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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jaelommiss" data-source="post: 6628825" data-attributes="member: 6775925">The average range of most spells is simply too short to deal with this tactic. The dragon bypasses all risk before attacking by staying well beyond everyone's range. In a single turn it stops flying, falls to 50 feet above the party, casts featherfall to catch itself, breath weapon on everyone, flies sideways 80 feet. It's now 94 feet from the party. All weapons except heavy crossbows and longbows are now at long range. The majority of spells are also out of range, though there are some outliers that will still work. At the end of the next person's turn, the dragon uses the Wing Attack legendary action on no one in particular to move another 40 feet away, taking it out of range of even more spells and putting all weapons except the longbow at long range (on this note, dragons really need a legendary action to simply move). Pursuing on foot will be hard, and most mounts won't survive the initial attack. Dash away next turn and no offensive magic other than meteor swarm will reach the dragon. The next turn it is out of range of everything weapon except a longbow shot or siege weapons. If the dragon cast invisibility on itself before attacking and gained a surprise round, then it might be almost 300 feet away before anyone can respond.If used in a forest or hilly terrain, you've now got partial cover on the dragon. In a desert or snowy waste a blue or white dragon will be able to strike and burrow. In a swamp a black dragon can dive into nearby water to hide.Ultimately it is a free breath weapon to either open a fight with or expend party resources. The party spends an hour to recover, giving the dragon time to organize its minions. Or, they might push on ahead and only use a few spells to heal. Those are spells that won't be cast at the dragon and its followers.In answer to your question, the average party's ranged capabilities are insufficient to deal with this threat effectively. Without someone optimized for long range they will be taking far more damage than they can return.Edit: I noticed that I mentioned young dragons in the post you replied to. Since they cannot escape as quickly, I will concede that an average party is far more likely to be able to fight it successfully.</blockquote>

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