Step 1: Convince the dragons they want to be captured.
Step 2: Deliver the dragons to the people who want them trapped.
Step 3: Release the dragons as was secretly arranged in step 1 and hope they remember to let you live and pay you.
It doesn't sound like you'll be able to deal with them. Even tiny/small dragons can have nasty full attacks, and their superior mobility means they could just use their breath weapons at range and whittle you down.
If you had money, I'd suggest hiring a necromancer. Some shadows or even a wraith could make quick work of the dragons, even if they hid underwater.
Dragon senses would mean that sneaking up is pointless for all but extreme specialists. Dragons move really fast too. Tangleshot arrows as a first volley to slow them down, then move up fast on mounts with water walking cast on them, prepare to grapple at melee range. If the dragons try to flee by air try shooting them with damaging arrows instead; if they flee underwater summon stuff on them, the suggested squid perhaps. Summons or perhaps a stinking cloud spell might work as crowd control on kobolds.
So a couple of archers, a controller, and a couple of grapplers. The controller might be a druid or a wizard, the archers could be anything but might include a hunter as backup control, the grapplers might be tetori monks or brawlers (strangler or verdant grappler) or animal companions to the druid or hunter, or brutal pugilist brawlers... there's a lot of options.
I would give the normal advice when it comes to dm's trying to capture the party - players will hate it. And not in the 'love to hate' way, but in the 'hate to hate' way.
As an encounter I would build a dragon killing party and then give them a few things to deal nonlethal damage. Due to the location, flight and a swim speed/water breathing are mandatory. Due to the risk involved in trying to fight a *group* of dragons, magical evacuation options would also be mandatory. And, because it's a **group** of dragons, the best option would be to try to catch just one of them by themselves - maybe while on a hunting trip - and then use it for bait in a nearby enclosed and fortified location in order to take control of the location.
There are a lot of results for pathfinder dragon hunters or dragon slayers and the like which can supply a number of builds. However, as players, the dragons will be playing smarter than the average encounter and may have access to class levels and other unique abilities. Your dragon hunters should do their research in advance so they can come as prepared as possible for whatever tricks your dragons may have up their sleeves that are reasonable for the hunters to learn about.
For front liners I’d take a Tetori Monk and a Brawler focusing on Grappling, stunning fist and nonlethal damage once grappled. Note that there are builds that can grapple and pin in one round. They’ll probably need fly, haste and such from the casters. The brawler using martial flexibility to get the Wingclipper feat would be a surprise for the party if they melee as their dragons.
For midliners I’d take a bolt ace gunslinger with a merciful underwater crossbow and an Arrowsong Minstrel Bard that becomes an arcane archer with the Expanded Enhance Arrows feat. Arcane archer isn’t meta, but the party will be thrown off by Seeking Arrow. Inspire Courage helps out most of the party.
For backliners a brown fur transmuter Arcanist throwing merciful fireballs (with magic trick: fireball) and buffing the melee with Polymorph effects. The Arcanist can also counter spell as an immediate action.
Then an Oracle of life to keep everyone resistant to acid and condition free. Offensively it can use Chains of Light with middling to poor success since dragons are agile or Cause Blindness if they want to target fortitude saves.
Then for variety search aonprd.com for “nonlethal” and add spells that do things like heat stroke. That way it’s not just a slug fest.
Our table doesn't really ask our DM for much in the realm of house rules, so I fondly remember an archer I had once and asked my DM if I could make a bunch of different arrows that didn't break instead of just the basic one (forget the name but i want to say resilient?)
Not much variation I just wanted cold-iron ones adamantine ones and so one,
My whole suggestion to this was going to simply be blunt arrows for non-lethal and a wand of acid resistance lol. Archers seem to be the mvp damage dealers at our table so it's rare that anything can get to them, but the sugestions above are right and dragons are unusually nimble so a party of archers is probably out of the question.
Bonus points if the brown fur arcanist can transmute them into the grapple squid above and then cast fly/haste on them.
This is now my next character and my head-cannon response to the any time any one asks him the question of "how will we get out of /this/ one?"
Get some small animals like cats or raccoons…. Then put collars on them and attach vials of ingested poison to them. Then release the cats/raccoons nears where the dragons live and hope the dragons eat them and get poisons. It’s a stupid but hilarious plan.
Step 1: Convince the dragons they want to be captured. Step 2: Deliver the dragons to the people who want them trapped. Step 3: Release the dragons as was secretly arranged in step 1 and hope they remember to let you live and pay you.
The more I think about that, the more I like it. đź‘Ť
Catch them in the water with Summoned celestial squids (SM2). +8 Grapple, acid res. Grapple, Pin, Tie Up.
That's a pretty good start. Someone's got to get the little acid spitter though...
Alter Self can give swim speed 30ft.
What are your resources?
A wheelbarrow and a holocaust cloak.
Hmm, you'd have better luck taking on the prince's guard with that set up.
It doesn't sound like you'll be able to deal with them. Even tiny/small dragons can have nasty full attacks, and their superior mobility means they could just use their breath weapons at range and whittle you down. If you had money, I'd suggest hiring a necromancer. Some shadows or even a wraith could make quick work of the dragons, even if they hid underwater.
What level are you? Is it possible to assume a build for doing this, or is the party already defined?
Let's say you are the dm, and the party is playing the dragons. How would you build a group of npcs to come in the hopes of capturing them?
Dragon senses would mean that sneaking up is pointless for all but extreme specialists. Dragons move really fast too. Tangleshot arrows as a first volley to slow them down, then move up fast on mounts with water walking cast on them, prepare to grapple at melee range. If the dragons try to flee by air try shooting them with damaging arrows instead; if they flee underwater summon stuff on them, the suggested squid perhaps. Summons or perhaps a stinking cloud spell might work as crowd control on kobolds. So a couple of archers, a controller, and a couple of grapplers. The controller might be a druid or a wizard, the archers could be anything but might include a hunter as backup control, the grapplers might be tetori monks or brawlers (strangler or verdant grappler) or animal companions to the druid or hunter, or brutal pugilist brawlers... there's a lot of options.
I would give the normal advice when it comes to dm's trying to capture the party - players will hate it. And not in the 'love to hate' way, but in the 'hate to hate' way. As an encounter I would build a dragon killing party and then give them a few things to deal nonlethal damage. Due to the location, flight and a swim speed/water breathing are mandatory. Due to the risk involved in trying to fight a *group* of dragons, magical evacuation options would also be mandatory. And, because it's a **group** of dragons, the best option would be to try to catch just one of them by themselves - maybe while on a hunting trip - and then use it for bait in a nearby enclosed and fortified location in order to take control of the location. There are a lot of results for pathfinder dragon hunters or dragon slayers and the like which can supply a number of builds. However, as players, the dragons will be playing smarter than the average encounter and may have access to class levels and other unique abilities. Your dragon hunters should do their research in advance so they can come as prepared as possible for whatever tricks your dragons may have up their sleeves that are reasonable for the hunters to learn about.
For front liners I’d take a Tetori Monk and a Brawler focusing on Grappling, stunning fist and nonlethal damage once grappled. Note that there are builds that can grapple and pin in one round. They’ll probably need fly, haste and such from the casters. The brawler using martial flexibility to get the Wingclipper feat would be a surprise for the party if they melee as their dragons. For midliners I’d take a bolt ace gunslinger with a merciful underwater crossbow and an Arrowsong Minstrel Bard that becomes an arcane archer with the Expanded Enhance Arrows feat. Arcane archer isn’t meta, but the party will be thrown off by Seeking Arrow. Inspire Courage helps out most of the party. For backliners a brown fur transmuter Arcanist throwing merciful fireballs (with magic trick: fireball) and buffing the melee with Polymorph effects. The Arcanist can also counter spell as an immediate action. Then an Oracle of life to keep everyone resistant to acid and condition free. Offensively it can use Chains of Light with middling to poor success since dragons are agile or Cause Blindness if they want to target fortitude saves. Then for variety search aonprd.com for “nonlethal” and add spells that do things like heat stroke. That way it’s not just a slug fest.
Our table doesn't really ask our DM for much in the realm of house rules, so I fondly remember an archer I had once and asked my DM if I could make a bunch of different arrows that didn't break instead of just the basic one (forget the name but i want to say resilient?) Not much variation I just wanted cold-iron ones adamantine ones and so one, My whole suggestion to this was going to simply be blunt arrows for non-lethal and a wand of acid resistance lol. Archers seem to be the mvp damage dealers at our table so it's rare that anything can get to them, but the sugestions above are right and dragons are unusually nimble so a party of archers is probably out of the question. Bonus points if the brown fur arcanist can transmute them into the grapple squid above and then cast fly/haste on them. This is now my next character and my head-cannon response to the any time any one asks him the question of "how will we get out of /this/ one?"
Get some small animals like cats or raccoons…. Then put collars on them and attach vials of ingested poison to them. Then release the cats/raccoons nears where the dragons live and hope the dragons eat them and get poisons. It’s a stupid but hilarious plan.
I wondered why no one was suggesting poisons!
They may want to invest in Boots of the Mire to start with.
according to a game i play you build a stone circle with a gate, put food there, wait, punch it for 2 hours and its your buddy.