Dragon Encounters

How to Use – Combat Encounter (difficulty 25)

If the young and adult bronze dragons live along the seaside, the ancient dragon will position itself even better, inhabiting its own island. Getting close to the island will be no small challenge, let alone fighting the dragon once on the island.

The dragon will have all manner of approaches to its island well defended. (This is a dragon with a military mind, remember.) Anyone approaching by ship will have their ship set on fire with lightning, and if they seem to be able to fight the fire, the dragon will attack, forcing them to split their attention while the fire catches hold of the ship.

Inside the water, they’ll have to contend with strong currents, hostile sea creatures (the dragon will make sure to have a few giant sharks, or perhaps a dragon turtle, living near his island for just this reason.)

Finally, none of the island’s beaches are going to be nice, sandy coasts, or if they are they’ll have plenty of jagged rocks on the approaches. Leaving an obvious way in would be a foolish security risk. (The dragon might have an inland lagoon for its pleasure, but there won’t be any way to get there without reaching the island first.)

If any enemy tries to reach the dragon through the air? Air transportation is vulnerable being knocked down. If they’re using a spell to fly, it’s a matter of hitting the mage until he loses concentration. If it’s an item, such as a magic carper, then it can be destroyed, or repulsion breath can knock its riders off.

However you go about it, the danger of flying is that once you stop flying, it’s a long way down.

In addition, the dragon can control the weather around its lair. Whether you’re going by ship or by air, it’s hard to navigate in the middle of thick fog, while the dragon can hunt by scent. It’s unlikely that players, or other enemies of the dragon, can fight as well in the middle of a storm as the dragon can either.

Sneaking up on the dragon is near impossible, as the dragon will cultivate a relationship with several good-alignment creatures to help protect its lair. Merfolk are ideal, as they can watch the seas easily, and can’t access the island at all (meaning the dragon doesn’t have to worry about betrayal).

 Aaracockra are another possibility, although it’s questionable how close they are allowed to get to the dragon’s island. Most probably, they live on a different island or islands, and have instructions as to how close to the dragon’s island they’re allowed to fly.

Finally, the edges of the dragon’s island are kept thick with vegetation. Teleportation spells often need sight to fly, so the dragon works to prevent the possibility of that. For the same reason, visitors aren’t allowed on the island. When meeting with allies, the dragon comes to them, or meets them halfway.

(It would also make sense for the dragon to find spells against scrying and teleportation. This would require homebrew items, however. Do as you think best.)

Should an enemy reach the island, they will have to put up with near constant attacks. There is no way that the dragon will allow a cease-fire, or give hostile individuals any chance to catch their breath.

Creatures that the dragon will allow on the island will be either unintelligent ones, such as griffons to help guard the cliffs, or ones content to live there permanently. (a few treants, and a number of animated trees, perhaps.) Once intruders are detected, the dragon will muster them for a hunt that won’t end until the intruders are caught.

Should they manage to take refuge using a spell meant for that (Rope Trick, Leamond’s Tiny Hut, Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion), the dragon will track them by smell to where they case the spell. When they come out, they’ll do so to a small army waiting to deal with them, complete with nets waiting to entangle them, and plenty of deadwood gather and ready to create a small inferno.

The third, and final, layer of the challenge will be the path up the cliff to the dragon’s nest. This will be a long, narrow path, with a number of places where repulsion breath can knock them down to the sharp rocks planted far below.

If they make it to the end, they’ll be at the entrance to the dragon’s cave. Not the real entrance, which will be on a ledge above, carefully set so that they can’t see it from where they are, but an identical replica that the dragon can trap them inside once they enter.

After that, I suggest using smoke to suffocate them. Leaving them to starve or surrender gives then too much time to plan a way out.