The Ancient Bronze Dragon

An Ancient Bronze Dragon is one of the most ancient, powerful, and righteous mortal beings in all of Toril.  By the time a Bronze Dragon reaches the Great Wyrm status of its life, it has immense sorcerous power, and many supplement their innate arcane magic with divine magic channeled from the Platinum Dragon God of Good, Bahamut.  They become holy avengers, taking oaths similar to Paladins to hunt and destroy evil wherever it may appear.  They rarely appear before humanoids in their true form, hiding their real nature from the world using Polymorph.  Indeed, Bronze Dragons spend roughly 90% of their time polymorphed into an animal or humanoid form.  They will appear as blind beggars and desolate maidens, testing the natures of those near them, and punishing those that are evil.  They are amphibious, coastal creatures, acting to protect settlements near the sea from the depredations of bandit gangs and pirates,  bloodthirsty Sahuagin raiders, the rare evil Storm Giant, and, of course, the malevolent Kraken the dwell in the deepest, darkest trenches in the abyssal depths of the ocean.

A Bronze Dragon allowing a humanoid to see their true form is exceptionally rare.  Bronze Dragons have unflinching moral codes that they cannot deviate from and expect all others to follow.  You cannot debate with a Bronze Dragon and convince it to see a different point of view.  Only those truly dedicated to Law can ever truly hope to become a trusted agent of a Bronze Dragon.  These agents are empowered with a portion of the Bronze Dragon's innate magical abilities, rewarding them with the abilities of a Warlock in exchange for helping the Bronze Dragon to stand against the forces of evil.  Bronze Dragons also have a fondness for the treasures of the sea, such as pearls and coral, gold and amber, and valuable works of lore and history.  Warlocks that serve them are expected to enrich their hoard with such treasures.  Bronze Dragons almost never kill humanoids (with one notable exception), but they hold no such compunction against killing the evil creatures of the sea.  Bronze Dragon's favored food is the Reef Shark, but it will quickly drive the shark population near its lair to extinction with its predation.  It then focuses on the Sahuagin, who are evil creatures the Bronze Dragon has sworn to stand against.  It doesn't hurt they taste almost exactly like sharks.

Bronze Dragons channel the divine power of the Platinum Dragons from Mount Celestina to supplement their already considerable powers.  The will not kill a band of roving pirates, but they have no problem using their repulsion breath to ruin the masts of the pirates' ship, leaving them stranded in the ocean.  It is rare for a Kraken to awaken and threaten the surface, but when they do, every Bronze Dragon within a hundred miles will all join forces to destroy it.  A one-on-one fight with even an Ancient Bronze Dragon will almost always go the way of the Kraken, but a group of a dozen Bronze Dragons of varying ages, the navies of nearby cities, and groups of powerful adventurers all working together can often make short work of one, though they will likely take casualties.  Bronze Dragons use divine power to supplement their already formidable martial might to make it a more even match.

The alignment of Warlocks that make a Pact with a Bronze Great Wyrm are almost always Lawful Good.  Bronze Dragons do not allow anyone to break their unflinching moral code, and Warlocks that serve under them are expected to maintain these values much like a Paladin is sworn to uphold the tenets of an Oath.  Bronze Dragon's dedicated to Law can sometimes override their devotion to Bahamut.  When this happens, they often become Lawful Neutral or even Lawful Evil, as they become Dragon Tyrants, and impose their Law upon nearby cities.  A Dragon Tyrant cares not that the man stole the bread to feed his starving family, he still broke the law.  Warlocks who follow Bronze Dragons are not always Good, but they must always be Lawful.

Some secretly evil Warlocks that draw their power from a Metallic Dragon secretly work to subvert and eventually destroy their masters.  Great Wyrms are some of the most powerful creatures on the Material Plane, but they are still mortal, and therefore they can be killed.  However, a Warlock that kills its Draconic patron will lose their magical ability,  so many will prepare an Imprisonment spell to trap their Patron's soul to keep their magical powers.

The magic learned from these unyielding creatures often focuses on enhancing the combat abilities of yourself and your allies, dealing lightning damage, breathing under water, controlling the waves and the tides, and preventing lies.

 

Expanded Spell List

The Ancient Bronze Dragon lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell.  You also gain the Guidance cantrip.  It does not count against the total number of cantrips you know. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.  Additionally, you learn to speak, read, and write Draconic.

Ancient Bronze Dragon Expanded Spells

Under the Sea

Bronze Dragons spend almost as much time under the waves as they do above them.  Though they make sure to lair in dry locations where the tide can come in a few times a day to help hatch their eggs, they are well adapted to an aquatic life.  While Black, Gold, and Green Dragons all have the ability to breathe underwater, no other Dragon is more suited to life underwater than Bronze Dragons.  They feed primarily on seaweed, sharks, and Sahuagin, they often lair in rocky, volcanic islands with caves that lead underwater, and their unique physiology makes them exceptional swimmers.  Their Draconic Darkvision is especially potent underwater, allowing them to hunt in the lightless depths of the sea floor.  A Green Dragon can follow a Bronze Dragon underwater, but it will find itself severely mismatched as the Bronze Dragon turns the water around it into a weapon.

At 6th level, you have learned a to be similarly agile while submerged.  You gain a swimming speed of 30 feet and can now breathe both air and water.  Additionally, while underwater, you can cast Darkvision on yourself only without using a spell slot.  The Darkvision provided by the spell ends the moment you are no longer submerged in water.  You have spent a fair amount of time swimming in waters charged with your Patron's electrical energy, and this has given you a resistance to lightning damage.

Repelling Blast

Powerful Bronze Dragons can manifest the terrifying presence of the Dragon God Bahamut, sending all enemies fleeing for their lives.  Evil cannot hope to stand before the might of the Gods.

At 10th level, you can now channel a portion of this divine might through your patron.  When you cast Eldritch Blast, you can apply an effect to each of the beams to attempt to attempt to turn certain evil creatures.  Each monstrosity, dragon, giant, Sahuagin, or Kraken Priest that can see or hear you within 30 feet must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is frightened of you for 1 minute or until it takes damage.  It must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can’t willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you.  A creature will not move into an obviously dangerous location, such as lava or a deep pit.  The creature cannot take reactions.  For its action, it can use only the Dash action to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.  Dragons have advantage on this saving throw, and non-Dragons with a natural swimming speed have disadvantage.  You may apply this feature to each beam of your Eldritch Blast up to two times and regain all uses upon taking a long rest.

Bane of the Evil

In their long lives, a Bronze Dragon will stare down some of the most terrifying creatures in all the multiverse.  Chromatic Dragons infected by the fell corruption of the plane of shadow.  Manic undead wizards commanding hordes of the shambling dead.  Telepathic aberrations that enslave all that come near.  Titanic manifestations of sentient water that destroy all in their path.  And of course, the malevolent Kraken, slumbering in the abyss, but always a threat.  A Bronze Dragon will face them all unflinchingly, certain in the righteousness of their task.  They use the divine power they channel from Bahamut to protect their lairs from such vile creatures.

Beginning at 14th level, your Draconic patron has taught you to stare evil in the face without flinching.  You gain immunity to being frightened.  In addition, you learn the Forbiddance spell.  It does not count against the number of Warlock spells you know.  You can cast this spell once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again.  You may also target both Chromatic Dragons and Monstrosities with an innate swimming speed with the spell.