Red Dragon (5e)

 5th edition Varied 
See Sources and Notes

Red Dragon Overview   

  

The most covetous of the true dragons, red dragons tirelessly seek to increase their treasure hoards. They are exceptionally vain, even for dragons, and their conceit is reflected in their proud bearing and their disdain for other creatures.

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The small scales of a wyrmling red dragon are a bright glossy scarlet, making the dragon easily spotted by predators and hunters, so it stays underground and does not venture outside until it is more able to take care of itself. Toward the end of young age, the scales turn a deeper red, and the glossy texture is replaced by a smooth, dull finish. As the dragon grows older, the scales become large, thick, and as strong as metal. The neck frill and wings are an ash blue or purple-gray toward the edges, becoming darker with age. The pupils of a red dragon fade as it ages; the oldest red dragons have eyes that resemble molten lava orbs.

  

• Breath weapon: Cone of fire
• Habitat: Mountains or hilly plains
• Diet: Anything; they claim that female humans and young elves taste best
• Preferred Treasure: Anything with monetary value
• Alignment: Chaotic Evil
• Image: Wizards.com image
• Notes:

Red dragons are the largest and most powerful of the classic chromatic dragons. They are large with a wide wingspan. They have two swept back horns on their heads. They smell of smoke and sulphur.

The eggs of a red dragon must be kept in open flame at all times while incubating. Incubation takes approximately 660 days. After the eggs are laid, the younger of the two parents remains behind to guard the eggs and keep the nest of flames burning. Once they hatch, the wyrmlings are left to fend for themselves. A red wyrmling is roughly human-sized at hatching and dangerous. They are capable of breathing fire, and revel in wreaking destruction and havoc on almost anything that moves. The latter trait is carried fully into adulthood.

They regard all other Chromatic dragons as inferiors, with the amount of disdain proportional to the variety's general power level. When a Red Dragon and a White cross paths, the Red allows the white to leave, as they do not consider them worth the effort to kill; other Chromatic dragons are either killed, driven away, or bullied into servitude depending on the Red's mood and personality.

Due to their choice of living space, they cross paths with many of the metallic dragon, most notably the silvers, who are their worst enemies. They have the greatest disdain for copper dragons, and clash with them often.

Red dragons have an eye for value, and can determine the monetary worth of any object at a glance. The gaining and keeping of treasure is the focus of a red dragon's adult life, and they tend to amass incredible hoards with amazing rapidity. At any given moment, a red dragon will be able to tell you the precise monetary value of all the objects in its hoard, down to the last fraction of a coin.

Red dragons prefer to make their homes inside active volcanos. If a volcano is not available, they will reside in any mountain, provided that it has a good ledge from which the dragon can survey its territory. A red dragon's lair may have only one entrance, high above ground level. The entrance leads to a narrow tunnel, which drops off into a pit. At the bottom of the pit lies a pool of water, surrounded by several chambers. One is the dragon's sleeping quarters, another contains its hoard.

Red dragons are very dangerous in combat. Proficient in magic, they are also fast in the air, but clumsy, so prefer to fight on the ground. They spend years designing battle strategies, and wait until the best moment to call upon them. Their blasts of fire end most battles before they begin. As a result, red dragons use their powerful breath weapons first, followed by physical strikes, then magical attacks.

Red dragons may hoard women and children in their lairs along with their wealth. In some genres they have the 'power of persuasion' over weaker minds. They sometimes use this to persuade the chieftains of villages to sacrifice young girls to them.

Variant: Dragons as Innate Spellcasters

Many dragons have the ability to innately cast spells. Their Spellcasting Ability is Charisma, which also determines the number of spells it can cast.

Red Dragon's Lair

 Red dragons lair in high mountains, hills, caverns, mines and dwarven strongholds.

Lair Actions

 When fighting inside its lair, an red dragon can use lair actions. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dragon takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the dragon can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• Magma Eruptions
• Earth Tremors
• Volcanic Gases

Regional Effects

 The region has the following effects:

• Small Earthquakes
• Hot Springs
• Portal to Elemental Plane of Fire

If the dragon dies, effects fade over 1dl0 days.

List of Red Dragons

(7 official and unofficial Red Dragons)

Name	Type	Subtype	Size	HP	CR (XP)	Alignment	Habitat	Source
Red Dragon Overview	Overview	Dragon, Chromatic Dragon, Red Dragon						Varied
Adult Red Dragon	Dragon	Chromatic Dragon, Red Dragon	Huge	256	17 (18,000)	Chaotic Evil	Hill	SRD5
Ancient Red Dragon	Dragon	Chromatic Dragon, Red Dragon	Gargantuan	546	24 (62,000)	Chaotic Evil	Hill	SRD5
Red Dragon Wyrmling	Dragon	Chromatic Dragon, Red Dragon	Medium	75	4 (1,100)	Chaotic Evil	Hill	SRD5
Young Red Dragon	Dragon	Chromatic Dragon, Red Dragon	Large	178	10 (5,900)	Chaotic Evil	Hill	SRD5
Young Red Shadow Dragon	Dragon	Shadow Dragon, Red Dragon	Large	179	17 (18,000)	Chaotic Evil	Shadowfell, Underdark, Underground	Monster Manual (5e)
Ember (Individual)	Dragon	Chromatic Dragon, Red Dragon	Huge	270	22 (41,000)	Chaotic Evil		Monstrous Compendium (5e)/Vol 2 Dragonlance Creatures