With the impending release of Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons on October 19, there’s no better time to brainstorm new ways of incorporating the scaly namesake of Dungeons & Dragons into a campaign. Making a dragon group patron is a fantastic way to add flavor to these awe-inspiring reptiles.

The below three homebrewed dragon patrons follow suggestions found in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything:

• Yabinamou, the green dragon
• Tiamtoh, the gold dragon
• Quemmathyr, the sapphire dragon

What is a group patron?

A group patron can be an individual or organization that the party serves and benefits from. Your adventurers might all be students of a school of magic, members of a guild, or assistants to a powerful spellcaster. The below group patrons allow the party to align themselves with dragons!

Having a group patron comes with benefits specific to that patron. They can include skill proficiencies, salaries, magic items, and more. But a group patron can also help bring parties of adventurers together for a common cause, and be a recurring source of quests.

Yabinamou, the green dragon

The aged green wyrm shook the earth with her tail, screeching as she steered her head around to locate the thief. But she was old and blind, and none of the humans, kobolds, or grung working under her were stupid enough to admit to pocketing a bit of loot here and there.

“Curse you all, you wretches!” Yabinamou spat. “Why is it so hard to get honest help in this era? Oooh, if only I could see and my bones didn’t ache, I’d rip you all to shreds, and then the shreds into bits!”

Yabinamou is a lawful evil ancient green dragon who lives in a cave hidden behind a waterfall in the jungles of Chult. Once a follower of the Chultan demigod of destruction, Eshowdow, Yabinamou delighted in amassing treasure, harassing Chult’s albino dwarves and bossing around goblins in her younger days. Much to her dismay, at the ancient age of 1,003, Yabinamou is simply too old to wreak havoc any longer. She spends most of her time sleeping, chewing on stray dinosaurs, and grumbling about the good old days.

Recently, Yabinamou has amassed followers to help her carry out simple tasks like finding food and bathing. These include local Chult explorers, grung, and kobolds, all of whom have been enticed by Yabinamou’s immense hoard. The dragon knows that her followers are secretly pocketing bits and pieces of her hoard, and threatens them with death on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the dragon is but a shadow of her former might, and can do little but rant, rave, and weakly lash out with her claws when she hears someone grabbing one of her jewels.

Yabinamou suffers from an increasingly severe fear of death. She would never admit it, but she is also fiercely intimidated by the red and black dragons who have inhabited Chult in the last few centuries.

Yabinamou as a patron

Yabinamou would be a useful patron for explorers embarking on a Tomb of Annihilation or other Chultan campaign. Green dragons are renowned for their manipulative tendencies, but ironically, Yabinamou is now at the geriatric age where she can be easily manipulated. A party of self-serving adventurers can masquerade as her helpers while stealthily picking from her hoard, while more sympathetic characters might find it worthwhile to humor the old dragon’s nostalgia and carry out her last requests.

Parties with Yabinamou as their patron might receive the following perks:

• Though she can no longer see, Yabinamou retains a detailed map of Chult in her head. She knows the exact location of various landmarks, from Nangalore to the lost city of Omu, and can describe the fastest means of getting to these areas. Considering that much of Tomb of Annihilation is a hexcrawl, Yabinamou’s advice will be greatly valuable to any jungle explorers.
• Yabinamou’s hoard — while decreasing each day thanks to pickpockets — still contains more gold and jewelry than can be found in all of Chult’s Port Nyanzaru. Players who dig through the treasure mounds while Yabinamou sleeps can expect to quickly become rich, while powerful artifacts can greatly change the lives of any low-level character. Other items like a deck of illusions and a wand of wonder can also be uncovered.
• Any party choosing Yabinamou as a patron will not be alone, and can ally with the dragon’s Chultan, grung, and kobold followers. These non-player characters can act as hirelings and serve as replacement characters in Tomb of Annihilation, where the threat of death is constant.

Parties with Yabinamou as their patron might embark on the following quests:

• If the players appear sympathetic, Yabinamou might ask them to determine which of her followers are unscrupulously stealing from her hoard. This might lead to a classic whodunnit adventure in the same vein as Knives Out, where members of an extended family are all fighting over an elder’s inheritance and accusing each other of chicanery. In this instance, though, the elder is a dragon!
• Yabinamou is far from the only dragon in Chult, a fact that causes her great consternation. In short, she wants those other whippersnappers to get off her lawn, and she’ll be immensely pleased if her followers hunt down rivals like Tzindelor, a young red dragon residing in Chult’s Wyrmheart Mine.
• Peace and quiet are valuable commodities to Yabinamou these days, and she's likely to request the player characters quiet things down in the area. Undead monsters, including the likes of tyrannosaurus zombies, rampage too close to her lair, and if there’s anything Yabinamou hates more than dinosaurs, it’s undying dinosaurs who won’t shut up. She’ll eagerly enlist the players to dispose of the beasts and bring their remains back for feasting. (In her old age, this ornery green lady isn’t picky when it comes to food.)

Tiamtoh, the gold dragon

The Sagacious Bibliolater was a handsome shop, filled with shelves after shelves of hardbound books and permeating with the musky scent of aged paper and worn leather. Customers could always hope to be greeted by Tiamtoh, a kindly little woman with hair the color of ink, eyes that gleamed with a golden hue, and a soothing voice that was always quick to comment on the latest happenings in Waterdeep.

Only a keen and educated observer could discern that Tiamtoh was a dragon in disguise.

Tiamtoh is a lawful good adult gold dragon who spends most of her time in human form, resembling a middle-aged woman of Shou descent. The owner of The Sagacious Bibliolater, a shop for antique books nestled in Waterdeep’s Sea Ward, Tiamtoh sells rare tomes alongside her three assistants, which include a dragonborn and two humans. At night, she retreats to her lair in the bookshop’s plush basement and pens her memoirs, which have ballooned in scope over the years and now resemble an account of various events in the dragon world since Tiamtoh’s birth, which was roughly 450 years ago.

A Waterdeep resident for decades, Tiamtoh enjoys the city’s cosmopolitan nature and often speaks with fascination about its local history, typically making comparisons to draconic events that occurred around the same time. Regarded as little more than a bibliophile by most, Tiamtoh’s true identity is only known to her assistants and a few notable Waterdeep personages, including the likes of Mirt the Moneylender and Durnan, owner of the Yawning Portal Inn.

Those who investigate Tiamtoh’s past might find evidence that she was once a member of the Harpers who ventured into the depths of Undermountain and bested Halaster the Mad Mage in a magical duel in her human form and won several precious spellbooks in the process.

Tiamtoh as a patron

Tiamtoh can appear in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage, providing players with details about the City of Splendors and the multitiered dungeon beneath it. Her intimate knowledge of dragon affairs also makes her an attractive patron for Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat. Tiamtoh is most interested in working with good-aligned adventurers recommended to her by either Durnan or Mirt, and she will eagerly engage dragonborn in spirited philosophical discussions about draconic history.

Parties with Tiamtoh as their patron might receive the following perks:

• Like many gold dragons, Tiamtoh possesses a strong sense of justice and can detect evil creatures in her vicinity. She can pass some of this magic on to her followers, granting characters the ability to cast both detect evil and good and protection from evil and good once per long rest, without requiring any material components.
• Tiamtoh has links with the Harpers and can provide the necessary introductions for characters hoping to enter the exclusive organization, potentially giving them the ear of advisors connected with Waterdeep Open Lord Laeral Silverhand.
• The Sagacious Bibliolater has a restricted section that Tiamtoh keeps walled away from the general public. Within it are multiple sets of stat-increasing books like the Manual of Gainful Exercise and the Tome of Clear Thought. Tiamtoh is willing to bestow these wondrous works to those who win her trust.

Parties with Tiamtoh as their patron might embark on the following quests:

• Tiamtoh will ask characters to map out the various levels of Undermountain for her, purchasing any spellbooks they happen to find. She is also curious about the changes that the Mad Mage has made to his mega-dungeon in the years since she won her duel.
• Thanks to a special relationship with the Avowed of Candlekeep, Tiamtoh often gets her hands on rare books that are inaccessible to most. She may ask characters to visit the great library, presenting Dungeon Masters with the perfect chance to insert an adventure from Candlekeep Mysteries into their campaign.
• Tiamtoh is a frequent fixture in the Yawning Portal Inn, and enjoys sipping a mug of mead in the corner and exchanging words with Durnan. She can be a quest-giver for any of the adventures in Tales from the Yawning Portal. Her knowledge of dragon-related affairs means that she will take a special interest in the events of The Sunless Citadel, The Forge of Fury, Dead in Thay, and Against the Giants, all of which feature draconic creatures. 

Quemmathyr, the sapphire dragon

“My little ones,” the sapphire dragon rumbled, his voice sounding like a thousand gemstones rattling in a sack. “I shall do all I can to protect you, but if you want your home to stay safe, you must also learn to be self-vigilant. Concentrate. Feel the psionic energy. Let it extend from your mind, to your fingers, and finally out into the world itself.”

The dragon swirled his wings like the conductor of an orchestra. Eight hundred svirfneblin followed his movement with their hands, psychically willing rocks to float in mid-air.

Quemmathyr is a lawful neutral adult sapphire dragon dwelling in a quiet Underdark cavern that is also home to Fiddlebarrow, a small svirfneblin community. The deep gnomes look up to Quemmathyr as both protector and mentor, and enthusiastically decorate his lair with a variety of gems from the depths of the earth. For his part, Quemmathyr regards the gnomes with what appears to be a fatherly sort of affection, often referring to them as his “children” or “little ones.”

This father-like demeanor has a sterner side, however. Quemmathyr chides his children for softness, warning them that the Underdark is home to thousands of creatures who would love to skewer a deep gnome for sport. The dragon, who appears to be well-travelled throughout both the Underdark and surface world, frequently speaks of Blingdenstone, a deep gnome community ravaged by the drow of Menzoberranzan, and warns Fiddlebarrow’s residents that they need to remain vigilant.

Over the last 10 years, Quemmathyr’s psionic powers — as well as his stern lectures — have had a stirring effect on Fiddlebarrow’s population. The once helpless deep gnomes are slowly manifesting psychic abilities of their own, and Quemmathyr has taken it upon himself to train them in using their abilities against raiders from the ruined drow city of Ched Nasad.

Quemmathyr as a patron

Quemmathyr is the perfect patron for an Underdark campaign like Out of the Abyss, and is especially kind to deep gnome characters who have chosen subclasses like the Psi Warrior and the Soulknife. While initially suspicious of other humanoids, Quemmathyr might give attention to anyone curious about psionic power — with the exception of drow, duergar, and mind flayers, all of whom the sapphire dragon despises with a passion.

Parties with Quemmathyr as their patron might receive the following perks:

• Thanks to Quemmathyr’s psychic power, a telepathic link is formed between all characters, allowing them to each cast the message cantrip without needing material components.
• Fiddlebarrow, home to 800 deep gnomes and located 30 miles from the ruins of Ched Nasad, can serve as a hub. The community has a permanent teleportation circle created by Quemmathyr that will come in handy for any Underdark travelers looking for a safe resting place.
• Quemmathyr’s hoard contains a collection of magic items that the dragon bestows upon his favorite little ones who showcase notable psionic aptitude. These include rarities salvaged from battles with illithids, including mind blades, mind carapace armor and shields of far sight, all of which can be found in Volo’s Guide to Monsters. Quemmathyr boasts that he has cleansed these items of mind flayer taint, allowing non-illithid characters to attune to them.

Parties with Quemmathyr as their patron might embark on the following quests:

• Drow gangs from Ched Nasad have taken to hunting Fiddlebarrow residents for sport. If an adventuring party composed of surface dwellers wants to win Quemmathyr’s approval, the fastest way to do so would be taking the fight to these drow and showing them that Fiddlebarrow residents are not to be attacked.
• Fiddlebarrow’s deep gnomes are hoping to establish trade with Blingdenstone, which has been rebuilt since Menzoberranzan destroyed it. Bodyguards are needed to protect the route’s first caravans from all manner of unfriendly Underdark creatures. The treacherous journey from Fiddlebarrow to Blingdenstone will take at least a week.
• A colony of mind flayers takes an interest in Fiddlebarrow as news of Quemmathyr’s psionic influence spreads. Slowly, deep gnomes begin disappearing, and an outraged sapphire dragon will demand that the characters find the kidnapping victims. The resulting quest may lead the players into the depths of an illithid stronghold, and if a battle against an elder brain breaks out, count on Quemmathyr to join the fight!

Discover Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

Fizban's Treasury of Dragons is now available for preorder on D&D Beyond! The book adds new player options, including draconic ancestries for dragonborn, dragon-themed monk and ranger subclasses, as well as feats and spells. Learn all about 20 different kinds of dragons and their minions. Dungeon Masters will enjoy the included lair maps and the rich lore behind the First World and more! Those with a Master-tier subscription can share books they've purchased with players in their campaigns.

Jeremy Blum (@PixelGrotto) is a journalist, gaming blogger, comic book aficionado, and fan of all forms of storytelling who rolled his first polyhedral dice while living in Hong Kong in 2017. Since then, he's never looked back, and loves roleplaying games for the chance to tell the tales that have been swirling in his head since childhood.