Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Multiattack. The dragon can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (2d10 + 10) piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) fire damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d6 + 10) slashing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d8 + 10) bludgeoning damage.
Frightful Presence. Each creature of the dragon’s choice that is within 120 feet of the dragon and aware of it must succeed on a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dragon’s Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Fire Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales fire in a 90-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 24 Dexterity saving throw, taking 91 (26d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
The dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect. The dragon makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Tail Attack. The dragon makes a tail attack.
Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions). The dragon beats its wings. Each creature within 15 feet of the dragon must succeed on a DC 25 Dexterity saving throw or take 17 (2d6 + 10) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The dragon can then fly up to half its flying speed.
Description
The odor of sulfur and pumice surrounds a red dragon, whose swept-back horns and spinal frill define its silhouette. Its beaked snout vents smoke at all times, and its eyes dance with flame when it is angry.
A Red Dragon’s Lair
Red dragons lair in high mountains or hills, dwelling in caverns under snow-capped peaks, or within the deep halls of abandoned mines and dwarven strongholds. Caves with volcanic or geothermal activity are the most highly prized red dragon lairs, creating hazards that hinder intruders and letting searing heat and volcanic gases wash over a dragon as it sleeps.
With its hoard well protected deep within the lair, a red dragon spends as much of its time outside the mountain as in it. For a red dragon, the great heights of the world are the throne from which it can look out to survey all it controls—and the wider world it seeks to control.
Throughout the lair complex, servants erect monuments to the dragon’s power, telling the grim story of its life, the enemies it has slain, and the nations it has conquered.
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 erupts from a point on the ground the dragon can see within 120 feet of it, creating a 20-foot-high, 5-foot-radius geyser. Each creature in the geyser’s area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
- A tremor shakes the lair in a 60-foot radius around the dragon. Each creature other than the dragon on the ground in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
- Volcanic gases form a cloud in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point the dragon can see within 120 feet of it. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is lightly obscured. It lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round. Each creature that starts its turn in the cloud must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its turn. While poisoned in this way, a creature is incapacitated.
Regional Effects
The region containing a legendary red dragon’s lair is warped by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- Small earthquakes are common within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair.
- Water sources within 1 mile of the lair are supernaturally warm and tainted by sulfur.
- Rocky fissures within 1 mile of the dragon’s lair form portals to the Elemental Plane of Fire, allowing creatures of elemental fire into the world to dwell nearby.
If the dragon dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.
It is possible that, due to the lack of INT save proficiencies, the Mind Flayers could stun the dragon (at least 4 successes in 24 hours) and then have an Intellect Devourer stun it permanently (on a perfect roll, 18 int), giving the Mind Flayers the opportunity to experiment on a live dragon!
Totally putting this in my game! Might even let Int Devourers possess more than just humanoids... a certain surprise is sure to be waiting....
dragons are hard... ...but not when you are immortal!!!
There’s a optional rule that make the dragons innate spellcasters (can cast a number of spells of a level equal two thirds of it’s cr a number of times per day equal the charisma modifier (personally, I always use it.).
EX: Red Boi is an ancient red dragon innate spellcaster. Red Boi can cast 6 8th level spells once per day each. EX: Red Boi is a innate spellcaster, his spellcasting ability is charisma DC 21 Atack +13 and he can cast the following spells once per day each:
Sacred Aura, Dominate Monster, Sunburst, Incendiary Cloud, Earthquake, Antimagic Field.
Normal dragons live about 1200-1400 years, and are usually considered "Ancient" when they're more than 800 years old
cool
a single Iron Golem could easily kill one of these because dragons dont have magic weapons , and iron golems heal from fire , it just might take awhile
Iron golems can’t fly. Dragon could grab rocks and drop them on the iron golem.
not unless those are magical rocks iron golems have immunities to non majical blogoning , piercing and slashing and if the dragon flys away its a *****
I just LOVE to put this monster at the end of each campain after a round of food and goblins! :)
*Cough* Smaug *Cough*
Wait.... Size Gargantuan. Claw damage: 2d6+mod? What?
An Ancient Red (ferocious) dragon hits more like a dude with a greatsword than like a Roc? A minotaur's greataxe hits as hard?
I understand it's for balance reasons because the strength of a dragon is in it's breath, flight, fear, and legendary and lair stuff, but it's still a strange thing to see. If you can somehow reduce the threat of the breath weapon or it fails to recharge, your gigantic nightmare-fuel terror-engine living-doomsday monster is suddenly better off dropping people from really high up and/or keeping it's distance to recharge than it is just stepping on the little ants bothering it.
To be specific, it's immunity to (physical) damage from nonmagical *attacks*. This would probably apply to rock's dropped, but doesn't apply to falling damage, and that's confirmed.
Also, Ancient Red dragon can fly back to his hoard, grab something magical and return to smash the shit out of the golem with it. Or, ignoring game rules for a second, I think the golem itself is magical. I think if you were as strong as an Ancient dragon, you could probably smash the golem with it's own sword or fist with enough force to get the job done, "quit hitting yourself" style.
Gonna send two of these guys at my level 20 party. GOOD LUCK NERDS!!!
A 2 to wisdom, really for an ancient red dragon? All you need is a party to cast a few control spells and the dragon is done after round 2 or 3. Did WotC actually plan these guys out at all?
@Portential It has a +11 to wisdom saving throws though.
Wisdom save is +9, says it in the description
This is the best comment I've seen today
there is a massive flaw in your plan here: legendary resistance (that you did to be fair account for) and the fact that it is a extremely clever creature that probably has an lair, several minions and more than a few magic items to spare, and that it can just realize that it is being attacked by mind flayers only to fly up and out of the range of their mind blast and fire breath those foolish illithids to ash. If they want a dragon to test on, they are better of choosing a younger, more naive dragon
first of all its bite and tail attacks are still way deadlier than the weapons wielded by any mortal, being able to do with a mere slash of one of its talons what an hardened barbarian warrior can only do with an mighty swing of their axe is still impressive.
Second of all thanks to their high strength score the static modifier to the damage dealt by their talons is far greater, 5 points greater (much bigger than the difference in average damage between a dagger and a greatsword). Add to that that their really high bonus to-hit means that even the heaviest of armor becomes completely meaningless to them and the fact that it can make two claw attacks, one bite attack and three tail attacks in a turn and your argument makes no godamm sense, even fighting a single ancient red dragon who lost their breath weapon somehow they are still on average dealing 52 damage per turn when using multiattack something that would still make it absolutely ******* terrifying to deal with especially if it lands a few critical hits
Let's assume the dragon doesn't use expeditious retreat or haste on itself. The dragon dashes at 160 feet per round. Three rounds of dashing and another move puts it to within 40 feet of the ranger, assuming the ranger doesn't move; if the ranger moves with a bonus dash (70 feet + 60 feet per round after the first), the dragon decreases the distance:
The ranger hits the dragon with their longbow 75% of the time, so average damage is 75% of a full hit x 4. 1d8+ 2 (enchantment) + 5 (DEX) +4 (Greater Favored Enemy) + 2 (miscellaneous reasons) = 17.5; x .75 = 13.125 damage on average per attack. 6 x 4 x 13.25 = 315 damage... dragon then gets to attack on initiative. I did not add the extra 1d8 on the first attack of the combat due to gloom stalker, nor crits (figure an extra 2d8 giving the ranger some luck), nor the Hunter's Mark since we're getting more hits from the swift quiver and both require concentration.
That "oath bow" has to do an extra 231 damage if I have this correct.
Sure, the optimal engagement range for a ranger optimized to kill dragons at range will make it rough (heh) on the dragon, but it *can* catch up to the ranger within 10 turns.
Also: the ranger sub-class is called "gloom stalker," not gloom lurker; I cannot find an Oath Bow, so I'm not sure what that does.
My math might be off, and I welcome corrections.