Don't have a link, but I have suggested reading material in the form of "Dragonomicon".
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Disintegrate. Don't open the box, dust it. Effects don't get triggered.
(Not sure if a green dragon can cast disintegrate when adult, but it should have enough money to buy scrolls)
One thing that nobody has suggested so far is to simply transmute yourself to a very small size (polymorphing into toad, for instance) and teleporting into the box, which wouldn't activate the scroll since the box isn't being opened. You could then use hoard gullet to stash the inactive sphere and teleport back out. Probably taking the scroll, too, because why not?
If you didn't know what was in the box, you wouldn't be trying to get inside without opening it or diffusing it in the first place. If it were absolutely necessary, wish could also be used to get in and out of the box, bypassing things such as dimensional lock.
The amount of foreknowledge about the box determines actions. Also the paranoia level of the dragon, and how many resources the dragon is willing to invest in it.
And, of course, the meanness level of the dragon.
I mean, the dragon could just fly it up a few hundred feet, and drop it onto a nice rocky outcropping to pop it open and see what's inside. Sure, that triggers the thing, but ... it really doesn't matter all that much to Mr. Dragon.
If he's willing to spend a little coin, he can do more.
Metal Melt (Spell Compendium page 140) will turn the box into a puddle around whatever it contains. 4th level spell scroll, which the dragon can use on a roll of 2 (caster level 7 on the scroll, vs. caster level 5 for the dragon by default). Dispel Magic can make the box nonmagical briefly if needed.
Animate Objects + Polymorph turns the box into a creature, and then turn it into a non-container... evicting anything inside (usually).
Disintegrate, obviously.
There's... really no shortage of methods.
Also look to Races of the Dragon which, although is lacking in knowledge pertaining to True Dragons (except the only little bit that matters). It gives SOME details about them (and their children races)
Nope, it cannot cast disintegrate... quite unfortunate really... Just give him a Dijorn of Disintegrate... much more cool...
Draconomicon. Here is a quick summary from what I've learned over the years:
SpoilerBlack: Vicious and battle loving. Live in swamps. Prefer coins in their hoard.
Blue: proud and oddly lawful. Live in deserts. Collect ANYTHING.
Brass: love talking. Live in deserts. Collects organic items (worked wood, paintings...)
Bronze: Curious and love justice. Islands and coasts. Love things from the sea.
Copper: pranksters. Live in mountains. Love things from the earth and jokes.
Gold: uber-paladins. Live in hard to reach places. Love high quality art.
Green: Politicians. Live on cliffs. Love trophies and valuables.
Red: Extreme greed. Live around mountains. Anything that kind of has value.
Silver: lesser paladins. Mountains or with people. Jewelry.
White: Pure hunters. Anywhere cold. Shiny things
So, Duboris, seeing as this thread exists, I take it you were wrong about the "my party thinks that 'important' if and only if 'pings under Detect Magic'" bit from the other thread?:smalltongue:
Well, the way I worded the bit about the box to them went about like this.
"As you detect the room for magic, you sense only your own belongings, the flight-capable wings on the back of the knight handing the box to you, his weapons, all the weapons of the sergeants around you and that's all you sense. For some reason that currently escapes you, however, you are not capable of detecting any trace of magic within the box, as your detection cannot pierce it's adamantium walls."
So I basically told them "You don't know what's in the box"
Which caused a mass amount of curiosity from everyone, and they tried every trick in the book to get it open.
See, your mistake was including the parts I bolded. You can't straight-up tell your players that you're hiding something and expect them to not want to know what that something is. If you had simply not listed the box among the objects that do detect as magic, you might have gotten by invoking only mild curiosity.
To be honest they still would've tried to open it.
It ended up getting thrown at a renegade ship, which was unmade accordingly.