Brown dragons are wingless and have a coloration similar to that of desert sands, ranging from dim brown at wyrmling stage to almost white at their most ancient stage of life. They have small, webbed claws that are well developed for digging, and very large, long mouths. Their scales are leathery and not as hard as other dragon scales tend to be.

Desert Dwellers. Brown dragons, also known as great desert dragons, occupy many of the massive deserts in the world, though you wouldn’t know it unless you went looking for them. Brown dragons prefer to tunnel deep into the desert sands, where they sleep in a burrow at night, surfacing to attack prey. While they can survive indefinitely on a diet of rock and sand, live meat is their preferred game. They are ferocious beasts, and while they are intelligent, they view most humanoid beings as food, and they believe that it is strange to talk with one’s meal. Brown dragons are able to digest sand and other mineral materials to sustain themselves over long periods of time. However, meat is their preferred diet, with horseflesh being a particular favourite.

Draconic Dialects. Brown dragons speak their own dialect of draconic language that can sometimes be hard for other draconic speakers to understand. The written language is practically the same, but they make use of many unique phrases that can make their version of draconic sound almost like an entirely different language to the untrained ear.

Bloodthirsty Battles. Battles between brown and blue dragons are legendary for their unbridled ferocity. Many of the people from desert regions occupied by a brown dragon tend to have a curious respect for the brown scaled creatures, so these tales often make the blue dragons look more evil than the brown.

Ambush Predators. These subterranean draconic predators are extremely skilled in the art of the ambush. Young brown dragons are well versed in ambush tactics and will wait for hours beneath the sand if it means a potential meal. As they age, brown dragons learn to leverage their innate magical abilities to create illusions similar to what a wizard with the Hallucinatory Terrain spell might achieve. In the dragon’s case, they often use this magic to create an illusion depicting an oasis directly above the place they have buried themselves. Once their prey has come close to get a drink of water, the dragon drops the illusion and strikes from below.

Credit to Dungeon Dad