Blue Dragon

(From 5th Edition Monster Manual - 2014):

Vain and territorial, blue dragons soar through the skies over deserts, preying on caravans and plundering herds and settlements in the verdant lands beyond the desert’s reach. These dragons can also be found in dry steppes, searing badlands, and rocky coasts. They guard their territories against all potential competitors, especially brass dragons.

A blue dragon is recognized by its dramatic frilled ears and the massive ridged horn atop its blunt head. Rows of spikes extend back from its nostrils to line its brow, and cluster on its jutting lower jaw.

A blue dragon’s scales vary in color from an iridescent azure to a deep indigo, polished to a glossy finish by the desert sands. As the dragon ages, its scales become thicker and harder, and its hide hums and crackles with static electricity. These effects intensify when the dragon is angry or about to attack, giving off an odor of ozone and dusty air.

Vain and Deadly. A blue dragon will not stand for any remark or insinuation that it is weak or inferior, taking great pleasure in lording its power over humanoids and other lesser creatures.

A blue dragon is a patient and methodical combatant. When fighting on its own terms, it turns combat into an extended affair of hours or even days, attacking from a distance with volleys of lightning, then flying well out of harm’s reach as it waits to attack again.

Desert Predators. Though they sometimes eat cacti and other desert plants to sate their great hunger, blue dragons are carnivores. They prefer to dine on herd animals, cooking those creatures with their lightning breath before gorging themselves. Their dining habits make blue dragons an enormous threat to desert caravans and nomadic tribes, which become convenient collections of food and treasure to a dragon’s eye.

When it hunts, a blue dragon buries itself in the desert sand so that only the horn on its nose pokes above the surface, appearing to be an outcropping of stone. When prey draws near, the dragon rises up, sand pouring from its wings like an avalanche as it attacks.

Overlords and Minions. Blue dragons covet valuable and talented creatures whose service reinforces their sense of superiority. Bards, sages, artists, wizards, and assassins can become valuable agents for a blue dragon, which rewards loyal service handsomely.

A blue dragon keeps its lair secret and well protected, and even its most trusted servants are rarely allowed within. It encourages ankhegs, giant scorpions, and other creatures of the desert to dwell near its lair for additional security. Older blue dragons sometimes attract air elementals and other creatures to serve them.

Hoarders of Gems. Though blue dragons collect anything that looks valuable, they are especially fond of gems. Considering blue to be the most noble and beautiful of colors, they covet sapphires, favoring jewelry and magic items adorned with those gems.

A blue dragon buries its most valuable treasures deep in the sand, while scattering a few less valuable trinkets in plainer sight over hidden sinkholes to punish and eliminate would-be thieves.

A Blue Dragon's Lair

Blue dragons make their lairs in barren places, using their lightning breath and their burrowing ability to carve out crystallized caverns and tunnels beneath the sands.

Thunderstorms rage around a legendary blue dragon’s lair, and narrow tubes lined with glassy sand ventilate the lair, all the while avoiding the deadly sinkholes that are the dragon’s first line of defense.

A blue dragon will collapse the caverns that make up its lair if that lair is invaded. The dragon then burrows out, leaving its attackers to be crushed and suffocated. When it returns later, it collects its possessions — along with the wealth of the dead intruders.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dragon takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the dragon can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• Part of the ceiling collapses above one creature that the dragon can see within 120 feet of it. The creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 ((3d6)) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone and buried. The buried target is restrained and unable to breathe or stand up. A creature can take an action to make a DC 10 Strength check, ending the buried state on a success.

• A cloud of sand swirls about in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point the dragon can see within 120 feet of it. The cloud spreads around corners. Each creature in the cloud must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be blinded for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

• Lightning arcs, forming a 5-foot-wide line between two of the lair’s solid surfaces that the dragon can see. They must be within 120 feet of the dragon and 120 feet of each other. Each creature in that line must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 ((3d6)) lightning damage.

Regional Effects

The region containing a legendary blue dragon’s lair is warped by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:

• Thunderstorms rage within 6 miles of the lair.

• Dust devils scour the land within 6 miles of the lair. A dust devil has the statistics of an air elemental, but it can’t fly, has a speed of 50 feet, and has an Intelligence and Charisma of 1 (−5).

• Hidden sinkholes form in and around the dragon’s lair. A sinkhole can be spotted from a safe distance with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check. Otherwise, the first creature to step on the thin crust covering the sinkhole must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or fall (3d6) × 10 feet into the sinkhole.

If the dragon dies, the dust devils disappear immediately, and the thunderstorms abate within (3d6) days. Any sinkholes remain where they are.

(From Fizban's Treasury of Dragons - 2021):

Creating a Blue Dragon

Use the Blue Dragon Personality Traits and Blue Dragon Ideals tables to inspire your portrayal of distinctive blue dragon characters, and use the Blue Dragon Spellcasting table to help select spells for a spellcasting dragon.

Blue Dragon Personality Traits

d8 - Trait:

1 - I enforce order and social hierarchies because I believe this is how strong societies are built.

2 - Why waste time and energy murdering weaker creatures when I can make them entertain me instead?

3 - My children, whether born to me or chosen by me, are treasures.

4 - Nothing is funnier than tricking a thirsty traveler into drinking a mouthful of sand.

5 - I have standards for my hoard. Not just any gem or trinket will do.

6 - I’m so pleased with myself and my own good fortune that I can’t stop laughing or chuckling.

7 - I would rather destroy my lair and lose my hoard than allow anyone to steal from me.

8 - I am sometimes secretly impressed by what other peoples can accomplish with the proper guidance.

Blue Dragon Ideals

d6 - Ideal:

1 - Order. Life is best when everyone is part of a hierarchy and rules are clear and consistent. (Lawful)

2 - Humor. Lesser beings exist to be my playthings, and I excel at finding ways to toy with them. (Evil)

3 - Taste. I value my possessions for more than just their beauty and consider gauche displays of wealth a sign of inferiority. (Any)

4 - Family. Blood ties are irrevocable, and even if one doesn’t particularly like one’s family members, they come before anyone else. (Lawful)

5 - Display. One should never take risks or waste resources by using power if one can achieve the same results merely by the threat of power. (Any)

6 - Loyalty. I don’t form bonds with those outside my kindred often. But when I do, I am an unshakable and powerful ally. (Good)

Blue Dragon Spellcasting

Age        Spell Save DC        Spells Known

Ancient        20                   arcane eye, create or destroy water, major image, project image

(From 2nd Edition AD&D Monstrous Manual - 1991):

Blue dragons are extremely territorial and voracious. They love to spend long hours preparing ambushes for herd animals and unwary travelers, and they spend equally long hours dwelling on their success and admiring their trophies.

The size of a blue dragon’s scales increases little as the dragon ages, although they do become thicker and harder. The scales vary in color from an iridescent azure to a deep indigo, retaining a glossy finish through all of the dragon’s stages because the blowing desert sands polish them. This makes blue dragons easy to spot in barren desert surroundings. However, the dragons often conceal themselves, burrowing into the sand so only part of their heads are exposed.

Blue dragons love to soar in the hot desert air; usually flying in the daytime when temperatures are the highest. Some blue dragons nearly match the color of the desert sky and use this coloration to their advantage in combat.

Blue dragons speak their own tongue, a tongue common to all evil dragons, and 12% of hatchling blue dragons have an ability to communicate with any intelligent creature. The chance to possess this ability increases 5% per age category of the dragon.

Combat: Blue dragons prefer to fight from a distance so their opponents can clearly witness the full force of their breath weapon and so little or no threat is posed to themselves. Often blue dragons will attack from directly above or will burrow beneath the sands until opponents come within 100 feet. Older blue dragons will use their special abilities, such as hallucinatory terrain, in concert with these tactics to mask the land and aid in their chances to surprise. Blue dragons will only run from a fight if they are severely damaged, since they view retreat as cowardly.

Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: A blue dragon’s breath weapon is a 5’ wide bolt of lightning that streaks 100’ in a straight line from the dragon’s mouth. All creatures caught in this stream must save vs. breath weapon for half damage. Blue dragons cast spells and use their magical abilities at 7th level, adjusted by their combat modifier.

Blue dragons are born with an immunity to electricity. As they age, they gain the following additional powers:

Young: create or destroy water three times per day. Juvenile: sound imitation at will. Adult: dust devil once a day. Old: ventriloquism once a day. Venerable: hallucinatory terrain once a day.

Habitat/Society: Blue dragons are found in deserts; arid, windswept plains; and hot humid badlands. They enjoy the bleak terrain because there are few obstacles — only an occasional rock outcropping or dune — to interrupt the view of their territories. They spend hours looking out over their domains, watching for trespassers and admiring their property. Most of the blue dragons encountered will be alone because they do not want to share their territories with others. However, when a family is encountered the male dragon will attack ferociously, protecting his property-his mate and young. The female dragon also will join in the attack if the threat proves significant.

Blue dragons’ enemies are men, who kill the dragons for their skin and treasure, and brass dragons, which share the same environment. If a blue dragon discovers a brass dragon in the same region, it will not rest until the trespassing dragon is killed or driven away.

Blue dragons lair in vast underground caverns in which they store their treasure. Although blue dragons will collect anything which looks valuable, they are fond of gems — especially sapphires.

Ecology: Blue dragons are able to consume nearly anything, and sometimes are forced to eat snakes, lizards, and desert plants to help sate their great hunger. However, they are particularly fond of herd animals, such as camels, and they will gorge themselves on caravans of the creatures which they cook with a lightning bolt.