on an adventure, they are going to keep up the ruse as long as possible. Thus such a dragon would be swinging with their now human arms, doing human amounts of damage and otherwise not showing that they are anything more then human. If there was to be any tell that something is abnormal, it would be when Mr 'I am just a noble' tanks some 30 odd damage as if it was nothing....
I like to play the game "Guess who's the Silver Dragon". Is it the local tavern owner, one of the faculty at the local mage academy, one of the nurses in the infirmary, the town librarian, or perhaps even the kindly vagabond who always seems to help out around town and never asks for money? Or is could even be that old dog who's been following you since you got into town? Dragons...Silver Dragons..EVERYWHERE!!!!!!
Imagine a small city where every single person there is a silver dragon, but they are all perfectly disguised as humans and never reveal themselves. So that none of them realize they aren't the only silver dragon there and assume that everyone else is a genuine human.
There's a rumor going around that there is a shapeshifting dragon in town. But little do they know that...Everyone in town is a dragon. It's the whole town. Each dragon unaware that the others are also dragons. Each one thinks that they're THE dragon that people are spreading rumors about when in reality all the humans died out years ago and now its just a bunch of dragons roleplaying in a ghost town without even knowing it. Edit: oh darn, didn't read the replies first and it turns out someone else had the exact same idea. How fitting.
"Silver Dragons and Red Dragons hate each other" he says, showing a red and silver dragon overcoming hate. Love the vids highlighting each of the dragon types; keep up the good work. :D
This reminds me of the dragon blood sorcerer who's great grandfather was a silver dragon who constantly would visit him and act as a mentor to teach him how to control and master his draconic power.
Would silvers ever join a party as a hireling? Follow the adventurers, see the world? I think it could be a good "get out of jail card" or "plot rescue" if they get in over their heads.
I would say they could do that, perhaps as a way to infiltrate a city more successfully or a country if the party is more worldly at that time. It would only stay around if the party shared their ideals of noble behavior methinks.
Why is it that Silver Dragons remind me of the plot of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid? I mean, Tohru is clearly a chromatic dragon if I’ve ever seen one, but that aside, the parallels are remarkable.
An entire subrace of humans was created by a silver dragon being found out but everyone was okay with it leading to several towns of humans with built in draconic blood lines. One of the npcs in one of the games I am playing in is an ancient silver dragon who is a master monk and trainer of the emperors personal guard. Every red dragon think they are a gangster till the silver can stunning strike you 500ft in the air.
I was gonna make it a plot point that dragons don't typically practice martial arts, because they rarely get into direct fights with other dragons, and are already far more powerful than most species. In fact, for most dragons, they would see martial arts as beneath them, since they view it as a skill humanoids practice to make up for their lack of power. When a dragon DOES practice a martial art, it goes unnoticed even by other dragons. Why? Because anyone who would ever come to know they do practice martial arts, IS DEAD. And they like to keep it to themselves as a trump card. Therefor, even though there are SOME dragons that have self-taught a draconic martial arts, none have written any books about it, and actively refuse to teach it, going so far out of their way as to not even acknowledge its existence. However, a dragon that takes up human disguise can learn humanoid martial arts, it's just that the skill rarely translates into the draconic form. Far more appendages to worry about, and of course the difference in power between a dragon and a humanoid makes the advantages given by martial arts a moot point. Typically, even when dragons fight other dragons, the larger one or the smarter one wins. Martial prowess has little bearing on the result, and it doesn't happen enough for them to learn much. The only kinds of dragons that typically learn martial arts are either those that are extremely humble and understand there is some wisdom in humanoid techniques, or those that are extremely malicious and simply wish to dominate their foe in every conceivable way possible, regardless of how others may perceive it. But again, those who fight a dragon with martial skill typically don't survive...even other dragons.
This video is the perfect complement to the last Silver Dragon NPC I had. He was the city's sage and guild master to the Bard College. The party wondered why the super-aged bard was able to cast his magic within a field of silence. They started sh^t in that town against the advice they got as employees of an assassins' guild. Because of the Silver Dragon's mercy, years of that campaign were them being slaves who had to buy their freedom. Well, save for one. One wore the crest that the local Red Dragon gave its favored pawns. That player had to roll up a new character.
I'm adding a silver into my campaign to act as a kind of warden of northern territories. While first appearing as a master ice sorcerer of supernatural origins who occasionally curates the library of a nearby kingdom as well as collects his own. When his territory is threatened by a white dragon however, he enlists the help of the adventurers to help sniff the predator out so he can kill it.
There are two things I always put in my campaigns: A Deck of Many Things, and (at least) one Silver Dragon. The silver dragon can be a powerful ally or a patron to the party, just have a brief cameo, or anything in between. But it has to be there!
Love these guys. Played one in a homebrew that was really young and had a wanderlust about him that caused him to join up with the group. Was fun to play a teenager that was essentially play acting until he realized there were real consequences to his actions and then he started seeking fulfillment vicariously through the other player characters.
@@ninaroux8791 It was also great to act full of deep wisdom to one of the elves, despite his lack of real life experience, just because I was a century or two older than him. The guy was just happy to see the others of his group settle their own personal stories. Played him mostly chaotic good because of the stories of heroism from the shorter lived races. Like he hadn't found the lawful aspect of his own people enough because he was out there living the life of adventure and their own chaotic natures rubbed off on him. Was sad to see that group fall apart because the DM allowed people to play on the side. It saw some people get favoritism and ended when another elf became trapped in a magical mirror and said mirror was shattered by his dark reflection. None of us could react or do anything to prevent it because we weren't there...showed up and it was "sorry, game's over". Was the last straw for the rest of us and we dropped the group. I wrote in his remaining years following to say my character gathered every piece of the mirror down to the most infinitesimal piece. His own life was affected by a void sickness because he attacked and killed an avatar of the void (basically in this game it was something like a god made of the stuff from the negative energy plane) in a previous session. Through magics he learned to hold off the worst of the effects until he became ancient and still hadn't figured out how to bring his friend back. Eventually when he left the realm to join the big dragon in the sky...not sure now where I read it, probably in the council of wyrms boxed set. Said something about them leaving the material plane. But he detoured into my Greyhawk campaign and found my old mage character who managed to save the elf trapped in the mirror but was so old and infected that he had to undergo a magical stasis. So there he waits until the man he saved can somehow come to terms with his own loss and dissociation enough to fix my character. Sadly he is encased in something effectively like a snow globe on the elf's research desk until then.
An example of how to introduce a silver dragon into your campaign. DM: "Okay, make a Strength (Athletics) check to climb the cliff." Paladin Player: (rolls dice) "Crap. A 1." DM: (thinking) "Oh no, I can't let them die like this!" Paladin Player: Guess I should roll up a new character. No way they'll survive that fall. DM: Your character is lawful good, right? Paladin Player: Yeah. DM: As you plummet to what seems to be a grisly end, a MASSIVE updraft suddenly starts blowing directly under you, slowing your fall to the point where you land safe and unharmed on the ground a thousand feet below! Paladin Player: Yay? DM: As the rest of you look around to see what happened, you spot a silver dragon on a nearby peak. It waves in a friendly manner and flies toward you. What do you do?
I have an ancient silver dragon npc in my campaign called Jalan. He briefly appeared to help the players retake a floating castle from a powerful lich and has since gone off to research a sword that they found and check on his treasure hoards because he's been in stasis for about a thousand years. It surprised everyone when I had him suddenly turn into a silver dragon in combat. The next time they see him I plan on him having a multi-level structure made of ice rings up in the clouds where he has moved all of his treasures to, finding that adventurers have stolen from the lairs he once maintained in the past. Several silver dragons will be flying around this place, coming and going as they please. Trying to think of a name for the place.
@@genostellar Sebastian Cabot's exploration between 1526 and 1529 is widely credited to have inspired such name due to his obtaining and collecting a variety of silver objects from the Guaraní tribes along the Paraguay river. According to Wikipedia.
When I see the opening picture of AJ the scribe, I think of "gloves of sribbling, so heavily enchanted that they counteract the fact that you're wearing gloves to draw"
Would be super awesome to be friends with a silver dragon and not know it but then the day comes where they trust you to the extent that they reveal this secret to you and seek out your children and grandchildren to be friends with because they cherished your friendship so deeply.
Thanks to you original videos of dragons I have been looking into dragons aggressively and didn't learn anything new but dam you make good videos and this was done better than the first one. I love it.
@@AJPickett true. But also because silver dragons can and do call for help. The red dragon may think its attacking a lone silver dragon right before granpappy and granma plus clan arrives.
Silver dragons also stay more active than red dragons and learn from humanoid friends, it isn't too uncommon for silver dragons to have class levels giving them even more of an edge.
A cool scenario for a “one on one” session or campaign, would be for the player character to unknowingly befriend a silver dragon "much in the way of gandalf", and be somewhat of a guiding Force to have them sent on adventures. Only to find out in the end there true nature, hell maybe some of the other adventuring party they are with are also dragons. I think it'd be a neat little adventure. 😉
Gotta admit this video is great especially since my first character in DnD got changed into a half silver followed that it became a full fledged silver.
My favorite concept in fantasy is the living history long-lived beings like elves and dragons embody. It's very melancholy, though, and this video got that idea across well.
Well, I know what “superpower” I would wish for: the ability to polymorph like the Silvers do! Imagine... the world’s most frightening kitten! Terror Kitteh!
Most Polymorph abilities have you taking on the physical characteristics of the creature you morph into. A quick look at 5th edition has this line: In a new form, the Dragon retains its Alignment, Hit Points, Hit Dice, ability to speak, Proficiencies, Legendary Resistance, Lair Actions, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores, as well as this action. *Its Statistics and capabilities are otherwise replaced by those of the new form,* except any Class Features or legendary Actions of that form. While such a dragon-kitten has permission to retain it's hit-dice, so good luck killing that kitty, it isn't going to swat at you with any more physical force then that of a kitten. This means, unless your a level 1 commoner from previous editions, there is not that much to worry about. Hell, with the line I just quoted it could be possible to argue that the Dragon loses the ability to cast spells in this new form, unless said form also has the capability to cast spells built into it. In conclusion, a kitty-dragon is an enemy you can walk away from as it tries to gnaw at your ankles.... Added for previous editions: This is where it actually becomes a little harder because all these abilities cross-reference each other. Change Self on a dragon goes on to state: "As if using polymorph." Polymoprh itself goes on to state: "This spell functions like alter self.' And it is only within Alter Self do we come across the line: *"You keep all extraordinary special attacks and qualities derived from class levels, but you lose any from your normal form that are not derived from class levels."* Thus, through this a chain of cross-referencing, a 3rd edition Dragon loses the ability to carry out a Wing-Attack in this new wingless form.
By far my favorite of the metallics, just something about them being whimsical vigilantes that just want to live in peace but cant cuz they are always with adventuring friends.
Since silver dragons are peerless when it comes to polymorphing, do they ever assume the form of a humanoid creature with an inborn ability to glide or fly? Example: avarials or dragonborn with wings. I ask because I'm curious if they choose such a form as an excuse to indulge their love of flying without giving away that they're silver dragons?
I've never played DND before but I plan to. Once I know enough I want to dm and make a world loosely run by the dragons. Where dragons own territories and civilizations within those territories are under their rule and determine the official alignment of said territory by leading dragon. And a council of dragons who discuss world and local issues. And for the players maybe they one day encounter a beautiful elf with silver hair, icy blue eyes and a very friendly but wise demeanor. As time goes on, and the players possibly making friends with them, the elf reveals themself as a young silver dragon
You know what would be interesting? A human who fell in love with a dragon, looking to become immortal (or at least very long-lived) so they can live their days with their dragon hubby/wifey.
I just wanna say that, I sincerely believe most people (unless they have a specific reason to hate or distrust dragons) would, at the very least, be in awe that such a being has been their friend for potentially years. "I'm so sorry, dear friend, for i have deceived thee. i am....a silver dragon. i hope that this revelation of my true nature does not tarnish our bond." "bruh, THAT'S COOL AS HELL! I HAVE A DRAGON FOR A BFF!?" Seriously, though, how could such a wise being think we'd have any problem with it? ijs (edit: bad phrasing typo fixed)
I think they would think that we could have a problem with it for 2 reasons: #1: When first introducing themselves to someone, they wouldn't necessarily know if that specific person has a fear of dragons or not (hence the deception). So, the dragon gets to know them first and see how they would react to the reveal. #2: What if the person they befriended turns out to REALLY hate being deceived despite them actually not minding or even liking dragons. So, if they found out, it could hamper and ultimately change their relationship. The Silver might want their human friend to treat them the same as they always have, but they don't/can't because of this knowledge.
@@Breagle friend, you merely repeated exactly what I said. "unless they had a specific reason to hate or distrust" was literally my own words. And my post already addresses that it would have already been keeping the secret for, as I said "potentially years." But thank you for re-iterating my case.
So if silver dragons are basically humanity-weebs, then steel dragons are are the guys and gal's that get a work visa to live and become english teachers in japan.
He is just not knowing how to talk with a woman right. Because... well... Huma: My heart belongs to another woman! (he met no any woman besides his dragon and Takhisis through the novel). Also Huma: poor Gwyneth, is she feeling cold? In War&Steel, btw, she survived.
I was thinking about a concept for a silver dragon to have him/her being a father/mother type figure. (similar to whitebeard for one piece) You see the dragon with a group of humanoids and refers all of them as their family and has been taking care of them for many years and would protect his/her family to even its death
I actually made a few updates of this concept by giving him a wife, (a human wife) his own patch of land that he peacefully rules over, (from a small village, a large lush forest, to an entire mountain range) and I would give one of my players to be the adopted child of the silver dragon dad.
If one were to play as a silver, would a young dragon still learning human society work? A full grown dragon just seem too op to even try to convince a DM.
I highly recommend picking up a copy of the 3.5 edition of the Draconomonomonicon. While it might not translate as well into 5th edition, it will show your storyteller how previous editions attempted this.
Check out the old 2nd edition suppliment "Council of Wyrms" if you can find a copy. IIRC hatchling dragon PC's were the equivalent of lvl 6 (white) to lvl 10 (gold) characters, but I can't for the life of me remember the formula for calculating your Effective Level.
Say AJ, the way you described silver dragons in this video sort of reminds me of a webcomic called Dragon Mango, which involves dragons that are similar to silver dragons. I’d recommend it, as it’s an interesting read that still receives updates to this day.
haven't gotten to use of these guys in my games yet, but look like a lot of fun, be a fun quest giver or even a recurring friendly traveling merchant along the roads perhaps with a band of companions, musicians or guards but also close friends to the silver dragon.
Thank you so for these as they take me back to when I could play the game, a true joy for me. The sliver always makes me recalling playing Dragonlance long ago. What would a corrupted silver dragon be like, say if touched by Tharizdun?
Dam fool DM of a group I was in once gave us Dragonlances and silver dragons, and with those guys, it pretty much destroyed the campaign and put back silver dragon and human relations by centuries.
Sure it's not the resident murder hobos in that group? Given the lore of Silver Dragons, it seems as though they kept killing potential quest givers, which I've had a few that were Silver Dragons.
i had to come back to find this because my tiefling scorcerers backstory was married and one of her lovers was a silver dragon long story short rolled a few dice and my character is married to a silver dragon useing auto character creators and randomizers can be fun. if my characters back story was describable as a dice roll nat20 with a total of 35 this video came very much in handy
I'm playing through my first DND campaign, and for my character's backstory I decided to let them have a third parent/uncle that's a silver dragon who is currently presumed dead but may also be alive. On the other side of the scale though, we have a silver dragon egg sitting in a cooler we made, and a freshly hatched red wyrmling we confiscated from egg smugglers (~3 days immature due to stress). Chaos will ensue, but moreso if that silver dragon is alive.
Been planning on adding a Silver to my urban setting, who just returned a couple years ago from wandering the seas. First clue to the dragon's existence; couple of half-dragons living in Uptown (as in UP-town, floating around the mountains)
I hope AJ Pickett go into details about something difficult to locate information on: How Green Dragons form Colonies.
For those who don't know: It is actually a side-effect of what the Green Dragon truly craves - Reputation. While Green dragons despise other Green Dragons above all else, they have a far more complex process used to determine just whom is the better dragon. This process can take decades, even centuries, in which the two parties begin to scheme against each other through the use of 'cat-paws.' The dragon whom manages to out-think their opponent gains a massive reputation boost, as they gloat about how they didn't even have to get their own claws dirty while killing a powerful foe. So how does this relate to colonies? Well - the most reputable cat-paw for a green dragon to wield is... another Green Dragon! Thus; a powerful Green Dragons may allow less reputable green dragons to set up in their forest, with the intention of using them as tools against a much more reputable enemy. They will never trust these subordinates, as they know very well that all subordinates have plans to back-stab them sooner then later. The more powerful Green Dragon is simply gambling that the subordinates plan will either fail outright, or will take so long that it can be dealt with after the more pressing enemy is defeated. Ah, the game Green Dragons play with each other! PS: At least these colonies tend to collapse after a generation at most, for all that internal scheming would doom any organization. Just imagine what would happen if a dozen Green Dragons put aside their little game and focused on taking over the world... together. We should be thankful they are far to focused on being able to claim all the glory for themselves.
Added as a source: *A clear pecking order, based on age and status but with no formal hierarchy, develops among green dragons within a given area. Green dragons know each other too well to depend on any formal social structure* - Draconominomicon, 3.5th edition *If the pair is about the same age, they divide their shared territory between them. (Such agreements usually last at least a few decades before the former mates seek ways to encroach on each other’s turf.)* - Draconominomicon, 3.5th edition
Oh, Silvers. My favorite since I was too young to remember my age rightly, and I played a funny NES game called Dragonstrike, by TSR. And everything I've learned of them since then has only made me love them more
They carried over literally almost all traits, including their power and enhanced durability, into their humanoid form. Granted they weren't as big, but that was a good thing for the silver dragons, as they considered their true dragon forms to be clumsy at times, the only re downside was that, although depending on what they turned into, most silver dragons couldn't fly while in humanoid form.
I imagine the appeal to a silver dragon is getting to see everything from a human perspective. To call them the most HUMAN dragons wouldn't be a stretch.
I’ve always enjoyed the concept of silver dragons ever since I was little reading Dragonlance. I love the idea of a silver dragon party member like Silvera. Would it be possible to play a character that is a silver dragon at heart but stuck somehow in human form for the duration of the campaign?? I was thinking a paladin that has the heart of a silver dragon stuck in the confines of a human body?
*SPOILERS FOR CURSE OF STRAHD* I find it weird that Strahd (who can be beaten by level 10s) could defeat Arganvast, an Adult Silver Dragon. You'd think one of the strongest classes of Dragon would make mincemeat of a Vampire who level 10s can defeat (with prep and the right items).
Ok so longer question for you Professor that does require a little backstory. Teir 3 adventurers, that I've asked you about before, want a magic item. Me as the DM with my "infinite wisdom" told them they needed material components and monster parts to properly construct the item they want. One of the parts is a red dragon heart. So they sought out a powerful ancient silver dragon I have dubbed *The Silver Queen* to ask for advice on how to deal with an angry female red dragon who just laid eggs. As luck would have it we ended our last session with the characters about to be granted audience with the Queen, again, to seek advice on slaying an adult red dragon. If you were running next weeks session, what advice would you give these adventurers? Thank you so much Professor. P.s. if anyone other than AJ has a suggestion I would be happy to read that as well.
Based on the Vid, I'm not sure the silver would be QUICK to help the adventurers directly, especially if she's an ancient and is jaded. If the dragon is bothering humans, she will likely point to a silver dragon in their area who is young and not strong enough to fight the red dragon alone. (If she has a brood, it sounds like the red's been here a while, which means we have to explain why no good dragons have come to oppose her.) She will want to ask questions of the adventurers such as what they need the item for. As for the red dragon, if your players are fighting the mother make sure you make it a TOUGH fight so they have a lot to be prepared for. I'm talking a heavily trapped dungeon, lava everywhere, and for the love of Ao give the dragon an escape tunnel to fly away. If you play a dragon correctly they should be much harder than their 5e CR. If the player's are clever they could also wait or the eggs to hatch, kill a wyrmling, and potentially use the heart from that in their ritual. (potentially making a less powerful magic item. They'd also piss off the silvers by abandoning a quest.) So your audience should go like this: 1. "For what do you seek my assistance, mortals? The heart of a red dragon? I have friends who helped me slay dragons for many reasons, but my greedy ones typically prefer the gold to the corpse. If they only knew what a dragon's hide adds to its wealth. For what purpose would you embark on such a quest?" 2. (If the party is forthcoming about stories, the dragon becomes more interested, and more likely to lend them boons.) "Fascinating, truly splendid. I had heard tales of your exploits (mention old quests, they're experienced adventurers) from my informants, but the heart of a dragon is perhaps too much even for men and women of your caliber. I cannot join you on your quest, My station prevents me from engaging in hobbies. But my kin in the area would be more than happy to assist you. Go to (NPC) in the city of (City), Tell him you've brought a gift from his mother, and in exchange for your service he/she will aid you in your endeavor. (She doesn't give them anything to bring the young dragon, except maybe a letter. the adventurers are the gift.) 3. Now you have a quest-giver in the form of an adolescent silver dragon, who will actually give the players the advice and work with them directly. Silvers need help to kill reds, so that's your quest. 4. Red dragon lairs might have weaknesses in the lava flows and Kobold worship-tunnel networks (very trapped). Classic strategies the silver can give your players include poisons, magic weapons, trapping the dragon's escape tunnel, Killing her cultists, and stealing a single goblet from the dragon's horde so she comes to take it back herself. The silver is likely to participate as an ally in the boss fight, so make sure you factor that into the encounter.
@@xcelentei *bowing and chanting in draconic* "I am not worthy!" That was so inspiring. Thank you sincerely for your response. I'm going to be taking a few of these points verbatim into my notes. You seemed to nail a few of my story beats effectively while not having much info and I'm so impressed. Hold on. *grabs drink and raises glass* You are awesome.
@@xcelentei since you wrote me a book I feel I should give you a bit more of the story friend. Gather round the fire and let me tell you of Nabooru of the Dancing Inferno, champion fighter and bard of whispers. She spent much of her early adventuring career with 2 comrades, Beowulf the vengeance paladin and Akaru the samurai weeb enchantment wizard (I love him but he deserves to be called out). Together they solved mysteries like scooby doo, made enemies of the nobles in Baulders Gate nearly killing one, made friends with Mirt the money lender to go undercover and retrieve an escaped war crimanal, slew a bone naga within the serpent hills controlling a yuan-ti army and defeated a sleeper cell of red wizards within waterdeep attempting to assassinate Laurel Silverhand. Meanwhile throughout all of this Nabooru, a fire genasi, has been receiving dreams and omens beckoning her to the Plane of Fire. Now she had an upbringing with your classic adventurer background. Real sad and real mysterious. Mom died. Raised by gypsies. Sold to slaves. Escaped to the wilds. Etc. So an arc she has been playing through this character is finding out who she is and her place in the cosmos. This quest is entirely for personal reasons. Red dragons are pretty rare in my version of Faerun so they are going WAY out to find this one they've scryed on. All the players are absolutely committed to helping her though so I've not recourse but to arrange an epic climactic battle amid the lava fields and volcanic slag of the Firepeaks in the Hordelands.
"they swap stories about fiendish lair traps and defenses like we take Instagram snaps of our last restaurant meal."
....And you, dear adventurer, are the meal on their table.
This alone makes me feel more like a White Dragon. Eat for sustinence, never mind the actual lack of pleasure in the process.
-Silver dragons: Can comfortably polymorph, but prefer to stay in their true form
-Steel dragons: Can comfortably polymorph, but prefer to stay in the form of whatever race is being imitated
-Quicksilver dragons: Often don’t even know they’re polymorphed dragons, and in the case they do its, to them, their true form
Silver Dragons also known as bro dragons
The nicest dragon you'd ever want to meet. Their regional effect of creating buoying winds to keep non-evil creatures from falling to their deaths within 1 mile of their lairs is a cool way to both introduce a silver dragon into a campaign and save a PC or group of PCs from an unlucky death. For example:
DM: "Okay, paladin, make a Strength (Athletics) check to climb the cliff"
Paladin: (rolls) Oh crap, a 1! I slip and fall, don't I?
DM: Yep. As you try to grab a handhold, it breaks in your hand, and you fall what looks to be...about a thousand feet.
Paladin: Well, guess I'm dead.
DM: (thinking) No way I'm letting someone die this early into the campaign! How to save them? Hmm...oh, I know!
Paladin: I'll roll up another...
DM: By the way, your character is some sort of good, right?
Paladin: He's neutral good, but why does that matter? He's dead anyway!
DM: As you plummet, a massive updraft suddenly starts up right where you are, slowing your fall and allowing you to land safely on the ground below without so much as a scratch.
Other PCs: What?!
DM: As you look around, you suddenly see a massive, glistening silver creature swooping overhead, and it lands on a nearby ledge. It looks down the way the paladin fell and yells out "You're welcome!" in Common in a very friendly way. What do you do now?
A silver dragon npc in my setting has a large clan of their own silver kobold descendants as attendants.
Man I keep getting reminded why I am a member. Epic every single time.
"They wise and powerful gold dragons may study history but the silver dragons live it." Great quote.
Silvers: "you can't marry her! she's your 2nd cousin!"
medieval humans: "how can you marry her? she's not even your 2nd cousin!"
You should be a 6th cousin at least to be able to marry in accordance to Ancient Rome laws.
A specific silver dragon raising, training, partnering with, losing, and mourning, generation after generation of a knightly bloodline would not be out of the question.
Local farmer: "ach no, laddie, yea've got it wrong. It's not the dragoon order of Tyrissia. It's the dragon knight, Tyrissia, and her riders in training."
For another good take on how to play a Dragon NPC, read R.A. Heinlien's "the star beast".
Silver Dragon to stupid humanoid: Do not recite the history to me mortal. I was there when it was made.
Haha, I'm imagining when the group at the table becomes relatively well known adventurers, suddenly getting a wealthy client that wants to be taken on some of the adventures every once in awhile. They think, "Oh God, a babysitting mission," but they pay really well each time. They're kind of dorky, but very friendly. Constantly using outdated lingo😂
No only do they pay well but all the adventurers were left scratching their heads when their middle aged noble client beast modes a monster in 1 hit
@@AmigoRoberto ,
Assisting outright would give away the Silver Dragon.
If a Silver Dragon is pretending to be a Noble in order to go on an adventure, they are going to keep up the ruse as long as possible. Thus such a dragon would be swinging with their now human arms, doing human amounts of damage and otherwise not showing that they are anything more then human. If there was to be any tell that something is abnormal, it would be when Mr 'I am just a noble' tanks some 30 odd damage as if it was nothing....
IT'S ABOUT DAMNED TIME! I SWEAR TO THE PLATINUM DRAGON YOU'VE DONE THIS VIDEO BEFORE
I did a combined vid for silver and gold dragons, long ago. It's good to be doing them properly now.
Silver's are my favorite of the Metallic's because they aren't so dogmatic and rigid like the Bronze and Gold Dragons. I do respect them though.
Silvers make the best Dragon Rider mounts, so loyal and trustworthy.
you think you're the rider, but the Silver knows you're just the artillery tower that protects its flanks.
I like to play the game "Guess who's the Silver Dragon". Is it the local tavern owner, one of the faculty at the local mage academy, one of the nurses in the infirmary, the town librarian, or perhaps even the kindly vagabond who always seems to help out around town and never asks for money? Or is could even be that old dog who's been following you since you got into town? Dragons...Silver Dragons..EVERYWHERE!!!!!!
Imagine a small city where every single person there is a silver dragon, but they are all perfectly disguised as humans and never reveal themselves. So that none of them realize they aren't the only silver dragon there and assume that everyone else is a genuine human.
@@animorph17 imagine attempting to siege that place.
@@animorph17 sounds more like a steel dragon Town, they can get so far into a humanoid cosplay they can forget they're dragons.
There's a rumor going around that there is a shapeshifting dragon in town.
But little do they know that...Everyone in town is a dragon. It's the whole town. Each dragon unaware that the others are also dragons. Each one thinks that they're THE dragon that people are spreading rumors about when in reality all the humans died out years ago and now its just a bunch of dragons roleplaying in a ghost town without even knowing it.
Edit: oh darn, didn't read the replies first and it turns out someone else had the exact same idea. How fitting.
ADVENTURER
There is 1 dragin among us
Silvers are so cool. Much more interesting lore than golds.
That's dragonist
Truth
I think Bronzes are the most interesting, but Silvers are a close second. Blows my mind that Golds get the spotlight most of the time.
And they look less tacky.
You meam there are more Silver Characters?
"Silver Dragons and Red Dragons hate each other" he says, showing a red and silver dragon overcoming hate.
Love the vids highlighting each of the dragon types; keep up the good work. :D
ehehe :3
Too much hate in this world right now.
Imagine a pair of silver and red dragons disguised as humanoids joining the same party, falling in love, and then finding out about their true nature.
@@Banchoking bonus points if it's the red dragon that's calm and collected sorcerer And the silver is the rampaging barbarian.
Imagine how cool it would be to have a centuries old dragon excitedly insist that you finish a story you were telling
Indeed!
Well my party is about to get a new familiar .... and I won’t reveal it’s true form for at least a year or so
This reminds me of the dragon blood sorcerer who's great grandfather was a silver dragon who constantly would visit him and act as a mentor to teach him how to control and master his draconic power.
Would silvers ever join a party as a hireling? Follow the adventurers, see the world? I think it could be a good "get out of jail card" or "plot rescue" if they get in over their heads.
I would say they could do that, perhaps as a way to infiltrate a city more successfully or a country if the party is more worldly at that time. It would only stay around if the party shared their ideals of noble behavior methinks.
Why is it that Silver Dragons remind me of the plot of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid? I mean, Tohru is clearly a chromatic dragon if I’ve ever seen one, but that aside, the parallels are remarkable.
So.
Basicaly flying weaboo lizards.
An entire subrace of humans was created by a silver dragon being found out but everyone was okay with it leading to several towns of humans with built in draconic blood lines. One of the npcs in one of the games I am playing in is an ancient silver dragon who is a master monk and trainer of the emperors personal guard. Every red dragon think they are a gangster till the silver can stunning strike you 500ft in the air.
Not many dragons will accept a path to power that is 'beneath them.'
Those Dragons who do... have Challenge Ratings in the 30's!
I was gonna make it a plot point that dragons don't typically practice martial arts, because they rarely get into direct fights with other dragons, and are already far more powerful than most species. In fact, for most dragons, they would see martial arts as beneath them, since they view it as a skill humanoids practice to make up for their lack of power. When a dragon DOES practice a martial art, it goes unnoticed even by other dragons. Why? Because anyone who would ever come to know they do practice martial arts, IS DEAD. And they like to keep it to themselves as a trump card. Therefor, even though there are SOME dragons that have self-taught a draconic martial arts, none have written any books about it, and actively refuse to teach it, going so far out of their way as to not even acknowledge its existence.
However, a dragon that takes up human disguise can learn humanoid martial arts, it's just that the skill rarely translates into the draconic form. Far more appendages to worry about, and of course the difference in power between a dragon and a humanoid makes the advantages given by martial arts a moot point. Typically, even when dragons fight other dragons, the larger one or the smarter one wins. Martial prowess has little bearing on the result, and it doesn't happen enough for them to learn much.
The only kinds of dragons that typically learn martial arts are either those that are extremely humble and understand there is some wisdom in humanoid techniques, or those that are extremely malicious and simply wish to dominate their foe in every conceivable way possible, regardless of how others may perceive it. But again, those who fight a dragon with martial skill typically don't survive...even other dragons.
@@lostbutfreesoul
And then there's the Big Kahuna of Red Dragons, chilling out in the corner.
This video is the perfect complement to the last Silver Dragon NPC I had. He was the city's sage and guild master to the Bard College. The party wondered why the super-aged bard was able to cast his magic within a field of silence. They started sh^t in that town against the advice they got as employees of an assassins' guild. Because of the Silver Dragon's mercy, years of that campaign were them being slaves who had to buy their freedom. Well, save for one. One wore the crest that the local Red Dragon gave its favored pawns. That player had to roll up a new character.
I'm adding a silver into my campaign to act as a kind of warden of northern territories. While first appearing as a master ice sorcerer of supernatural origins who occasionally curates the library of a nearby kingdom as well as collects his own. When his territory is threatened by a white dragon however, he enlists the help of the adventurers to help sniff the predator out so he can kill it.
Ah. Yes...the draconian Weeaboo that cant get enough of their human anime.
That's the best way to run them.
There are two things I always put in my campaigns: A Deck of Many Things, and (at least) one Silver Dragon. The silver dragon can be a powerful ally or a patron to the party, just have a brief cameo, or anything in between. But it has to be there!
I love this ❤️
Love these guys. Played one in a homebrew that was really young and had a wanderlust about him that caused him to join up with the group. Was fun to play a teenager that was essentially play acting until he realized there were real consequences to his actions and then he started seeking fulfillment vicariously through the other player characters.
So awesome. Silvers have always been my favorite. And now a favorite of true polymorph..
@@ninaroux8791 It was also great to act full of deep wisdom to one of the elves, despite his lack of real life experience, just because I was a century or two older than him. The guy was just happy to see the others of his group settle their own personal stories. Played him mostly chaotic good because of the stories of heroism from the shorter lived races. Like he hadn't found the lawful aspect of his own people enough because he was out there living the life of adventure and their own chaotic natures rubbed off on him. Was sad to see that group fall apart because the DM allowed people to play on the side. It saw some people get favoritism and ended when another elf became trapped in a magical mirror and said mirror was shattered by his dark reflection. None of us could react or do anything to prevent it because we weren't there...showed up and it was "sorry, game's over". Was the last straw for the rest of us and we dropped the group. I wrote in his remaining years following to say my character gathered every piece of the mirror down to the most infinitesimal piece. His own life was affected by a void sickness because he attacked and killed an avatar of the void (basically in this game it was something like a god made of the stuff from the negative energy plane) in a previous session. Through magics he learned to hold off the worst of the effects until he became ancient and still hadn't figured out how to bring his friend back. Eventually when he left the realm to join the big dragon in the sky...not sure now where I read it, probably in the council of wyrms boxed set. Said something about them leaving the material plane. But he detoured into my Greyhawk campaign and found my old mage character who managed to save the elf trapped in the mirror but was so old and infected that he had to undergo a magical stasis. So there he waits until the man he saved can somehow come to terms with his own loss and dissociation enough to fix my character. Sadly he is encased in something effectively like a snow globe on the elf's research desk until then.
An example of how to introduce a silver dragon into your campaign.
DM: "Okay, make a Strength (Athletics) check to climb the cliff."
Paladin Player: (rolls dice) "Crap. A 1."
DM: (thinking) "Oh no, I can't let them die like this!"
Paladin Player: Guess I should roll up a new character. No way they'll survive that fall.
DM: Your character is lawful good, right?
Paladin Player: Yeah.
DM: As you plummet to what seems to be a grisly end, a MASSIVE updraft suddenly starts blowing directly under you, slowing your fall to the point where you land safe and unharmed on the ground a thousand feet below!
Paladin Player: Yay?
DM: As the rest of you look around to see what happened, you spot a silver dragon on a nearby peak. It waves in a friendly manner and flies toward you. What do you do?
Fistbump that total bro!
Try to befriend it.
I have an ancient silver dragon npc in my campaign called Jalan. He briefly appeared to help the players retake a floating castle from a powerful lich and has since gone off to research a sword that they found and check on his treasure hoards because he's been in stasis for about a thousand years. It surprised everyone when I had him suddenly turn into a silver dragon in combat. The next time they see him I plan on him having a multi-level structure made of ice rings up in the clouds where he has moved all of his treasures to, finding that adventurers have stolen from the lairs he once maintained in the past. Several silver dragons will be flying around this place, coming and going as they please. Trying to think of a name for the place.
The Aery comes to mind, or some derivetive of. Regardless sounds fun.
"Argent-" is the common prefix for silver-related terms in hermetic alchemy.
@@johncaccioppo1142 I wonder what that says about Argentina.
@@genostellar Sebastian Cabot's exploration between 1526 and 1529 is widely credited to have inspired such name due to his obtaining and collecting a variety of silver objects from the Guaraní tribes along the Paraguay river. According to Wikipedia.
@@johncaccioppo1142 That's interesting to know. Thanks for looking that up.
When I see the opening picture of AJ the scribe, I think of "gloves of sribbling, so heavily enchanted that they counteract the fact that you're wearing gloves to draw"
Silver dragons have always been my favorite metallic dragon. Thank you.
Now it makes sense that Bahamut would be a Purer form of Silver.
Would be super awesome to be friends with a silver dragon and not know it but then the day comes where they trust you to the extent that they reveal this secret to you and seek out your children and grandchildren to be friends with because they cherished your friendship so deeply.
Thanks to you original videos of dragons I have been looking into dragons aggressively and didn't learn anything new but dam you make good videos and this was done better than the first one. I love it.
Never forget that silver dragons canonically have killed more red dragons than visa versa.
Because Red dragons shoot first. But silvers figured out how to dodge.
@@AJPickett true. But also because silver dragons can and do call for help. The red dragon may think its attacking a lone silver dragon right before granpappy and granma plus clan arrives.
Silver dragons also stay more active than red dragons and learn from humanoid friends, it isn't too uncommon for silver dragons to have class levels giving them even more of an edge.
I'm surprised you didn't make this sooner, these are some of the best NPCs in the game.
And just like that the retired Druid adventurer in my campaign is now a silver dragon.
A cool scenario for a “one on one” session or campaign, would be for the player character to unknowingly befriend a silver dragon "much in the way of gandalf", and be somewhat of a guiding Force to have them sent on adventures. Only to find out in the end there true nature, hell maybe some of the other adventuring party they are with are also dragons. I think it'd be a neat little adventure. 😉
I dare say the most useful dragon for a DM to have as an NPC in your party's sphere of influence.
While True.
Has it been done so often now that it is a trope?
Gotta admit this video is great especially since my first character in DnD got changed into a half silver followed that it became a full fledged silver.
My favorite concept in fantasy is the living history long-lived beings like elves and dragons embody. It's very melancholy, though, and this video got that idea across well.
Thanks :)
I mentioned my Paladin in another video. I. Hoping to find my Grandfather, who's a silver dragon.
Maybe some day. I'll update this if I do haha
Well, I know what “superpower” I would wish for: the ability to polymorph like the Silvers do! Imagine... the world’s most frightening kitten! Terror Kitteh!
If you just want to become animals, you could just do that with druid wildshape.
In all honesty a young silver dragon might actually use the form of a cat to study humans before it is ready to imitate them.
Most Polymorph abilities have you taking on the physical characteristics of the creature you morph into.
A quick look at 5th edition has this line:
In a new form, the Dragon retains its Alignment, Hit Points, Hit Dice, ability to speak, Proficiencies, Legendary Resistance, Lair Actions, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores, as well as this action. *Its Statistics and capabilities are otherwise replaced by those of the new form,* except any Class Features or legendary Actions of that form.
While such a dragon-kitten has permission to retain it's hit-dice, so good luck killing that kitty, it isn't going to swat at you with any more physical force then that of a kitten. This means, unless your a level 1 commoner from previous editions, there is not that much to worry about. Hell, with the line I just quoted it could be possible to argue that the Dragon loses the ability to cast spells in this new form, unless said form also has the capability to cast spells built into it.
In conclusion, a kitty-dragon is an enemy you can walk away from as it tries to gnaw at your ankles....
Added for previous editions:
This is where it actually becomes a little harder because all these abilities cross-reference each other. Change Self on a dragon goes on to state: "As if using polymorph." Polymoprh itself goes on to state: "This spell functions like alter self.' And it is only within Alter Self do we come across the line: *"You keep all extraordinary special attacks and qualities derived from class levels, but you lose any from your normal form that are not derived from class levels."*
Thus, through this a chain of cross-referencing, a 3rd edition Dragon loses the ability to carry out a Wing-Attack in this new wingless form.
Ware can i find hot local silver dragons in my area
www.canttouchthis.crom
Now I want someone to pose as a Silver Dragon, to design & post their best traps as a social site profile -
By far my favorite of the metallics, just something about them being whimsical vigilantes that just want to live in peace but cant cuz they are always with adventuring friends.
Thank you for this video, currently writing a silver dragon into my campaign and this has stirred up the the creative brain soup.
Since silver dragons are peerless when it comes to polymorphing, do they ever assume the form of a humanoid creature with an inborn ability to glide or fly? Example: avarials or dragonborn with wings. I ask because I'm curious if they choose such a form as an excuse to indulge their love of flying without giving away that they're silver dragons?
Sure, why not? If you think an idea is cool, you don't need it to be "Canon" to put it in your game.
I've never played DND before but I plan to. Once I know enough I want to dm and make a world loosely run by the dragons. Where dragons own territories and civilizations within those territories are under their rule and determine the official alignment of said territory by leading dragon. And a council of dragons who discuss world and local issues. And for the players maybe they one day encounter a beautiful elf with silver hair, icy blue eyes and a very friendly but wise demeanor. As time goes on, and the players possibly making friends with them, the elf reveals themself as a young silver dragon
Sounds like a plan :) I recommend just starting a game and learning as you go, it really is the quickest way to get good.
@@AJPickett Thanks! I def wanna play a campaign or two before I even try dming. Just some notes for the future lol
@@alphalunablue8918 if you’re still looking for a group I may have a slot opening up soon.
I’m trying to sleep and failing
teach me but I will have you're scales if you betray me.
You know what would be interesting? A human who fell in love with a dragon, looking to become immortal (or at least very long-lived) so they can live their days with their dragon hubby/wifey.
I mean, you're a human in love with a polymorphed monster, that is not their natural form, so, its going to be a very weird relationship.
@@AJPickett Humans are very weird creatures. If something exists, there is probably a human somewhere that wants to have a relationship with it.
@@Krishnath.Dragon ^ Rule 34 I believe?
@@davethescrub858 That is an expression of it, yes.
Admittedly, I honestly wouldn't mind having a dragon as a wife as long as they're not one of the evil ones.....
I find it amusing thinking that we are to silver dragons as dogs are to us.
Biggest thing that got me loving silver dragons was The Legend of Huma. My favorite Dragonlance book
Gwyneth the Silver Maiden.
Legend of huma by s band called dungeon.couple others do songs about raistlin the soulforged by blind guardian. Caramons poem by pyramaze.
My favorite dragon! Thanks AJ!
Hey, caught it still warm off the grill!
This was a way to start my day, as I have a silver dragon npc who is a cleric and is currently posing as a farmer.
Enjoying the remaster series AJ
AJ's a silver in disguise! Wise old sage, good relationship with it's people, it all fits. At least a couple of millennia old is my guess.
I just wanna say that, I sincerely believe most people (unless they have a specific reason to hate or distrust dragons) would, at the very least, be in awe that such a being has been their friend for potentially years.
"I'm so sorry, dear friend, for i have deceived thee. i am....a silver dragon. i hope that this revelation of my true nature does not tarnish our bond."
"bruh, THAT'S COOL AS HELL! I HAVE A DRAGON FOR A BFF!?"
Seriously, though, how could such a wise being think we'd have any problem with it? ijs
(edit: bad phrasing typo fixed)
I think they would think that we could have a problem with it for 2 reasons:
#1: When first introducing themselves to someone, they wouldn't necessarily know if that specific person has a fear of dragons or not (hence the deception). So, the dragon gets to know them first and see how they would react to the reveal.
#2: What if the person they befriended turns out to REALLY hate being deceived despite them actually not minding or even liking dragons. So, if they found out, it could hamper and ultimately change their relationship. The Silver might want their human friend to treat them the same as they always have, but they don't/can't because of this knowledge.
@@Breagle friend, you merely repeated exactly what I said. "unless they had a specific reason to hate or distrust" was literally my own words. And my post already addresses that it would have already been keeping the secret for, as I said "potentially years." But thank you for re-iterating my case.
@@AngelusAnsell I know. I just wanted to reiterate and expand on what you said adding some of my own thoughts on the matter.
So if silver dragons are basically humanity-weebs,
then steel dragons are are the guys and gal's that get a work visa to live and become english teachers in japan.
Song dragons 🧙🏼♂️
And quicksilver dragons are smelly otakus with drizzt do'urden dakimakura body pillows
😂
Best dragon
Signature timing as always, Aj. Absolutely glorious video to listen to while I drive home.
They also make great mentors & patrons for young adventures, though usually in disquise. A source of quests & advice.
Capitalize that P, my dude, the dragons are gonna be added to Warlocks someday 😂
Huma didn't take the revelation well but atleast they died together.
He is just not knowing how to talk with a woman right. Because... well...
Huma: My heart belongs to another woman! (he met no any woman besides his dragon and Takhisis through the novel).
Also Huma: poor Gwyneth, is she feeling cold?
In War&Steel, btw, she survived.
I was thinking about a concept for a silver dragon to have him/her being a father/mother type figure. (similar to whitebeard for one piece)
You see the dragon with a group of humanoids and refers all of them as their family and has been taking care of them for many years and would protect his/her family to even its death
I actually made a few updates of this concept by giving him a wife, (a human wife) his own patch of land that he peacefully rules over, (from a small village, a large lush forest, to an entire mountain range) and I would give one of my players to be the adopted child of the silver dragon dad.
If one were to play as a silver, would a young dragon still learning human society work? A full grown dragon just seem too op to even try to convince a DM.
Better off as a younger Steel Dragon. Better polymorph.
@@TheKing-qz9wd ,
Do they still have the better polymorph in 5th edition?
I highly recommend picking up a copy of the 3.5 edition of the Draconomonomonicon.
While it might not translate as well into 5th edition, it will show your storyteller how previous editions attempted this.
@@lostbutfreesoul "dracoNOMNOMNOMicon." Heheheheheheheh.
Check out the old 2nd edition suppliment "Council of Wyrms" if you can find a copy. IIRC hatchling dragon PC's were the equivalent of lvl 6 (white) to lvl 10 (gold) characters, but I can't for the life of me remember the formula for calculating your Effective Level.
Say AJ, the way you described silver dragons in this video sort of reminds me of a webcomic called Dragon Mango, which involves dragons that are similar to silver dragons. I’d recommend it, as it’s an interesting read that still receives updates to this day.
Do you have link to the webcomic?
Thanks for Dragon us along for the flight. Another great video
14:43 I dont think those Dragons are fighting to the death...I think they are getting along really, really well.
Silver dragons were designed to be the player characters’ best friends
haven't gotten to use of these guys in my games yet, but look like a lot of fun, be a fun quest giver or even a recurring friendly traveling merchant along the roads perhaps with a band of companions, musicians or guards but also close friends to the silver dragon.
Hoping you have enough information to do a revisit of of the shadow dragon. Null's brood are still one of my favorite dragons.
Thank you so for these as they take me back to when I could play the game, a true joy for me. The sliver always makes me recalling playing Dragonlance long ago. What would a corrupted silver dragon be like, say if touched by Tharizdun?
They would make an excellent force of destruction, perhaps they take up the worship of the god Talos, bringing storms with them.
Did you make this just for me? Thank you either way!
Love the Fortress of Solitude reference.
Lore of this caliber sounds like history, not fantasy...
Dam fool DM of a group I was in once gave us Dragonlances and silver dragons, and with those guys, it pretty much destroyed the campaign and put back silver dragon and human relations by centuries.
Sure it's not the resident murder hobos in that group? Given the lore of Silver Dragons, it seems as though they kept killing potential quest givers, which I've had a few that were Silver Dragons.
i had to come back to find this
because my tiefling scorcerers backstory was married
and one of her lovers was a silver dragon
long story short rolled a few dice and my character is married to a silver dragon
useing auto character creators and randomizers can be fun.
if my characters back story was describable as a dice roll nat20 with a total of 35
this video came very much in handy
I'm playing through my first DND campaign, and for my character's backstory I decided to let them have a third parent/uncle that's a silver dragon who is currently presumed dead but may also be alive. On the other side of the scale though, we have a silver dragon egg sitting in a cooler we made, and a freshly hatched red wyrmling we confiscated from egg smugglers (~3 days immature due to stress). Chaos will ensue, but moreso if that silver dragon is alive.
Amazing late night surprise
I'm thinking of that naked Dragonborn silver Dragonborn and learning about silver dragons
Been planning on adding a Silver to my urban setting, who just returned a couple years ago from wandering the seas. First clue to the dragon's existence; couple of half-dragons living in Uptown (as in UP-town, floating around the mountains)
7:27 I did not know that silver dragons live in the fortress of solitude 😂
My favorite dragon! Well second favorite really. But awesome! Thank you AJ! Keep up the great content
This was an excellent video. I hope that the chromatics are as interesting as the mettalics!
Hold my Mead.
I hope AJ Pickett go into details about something difficult to locate information on:
How Green Dragons form Colonies.
For those who don't know:
It is actually a side-effect of what the Green Dragon truly craves - Reputation.
While Green dragons despise other Green Dragons above all else, they have a far more complex process used to determine just whom is the better dragon. This process can take decades, even centuries, in which the two parties begin to scheme against each other through the use of 'cat-paws.' The dragon whom manages to out-think their opponent gains a massive reputation boost, as they gloat about how they didn't even have to get their own claws dirty while killing a powerful foe.
So how does this relate to colonies?
Well - the most reputable cat-paw for a green dragon to wield is... another Green Dragon!
Thus; a powerful Green Dragons may allow less reputable green dragons to set up in their forest, with the intention of using them as tools against a much more reputable enemy. They will never trust these subordinates, as they know very well that all subordinates have plans to back-stab them sooner then later. The more powerful Green Dragon is simply gambling that the subordinates plan will either fail outright, or will take so long that it can be dealt with after the more pressing enemy is defeated.
Ah, the game Green Dragons play with each other!
PS:
At least these colonies tend to collapse after a generation at most, for all that internal scheming would doom any organization. Just imagine what would happen if a dozen Green Dragons put aside their little game and focused on taking over the world... together. We should be thankful they are far to focused on being able to claim all the glory for themselves.
Added as a source:
*A clear pecking order, based on age and status but with no formal hierarchy, develops among green dragons within a given area.
Green dragons know each other too well to depend on any formal social structure*
- Draconominomicon, 3.5th edition
*If the pair is about the same age, they divide their shared territory between them. (Such agreements usually last at least a few decades before the former mates seek ways to encroach on each other’s turf.)*
- Draconominomicon, 3.5th edition
Oh, Silvers.
My favorite since I was too young to remember my age rightly, and I played a funny NES game called Dragonstrike, by TSR.
And everything I've learned of them since then has only made me love them more
Another superb bit of lore! Thanks again and always AJ.
If I was a Silver, I would rarely shapeshift. I mean you are A FREAKING DRAGON, meaning you are:
-Powerful;
-Huge
-Wise
-Intimidating
-Talented.
They carried over literally almost all traits, including their power and enhanced durability, into their humanoid form. Granted they weren't as big, but that was a good thing for the silver dragons, as they considered their true dragon forms to be clumsy at times, the only re downside was that, although depending on what they turned into, most silver dragons couldn't fly while in humanoid form.
I imagine the appeal to a silver dragon is getting to see everything from a human perspective. To call them the most HUMAN dragons wouldn't be a stretch.
Because it's easier to make a lovely sofa for a human than a dragon and don't get me started on hot tubs that's why Homan forms are necessary
Sounds like you're more like a chromatic dragon (though not necessarily evil aligned)
Efficiency of space you know
I’ve always enjoyed the concept of silver dragons ever since I was little reading Dragonlance. I love the idea of a silver dragon party member like Silvera. Would it be possible to play a character that is a silver dragon at heart but stuck somehow in human form for the duration of the campaign?? I was thinking a paladin that has the heart of a silver dragon stuck in the confines of a human body?
Maybe your player character was polymorphed by an wizard and the spell is slowly wearing off
YES! Silver scaley bois!
Really dragon types to you always hang out with humans steel silver and song dragons the only ones like to hang out with us I think
Yay!
*SPOILERS FOR CURSE OF STRAHD*
I find it weird that Strahd (who can be beaten by level 10s) could defeat Arganvast, an Adult Silver Dragon. You'd think one of the strongest classes of Dragon would make mincemeat of a Vampire who level 10s can defeat (with prep and the right items).
Silver is often associated with purity, so I’m surprised and disappointed that none of that association found its way into the lore of silver dragons.
It did in that they are the most pure of heart, AJ just prefers to use the term 'noble' despite that words negative connotations.
Noble, ethical, moral... seemed pretty clear to me. There are evil metallic dragons though, all sapient beings have the capacity for good and evil.
Ok so longer question for you Professor that does require a little backstory.
Teir 3 adventurers, that I've asked you about before, want a magic item. Me as the DM with my "infinite wisdom" told them they needed material components and monster parts to properly construct the item they want.
One of the parts is a red dragon heart. So they sought out a powerful ancient silver dragon I have dubbed *The Silver Queen* to ask for advice on how to deal with an angry female red dragon who just laid eggs. As luck would have it we ended our last session with the characters about to be granted audience with the Queen, again, to seek advice on slaying an adult red dragon. If you were running next weeks session, what advice would you give these adventurers? Thank you so much Professor.
P.s. if anyone other than AJ has a suggestion I would be happy to read that as well.
Based on the Vid, I'm not sure the silver would be QUICK to help the adventurers directly, especially if she's an ancient and is jaded. If the dragon is bothering humans, she will likely point to a silver dragon in their area who is young and not strong enough to fight the red dragon alone. (If she has a brood, it sounds like the red's been here a while, which means we have to explain why no good dragons have come to oppose her.) She will want to ask questions of the adventurers such as what they need the item for.
As for the red dragon, if your players are fighting the mother make sure you make it a TOUGH fight so they have a lot to be prepared for. I'm talking a heavily trapped dungeon, lava everywhere, and for the love of Ao give the dragon an escape tunnel to fly away. If you play a dragon correctly they should be much harder than their 5e CR. If the player's are clever they could also wait or the eggs to hatch, kill a wyrmling, and potentially use the heart from that in their ritual. (potentially making a less powerful magic item. They'd also piss off the silvers by abandoning a quest.)
So your audience should go like this:
1. "For what do you seek my assistance, mortals? The heart of a red dragon? I have friends who helped me slay dragons for many reasons, but my greedy ones typically prefer the gold to the corpse. If they only knew what a dragon's hide adds to its wealth. For what purpose would you embark on such a quest?"
2. (If the party is forthcoming about stories, the dragon becomes more interested, and more likely to lend them boons.) "Fascinating, truly splendid. I had heard tales of your exploits (mention old quests, they're experienced adventurers) from my informants, but the heart of a dragon is perhaps too much even for men and women of your caliber. I cannot join you on your quest, My station prevents me from engaging in hobbies. But my kin in the area would be more than happy to assist you. Go to (NPC) in the city of (City), Tell him you've brought a gift from his mother, and in exchange for your service he/she will aid you in your endeavor. (She doesn't give them anything to bring the young dragon, except maybe a letter. the adventurers are the gift.)
3. Now you have a quest-giver in the form of an adolescent silver dragon, who will actually give the players the advice and work with them directly. Silvers need help to kill reds, so that's your quest.
4. Red dragon lairs might have weaknesses in the lava flows and Kobold worship-tunnel networks (very trapped). Classic strategies the silver can give your players include poisons, magic weapons, trapping the dragon's escape tunnel, Killing her cultists, and stealing a single goblet from the dragon's horde so she comes to take it back herself. The silver is likely to participate as an ally in the boss fight, so make sure you factor that into the encounter.
Oh I know that one you give her the Bard so she can make him pay .
@@xcelentei *bowing and chanting in draconic*
"I am not worthy!"
That was so inspiring. Thank you sincerely for your response. I'm going to be taking a few of these points verbatim into my notes. You seemed to nail a few of my story beats effectively while not having much info and I'm so impressed.
Hold on.
*grabs drink and raises glass*
You are awesome.
@@xcelentei since you wrote me a book I feel I should give you a bit more of the story friend. Gather round the fire and let me tell you of Nabooru of the Dancing Inferno, champion fighter and bard of whispers.
She spent much of her early adventuring career with 2 comrades, Beowulf the vengeance paladin and Akaru the samurai weeb enchantment wizard (I love him but he deserves to be called out). Together they solved mysteries like scooby doo, made enemies of the nobles in Baulders Gate nearly killing one, made friends with Mirt the money lender to go undercover and retrieve an escaped war crimanal, slew a bone naga within the serpent hills controlling a yuan-ti army and defeated a sleeper cell of red wizards within waterdeep attempting to assassinate Laurel Silverhand.
Meanwhile throughout all of this Nabooru, a fire genasi, has been receiving dreams and omens beckoning her to the Plane of Fire. Now she had an upbringing with your classic adventurer background. Real sad and real mysterious. Mom died. Raised by gypsies. Sold to slaves. Escaped to the wilds. Etc.
So an arc she has been playing through this character is finding out who she is and her place in the cosmos.
This quest is entirely for personal reasons. Red dragons are pretty rare in my version of Faerun so they are going WAY out to find this one they've scryed on. All the players are absolutely committed to helping her though so I've not recourse but to arrange an epic climactic battle amid the lava fields and volcanic slag of the Firepeaks in the Hordelands.
Here wuz Seamus.
Welcome back :)
@AjPickett thank you for inspiring a character of mine.
Good information
I can’t wait to use one again in my campaign