Brown Dragon
From the sands of the desert plain comes a mighty dragon covered in spines, propelling itself through the dust on its long claws. The brown dragon can be found in open plains, grasslands and desert canyons, and prefers hot environments. Unlike the blue dragon, which hunts from the skies above, the brown dragon lurks beneath the surface, using its tremorsense to quietly stalk its prey. A brown dragon is recognised by the long spikes on its jaw, its long, large jaws and the frill-like wings extending to the end of its tail in a similar fashion to some metallic dragons. Large webbed claws allow it to grip the desert sand with ease, allowing for the dragon to almost swim through it at great speed. Its scales range from a dark brown to a yellow-bronze colour, the oldest specimens becoming a lighter, almost white, complexion.
Hidden Danger. Although a brown dragon can fly, it prefers not to draw attention to itself, staying out of sight of its natural enemy, the blue dragon, and pursuing its prey without alerting it. A brown dragon may partially surface at a distance in order to assess a target; its speed, difficulty to overcome, potential reward in food and treasure, and whether it is worth pursuing. Once it has settled on a quarry, the dragon can hunt it for hours, waiting for an opportune moment to strike, blasting it with an explosive cloud of corrosive sand that blinds and burns the flesh. It can rely on a diet of minerals to survive in the long term, but its preferred food is meat, and it will target humanoids, horses, camels and other large desert creatures, occasionally taking smaller dragons if it can.
Master of the Desert Sands. A brown dragon has a very good memory and sense of direction, and knows its home plains better than any other creature around. Venturing far from its lair to secure prey or potential treasure, the dragon can always find its way back to the safety of its lair. The dragon carves a cavern out of the rock beneath the surface, or finds a secure pre-existing cave, where it hoards its treasure and rests when weakened or wounded. Sometimes the dragon will set pitfall traps at strategic points where prey will be trapped until it returns.
Travelling desert caravans fear and hate the brown dragon almost as much as the blue. The dragon attacks by surrprise, slays the caravan guards, and hauls its humanoid corpses and newly-acquired treasure back to its lair. Not wanting to give away its position, a brown dragon rarely eats out in the open, preferring to drag its kill back to its lair where it can feast at its leisure.
Solitary Hunters. A brown dragon has no need for allies. It views humanoids and other smaller creatures as food, and considers conversing with your food before eating a strange custom. Other dragons are potential threats, especially if larger and older, and should be avoided. Its greatest enemies are blue and brass dragons, and overlapping borders of territory may bring the brown dragon into conflict from time to time. Mostly, however, the brown dragon remains out of sight, preferring to be left alone.
Obsessive Hoarders. Brown dragons really aren’t fussy when it comes to treasure. They collect anything even remotely valuable, carrying it back to their tunnels and burying it in sand. If a brown dragon defeats another, it will furiously loot its lair until it finds every last item in the place. Any intruders that enter their caverns can expect to be immediately attacked, as the dragon will not stand for any theft of its belongings and will chase the thief for days on end, never relenting until the individual has been punished and its items recovered.
Underdark Denizens. Some brown dragons tunnel so far down that they find themselves trapped in the twisting, labyrinthine caverns of the Underdark. Rather than trying to escape, they may see it as an opportunity for success, far removed from most other dragons and with plenty of food, and establish themselves as major predators there. Such specimens may grow slightly larger than their surface counterparts, with their scales turning a very dark hue, almost black in places. They lurk unseen, using their tremorsense to detect incoming enemies, before pouncing from the shadows to tear and rend prey with their claws.
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A Brown Dragon's Lair
Brown dragons prefer to make their lairs in hidden, out-of-the-way caverns, including burrows they dig into the earth deep beneath the plains they call home and difficult-to-navigate canyons that will provide a defensive advantage. Their love of sandy plains brings them into conflict with blue and brass dragons from time to time. A brown dragon can be a hard one to find. They prefer to remain hidden to avoid occasional fights with more powerful blue dragons, and to take unsuspecting prey by surprise. Occasionally a brown dragon will burrow down far enough to find itself in the Underdark, where it will move into an unoccupied cave or dig itself a new one.
Lair Actions
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:
• A wave of sand pushes out from below the dragon in a 90-foot line that is 10 feet wide. It travels in a direction of the dragon’s choice, and any creature in its path must make a DC15 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and doesn’t land prone.
• A jagged, opaque wall of solid rock rises out of the ground on a surface the dragon can see within 120ft of it. It can be up to 20 feet high and 40 feet long. Each 10-foot section of the wall has AC10, 20 hit points, vulnerability to force damage, resistance to fire and slashing damage and immunity to necrotic, poison and psychic damage. If the dragon dies or uses this lair action again, the wall will disappear.
• The dragon selects one target within 120ft of it that it can see and wills the sand beneath its feet to pull apart. The creature must succeed on a DC15 Dexterity saving throw or be buried in the hole. The buried target is blinded, restrained and unable to breathe or stand up. The creature can take an action to make a DC10 Strength saving throw, and if it is successful, the creature escapes from this state.
Ancient Brown Dragon
Gargantuan dragon, neutral evil
- Armor Class 21 (natural armour)
- Hit Points 389(21d20 + 168)
- Speed 40ft., burrow 60ft., fly 60ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 28 (+9) 10 (+0) 26 (+8) 14 (+2) 15 (+2) 16 (+3)
- Saving Throws Dex +7, Con +15, Wis +9, Cha +10
- Skills Perception +16, Stealth +7
- Damage Immunities acid
- Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 120ft, tremorsense 120ft, passive Perception 26
- Languages Common, Draconic
- Challenge 22 (41,000 XP)
Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Tunneler. The dragon can burrow through solid rock at half its burrow speed and leaves a 20-foot-diameter tunnel in its wake.
Actions
Multiattack. The dragon can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks-one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 15ft., one target. Hit 20 (2d10+9) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d6+9) slashing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (2d8+9) bludgeoning damage.
Frightful Presence. Each creature of the dragon’s choice within 120 feet of it and aware of it must succeed on a DC19 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If the saving throw is successful or the effect on it ends, the creature is immune to the dragon’s Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Sand Breath (recharge 5-6). The dragon exhales a whirling cloud of corrosive sand in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC22 Dexterity saving throw or take 67 (8d8 bludgeoning plus 7d8 acid) damage and be blinded until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn’t blinded.
Legendary Actions
The dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect. The dragon makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Tail Attack. The dragon makes a tail attack.
Dig Attack (costs 2 actions). The dragon rakes its claws across the ground. Each creature within 15 feet of it must make a DC21 Dexterity saving throw or take 16 (2d6+9) bludgeoning damage or be knocked prone. The dragon can then burrow up to half its burrowing speed.
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Regional Effects
The region around a legendary brown dragon’s lair is warped by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:
• Wide tracks in the sand appear within 6 miles of the lair, some of which are covered by a thin layer of rock. A DC20 Wisdom (Perception) check can spot them from a distance. Otherwise, the first creature that steps on it must succeed on a DC15 Dexterity saving throw or fall the distance described in the dragon’s Tunneler trait. A DC15 Intelligence (Nature) check will reveal that whatever made them appears to have been very large and has been digging just beneath the sand at a considerable speed.
• Boulder guardians patrol the land within 6 miles of the lair. The boulder guardian has the statistics of an earth elemental, but it can’t burrow and has an Intelligence and Charisma of 1 (-5).
• The sounds of various desert creatures, including blue dragons, can be heard within 3 miles of the lair, but it is difficult to tell where they are coming from. In addition, various mirages may appear within this radius, depicting creatures and objects of the dragon’s choice. A DC20 Wisdom (Perception) check, or moving within 10ft of them, reveals them to be illusions.
If the dragon dies, the illusions vanish immediately, the boulder guardians crumble within 1d4 days, and the sand tracks remain where they are.
Adult Brown Dragon
Huge dragon, neutral evil
- Armor Class 19 (natural armour)
- Hit Points 225(18d12 + 108)
- Speed 40ft., burrow 60ft., fly 60ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 24 (+7) 10 (+0) 22 (+6) 12 (+1) 13 (+2) 14 (+2)
- Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +11, Wis +6, Cha +7
- Skills Perception +11, Stealth +5
- Damage Immunities acid
- Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 120ft, tremorsense 120ft, passive Perception 21
- Languages Common, Draconic
- Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)
Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Tunneler. The dragon can burrow through solid rock at half its burrow speed and leaves a 15-foot-diameter tunnel in its wake.
Actions
Multiattack. The dragon can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks-one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10ft., one target. Hit 18 (2d10+7) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (3d6+7) slashing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d8+7) bludgeoning damage.
Frightful Presence. Each creature of the dragon’s choice within 120 feet of it and aware of it must succeed on a DC16 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If the saving throw is successful or the effect on it ends, the creature is immune to the dragon’s Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Sand Breath (recharge 5-6). The dragon exhales a whirling cloud of corrosive sand in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC18 Dexterity saving throw or take 54 (6d8 bludgeoning plus 6d8 acid) damage and be blinded until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn’t blinded.
Legendary Actions
The dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect. The dragon makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Tail Attack. The dragon makes a tail attack.
Dig Attack (costs 2 actions). The dragon rakes its claws across the ground. Each creature within 15 feet of it must make a DC18 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (2d6+7) bludgeoning damage or be knocked prone. The dragon can then burrow up to half its burrowing speed.
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Young Brown Dragon
Large dragon, neutral evil
- Armor Class 17
- Hit Points 152(16d10 + 64)
- Speed 40ft, burrow 40ft, fly 40ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 20 (+5) 10 (+0) 18 (+4) 10 (+0) 11 (+0) 12 (+1)
- Saving Throws Dex +3, Con +7, Wis +3, Cha +4
- Skills Perception +6, Stealth +3
- Damage Immunities acid
- Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 120ft, tremorsense 120ft, passive Perception 16
- Languages Common, Draconic
- Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)
Tunneler. The dragon can burrow through solid rock at half its burrow speed and leaves a 10-foot-diameter tunnel in its wake.
Actions
Multiattack. The dragon makes three attacks-one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10ft., one target. Hit 12 (2d6 + 5) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) bludgeoning damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage.
Sand Breath (recharge 5-6). The dragon exhales a whirling cloud of corrosive sand in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC14 Dexterity saving throw or take 40 (5d8 bludgeoning plus 5d8 acid) damage and be blinded until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage and isn’t blinded.
Credits
• Inspired by Dragons of Faerun (for 3.5).
• Homebrew by TomHDM.
• Brown dragon images are from Forgotten Realms Wiki (forgottenrealmswikia.com).
• Cave artwork was created by JoshEiten (josheiten.deviantart.com). I do not own it.
• Created in naturalcrit.com/homebrew.
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