D&D 5E Dragon dreams?

Quickleaf · May 14, 2021

Do dragons have a special connection to some "other state" when they dream? Is there a sourcebook where some connection has been made between dragons and... for lack of a better word... energies associated with psychic states, dreams, or somesuch?

I've got a red dragon trapped inside its egg for centuries, yet still alive, so it's the mind of an ancient red dragon trapped in an embryonic wyrmling form. And I'm trying to figure out what sort of capabilities it might have for communication, etc.

While "whatever the DM says" is always there for me to fall back on, I'm trying to get a sense of some of the deeper lore around dragons to help me interpret my current adventure's unique situation.

I know the 3e Draconomicon (introduction) states: "Dragons are, by their very nature, epic forces in the world. Their actions, their schemes, even their dreams are felt throughout the world.

And the 5e DMG (tiers of play) says: "The dragons they encounter are wyrms of tremendous power, whose sleep troubles kingdoms and whose waking threatens existence itself."

Are those just flavor text? Or are there other sources that might illuminate how to approach my unique dragon?

Ralif Redhammer · May 14, 2021

Looking at the 2e Draconomicon, there's nothing concretely mentioned about their sleep patterns having anything like, say the beholders'. It does say that chromatic dragons display more pronounced sleep/wake cycles than metallics. It also talks about how when their waking cycles linking up and causing dragonflights might be related to a red star called the King-killer.

Quartz · May 14, 2021

Quickleaf said:
Do dragons have a special connection to some "other state" when they dream? Is there a sourcebook where some connection has been made between dragons and... for lack of a better word... energies associated with psychic states, dreams, or somesuch?

Take a look at Glorantha: any dragon encountered is the embodiment of a dream of a real dragon. Real dragons can devastate nations on their own.

Faolyn · May 14, 2021

Ralif Redhammer said:
Looking at the 2e Draconomicon, there's nothing concretely mentioned about their sleep patterns having anything like, say the beholders'. It does say that chromatic dragons display more pronounced sleep/wake cycles than metallics. It also talks about how when their waking cycles linking up and causing dragonflights might be related to a red star called the King-killer.

To be fair, back then they were going for a very naturalistic explanation of dragons, including their evolutionary history.

Although it looks like they were making a Pern reference there, with that last sentence.