Adult Paper Dragon

The odor of ink and paper surrounds a paper dragon, whose origami horns and spinal frill define its silhouette. Typically created when spell books or scrolls gain sapience through magical means, a paper dragon is a physical manifestation of pure knowledge.

Unlike their organic kin, paper dragons don't grow over time. They grow through constant additions to their bodies in the form of pages from spell books and similar sources. As such, their drive for knowledge is one of their primary motivations, and their cunning becomes as deadly as their psionic abilities.

A Paper Dragon’s Lair

Paper dragons lair in massive hidden libraries or pyramids, dwelling in archives under snow-capped peaks, or within the deep halls of abandoned museums and dwarven planetariums. Their unusual hoards usually include spell tomes, ancient history and other various methods of archiving knowledge. A typical paper dragon prefers to interact with other creatures by dominating surrounding populations and bending them to its will.

Lair Actions

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

• Pure force erupts from a point on the ground the dragon can see within 120 feet of it, creating a 20-foot-high, 5-foot-radius invisible pillar. Each creature in the pilar's area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) force damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
• A tremor shakes the lair in a 60-foot radius around the dragon. Each creature other than the dragon on the ground in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
• Psychic energy forms a cloud in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point the dragon can see within 120 feet of it. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is lightly obscured. It lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round. Each creature that starts its turn in the cloud must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be paralyzed until the end of its turn.

Regional Effects

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

• Unusually secretive or welcoming civilizations surrounding its lair.
• Dreams within 1 mile of the lair are supernaturally stressful and tainted by sleep paralysis.
• Small portals within 1 mile of the dragon’s lair lead to the Outer Plane of Sigil, allowing creatures of from that plan into the world to dwell nearby.

If the dragon dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.