Dragons in Play

How to Name Your Dragon

Many Common phrases have origins in Draconic names. "Great googly-moogly," "goody goody gumdrops," and "gadzooks" all have their origins in the name of my capricious friend Galgalothmogalthas, whose dragon breath also produced a boppy, trumpet-y tune.

Some dragons' names resonate with power and inspire terror: Ashardalon, Dragotha, Klauth, Khellendros, Malystryx, Vaskar. Others are intricate and obscure, reflecting the grandeur of dragons' ancient language: Ingeloakastimizilian, Imvaernarhro, K'rshinthintl, Claugiyliamatar.

Many dragons are better known by nicknames and epithets. Klauth is commonly called Old Snarl, and Khellendros is remembered as Skie and the Storm over Krynn. Ingeloakastimizilian is Icingdeath, Imvaernarhro is Inferno, and K'rshinthintl and Claugiyliamatar are called Cyan Bloodbane and Old Gnawbones, respectively.

When naming a dragon, take whatever approach appeals to you. But bear in mind that dragons need memorable names, and if you or your players have trouble pronouncing a name, it's likely to be quickly forgotten—or jokingly abbreviated.

The Dragon Name Elements table provides Draconic morphemes that appear in dragon names. You can combine these elements to form a dragon name. For each element, roll a d20, then choose one of the four possible results from the table, or roll a d4 to determine which column to choose from. If you like, you can rearrange these elements and add or drop letters to create a smoother flow or a more dramatic sound. For nicknames, look for inspiration in the dragon's abilities, mannerisms, or most famous acts.

Customizing Dragons

As discussed in the Dungeon Master's Guide, you can customize any dragon's stat block to reflect the dragon's unique character. Minor changes such as those below are easy to make and have no impact on a dragon's challenge rating.

Wyrmlings

Much like adventurers in the first tier of play (levels 1 to 4), dragons in their first five years of life are still figuring out their capabilities and their place in the world. Thus, wyrmlings often rely on adult dragons or other companion creatures for safety.

Wyrmlings most often think on a local scale—an area no larger than might be covered by a few farmsteads or villages. If adult dragons are rearing a clutch of wyrmlings, the younger dragons often divide the adults' territory among them. A single wyrmling might thus hunt an area covering only a few square miles, but the presence of one wyrmling indicates that more might be nearby. On the other hand, wyrmlings without adult dragons in their lives might become allies or as captives of other kinds of creatures. Such wyrmlings are more likely to be scattered from their nest mates.

Young Dragons

Young dragons in their first century of life are similar in many ways to adventurers in the second tier of play (levels 5 to 10), as they're beginning to come into their own among the most powerful creatures of the Material Plane.

This stage is when most dragons first establish their own territory and lair. A young dragon's territory covers an area about 50 miles across. This is also when dragons start to form the magical ties that bind them to both their hoards and the regions around their lairs.

Hunting dragons typically fly on a more-or-less circular path out to one edge of their territory and back in a day, traveling about 75 miles in total. Young dragons also use their hunting flights to keep tabs on happenings within their territory and are keenly aware of other creatures whose territory neighbors or overlaps their own. A young dragon can become a significant threat to a city or kingdom, either through overt violence or subtle manipulation.

Adult Dragons

After their first century of life, adult dragons are mighty beings, akin to characters in the third tier of play (levels 11 to 16). An adult dragon's influence can extend across a whole region or continent.

Most adult dragons establish additional lairs to expand their territory. These lairs are usually set 50 to 75 miles apart, so the dragon can fly from one to the next in a single day's travel. An adult dragon typically hunts the area around one lair for a month or more, then moves on to another lair. The dragon's magical connection to a lair can transform the surrounding region, as represented by regional effects.

Ancient Dragons

Dragons are considered ancient once they reach eight hundred years of life, and many live for centuries more. Ancient dragons are among the mightiest creatures in the multiverse, and like characters in the fourth tier of play (levels 17 to 20), they are powerful enough to alter the fate of the world and upset the balance of power across the planes of existence.

An ancient dragon typically has several lairs, each one suffused with powerful magic. The regional effects surrounding each of an ancient dragon's lairs can combine to make that dragon's influence felt in the natural world for hundreds of miles. In addition to these magical effects, the dragon's ongoing presence can have a profound impact on the region's ecosystems, populations, and politics.

Half-Dragons

Just as dragon reproduction is not necessarily a straightforward biological process, half-dragons come into being through a variety of means. The Half-Dragon Origin table below offers examples.

Dragons create half-dragon progeny for a wide range of reasons. Some dragons create half-dragons to secure reliable minions. Others seed half-dragons around their lairs to make the area more dangerous to interlopers. And on many occasions, half-dragons simply appear spontaneously or are an accidental consequence of a dragon's magical power and influence.

In some worlds, these same phenomena might explain the origins of dragonborn, kobolds, and perhaps the draconic gifts described in 2.

Regional Reversal

As described in the Monster Manual and discussed in more detail in 4, a dragon's presence alters the region around the dragon's lair. When the dragon dies, those effects typically end immediately or fade away over the course of several days. But a traumatic death sometimes extends negative effects throughout the region. These can include instantaneous effects as well as lingering magic that persists for 1d10 days, as in the following examples:

Passing the Mantle

When a dragon dies, the power enfleshed in the dragon doesn't just disappear from the world. Over time, it disperses, but in the moments immediately surrounding the dragon's death, it can be passed on to others—or claimed. Sometimes (as discussed in "3" above) a dragon's death gives rise to an egg, transferring the dragon's power directly to a new generation. In other cases, a dragon at the brink of death invests power into another creature—usually a dragon, but sometimes a sovereign, a sage, or an adventurer. Moreover, those who slay a dragon could seize the dragon's power.

The benefit conferred by this transfer of power is up to you. It might include one of the draconic gifts described in 2 of this book, or a charm or blessing from the Dungeon Master's Guide. You can also use the supernatural gifts in Mythic Odysseys of Theros or the Dark Gifts in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft as benefits (with definite drawbacks, in the case of Dark Gifts).

Cult of the Dragon

Founded in Faerûn, the Cult of the Dragon was based on a mistranslated prophecy that "dead dragons shall rule the world entire." For most of its history, the cult has focused on creating dracoliches to fulfill this prophecy. Its members have been responsible for creating more dracoliches than any other force on the Material Plane. And thanks to the corruption that spreads between worlds whenever a dragon embraces undeath (see "3" earlier in this chapter), the cult's influence has been tremendous.

In recent years, Tiamat has worked through a young member of the Cult of the Dragon to alter the cult's foundational beliefs. The Dragon Queen steered this prophet, named Severin, to the correct translation of the cult's foundational prophecy: "...naught will be left save shattered thrones, with no rulers but the dead. Dragons shall rule the world entire..." Guided by this new vision, Severin has worked tirelessly to bring about the ascendance to power of living dragons, even attempting to bring an avatar of Tiamat into the world to wreak havoc (and nearly succeeding).

The Chamber

A cabal of dragons called the Chamber keeps tabs on events unfolding across the world of Eberron, monitoring and manipulating the fulfillment of the ancient Draconic Prophecy. Most other creatures are merely pawns in the dragons' centuries-long schemes, their needs and lives relevant only insofar as they intersect with the Prophecy.

The Draconic Prophecy is not a single collection of oracular sayings, nor is it any kind of organized prediction of future events. Rather, the Prophecy is a map of possible futures—an outline of the complex relationships of cause and effect. Dragons of the Chamber study it not to know what the future holds, but so they can comprehend the possible consequences of any action they or others might take—consequences that might unfold over the course of centuries. From the perspective of the dragons of the Chamber, the tumultuous events of national histories are but tiny waves in a vast ocean, but those waves are often warnings of the mightier forces of the tides.

As described in Eberron: Rising from the Last War, the dragons of the Chamber primarily act as observers, gathering information about new aspects of the Prophecy. They are also charged with stopping any creatures attempting to use the Prophecy for their own ends, including agents of the ancient Fiends known as the Lords of Dust. That said, some members of the Chamber try to take the fulfillment of the Prophecy into their own talons, directing the future toward outcomes they desire.

Hidecarved Dragons

On worlds across the Material Plane, dragons gather in small communities of three to five called lauths. These dragons share a common territory and hoard, live under a strict code of discipline, and devote themselves to a common goal. Their most notable feature, though, is their practice of carving arcane sigils of protection into their scales.

Inheritors of the First World

"Breathe, dragons: you are inheritors, / ruling the wreck of the First World's destruction." To some dragons, this closing couplet of "Elegy for the First World" is not merely an exhortation to dominate the Material Plane, but a call to recreate the original world of the dragon gods. The draconic members of an apocalyptic sect called the Inheritors of the First World believe the cataclysm that destroyed the original creation and brought the myriad worlds of the Material Plane into being can be undone. In fact, they teach that the Material Plane's worlds must be destroyed and recombined so the creation can be brought to its final, glorious purpose.

The goal of the Inheritors of the First World might seem unattainable; at the very least, achieving it would almost certainly require the intervention of both Bahamut and Tiamat. But they would be opposed by the countless gods who are deeply invested in the Material Plane as it is, and the two primordial dragons have not coordinated their efforts toward a common purpose since before the destruction of the First World. Still, the Inheritors of the First World are extremely knowledgeable about the multiple worlds of the Material Plane, the connections between them, and means of traveling from one world to another.

Business Owner

A dragon might invest wealth into a business to multiply the investment. The dragon's followers are employees, who might be exploited because of their weakness relative to the dragon or treated fairly because of the dragon's kindness. Employees who don't perform up to the dragon's standards are released from service—whether that means being sent off to find other jobs or becoming the dragon's next meal. Depending on the size of the commercial enterprise, the dragon might have subordinates who are responsible for certain aspects of the business. These subordinates might be related to the dragon (younger dragons or perhaps half-dragons), or simply employees who have proven trustworthy and resourceful.

Companion

Dragons sometimes interact with mortal folk as if they were equals—particularly dragons who enjoy taking on Humanoid form. They might create a fellowship or collegial society and treat their companions with kindness and respect. These allies are often unaware that their activities are oriented around the dragon's purposes, becoming unwitting pawns in the dragon's plans. Deep attachments might form between the dragon and these companions, who can become disillusioned when the dragon's true nature is revealed.

Crime Boss

A dragon takes charge of a criminal enterprise, accumulating wealth through illegal activities that might range from theft and racketeering to smuggling and illegal gambling. Like any other gang leader, the dragon has little tolerance for rivals and none at all for disloyalty among minions. Various lieutenants—which might include younger dragons or half-dragons related to the boss—might hold responsibility over particular segments of the criminal enterprise.

Emperor

Rather than existing on the shadowy fringes of society, a dragon might rule a nation as an absolute monarch. The dragon's word is law—but depending on the dragon, this might be the law of a benevolent autocrat with a cadre of wise advisors or of a dictatorial tyrant who governs based on whim. Taxes might be funneled into the dragon's hoard, but some dragons in this position regard the collective wealth of their empire as part of their hoard and feel no need to consolidate it in specific locations.

A dragon emperor might accept fealty from lesser sovereigns and nobles who govern parts of the realm in the dragon's name, or the dragon might install dragon or half-dragon offspring in the highest echelons of government. Depending on the size of the domain, the dragon might have thousands or even millions of loyal subjects.

An emperor might rule openly in dragon form, which discourages aggressive neighbors from provoking the dragon's wrath. Often, though, dragons adopt a Humanoid guise to rule, constructing elaborate ruses (posing as their own children and grandchildren, for example) that allow them to reign across multiple generations.

The size of a dragon's territory is irrelevant to the "emperor" role. A dragon who acts as a mayor for a small frontier town has the same kind of relationship with the populace as one who rules a continent-spanning nation.

God

Some dragons demand not just service but worship from their minions. Among Humanoid creatures, kobolds are most likely to treat their dragon patrons as deities, since they typically see dragons as idealized versions of themselves. They bring sacrifices of food and treasure to their dragon gods, indulge in various forms of worship (including groveling when evil dragons are involved), and create tales and hymns to stoke their deities' egos. But other Humanoids might also feel (or at least feign) religious devotion to a dragon, sometimes even manifesting magical power as a result of their piety. (The dragon blessed follower, described in 6, is an example of a Humanoid manifesting such power.)

Dragons can be benevolent patrons who genuinely care for those who worship them, scheming manipulators who view devotion as a means of domination and control, or something in between. All dragon gods, however, have devoted minions who are difficult to sway from their service. One key to this devotion is the fact that a dragon's power is more concrete than the power of most gods; the supernatural fear inspired by a dragon's presence readily translates into reverence among the followers.

Noble

Some dragons aspire to a life of luxury, surrounded by minions whose primary purpose is to ensure their every need is met immediately. A dragon living in Humanoid form might actually claim a noble title and hobnob with other members of the aristocracy. However, dragons in this category often prefer to avoid the hassles of secrets and disguises, focusing instead on extravagance—and demanding treasure as tribute from nearby settlements. Their minions are menial servants, responsible for bringing them food, keeping them comfortable, tending to their lairs, and warding off intruders. One or more of these servitors might have the responsibility of managing the rest of a dragon noble's staff on the dragon's behalf, but even such a steward has little autonomy and must cater to the dragon's every whim.

Parental Figure

Some dragons treat their followers and minions like their children. These followers might be a dragon's devoted dragon or half-dragon offspring, but it's more likely that these minions are a family the dragon has adopted out of generosity, compassion, or manipulation.

Unlike most other relationships between dragons and followers, this one is primarily about the well-being and advancement of the followers, not the dragon. Dragons are notoriously egotistical even when they're benevolent, but some make sacrifices for weaker creatures they see as family, regardless of their exact relationship to the creatures.

To outsiders, dragons in this sort of relationship might be mistaken for pets or servitors. But dragons never forget their own power and importance, even when helping other creatures, and dragons' "children" might face serious consequences if they forget who's in charge.

Patron

Dragons might take on the role of patron, using a fraction of their tremendous wealth to support the arts, groups of freelance adventurers, or important causes. Such dragons' minions might include artists painting frescoes in their lairs, musicians composing chorales for the dragons to enjoy, poets writing odes in praise of their draconic lieges, and adventurers seeking priceless treasures to add to the dragons' hoards. Dragons who spend a lot of time in Humanoid form are often drawn to this role, and their minions might have no idea that their generous patrons are actually dragons.

If you want to have a dragon act as a patron for a group of adventurers, look to the "2" chapter of Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. You can use the information there to create a dragon filling this role in your campaign. Dragons naturally fall into the category of "2," as described in that chapter, but depending on their roles and personalities, they might act more like another kind of patron.

Teacher

The oldest dragons are deep wellsprings of knowledge, drawing on vast experience that might extend beyond a single world of the Material Plane to encompass multiple realities. Though some dragons hoard their knowledge like treasure, others enjoy passing their knowledge on to other creatures. Such dragons might establish schools or monasteries, take on individual students or groups of disciples, or pose as Humanoid scholars to teach in universities. These dragons might believe that educating lesser creatures is the responsibility of the great. Others want a higher class of minion and believe education is the best way to achieve that. Still others simply enjoy teaching or believe the world is improved by having an educated populace.

Monks who follow the Way of the Ascendant Dragon (see 1) might follow a dragon teacher or could train in monasteries established by dragons in past generations.

Warlord

The combination of ego and intellect can lead a dragon to become a military leader. Minions help keep the dragon's territory in an iron grip, bringing the spoils of conquest and the tribute of conquered peoples to swell the dragon's hoard. Those minions might be Humanoids, violent monsters, or a mix of both, forming an alliance under the dragon's rule.

Depending on the dragon's age and the power and number of minions involved, a dragon warlord might be a local menace or an imperial conqueror.

The Metallic Orders

Perhaps the chromatic dragons in your world are a force of chaos, with five factions of metallic dragons shouldering the responsibility for organizing Humanoid forces to battle their chromatic kin. These factions are devoted to common goals—constraining the rampages of the chromatic dragons and limiting Tiamat's influence in the world—but they have different methods, adhere to different ideals, and attract different kinds of members. The Silver Order might be a chivalric order that attracts paladins and fighters, holds its members to the highest standards of behavior, and wields cold magic. The Brass Order could be a loose affiliation of good-hearted scoundrels, including rogues and bards, who favor fire magic and trickery.

An adventuring party might include members of any or all of the five Metallic Orders, each concerned with advancing the cause of their own order while cooperating in pursuit of common goals.

The Scaled Circles

Alternatively, each family of dragons—chromatic, metallic, and gem—could be represented by a single faction. Each draconic faction has a particular set of goals that doesn't necessarily put it in direct conflict with the other two factions, but that doesn't always inspire cooperation. For example, the Chromatic Circle might focus on self-aggrandizement, as each member of the faction tries to amass as much wealth and power as possible. The Gem Circle, by contrast, might be dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, while the Metallic Circle is more altruistic, working to further the advancement of entire societies and civilizations.

Some groups of characters might all affiliate with a single circle, while others might include members of different circles. Different affiliations don't necessarily create conflict within a party, though. Rather, those affiliations create a potentially interesting tension between individual goals and the goals of the party as a whole.

Dragon Overlords

Your world might have numerous dragon overlords—one for each kind of metallic, chromatic, and gem dragon, and possibly for deep dragons, dragon turtles, faerie dragons, moonstone dragons, and shadow dragons. These overlords are the oldest and most powerful of their kinds, and all other dragons of the same kind owe allegiance to them. In addition, Humanoids who know what's good for them give their allegiance to a dragon overlord in exchange for the dragon's protection. The result might be a feudal society, where dragons fill the highest ranks of the aristocracy.

In such a setting, characters need to decide how they fit into this system of fealty. Some characters might swear allegiance to a dragon overlord and end up as important agents enforcing that dragon's will in the world—perhaps even to the point of joining a war against a different overlord. Or they could remain independent, traveling from one dragon's domain to another and dealing with the complex and sometimes violent political conflicts among overlords. If different characters owe allegiance to different dragons, they might cooperate smoothly for a while but then find themselves in conflict when tensions erupt between the overlords. Such characters might then be put in the position of trying to make peace between the dragons—before they're commanded to go to war against each other!

Other Organizing Principles

Dragon factions can be based on many other aspects of dragon identity in addition to those above. The five dragon-ruled clans of Tarkir, for example, each identify with one aspect of draconic nature—the scale, the fang, the claw, the wing, and the eye, representing endurance, ruthlessness, savagery, speed, and cunning, respectively. You could also create factions based around the damage types dealt by different dragons' breath weapons, so a fire-based faction would include red, gold, and brass dragons, while green dragons would have a poison-based faction all to themselves. The gem dragons would also be unique in this system.

Alternatively, you could build draconic factions around ideals and goals that aren't specifically draconic, perhaps applying a dragon overlay to the ten guilds of Ravnica or Humanoid factions active in Faerûn—such the Harpers, the Order of the Gauntlet, the Emerald Enclave, the Lords' Alliance, and the Zhentarim, all of which have appeared in a number of D&D adventures.

Dragons of Myth

Even if you don't elevate dragons to the status of gods in your campaign, these creatures might still have a mythic role to play in the world, granting them a supernatural significance. Consider these examples: