d100 - Uses for a (Dead) Dragon

Deserving of their own century of entries (after this table), these marvelous Monsters hold pride of place in the very triumvirate title of the game (sharing it with Dungeons and the dreadful Ampersands). In addition to their often quite generous hoards, it seems that players always seem to gravitate towards eking every potential use out of their remains. Perhaps it’s their Inherently Magical Nature that inspires this, or mythological traditions such as Sigurd inadvertently gaining the Language of Birds whilst roasting Fafnir’s Heart in the Völsunga saga. Whatever the underlying reason, in addition to stuffing their empty sacks with all that glitters, I’m often ghoulishly quizzed on “What parts can we use, and what can they be used for?”

Naturally, not every Dragon is anatomically identical, so some of these bits may not be present. If in doubt, I’d leave it largely up to chance really (perhaps roll within 20 on a d100?). There is also always the possibility that crucial portions may have been damaged or destroyed during the battle, because players are not wont to specify that they are pulling particular punches, but should they have this foresight, I’d generously increase the chances. If amounts are called into question for the pieces that aren’t inherently singular, then I tend to lean on the Dragon’s HD as a decent gauge for this.

Even after gentle admonitions concerning how painstakingly slow this process might be (be sure to keep those Random Encounter dice handy and track other Resources as well) attempts at dressing their prize will often still commence.

Most of these entries are intrinsically tied to Magic Item Manufacture, which is how I’ve generally handled them (defraying a percentage of Cost or reducing Time), but a few are quite powerful single-use rewards indeed if directly consumed. Not all of these uses may be Common Knowledge to the average Adventurer (seek Sages or other Answers, knowledge is power in these games after all). If the risk associated with the battle wasn’t sufficiently steep enough for your tastes, I suppose one could always require a Saving Throw of some sort for those who deign to dine on Dragons. I do find that rather than outright death, inverting the boon is sometimes almost more attractive, but of course there’s also always my Terrible Toxins & Vile Venoms table for just such an occasion.

d100 - Monster Parts for Magical Reagents & Research

Confession Time: I’ve always found myself to be very fond of Spell Components, even though tracking such things is often a bit too fiddly for the tastes of most tables. Rather than making them a necessary requirement to cast a given Spell these days, I find that they can still serve a purpose if used in conjunction with standard casting by boosting the effect, duration, range, or modifying other mutable parameters of an appropriate Spell. By making them desirable instead of mandatory, players seem to enjoy amassing and keeping track of them a little more. They also serve as a great hook for potential Adventure: If rumors swirl about a particularly powerful ingredient for augmenting Magical Might, some Wonder Workers will immediately start scheming towards its acquisition. Knowledge of these also makes for a handy Treasure or Reward for Referees to dispense occasionally.

Another use for these that we’ve adopted is tying these elements to Magical Research and Manufacture. I usually handle this by offering a discount on either Time or Cost if the appropriate additive is applied during the process. If Spell Acquisition in your game is limited to Mentors/Magical Research Only, this provides a pretty powerful incentive for a Magic User to consult those Tired Tomes and Stuffy Sages in order to identify that certain special something that might make this process swifter or less expensive. Some Magical Items also receive similar reductions in outlay if the proper Reagents are used during the creation process: Scrolls, Potions, Wands, and other sundry Wonders that incorporate these constituents are more easily produced.

To create some of these materials, I often use some of my generators: Magical Herbs & Plants or even feathers from one of my Remarkable Birds, but one of my favorites is having them harvestable from Monsters, because this makes them more of a byproduct of play for the entire Party and less of a goal for an individual party member.

Here’s a list of One Hundred Monsters with some of their Parts of interest, alongside some potential Thaumaturgical Interactions. As an added wrinkle, not all require butchery to acquire. The keen eyed may notice a glaring omission in the form of the Monster who directly contributes to the namesake for most of these games, but fret not: I intend to devote an entire table just to them with 100 Uses for a (Dead?) Dragon.