Hyper Metabolism. When the dragon digests a flesh and blood creature of Small size or larger, it regains 14 (4d6) hit points. A dead creature or a creature at 0 hit points that is swallowed by the dragon is immediately digested.
Juggernaut. If the dragon would be moved from its space, it may take a reaction to prevent that movement.
Multiattack. The dragon makes two attacks: one with its Bite and one with its Claw.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (3d12 + 5) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it is grappled and restrained (escape DC 16).
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) slashing damage.
Flensing Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales a blast of air and sand that tears flesh from bone in a 40-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 31 (7d8) slashing damage, or half as much on a success. A creature that fails the saving throw by 5 or more has its hit point maximum reduced by an equivalent amount. This effect lasts until it takes a short or long rest or receives magical healing from a spell of 2nd level or higher.
Description
When a brown dragon is born, it immediately consumes its eggshell. It then eats any hatch-mates, local wildlife, and everything else that it can fit its mouth around. Terrified and ravenous, brown dragon wyrmlings instinctively seek out food above all other concerns. This drive helps them escape the most vulnerable period of their lives, ideally advancing to their “young” age category within a year of successful feasting. Thankfully brown dragon wyrmlings can’t actually eat that much due to their size, and more than a few creatures have enlisted the service of these dragons with a promise of food. Any creature attempting to do so would do well to remember that once the dragon’s size exceeds their capacity to provide, they will be next on the menu.
Lair and Lair Actions
A Brown Dragon’s Lair
Brown dragons enjoy lairing underground and filling their lairs with stores of food in various states of decay (not that it matters much to the dragon). In place of a hoard, a dragon gathers its favorite foodstuffs and drinks. A brown dragon will only gather treasure if it has some means to purchase a good meal on a consistent basis.
These lairs must be large to accommodate a brown dragon’s girth and are protected by huge boulders that are rolled in front of passageways. Essential to a lair’s composition is a source of fresh water, as brown dragons thirst as much as they hunger and prefer to move as little as possible after a big meal. Minions are rare, for few creatures can tolerate a brown dragon’s stench only to wind up a meal when the dragon gets peckish.
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 cause the same effect two rounds in a row.
• A shroud of thick, whirling sand surrounds the dragon in a 10-foot-radius sphere that moves when it moves. Until the next initiative count 20, ranged attacks against the dragon are made at disadvantage and the area is considered heavily obscured.
• A ferocious stench fills the lair. Each creature other than the dragon in the lair must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or fall prone. A creature that is prone from this effect cannot stand up from prone until the end of its next turn.
• A buried carcass unearths within the lair. The dragon can take an action to consume the carcass and digests it immediately.
Regional Effects
The region containing a brown dragon’s lair is influenced by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects within 10 miles of the lair.
• Whenever a humanoid creature finishes a long rest within the area, it smells delicious for the next 24 hours. Creatures have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) ability checks to detect the creature by smell, and local predators prefer the meat of such creatures over their typical prey.
• Solid stone in the area transforms into sandstone, which can be moved through by burrowing creatures but is considered difficult terrain.
• Flesh-and-blood creatures in the area must consume twice as much food in order to avoid the effects of starvation.
If the dragon dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.
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