The Ancient Copper Dragon

An Ancient Copper Dragon is one of the most ancient, powerful, and clever mortal beings in all of Toril.  By the time a Copper Dragon reaches the Great Wyrm status of its life, it has immense sorcerous power and unparalleled control over illusory magic.  Copper Dragons love to joke and banter with those it encounters, with the jokes becoming increasingly personal until it inevitably ends up offending someone.  Those with thick skin who can endure the Copper Dragons stinging barbs and provide witty retorts will be treated to the sound of the Dragon's' booming laugh.  Copper Dragons love to host interesting humanoids like Rogues and Bards and Fey like [monster[Spring Eladrin[/monster] and Satyrs.

Copper Dragons love to interact with humanoids, but the ability to Polymorph is extremely rare among them, so they will often make deals with cities and towns to serve as protectors.  Not only does this provide them with wealth to increase their hoard, but it also allows them to interact with the citizens of the city.  Some Copper Dragons even dwell in the cavernous catacombs that run below large cities.  They enjoy works of art and well-crafted jewelry, so it is not uncommon for a Copper Dragon to be the head of the local Thieves' Guild, taking a cut from every rogue to enhance their hoard.  These agents are empowered with a portion of the Copper Dragon's innate magical abilities, rewarding them with the abilities of a Warlock in exchange for priceless artwork, lifelike tapestries, and exquisite furnishings, as well as being able to match the Copper Dragon's razor wit.

Copper Dragons have a deep, innate connection to the Earth.  No other Dragon can manipulate the very ground around them more skillfully than a Copper Dragon.  Unlike most other Dragons, their lairs tend to be very snug and compact, with lots of verticality that allows the Copper Dragon to climb and jump.  Their territories often overlap with those of the ferocious Red Dragons.  A Red Dragon is much larger and much stronger than a Copper Dragon, and, in a straight up fight, the Copper Dragon would be annihilated in short order.  Instead, Copper Dragons will use their wit and powerful illusions to drive their enemies into an unthinking frenzy, forcing them to follow them into preset traps.  They'll then turn the rocky ceiling into mud, trapping the Red Dragon, and then turn the mud back into stone, locking it into a rocky prison.  The Copper Dragon will then use its breath weapon to reduce the Red Dragon into a pile of acidic goo.

The alignment of Warlocks that make a Pact with a Copper Great Wyrm usually tend towards Chaotic Good or Chaotic Neutral. Copper Dragons are extremely greedy and selfish, their avarice rivaling that of the Chromatic Dragons.  This can turn some, especially those that lose faith in Bahamut, away from goodness.  More than any other Metallic Dragon, Copper Dragons fall from Goodness the most easily.  While the most selfish, mischievous, and cruel Copper Dragon is likely less evil than the most benevolent Blue Dragon, it is not terribly rare for them to fall.  Copper Dragons rarely ever fall to true evil, but a decent percentage of them are considered Chaotic Neutral.  Copper Dragon's avarice and witty nature means very few that serve them are Lawful creatures.

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 jovial creatures often focuses on controlling the earth, slowing enemies, creating powerful illusions, enhancing your agility, and always ensuring you get the last word.

Expanded Spell List

The Ancient Copper Dragon lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell.  You also gain the Vicious Mockery 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 Copper Dragon Expanded Spells

Agile Maneuvers

Copper Dragons make their lairs extremely compact, just barely wide enough for them to walk through.  These labyrinthine caverns feature several vertical passages that must be climbed, as the tight confines make flight impossible.  When fighting in their lairs, Copper Dragons will use their unparalleled climbing abilities to leap from surface to surface while enraging their foes with biting taunts and beguiling them with maddening illusions.  This allows them to fight the mighty Red Dragons on much more equal footing.

Beginning at 6th level, you have learned to simulate this combat style.  You can now cast Spider Climb only on yourself at will without using a spell slot.  This spell does not count against the total number of Warlock spells you know, and you do not need to maintain concentration while using the spell.  While under the effects of Spider Climb, you can take the Dash, Disengage, or Dodge actions as a bonus action, allowing you to weave in and out of combat while clinging to the walls and ceilings.

Maddening Taunt

Copper Dragons can amuse and delight with their impressive wit and shrewdness, but they can also infuriate and enrage with their razor barbs and biting words.  The drive their enemies into unthinking frenzies, which allows the Copper Dragon to slip past their careless defenses and deal massive damage.  Even a Barbarian that lives on the razor's edge and is constantly angry cannot think clearly enough to accurately hit a Copper Dragon. 

Beginning at 10th level, you can similarly infuriate your enemies with maddening taunts.  As an action, you can make a Persuasion check contested by a creature’s Insight check.  If you succeed on the check and the creature is hostile to you, the creature will focus all of its rage on you.  For the duration, it must use the Attack action to target only you (except for Opportunity Attacks).  For the duration, the creature cannot gain advantage on you unless you are blinded, paralyzed, petrified, stunned, or unconscious.  Things like the Barbarian's Reckless Attack and the True Strike cantrip simply do not work against you as long as the attacker is enraged.  This effect lasts for 1 minute, until the target deals at least one point of damage to you, or until you and the target are more than 60 feet apart.  If you succeed on the check and the creature isn’t hostile to you, it is charmed by you for 1 minute. While charmed, it regards you as a friendly acquaintance.  This effect ends immediately if you or your companions do anything harmful to it. 

You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of once) and regain all uses upon taking a long rest.

Master of Illusion

An Ancient Copper Dragon's lair is filled with complex illusory walls and seeming dead ends that hide the most valuable portion of the Dragon's hoard.  They love to entertain and have guests, especially those that can appreciate their humor and match their wit, but they do not trust anyone to gaze upon their riches, so they hide them behind illusions they can bypass while leaving intact.  These illusions are incredibly realistic, and only the most intelligent or observant will ever notice them.  Their own minds have evolved to the point where they can easily see through illusions and resist mental attacks.

Beginning at 14th level, you have learned to create powerful, lifelike illusions as well.  Whenever you create an illusion, a creature can normally determine that it is an illusion with a successful Investigation check against your spell save DC.  You can now double your Charisma modifier when determining the spell save DC of any illusions you create.

Additionally, you have learned to see through the illusions of others with ease and gain expertise in Investigation.  Lastly, your mind has been hardened against mental attacks and illusory prisons.  Spells like Phantasmal Force and Mental Prison are trivial for you to escape, and spells like Synaptic Static and Psychic Scream are easy for you to brush off.  You gain proficiency in Intelligence saving throws and resistance to psychic damage.