Let's Read: The Dungeons and Dragons 5e Monster Manual!

[MasterMercury]

WHITE DRAGON

Kicking off the dragon chain, we have probably the least used of the Chromatic Dragons. Lowest in CR, Int, and color, give it up for...the white dragon!

ART
Animalistic, sleek, brutal. Cold eyes of a shark on a white machine of ice-cold hurt. Great sense of motion and terror. I get "chills" down my spine looking at it.

PURPOSE AND TACTICS
It's a versatile dragon. With a burrow, swim, and fly speed they can attack your party from any angle. Have them on a glacier, with a few holes going into the sea, and you have a terrifying hit and run scenario for any aged dragon.
Especially if you combine it with lair actions to get freezing fog, falling ice spears, and walls separating the party.

Likely to use hit and run tactics. Let the dragon emerge from the snow, strike, and then burrow into the snow or dive into the freezing water. How will the party cope with that?

FLUFF
It's not the smartest dragon, but it's a great hunter and is very vengeful. Likes to freeze it's enemies, which could be a shock to your party, seeing a horde of frost giants standing ahead, not realizing that they're all frozen stiff.

It's also very violent, attacking everything that camps near its layer. This means that White dragons are likely very large problems. If one is in the area, you know about it.

I like how, even though it's not very intelligent, it's still smart. It can talk, and has amazing memory. This dragon, more than any other, will hold a grudge for centuries, until no one knows what it was about.

This dragon is also more likely than others to be a lackey to others, particularly frost giants according to the text.

Also, I love the troll on the party. They kill the dragon, and where's the loot? 30' under solid ice. Have fun digging out the ivory and fur.

HOOKS
Bargul the White has been tormenting the town of Oceanov for longer than anyone can remember. Legend has it that something was stolen from the dragon, and Bargul won't rest until he gets it back. Can the party figure out what was stolen from the dragon, and return it safely.

The clan of frost giants in the north have always been a problem. However, their conflict with Freren the Frostbitten has always kept them in check. However, a champion among the giants has risen, and plans on beating Freren into submission. With the forces of the north combined, could this spell doom for the world. Can the party stop the champion from claiming the Freren as his mount?

Elsass the Frozen has slept in her cave for years. However, when she was found out by a sniveling merchant, she unleashed her power, covering the nation in snow and ice, and fled to the mountains.
Can the party get to Elsass, and convince her to go back to sleep and just Let It Go?

VERDICT
Not the strongest dragon, but if prepared right can be terrifying.
A great start to this thread, and things can only get better from here.

[tsuyoshikentsu]

Uh... why are we going out of order here?

Dragon, Chromatic, Black

The traditional swamp dragon... but so much more.

Art

The art is fine--and I can certainly visually distinguish between the black's physiology and that of the other chromatics (note the swept-forward horns and lack of a talon on top of its wing, for example)--but the problem is that it doesn't really match the description. As described in the text, its face is skull-like and its flesh around it rotting; in the picture, though, it just looks like... well, a black dragon.

Purpose and Tactics

Well, aside from a monster that lives in a swamp and represents a challenge to high-level adventurers, this is another one of the skirmisher dragons--it loves the hit-and-run play, and its lair actions and movement types are set up to take advantage of that. An underappreciated aspect of it is its ability to breathe water: this dragon can grapple you and dive. Have fun trying to breathe swamp water.

Fluff

The fluff regarding black dragons themselves is depressingly lackluster. Guys, they're like evil dragons... but even more evil!

The fluff regarding black dragon environments, however, is fantastic. It's the typical suite of swamps or ruins, but a black dragon living in a swamp turns it from Florida to freaking Dagobah. There's also a great line in there about how the pools of water in its lair are used to put victims in. To ferment. How lovely.

Their allies are lizardfolk and kobolds. No surprises there, though it does allow for a nice "sorting algorithm of evil" effect.

Hooks

The town of Bleakedge has had its water supply poisoned somehow. What's turning the water bad?

A party of adventurers was seen going into the ruins outside of town... and never again!

An evil dragon is killing folks for funsies. Go kill it!

It's a swamp dragon. It's evil. There's not a ton to work with here.

Verdict

A monster that has great atmosphere up until the point it's actually encountered.

[ShikomeKidoMi]

Hey, when talking about how extremely mobile the White Dragon is, don't forget Ice Walk. Your players should enjoy wading through snowdrifts and slipping on ice while it's cruising around unhindered with 40 foot move speed.

The art is fine--and I can certainly visually distinguish between the black's physiology and that of the other chromatics (note the swept-forward horns and lack of a talon on top of its wing, for example)--but the problem is that it doesn't really match the description. As described in the text, its face is skull-like and its flesh around it rotting; in the picture, though, it just looks like... well, a black dragon.

It is more skull-like than most dragons, the head is just at a bad angle to make it out. You can, however, see the huge nasal cavity that looks like the one on a human skull if you try. Black dragons aren't rotting, though, just skull-like with pitted scales, bony faces, sunken eyes, and the aforementioned nasal cavity.

You can get a better view from this angle. These two artists are clearly trying to draw the same creature, it's just this guy did it better:

[Spellbreaker26]

1. Intro to the chromatic dragons as a group
2. chromatic dragons by ascending HD: white, black, green, blue, red.
3. Intro to the metallic dragons as a group
4. metallic dragons by ascending HD: brass, bronze, copper, silver, gold
5. Dracolich
6. Shadowdragon

Uh... why are we going out of order here?

We were going to do dragons in ascending CR order...

White Dragons are probably my second least favourite of the chromatics (after reds). They're the most animalistic of dragons, which means dragon as a random threat is emphasised over dragon as a BBEG/reoccurring villain.

Black Dragons, on the other hand, are my second favourite. They feel like the most likely to pursue a grudge or avenge petty slights, and their primary target being destroying actual civilizations is neat. Their treasure hoards are going to be full of relics from destroyed civilisations; this could also provide the grounds for plot hooks to get players invested (perhaps one is the last survivor of a kingdom intent on avenging it). They're the personification of the hubris-destroying dragon, the writing on the wall for mighty empires.

[Millstone85]

Likes to freeze it's enemies, which could be a shock to your party, seeing a horde of frost giants standing ahead, not realizing that they're all frozen stiff.

A mighty feat, considering frost giants are immune to cold.

[JackPhoenix]

A mighty feat, considering frost giants are immune to cold.

To cold, sure. But are they immune to suffocation from being imprisoned in a block of ice? Sure, the dragon can't do that by RAW, but c'mon....

[MasterMercury]

A mighty feat, considering frost giants are immune to cold.

I was imagining more of a stabby slashy kill, followed by sticking it in the fridge.

Side note. If you froze a frost giant, could you conceivably thaw one out and have it be alive? They are immune to cold, and the freeze would put all their bodily needs at rest? It's also a fantasy setting, so I'll do what I want. Makes for a cool plot hook though.

After killing the white dragon, the land returns to a more temperate climate. What does this mean for the ice dragons many defeated enemies, stored frozen in stasis, accumulated over centuries.

[VoxRationis]

I was imagining more of a stabby slashy kill, followed by sticking it in the fridge.

Side note. If you froze a frost giant, could you conceivably thaw one out and have it be alive? They are immune to cold, and the freeze would put all their bodily needs at rest? It's also a fantasy setting, so I'll do what I want. Makes for a cool plot hook though.

After killing the white dragon, the land returns to a more temperate climate. What does this mean for the ice dragons many defeated enemies, stored frozen in stasis, accumulated over centuries.

I would think that something immune to cold would not be able to have its bodily functions shut down by cold, which means no cryonic stasis.

Regarding black dragons; I think an encounter with one should really play up the water as terrain. The dragon uses it both for protection and for stealth, lurking in the deep until the party is vulnerable. Bumping into the bottom of boats, hoping to knock over occupants, using the water to move between places of cover or advantage unseen. Really try to play up the psychological impact of being stalked in such a way.

[Theodoric]

You can get a better view from this angle. These two artists are clearly trying to draw the same creature, it's just this guy did it better:

4e had a lot of good chromatic dragon art, though I think 5e's got better metallics so far, especially the bronze on in the Monster Manual.

There's a lot of dragon stuff in this book, with pretty extensive write-ups for every type of dragon; good they're not skimping on things for the inevitable Draconomicon like they did in 4e.

[Regitnui]

Since I favour Eberron, let me take a stab at Good-aligned chromatics, and Evil-aligned metallics when we get there.

White: Though not amongst the smartest of dragons, white dragons can gain tremendous competence in one area of knowledge or skill. Often times, this is Survival, leading them to a pragmatic approach and Neutral alignments at best, but the rare white has been known to shepherd small communities. A Good-aligned white dragon can be a staunch ally, and may even be canny enough to put its ego aside and work with the lesser races when it recognises greater expertise than its own. The trouble is convincing the dragon of that, and a gift often goes a long way toward gaining audience. On the other hand, white dragons lair in inhospitably cold places by habit, so few humanoids have the chance to even meet them. Rumours persist of Good whites offering succour and shelter in the frozen reaches of the world, but they're outnumbered by those who see humanoids as a warm, if small, meal.

Black: Well known for chewing on grudges, a Good- or Neutral-aligned black is just as likely to remember favours or debts due. Though a black may not be the best or most patient ally, they'll pay back the treatment they're given. They retain their fondness for history, but their Good-alignment pushes them more towards preserving it than stealing it. A black dragon may allow others to peruse their collection, with a slight chance of patronising, long-winded lectures on the history of any particular piece. They have little patience for perceived ignorance, or interruptions, though. It is always advisable to respect the dragon's territory, as even a Good alignment won't stop them from chasing off intruders with all necessary force.

[MasterMercury]

Since I favour Eberron, let me take a stab at Good-aligned chromatics, and Evil-aligned metallics when we get there.

White: Though not amongst the smartest of dragons, white dragons can gain tremendous competence in one area of knowledge or skill. Often times, this is Survival, leading them to a pragmatic approach and Neutral alignments at best, but the rare white has been known to shepherd small communities. A Good-aligned white dragon can be a staunch ally, and may even be canny enough to put its ego aside and work with the lesser races when it recognises greater expertise than its own. The trouble is convincing the dragon of that, and a gift often goes a long way toward gaining audience. On the other hand, white dragons lair in inhospitably cold places by habit, so few humanoids have the chance to even meet them. Rumours persist of Good whites offering succour and shelter in the frozen reaches of the world, but they're outnumbered by those who see humanoids as a warm, if small, meal.

Black: Well known for chewing on grudges, a Good- or Neutral-aligned black is just as likely to remember favours or debts due. Though a black may not be the best or most patient ally, they'll pay back the treatment they're given. They retain their fondness for history, but their Good-alignment pushes them more towards preserving it than stealing it. A black dragon may allow others to peruse their collection, with a slight chance of patronising, long-winded lectures on the history of any particular piece. They have little patience for perceived ignorance, or interruptions, though. It is always advisable to respect the dragon's territory, as even a Good alignment won't stop them from chasing off intruders with all necessary force.

That's actually pretty good. I like giving some variation to the dragons on both sides. Chromatic Dragons can be not evil, and could easily be pretty friendly.

This is why I actually like whites. They seem the least evil, and are more grumpy. I plan on using one if my party ever veers far north.

Also, did anyone else see the reference in that last White Dragon hook? Or am I just really young?

[M Placeholder]

That's actually pretty good. I like giving some variation to the dragons on both sides. Chromatic Dragons can be not evil, and could easily be pretty friendly.

This is why I actually like whites. They seem the least evil, and are more grumpy. I plan on using one if my party ever veers far north.

Also, did anyone else see the reference in that last White Dragon hook? Or am I just really young?

Will the White Dragon also have a Kobold Bard and walk around towns just chilling and taking in the local culture?

[Laurefindel]

Also, did anyone else see the reference in that last White Dragon hook? Or am I just really young?

Nah, those who are old enough to be parents got it too. As for white dragons, the cold never bothered them anyway...

[MrStabby]

White is the only one I have actually used. I wanted an adult dragon and it snuck in as the lowest challenge rating to it fitted the level of the PCs.

I also like the white dragon as it's environment is so distinctive without being a total cliche.

[Squeeq]

Since I don't wanna miss my opportunity

Green Dragons

Art

Art is good. You get the nice side-on shot of it with the big frill and a few roots behind it to show size. Its neck has a very distinctive curve, its on its hind legs, and its wings are out. The next page has a nice atmospheric forest-shot, a nice sort of mossiness. Nothing particularly AMAZING, but people already know what dragons do, so it's ok to just show what they look like, at least that's how I feel.

Purpose and Tactics

In a straight up fight, a green dragon is probably the least challenge for a group of PCs. Immunity to poison is easy to find, as both monks and druids get it, and Heroes Feast can give it to a whole group - at that point, all it can do is swing at the PCs for physical damage. In fact, since its claws don't count as magical, a flesh golem would not take damage from anything that a green dragon does! However, Green Dragons do have a few rude tricks to play - first is that CON save for the breath. I'm not sure if that's actually new or not (I thought all dragon breaths were reflex in some previous editions), but either way, it means that some saucy character with evasion can't just ignore the most powerful part of a dragon. If they aren't immune, they're taking damage no matter what. Its lair actions are fun - a charm is a cute effect to keep someone from attacking it, and the wall can be great to either cause damage or break line of sight. Since they're amphibious, in a lair with lots of water pools, it can dart into one after throwing up the thorn wall and then swim either to escape or to ambush the party from a better direction. Even moreso I like the vines - strength 15 is a pretty rough save to make for most non-martials (and even plenty of them), and having speed reduced and disadvantage on all attacks makes you a great target for the dragon.

Fluff

The best! The best! Cunning, treacherous, using trickery and dirty play! You can always be a sneaky jerk with a Green Dragon and it works well. Have them fight the green dragon's enemies for it so the dragon can mop up survivors! Have it kill and carry off one of the adventurers, telling them that it'll return their corpse if they do what it wants, so they can get it raised! Because it leaves people alive, you can throw a strong one at a party and have it intimidate or parley with the PCs. they like to leave people alive and have them do its bidding, giving them a sense of power. There's lots that you can do to play off what the dragon wants, just as the dragon will do its best to figure out what the PLAYER wants in order to corrupt them. In both the damage sense of the word AND the social sense, everything that comes out of a Green Dragon's mouth is poison, and I quite like that. The regional effects are great too, slowing players down in a forest, letting the dragon stalk them (for an opening) and letting the small creatures spy on them. It shoudl know everything it needs to by the time they show up to face it.

Hooks

Venomtooth has corrupted a cult of Yuan-ti, acting as their God and having them carry out sacrifices and find treasure in its name - they've expanded their territory with her help and now are butting up against the local druidic circle.

An underground Dwarven town is besieged as a white dragon, a black dragon, and a green dragon all dispute the base of the mountain that it's living in. Killing one dragon could make the other two join forces, and killing all three is nearly impossible! Will peace have to be made between the dragons so they'll settle down?

The Jade Sleep is amassing its own group of intimidated and corrupted adventurers to bring it more treasure and more allies - they contact the PCs with help fighting trolls in the forest, knowing that if the PCs are of more interest to the Jade Sleep, it will grow tired enough of its old thralls that they may be able to escape.

Verdict

Poison is probably the easiest damage type to avoid, so in a fight they're not so hot, but they do a whole lot of fun stuff, and synergize with the other huge amount of monsters immune to poison.

[GorinichSerpant]

I've had this idea that the poison from a Green Dragon has a narcotic effect if you can dilute it enought to not deal damage. Which leads to some ideas, like getting high after kissing a green dragonborn, having a dragon making a population of humanoids addicted to the very air it breathes, and having a miserable dragon chained up and exploited to keep a drug market running.

[Regitnui]

Good Greens:

The sly, manipulative reputation of Greens is partially undeserved. Green dragons possess a keen sense of insight into other sentients. Combined with a mischievous streak second only to the Coppers, this makes them more than willing to cause trouble for the lesser races for their own fun. A Good Green may limit its 'pranks' to those who deserve it, but unintended consequences can always happen. Amongst their own, the knowledge that they're both reading each other and trying not to give anything away tends to make them a little snappy.

Green dragons also have a strong link to nature. Even evil Greens will tend to their chosen forests, and forests inhabited by a good Green are some of the best-maintained and well-stocked hunting grounds anywhere. Humanoid hunters beware, as poachers are not looked upon kindly. It's best to get a Green's permission first. Finally, good Green dragons may 'adopt' communities or bloodlines to care for. A prosperous family reflects well on the Green shepherding them, making the family an unusually independent and active part of the dragon's hoard. Elves are almost never chosen, but any other humanoids may benefit from a friendly Green.

The green dragon Vvaraak taught druidism to the orcs of Khorvaire, and a green known only as the Emerald Claw took a tragic interest in a dragonmarked elven family. That's where I get the "adoption" trend from

[ShikomeKidoMi]

Good Greens:
The green dragon Vvaraak taught druidism to the orcs of Khorvaire, and a green known only as the Emerald Claw took a tragic interest in a dragonmarked elven family. That's where I get the "adoption" trend from

Wait, is that where the "Order of the Emerald Claw" gets it's name? From the dragon that sired Vol? I did not know that before. That's a nice bit of background detail that makes the name so much more significant than I thought it was.

[M Placeholder]

Okay, now its time for the most social of the Chromatics....

Blue Dragon

Artwork

Portrayed on top of a none too insubstantial pile of loot, this depiction has a more skeletal face than the Blues of past editions, and with eyes consisting of pinpoints, it looks pretty menacing. I also like the details around the horn which make it look like the dragon is charged with static and waiting for some unfortunate adventurer to enter the room and feel 120kV shoot up his sword arm. Out of the Chromatics, this one is my personal fave.

Lore

Here it details that Blue Dragons are fiercely territorial, chasing off threats and rivals from the arid lands they call home.

The details about the hunting strategies include how the Blue Dragon is a master of attrition and has no shortage of patience, and its tactic for ambushes by leaving its horn above the desert sand and waiting for a caravan, camel or a group of adventurers to draw near.

Its also explained briefly how the Blue Dragon is fond of intrigue - bards, mages and other agents that can influence nearby (demi)human societies are coveted by the Blue.

Mechanics

As far as these are concerned, the blue is little different to other chromatic dragons. But in a campaign, the role of the Blue (and one that it suits ably thanks to the lore) is one of a puppetmaster, and generally, you'll have to get through a lot of creatures that do its bidding to get to the Wyrm pulling the strings. Hell, you might not even know its the Blue with its claw on the rod.

In a Campaign

A great Blue Wyrm makes a great Big Bad for a campaign - a malign presence that can be used to spin webs of deception, but can also hold its own in terms of fighting battles with the sword. The Dracolich in the Monster Manual is a Blue, and in a campaign set in the Forgotten Realms, involving The Cult of the Dragon can add another layer to the intrigue (in the 1998 Cult of the Dragon handbook, each chapter started out with a recording from the libram of Malygris, an ancient wyrm who unlived to regret taking up the Cult's offer).

[JackPhoenix]

The green dragon Vvaraak taught druidism to the orcs of Khorvaire, and a green known only as the Emerald Claw took a tragic interest in a dragonmarked elven family. That's where I get the "adoption" trend from

Vvaraak was black dragon, not green. Kinda makes sense, as the first Gatekeepers were trained in Shadow Marches, not Eldeen.

[twas_Brillig]

Finally, good Green dragons may 'adopt' communities or bloodlines to care for. A prosperous family reflects well on the Green shepherding them, making the family an unusually independent and active part of the dragon's hoard. Elves are almost never chosen, but any other humanoids may benefit from a friendly Green.

The green dragon Vvaraak taught druidism to the orcs of Khorvaire, and a green known only as the Emerald Claw took a tragic interest in a dragonmarked elven family. That's where I get the "adoption" trend from

Am I remembering something else, or is hoarding people a part of the vanilla green dragon's MO? (I think I picked that up from a Critical Role fan theory, so it could just be flat out wrong.) If so, green dragons are in a good position to benefit from more metropolitan settings. Whether it's influence brokering, "hoarding" the merchants and politicians of high society via a carefully managed web of favors and blackmail, or managing a university (attracting the gift with scholarships, allowing the rich and powerful access in exchange for money and power, and making the best and brightest swear loyalty to their own Skull and Bones society), an immortal, intelligent schemer has a lot to gain in the big city.

[Regitnui]

Good Blues:

Even the least Blue dragon considers itself highly. Desert-dwellers will often note strangely-carved outcroppings, smooth to the touch and almost impossibly balanced. These are the instruments of the Blue dragon nearby. Desert winds whistle and howl through these rocks, creating music that the Blue finds pleasing. Lesser races and others may disagree. Blue dragons also enjoy the company of bards and artists, and tributes involving such items are highly valued. On rare occasions, Blues may invite the powerful and influential (by their standards) to a 'ball', where music is played by the best artists and the prize pieces of the dragon are displayed. Those lucky enough to be invited cannot describe the wonder experienced here.

If the Blue dragon's possessions are magnificent, the dragon itself is even more so. Nothing flatters a Blue more than their scales being mistaken for sapphires, and they go to great lengths to maintain their looks. Even a Good Blue will keep a servant to polish those hard-to-reach areas, and that servant is likely well-paid. If any chromatic is likely to mingle with lesser races in their cities, it'd be the blue.

Wait, is that where the "Order of the Emerald Claw" gets it's name? From the dragon that sired Vol? I did not know that before. That's a nice bit of background detail that makes the name so much more significant than I thought it was.

Spoiler alert. But yes. Named after her lost father.

Vvaraak was black dragon, not green. Kinda makes sense, as the first Gatekeepers were trained in Shadow Marches, not Eldeen.

Sorry. Common mistake. I've been rereading the 3.5 ECS.

Am I remembering something else, or is hoarding people a part of the vanilla green dragon's MO? (I think I picked that up from a Critical Role fan theory, so it could just be flat out wrong.) If so, green dragons are in a good position to benefit from more metropolitan settings. Whether it's influence brokering, "hoarding" the merchants and politicians of high society via a carefully managed web of favors and blackmail, or managing a university (attracting the gift with scholarships, allowing the rich and powerful access in exchange for money and power, and making the best and brightest swear loyalty to their own Skull and Bones society), an immortal, intelligent schemer has a lot to gain in the big city.

I can see a green or blue pulling that off. As far as I know, it isn't canon anywhere though. I made it up.

[Hawkstar]

Am I remembering something else, or is hoarding people a part of the vanilla green dragon's MO?

Hoarding is part of the vanilla green dragon's MO. It's also part of the vanilla White dragon's MO, and vanilla Blue Dragon's MO, and Vanilla Black Dragon's MO, and vanilla Red Dragon's MO, and vanilla Brass dragon's MO, and vanilla Bronze dragon's MO, and vanilla Copper Dragon's MO, and Vanilla Silver Dragon's MO, and vanilla Gold Dragon's MO.

Hoarding is a dragon thing.

[Regitnui]

Hoarding is part of the vanilla green dragon's MO. It's also part of the vanilla White dragon's MO, and vanilla Blue Dragon's MO, and Vanilla Black Dragon's MO, and vanilla Red Dragon's MO, and vanilla Brass dragon's MO, and vanilla Bronze dragon's MO, and vanilla Copper Dragon's MO, and Vanilla Silver Dragon's MO, and vanilla Gold Dragon's MO.

Hoarding is a dragon thing.

A couple of the chromatic dragon descriptions mention slaves. Filtering that through dragon psychology and alignment, I figured a chromatic dragon is more likely to have humanoid servants even if they're Good. Mostly due to the fact that a well-appointed servant with talent in singing is just as impressive an ornament as a sapphire the size of her torso.

[MrConsideration]

Red Dragon

A foe so bone-deep in the game's lore it is in the name. When we say 'dragon'; these are the dragons we mean. Imperious, furious: a crocodile's savagery carried with the regality of a tyrant. The literary bedrock we can mine is extensive: Smaug and Fáfnir exemplify this trope. Where there are heroes, there must also be The Dragon. I have some strong, unbendable principles (or prejudices) about dragons that may need to be born in mind whilst reading this review.*

It is almost challenging to review a monster which is so integral to our conceptions of monsterdom. Here be dragons....



Artwork:

An excellent piece; dynamic and furious. The red-gold colouring captures every sense of the vainglory and conceit which typify the beast. There's some excellent, loving attention to detail: the beady, vehement, cruel little eyes, the glowing inferno of the mouth, the grasping claws. Its stance manages to emphasise that peculiar junction of frenzy and poise.

Behind the stat-blocks, obscured is a hint of a reddened, sweltering lair. Another great piece which I wish gained more exposure.

Purpose and Tactics.

You gnobbled goblins, assaulted orcs, mangled Mind Flayers, battered a Behir - all to climb to this zenith, and there do battle with a monstrosity incarnate. This is it: Act Three. The final boss.

I'll review the Ancient Red Dragon, as I rather imagine the developers brewed that up first then doled out the dragon-juice into smaller and smaller containers like Russian dolls in order to give us our other necessary stat-blocks (Toddler Dragon, Prepubescent Dragon, Tween Dragon, Mid-Life Crisis Dragon etc).

As a final fight, this is largely about throwing the Action Economy rules out of the window. It is for lesser mortals to wait for their turn, and you have a pile of legendary and lair actions to keep you scrapping. An initial Frightful Presence will probably not disrupt the players too much (the save is difficult, but a high-level party have a a number of spells, magic items and buffs to make it trivial), but then follow up with your multi-attack. Other methods of disruption include the Volcanic Gasses Lair Action, which is potentially huge even though it is an easy save. A huge portion of this fight rests on grouping and ungrouping the players - isolating them to eat your multiattack and then targeting them with your Fire Breath to rack up damage.

You should be conscious that your attacks have pretty huge reach (20ft for the tail - and you can do that as a Legendary as well!) so there's no reason for you to land and scrabble in the dirt when you can fight from the air and preserve your draconic dignity. More importantly, it will stop you eating a barrage of readied actions and opportunity attacks when you make your majestic sweep.

The Red Dragons' saves and senses are brilliant, so the biggest threat posed by spellcasters will be non-save debuff spells such as Forcecage** or Ottiluke's Irresistible Dance. In terms of support, some kind of spell-caster to disrupt this: a crazed dragon-worshipping Cleric, for example. Without this, the Red Dragon will suffer from only really being able to deal direct hit-point damage with a lack of utility, and the fact that most of the damage is easily resisted.

Much of this fight will depend on the window-dressing. Noone with any self-respect fights a Dragon in a field. People fight Dragons whilst flying through a thunderstorm, deep in the caldera of a volcano, in a firestorm in the centre of the capital city or in an ocean of blood and magma on some plane of the Abyss. Make sure the terrain is a persistent hazard and adds to the drama of the conflict.

In terms of a campaign role, the Red Dragon is clearly a major villain. However, I don't feel it works as schemer or plotter. Your Red Dragon is a warlord, a conqueror; you have fought his armies since you were a level one Fighter with less hit-points than sense and you've built to this since the beginning.

Fluff
Firstly, did they need to include any? This scene tells you everything you need to know, and the archetypical dragon is so huge in the collective imagination that anyone could write some fluff for it.

The fluff focuses on their vanity, vainglory and endless hunt for prestige: I personally love the idea that for a Dragon this toxic insecurity is almost biological, and it really cements their motivation without humanising too much.

The author makes a strong effort to describe the Desolation around a Red Dragon's lair, which I love: populated by rogue fire-creatures, sulphurous wastes, monuments to the dragons' hubris, and miserable minions and slaves. Somewhere between Mordor and Bosch's Hell sits our Red Dragon upon its mountain-throne.

There's some excellent detail in the physical description which really captures the imagination, and they're the kind of small detail you could definitely drop into your description of the scene to dazzle your players.


Plot Hooks

Aurumvorax rules all the territory west of the Titanheart Mountains; an endless expanse of magma and poisonous mists where his chattel skitter beneath his baleful eye. Unseat the tyrant of the west, take his treasure-hoard and all will know your name.

Fraguth plundered the territories of the North for a generation, and his hoard grew immeasurable. Then he returned to the Plane of Fire to slumber on his ill-gotten riches. We would forget The Burning Wyrm were it not that he took the eight Sealing Jewels that are needed to prevent the rise of the Lich-King...

Draguragoth grows fat and ancient in his stolen mountain, wrapped in a hoard of such tremendous enormity as to defy imagination. As he ages, he sends to the vassal kings and subjects of all lands: now, not demanding tribute, but something else. A conversation. Draguragoth believes himself to have produced in his long tyranny the perfect philosophy of rule and society, and he wishes the philosphers come hear the Dragon discourse.

Verdict: The concept is so strong I don't see how anyone could mess this up, but the execution is strong and overcomes the weaknesses of a solo monster in 5e. The fluff and artwork are still engaging even though we've all seen a panoply of Dragons. An excellent effort.




* Dragons are primal terror. You do not ride them and joke with them. Noone knows dragons intimately enough to differentiate between blue and green: dragons simply are.

Noone fights an Ancient White Dragon. They fight Kauldrvist; Shield-Taker; God-Breaker - the White Death, The Bleeding Ice, Sovereign of the White Sea, the Terror of the Aurora, The Cold Hunger, who has ruled the ice-floes since time immemorial. Your dragon needs a rep.

I am dead-against letting players feel like big boys because they offed a Dragon that was still in nappies. You don't get to fight Dragons with training wheels. For me, the stat-blocks start at Adult.

Dragons don't get comedy roles in my campaign. There is no relief. Their mythic status largely comes from the fact that dragons don't make jokes.

**Well actually no, you're too big to fit in. Back to the arcane drawing board.

[Spellbreaker26]

That was a pretty epic introduction... but...

...sadly I don't get the love for red dragons in particular. They're the most "dragony" dragon, goes their fluff. But that means that they don't have a niche. They're not snobs like blue, they're not spiteful like black, they're not cunning like green or even animalistic like white. They've just got slightly higher stats, and that's it. It's like they're so afraid of giving them an aspect that would turn players off from their second most iconic monster* that they don't give it anything that really makes it stand out. Put simply, there's no role the red dragon can fulfill that cannot be fulfilled by one of the others. Oh they're greedy? Well they're all greedy! Black hoards relics of empire, blue artists and gems, white trophy kills, and green servants and antiques. Red is just the greediest!... but it has no specific obsession. It says that it's the most arrogant. Well they're all arrogant! See what I mean? The red has no real distinctive qualities of its own and just bores me compared to the others, even white.





*(For me the Lich is actually more iconic than dragons, for some reason)

[MrStabby]

That was a pretty epic introduction... but...

...sadly I don't get the love for red dragons in particular. They're the most "dragony" dragon, goes their fluff. But that means that they don't have a niche. They're not snobs like blue, they're not spiteful like black, they're not cunning like green or even animalistic like white. They've just got slightly higher stats, and that's it. It's like they're so afraid of giving them an aspect that would turn players off from their second most iconic monster* that they don't give it anything that really makes it stand out. Put simply, there's no role the red dragon can fulfill that cannot be fulfilled by one of the others. Oh they're greedy? Well they're all greedy! Black hoards relics of empire, blue artists and gems, white trophy kills, and green servants and antiques. Red is just the greediest!... but it has no specific obsession. It says that it's the most arrogant. Well they're all arrogant! See what I mean? The red has no real distinctive qualities of its own and just bores me compared to the others, even white.





*(For me the Lich is actually more iconic than dragons, for some reason)

Well I would also say that they are all spiteful and all cunning as well. I think red is majestic and proud beyond anything else in the MM. Maybe not THE most interesting but a real climax.

I think the red is undermined somewhat by the ability to add class levels/spells to the others. They certainly get to be just as powerful if the DM wants. The whole scorched earth and tyranny thing I can get behind though.

[Spellbreaker26]

Well I would also say that they are all spiteful and all cunning as well. I think red is majestic and proud beyond anything else in the MM. Maybe not THE most interesting but a real climax.

I think the red is undermined somewhat by the ability to add class levels/spells to the others. They certainly get to be just as powerful if the DM wants. The whole scorched earth and tyranny thing I can get behind though.

My point is that black is the most spiteful, to the point of tracking down relics from kingdoms long destroyed that were it's rivals, just to gloat. That's an obsession unique to them. Red's don't have anything like that.

[MrStabby]

My point is that black is the most spiteful, to the point of tracking down relics from kingdoms long destroyed that were it's rivals, just to gloat. That's an obsession unique to them. Red's don't have anything like that.

I agree - what I was saying was that i thought Red's Ego and Pride was as much above those of other dragons as black's spite was above other dragons. All dragons are proud - Red really turns it into a pathology.

[Spellbreaker26]

I agree - what I was saying was that i thought Red's Ego and Pride was as much above those of other dragons as black's spite was above other dragons. All dragons are proud - Red really turns it into a pathology.

The problem is that that is pretty much already blue's remit, vanity, and blue manages to be much more characterful with it (like kidnapping bards and artists).