Dragons: how do they carry treasure?

[taliesin15]

It occurs to me that Dragons that cannot polymorph might have trouble carrying treasure back to their lairs. I cannot for the life of me imagine Dragons hauling backpacks worth of gold etc in their giant claws or from their teeth. I've thought of several possibilities and a friend suggests a further one (the latter):

1. They charm and/or intimidate and/or trick humanoids or others into hauling it for them (and possibly eat them when done).

2. They carry loads of gold, silver and other coins and small gems etc. in their mouths or other orifices. This seems highly unlikely in the case or Red Dragons since things might melt in their fiery maws.

3. Dragons' scales are prehensile, and after they knock off the dwarf caravan carrying gold coins (or whatever the score is), they roll around in the coins like a cat on catnip and can effectively grip all the coins, small gems, etc. Since almost all Dragons are greedy by nature, one might argue that this was simply a natural part of their evolution.

I'm open to other suggestions; I doubt that most Dragons acquire their wealth the way Smaug did, that is landing on a treasure vault and staying there.

 

[Boarstorm]

4) They haul the treasure, and the cart it was laden on, in their claws.

5) Dragon Hunters are great. The treasure comes to them!

 

[jdrakeh]

Well, the original dragon with a treasure hoard was Fafnir, who served as the model for Smaug and, subsequently, D&D dragons. But he wasn't always a dragon. He started off life as a humanoid (a dwarf or giant, depending upon the body of folklore that you read) who collaborated with his brother to kill their father (the king) and steal his cursed treasure trove.

After the brother killed their father, Fafnir killed his brother to have all of the treasure to himself, and then transformed into a dragon (a curse of greed or a deliberate choice made to better guard the treasure, depending upon the folkore). Thus, the dragon upon which D&D dragons are modeled via Smaug already had his treasure, and didn't transport any of it.

While that doesn't answer your question directly, it does provide some interesting story hooks atypical of D&D, all ripe for plundering

[Note: The curse followed the treasure, not the dragon and even succeeded in corrupting the father of the dragon's slayer.]

 

[taliesin15]

oops, yeah, hauling carts with their claws, actually that was one idea I thought of. Hauling tiny bags and backpacks seems oh so silly.

Not sure I get your reference to Dragon Hunters--are you talking about Dragons hunting out treasure vaults, or is that yet another silly new character class I haven't any idea about?

 

[jdrakeh]

Not sure I get your reference to Dragon Hunters--are you talking about Dragons hunting out treasure vaults, or is that yet another silly new character class I haven't any idea about?

I think he means that heroes who hunt dragons down usually die horribly, along with any loot that they carry, thus adding to the dragon's hoard.

 

[Boarstorm]

Nah, dragon hunters as in... those who hunt dragons. They gear up, grab a team and raid the dragons lair. After their inevitable death, the dragon gets a meal and a bunch of magic items and such to add to his pile.

Edit: Err... yeah, what jdrakeh said.

 

[taliesin15]

jdrakeh:
yes, I do know of Fafnir, and isn't it interesting that Tolkien uses that same motif for Gollum and his brother over treasure that is essentially cursed? I suppose one could also get into the legend of St. George or Spenser's Faerie Queene (in which the Dragon represents overwhelming Ego, or the Sin of Pride). That said, according to the MM, Dragons lay eggs everywhere, and surely the ones that survive must get their treasure somehow.

 

[taliesin15]

Boarstorm:
Oh, ok, good. Yeah, that makes sense (since I don't acquire things like PH2 and such I never know what weird new class is out there)--the same is true, surely, of other powerful intelligent monsters such as liches, beholders and mind flayers.

So far, I'm not really noticing any new ideas on how Dragons carry treasure. Does anyone else like the "prehensile scales" idea? I tend to like that one. Carry coins in their mouths just seems so stupid.

 

[Klaus]

My vote goes for the cart option. If the dragon is on the smaller side (Large), it can fill sacks or saddlebags (from slain victims, of course), sling 'em over the shoulder and fly.

 

[Boarstorm]

I do seem to recall reading somewhere (many, many years ago) that one of the dragon types could "puff out" their scales in much the way a bird puffs out its feathers to add the appearance of body mass, and that they could store small items (coins, rings, etc) in their hide by holding their scales taught against their body, effectively pinning them between the scales.

But I'm not sure how exactly that would work out logically. It kind-of seems like trying to hold a coin with chopsticks. Sure, it works for a bit. But the slightest jarring will send that coin tumbling.

That said, dragons are certainly intelligent enough to use tools. I could see one crafting a "pack saddle" for themselves for when they anticipate moving large amounts of goods, or keeping an empty cart around to use like we would use a wheelbarrow.