If you ripped level out of an ancient red dragon you would get this (I am going to treat level 1 as rather than 0 for easier comparison to the level 1 PCs we are familiar with):
Ancient Red Dragon, Creature 19
Uncommon CE Huge Dragon Fire
Perception +17; darkvision, scent (imprecise) 60 feet, smoke vision
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Jotun, Orcish
Skills Acrobatics +12, Arcana +17, Athletics +19, Deception +17, Diplomacy +17, Intimidation +19, Stealth +15
Str +9, Dex +5, Con +8, Int +5, Wis +6, Cha +7
Smoke Vision Smoke doesn’t impair a red dragon’s vision; it ignores the concealed condition from smoke.
AC 27, Fort +17, Ref +14, Will +17; +1 status to all saves vs. magic
HP 425; Immunities fire, paralyzed, sleep; Weaknesses cold 20
Dragon Heat (arcane, aura, evocation, fire); 10 feet, 4d6 fire damage (DC 21 basic Reflex)
Frightful Presence (aura, emotion, fear, mental) 90 feet, DC 22
Attack of Opportunity Reaction Jaws only.
Redirect Fire Reaction (abjuration, arcane); Trigger A creature within 100 feet casts a fire spell, or a fire spell otherwise comes into effect from a source within 100 feet. Effect The dragon makes all the choices to determine the targets, destination, or other effects of the spell, as though it were the caster.
Speed 60 feet, fly 180 feet
Melee Single Action jaws +19 (fire, magical, reach 20 feet), Damage 4d10+17 piercing plus 3d6 fire
Melee Single Action claw +19 (agile, magical, reach 15 feet), Damage 4d8+17 slashing
Melee Single Action tail +17 (magical, reach 25 feet), Damage 4d10+15 slashing
Melee Single Action wing +17 (agile, magical, reach 20 feet), Damage 3d8+15 slashing
Arcane Innate Spells DC 24; 8th wall of fire (at will); 4th suggestion (at will); Cantrips (9th) detect magic, read aura
Breath Weapon Two Actions (arcane, evocation, fire) The dragon breathes a blast of flame that deals 20d6 fire damage in a 60-foot cone (DC 24 basic Reflex save). It can’t use Breath Weapon again for 1d4 rounds.
Draconic Frenzy Two Actions The dragon makes two claw Strikes and one wing Strike in any order.
Draconic Momentum The dragon recharges its Breath Weapon whenever it scores a critical hit with a Strike.
Manipulate Flames Single Action (arcane, concentrate, transmutation) The red dragon attempts to take control of a magical fire or a fire spell within 100 feet. If it succeeds at a counteract check (counteract level 10, counteract modifier +14), the original caster loses control of the spell or magic fire, control is transferred to the dragon, and the dragon counts as having Sustained the Spell with this action (if applicable). The dragon can choose to end the spell instead of taking control, if it chooses.
Would that seem still sturdy enough to deal with a large number of low level foes?