D&D General Dragon Spells?

How do you DMs determine the spells your dragons know?

  • 1. Random rolling

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2. Select spells

    Votes: 20 87.0%
  • 3. Random from a currated list

    Votes: 2 8.7%
  • 4. Other, explained below

    Votes: 1 4.3%

Not every spell needs to be combat related. Dragons are lazy, guarded, and smart so they might have spells like stoneshape to help carve out their cavern home, alarm to provide a warning of approaching adventurers, and an attack spell that is not at all related to their nature (a white dragon with fireball for instance). They might also start every battle with dispel magic to strip protections.
 

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Sure, but for me, that doesn't fit a dragon's theme. So I wouldn't pick that one. If it does for you, and you want to give the dragon Greater Invisibility - increase the dragon's CR. It is effectively a +2 to CR IIRC
That's my point. If I picked the spells the way I'd pick them for a PC, since the adult black dragon gets 4th level spells, Greater Invisibility is a no-brainer for the edge it supplies in combat. The fact that such a spell raises the CR effectively +2 is also an issue IMO, but that's a separate matter.

Now, Control Water is another which is more "thematic" I suppose, but in this case will start the encounter as the PCs are traveling by keelboat down a river, and saving the ship is part of the encounter.

I mean, it might be thematic for a black dragon to have Melf's Acid Arrow, but why bother when the dragon's offensive abilities already are so much better. Spells like blindness/deafness are too easily overcome.

Not every spell needs to be combat related.
Quite right, but considering the advantage magic can give a dragon in combat, I think some "combat" spells are easily warranted.
 

That's my point. If I picked the spells the way I'd pick them for a PC, since the adult black dragon gets 4th level spells, Greater Invisibility is a no-brainer for the edge it supplies in combat. The fact that such a spell raises the CR effectively +2 is also an issue IMO, but that's a separate matter.

Now, Control Water is another which is more "thematic" I suppose, but in this case will start the encounter as the PCs are traveling by keelboat down a river, and saving the ship is part of the encounter.

I mean, it might be thematic for a black dragon to have Melf's Acid Arrow, but why bother when the dragon's offensive abilities already are so much better. Spells like blindness/deafness are too easily overcome.


Quite right, but considering the advantage magic can give a dragon in combat, I think some "combat" spells are easily warranted.
Some combat spells are warranted for sure, something to give them an advantage or to suprise those pesky adventurers, but dragons I also feel have a bit of a superiority complex meaning they're more likely to rely on their physical and natural abilities in combat so I wouldn't feel the need to fill all of their spell slots with combat spells.
 


If I was a dragon, I would want spells that help me survive and counter what others would come at me with. If I'm a black dragon for instance, I would think the PCs might be protected from acid so I could use a spell that changes my breath weapon attack to lightning, or at least a counterspell that negates the PC's protection.

How about powers that change the breath weapon by taking away some of the dice, a bit like the new rogue that can trip you by doing 1 die less sneak attack.
I don't look at dragon/monster magic like Wizard magic that is swapped out easily.

I see dragon/monster magic as being more reflective of the monster's nature and influence over natural abitat, rather than assume they have the tactical ability to choose their magics for optimizing combat effectiveness.
 

In this case the spell I'm going with are Find Familiar (Quasit which will track the PCs), Dispel Magic, and Control Water.
If you have the space, I'd add Alarm.

Which might be on their physical horde....as well as on the entrance to the lair to represent their uncanny senses within their domain.
 


We actually didn't get to the dragon encounter tonight, we stopped just before it. So, I have another week to dwell on it, or if I am even going to have it or something else?
 

I am kind of lazy, so a lot of times the spells will come from the bonus spells lists of classes. Wyrmlings can cast the 3rd level bonus spells (each once per day); young dragons get the 3rd (3 times per day) and 5th (each once per day); adults get 3rd (at will), 5th (each 3 times per day), and 7th (each once per day); and ancients get 3rd and 5th level (at will), 7th (each 3 times per day), and 9th (each once per day).

In my setting, dragons change color/type after they brumate (hibernation for reptiles) and when they shed, change age categories, or have the urge to mate. Their spells reflect this.

Whites want to get away from other sentients and use the Polar Land Druid spells to make things miserable for anyone who enters their territory.

When a dragon is going to shed, its scales turn black, and it heads to the nearest swamp to ease the itch. They want melee combat to help get those scales off, so they don't bother with spells.

Green dragons come about when a dragon brumates too close to a Shadowfell portal. Gloom ranger doesn't quite fit, so I give them Trickery Domain spells.

Blue dragons are when a dragon gets the mood to breed and raise offspring. They tend to congregate in large groups to watch over eggs and wyrmlings. In any group, there is one who can cast Life Domain Cleric spells, but honestly, 20 adult (or older) blue dragons don't need a lot of spells to deal with any problem.

Red dragons come about when a dragon wakes up and feels the need for a bigger lair with more treasure. They also want everyone to know about it. Oath of Glory spells are good for these egomaniacs.

Brass dragons come about when a dragon wakes up curious about something. The either use Light domain spells (or if you are unfortunate), Great Old One Warlock spells AND Sorcerer Psionic spells. You are usually better off with a Red dragon.

When a dragon brumates too close to a Feywild portal, they go Copper. It is considered very rude to tell a dragon about anything it did as a Copper. They use Archfey Warlock spells.

Bronze are the opposite of whites, they want to immerse themselves in the lives of humanoids. Ports are good places for new "people" to come in and not attract attention. Bronze's use Circle of the Sea spells to avoid changing into their true forms.

Silver dragons wake up with strong religious convictions. Local priests usually go from "hey, this is great, a powerful member of the congregation" to "that dragon has taken over the church" pretty quickly, unless there is some menace that the dragon can take care of. They tend to go for Oath of Devotion, unless the nearest church has been destroyed or the local faith is oppressed, then it is Oath of Vengeance.

Golds tend to want to fix things for the poor, weak humanoids near them (for them, that is all humanoids), sometimes for the best, and sometimes not. Occasionally my parties, thinking the "power behind the throne" is a lich or a rakshasa, find out it is a Golden dragon. They usually use the Sorcerer Clockwork Spells.
 

That's my point. If I picked the spells the way I'd pick them for a PC, since the adult black dragon gets 4th level spells, Greater Invisibility is a no-brainer for the edge it supplies in combat. The fact that such a spell raises the CR effectively +2 is also an issue IMO, but that's a separate matter.
IDK, it seems like you are making to much of it to me. If you pick spells that make the dragon tougher, just take that into account in your encounter math (if that is important to you - it is not to me). If you pick spells that don't make it tougher, than no worry. So your choice is:
  1. Spells make the dragon tougher, adjust the encounter difficulty accordingly
  2. Spells don't make the dragon tougher, adjust nothing
It doesn't seem like something to stress over to me. Personally I don't like the idea of giving the dragon spells like a PC, because it is not a PC. It is not a wizard or sorcerer or warlock, it is innately magical.* It has magic based on its elemental/magical nature. That either works for you or not.

*This is generally true in my games; however, some dragons may indeed study magic and become true spellcasters.
 
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