Emerald Dragon

Description

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

Emerald dragons are the most curious, cunning, and manipulative of the gem dragons, wielding psionic power to weave illusions to deceive and disorient. They cloak their own presence so they can observe other creatures without being discovered as they collect information on everything from local cultural practices to supernatural occurrences.

Shimmering Green. A wyrmling emerald dragon’s scales are a dull, pale green, but they develop into richer and more varied shades of green as the dragon ages. Eventually, the scales become translucent and shimmer in the light, rippling as the dragon moves. The dragon’s horns and spines hover above the body, moving and shifting along the back and tail to mirror the dragon’s mood.

Clever Concealment. The shyest of the gem dragons, emerald dragons are also the most curious. They love to observe local settlements and peoples, using their psionic abilities to cloak themselves and watch from afar. When an emerald dragon is old enough, the dragon might take on the guise of a creature that can blend in with the local population, or at least get close without arousing suspicion. Once in a position to observe, the dragon studies the day-to-day life of local folk, with a keen interest in any magical phenomena.

Emerald dragons’ attentiveness to unusual events makes them particularly useful to their sapphire dragon cousins, who hunt down Aberrations and seek evidence of Far Realm incursions into the Material Plane. These gem dragons often work together, with emerald dragons tracking the source of an incursion while sapphire dragons plan and execute a decisive purge—or recruit agents to do it for them.

Emerald dragons’ preference for volcanic lairs often puts them in conflict with fire giants. Despite their reluctance to reveal themselves to strangers, emerald dragons might approach experienced adventurers in the hopes of pitting them against fire giant rivals.

Hoarded Histories. Emerald dragons prize knowledge, particularly local histories that focus on magical events and individuals. They usually know of places of power near their lairs and keep detailed records of how phenomena connected to those sites react to outside influences. They also avidly collect magic items and spells that create illusions, allowing them to better conceal their treasures from prying eyes and divinations.

Creating an Emerald Dragon

Use the Emerald Dragon Personality Traits and Emerald Dragon Ideals tables to inspire your portrayal of distinctive emerald dragon characters.

Emerald Dragon Personality Traits

d8 - Trait:

1 - I repeat what others have said back to them to make sure I have remembered it correctly.

2 - I might not like you, but I will endeavor to treat you with respect, if not kindness.

3 - I like to impress visitors by reciting epic poetry.

4 - The only people I’m interested in are those who know history and those who make history.

5 - I like to adopt the personas of characters from legend.

6 - I studiously mimic the mannerisms of my guests.

7 - I prefer to get others talking, then fade into the background. Sometimes literally.

8 - I seek out audiences and like to be the center of attention.

Emerald Dragon Ideals

d6 - Ideal:

1 - Seclusion. It’s safer if others don’t know I’m here—safer for me and safer for them. (Any)

2 - Observation. People lie. Histories lie. Even dragons lie. But actions always ring true. (Lawful)

3 - Storytelling. There is a magic in the retelling of stories. Each new teller adds a bit of themself to the spell. (Any)

4 - Nurture. Rearing a child is our best chance to make sure our own stories are passed on. (Any)

5 - Inquisitiveness. Even the smallest village contains myriad stories of love, loss, triumph, and betrayal. There is always more to learn about people. (Any)

6 - Espionage. Once I get paid for the information I glean, I don’t care what others do with it. (Evil)

An Emerald Dragon’s Lair

Emerald dragons dwell in enormous caverns, lava tubes, and tunnel networks deep within the earth. They favor warm spaces, particularly in volcanic regions. Over time, their psychic presence seeps into the land surrounding their lairs, expanding their awareness and subconsciously luring their favorite food—giant lizards—to settle and thrive in the region.

Emerald dragons use the features of their lairs to confuse and imperil intruders. They dig additional tunnels that allow them to move through their lairs in multiple ways and set traps leading to yawning chasms or pools and flows of lava.

Emerald dragons take great pains to hide the chambers that house their hoards and collected lore, often using illusion magic and subtle construction around the natural features of their lairs to conceal their central hoard chambers from mundane and magical sight.

The challenge rating of a legendary emerald dragon increases by 1 when it’s encountered in its lair.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dragon can take one of the following lair actions; the dragon can’t take the same lair action two rounds in a row:

Beguiling Whisper. The dragon telepathically whispers to one creature within range of the dragon’s telepathy. The creature must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by the dragon until initiative count 20 on the next round. A creature charmed in this way obeys to the best of its ability any command the dragon issues that isn’t directly harmful to the creature.

Distort Perceptions. The dragon attempts to alter the perceptions of one creature it can see within its lair. That creature must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or take 22 ((4d10)) psychic damage and have disadvantage on saving throws until the start of its next turn.

Vanish. The dragon becomes invisible until initiative count 20 on the next round.

Regional Effects

The region surrounding a legendary emerald dragon’s lair is altered by the dragon’s magic, creating one or more of the following effects:

Crystal Profusion. Natural stone within 6 miles of the lair grows plentiful crystal formations and veins of emerald gemstones.

Fiery Sight. Fire and lava within 6 miles of the lair become conduits for the dragon’s psionic presence. As an action, the dragon can cast the clairvoyance spell, requiring no spell components and targeting any area of fire or lava in that region.

Subtle Obstruction. Rocks within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair sometimes move of their own accord, usually when no one is watching. Often the rocks obstruct the approach to the emerald dragon’s lair, with boulders moving to block narrow defiles, way-markers tumbling off the path, or smaller stones shifting beneath travelers’ feet to send them tumbling down slopes or into rivers.

Thriving Wildlife. Giant lizards are attracted to the area within 6 miles of the lair and settle there in large numbers.

If the dragon dies, the population of giant lizards near the lair returns to normal levels over the course of (4d10) days. Rocks immediately stop moving of their own accord. The existing abundance of crystals and emeralds remains, but new ones form at a normal rate.

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

Emerald dragons are very curious, particularly about local history and customs, but prefer to only observe. They are the most paranoid of the gem dragons, and do not like people get too close to their treasure.

Emerald dragons have translucent green scales at birth. As they age, the scales harden and take on many shades of green. They scintillate in light, and the dragon’s hide seems to be in constant motion.

Emerald dragons speak their own tongue and the tongue common to all gem dragons, and 14% of hatchling emerald 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: Emerald dragons usually set up traps and alarms around their lairs to warn them of visitors. They often hide from intruders, using special abilities to observe, and seldom come out to speak. If intruders attack or approach the dragon’s treasure, the dragon burrows underneath to surprise its victims, then use breath weapon and claws, seeking to quickly disable as many as it can. If faced with superior forces, the dragon retreats, waiting years for revenge if necessary.

Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: An emerald dragon’s breath weapon is a loud, keening wail which sets up a sonic vibration affecting all creatures within 120 feet of the dragon’s mouth. Those in the area can save vs. breath weapons for half damage from the painful vibrations. Victims must make a second saving throw vs. breath weapon or be stunned, unable to defend or attack, for three rounds per age level of the dragon, plus 1d4 rounds. Those who successfully save are deafened and disoriented instead, for a like amount of time, and at -1 to attack rolls. Deafness does not protect one from vibratory damage, but pre-vents stunning or additional deafness. An emerald dragon casts spells and uses its magical abilities at 6th level, plus its combat modifier.

Emerald dragons are born with an innate flame walk ability and an immunity to sound-based attacks. As they age, they gain the following additional powers:

Young: audible glamer three times a day. Juvenile: hypnotism three times a day. Adult: Melf’s minute meteors three times a day. Mature adult: hold person three times a day. Venerable: animate rock once a day. Great wyrm: geas once a day. Hypnotism and geas are effected by the dragon’s skilled rippling movement of its scales.

Psionics Summary

Level = HD

Dis/Sci/Dev = 2/2/3

Attack/Defense = PB,II/M-,TW

Score = Int

PSPs = 180

Clairsentience — Sciences: aura sight, object reading, precognition; Devotions: all-round vision, combat mind, danger sense.

Telepathy — Sciences: ejection, mind link, probe; Devotions: contact, ESP, life detection, sight link, sound link.

Most emerald dragons prefer telepathic powers.

Habitat/Society: Emerald dragons are reclusive, making lairs in the cones of extinct or seldom active volcanoes. These dragons are protective parents and prefer their young to stay in the lair as long as possible for mutual protection. Emerald dragons sometimes live near sapphire dragons, and they fear the voracious greed of red dragons.

Ecology: Emerald dragons will eat anything, but prefer lizards and giants. They are actively hostile towards fire giants.