D&D 5E Where are the Real Dragons?

[Dungeoneer]

That moment when the party walks in on the dragon and he's using mage hand to check facebook.

Sounds like an EPIC ENCOUNTER!!!

 

[MarkB]

I actually tend to assume that it's perfectly fair game to give the ability to do mundane tasks (even via magical means) to monsters, whatever that may be. Whether it's a red dragon who uses wisps of flame to etch messages in wood or bellow his orders out so that they crackle from a fire near his target a hundred miles away, I don't need the stat block to let me know it can do it, though I'm happy enough for it to give some suggestions.

I always found the Hand of the Mage to be a useful magic item for non-humanoid sentients, especially Awakened animals that want to be spellcasters. Mage Hand at-will gives you the ability to use somatic and material components as readily as any humanoid mage, as well as all the everyday tasks we manually-dextrous beings take for granted.

EDIT: Hmm, I just re-read the SRD version of the spell. It's not as impressive as I remember - I thought the 3.5e version allowed finer manipulation of objects, as he 4e version does.

 

[The Grand User]

I saw the idea that a dragon's wing claw and non-webbed finger might be more dexterous, like a humans, but obviously not too strong a grip, while their fore claws can have a strong grip, but no thumb for more complex tasks. Thus big manual labor can be done with their fore claw, though carrying things in both claws is awkward at best, and smaller, more delicate things done with their wings (with their three webbed fingers all folded up out of the way). A claw and wing (or both wings!) could also work together on some tasks.

Now if a dragon wanted to wield a sword or something, then he'd need magic or minions.