“Born from amaranthine, great form uncoiled,
ivory claws extended to the smoke-storming sky,
pale eyes blinded by immense hands,
yet no less daunting than if they would pierce each mind.”
- Excerpt from “Song of the Dragon”, a mythological account of an encounter with the Great Blind Serpent, Rilzriaduss (author unknown)

Scourge of the Underdark. Where some are lucky enough to see - and survive - an encounter with a red, blue or green dragon, those who have encountered their purple cousins are fewer and far between. Purple dragons are difficult to learn about, both because they are extremely solitary creatures, preferring the company of none in their caves and underground burrows, and because any unfortunate soul that meets one rarely escapes with their life. Purple dragons burrow out their lairs, digging it out of stone and earth, and are most often found in the Underdark, where they prey on unsuspecting passersby, which are most often drow or svirfneblin. On rare occasions, purple dragons have dealt with humanoid races through mutual agreements - purple dragons are, in fact, smart enough to manipulate, and wise enough to understand when they have been outnumbered or when escape is unlikely. They are powerful though disloyal allies, although their pure strength is often enough to make up for their rapidly-shifting alliances.

Mental masters. Purple dragons are, just moments after hatching, notoriously difficult to control, whether through mind magic or through deception. Their nature allows them a strong defense against magical effects, and influencing their minds is nearly impossible. They are well-spoken beings, capable of such mental gymnastics that they can change other creatures’ minds without revealing their intentions. However, as cousins to the chromatic dragons, purple dragons are also greatly manipulative, evil, and cruel.

Art credit goes to BryanSyme on DeviantArt.

Purple dragons lair underground, preferring darkness or minor fluorescence over the brightness of day. Their adaptation to their subterranean surroundings has made their lairs dangerous to any that venture within. Purple dragons enjoy hiding in loose earth or amongst crystalline rock, to camouflage themselves, and are masters of stealth, especially within their own lairs.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the purple 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:

• Thick magical fog billows around the dragon in a 20-foot radius that spreads around corners. The area is heavily obscured and creatures within it are blind. A creature with darkvision can’t see through the darkness, and light (nonmagical or not) cannot illuminate it. After 1d4 rounds, the fog becomes slightly transparent and the area is lightly obscured. The next round, the fog vanishes.
• One creature of the dragon’s choice within 120 feet of the dragon is set upon by illusory imagery of attackers. That creature must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of these imaginary creatures for 1 minute. While frightened, the creature attempts to fight these creatures off, which appear to approach it from any area in dim light or darkness. At the end of each of its turns, the affected creature can repeat its saving throw, ending the effect on a success. A creature can’t be affected by this lair action twice within 24 hours.
• The dragon’s shadow appears to start moving on its own. Until the start of the dragon’s next turn, it gains a +3 bonus to AC, and attack rolls against it have disadvantage.

Regional Effects

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

• Caves and narrow passages underground begin winding in a labyrinthine, nonsensical way. Corridors connect in non-Euclidian manners, dead ends appear where a connection to another space was expected, and previously crossed spaces suddenly seem to be cut off by steep rock walls or unexpected cave-ins that were unnoticed before.
• Nonmagical and magical illumination is immediately snuffed out within 1 mile of the lair, and can’t be lit again.
• Twisted crystalline constructions or dimly phosphorescent mushrooms grow in great numbers within 5 miles of the lair. Areas with large concentrations of crystals or mushrooms are considered difficult terrain. A mushroom that is disrupted (such as stepped upon or destroyed) releases a cloud of poisonous gas. A creature that inhales the gas must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 10 (3d6) poison damage and be poisoned for 1 hour.

If the purple dragon dies, the mushrooms wither and die after 5 (1d10) days, but the crystals remain indefinitely. Immediately after its death, routes within the caves no longer change randomly, and lanterns can be lit once again.