Also referred to as sand dragons, brown dragons of all the chromatics are least likely to head great armies, rule kingdoms, or otherwise seek to carve out empires. They prefer the comfort of their desert lairs and are at home below the earth. In general, they are reserved, irritable, and cunning creatures that provide for themselves in whatever way requires the least amount of work on their part and avoids unnecessary trouble. Not unrelentingly evil, but not good either, sand dragons are motivated only by survival and comfort. Thus, a brown dragon would rather raid a herder’s flock than demand sacrifices from a nearby village (an act that is likely to bring adventurers from afar). Moreover, it does not inflict wholesale slaughter on the herd but instead culls one animal at a time, so that some will be left to eat another day. On the other hand, if antagonized sufficiently by protective shepherds, a brown dragon might well destroy their village as a violent demonstration of what happens to those who deny a dragon its due. The mass of thick, short horns protruding from a brown dragon’s head gives it a distinctive, earth gouging silhouette. A membranous frill connects each row of spines down the length of the dragon’s body. These frills function like wings, serving equally well for undulating flight through the air and burrowing through sand and earth.

More than any other kind of dragon, brown dragons are driven nearly as much by the desire to discover new tastes as by the need to accumulate a hoard. They so love eating that they sometimes take risks in combat merely to “sample” one or more of their foes. Thus, a brown dragon might take a bite instead of making a more tactically advantageous attack for the chance to taste an enemy, especially a creature it has not previously encountered. Brown dragons prize elf flesh for its succulence and tenderness, and least prefer dwarves, whose tough meat they consider unpalatable unless it is aged. A brown dragon’s breath weapon is a blast of supernaturally hot and stinging sand that corrodes flesh and blocks all visibility.

A brown dragon makes its lair under the sands, in a hollow within a ruin, a cave, or a similar structure. A lair can consist of several such chambers, each one an island of air surrounded by an ocean of smothering sand. A brown dragon doesn’t need tunnels—it can burrow between the rooms of its lair without difficulty. A brown dragon might keep a supply of food in its lair, usually smoked or seasoned meats but sometimes a stock of living creatures. It might set aside a space for seasonings, including sea salt, sage, thyme, and more exotic flavorings.