2 thoughts on “This week’s D&D to Dungeon World conversion is the Crystal Dragon from Monster Manual 2!”

  2. TLDR: Nice write up … and I think ‘Raise white dragon wymlings’ makes a better instinct.

    Once again, a good write up, and, once again, we have differing views over the Monster’s instinct 😉

    There seem to be three things that could be the basis for the instinct:

    – Seek interesting conversation

    – Avoid the unfriendly and the uninteresting

    – Raise White Dragon Wyrmlings

    I’m not sure “Act willfully” really summarizes these.  Also, the drive to Raise White Dragon Wyrmlings seems to have got lost in the process. 

    Is the Diamond Dragon a keen conversationalist?

    Is it primarily reclusive?

    Or is its main focus raising White Dragon Wyrmlings?

    The first two are covered beautifully by the ‘Peacefully converse with worthy guests’ and ‘Presence revealed only to the doomed and worthy’ moves.

    What happens, then, if we trust those moves to cover those two aspects and and use ‘Raise White Dragon Wyrmlings’ as the Diamond Dragon’s instinct?

    A: We get a monster who steals and attempts to ‘tame’ powerful, contrary and most likely noisy white dragon wyrmlings (often attracting the ire of the parent White Dragon), while being reclusive themselves but prone to taking time to talk with worthy and interesting people.

    Adventurers who encounter a Diamond Dragon’s territory, however, are unlikely to realize this is what’s going on.  Instead they’re more likely, at first, to just see signs of White Dragon wyrmlings plus possibly an angry adult, and not know there is an overseeing Diamond Dragon about.  

    This sounds, to me, like an ideal set up for playing to see what happens – especially as the instinct to raise the wyrmlings means that, while the Diamond Dragon will ignore attacks on the angry adult White Dragon, it will step in if the party attacks any of the wyrmlings.

    The instinct of ‘Raise white dragon wyrmlings’ gives the Diamond Dragon a clear purpose and provides material for some rich gaming = sounds ideal to me 🙂

    p.s. Well done writing this with a serious headache!

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