Agna'Thorizian, the Emerald Haze

"Welcome, guests. I've been waiting for you all... Yes, I know who you are. I know everything... All of your hopes and dreams, your fears and insecurities. In many ways, I know you better now than you know yourselves. I've been watching you from the shadows, listening and learning. You've been amusing, a fine source of entertainment to break up my monotony. But now, I'm afraid this little game of ours must come to an end. Still, I'm sure you'll provide me with one final treat before you die. I want to savor the terror upon your faces as I slowly tear you apart, rending your minds before I rot your flesh."

"You think you can defeat me? How, when you cannot even master the demons within your own minds? You think yourselves heroes, do you? Saviors and protectors like the paladins of old? Pathetic! You are barely more than blackguards and cutthroats yourselves! The only difference between you and I is that I do not delude myself, but embrace my nature. It is why I now stand poised to wipe your miserable existences from this world, while you writhe in agony."

"I admit, you're bolder than I gave you credit for. But do not think you can win so easily. Just as there are many poisons that can ravage the body, there are many ways to cut your legs from beneath you."

A Green Dragon King, also known as the Withering Wings and the Emerald Haze. In the wake of Nolgrathelemnos’ death, he came to occupy the Green Mist's Lair and territories, returning fear and blight to the region. Sly, shrewd, and shifty, he is more cautious and crafty than many of his kindred, preferring to bide his time watching and waiting, spying and skulking, to outright attack. Using manipulation of the woodlands around his lair, he can trap foes in a nightmarish maze of illusions and traps, or utilize his legion of minions to engage in his stead without ever having to leave his keep. Through his link to the Feywild, he has been able to amass not only beasts, aberrations, and monstrosities to his service, but corrupt fae of the Unseelie Court as well, making him a formidable force of evil in Faerûn.

Like most of his kind, Agna'Thorizian largely eschews actual combat when possible, preferring to rely on manipulation and subterfuge to nullify potential threats, or having his minions deal with more persistent annoyances. However, this is not to say he is incapable of battle, and he is a truly deadly foe in his own right. Cunning and cruel, he makes it a habit to use his network of spies in the woods surrounding his lair to glean as much knowledge as possible on any potential enemies, and on occasion stalks particularly intriguing- or concerning- targets himself using his ability to disguise or conceal himself. In battle, he makes use of this knowledge to exploit every advantage, from weaknesses in his opponents’ battle styles and gaps in defenses, to employing cutting words and manipulation to target insecurities and trepidations, cripple resolve, inflate self-doubts, or instill mistrust and discord between allies. If all else fails, his actual combat skills are lethal, combining savage strikes of fangs and claws with deceptive movements to throw off counters. His toxic breath is legendary for its potency and his ties to the Feywild give him access to an impressive arsenal of debilitating spells, making him arguably the second most powerful spellcaster of his comrades behind Tessyldraphelle.

A forest controlled by a green dragon is easy to spot, especially one held in the sway of an Ancient King like Agna'Thorizian. A perpetual fog hangs in the air in the Kryptgarden Woods, carrying an acrid whiff of the Withering Wings’ poison breath. The moss-covered trees grow close together except where winding pathways trace their way like a maze into the heart of the forest. The light that reaches the forest floor carries an emerald green cast, and every sound seems muffled.

At the center of the forest, a spire of a mountain rises from the canopy, covered in vines, thorns, and unnaturally-growing trees and shrubs. Accessible only by a few treacherous winding pathways up the steep face, Agna'Thorizian makes his lair in a great cavern near its peak, shrouded by thick curtains of creepers with thorns like daggers tipped in fell poison. A waterfall cascades from the cave mouth, its water normally running clear, though Agna'Thorizian can choose to poiso the flow at will.

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:

Grasping roots and vines erupt in a 20-foot radius centered on a point on the ground that the dragon can see within 120 feet of it. That area becomes difficult terrain, and each creature there must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be restrained by the roots and vines. A creature can be freed if it or another creature takes an action to make a DC 15 Strength check and succeeds. The roots and vines wilt away when the dragon uses this lair action again or when the dragon dies.

A wall of tangled brush bristling with thorns springs into existence on a solid surface within 120 feet of the dragon. The wall is up to 60 feet long, 10 feet high, and 5 feet thick, and it blocks line of sight. When the wall appears, each creature in its area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. A creature that fails the save takes 18 (4d8) piercing damage and is pushed 5 feet out of the wall’s space, appearing on whichever side of the wall it wants. A creature can move through the wall, albeit slowly and painfully. For every 1 foot a creature travels through the wall, it must spend 4 feet of movement. Furthermore, a creature in the wall’s space must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw once each round it’s in contact with the wall, taking 18 (4d8) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Each 10-foot section of wall has AC 5, 15 hit points, vulnerability to fire damage, resistance to bludgeoning and piercing damage, and immunity to psychic damage. The wall sinks back into the ground when the dragon uses this lair action again or when the dragon dies.

Magical fog billows around one creature the dragon can see within 120 feet of it. The creature must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by the dragon until initiative count 20 on the next round.

Regional Effects

The fell poison and corruptive magic of Agna'Thorizian has warped the entirety of the Kryptgarden Woods, which creates the following effects:

Thickets form labyrinthine passages within 1 mile of the lair. The thickets act as 10-foot-high, 10-foot-thick walls that block line of sight. Creatures can move through the thickets, with every 1 foot a creature moves costing it 4 feet of movement. A creature in the thickets must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw once each round it’s in contact with the thickets or take 3 (1d6) piercing damage from thorns.

Each 10-foot-cube of thickets has AC 5, 30 hit points, resistance to bludgeoning and piercing damage, vulnerability to fire damage, and immunity to psychic and thunder damage.

Within 1 mile of his lair, Agna'Thorizian leaves no physical evidence of his passage unless he wishes to. Tracking him there is impossible except by magical means. In addition, he ignores movement impediments and damage from plants in this area that are neither magical nor creatures, including the thickets described above. The plants remove themselves from Agna'Thorizian's path.

Rodents and birds within 1 mile of the dragon’s lair serve as the Emerald Haze's eyes and ears. Deer and other large game are strangely absent, hinting at the presence of an unnaturally hungry predator.

All Fey Creatures within a mile of the lair have Advantage on Stealth Checks, and can manipulate the plants within a hundred feet at will.

If Agna'Thorizian dies, the rodents and birds lose their supernatural link to him. The thickets remain, but within 1d10 days, they become mundane plants and normal difficult terrain, losing their thorns.