this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2024
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Valid post, and given the scale of DnD dragons I'd say that an adventurer is about the size of a cat relative to an adult dragon. IRL, a cat being able to attack you and successfully kill you would be pretty fucked up even if it's theoretically possible.
Incidentally however...
A cat in DnD does have the ability to reliably fight and kill a Commoner.
So what I'm saying is that it should actually be a valid plot to put humans in the position of some shitty media's dragons- once dominant, but through the power of one especially heroic housecat who has exceptionally strong plot armour, we are reduced to a dying race, ancient and forgotten by the new era.
Source? A Commoner has 1d8 hp compared to a cat's 1d4. A cat's AC is 2 higher, but a Commoner's attack modifier is 2 higher. If the Commoner has a club, they're dealing 1d8 damage instead of 1d4, but even without that it's the same damage. A cat can absolutely win if it gets lucky. After all, one in eight commoners have only one hitpoint, but reliably?
Also, I don't think the fight's really comparable, since at low levels randomness matters a lot more. A Commoner is equally likely to have 1 hitpoint as 8. An adult red dragon is 95% likely to have HP from 227 to 286. And likewise, when you're dealing damage, it would be a lot more consistent.
That said, while a cat can't reliably kill a commoner, a party of four cats definitely can, and going up against a large number of weak enemies is not good in general. Also, dragons just get a few abilities, and depending on the DM maybe a few spells that aren't that high level. Going up against human spellcasters is not a great idea.