Silver Dragon

Description

(From 5th Edition Monster Manual - 2014):

The friendliest and most social of the metallic dragons, silver dragons cheerfully assist good creatures in need.

A silver dragon shimmers as if sculpted from pure metal, its face given a noble cast by its high eyes and sweeping beard-like chin spikes. A spiny frill rises high over its head, tracing down its neck to the tip of its tail. A silver wyrmling’s scales are blue-gray with silver highlights. As the dragon approaches adulthood, its color gradually brightens until its individual scales are barely visible. As a silver dragon grows older, its pupils fade until its eyes resemble orbs of mercury.

Dragons of Virtue. Silver dragons believe that living a moral life involves doing good deeds and ensuring that one’s actions cause no undeserved harm to other sentient beings. They don’t take it upon themselves to root out evil, as gold and bronze dragons do, but they will gladly oppose creatures that dare to commit evil acts or harm the innocent.

Friends of the Small Races. Silver dragons enjoy the company of other silver dragons. Their only true friendships outside their own kin arise in the company of humanoids, and many silver dragons spend as much time in humanoid form as they do in draconic form. A silver dragon adopts a benign humanoid persona such as a kindly old sage or a young wanderer, and it often has mortal companions with whom it develops strong friendships.

Silver dragons must step away from their humanoid lives on a regular basis, returning to their true forms to mate and rear offspring, or to tend to their hoards and personal affairs. Because many lose track of time while away, they sometimes return to find that their companions have grown old or died. Silver dragons often end up befriending several generations of humanoids within a single family as a result.

Respect for Humanity. Silver dragons befriend humanoids of all races, but shorter-lived races such as humans spark their curiosity in a way the longer-lived elves and dwarves don’t. Humans have a drive and zest for life that silver dragons find fascinating.

Hoarding History. Silver dragons love to possess relics of humanoid history. This includes the great piles of coins they covet, minted by current and fallen humanoid empires, as well as art objects and fine jewelry crafted by numerous races. Other treasures that make up their hoards can include intact ships, the remains of kings and queens, thrones, the crown jewels of ancient empires, inventions and contraptions, and monoliths carried from the ruins of fallen cities.

A Silver Dragon's Lair

Silver dragons dwell among the clouds, making their lairs on secluded cold mountain peaks. Though many are comfortable in natural cavern complexes or abandoned mines, silver dragons covet the lost outposts of humanoid civilization. An abandoned mountaintop citadel or a remote tower raised by a long-dead wizard is the sort of lair that every silver dragon dreams of.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dragon takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects:

• The dragon creates fog as if it had cast the fog cloud spell. The fog lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round.

• A blisteringly cold wind blows through the lair near the dragon. Each creature within 120 feet of the dragon must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 5 ((1d10)) cold damage. Gases and vapors are dispersed by the wind, and unprotected flames are extinguished. Protected flames, such as lanterns, have a 50 percent chance of being extinguished.

Regional Effects

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

• Once per day, the dragon can alter the weather in a 6-mile radius centered on its lair. The dragon doesn’t need to be outdoors; otherwise the effect is identical to the control weather spell.

• Within 1 mile of the lair, winds buoy non-evil creatures that fall due to no act of the dragon’s or its allies. Such creatures descend at a rate of 60 feet per round and take no falling damage.

• Given days or longer to work, the dragon can make clouds and fog within its lair as solid as stone, forming structures and other objects as it wishes.

If the dragon dies, changed weather reverts to normal, as described in the spell, and the other effects fade in (1d10) days.

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

Creating a Silver Dragon

Creating a Silver Dragon

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

Silver Dragon Personality Traits

d8 - Trait:

1 - People are so wonderfully varied, and I do so love experiencing life with them.

2 - I’m an epicurean, and I live to eat all the delightful foods people concoct.

3 - It’s my duty as a member of an elder species to protect and guide other peoples.

4 - I like coming up with new disguises to use among small folk. It makes me feel clever!

5 - Violence is the provenance of uncouth beings, and I will do my best to avoid its use.

6 - I don’t understand why anyone would fight when they could talk instead and build on this ecosystem of wondrous cultures and fascinating traditions.

7 - I owe the short-lived mortals I become friends with the responsibility of watching over their progeny.

8 - People must earn my respect—and they’re failing badly.

Silver Dragon Ideals

d6 - Ideal

1 - Sensualism. I savor the world and consume its myriad delights with appropriate gratitude. (Any)

2 - Altruism. We are surrounded by a malignant and unfeeling cosmos. Ultimately, all we have is each other. (Good)

3 - Camaraderie. The true treasure is the friends we make along the way. (Good)

4 - Leadership. These younger species will do great things—but need some subtle support. (Good)

5 - Guile. All the world is a stage, and it is both my purpose and my pleasure to give an excellent performance. (Any)

6 - Ownership. This town, these families, this world—I’ve spent centuries watching over them, and they belong to me. (Evil)

Silver Dragon Spellcasting

Age        Spell Save DC        Spells Known

Ancient        21                   beacon of hope, calm emotions, hold person, polymorph, teleport, zone of truth

(from 2nd Edition Monstrous Manual - 1993):

Silver dragons are kind and helpful. They will cheerfully assist good creatures if their need is genuine. They often take the forms of kindly old men or fair damsels when associating with people.

At birth, a silver dragon’s scales are blue-gray with silver highlights. As the dragon approaches adulthood, its color slowly lightens to brightly gleaming silver. An adult or older silver dragon has scales so fine that the individual scales are scarcely visible. From a distance, these dragons look as if they have been sculpted from pure metal.

Silver dragons speak their own tongue, a tongue common to all good dragons, and 16% of hatchling silver 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: Silver dragons are not violent and avoid combat except when faced with highly evil or aggressive foes. If necessary, they use feather fall to stop any missiles fired at them. They use wall of fog or control weather to blind or confuse opponents before making melee attacks. If angry, they will use reverse gravity to fling enemies helplessly into the air, where they can be snatched. When faced with flying opponents, a silver dragon will hide in clouds (often creating some with control weather on clear days), remain there using cloud walking, then jump to the attack when they have the advantage.

Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: A silver dragon has two breath weapons: a cone of cold 80’ long, 5’ wide at the dragon’s mouth, and 30’ wide at the end or a cloud of paralyzation gas 50’ long, 40’ wide, and 20’ high. Creatures caught in the cold are allowed a save versus breath weapon for half damage. A silver dragon casts its spells and uses its magical abilities at 6th level, plus its combat modifier.

At birth, silver dragons are immune to cold and can polymorph self three times a day. Each change in form lasts until the dragon chooses a different form and reverting to their normal form does not count as a change. They also can cloud walk. This allows the dragon to tread on clouds or fog as though they were solid ground. The ability functions continuously, but can be negated or resumed at will. As they age, they gain the following additional powers:

Young: feather fall twice a day. Juvenile: wall of fog once a day. Adult: control winds three times a day. Mature adult: control weather once a day. Old: reverse gravity once a day.

Habitat/Society: Silver dragons prefer aerial lairs on secluded mountain peaks, or amid the clouds themselves. When they lair in clouds there always will be an enchanted area with a sold floor for laying eggs and storing treasure.

Silver dragons seem to prefer human form to their own, and often have mortal companions. Frequently they share deep friendships with mortals. Inevitably, however, the dragon reveals its true form and takes its leave to live a dragon’s life for a time.

Ecology: Silver dragons prefer human food, and can live on such fare indefinitely.

Because they lair in similar territories, silver dragons come into conflict with red dragons. Duels between the two species are furious and deadly, but silver dragons generally get the upper hand since they are more capable of working together against their foes and often have human allies.