Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Living Shadow. While in dim light or darkness, the dragon has resistance to damage that isn’t force, psychic, or radiant.
Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, the dragon can take the Hide action as a bonus action.
Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the dragon has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Tunneler. The dragon can burrow through solid rock at half its burrowing speed and leaves a 15-foot-diameter tunnel in its wake.
Unusual Nature. The dragon doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Spellcasting. The dragon casts one of the following spells, requiring no spell components and using Wisdom as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 19):
2/day: darkness, misty step, nondetection
Multiattack. The dragon makes one Bite attack and two Claw attacks.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC 19). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the dragon can’t bite a different target.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft. one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 6) slashing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 15 ft. one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
Necrotic Cold Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales a wave of ghostly purple flames in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw, taking 55 (10d10) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature dies if the breath reduces it to 0 hit points. Additionally, any Medium or smaller Humanoid killed by the breath’s damage, as well as every corpse of such a creature within the cone, becomes a skeleton under the dragon’s control. The skeleton acts on the dragon’s initiative but immediately after the dragon’s turn. Absent any other command, the skeleton tries to kill any non-Undead creature it encounters.
The dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. 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.
Claw. The dragon makes one Claw attack.
Negative Rush (Costs 2 Actions). The dragon moves up to half its flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks, carrying with it any creatures it is grappling. During this move, if it enters the space of a Medium or smaller creature, that creature takes 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. A creature can take this damage only once per turn.
Description
Some death dragons manage to retain almost all of their former selves, albeit twisted by their state of being. These greater death dragons scheme to achieve their ends, all the while amassing and jealously guarding treasure hoards as they did in life. In battle, they are deadly foes, channeling the Cataclysmic fire that limns their bones and fuels their breath. They take cruel delight in snatching foes in their jaws, rushing into the air, then dropping the snared creatures to their doom.
Death Dragons
Death dragons are the Undead skeletal remains of metallic or chromatic dragons, infused with the lingering fires of the Cataclysm by foul magic. Rarely, death dragons arise when a dragon meets its end in a way that torments its soul and consumes it with a need for vengeance. Regardless of how it arose, a death dragon retains a shadow of its former personality. The stronger the death dragon, the more it fights the hate consuming it, holding on to some vestige of its memories.
A death dragon’s bones burn with violet Cataclysmic fire, which it can unleash in a horrific mockery of the breath weapon it possessed in life. The breath snuffs out life force and infuses undeath into corpses it touches. These zombies burn with Cataclysmic fire and serve the death dragon’s will, typically going on rampages to destroy all living creatures in sight.
Lair and Lair Actions
A Lunar Death Dragon's Lair
The cave complex where a lunar dragon makes its lair contains ample space for food, as well as one or more hidden chambers where the dragon keeps its treasure. Depending on the composition and features of the moon, the lair might contain natural springs and heat vents, wild gardens, crystal formations, magical phenomena, or an ecosystem of lesser life forms that have adapted to living with the dragon.
The challenge rating of a legendary amethyst dragon increases by 1 when it’s encountered in its lair.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dragon can take one of the following lair actions; the dragon can’t take the same lair action two rounds in a row:
Banish Light. Any nonmagical source of illumination within a 60-foot-radius sphere centered on the dragon is snuffed out, and any spell that creates light within that same area is dispelled.
Negative Portals. A portal to the Negative Energy Plane opens briefly within 60 ft. of the dragon and 1d3 shadow emerge attack any non-Undead creatures.
Siphon Energy. The dragon negates healing magics and greedily feasts on the energy within 60 ft. until the dragon uses a different lair action. If healing magic is siphoned the dragon regains it's breath weapon.
Regional Effects
When a shadow dragon establishes a lair on the Material Plane, the region around the lair takes on some of the characteristics of the Shadowfell, creating one or more of the following effects:
Brooding Despair. Creatures within 1 mile of the dragon’s lair that have an Intelligence score of 5 or higher feel forlorn and hopeless.
Dying Light. Light is diminished within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair, lightly obscuring the land in gloomy shadows.
Gloomy Portals. Some caves, caverns, pits, and other places of deep gloom within 1 mile of the dragon’s lair form portals to the Shadowfell, allowing creatures from that plane to dwell nearby.
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