A blue dragon buried deep beneath the desert sands. A black dragon coiled in the heart of a fetid swamp. A silver dragon roosting atop a cloud-kissed spire, watching the ages pass.

These legendary creatures rule from their lairs—places of power carved by elemental fury and steeped in the dragon's magic. In Dragon Delves, releasing July 8, you'll find ten dragon-centric adventures where brave adventurers may have to face dragons in these sanctums while they are at the height of their power.

In this article, we'll explore how to create evocative dragon lairs that set the stage for unforgettable encounters!

• Building the Journey to the Dragon's Lair
• Designing a Living Lair
• Legendary Lair Combat

Get Ready-to-Run Dragon Lairs in the Maps VTT

With a D&D Beyond digital copy of Dragon Delves, Master Tier subscribers can set up their adventures in D&D's official VTT, Maps, with a single click, thanks to play-ready maps!

It also includes 12 stickers you can use to customize your environment when running games in the VTT.

Building the Journey to the Dragon's Lair

Artist: LEROY STEINMANN

The journey from civilization into the heart of the dragon's territory is an excellent chance to paint a picture of the dragon's capabilities. The travel can be as long or as eventful as you wish, but as the party approaches the dragon's lair, you can narrate scenes or introduce challenges that help the party gain context for the might of the legendary creature they are about to face.

Witness the Dragon's Destruction. This is your opportunity to foreshadow danger and showcase the dragon's signature abilities. For example, if they pass through a site ravaged by an Ancient Blue Dragon, they might find shattered wagons, blackened corpses fused into sandglass, and the smell of ozone in the air.

Environmental Challenges. An elder dragon's regional effects in their Monster Manual entry provide a foundation for what characters traversing the area around their lair may experience, but you can build beyond it using resources like the DM's Toolbox chapter of the Dungeon Master's Guide. As the party nears an Ancient Blue Dragon's lair, they might contend with extreme heat, strong winds, quicksand, lightning storms, or other environmental hazards.

Encounters with Dragon Minions. Dragons are powerful enough to claim vast domains and might command armies of minions to impart their will. To populate the path to your dragon's lair, try filtering monsters by the dragon's habitat or those that have Immunity to the dragon's elemental affinity using D&D Beyond's Monsters tool. For our Ancient Blue Dragon, this quickly reveals thematic lackeys, such as Air Elementals, Medusas, or Cyclops Sentries.

Designing a Living Lair

From storm-ravaged cliffs to sunken tombs beneath the dunes, a dragon's lair often reflects its personality and presence. The Monster Manual entries for each type of dragon provide an overview of what type of lairs they are drawn to. Combined with their habitat information, this should provide you with an excellent starting point in devising the baseline idea of their lair.

For example, an Ancient Blue Dragon favors sites of symbolic power and a desert environment, which may lead them to claim an ancient temple lost beneath wind-swept dunes or a monastery that stands atop a rocky spire.

Bringing Purpose to the Lair. A dragon's lair should be indicative of the goals the dragon is trying to accomplish. If they are attempting a secret, powerful ritual, they will likely store the rare components in their hoard until they can be of use. Similarly, if an Ancient Blue Dragon is marshalling an army to conquer the realm, their lair would be a stronghold stocked with soldiers and supplies. 

Stocking Minions. If a minion is inside the dragon's lair, it's likely among its more trusted retinue, which can help the party gather information if they are strategic enough. While younger dragons may have trusted advisors in the form of a Goblin Boss or Bandit Captain, especially powerful dragons could command the allegiance of an Archmage or a Dao. They will also likely maintain ranks of more disposable minions they can compel into servitude, like Kobold Warriors, Basilisks or Mimics.

Adding Hazards. Just as the surrounding region is shaped by the dragon's presence, the interior of their lair may brim with traps. These hazards are more likely to be placed purposefully, rather than as an environmental response to the dragon's power. There are a number of trap examples in the Dungeon Master's Guide to pull from, but you can never go wrong with Glyph of Warding infused with a spell that matches the dragon's elemental affinity.

Mapping the Lair. An elder dragon's lair typically consists of multiple chambers and passageways, allowing them and their minions to traverse the area with ease, whether they're accessing their hoard or retreating to safety. If you're looking to skip the prep work required to map out an intricate lair, Dragon Delves provides a number of play-ready lairs designed to showcase the dragon's distinct environment, which can be used in Maps, D&D's official virtual tabletop (VTT).

Artist: LEROY STEINMANN

Home Is Where the Hoard Is

A dragon's hoard isn't a mundane pile of gold. Dragons are supernaturally compelled to collect certain treasure, knowledge, and magic, making their hoard a physical manifestation of their obsessions.

While you can generate a hoard using the Random Treasure Hoard table in the Dungeon Master's Guide, the Monster Manual entries for each dragon type offer guidance on the kinds of treasures they value most. Blue dragons, for example, prefer to collect one-of-a-kind relics, powerful magic items, and trophies that symbolize their dominance over their rivals.

If you're building a blue dragon's hoard from scratch, the Relics Tables from the Dungeon Master's Guide are a perfect tool for creating treasure that feels thematic and worthy of an arrogant and imperious blue dragon.

Legendary Lair Combat

Combat with a dragon in its lair should feel legendary. Your party is encountering this primordial foe at the height of its power. Every move and countermove should reinforce the idea that this is the dragon's domain, and that the adventurers can easily be outmatched unless they came prepared.

Using the Terrain. As creatures of immense cunning, dragons shape their lairs to maximize their advantages. They will likely have traps, open spaces for flight, elevated perches for ranged assaults, and, if needed, escape routes that they can use in case they're overwhelmed by the invading force.

Evolving Battlefields. When fighting creatures with the destructive force and magical capabilities of an elder dragon, you can bet the terrain will change over the course of the fight. Perhaps an Ancient Blue Dragon blasts a crumbling column with its Lightning Breath to bring it smashing onto the ground, blocking the party's retreat.

More Legendary Actions and Resistances. While inside a lair, an elder dragon becomes a conduit for their lair's power, granting them an additional Legendary Resistance per day and an extra Legendary Action per round. These extra resources can allow the dragon to shake off even the most powerful spells and give them more opportunities to use their signature abilities.

Check Your Combat Encounter Difficulty

Facing off against a legendary creature in its lair increases the creature's XP value, which may change the difficulty rating for your encounter.

Enter the Dragon's Den

Dragon Delves, releasing July 8, contains ten dragon-centric adventures, some of which showcase metallic and chromatic dragons in their lairs at the height of their power.

These ready-to-run adventures can be slotted into any campaign and come with play-ready maps, rich story hooks, and encounters that lean into everything that makes dragons iconic. If you're looking to run a dragon's lair for your party, this collection of adventures can help you bring these legendary creatures—and their domains—to life.

Mike Bernier 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 partner, and tending the veritable jungle of houseplants that have invaded his house.