Jim Zub - Dragons & Treasures (Dungeons & Dragons): A Young Adventurers Guide

DRAGONS:
FRIEND OR FOE?

Dawan Pax had journeyed to the frozen peaks of Wintergard in search of a healing silver fungus that grew in the deep darkness of icy caves. He knew he would face many dangers on his quest. No one had warned him that he would face a dragon.

As he stood at the mouth of the frost-rimed cave he heard the creature moving in the dark and saw a flicker of silver-white scales. Two types of dragons made their home in places like Wintergard. A silver dragon might recognize Dawans noble intent and aid him in his quest.

A white dragon would attack, and white dragons like when their dinner tries to run.

His body shaking, Dawan Pax braced to learn his fate.

In every culture, people tell tales of dragons. Often, they appear as a force of destruction, devastating towns or devouring innocents, but sometimes they serve as powerful protectors or keepers of ancient wisdom.

These powerful and intelligent creatures are among the most dangerous foes a hero can facebut they can also be great allies if they judge you worthy of their help.

No matter which type of dragon you encounter, it will give you a cold reception if you have an eye on its treasure!

TRUE DRAGONS

The worlds of Dungeons & Dragons are full of giant reptiles, winged beasts, and monsters with deadly breath, but just because a creature looks like a dragon does not mean that it is a dragon. Even the name dragon can be applied to things that are not dragonsthere are lizards, fish, and flowers with dragon in their monikers.

True dragons come in many colors and sizes, but they all have a few features in common such as long tails and necks, four legs, and long scaly bodies. They fly using large bat-like wings, and are all the same basic shape.

TYPES OF TRUE DRAGONS There are three major types of true dragon: chromatic, metallic, and gem. The first two types are outlined on the following pages, with more detail available in the books Monsters & Creatures (chromatic dragons) and Beasts & Behemoths (metallic dragons). The third type is covered in the next chapter, Gem Dragons.

BREATH WEAPONS

True dragons have breath weapons, which differ depending on the dragons type. Traditionally, people think of dragons as fire breathers, but some dragons expel lightning, poison, acid, or blasts of freezing-cold air from their mouths.

GROWING OLD

True dragons grow more powerful as they ageand they live a very long time indeed, up to 4,000 years. Ancient dragons can become frighteningly powerful.

LESSER DRAGONS

There are some creatures that are either so similar to true dragons or are related to them closely enough that they are known as lesser dragons.

Dragon Turtles: Huge sea creatures with scalding steam breath. They resemble sea turtles with their flipper limbs and hard shells, but they are the size of dragons and share dragons passion for treasure, often attacking and sinking ships to claim their cargo.

Drakes: Reptilian creatures with draconic features. Ferocious but simple, they can be trained as mounts or war beasts.

Pseudodragons: The house cats of the dragon world! Small, playful, red-skinned creatures that purr, hiss, and chirp and can be trained to form a telepathic bond with a humanoid. They can bite and sting, but they do not have breath weapons.

Wyverns: Bestial winged creatures with sharp poisonous tails. They have no breath weapon and only two legs.

CHROMATIC DRAGONS

Chromatic dragons are known for cruelty and wickedness. These are the dragons that destroy villages, slaughter travelers, and devour innocent victims.

Often aligned with the evil dragon queen Tiamat, chromatic dragons are distinguished by the flat color of their scales, which rarely glimmer or sparkle like those of other dragons.

BLACK DRAGONS These aggressive creatures lurk in swamps and marshlands waiting to devour anyone who ventures too close. They breathe acid, stink like rotting meat, and have skull-like faces that instill terror in their prey.

BLUE DRAGONS Also known as storm dragons for their ability to summon sandstorms and breathe lightning, these vain beasts enjoy desert territory where they have a clear view to the horizon. They prefer attacking from above, and the air around them often crackles with the promise of a coming storm.

GREEN DRAGONS Tricky and ambitious, poison-breathing green dragons will sometimes appear friendly to manipulate you into their schemes. They make their lairs in cool, dark, ancient forests, and will use their wits to try to control the surrounding lands.

RED DRAGONS These greedy fire-breathing dragons are the ones most likely to appear in storybooks, because no one loves treasure more than a red dragon. They prefer warm homes such as volcanoes and geysers, and they smell like rotten eggs (yuck!).

WHITE DRAGONS Small, sleek white dragons live in icy wastelands and can freeze targets with their cold breath. They have a reputation for being more animalistic than other dragons, but you should never underestimate their intelligence.

LESSER-KNOWN CHROMATIC DRAGONS

Most chromatic dragons fall into the above five categories, but other types can be found in the world. Brown dragons live in sandy lairs and ruins, and they love to eat. Gray dragons are brilliant hunters that live on stony plateaus, watching with their sharp eyes for fresh prey. Purple dragons dislike sunlight, so they live deep underground.

METALLIC DRAGONS

Metallic dragons have metal traces in their scales that give their bodies a shimmering appearance. Perhaps their outer brilliance also reflects their allegiance to Bahamut, the platinum-skinned god of peaceful and noble dragons. Metallic dragons are known to support the righteous and punish the wickedespecially chromatic dragons!

Metallic dragons often act as guardians, regents, and wise scholarsthough their sense of superiority over other species can lead them away from righteousness and toward tyranny. Many can change their shape to animal or human forms, hiding in plain sight.

BRASS DRAGONS These friendly and curious dragons live in hot, dry climates where they wait enthusiastically for passing adventurers to talk to. Sometimes the biggest challenge in facing a brass dragon is cutting the conversation short. Their breath attack can put targets to sleep or engulf them in a cone of flame.