| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 20 | +5 | +5 |
| DEX | 14 | +2 | +6 |
| CON | 18 | +4 | +8 |
| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| INT | 16 | +3 | +3 |
| WIS | 16 | +3 | +7 |
| CHA | 18 | +4 | +8 |
Legendary Resistance (3/Day, or 4/Day in Lair). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Multiattack. The dragon makes three Rend attacks. It can replace one attack with a use of Spellcasting to cast Dissonant Whispers (level 2 version).
Rend. Melee Attack Roll: +9, reach 10 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) Slashing damage plus 5 (1d10) Psychic damage.
Nightmare Breath (Recharge 5–6). Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 16, each creature in a 60-foot Cone. Failure: 44 (8d10) Psychic damage, and has the Frightened until the end of its next turn. Success: Half damage only.
Spellcasting. The dragon casts one of the following spells, requiring no Material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 17):
At Will: Detect Magic, Dissonant Whispers (level 2 version), Crown of Madness.
1/Day: Slow
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature’s turn, the dragon can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The dragon regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Commanding Spores. The dragon uses Spellcasting to cast Crown of Madness. The dragon can’t take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Spore Salvo. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 16, each creature in a 30-foot Emanation originating from the dragon. Failure: 21 (6d6) Poison damage, and the target is Poisoned until the end of its next turn. Failure or Success: The dragon can’t take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Pounce. The dragon moves up to half its Speed, and it makes one Rend attack.
Description
Making their lairs in the depths of the Underdark, deep dragons are nightmarish cousins of chromatic dragons. The warped magical energy of their subterranean realm gives them the ability to exhale magical spores that instill fear and scar the mind.
Deep dragons’ black-and-gray hide is smooth like a salamander’s, and their eyes are pale. As they age, their spore breath causes fungi to bloom across their skin, especially around the head and neck. Their wings are attached to their front legs and can fold in close to the body, allowing deep dragons to easily maneuver through relatively narrow tunnels.
Deep dragons often hoard secrets, delighting in knowledge of far-off lands. Many seek out new insights and tricks that they can use against other denizens of the Underdark, preferring social manipulation and crafty dealmaking to exerting themselves in combat. Deep dragons look down on any creature that isn’t useful to them, though they are willing to bargain for knowledge they lack.
Creating a Deep Dragon
Use the Deep Dragon Personality Traits and Deep Dragon Ideals tables to inspire your portrayal of distinctive deep dragon characters, and use the Deep Dragon Spellcasting table to help select spells for a spellcasting dragon.
Deep Dragon Personality Traits
| d8 | Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I will not risk injury at the hands of weaker creatures—especially while I can turn them against one another and have them fight in my stead. |
| 2 | It is difficult for anyone not of dragonkind to penetrate the twisting labyrinth of my thoughts. |
| 3 | I might disagree with other dragons, but we are superior beings and should not lower ourselves to direct conflict. |
| 4 | I have no interest in going to the surface world. It’s where one sends one’s servants. |
| 5 | While the petty squabbles of other creatures bore and irritate me, I might hear out those who demonstrate an appreciation for the finer things in life by bringing me delicacies like clams or aboleth flesh. |
| 6 | I might be willing to exert myself to take out a mind flayer. Those disgusting creatures must be stopped. |
| 7 | I dream of seeing the deepest places in the ocean. |
| 8 | I find I rather enjoy the company of people—as long as they remain unaware of my true nature. |
Deep Dragon Ideals
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Understanding. True power comes from the ability to discern other creatures’ motivations better than they can discern yours. (Any) |
| 2 | Kindred. All dragons are kin to one another, and we would all do well to prioritize that kinship. (Any) |
| 3 | Mystery. I appreciate a question I cannot answer, so I strive to be an enigma for other creatures. (Any) |
| 4 | Adaptability. Whether taking on a new form, making new allies, or trying a new strategy, flexibility keeps one youthful. (Chaotic) |
| 5 | Superiority. Weaker creatures cannot be trusted, so I constantly remind my servants of my power. (Evil) |
| 6 | Patience. All creatures might teach me something, and I’m willing to wait and find out what that might be rather than acting in haste. (Good) |
Deep Dragon Adventures
The Deep Dragon Adventure Hooks table offers suggestions for stories and adventures involving deep dragons.
Deep Dragon Adventure Hooks
| d8 | Adventure Hook |
|---|---|
| 1 | Unfamiliar drow adventurers have been prowling a city’s streets at night and have been overheard talking about the dragon they serve. |
| 2 | Svirfneblin hire the characters to deliver tribute to their deep dragon neighbor. |
| 3 | A disguised deep dragon offers access to rare artifacts—to a party who is willing to partner up on a seafood shipping business. |
| 4 | A talented young ranger is kidnapped by a deep dragon who wants a hunting partner. |
| 5 | A friendly young copper dragon seeks an entourage, hoping to impress the deep dragon holding the copper dragon’s inheritance in trust. |
| 6 | A deep dragon wants to know if rumors of a sea monster in an Underdark lake are true, so the dragon hires adventurers to investigate. |
| 7 | Two Underdark settlements are about to go to war, having been carefully manipulated by a deep dragon. A desperate ruler offers a reward to anyone who can uncover the true cause of the hostility. |
| 8 | A deep dragon wants someone to manufacture a scenario that will get the dragon out of an old commitment to protect a city. |
Connected Creatures
Deep dragons appreciate the company of other dragons. Although they view most other species as inferior to dragonkind, having worth only as servants or tools, the rare individuals who impress them can sometimes earn respect as partners—albeit junior ones.
Adult Deep Dragon Connections
| d8 | Connected Creatures |
|---|---|
| 1 | An adult deep dragon has played chess with a drow matriarch for centuries. Each move represents what that player plans to do next in the competitors’ long struggle for domination in the Underdark. |
| 2 | A fire giant who accidentally insulted a deep dragon is tormented by the dragon’s servants in ways that can’t be tied to the dragon conclusively. |
| 3 | A group of cyclopes wants a deep dragon to protect them from mind flayers, but the dragon is uninterested in meeting with them despite their repeated petitions. |
| 4 | A nest of vampires has developed a taste for deep dragon blood. |
| 5 | An adult deep dragon craves the knowledge stored in an aboleth's nearby lair. |
| 6 | A spirit naga desperately wants to claim the key to a mysterious underground door from the hoard of an adult deep dragon. |
| 7 | An adult deep dragon has ended up rearing a young brass dragon and is running out of patience for the young dragon’s mischief. |
| 8 | An adult deep dragon takes pride in breeding hell hounds but can’t control them. |
Lair and Lair Actions
Deep dragons make their lairs in well-hidden caves or sunless beaches in the Underdark, and these sites are often inaccessible without the ability to fly or dive underwater. They fill their lairs with secret passages and hiding places that allow them to escape or ambush visitors if the need arises. A well-cultivated lair abounds with Underdark fungi and plants, with the floor, walls, and ceiling covered in carpets of mold and moss, or featuring larger mushrooms and plants in neatly organized displays.
Preservation of Knowledge. Books, letters, and any other physical forms of writing within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair become magically charged and can’t be damaged by nonmagical means.
Restless Sleep. When a creature finishes a long rest within 6 miles of the lair, the creature must first succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be unable to reduce its level of exhaustion. Creatures immune to the Poisoned condition are immune to this effect.
Verdant Growth. Vegetation and fungi within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair grow faster and cover a greater area than they normally would. Foraging in this area yields twice the usual amount of food.
If the dragon dies or moves its lair elsewhere, these effects end immediately.
Previous Versions
| Name | Date Modified | Views | Adds | Version | Actions |
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5/23/2025 9:53:30 PM
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15
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2
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Coming Soon
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