The odor of salt and mud surrounds a brown dragon, whose large, crystalline horns and dual spinal frill turning into wings, define its silhouette. Its blunted snout covered in mud and various minerals and gems, its eyes glow green.

A Brown Dragon’s Lair

Brown dragons lair in deep caverns or sometimes between the crevices of high mountains, dwelling in caverns under snow-capped peaks, or within the deep halls of abandoned mines and Underdark strongholds. Caves rich in minerals and gems are the most highly prized brown dragon lairs, creating a sense of greed that hinder intruders and letting the smells of wet mud and the riches of the earth wash over a dragon as it sleeps.

With its hoard well protected deep within the lair, a brown dragon spends most of its time inside its lair, if it is seen outside, it is surely a bad sign. For a brown dragon, the great heights of the world are the children from which it harbors, these children being the Kobolds that often infest caverns. It looks after the Kobolds and holds them with the same value as the gems it hides in its hoard.

Throughout the lair complex, large and unusual formations of crystals and gems litter the walls.

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:

• A hole appears from a point on the ground the dragon can see within 120 feet of it, creating a 20-foot-high, 5-foot-radius pit. Each creature in the pit's area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the creature fails it will fall into the hole, not to worry though as most of these holes end with a path out.
• 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.
• Poisonous gases form 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 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its turn. While poisoned in this way, a creature is incapacitated.

Regional Effects

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

• Small earthquakes are common within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair.
• Water sources within 1 mile of the lair are supernaturally murky and tainted by minerals.
• Rocky fissures within 1 mile of the dragon’s lair form portals to the Elemental Plane of Earth, allowing creatures of elemental earth into the world to dwell nearby.

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