“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.

Salvage

Blood and other fluids of a blightscale dragon can be
harvested and used to offset the shadowsteel component
when bestowing a curse of foul blight. A young dragon is
worth 750 gp.

Lore

DC 15 Wisdom (History): A blightscale dragon is a
dragon that has been subjected to a powerful curse.

DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine): A blightscale dragon
is immune to necrotic damage and poison. Its breath
weapon is a swarm of poisonous insects and gas.

DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana): The curse on the
blightscale dragon makes it exude a toxic, cursed gas
when it dies, possibly passing on a portion of the curse.

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.

Regional 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.