Accursed Death. When the dragon dies, it exudes a cloud of sickening, accursed gas. Each creature within 10 ft. of the dragon must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned 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. However, a creature that fails two of these saving throws becomes cursed. A creature cursed in this way takes 16 (3d10) necrotic damage and can’t regain hit points, and the creature’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken. Every 24 hours, the cursed creature takes 16 (3d10) necrotic damage with similar reduction to the creature’s hit point maximum. If the curse reduces the target’s hit point maximum to 0, the target dies.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Multiattack. The dragon can use its sickening presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) piercing damage and 7 (2d6) necrotic damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) slashing damage and 3 (1d6) poison damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
Sickening Presence. Each creature within 60 feet of the dragon must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned until the end of the dragon’s next turn. On a successful saving throw, the creature is immune to the dragon’s Sickening Presence for 1 hour.
Swarm Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales a 60-foot cone of poisonous insects and vile gas. Each creature in that area must make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw, taking 28 (8d6) piercing damage and 35 (10d6) poison 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 here. Only one legendary action 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 (Takes 2 Actions). The dragon beats its wings. Each creature within 10 feet of the dragon must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 13 (2d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage and fall prone. The dragon can then fly up to half its flying speed.
Description
“Dragons are rare, so seeing one is terrifying. Seeing one rotting before your eyes as it approaches? Mind-shattering!”
Cursed Dragon. The curse of foul blight is potent necromancy when leveled against a hated foe. Some foolish wizard modified the curse of foul blight to affect a dragon who had wronged them, using a single scale from the hated dragon. What this wizard unleashed was a variant of the curse of foul blight known as blightscale, accursed magic that twists and warps a majestic dragon into a loathsome, terrifying beast.
Humanoids infected with the curse of foul blight become lone wanderers, but the lairing instinct of the blightscale dragon remains true. The dragon no longer bothers to amass wealth or hunt. It makes forays from its living tomb to assuage its suffering by lashing out against any who travel nearby.
Physical Changes. A blightscale dragon’s breath weapon is a stinking exhalation of insects and necrotic bile. The dragon’s armorlike scales split and encrust with thick pus that hardens to the consistency of stone. Fangs crack and rot at the gums, just as deadly but crawling with disease and stained with ichor.
Lair and Lair Actions
Blightscale dragons create temporary lairs in which they suffer the curse in rage and despair. Whether a cave or a building, the dragon pulls easy entrances down so that none can view it in its agonized state. The air inside is rank, and those who draw a full breath become nauseated. The curse attracts insects that construct colonies resembling yellow, congealed lumps.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), an adult or ancient blightscale 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.
- Insects burst from a hive built on a surface that the dragon can see within 120 feet of it. Any creature within 20 feet of the hive must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature that ends its turn in the cloud takes 10 (3d6) piercing damage. The insects disperse on initiative count 20 of the next round. They disperse early if subjected to intense wind or a damaging area effect.
- Puslike fluid erupts in a 20-foot radius centered on a point on the ground the dragon can see within 120 feet of it. That area becomes difficult terrain, and a creature moving through this terrain must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be grappled (escape DC 15) by the sucking glop and restrained while grappled in this way. Another creature can pull a restrained target free by taking an action and succeeding on a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check. The ground dries sufficiently to return to normal on initiative count 20 of the next round.
- Foul gas belches forth in a 20-foot-radius sphere from a point the dragon can see within 120 feet of it. The cloud spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured. Each creature within the cloud at the start of its turn must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw against poison. On a failed save, the creature is poisoned. Creatures that don’t need to breathe or are immune to poison automatically succeed on this saving throw. This cloud disperses on initiative count 20 of the next round. It disperses early if subjected to intense wind.
Region Effects
An adult or ancient blightscale dragon’s curse warps the land around the dragon’s lair, creating one or more of the following effects.
- The smell of decay can be detected 6 miles from the lair, growing stronger as one moves nearer.
- Water sources within 1 mile of the lair have soured, and the water smells and tastes foul. Only the dragon can drink it safely. Any other creature that does so must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw 10 minutes later or become poisoned. A poisoned creature can repeat the saving throw every hour, ending the effect on itself on a success. A creature that succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check or a DC 15 Wisdom check using proficiency with an herbalism kit can cure this condition with 10 minutes of effort.
- Vegetation within 1 mile of the lair is sickly and nasty. It provides no more than half its normal food value. Within 1,500 feet of the lair, plants are inedible, and no wildlife can be found. Beasts and plant creatures within 1 mile of the lair are aggressive and hard to reason with. In combat, at the start of its turn, such a creature gains advantage on all melee weapon attack rolls it makes during that turn, but attack rolls against it have advantage until the start of its next turn. Effects that cure disease can end this effect for 1 day, but it returns if the creature remains in the area.
If the dragon dies, these effects fade over 2d4 days. Signs of environmental damage remain indefinitely.
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