Dragons are truly awesome creatures. Too awesome in a lot of ways, really. Because of their power, their magnificence and their near-immortal lifespans, a GM might hesitate to include one in a campaign as anything other than an end boss. Here are 30 non-traditional ways to bring these wonderful beasts into your own campaign.

Ah, Spring! When a dragon’s fancy turns towards thoughts of (ahem) love. Unfortunately, this particular dragon has been very unlucky in matters of the heart and has yet to mate successfully. The females just don’t understand him, you see. This year, however, he’s trying a different approach by hiring a group of adventurers to take his message of love and/or lust to several scaled beauties that he’s had his eye on for some time. Can they convince one of the ladies to mate with him?

Due to the nature of tabletop RPGs, a campaign will often start with a random group of strangers. Here are some ways to get them adventuring together, without resorting to the old Tavern trope.