True Dragons
True Dragons are fueled, both biologically and motivationally, by money. They are apex predators, and each one should ideally be an extremely high power npc of any campaign it appears in. If your party randomly stumbled upon a dragon's lair and slays it, you're doing them a disservice by making them too easy.
In my opinion, a true dragon hunt should involve three things:
- Build Up - the dragon should be a long term villain, ideally it should occupy 2-4+ LEVELS of your party's campaign. You should start by having it draw your party's ire indirectly - perhaps a local town collects taxes from them to pay it, it's cultists rob the party, or they find a town that is rebuilding from an attack. Then, your party should draw its attention somehow - maybe they steal/reclaim stolen goods from the dragon's cultists, draw out a dragons chosen ruler from a town, or even raid on if it's lesser hoards. After the dragon knows of the party, it should send it's lessers to deal with them - this is likely either an offer to hire them or an assassination attempt. Finally, the party should confront the dragon - either by the dragon attacking them first, or them attacking the dragon in its lair.
- Preparation - the party needs to prepare. They should need some sort of plan to negate the dragons breath and they should need some way to either down the dragon or join it in the air. Dragons have no issue staying in the air and killing the party with ranged attacks. The party will also likely need a way to prevent the dragon from healing, since dragons are able to naturally consume money to heal.
- Death - Dragon fights should be deadly. You as GM need to be willing to kill your players, and they need to accept that they may die. Dragons should be fought as extremely hard encounters - the total levels of the monsters in their fight should be 125%+ the levels of the party.
What if you don't want to do these things? What if you want your party to fight a dragon cause it's cool? That's fine, just think of a reason this dragon is fighting suboptimally (or ignore me I'm not your boss). My favorite is to have the dragon be summoned against its will (this also lets the party free the dragon instead of slay it), but perhaps it's wings have been cut off so it can't fly, or it has succumbed to madness and attacks without tactics.
The dragon carries 100 × It's Level in gold. At the start of its turn, it consumes 50 gold it is touching and restores 5 × it's Level HP.
Lvl 5 huge
Attacks against hampered enemies have advantage. You have resistance to cold damage.
- •Cold Breath (Recharge 6).
Creatures in a 6 square cone must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 4d6 cold damage, half on save. On damage: Slowed (4 actions).
- •Bite (x2).2d6+2
On hit: Slowed (1 action)
- •Summon Snow Golems (Once).
(Range: 24) Summon 1d4/hero Snow Golem minions (2d4)
These dragons thrive in cold environments, despite their cold blooded nature. They spend lots of time basking in the sun and hunting for food.
Examples of cold dragons include traditional evil White Dragons or the good-aligned Silver Dragons.
Lvl 6 huge
If you are poisoned, you get advantage instead of disadvantage. You have resistance to poison damage.
- •Rot Breath (recharge: 6).
All other creatures within range 9 must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw or suffer 6d6 poison damage and be poisoned (actions: 3). On a save, they take half damage.
- •Bite.2d20
Reach: 3. Then:
- •Puddle of Rot.
Cough up a puddle of rotten goop from your throat that coats a 3 × 3 area within range 12 and lasts until very carefully cleaned up. Creatures that start their turn in the area or enter it on their turns gain Poisoned (2 actions).
Rot Dragons live in tropical areas full of death. They thrive in swamps, especially swamps that poison creatures that pass through them. Traditional Green Dragons are an example of a Rot Dragon.
Lvl 7 huge
When you are Charged, if you take damage, your attacker takes 2d8 lightning damage and you are no longer Charged. You have resistance to lightning damage.
- •Lightning Breath (recharge 6).
Creatures in a 2 tile wide, 12 tile long line must make a DC 13 dexterity saving throw or suffer 4d10 lightning damage, half on save. You become Charged
- •Bite.1d12+1
Reach: 2. Then:
- •Arc Lightning.4d8
This damage is dealt to yourself and then the nearest target of your choice.
Lvl 8 huge
Creatures that are hit by your attacks have their armor from equipment reduced by 1. This lasts until they spend a safe rest repairing their gear.
- •Acid Breath (Recharge 5-6).
You shoot out a bubble of acid. Creatures in a 3×3 area within Range: 6 must make a DC 14 dexterity saving throw or suffer 1d6, 8 seperate times.
- •Bite (×3).1d4
Cannot miss or crit.
- •Savage Bite (against a foe with 5 or less armor).1d44
Misses on an 11. Cannot crit.
Lvl 11 huge
Contact with you grants the Digested Condition. You deal an additional X damage, where X is the times your target has been Digested this combat. Any healing removes all stacks of Digested Condition.
- •Ooze Breath (Recharge 5-6).
Creatures in a 10 square cone must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be surrounded by 4 ooze minions (D6 with Digestive Touch). On a save, they are flanked by 2 ooze minions (D6 with Digestive Touch).
- •Claw, claw, bite, bite! (4x).1d4
Reach: 3.
- •Digestive Blood.1d20
Reaction: When you are hit by a melee attack.