D&D General Which Edition Had The Best Dragons?

[Reynard]

For D&D specifically, which edition do you think had the best dragons? Why?

I myself love the 2E MM in general and the dragons (and giants!) in particular. The 1E dragons always felt small and anemic to me, and 2E really ramped them up into the threats they should be. 3.x dragons were also power houses, but perhaps a little too complex to build and play. 5E dragons, at least as they are presented in the MM, are terribly boring -- but Fizban's goes a long way toward making them interesting again.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Seeing as my desktop background for about the past decade has been the cobalt dragon from Draconomicon II: Metallic Dragons, I think we know which edition I prefer for its dragons. The art was great, the much wider variety of dragons, the decoupling of color from alignment...it's all to the good.

(I should note, cobalt dragons in general aren't really my favorite, I just like how the art looks.)

 

[the Jester]

I'd have to give the nod to the versions in the 4e Monster Vault. This was the product that, IMHO, reached the apex of D&D monster design.

 

[Aldarc]

4e. Hands down.

 

[Teemu]

4e dragons by far because they’re mechanically distinct from one another, and the Monster Vault versions in particular make for really fun enemies. I’m hoping that the 2024 (2025?) MM dragons will be more like the Fizban’s or Strixhaven dragons and will once again have more unique abilities for each dragon type.

 

[grimmgoose]

4E monster design was absolutely top-notch. Basically zero competition in that regard.

 

[Stormonu]

1E and B/X had dragons that were actually at a power level you could throw at characters.
2E dragons were beefy, high-level threats meant to be campaign-end bosses
3E dragons were truly monsters you got out of the way of
4E can't comment
5E are generic blobs of hit points with a colorful area attack.

3E dragons could be the scariest, but I think I like 2E dragons the overall best as they were beefed up to be boss-level enemies.

Though 1E dragons do have the charm that you can encounter and defeat them from around level 5 upwards. They aren't necessarily "boss" creatures and more like a common enemy for 7th+ level parties (i.e., it's just a fire-breathing lizard). The non-spellcasting versions can be mooks or pets to more powerful villians, thrown as pairs or larger groups against high-level PCs. There's a different philosophy behind them than all the other editions. You can see the change around the release of Dragonlance, where like vampires (with the coming of Strahd) they went from being a generic enemy to being something to be feared and respected, with single specimens meant to be a high-level challenge, if not the big bad target at the end of a campaign.

 

[payn]

Fairly neutral on this. I will say this though, I vastly prefer the dragonkin from 3E to any form of dragonborn.

 

[Stormonu]

Fairly neutral on this. I will say this though, I vastly prefer the dragonkin from 3E to any form of dragonborn.

You are aware that dragonborn are from 3E, Races of the Dragon?

 

[payn]

You are aware that dragonborn are from 3E, Races of the Dragon?

Statement stands.