Dragon Encounters

How to Use (difficulty 24)

The ancient copper dragon, like all ancient metallic dragons and several of the adult metallic dragons, has the ability to take on a humanoid form. The question is how it will use it, as unlike other metallic dragons it isn’t open to helping people or to socializing with society in general.

(It could be argued that it uses humanoid form to meet with people it finds interesting, as per the flavor text where it talks about how a copper dragon will greatly prize having a skilled bard as a guest. I feel that “Guest” is specific, that the paranoid copper dragon won’t take the risk of assuming humanoid form for mere pleasure, at least not often.)

There is one use for humanoid that is applicable to the copper dragon, however. Using it as a disguise, to trick its enemies.

An interesting feature of change shape is that it doesn’t affect lair actions. As I read it, this might mean that the dragon can’t claim the lair actions of a different creature through change shape, but this also means that it won’t lose its own lair actions by assuming humanoid form.

All it needs is to furnish a convincing reason for the players to have it accompany them on their assault of the dragon’s lair, and it can hit them with the lair actions again and again without them even having a target to fight back against.

(You will want to furnish a long tunnel or series of caves full of traps and/or lesser enemies. Not only is hitting the players without giving them an objective lousy gameplay design, it’s going to cause the players to rush right back out before the dragon can inflict any real damage.)

Let’s go through this idea, step by step.

Allying With the Players

In order to gain the players trust, and convince them to accept it as an ally, it’s vital that the dragon not appear too eager.

The dragon will have an identity in town that it keeps up for just this purpose. A merchant, or some other form of frequent traveler, would seem to make the most sense, as that would be an identity that the dragon could easily maintain while only showing up from time to time.

If at all possible, the players should be the ones to approach it, and it should be initially hesitant to help them. If they need the location of the dragon’s lair, that would work well, as they won’t feel that they don’t need help, and you won’t have to worry about them getting frustrated and deciding to skip asking for aid.

When making the dragon reluctant to help them, make sure you have several ideas as to how it might refuse and as to what they might do to persuade it. You don’t want to get into a situation where the NPC/dragon and the players just go back and forth on the same argument, as can easily happen.

Ways to persuade it can include telling about their past accomplishments (bonus points if they make them sound impressive), CHA skill checks, and/or going on a minor quest in order to earn its aid and demonstrate their might.

Make sure to flesh out the backstory of the dragon’s false identity before they meet it, as they might ask various questions. You probably want it to profess to be hostile to the dragon, but don’t overdo it. Similarly, its personality should be different than the dragon’s, but don’t overdo it and have it be an exact opposite.

If they don’t end up choosing to ally with it, you can always have them meet the dragon is its NPC guise soon after they enter the lair. He’ll be imprisoned in a small cell near the entrance (he locked himself in when he saw the party coming), and he’ll be afraid to leave by himself. He can say that the fact that he shared information with the party is why he was imprisoned, and this should guilt the party into letting him accompany them.

Inside the Lair

For the inside of the lair, I would suggest one or more hallways that need to be traveled through to reach the main part of the lair. These will be studded with traps and/or low-level minions, and the dragon will of course be able to use his lair actions to further complicate any and all battles.

(A note on size: I said one or more hallways, but that’s because I’m planning to go with a number of simple boulder traps, which take more room and are over relatively quickly. If you go with large style combats, or complex traps, don’t use more than one or maybe two. Even good ideas can get old very quickly.)

You might want to put a few false tripwires, or a pattern or floor tiles, to blame the lair effects on, so that they’ll assume that they’re traps. Even if they trigger later, the traps can be on a time delay, and you have an NPC to suggest that fact if they don’t think of it.

(The traps I’m about to suggest don’t need this, as the trigger of the boulder trap will also be assumed to trigger the lair action. This is for any traps you might set using my idea.)

Finally, you need is a compelling reason for your players to enter the area. A lot of players already know that a narrow tunnel with a floor that slants slowly upward is a no-go area. My favorite way would be to make it optional, but tempt them with riches.

You could also have the dragon in NPC guise warn them that there are a number of traps which the dragon sets when it leaves the lair, and that the only way to enter will be to trigger them and survive or dodge the effects (this way they don’t feel like a fool for entering.) Finally, you could have unintelligent minions show up, a few at a time, to harass them. They have to get past the traps just to escape the constant attacks.  

Boulder trap suggestions:

• You probably want the first one to be fairly simple, as it’s there mostly so that the players have some warning about what they’re facing. Turning the ground to mud behind them, and maybe trapping a PC is said mud, with two rounds to react before the boulder arrives should be plenty.
• In case they decide to smash the boulders, you could make a boulder that’s hollow, and filled with acid. Or you could send down boulders for them to dodge while they’re fighting minions, and one of them contains a swarm of poisonous snakes that will act as reinforcements.
• Consider sending two boulders at them, the second a few seconds behind the first. If they get into the habit of jumping over the boulders, the second might hit them by surprise. If they block the first boulder from advancing, the second boulder slamming into it might jar it loose. The noise of the first boulder will stop them from hearing the second boulder coming until the last moment.
• You can provide an alcove for them to duck into that’s trapped as well. To stay on theme, have the alcove be the entrance of another tunnel, with a boulder coming down it set to emerge right after the first boulder. This is more effective if you let them avoid previous boulders via alcove. (You can make this into a skill challenge, where they have to run ahead to reach the alcove before the boulder cuts it off.)
• Provide a short hallway leading to a lever that they need to press in order to open a door. The way to the lever has a few simple traps (trapdoors, fire traps, spikes emerging from the walls…), and pulling the lever will release a boulder that will chase them down the hallway, as well as opening the door. This works best when minions spawn every so often, giving them limited time to enact a plan.
• A platform, bridge, or narrow tunnel that operates like a see-saw. When they get on, they pull it down, causing the boulder to move toward them. See if they realize that as they approach the other side, the boulder will return at them from behind as the balance shifts to the other side. (You’ll need a barrier on the end to stop the boulder from rolling off.)

The Finale:

I would suggest 2-3 of the above traps, or similar ones, followed by a large room with a number of unintelligent minions. During the battle the follows, the dragon will reveal his identity, probably at a horrible time for them. But first –

• The Monster Manual mentions that the copper dragon will sometimes display decoy treasures. These can be booby-trapped as well. One way is to make the gems, statues, or such be of very fragile glass, and filled with acid. (There is a good chance that the players will anticipate the trap, but they’ll still enjoy the thrill of victory.)

When the alliance with the dragon’s false identity is new, the players will be the most suspicious. That is the time to be an ideal NPC companion. Let the dragon put itself in danger freely (it has the HP to spare), don’t give bad advice, and be happy to go along with whatever the players want.

The most effective way to use the false identity to trip up the players is to do it right when the identity is about to be blown anyway. It will only work well once, so use it for maximum effect at the perfect time.

One way is to have it step into a trap which immobilizes it when they’re already in the middle of the battle. They’ll have to readjust their positions to save it before the minions warm it, and that will be a challenge that will throw them off, making its reveal a round or two later even worse.

Once it reveals itself, remember that the fearful aura will stop them from moving to reinforce each other easily. The dragon won’t be able to use fearful presence on the turn it reveals itself, as both change shape and fearful presence take an action, but it should transform in between them, so that they won’t be able to get together without taking opportunity attacks, and use multi-attack on the next turn to activate its fearful presence.

One last boulder trap:

• If the dragon places its spine growth ability correctly, it might be able to nudge the boulder sideways, off its original course. You want the very edge of spine growth to move into the boulder’s path, so that the boulder is nudged gently sideways. Unlike normal boulder traps, this is meant to be used in a large room, possibly during a fight which features boulders occasionally rolling down from the sides.

Summary – Six Ways to Use

1. The ancient copper dragon, like all ancient metallic dragons, has change shape. Have him use it for deception, joining the party on their quest against him. He’ll get into trouble in a battle against his minions, and jump them when they come to his rescue.
2. The ancient copper dragon can set off traps with its acid breath and wing attack. This doesn’t even need to be the main focus of said attacks. Rather, it’s intelligent to position itself so that the attack will both hurt the players and trigger the trap.
3. The ancient copper dragon’s change shape doesn’t affect lair actions. If he can convince the players that he’s a harmless NPC, he can use the lair actions at his discretion to mess up the players, and they won’t have a target to fight back against.
4. The ancient copper dragon’s lair actions combine well with boulder traps. Send a boulder down a hallway at them, and place mud behind them to they can’t run. Or just trap them in the mud.
5. The ancient copper dragon’s lair actions combine nastily well with boulder traps. Send a boulder at them, let them try to dodge, then use spine growth to nudge its course just a little sideways.
6. The ancient copper dragon is known to display fake treasure, to trick adventurers. Have it guarded by minions, and when they grab it, they’ll find that the treasure is fragile glass filled with acid.