Homebrew Cursed Dragon Species Details

Belladona awakes to feel her face. Her snout is smaller than usual...Oh no. She feels her skin, fleshy and moist. She holds up her hand only to see a grubby mockery of her once great claws. No, No! She has been tricked! She is the Bane of Woodsdale, not this...pathetic---

A male cursed dragon scratches his skin, his dry scales flaking off, shining to the ground. He thinks of how it used to cover his body, glittering and beautiful... Now he is a mockery. He puffs his breath to heat himself. He will not stop until he is out of this form.

Cursed by some power to remain in a humanoid form, cursed dragons used to rule over massive hoards and invoke terror. A shadow of their former self, cursed dragons are not quite as fearsome as normal dragons. Some cursed dragons are faithful servants to normal dragons, others form the ranks of soldiers in great wars, and still others find themselves adrift, with no clear calling in life.

Trapped in a Demeaning Form

Cursed Dragons look very much like elves standing erect in humanoid form, though they may possess wings or a tail. The first cursed dragons had scales of vibrant hues matching the colors of their dragon kin, but generations of curse perfection have made them more and more humanoid. Only nobility maintain their original color. Their small, fine, sparse scales are usually brass or bronze in color, sometimes ranging to scarlet, rust, gold, or copper-green. They are tall and strongly built, often standing close to 6½ feet tall and weighing 200 pounds or more. Their hands and feet can morph from normal digits to strong, talonlike claws with four fingers and a thumb on each hand.

The blood of a particular type of dragon runs very strong through cursed dragons. They often boast scales speckled on their skin that more closely match those of their original dragon sheen—bright red, green, blue, or white, lustrous black, or gleaming metallic gold, silver, brass, copper, or bronze.

Communion or Exile

To many cursed dragons, they seek a clan to uplift their demeaning form. They owe their devotion and respect to their clan above all else, even the gods. Each dragon’s conduct reflects on the honor of his or her clan, and bringing dishonor or voicing dissent to the clan can result in expulsion and exile. Each dragon knows his or her station and duties within the clan, and honor demands maintaining the bounds of that position.

A continual drive for redemption reflects the self-sufficiency of the race as a whole. Cursed Dragons value intelligence and persistence above all else. They hate to fail and push themselves to extreme efforts before giving up on their goals. Cursed dragons hold returning to their former glory as a lifetime goal. Members of other races who share the same commitment find it difficult to earn the respect of a cursed dragon.

Though all cursed dragons strive to be self-sufficient, they recognize that help is sometimes needed in difficult situations. But the best source for such help is the clan (usually), and when a clan needs help, it turns to another dragonborn clan before seeking aid from other races—or even from the gods.

Cursed Dragon Names

Cursed dragons have personal names given at birth, but they may adopt a human or elvish name if they live among a certain civilization long enough. They often carry a title indicative of their former achievement in their draconic form. The name might recall an event, character trait, or a location they terrorized (it also sounds nice with the given name).

Male Names: Aamon, Acheron, Ares, Armaros, Azazal, Belial, Chernabog, Dagon, Dearil, Diabolos, Dolos, Draco, Erebus, Hades, Jabez, Kronos, Mazzikim. Metis, Moros, Nemesis, Shamhuth, Thanatos, Ziddim (hint: Greek, Latin, or Hebrew names. Preferably Greek.)

Female Names: Athalia, Birsha, Bela, Circe, Corleone, Damien, Delilah, Deidamia, Ebony, Elena, Golgotha, Hecate, Keres, Lamia, Lenore, Maacah, Melenthala, Pandora, Selene, Sidero, Tamora (see above for hint)

Titles: Consumer of Sailors, Desolator of Lakefront, Wrath of a Thousand Suns, Bone Incinerator, Gorgon of All Good

Human/Elvish Names: Alastor, Abigail, Brandon, Bethany, Charles, Caroline, David, Desdemonna, (Hebrew and Shakespearean names).

DRACONIANS

In the Dragonlance setting, the followers of the evil goddess Takhisis learned a vile ritual that let them corrupt the eggs of metallic dragons, producing evil dragonborn called draconians. Five types of draconians, corresponding to the five types of metallic dragons, fought for Takhisis in the War of the Lance: auraks (gold), baaz (brass), bozak (bronze), kapak (copper), and sivak (silver). In place of their draconic breath weapons, they have unique magical abilities.

Cursed Dragon Traits

Your draconic heritage manifests in a variety of traits you share with other cursed dragons.

Flight

These wings allow for flight, shielding, and other utilities. Depending on the dragon, the size of the wings will vary (consult DM). Typically the coloration will match the dragon's scale color before they were cursed. They fold neatly into the back (unless you're an acid dragon, sucks to have massive wings I guess). Typically, they are disguised by matching coats and the like, so if they're not popped out other characters have to roll a d20 15 or higher to notice them, since cursed dragons will normally resemble elves or half-elves at first glance. You can fly up to 50 ft with a 30 ft speed.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age

Cursed dragons can live much longer than most other life forms. They walk hours after hatching, attain the maturity of a 10-year-old human child by the age of 30, and reach adulthood by 200. They live to be around 5,000-6,000 years.

Size

Cursed Dragons are taller and slightly heavier than humans, standing well over 6 feet tall and averaging almost 200 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Draconic Ancestry

You have draconic ancestry. Choose one type of dragon from the Draconic Ancestry table. Your breath weapon and damage resistance are determined by the dragon type, as shown in the table.

Draconic Ancestry

Dragon	Damage Type	Breath Weapon
Black	Acid	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
Blue	Lightning	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
Brass	Fire	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
Bronze	Lightning	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
Copper	Acid	5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
Gold	Fire	15 ft. cone (Dex. save)
Green	Poison	15 ft. cone (Con. save)
Red	Fire	15 ft. cone (Dex. save)
Silver	Cold	15 ft. cone (Con. save)
White	Cold	15 ft. cone (Con. save)

Breath Weapon

You can use your action to exhale destructive energy. Your draconic ancestry determines the size, shape, and damage type of the exhalation. When you use your breath weapon, each creature in the area of the exhalation must make a saving throw, the type of which is determined by your draconic ancestry. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6 damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. After you use your breath weapon, you can’t use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Damage Resistance

You have resistance to the damage type associated with your draconic ancestry.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic. Draconic is thought to be one of the oldest languages and is often used in the study of magic. The language sounds harsh to most other creatures and includes numerous hard consonants and sibilants.