A cloud of swarming insects fills a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point the dragon chooses within 120 feet of it.Any creature on the ground within 20 feet of such a pool must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pulled up to 20 feet into the water and knocked prone. Pools of water that the dragon can see within 120 feet of it surge outward in a grasping tide.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: Centipedes, scorpions, and snakes infest the lair, which is filled with the stench of death and decay. The lair is littered with the acid-pitted bones of previous victims and the fly-ridden carcasses of fresh kills, watched over by crumbling statues. A black dragon's lair is a dismal cave, grotto, or ruin that is at least partially flooded, providing pools where the dragon rests, and where its victims can ferment. The more civilizations a dragon outlasts, the more entitled it feels to claim the wealth of current civilizations for itself.īlack dragons dwell in swamps on the frayed edges of civilization. Black dragons hoard the treasures and magic items of crumbled empires and conquered kingdoms to remind themselves of their greatness.
They become as cruel as their dark masters, often torturing and weakening captives with centipede bites and scorpion stings before delivering them to sate the dragon's hunger.
Kobolds infest the lairs of many black dragons like vermin. If a stronger dragon threatens it, a black dragon abandons its lair and seeks out new territory.Įvil lizardfolk venerate and serve black dragons, raiding humanoid settlements for treasure and food to give as tribute and building crude draconic effigies along the borders of their dragon master's domain.Ī black dragon's malevolent influence might also cause the spontaneous creation of evil shambling mounds that seek out and slay good creatures approaching the dragon's lair. They spy on draconic rivals from afar, looking for opportunities to slay weaker dragons and avoid stronger ones. Black dragons hate and fear other dragons. On the verge of defeat, a black dragon does anything it can to save itself, but it accepts death before allowing any other creature to claim mastery over it.įoes and Servants. A black dragon lives to watch its prey beg for mercy, and will often offer the illusion of respite or escape before finishing off its enemies.Ī black dragon strikes at its weakest enemies first, ensuring a quick and brutal victory, which bolsters its ego as it terrifies its remaining foes. All chromatic dragons are evil, but black dragons stand apart for their sadistic nature. As it ages, its scales become thicker and duller, helping it blend in to the marshes and blasted ruins that are its home.īrutal and Cruel. When it hatches, a black dragon has glossy black scale. Its tongue is flat with a forked tip, drooling slime whose acidic scent adds to the dragon's reek of rotting vegetation and foul water. A black dragon's head is marked by spikes and horns. As a black dragon ages, the flesh around its horns and cheekbones deteriorates as though eaten by acid, leaving thin layers of hide that enhance its skeletal appearance. Its curving, segmented horns are bone-colored near the base and darken to dead black at the tips. With deep-socketed eyes and broad nasal openings, a black dragon's face resembles a skull. They make their homes in fetid swamps and crumbling ruins where kingdoms once stood. These dragons loathe seeing the weak prosper and revel in the collapse of humanoid kingdoms. The most evil-tempered and vile of the chromatic dragons, black dragons collect the wreckage and treasures of fallen peoples.
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