Adult Pearl Dragon

With beautiful scales that give the dragon its name, the pearl dragon spends most of its time at sea, hunting that which it resembles.

A pearl dragon's head is crested by a row of spines that run from the back of its head all the way to its shoulders, gradually shrinking as they make their way down. A small bunch gather around its chin in what almost looks like a bristly beard. Webbed feet and smooth scales help the dragon swim. A pearl dragon possesses a semicircular throat pouch, also lined with tiny spines down the middle, giving its head an almost pelican-like appearance. True to such an appearance, the pearl dragon also uses it to catch aquatic prey.

The scales of a pearl dragon wyrmling are white and shiny. Its scales become more lustrous and iridescent as its ages, resembling its namesake gem. Its scales are so smooth and tightly-packed that it's hard to tell where one scale ends and the others begin, lending even further to their pearl-like appearance. Its scales may also change color as it ages, usually becoming a different shade of white or cream, though in rare cases the dragon's scales will darken until they become black. Black pearl dragons are considered more attractive by others, and are most likely to find a mate during breeding seasons.

Isolated Divers. As with the other lesser gem dragons, pearl dragons live alone. They spend much of their time underwater, searching for pearls to add to their ever-growing collections. They know the best methods for acquiring them from mollusks without harming the creatures, though they would never share these secrets with others. They rarely interact with other intelligent life, and usually stray away from sailing vessels, though they have been known to occasionally attack bothersome ships or ones that frequently sail too close to their pearl-hunting grounds, stealing whatever's left behind in the wreckage. The only way one would be able to catch a pearl dragon's positive attention is to offer pearls to it, which may prompt the dragon into brief conversation before continuing on with its day.

Life in the Waters. As pearl dragons spend most of their time in the water, their bodies have adapted for such a lifestyle. Along with their webbed feet and smooth scales, their wings are small comparative to their body size, leading to slightly decreased flight abilities. However, this also leads to increased swimming capabilities, surpassing even those of black or bronze dragons. Despite their heavily-aquatic lifestyle, pearl dragons are not amphibious like other water-going dragons. Instead, their lung capacity has increased exponentially, allowing them to hold their breathes for upwards of an hour at a time. Why they have developed such an ability rather than the full water-breathing of other such dragons is unknown. A pearl dragon's diet usually consist of fish and sharks, though it has occasionally been known to eat small whales. A particular favorite treat for them is going and catching dozens of lobsters, which it then enjoys back in its lair.

Rough Relations. Pearl dragons have an intense hatred for dragon turtles. Why this is the case isn't known, as the mere mention of a dragon turtle is enough to stir a pearl dragon to anger. Dragon turtles return the sentiment. A pearl dragon is rarely strong enough to fight an adult dragon turtle head-on, though if it can stay just out of reach of the turtle's melee attacks, it can have a chance against it. A pearl dragon is completely immune to a dragon turtle's steam breath, though the same is not true for the dragon turtles. This gives the pearl dragon even more of an upper hand if it can stay at range when fighting one, especially when combined with the pearl dragon's greater swimming speeds.

Pearl-Centric Prizes. Pearl dragons consider their namesake gem the best treasure of all, which is why they spend all day searching for them. They will keep other treasure they find as well, however they keep those separated from their precious pearls and usually carelessly leave them out in the open. They mostly keep such items in the rare case that they may wish to trade, which they are open to do on the rare occasions they are willing to interact with other life. A pearl dragon is less likely to pursue a crafty thief that has stolen its lesser treasure than one that has stolen any pearls. They keep their pearls secure and near the exit from their caves to the ocean, as that is where they come and go from most frequently. A pearl dragon rarely stays put for long, leaving for a new location once its supply of pearls or food runs low. The moving process for a pearl dragon is time-consuming and tedious, as they will never leave even a single item of theirs behind.

A Pearl Dragon’s Lair

Pearl dragons live in caves neat the coastline, preferring ones with direct access to the water. They keep their treasure as close to their ocean exit as possible, while still in a secure location. A pearl dragon never establishes a permanent lair, moving to new locations when food or pearl supplies are depleted. The moving process is long as the dragon refuses to leave any item behind.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dragon takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects:

• Water splashes into the cave from outside at a point the dragon can see within 120 feet of it, wetting the floor and making it slippery. Any creature within 30 feet of that point that walks more than 10 feet in a single turn must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone and take 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage. This effect lasts for 1 minute.
• The dragon creates fog as though it had cast the fog cloud spell. The fog lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round.

Regional Effects

The region containing a legendary pearl dragon’s lair is warped by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:

• Mollusks within 1 mile of the dragon's lair are more likely to produce higher-quality pearls.
• Aquatic beasts become hostile to creatures other than the dragon or other beasts that enter within 1 mile of the dragon's lair.
• Once per day, the dragon can conjure a 1-mile radius sphere of fog centered on its lair that lasts 3 hours. The fog never appears within the lair. The effect is otherwise identical to the fog cloud spell.

If the dragon dies, the mollusks return to normal pearl production quality. Aquatic beasts return to normal behavior after a day. If active, the fog immediately disperses.