Brown Dragons - Scourge of the Sands
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A brown dragon moving effortlessly through the sand - Faeron by kelpie-monster
We continue on our draconology mystery tour with an oddity of the draconic world. In terms of the dragons I've designed and used for my Dungeons and Dragons games. This one has many mechanical differences that I think the monster type somewhat needs. When you couple that with how they fight and where they live, it'll make some interesting encounters indeed.
Brown Dragons
In the arid, yellow sands of the world's deserts, many might find other breeds of dragons. Those dragons have an affinity for living in the intense heat and with the whipping sand, but they were not born for it or moulded by at is brown dragons were.
Their shapes are extremely unique, almost alien compared to other dragon breeds. Their bodies are incredibly slender, almost gaunt. Their arrow shaped heads and wings which fold multiple times over to stay clung to the thick spines on their backs are for a singular purpose. Draconologists believe that brown dragons are the evolutionary gap between dragons and great wurms.
Having lived in intense heat for tens of thousands of years, the brown dragons have evolved immense skills for burrowing and tunnelling, much like wurms. This is a far more efficient means of travel for these dragons, even over flying. In events when they do fly, their visual differences can be striking. Instead of two great pairs of wings dominating their back, a dozen much smaller wings beat remarkably fast, like a bumblebee or hummingbird. Sustaining flight is tiring for brown dragons, but wings like these help keep its body cool, work as fins, while burrowing, and can kick up the sand like a dervish to help its escape.
The other, stark difference is their breath. Instead of creating blasts of intense energy, they weaponise their home and landscape. As they burrow, they engulf hundreds of tonnes of desert sand. When under attack, the heat of their internal organs partially smelts this sand back down into rough glass crystals. This intense shredding can turn most suits of armour to ribbons and living things to pulp.
Ancient Brown Dragon Stats - generated with homebrewery.Naturalcrit.com
By virtue, brown dragons are incredibly cowardly. Seeking to keep their hoards of raw metals deep in burrows below the surface of the sand. They'll snivel and whine to avoid a confrontation, and will only seek to kill a foe if they're at their weakest, and an easy target. In most cases, the craven dragon will seek to hide under the sands rather than fight.
Lair Actions
Adult Brown Dragon Stats
Brown dragons roost deep under the sands of immense deserts. In the unlikely event adventurers find their way into a brown dragon's lair will be caught in a labyrinth of winding sandy tunnels.
The dragon has memorised the placement of each tunnel in its lair, like a map in its mind, and can use that to its advantage. The dragon burrows around one of the tunnels, or low ceiling areas and damages the weak sand in the cavern. Each creature within 20 feet of the dragon must make a DC 15 Dexterity Saving Throw or take 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage from falling sand.
The dragon uses the immense heat of its breath to superheat the inside of its lair, making it inhospitable for trespassers. The dragon chooses a 20 feet cube it can see within 120 feet of it. The air in that cube becomes unbearably hot. All creatures that start their turn in that area have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the start of their next turn outside of that area.
Regional Effects
The skies over the dragon's lair are devoid of any clouds or precipitation, keeping the desert particularly arid.
Young Brown Dragon and Brown Dragon Wyrmling Stats
Immense sinkholes within one mile of the dragon's lair pop up at random locations. Those walking over one must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall up to 1d10 feet into the sand, and risk being trapped inside.
Mirages of things that a traveller would find personally horrific or terrifying are increasingly common within one mile of the dragon's lair.
Beneath the Sand
I remember using brown dragons just like these to chase the heroes across a seemingly endless desert. Now we want to hear from you. How will you use the dragons who breathe sandstorms? What takes on other dragons, or fantasy monsters do you want to see made real in 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons?
Adam Ray contributes much for adventurers here on Apotheosis Studios. As co-founder of fantasticuniverses.com, he writes about card gaming and PC gaming to a corner of the internet he carved out himself. On Youtube, he can be found game mastering for No Ordinary Heroes, or editing the antics on The Hostile Atmosphere. Follow his Twitter @IzzetTinkerer.
