Fire-breathing dragons are so 700 DR. These days if your scaled monster can’t literally exhale a fundamental force of the universe, they may be in need of a modern-day upgrade.

Enter the time dragon from Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse. If you’re looking for something to spice up your encounters, these time-twisting, history-guarding, multiverse-dancing dragons are the perfect creature to throw your players into a whirlwind of awe and existential dread.

It’s about time we got on with the article, so read on to learn more about these mythological monsters!

• What Came First, the Time Dragon or the Egg?
• The Time Dragon's Abilities
• Using Time Dragons in Your Game

What Came First, the Time Dragon or the Egg?

Artist: JOHN TEDRICK

Things are bound to get a little weird when you’re talking about beings that can skip through the flow of time like stones skimming across a pond. 

When time dragon wyrmlings emerge from their steely blue eggs, their innate mastery over the flow of time allows them to forcefully desynchronize their foes from the timeline with their breath weapon. As they age, their time manipulation powers grow with it. Adult time dragons can slip through time, throw other creatures backward and forward through time, and dilate time around themselves, so much so that it affects what other creatures experience.

When an ancient time dragon reaches the peak of their power, they gain the ability to gate through time and space, traveling anywhere and almost any time in the multiverse's existence. At this point, these mythical creatures are some of the most powerful beings out there, matching even Vecna the archlich in awe-inspiring might.

What Does a Time Dragon Want?

Beyond endless reruns of Doctor Who, what could an essentially immortal, omnipresent dragon that can control the flow of time ever want that they can’t simply take?

Time dragons are often neutral in alignment. They're not out to wreak havoc or rewrite history for fun. Instead, they are more likely to be driven by a desire to maintain the delicate equilibrium between good and evil forces.

But, like all dragons, time dragons are suckers for a nice hoard. Inside the lair of a time dragon, you're less likely to find the traditional gold or jewels. Instead, you might uncover ancient tomes detailing forgotten civilizations, relics of bygone eras, and treasures crafted by hands that turned to dust eons ago.

If you’re looking for secret knowledge that has slipped through the annals of history, seeking out a time dragon would be a good place to start. However, if you can’t convince a time dragon to part with what you seek, you may have to resort to other means. This brings us to…

The Time Dragon's Abilities

Artist: JOHN TEDRICK

So, you’ve decided to fight a time dragon. You’ve looked around at your motley crew of adventurers that took 35 real-life minutes to open a door that wasn’t locked and thought, “This is a creature that has seen eons come and go, that understands the flow of time, and that can bend it to its will. We can take it.”

I admire your spunk. I really do. But this isn’t just some oversized lizard with a knack for chronomancy we’re talking about. Ancient time dragons are CR 26, putting them on par with greatwyrms (AKA dragon demigods), adult time dragons are CR 18, and even time dragon wyrmlings are CR 5, making them the toughest dragon babies of the bunch.

While they have comparable Armor Class and hit points to red dragons of a similar age, their supercharged offensive capabilities make these forces of nature a danger to be reckoned with.

Time Breath

Time dragons can use their deadly claws and teeth to dispatch their enemies, just like other dragons do. But what makes them tougher than your average dragon is their Time Breath. Though it doesn’t have the sheer destructive force of a red dragon's Fire Breath, this ability is made deadly by the potent debuff it inflicts on creatures that fail their saving throws.

Have you ever been desynchronized from time? I haven’t, but I can't imagine it’s a very pleasant experience based on what happens to the targets of the time dragon’s breath weapon.

First, you take a boatload of force damage depending on the age of the time dragon in question. Then, if you fail your saving throw, attack rolls against you have advantage until you save from the effect. There may be more debilitating effects in store if you're on the receiving end of an adult time dragon's breath weapon, as a failed save will also afflict you with the poisoned condition. If you're hit with an ancient time dragon's breath weapon, you'll get all the previous fun effects plus other creatures will have resistance to all the damage you’ll deal.

So, after you get blasted in the face by a physical manifestation of time, you’ll probably be torn to shreds while you helplessly wail away on the time dragon’s nearly impenetrable hide.

Also, depending on the age of the dragon, you may have to pass more than one saving throw at the end of your turn to nullify this effect. With time dragon wyrmlings, you’ll only have to pass once. But young time dragons will require two successful saving throws, and adult and ancient time dragons require three successful saving throws. This all but guarantees you’ll be a pile of bones by the time you get over your super-jet lag.

Oh, one more thing: the time dragon’s Time Breath turns any nonmagical object or vegetation in its area to dust. That means if it happens to hit the corpse of one of your party members, no more revivify (but at least you’ll save on cremation costs).

A Temporal Arsenal

If exhaling blasts of time isn’t enough, adult and ancient time dragons have a few more tricks up their scaly sleeves that are bound to get your party thinking, "Maybe it's about time we ran."

Time Gate: One of the ancient time dragons' most cosmically profound powers is their Time Gate ability. Rather than a simple portal to another location, these time dragons can gate through the very fabric of time. This ability allows these dragons to travel to specific moments up to 8,000 years from the present anywhere in the multiverse. Adventurers beware: Meddling with the fabric of the time-space continuum might result in a timeline where you never existed.

Cycle of Rebirth: On top of being able to explore different timelines and planes, ancient time dragons have a unique relationship with life and death. Should they die, their essence converges into an egg, which then teleports to a random plane. What's incredible (and slightly terrifying) is that upon hatching in 1d100 years, the dragon retains all its memories and knowledge from its previous existence. This means that if you managed to kill an ancient time dragon, they’ll eventually be coming back with a vengeance.

Reactions: Adult and ancient time dragons gain the ability to take up to three reactions per round. Their Reactive Rend lets them lash out against their foes after using their legendary resistance or upon taking a hit. The Slow Time reaction targets those weakened by their Time Breath, dropping their speed to 0. And then there's Time Slip, allowing the dragon to halve the damage from an attack and immediately teleport away from harm, demonstrating their uncanny knack for slipping through time’s grasp.

Lair Actions: Within their lairs, time dragons can further manipulate time and space to their advantage. Whether taking foes out of initiative for a round with Temporal Fling, using their Temporal Lag to slow down intruders, or straight up just existing in two places at once with Timeline Divergence, these abilities will certainly give them the home-field advantage.

Using Time Dragons in Your Game

Artist: ONE PIXEL BRUSH

Looking to add another dimension (literally) to your game? Here are some ways to include time dragons in your campaign and get started with your timeline-hopping shenanigans!

Doctor Strange-esque Deus Ex Machina

Have you written yourself into a corner in your campaign? Maybe the bad guys won the final battle, and the party’s 20th-level wizard is dead, so no more wishes. Ancient time dragons can use their Time Gate ability to open a portal anywhere in the multiverse at any time within 8,000 years.

After a pep talk, a long rest, and some true resurrections, the time dragon sends the party on their way back to the beginning of the final battle for another try.

The BBEG’s MacGuffin

Maybe, in order to capture and harness the time-manipulating powers of a time dragon, the villain of your campaign has killed an ancient time dragon and plans to track down the steely egg that its soul is reborn into.

Seeing as the egg forms on a random plane of existence, your party will be spreading out over the multiverse to get to the egg before the villain. This will inevitably take you to Sigil, the City of Doors, and may even have you seeking the help of one of its 12 ascendant factions.

A Glitch in Time

Maybe your party are multiversal anomalies and the impact you’re having on the timeline upsets an adult time dragon who has carefully been weaving and pruning the flow of time to ensure cosmic balance. Along with the other character options coming with Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse, glitch characters can be created with the 2014 Player's Handbook, and the 2024 Player's Handbook when it releases next year. 

You could start having to deal with the time dragon’s cronies. But, eventually, you’ll need to face the pissed-off temporal being who’s just itching to reset your very existence.

It’s About Time

We’ve got gravity dragons, death dragons, fey dragons, and space dragons, so why not time dragons? These temporal titans, with their unique abilities to weave through the tapestry of time, are perfect for mind-bending, existential adventures.

Whether you’re playing in Planescape, Spelljammer, Radiant Citadel, or any multiverse-hopping setting, time dragons are bound to spice up your timelines and add a curveball to your campaign!

Mike Bernier (@arcane_eye) is the founder of Arcane Eye, a site focused on providing useful tips and tricks to all those involved in the world of D&D. Outside of writing for Arcane Eye, Mike spends most of his time playing games, hiking with his girlfriend, and tending the veritable jungle of houseplants that have invaded his house.