Dragon's Blood

Editors note: Seldom do we at The Dragon — and you who read
TD — have an opportunity to get “both sides” of a story in the same
issue of the magazine. Normally, you’ll read one author’s version of
a game variant or the like, and perhaps as much as several months
later another author will submit an article to us which refutes or
refines the points raised in article number one. By that time, article
number one is lost in the dim recesses of our (and your) memories.
But not this time. Article number one and article number two are
right here, one after the other. Together (and in conjunction with the
descriptive essay on Sigurd Fafnirsbane which also appears in this
issue), they comprise the definitive treatise on the subject of gaining
magical benefits from dragon’s blood.
When Robert Plamondon submitted his piece on bathing in the
blood of a dragon, we perceived it as a fitting companion to Tom
Moldvay’s description of Sigurd Fafnirsbane, and planned to publish both articles in the same issue.
Then we looked more closely. Were Moldvay’s Sigurd and Plamondon’s Siegfried the same “person”? Were they both working
from the “facts” of the same myth? There was enough dissimilarity
between the two articles that we sought the advice of Mr. Moldvay.
Besides being the foremost authority in these parts on ancient myths
and the heroes therefrom, Tom is eminently accessible to us since he
works in the design department at TSR Hobbies, Inc.
So, we asked him to clarify the differences between his and
Robert’s descriptions and to provide us with a few additional observations, based upon his reaction to a reading of Robert’s manuscript.
His comments are meant to embellish, rather than detract from, the
variant which Robert drew up. We hope you enjoy both articles, and
now we’ll sit back and wait for article number three...)

DRAGON’S BLOOD: ONE INTERPRETATION

Robert Plamondon

Siegfried, hero of Teutonic and Norse myth, slew the great
dragon Fafnir and bathed in its blood. The dragon’s blood hardened
his skin to the point that no weapon could pierce it—except where a
linden leaf stuck between his shoulder blades during the bath and
kept the blood away.
If skin hardening turned out to be a general property of dragon’s
blood, new relief could be in sight for those many sufferers who feel
naked and miserable in their flimsy +4 field plate.
For my own campaign I have formulated some rules for gaining
the benefits of, dragon’s blood which are directly applicable to
AD&D, and which will fit other fantasy role-playing games as well
with modification.
The armor class benefit is determined at the rate of one step up in
armor class for every ten dragon hit points, dropping all fractions.
Successive applications (from different dragons) are cumulative up
to armor class zero; the only way to beat AC 0 is to slay either Tiamat
or Bahamut, giving armor classes of -2 and -6, respectively.
Armor may be used normally with toughened skin for increased
protection. The formula for combined armor and armored skin is
AC=AC of armor +AC of skin - 10. Thus, someone with AC 9 skin
and AC 8 leather armor would have a total armor class of AC 7.
There are, of course, some difficulties involved with skinnydipping in dragon’s blood. First off, the magical properties of dragon’s
blood dissipate within an hour in any event. This, means that once
the beast is safely dead, the attackers must frantically tear off their
armor and clothes. A person in chainmail can probably fight his way
out of his gear in fifteen minutes, but people in plate can forget it if
they don’t have some helpers.
Next, the dragon has to be dead. The magical nature of the
dragon is transferred to its blood only as it dies; siphoning three
quarts from a live dragon gains you nothing.
The dragon must be slain with an edged weapon in order to open
the wound that drains the lifeblood (arrows are edged weapons). No

benefit can be gained from the lifeblood of a dragon killed in any
other manner. Initial damage can be inflicted by any means except
heat, cold, and electricity-based magic, which damage the lifeblood
and ruin it for this purpose; but if the fatal blow is from something
other than an edged weapon, forget it. Poison will, of course, poison
the lifeblood, ruining it and killing the bather if he fails to save against
poison.
Only a single person can gain armor class benefit from a dragon’s
lifeblood. If more than one person wallows in the dragon’s blood the
Dungeon Master should determine who benefits (by rolling dice or
by any other arbitrary method), perhaps with a chance that no one
wins.
The protection of the dragon’s blood is permanent, and does not
change the color or texture of the beneficiary’s skin; nor does it
interfere with dexterity-related actions such as picking pockets or
casting Illusionist spells. A Detect Magic spell will reveal that there is
something magic about the person’s skin, but the nature of the magic
is not obvious until divinatory spells are cast or someone sees the
weapons bounce off someone else’s hide.
on
The toughening of the skin only protects against attacks that rely
skin breakage; thus, no help is gained against fireballs, but saving
throws vs. poison needles would be improved; + 1 on
for each + 1 on armor class from the dragon’s blood.
saving throws
The DM may opt to give the bather a chance of missing a spot,
leaving a small patch of AC 10 skin. The patch would be located
where the bather couldn’t see it; on his back, neck, etc. No weapon
would hit this spot in normal melee unless you normally use hit
location tables; it’s too much trouble to keep track of. Assassination
attempts, however, would have a good chance of suceeding if the
assassin knew of the weak spot; this is how both Achilles and Siegfried died.

...AND ANOTHER

Tom Moldvay

Siegfried and Sigurd are, indeed, one and the same. Sigurd is the
hero’s name in Norse mythology; Siegfried is the hero’s name in
German mythology. The Norse myth version was collected at an
earlier historical date and is more “primitive,” i.e. closer to the root
myth. The German version was collected later and the myth has
been mixed with medieval romantic elements.
The invulnerability conferred by dragon’s blood is a later addition to the myth which is not part of the root myth, as far as I can
determine. I suspect that the invulnerability reflects late medieval/
early Renaissance preoccupation with newly discovered classical
myths. It seems very similar to the invulnerability conferred upon
Achilles.
Sigurd did not bathe in dragon’s blood. He accidently sucked on
a blood-covered finger and in so doing, received the gift of speaking
with animals (especially birds). This particular theme is widespread
among northern myths. Several Irish heroes, such as Cuchulainn,
also received the gift of speaking to animals— by sucking on a burnt
finger covered with the heart’s blood of an enchanted monster.
Regarding bathing in dragon’s blood to better an armor class: I
have run numerous high-level adventures and have found that
armor class is a problem. Too many high-level characters already
have incredible armor classes, achieved by combining high Dexterity scores with magical armor and shield. Robert’s system is, in my
opinion, more workable if armored skin and armor were not compatible; that is, if only the better armor class (of skin vs. armor) were
applied to the character.
In addition, since armored skin appears to be magical in nature, I
would apply the following additional restrictions: 1) The blood must
be the dragon’s heart blood, and 2) Only the individual who delivered the killing blow is eligible to have his or her skin toughened.