| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 28 | +9 | +9 |
| DEX | 16 | +3 | +11 |
| CON | 26 | +8 | +16 |
| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| INT | 18 | +4 | +4 |
| WIS | 24 | +7 | +15 |
| CHA | 20 | +5 | +13 |
Legendary Resistance (4/Day, or 5/Day in Lair). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Living Forest Incarnate. The dragon is indistinguishable from a colossal tree when motionless. While in forests, it is always under the effects of nondetection.
Mythic Nature Magic. The dragon is a 9th-level spellcaster (Wisdom-based, save DC 22). It requires no material components. It has the following spells prepared:
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At will: druidcraft, detect magic, speak with animals
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3/day each: wall of thorns, insect plague, greater restoration, awaken
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1/day each: sunburst, tsunami, foresight
Antlered Crown. Its antlers glow with primal energy. Once per turn, when the dragon hits with its gore attack, roots erupt in a 20 ft. radius, forcing all enemies there to succeed on a DC 22 Strength save or be restrained.
Multiattack.
The dragon makes three attacks: one bite, two claws, and one with its antlers.
Bite.
Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 32 (4d10 + 9) piercing damage.
Claw.
Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 25 (3d10 + 9) slashing damage.
Antlers.
Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 28 (4d8 + 9) piercing damage.
The Verdant Tempest (Recharge 5–6). Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 24, each creature in a 90-foot Cone. Failure: 126 (28d8) Poison and Slashing damage. Creatures that fail are also poisoned for 1 minute. Success: Half damage.
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.
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Tail Swipe. The dragon makes a tail attack.
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Detect. The dragon makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
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Entangling Canopy (Costs 2 Actions). Roots and branches lash from the ground in a 30 ft. radius within 90 ft. Each enemy must succeed on a DC 22 Strength save or be restrained until the start of the dragon’s next turn.
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Leafstorm Surge (Costs 3 Actions). The dragon unleashes a secondary burst of poisoned leaves. All creatures within 30 ft. must succeed on a DC 22 Constitution save or take 45 (10d8) poison and slashing damage.
Description
Lore
The Ancient Forest Dragon is less a beast and more a living god of the wilds. Its antlers stretch like a forest canopy themselves, covered in moss and glowing veins of druidic energy. Its wings are vast, like entire groves of leaves, blotting out the sky when unfurled. Its breath weapon becomes the Verdant Tempest, a toxic hurricane that shreds armies and poisons the land.
Druids call them the Crown of the Wild, while hunters whisper that they are the Forest’s Final Judgment. Where one sleeps, whole ecosystems flourish. Where one awakens in anger, kingdoms fall beneath the wrath of root and leaf.
Lair and Lair Actions
Lair of the Ancient Forest Dragon
The Crown of Roots
The lair of an Ancient Forest Dragon is known as the Crown of Roots — a vast and endless primeval forest that bends reality itself. At its center lies a colossal living tree, taller than mountains, with roots that stretch for miles and branches that block the sun. This is where the dragon resides, coiled among roots thick as towers, antlers entwined with the canopy as if it were part of the world-tree itself.
The ground here pulses like a heartbeat, and the air glows faintly green with drifting motes of pollen that whisper when disturbed. To enter is to step into nature’s cathedral, where every tree is a sentinel and every shadow a hunter.
Terrain Features
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Living Forest. Trees and vines shift at the dragon’s will. They can part to allow allies through or close to trap enemies.
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Rooted Labyrinth. The lair is an endless maze of roots and tunnels. The dragon can collapse or open pathways at will, changing the terrain with legendary actions.
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Verdant Pools. Sacred ponds glow with emerald light. Allies of the dragon are healed by drinking from them (restoring 6d8 hit points), while enemies are poisoned.
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Antler Crowned Pillars. Colossal root-antlers burst from the ground, reaching skyward, carved by nature into shapes of stags, wolves, and owls. These crackle with primal energy during battle.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing ties), the Ancient Forest Dragon can invoke one of the following effects:
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Forest Awakens. Trees and roots in a 40 ft. radius animate, lashing at intruders. Enemies must succeed on a DC 22 Strength save or take 36 (8d8) bludgeoning damage and be restrained.
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Toxic Bloom. A cloud of poisonous pollen fills a 40 ft. radius within 120 ft. Each enemy must succeed on a DC 22 Constitution save or take 45 (10d8) poison damage and be blinded until the end of their next turn.
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Spectral Guardians. The lair summons ghostly stags, wolves, and owls of emerald light. These guardians harry one enemy, imposing disadvantage on its attack rolls until the start of the dragon’s next turn.
Regional Effects
The land within 12 miles of the Crown of Roots reflects the dragon’s overwhelming power:
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Unending Growth. Forests spread at an impossible rate, engulfing villages, roads, and farmland within weeks. Trees grow overnight to colossal sizes.
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Beast Awakenings. Animals gain sentience and intelligence. Packs of awakened wolves, stags, or even bears may act as the dragon’s emissaries.
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Cycle of Life and Death. When a creature dies within the region, its body sprouts into plants within hours, its spirit reborn as part of the forest.
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Crown of Antlers. At night, the stars themselves seem to trace vast antlers over the canopy, a cosmic warning of the dragon’s domain.
If the dragon is slain, the forest collapses into unnatural rot, leaving behind a vast blighted wasteland where no plant grows for centuries.
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