Fast Talkers. Mercury dragons speak incredibly fast, making it difficult for some creatures to parse exactly what they’re saying. Anytime a creature is listening to the speech of a mercury dragon they must succeed on a DC 10 Intelligence Saving Throw or miss out on some of what’s being said. The DM decides exactly what they hear.
Poisonous Flesh. Any creature who hits the dragon with a bite attack must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution Saving Throw or become poisoned until they take a long rest. While poisoned in this way the creature behaves as if under the effects of the confusion spell.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Multiattack. The dragon can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature.
Hit: 19 (2d10 + 8) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) slashing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target.
Hit: 21 (2d12 + 8) slashing damage.
Frightful Presence. Each creature of the dragon’s choice that is within 120 feet of the dragon and aware of it must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened 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. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dragon’s Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Radiant Breath (Recharge 5-6).The dragon exhales lightning in a 90-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw, taking 66 (12d10) radiant damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If any creatures or flammable objects are within the line, they ignite. An ignited creature takes 11 (2d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns. The fire is magical and lasts until a creature takes an action to douse the fire.
Quicksilver Form (Recharge 6). The dragon transforms into a liquid wave of quicksilver, absorbing any equipment it is wearing or carrying. On subsequent turns, the dragon can use a bonus action to revert back to its true form. It reverts into its true form if it dies. While in this form the dragon looses its fly speed but increases its walking and flying speed by 20 ft., and it ignores difficult terrain. It can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing, has resistance to damage from nonmagical weapons and does not provoke opportunity attacks from moving.
The dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option 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.
Blinding Light (Costs 2 Actions). If the dragon is in an area of dim light or brighter, it can position its wings in such a way as to reflect a beam of brilliant light off its body and into a 10 foot area it can see within 300 feet of it. All creatures in that area must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution Saving Throw or be blinded until the end of their next turn.
Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions). The dragon beats its wings. Each creature within 15 feet of the dragon must on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or take 15 (2d6 + 8) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The dragon can then fly up to half its flying speed.
Description
"A dragon lazily stretches out before you. Its body is incredibly long and trim, much more narrow than most other dragons. The creature’s tail is sharp and whiplike as it wags back and forth. Its sleek head has an elongated, pointed snout with short horns curving backward from behind the upper jaw. Its mirrored wings reflect the light brightly."
Reflective Bodies. Mercury dragons are creatures of impulse and general whimsy. Their body is covered in a coat of extremely small and thin metallic scales that are smooth, flat, and difficult to discern individually. This lends to the illusion that the creature’s body is a single smooth, reflective, surface. At birth, a mercury dragon has scales that are a dull silver, but as they mature their scales become brighter and more reflective until eventually reaching a brilliant mirror-like finish.
Unhinged Nature. While generally leaning towards good, mercury dragons host an extremely volatile disposition. They are incredibly unpredictable and are known to act on any impulse as it may arise. Easily distracted, they often shift focus from one task to another while in the middle of doing something. They are also known to completely change the subject of conversation in the middle of speaking, a quirk that makes the fast talking dragons even more difficult to follow at times. Mercury dragons are as unpredictable when it comes to combat as they are in any other situation. They may parley, they might attack instantly, or, perhaps, they may avoid combat entirely. They will, however, never attack creatures they believe have good intentions unless sorely provoked.
Perfectly Mad. Mercury dragons are best described as
a “little bit crazy,” but if you were to ask one about this it
would assure you that there is a method to their
madness. Mercury dragons dread routine. They live for
variety, whether that be in food to hunt, treasures to
collect, or experiences to… experience. A mercury dragon will go far out of its way to sate this desire for novelty, even entering into arrangements
of convenience with other creatures. More than any
other dragon, one is likely to find a mercury employed
as a bodyguard, champion, messenger, assassin, or
whatever other role that could be necessary. These
dragons will happily serve as long as they receive the
variety they crave, even if their superior is one of ill-
repute or who has dastardly intentions.
Chaotic Personalities. Befitting their reputation as
being mad, mercury dragons tend to have flitting
personalities, acting differently depending on how life
has been going lately.
A dragon who feels like it is stuck in a rut, with little
recent fun or new experiences, tends to be more
aggressive. Intruders or adversaries are often attacked
immediately when in this state, and then toyed with a bit
until they are on their last legs. At this point, the dragon
will threateningly demand a reason not to finish the foe
off. This may seem like typical draconic arrogance, but
is actually a legitimate question from the dragon’s
perspective; a mercury would be loathe to discover that
someone it killed might have offered it more fun if the
target were left alive.
Meanwhile, if a mercury dragon finds itself in the rare
position of feeling as though its life has been plenty full
of variety lately, it usually prefers to talk rather than
fight. Even when directly challenged or facing foes
clearly intent on killing it, a mercury dragon spends
most of the battle being elusive and asking questions so
that it may understand what the stakes are. Only when
it becomes clear that an opponent wouldn’t offer much
interest when alive does it turn the tables and press the
attack.
Territories of Change. Mercury dragons who live
alone tend to prefer volcanic mountain ranges, often in
tropical climates; the potential threat of an active
volcano provides a natural source of chaos and danger
perfect to the dragon’s way of life. This naturally brings
them into conflict with red dragons, who despise
mercury dragons for being particularly annoying. For
the mercury however, conflict with a red dragon could
be a fun experience (provided the red isn’t noticeably
more powerful).
The dream for all mercury dragons, however, is to
find their way to the plane of the Elemental Chaos,
where the ever-changing landscape provides the perfect
challenge for constructing an exciting lair.
Novelty Treasures. A mercury dragon’s hoard is a
wondrous thing, if only because there is rarely any
theme to be had. Coin is always valuable, but the rest of
the hoard is a hodgepodge of jewelry, weapons, art, and
artifacts; anything valuable from anywhere the dragon
can acquire it.
The desire to have a varied hoard means that mercury
dragons are very easy to barter with. Mercuries are
more than willing to part with a treasure if the other
party can offer something new, especially if the mercury
has never seen it before. This is doubly easy if the
mercury is trading a duplicate item, or it is one that the
dragon has had in its possession for an extremely long
time. It is not uncommon for these trades to technically
result in a loss for the dragon in terms of pure value.
But if the new item is novel enough, the dragon cares
little. Conversely, convincing a mercury dragon to part
with a notably unique item is almost impossible, even if
its use might be of world-affecting importance.
Lair and 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:
- All creatures within 120 feet of the dragon randomly swap places with each other. If a creature would be placed in a space it can’t fit, it instead stays where it is.
- The lair quakes. All creatures must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
- A single creature within the dragon’s lair chosen by the dragon must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom Saving Throw or be afflicted with the crown of madness spell as if it were cast by the dragon. The dragon must maintain concentration on this effect and if the dragon uses this lair action again the effect ends on the first target.
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