Help me plan my adventure! Dragons are too powerful!

I'm currently designing the sequel to my own 30-page-ish adventure, and I would like to include a dragon, but I plan for the second adventure to be around the same length as the first and I fear my players won't have a chance against it. Somebody help! Give me Ideas! How can I do dragony stuff without killing my poor players!

I may be underestimating my players, but I would like a solution under 100 hitpoints. I just need opinions, like if it is not strong enough, too strong, or whatever.

I think I may have devised a solution. Either, (A) give lots and lots of kobolds as cannon fodder to level up my players quickly, or (B) have the players exploring the big bad dragon's former lair and run across a hatchling/very young dragon.

Here is my proposed stat block for my hatch ling dragon:
STAT BLOCK STARTS HERE:
Red Dragon Hatchling
XP awarded: 2000 to entire party divided evenly
Speed: 30ft, 40ft fly
HP: 7d12 + 2
AC: 16 (Natural Armor)
Str: 14
Dex: 17
Con: 15
Int: 8
Wis: 8
Cha: 13

Multi Attack: The Red Dragon Hatchling can either 1:move 20 extra feet and make two claw attacks or one claw and one bite attack, 2: Use its breath weapon, or 3:fly into the air if on the ground and land and make a claw attack if in the air.

Bite: +8 to hit, damage 2d6 + 2(piercing) and 1d8+6(fire)

Claw: +8 to hit, damage 3d4 + 2

Fire Breath: Recharge 3 turns: anyone in a 30ft cone must make a dc 1d4 + 16 dex saving throw, take 4d6 fire damage on a fail and half that on a success.

END OF STAT BLOCK:



Above all, the most important thing for my problem is feedback If you know anything that could help me, please post it in the comments! Thanks!


EDIT: WOW! You guys replied way more than I thought you would! Thanks for the good Ideas, and I now realize I was underestimating my players, actually a lot. I think I'll make it a family of Red Dragons, Make part of the campaign about defending a town from the bid daddy dragon, the mastermind of it all, and maybe another part about taking down a young red that is part of the bid bad's family/syndicate. I know that relationships between different types of dragons are very rare as teamwork is not in their nature, so I decided it would be a family group. Thank you all for the replies and I wish you well!

EDIT 2: My party will be 3-6 PC's around level 5-7

What level are the PCs and how many of them are there?

We need to know more about the party to give on-target advice.

Read through the various dragons' descriptions (the fluff). Some dragons provide themselves with guardians to chase off unwanted guests and/or lieutenants to handle the day-to-day work of operating a lair, so the dragon need not bother himself with the petty details. If the PCs have to fight the outer layer of defenses to reach the dragon lair, they will gain levels along the way naturally.

Yes, we really need to know more about the party.

Could it turn out to be a "fake" dragon? Like a wyvern, or an illusion created by a scheming mage?

Most solo encounters are much weaker in 5e then they seem on paper because of the disparity in the number of actions a single creature gets vs. a full party.

I wouldn't use your hatchling - it's a bag of HPs that if it hits does minor scratches, to be attacked by everyone else in the party and worn down quickly. Unless it stays far up, in which case the ranged characters will be the only ones having fun and every coupe of rounds it can breathe.

What level is your party?

Blue said:

Most solo encounters are much weaker in 5e then they seem on paper because of the disparity in the number of actions a single creature gets vs. a full party.

I wouldn't use your hatchling - it's a bag of HPs that if it hits does minor scratches, to be attacked by everyone else in the party and worn down quickly. Unless it stays far up, in which case the ranged characters will be the only ones having fun and every coupe of rounds it can breathe.

What level is your party?

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The hatchling is not bad actually. Has movement options. 4d6 damage is not bad at all. 14 average damage. And hp are only 47 if you take the average. So I don't think the bag of hp and boring fight is justified here. A level 1 party does not stand a chance if not very lucky. A level 2 party should win the fight if they have most of their resources available. A level 3 party should win easily but depending on initiative and party composition might still have to spend a dew resources.

Look for a monster in the right CR range for the party that is close to dragonish and reskin. If it is solo give it lair actions and legendary saves. Cannot be more specific without more info.

Personally, I would look for a monster other than a baby dragon. It seems a little weird to offer up a baby dragon as a combat challenge to me, even if they can take out some lower-level PCs. I'd much rather save dragons for later in the campaign when they get really nasty and nobody feels bad about slaying something that just hatched. I'm running Sunless Citadel right now and that there is a white dragon wyrmling in there already that has me annoyed.

Karsten Crump said:

I'm currently designing the sequel to my own 30-page-ish adventure, and I would like to include a dragon, but I plan for the second adventure to be around the same length as the first and I fear my players won't have a chance against it. Somebody help! Give me Ideas! How can I do dragony stuff without killing my poor players!

Click to expand...

I agree with @iserith on this, also it cheapens the dragon experience by having them slaughter a wyrmling as their first encounter with a dragon.

Dragony stuff could include:
(a) Defeating a quasi-leader of a dragon cultist organisation with information leading to a higher ranking individual or the dragon he/she serves;
(b) Recovering a group of stolen wyvern eggs from some duergar and sourcing an honest buyer for them;
(c) Finding a dracologist's tome as a source of treasurer after clearing a haunted mage tower and uncovering a new dragon-like spell or two;
(d) Discovering a cache of dragon scales as part of some treasure horde - which can be fashioned into armour, gloves or boots, but having to find the appropriate craftsmen to commission the work;
(e) Assisting in the transportation of some baby drakes, only to find that perhaps some of the caravan employees have a different location in mind (theft);
(f) After finding an old treasure map and following its directions the party finds itself in a lair which they gradually realise is the lair of a dragon with various lair effects still in place giving the perception that it is not abandoned and very much in use, only to discover a deranged druid is using it as his home;
etc...

Sadras said:

I agree with @iserith on this, also it cheapens the dragon experience by having them slaughter a wyrmling as their first encounter with a dragon.

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My games are pretty silly. But the one thing I take seriously is dragons. It's in the title of the game, so I figure I have to make it good.