The Chromatic Dragons that Fizban Forgot About
With the release of Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons now in the rearview it is time to dive into some of the other dragons from D&D’s history that have not been ported over into Fifth Edition. There are still a bunch of dragons out there to explore, so over the next few weeks we are going to dive into and stat up around 20 different types of dragons for your games. Considering that in Fifth Edition there are four stages of growth for each dragon, we are talking nearly 80 statblocks. So expect these next couple articles to be light on text and heavy on stats.
So far we have focused on dragons from across the planar system, but what about the ones that reside in our heroes' home worlds? In a game called Dungeons and Dragons, a typical adventuring party is likely to have at least one run in with a dragon. While metallic dragons are often neutral towards, or even fond of, humanoids, the chromatic dragons tend to have a different outlook. While no two chromatic dragons are exactly the same, they tend to share the belief that they are superior to the other intelligent beings of the world. Some seek to rule over those creatures, while others see non-dragons as little more than food. With that in mind, today we are going to bring back some old enemies for 5e.
Four chromatic dragons to use in your games. Presented in alphabetical order:
Brown Dragons
Favored Terrain: Deserts
Alignment: Usually Neutral Evil
Description: Brown dragons have sand colored scales, which are of a leathery texture. They are wingless, but have webbed claws to
assist them in digging.
Key Traits: Ferocious and intelligent, but solitary, creatures. They view most any other living creature as a potential meal.
Brown Dragons, also known as sand dragons or desert dragons, are ambush predators that lurk beneath the sands in the great deserts of the Material Plane. They are amongst the few flightless dragons, lacking the wings of their contemporaries. Ironically, a brown dragon has innate abilities, including spellcasting, tied to their magical connection to wind. Adult and older brown dragons can summon air elementals to aid them in combat or luring prey into their ambush.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dragon takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the dragon can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
The dragon casts gust of wind, not requiring any components. This effect lasts until initiative count 20 on the following round.
The dragon chooses one of the effects of the control winds spell. This effect lasts until initiative count 20 on the following round.
The dragon creates a swirling gust of sand in a 20-foot radius sphere centered on a point it chooses within 120 feet of it. The area becomes heavily obscured. This effect lasts until the dragon uses this action again or dies.
Regional Effects
The region containing a legendary dragon’s lair is warped by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:
Within 1 mile of the dragon's lair, the wind blows quickly and unpredictably.
Within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair, creatures sometimes see mirages of things they desire. The dragon sometimes uses these images to lure creatures into its ambush.
If the dragon dies the effects fade after 1d10 days.
Fang Dragons
Favored Terrain: Mountains
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Description: Fang dragons have small wings and their hides are covered in spikes and bony plates tipped with sharp spurs. They have
sharp, forked tails.
Key Traits: They are susceptible to random fits of rage and violence.
Fang dragons are commonly referred to as gray dragons. I’ve modeled these dragons off of their existence in 3.5e, before they were changed by Tiamat to have breath weapons. To me, it was much more interesting when they were one of the few dragons without a breath weapon and had to adapt to life without it. Think of these as representing those who were unchanged and have thus far gone undetected by Tiamat and her new gray dragons. If you want your gray dragons to have a breath weapon, use the black dragon’s acid breath for the appropriate age category. Just keep in mind that this will raise the difficulty of the encounter.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dragon takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the dragon can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
The dragon chooses a point on the ground that it can see within 120 feet of it. Stone spikes sprout from the ground in a 20-foot radius centered on that point. The effect is otherwise identical to the spike growth spell and lasts until the dragon uses this lair action again or until the dragon dies.
Magical darkness fills a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point that the dragon chooses within 120 feet of itself. The darkness disappears when the dragon uses this lair action again or when the dragon dies.
Sharp rocks fall from the ceiling of the lair near three creatures of the dragons choosing within 60 feet. Each creature must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) slashing damage on a failed save.
Regional Effects
The region containing a legendary dragon’s lair is warped by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:
Rocks and stones within 1 mile of the dragon’s lair appear strangely sharp and jagged.
Within 1 mile of the dragon’s lair, intelligent creatures will hear the faint echoes of voices. These voices sound strangely familiar, but are impossible to place.
If the dragon dies the effects fade after 1d10 days.
Pink Dragons
Favored Terrain: Any, but tend to make their lairs underground.
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Description: These dragons have pink colored scales and have been described as “dopey-looking.”
Key Traits: They love to talk and make jokes, but will sometimes eat uninspiring conversationalists.
Pink dragons enjoy the company of other races, but can quickly become dangerous if they start to become bored or are insulted by their guests. They are extremely rare, but are best known for their odd breath weapon. These dragons exhale large, pink bubbles that have a soap-like consistency. When it gets into the eyes of their foes, it blinds them and deals ongoing poison damage until cleaned out. This makes pink dragons quite deadly in combat, despite their goofy appearance.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dragon takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the dragon can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
The dragon casts mirror image, requiring no components.
The dragon causes massive bubbles to appear in a 20-foot radius sphere centered on a point within 120 feet. Each creature size large or small must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be trapped within a bubble. Each bubble rises 20 feet into the air every round (including this one). A bubble has AC 5, 1 hit point, and immunity to all damage except piercing and force.
A bubble of poisonous gas fills a 10-foot radius sphere centered on a point within 60 feet of the dragon. Each creature must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for one minute. An affected creature can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
Regional Effects
The region containing a legendary dragon’s lair is warped by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:
The dragon can speak through an effect similar to magic mouth within 1 mile of its lair.
The dragon alters the appearance of the area around its lair. It can make terrain in an area up to 1 mile square look, sound, smell, and even feel like some other sort of terrain as long as it concentrates on the changes for 10 minutes. The terrain's general shape remains the same, however.
If the dragon dies the effects fade after 1d10 days.
Yellow Dragons
Favored Terrain: Deserts
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Description: Comparatively small dragons with yellow-gray scales and yellow-brown claws and teeth.
Key Traits: Yellow dragons are ambush fighters and proficient spellcasters. They are solitary and highly territorial beings.
Yellow dragons live in the same areas and employ similar tactics as brown dragons. They are ambush predators who are very secretive and solitary. They are not particularly dedicated to building out a large horde and have no interest in political power. These dragons are most likely to be encountered by adventuring parties venturing through a desert, perhaps falling into a trap laid by the dragon. They also hunt far away from their lairs, leaving them sealed with boulders and camouflaged by sand until they return.
Next Week: the Metallic Dragons of the Material Plane.