Moonstone Dragon

Description

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

Ancient legends suggest that when the gods came to the First World and tried to populate it with their Humanoid followers, a clever dragon fled to the Feywild to hide a clutch of eggs. The magic of that faerie realm suffused the eggs, which hatched into the first moonstone dragons. Their descendants are now found throughout the Feywild.

Moonstone dragons are graceful and elegant creatures with opalescent scales and ruffs of emerald-green fur running down their chins, chests, backs, and tails. One horn arcs from the back of a moonstone dragon’s skull and another at the tip of the nose; the two horns together form a shape that’s reminiscent of a slender crescent moon. Moonstone dragons are playful and impetuous forces of mischief in their early years, but the best of them mature into wise teachers and storytellers who anchor Feywild communities. The worst of them are pompous and ill behaved, but even those remain gentle by nature and curious about all things—especially travelers from faraway places.

Moonstone dragons can project themselves into the realm of dreams to communicate with the creatures that sleep near their lairs. In this way, they inspire artists and poets, encourage great thinkers, and spur adventurers to heroic deeds. They sometimes give guidance to those in need or request help from adventurers to encourage them to greatness.

As a rule, moonstone dragons are not particularly interested in gold or copper, but they love silver, platinum, and mithral. They also cherish treasures whose value can’t be easily quantified—a song sung from the heart, a lock of a loved one’s hair, or a painting of a favorite place. A story of happy times fondly remembered is more precious to a moonstone dragon than a sack of gold.

Creating a Moonstone Dragon

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

Moonstone Dragon Personality Traits

d8 - Trait:

1 - I often lose track of whether I’m in the Feywild or on the Material Plane.

2 - I have been known to throw caution to the wind when in pursuit of new items for my hoard.

3 - No matter how old I get, I always delight in harmless pranks and tricks.

4 - I’ve always been mature for my age, and I can’t wait for the day I can retire to my lair to be taken care of by doting fey.

5 - I look down upon any being who resorts to violence to solve a problem.

6 - Conversing with others is often difficult because I’m so easily distr… oh my goodness, is that circlet made of silver?

7 - I find the waking world tedious and mundane and would much rather spend my time asleep, in the realm of dreams.

8 - I find the whimsy of fey, and whimsy in general, to be exasperating and exhausting.

Moonstone Dragon Ideals

d6 - Ideal:

1 - Curiosity. I might never be able to experience everything in the multiverse—but it doesn’t hurt to try. (Any)

2 - Nonviolence. Violence need never be the answer in a multiverse of infinite possibilities. (Neutral)

3 - Whimsy. Why waste time on boring, ordinary concerns when the world is filled with fantastic and ludicrous wonders? (Chaotic)

4 - Beauty. There is beauty to be found in even the simplest things if you look hard enough. (Good)

5 - Inspiration. Great are history’s artists and creators. But greater still are those who inspire them. (Any)

6 - Power. Creatures are at their most vulnerable in their dreams, and I am the master of dreams. (Evil)

A Moonstone Dragon’s Lair

For their lairs, moonstone dragons look for places kissed by the moon; lonely peaks, forest clearings, and placid lakes are among their favorite sites. Their whimsical nature makes them more likely than other dragons to establish multiple lairs even at a young age. They link their scattered sites with magic portals, often splitting their time between the Feywild, the Material Plane, and the Ethereal Plane.

The challenge rating of a legendary moonstone 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:

Banish into Dream. The dragon targets a creature it can see within 120 feet of it and attempts to send that creature to a dream plane. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be banished to a harmless demiplane until initiative count 20 on the next round. While there, the target is stunned. When the effect ends, the target reappears in the space it left or in the nearest unoccupied space.

Compulsive Dance. The dragon targets a creature it can see in its lair, and a merry waltz begins to play that only the target can hear. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or dance until initiative count 20 on the following round. The dancing creature is incapacitated and must use all its movement to dance.

Disorienting Visions. Disorienting illusory images flit through the dragon’s lair. Each creature in the lair must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on ability checks until initiative count 20 on the following round.

Regional Effects

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

Dream Communication. Whenever a creature that can understand a language sleeps or enters a state of trance or reverie within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair, the dragon can establish telepathic contact with that creature and converse with it in its dreams. The creature remembers its conversation with the dragon upon waking.

Planar Transition. The veil between planes is thinned near a moonstone dragon’s lair. Various portals link the Material Plane, the Feywild, and the Border Ethereal within 6 miles of the lair. Creatures can pass through a portal in either direction by spending 5 feet of movement.

If the dragon dies, any portals near the lair close immediately.

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

The elusive moonstone dragon, largest of the neutral dragons, rarely appears outside the realms of Faerie or of dreams. Its scales shimmer a pale silver with a hint of blue in the moonlight. It cares little for human affairs.

A moonstone dragon speaks its own language as well as that of sylvan faeries: sprite, pixies, petty faeries, and so on. In dreams it speaks the language of the dreamer.

Combat: If forced to fight, the dragon uses enchantment/charm and illusion spells, alteration spells of dim light and shadow, and spells of dreams and dreaming. Their priest spell spheres are all, healing, necromancy (good only), and divination.

Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: A moonstone dragon breathes a billow of light motes, in a cloud 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 20 feet tall. All magical spell and potion effects in the cloud end, save those required for the life of creatures in the area (e.g., under water, a water breathing spell affecting air-breathers is not ended). Those who fail to save vs. breath weapon sleep for 2d4 turns, even if normally immune to sleep. On waking, affected creatures have only fleeting memories of the dragon.

Instead of a fear aura, the moonstone dragon projects awe (save vs. spell at a +4 bonus). An affected creature stands quietly taking no action until the dragon has departed, and has no clear memory of the encounter. The dragon can become ethereal at will, unless bound with chains of gold. A moonstone dragon’s attacks inflict normal damage on any creature, in or out of phase, overcoming any immunities to damage of less than artifact-level power.

Moonstone dragons are especially vulnerable to elemental attacks (air, earth, fire, water), having a -1 penalty to saving throws, and taking an additional 1 point per die of damage from these. Bright light is painful to them — bright daylight inflicts 1d6 points of damage per round; intense flashes of light inflict 2d6 per spell level (a sunburst effect from a wand of illumination causes 6d6 damage). A moonstone dragon reduced to 0 hit points by this means fades to the Ethereal Plane and cannot return until fully restored, regaining light-based damage at the rate of 1 hit point per day.

Habitat/Society: Little is known of moonstone dragons, but they may spend much of their time in the Ethereal Plane, or perhaps in lunar regions. Their existence is connected somehow with faerie settings; some guard these lands. In the most remote woodlands, persons attending the celebrations of a faerie court under a full moon might, in the morning, half-remember a chance encounter with one. The dragons usually shun the material world, but may try to influence it indirectly through agents.

Humans have encountered moonstone dragons in their dreams. Apparently, these creatures can enter a dreamscape at will. There, they speak the dreamer’s language, and may offer guidance or advice on matters concerning faeries, shadow, lunar matters, healing, and the like.

Their hoards are reputed to lie in faerie mounds or in secret woodland caverns. These have no copper or gold, but an equal value of silver or platinum pieces. Small beads of pure mithral are found instead of gems.

Ecology: Moonstone dragons are thought to subsist on moonbeams and faerie nectar. They are not carnivorous, nor do they often kill. Among the legends of moonstone dragons are the following: Their tears are drops of mithral, from which the elves fashion chain mail; when one dies, it vanishes in a shower of moonbeams; when one dies well, its heart turns into a lump of purest adamantite. Further, it is said, if the dragon slays a creature unjustly, it turns into a pillar of sand, and its spirit is utterly destroyed.