D&D 5E Making Dragons cool again: New Dragon Traits

[dave2008]

It all depends on how long last fight against dragon in your game.
Dragon breathing on round 1,3,5 make look an increase to CR but it require that the dragon survive till round 3!

My dragons always outlast my PCs!

 

[dave2008]

And I can respect the idea of going with more damage, but part of my desire with these is simplicity (for example many of your redesigns for dragons are already great if you want a more complex dragon, but for this I was looking for a thing that was easy and quick to run).

I agree with the idea of simplicity, I've started another redesign of my dragons with that goal as well. However, I can't, for my dragons, boil that down to some traits I can slap on the standard stat block. I think that is a great idea, but I want to rebuild my dragons from the ground up.

 

[Rabulias]

When wouldn't a dragon use their best ability?!? Even if it only affects 1 PC, it's still likely better than a full round of multi-attack, especially since they get to do at least half damage.

I assume that the dragon will still need to make the recharge roll for their breath weapon, so it won't always be available.

I don't see pudgy on that list!

Just a quick stab at it:

Pudgy. The sheer bulk of the dragon prevents it from flying and lowers its walking Speed by 10 feet. It has Damage Resistance to everything except Psychic damage. The dragon's maximum Hit Points are increased by 50%. The mass behind the dragon's Claw and Tail attacks do an additional base die of damage. The dragon also gains the Siege Monster trait, doing double damage against objects and structures, and the Trampling Roll action.

Trampling Roll. The dragon rolls over smaller opponents, using its great weight against them. The dragon moves up to its Speed in a straight line. It can move through the spaces of other creatures in its path as long as all of them are smaller than the dragon, and this movement does not count as difficult terrain. Every creature in the dragon's path must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC same as the dragon's breath weapon), taking bludgeoning damage equal to double the dragon's tail attack (including the bonus die from Pudgy) on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful save. The dragon cannot end its turn sharing a space with another creature. The dragon counts as prone during this action, but ends the trampling roll back on its feet.

 

[Quickleaf]

Here's an experimental trait that serves as a bridge between interaction and combat, stealing from mind spike spell...

Riddling Dragon. When the dragon poses a difficult question or riddle that goes unanswered, the dragon know the location of each creature in its lair that could not give it an answer, but only while on the same plane of existence. While the dragon can sense the creature's tension or doubt, the creature can’t become hidden from the dragon, and if the creature is invisible, it gains no benefit from that condition against the dragon. However, once a creature gives an answer, the dragon can no longer sense its tension or doubt.

Here's one that gives a dispelling-like property to a dragon's roar...

Legendary Action: Revealing Roar. The dragon unleashes a terrible roar. Each creature within a 100 foot cone that is wildshaped, polymorphed, or hidden by illusion or disguise must succeed a Constitution save or be forced into its true form. If the creature was immune to the dragon's Frightful Presence, it is no longer immune when it is forced into its true form.

Here's one which leans on the "moment of weakness" idea we see in movies...

Legendary Action: Recharge Breath. The dragon begins recharging its breath weapon, which becomes fully recharged at the start of its next turn. During this time, the dragon might take full damage from a damage type it is usually resistant or immune to, or it might take vulnerability to a certain type of attack, or some of its defenses might be lowered.

 

[ad_hoc]

I think the lair and lair actions are a great opportunity to make unique and interesting encounters.

Just like with a Beholder the lair (and minions) can make a fight downright unfair.

 

[dave2008]

@Stalker0, how about this for when you want suggest the PCs into melee.

Dragon armor. The dragon has a +5 bonus to its AC against ranged attacks.

Elder Dragon Armor. The dragon has a +5 bonus to its AC against ranged attacks and it Dexterity saving throws.

 

[Evilhalfling]

Im gearing up for a (gold) dragon fight soon, and the problem is the group's gloomstaker/archer. she ignores cover, and range penalties, 90 first-round damage has been normal. (L10)
A total win for the party is to cast greater restoration on it, curing its insanity, and allowing negotiation.
- but that needs to burn through legendary resistances. and the 4-person party doesn't force many saves.

killing it will also free it, and it will ask to be raised with its last breath

mostly I just gave it +34 hp (20% increase)
Perhaps a bloodied trigger? Dragon gains +5 AC or resistance to all ranged attack damage when it becomes bloodied. ill keep that in my back pocket.

Current Lair actions:
Banish target to dream world (can return with save or investigation skill roll) max 1 inhabitant
- the dream world contains campaign clues...
Activate Lair Defenses - Pillars in the lair do cold damage (10r) in a predictable sequence.
this dragon breathes fire, so a little cold damage is helpful against rivals /hunters.

Is it too video gamey to force players to rotate around the room to avoid environmental damage?

 

[Quickleaf]

Im gearing up for a (gold) dragon fight soon, and the problem is the group's gloomstaker/archer. she ignores cover, and range penalties, 90 first-round damage has been normal. (L10)
A total win for the party is to cast greater restoration on it, curing its insanity, and allowing negotiation.
- but that needs to burn through legendary resistances. and the 4-person party doesn't force many saves.

killing it will also free it, and it will ask to be raised with its last breath

mostly I just gave it +34 hp (20% increase)
Perhaps a bloodied trigger? Dragon gains +5 AC or resistance to all ranged attack damage when it becomes bloodied. ill keep that in my back pocket.

I've run for a gloomstalker/sharpshooter ranger before – it's probably one of the more "broken" aspects of 5e in that it requires significant GM adaptation to maintain the sense of threat in most fights. DMDavid gives a solid breakdown of the sharpshooter feat's issues. There's a strong argument to be made for house ruling / nerfing it, but I'm gonna assume you'll keep the build as-is, so I'll give some suggestions about how to adapt (like your bloodied trigger):

• What if this dragon has scales that give it resistance to damage from ranged weapons? You might include caveats like a special "Aimed Shot" action (i.e. no multi-attacks, possibly requiring a check) can spot a chink in the scales to bypass this resistance.
• What if, while it's recharging its breath weapon (and assume the dragon is recharging from the start of combat), its scales superheat to the point that non-magical ammunition melts before striking the dragon? So it's immune to ranged weapons except for the round in which it uses its breath weapon, encouraging the ranger PC to wait for an opening and/or Ready her attack.
• What if the pillars are massive enough to provide Total Cover to the dragon? This would require the PCs move around to get a clear shot.
• What if the pillars cause slow-type effects to the point of freezing projectiles that pass through a cold aura mid-flight? This would might require using some actions to destroy some pillars.
• What if the dragon can breathe fire on a cold pillar, creating a huge cloud of steam that Heavily Obscures the area until the start of its next turn?
• What if, on the first turn of combat in which the Gloomstalker ranger PC would benefit from Dread Ambusher, the dragon begins behind, or quickly flies behind, total cover?
• What if, for this encounter, the ranger PC can make special "whistling shots" that tradeoff damage to reduce the Legendary Resistances of the dragon? For ex, if the ranger PC would deal 45+ damage (or whatever target # you choose), she may instead opt to deal no damage, but reduce the dragon's Legendary Resistances by one. This might be narrated as whispering to her arrows and the arrows nicking the dragon and delivering the whispered message. Heck, you could extend this to other PCs as well.

If those ideas are too much, you can always fall back on the encounter being more about the Moral Dilemma (e.g. maybe raising the dragon is fallible, or not guaranteed, or involves risk) than about the tactics/strategy involved.

Current Lair actions:
Banish target to dream world (can return with save or investigation skill roll) max 1 inhabitant
- the dream world contains campaign clues...
Activate Lair Defenses - Pillars in the lair do cold damage (10r) in a predictable sequence.
this dragon breathes fire, so a little cold damage is helpful against rivals /hunters.

Is it too video gamey to force players to rotate around the room to avoid environmental damage?

Those are interesting lair actions.

While yes, it's "video gamey", it does accomplish the goal of getting PCs moving rather than turtling together and shooting their way to victory.

But there are other ways to encourage that – some of my above suggestions present "carrot" methods to encourage movement (as opposed to the cold damage being a "stick" method).

If you prefer the "stick" method (or some combo of the two), you can mitigate the transparent "video gameness" by layering some narrative about why the pillars become infused with terrible cold in some sequence. Maybe the spirits of the dragon's dead wyrmlings haunt the chamber, and their flight pattern (perceivable with see invisibility / Dragonsight) explains the sequence of cold pillar activation? Maybe the pillars are engraved with Draconic runes that spell out the dragon's True Name reversed/backwards (and if PCs realize this and speak its True Name in the right order that removes 1 or more Legendary Resistances from it)?

 

[Tonguez]

A Dragon in the Walls

the Dragons lair is a cavern at the center of a labyrinthine network of multiple narrow tunnels, with openings in the floor, ceiling and walls. The serpentine dragon lurks in the tunnels unseen and covered, until it dashes in to ambush intruders in fast flyby attacks before disappearing into another tunnel, twisting back on itself and attacking again from another angle.
Set lair actions the dragon can trigger as it disappears into a tunnel

 

[Yaarel]

@Stalker0

I like the Draconic Armor.

It means that younger Dragons at lower levels can feel "difficult" to hit, while still being not impossible to hit.

Also, the need to think about how to gain advantage against the Dragon emphasizes the flavor of strategy and tactics.

Dragons become a formidable opponent at any level.

 

[Yaarel]

For me the most important reallife archetypes about the dragon are:

The dragon is actually a species of snake. (There are reallife prehistoric ancestors of snakes that still have limbs, and the dragon would be an evolutionary branch from them. The dragon resembles a blend of snake and other animals, such as snake-lion-eagle or snake-wolf-bat, but is actually a kind of snake.)

The snake never blinks. Hence, the snake is all-seeing. The snake is intelligent and cunning, and is pragmatically aware of what actually is or isnt possible. It is impossible to bluff a snake. Oppositely, the snake is skilled at deception, and precisely exploits on the vulnerabilities of foes.

The snake has venom. The breath weapon is complex with various possible effects, including medical properties. Dragon breath can heal, and do other kinds of effects, including mind-altering effects.

The snake sheds its skin. Hence, the snake is eternally youthful and immortal. Other creatures can gain draconic properties to likewise rejuvenate, to become young, healthy and whole.

The Greek snake Drakon is actually the African Python, which is known for constricting around its prey to suffocate it. The Dragon tail can capture, entangle, immobilize, and kill a target

 

[aco175]

What about giving spells back to dragons? Give them bonus actions to cast some and some special spells that affect things like changing their breath weapon damage type or being able to crit better with claw attacks.

I like the idea of giving dragons more abilities and it would be cool to have a list of things that could be added. Maybe a chart with a few dozen abilities and the DM rolls a few to add to each dragon to make each one more unique. Maybe add one random cool ability at each age bracket.

 

[Evilhalfling]

@Quickleaf those are interesting suggestions - I especially like the
breathing fire on the pillars for cover
Whispered secrets to arrows to remove legendary resistance (especially if this power is gained after dream banishment) I can just offer to trade this for damage 1/round.
The pillars are activated by a verbal command in draconic - int checks by characters who speak draconic, or trial and error by players can discover the command to shut it down for 3 rounds (1 cycle).

in 13th Age RPG (a brilliant adaption of 4e, unfortunate cause still 4e)
Dragons recharged & used their breath weapon as a free action when they were reduced to 1/2 HP.

I could use that and then just give the dragon the shield spell 1/day.

 

[Quickleaf]

@Quickleaf those are interesting suggestions - I especially like the
breathing fire on the pillars for cover
Whispered secrets to arrows to remove legendary resistance (especially if this power is gained after dream banishment) I can just offer to trade this for damage 1/round.
The pillars are activated by a verbal command in draconic - int checks by characters who speak draconic, or trial and error by players can discover the command to shut it down for 3 rounds (1 cycle).

Yeah, I think you have the makings of a really interesting dragon encounter. I like that connection between the dream banishment & some lore and the newfound Whispered Secrets ability. That's a nice touch.

in 13th Age RPG (a brilliant adaption of 4e, unfortunate cause still 4e)
Dragons recharged & used their breath weapon as a free action when they were reduced to 1/2 HP.

I could use that and then just give the dragon the shield spell 1/day.

I know this is unsolicited advice at this point, but some further thoughts...

• I dislike that 13th age "recharge and immediately use" power because I like to telegraph when a dragon is recharging its breath weapon. I want players to know and to be able to do something about it, even if it's just take cover. So I'll roll the recharge immediately after the breath damage, then at the soonest opportunity (usually I wait till after the next player's turn just for flow) I narrate what its attempting to recharge looks like. And if I'm on my A game, I also seed some kind of vulnerability or exploit that players might follow up on.
• I dislike the shield spell in every way because it's so good that it becomes a no-brainer choice, and ends up being tacked onto various PCs & monsters where it really doesn't fit the theme. +5 AC vs. ALL attacks until the start of my next turn? Sure! I get that it can be more work, but I can see so many cooler opportunities to boost a dragon's defenses than the shield spell.

 

[dave2008]

• What if this dragon has scales that give it resistance to damage from ranged weapons? You might include caveats like a special "Aimed Shot" action (i.e. no multi-attacks, possibly requiring a check) can spot a chink in the scales to bypass this resistance.

I have given monsters, particularly hard scaled ones like dragons, resistance to piercing damage before. That covers most ranged weapon attacks that are an issue I think and, for me, fits the fiction of a dragon's super hard scales.

 

[Stalker0]

What about giving spells back to dragons? Give them bonus actions to cast some and some special spells that affect things like changing their breath weapon damage type or being able to crit better with claw attacks.

I like the idea of giving dragons more abilities and it would be cool to have a list of things that could be added. Maybe a chart with a few dozen abilities and the DM rolls a few to add to each dragon to make each one more unique. Maybe add one random cool ability at each age bracket.

Spells are great, but they do add an entire avenue of complexity, and the goal with these traits was to add something quick to existing dragons.

 

[RoughCoronet0]

One of the things I did to change my dragons was to create variants of iconic attacks to fit each dragon’s preferred fighting style.

For example, dragons get a Wing Attack as one of their Legendary Actions. I have three variations of this action.

• Wing Slam. This is the standard Wing Attack which does a bit of damage and knocks creatures prone on a failed save, before allowing the dragon to move up to half its fly speed. This version of Wing Attack is used by dragons that tend to enjoy switching between melee and ranged combat, or those who enjoy having full range of movement across the battlefield.
• Wing Buffet. This variant deals a bit of damage before pushing creatures away and allowing the dragon to fly straight up into the air for half its fly speed. This is for dragons who are not as physically imposing and prefer staying more at ranged to assault that party with projectile attacks or their breath weapon.
• Wing Vortex. This variant deals a bit of damage, has a greater area of effect and pulls creatures right up to the dragon so it can prepare to unleash a flurry of melee attacks or an elemental burst attack on its turn. This is for more physically imposing dragons who’s primary damage in through its melee attacks and elemental burst actions.

I also have several variant features for the Breath weapons. Sorry for the unoriginal names.

• Standard Breath Weapon. These are the typical line/cone breath weapons used by the dragons. Some are just damage, others may have added condition they may inflict.
• Breath Barrage. This is a bullet heck style breath weapon that hits all creature within a large range around the dragon. It does less damage compared to the standard breath (typically about half damage) and those who fails their saving throws are knocked prone.
• Breath Shockwave. This has a similar range and damage amount as the Breath Barrage, only it pushes creatures away from the dragon instead of knocking them prone. This also makes the area difficult terrain until the end of the dragon’s next turn.
• Breath Burst. This variant creates a concentrated burst of energy that hits all those within short range of the dragon. This deals a bit less damage then the standard breath weapon and leaves an aura that deals extra damage or inflicts a condition to those that stay in the aura until the end of the dragon’s next turn.
• Breath Barrier. This variant is similar to the Breath Burst attack, only it does less damage and creates a wall of energy around the outer edge of the area of effect that encircles the dragon that blocks line of sight to all but the dragon and makes ranged attacks from outside of the wall less effective.
• Breath Blast. This variant creates a ball of energy that is launched out and impacts within a set range, creating a ranged AoE (like fireball). This deals a bit less damage then the standard breath and creates an area that deals extra damage or inflicts a condition to those that remain inside until the dragon’s next turn.
• Breath Smite. For this variant, the dragon charges and inflicts a single devastating Bite Attack with a part of its breath’s energy. The creature takes both the bite damage and effects and half of the standard breath weapon damage, and all creatures within a short range take some residual damage.
• Breath Casting. This variant allows the dragon to cast a non-damaging spell through its breath weapon. The breath does far less damage, but the spell affects all those that fail against the breath weapon’s saving throw. This would be a more limited ability, and only used by full casting dragons.

 

[Lanefan]

That is a simple approach. Ideally it would be more individualized, but that is the idea. Though to be honest, I like the idea of exploiting the weakness causing more damage. Not sure of the best way to make that work.

Called shots.

When you attack you can either attack as normal or (if the weakness is known) declare before rolling to hit that you're going for the weak point and take a -10 on your to-hit roll.

Successful hits against the weak point do double (ETA: or triple, or whatever bonus) damage.

 

[dave2008]

Called shots.

When you attack you can either attack as normal or (if the weakness is known) declare before rolling to hit that you're going for the weak point and take a -10 on your to-hit roll.

Successful hits against the weak point do double (ETA: or triple, or whatever bonus) damage.

I'm not generally a fan of called shots, but it could work. You still need to know the weakness to "call" it

 

[Lanefan]

I'm not generally a fan of called shots,

Me neither, but this is one place where it could be a useful mechanic.

but it could work. You still need to know the weakness to "call" it

Exactly - if you don't know the weakness, you can't call the shot.

And a mechanic for learning the weakness on the fly might be that it is exposed by any critical hit that does more than [x-threshold] damage. In the fiction, the critical is a lucky strike that finds the gap after which you can, with difficulty, deliberately aim for it.