Valraxaxath, Black Dragon Lord

Valraxaxath traveled the world as he grew, planning to create a hoard later in life. He was young and adventurous. During his early years, he developed a simple understanding of the world and the place of dragons within it. Dragons should not aspire to rule the world; they should instead hoard all the wealth in the world. Wealth is power, and dragons that controlled the wealth of an area could exert control later. He saw, however, that dragons would never succeed at this goal because they did not work together. This he set about changing while studying arcane arts such as wizardry.

He achieved the most success with the "you scratch my scales, I'll scratch yours" philosophy. By getting different chromatic dragons to work together on short-term projects, each acquires more wealth to hoard. Since he "partners" with dragons from far away, there is little danger of in-fighting for the treasure. The partnerships have also helped with lair defense. To facilitate these partnerships, he created a series of portals that link remote and dragon-infested parts of Toril. He never takes any of the rewards of these ventures and instead builds his own hoard through his own efforts or by partnering with a dragon new to the concept.

Valraxaxath prefers not to fly, though he certainly can. He always carries a quickened teleport spell to make a hasty exit. He is an excellent negotiator, and he does very well in business. He tends to travel in disguise, usually appearing as a human (or whatever is most favored at his destination) merchant or wealthy noble.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Valraxaxath takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects: Valraxaxath cannot repeat an effect until they have all been used, and he cannot use the same effect two rounds in a row:

1. Biting Insects. Three clouds of swarming insects fill 20–foot–radius spheres centered on three points the dragon chooses within 150 feet of it. The cloud spreads around corners and remains until the dragon dismisses them as an action, uses this lair action again, or dies. The cloud is lightly obscured. Any creature in a cloud when it appears, or ends their turn in a cloud must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 21 (6d6) piercing damage. On a successful save, a creature takes half damage.
2. Darkness. Magical darkness spreads from a point the dragon chooses within 150 feet of it, filling a 30–foot–radius sphere until the dragon dismisses it as an action, uses this lair action again, or dies. The darkness spreads around corners. A creature with darkvision cannot see through this darkness, and nonmagical light cannot illuminate it. If any of the effect’s area overlaps with an area of light created by a spell of 5th–level or lower, the spell that created the light is dispelled.
3. Entrance Denial. One creature the dragon can see within 150 feet must succeed on a DC 16 Charisma saving throw or be magically teleported to an unoccupied space within one mile outside the dragon’s lair. The creature arrives unharmed and five feet above solid ground.
4. Filth Burst. The dragon chooses a point on the ground it can see within 150 feet of it. A 10–foot–radius, 40–foot–high cylinder of watery filth centered on that point erupts from the ground until the start of the next lair action (initiative count 20). Each creature in the cylinder when it appears or that ends its turn there must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 10 (3d6) poison damage. On a successful save, a creature takes half damage. The cylinder is difficult terrain.
5. Grasping Muck. Tendrils of roiling muck extend from the dragon’s lair to grasp up to three creatures of the dragon’s choice that it can see within the lair. A targeted creature must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, a creature is restrained until the start of the next lair action (initiative count 20).
6. Grasping Tides. Pools of water that the dragon can see within 150 feet of it surge outward in a grasping tide. Any creature on the ground within 30 feet of such a pool must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, a creature is pulled up to 30 feet into the water and knocked prone.
7. Noxious Gas. A bubble of swamp gas erupts in a 20–foot–radius sphere centered on a point the dragon can see within its lair. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature is poisoned until the start of the next lair action (initiative count 20).

Regional Effects

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

• Ennui. Creatures that spend a year within 10 miles of the dragon’s lair are filled with listless despair.
• Foul Water. Water sources within 1 mile of the lair are supernaturally fouled. Enemies of the dragon that drink such water regurgitate it within minutes.
• Grating Spies. Trilling, obnoxious birds, bugs, and reptiles follow any Humanoid creatures unknown to the dragon within 6 miles of the lair, imposing disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. The dragon can suppress this effect at will.
• Mist. Fog makes the land within 6 miles of the lair lightly obscured.
• Rotting Domain. Stinging bugs are aggressive and the air is heavy with the odor of rot within 6 miles of the lair.
• Thick Paths. The land within 6 miles of the lair takes twice as long as normal to traverse, since the plants grow thick and twisted, and the swamps are thick with reeking mud.

If the dragon dies, vegetation remains as it has grown, but other effects fade over 2d20 days.