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• Jan 24, 2020

  Old-School Movement in Dungeon Fantasy

  I’ve been looking at some old D&D modules lately and wondering how to convert them to Dungeon Fantasy. One of the things that gave me some trouble was movement.

  Dungeon movement in AD&D is by default extremely methodical and done with an almost paranoid level of caution¹. This is why even an entirely unencumbered party moves only 120ft/40m over ten minutes. They’re moving reeal slow; they’re trying to maintain stealth; they’re looking for traps and secret passages; someone is mapping. You move five times faster if you don’t have to map, and ten times faster if you throw caution to the wind and tromp through the dungeon at combat speed.

  This is important because AD&D wants you to track turns precisely and roll for wandering monsters every so often. As a delver, you ideally want to get in, get the treasure, and get out as soon as possible. Every extra turn you spend in there has a chance of bringing in hostile enemies who don’t have any loot.

  Dungeon Fantasy (either version) expects the party to move cautiously but doesn’t have specific or timing rules for it². So, when you convert AD&D modules to Dungeon Fantasy, how do you handle movement?

  The easy solution is to just glom the AD&D turn and movement rules into Dungeon Fantasy! The resulting amalgamented abomination is actually rather playable. Check it out:

  Dungeon Fantasy Movement

  Time spent inside a dungeon is measured in ten-minute turns, like in ye olde days. When exploring a dungeon, delvers are by default assumed to be moving very cautiously and methodically, keeping their marching order. When moving this way, they cover a distance per turn equal to ten times the Move of the slowest party member, measured in yards or meters. For example, a party containing a heavily armored knight with Move 3 would explore 30 yards/meters in a turn³.

  Moving this way is slow, and costs the party 1 FP per 5 turns of movement, but has several benefits:

  • The party is assumed to be on the lookout for danger. They roll to detect traps, enemies and other hazards automatically without having to state they are doing so.

  • Similarly, they can make Stealth rolls to avoid detection by monsters. If they’re walking together, this is a group Stealth roll as detailed in Exploits p. 6. All the usual factors for stealth are still at play here, such as light sources and so on.

  • This is the pace that allows the PCs to map the dungeon as per Exploits p. 18.

  Actively investigating a room for treasure and secret doors also takes a turn and requires the normal rolls for these procedures. Turns spent searching do count for tracking FP cost.

  The FP cost makes ye olde routine of delving for 5 turns and resting for one an efficient way to proceed, though the delvers can elect to push forward and take the FP loss if they’re pressed for time. The party can elect to move at five times this pace and still retain the first two benefits above, which makes traversing already-mapped portions of the dungeon a lot faster.

  These rules are perfect for playing in converted old-school modules. You can use the modules’ own rules for random encounters with them, though obviously you’ll still want to convert the monsters. It’s probably okay to ignore these rules in modules made specifically for the DFRPG, since they tend to assume a faster pace.

  1. Which is the right amount of caution for Gygaxian dungeons. ↩

  2. Even though the headers in its dungeon exploration section are remarkably similar to those of AD&D. ↩

  3. Divide that by 3 to get convert it to ten-foot squares. ↩

• Jan 22, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Dragonspawn

  This post is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

  Dragonspawn are weird mutants created by the application of an eldricht ritual to an unhatched dragon egg. The ritual mutates the embryo inside, and what hatches from the egg is one of these beasts. The ritual was first developed by cultists of Tiamat.

  If this sounds familiar to you it might be because it’s almost the same origin story for Dragonlance’s Draconians, but the result here is different. Dragonspawn are much larger and more dangerous than the gimmicky humanoids of that setting, and have animal-level intellects (with a very dangerous exception). They also breed true, so you can start your very own dragonspawn ranch with a relatively small cache of dragon eggs.

  Another big difference is that the dragonspawn depicted here come from chromatic dragon eggs, which indicates that chromatics as a whole don’t form a unified faction in the implied 4th edition setting like they do in Dragonlance. These aren’t the only dragonspawn in existence, as the ritual spread out in the usual way and people started coming up with additional varieties. It works just fine in metallic and other dragon types too.

  Dragonspawn are only present in the MM.

  Redspawn Firebelcher

  

  This round boy is a Large Natural Beast (reptile), and a Level 12 Artillery beast with 97 HP. It has low-light vision, fire resistance 20, and an aura 5 that grants fire resistance 10 to allies within it. It gambols about at Speed 4.

  It attacks with a bite that does physical damage and ongoing fire damage (save ends); Fire Belch, a Range 12 attack that targets Reflex and does physical + ongoing fire damage (save ends); and Fire Burst, an Area 2 Within 10 attack version of the belch that does a bit more damage than it and recharges on a 5-6.

  At Int 2, Firebelchers are just smart enough to receive basic combat training: they can recognize friend from foe and understand an attack command. They prefer to attack at range, and their temper combined with their slow speed mean they fight to the death even when overrun. Also of note is the fact that they suffer greatly from the math bug. If you want to use them, you should definitely increase their damage to its proper level and likely make their ranged attacks do fire instead of physical damage.

  Blackspawn Gloomweb

  

  This thing has all the cruelty of a black dragon combined with the intellect of your average spider. It likes hiding out in dark caves and catching unsuspecting passerby in its acidic webs. It doesn’t like waiting for the acid to kill its victims before it begins eating them.

  Gloomwebs are a bit of a failed experiment in that they’re hard to train properly. So I guess their creators just left them in places their enemies would have to pass through, and later on they became a wild species.

  These things are Large Natural Beasts (reptiles), and Level 16 Lurkers with 120 HP. The scuttle with Speed 8, and have the same climb speed (with Spider Climb, obviously). It has acid resistance 15 and constantly exudes a cloud of gloom that grants it concealment in any turn in which it doesn’t move. It’s trained in Stealth.

  For attacks, the gloomweb has a bite that deals physical and ongoing acid damage (save ends). It can also perform a Goring Charge that targets Fortitude. On a hit this deals damage, knocks prone, and allows a free bite attack! It can also use a Mobile Melee attack that allows it to scuttle half its speed and bite at any point along the movement, without provoking opportunity attacks. Finally, it can launch an acidic web as a Ranged 10 attack that targets Reflex. On a hit this restrains and deals ongoing acid damage (save ends both).

  All of these attacks are at-will and none of them have a stealth prerequisite, so this lurker is really more of a skirmisher with a dash of control. Goring Charge is a good opener, and the Mobile Melee Attack can get the monster into position for another charge.

  Bluespawn Godslayer

  

  This dragonspawn stands out from its fellows not only because its name is Extremely Metal but because it’s sapient. Not a warbeast but a mercenary, the godslayer hires itself out to people who need violence inflicted upon powerful creatures such as angels and other immortals. In other words, “godslayer” is its job description.

  These reptilian giants were created by Tiamat cultists to fight their enemies, but their mercenary temperament suggests that the PCs themselves might be able to hire them to help fight opposition such as devils, evil dragons or even those self-same cultists. Yes, the bluespawn is also Evil, but it’s not like evil creatures have any solidarity towards each other.

  A bluespawn godslayer is a Huge Natural Humanoid (reptile) and a Level 22 Elite Brute with 510 HP. It has low-light vision, 30 resistance to lightning and thunder, and runs at speed 8. It wields a greatsword one-handed and a heavy shield.

  The greatsword deals a mix of physical and lightning damage. It can also be used in to deal an Awesome Blow that does the same damage and allows a secondary attack against Fortitude. If that hits, the target is pushed 3 squares and knocked prone. If the sword isn’t available for some reason, the godslayer can bite for somewhat less physical damage but the same amount of lightning damage.

  All of these attacks deal an extra 10 damage against dragons, dragonborn, and immortals. This is why keywords and origins are important even though they don’t have built-in rules of their own! Dragonborn PCs are going to have a bad time here, but this is also what makes it desirable for the PCs to hire a bluespawn to fight their draconic/devilish enemies.

  That said, this god-slayer might have some trouble living up to its hype. Aside from fixing the math, I’d probably roll Awesome Blow into the basic sword attack so it can be used in a charge, and make the bite a minor action.

  Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

  Each dragonspawn gets one.

  • Level 12: 1 redspawn firebelcher and 4 githyanki warriors.

  • Level 16: 1 blackspawn gloomweb and a bunch of kuo-toa.

  • Level 22: 2 bluespawn godslayers and a storm giant.

  Basically, anyone who could be found hanging around a given type of chromatic dragon might also be found hanging around the equivalent dragonspawn, though in that case the power relationship is likely inverted. This makes me think that the dragons themselves wouldn’t have a problem hanging around dragonspawn, though obviously they wouldn’t like to have their own eggs turned into these creatures.

  Despite the math issues, I find myself liking these monsters more than I expected. They’re certainly a lot better than draconians, which never made much of an impression on me.

• Jan 19, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Red Dragon

  

  This post is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

  This is it, the one you’ve been waiting for. The most hyped variant of the most hyped monster in the entire game. Red dragons have made it to the cover of the core books in multiple editions, and they’re the ones you think about when you read the words “lays waste to the countryside”.

  Part of this increased mystique comes from the fact that D&D red dragons breathe fire, which means they get to take a ride on every classical myth or fantasy novel that features fire-breathing dragons. Personality wise, the book describes them as doubling up on greed. Red dragons pursue treasure much more vigorously than their weaker kin, which ironically means they’re much harder to buy off with tribute. Why wait for you to give them your money a little at a time when they can just raid you and take it all at once? Their preference for mountain or volcanic lairs means a large enough red in search of a new lair might just be strong enough to clear out a dwarf kingdom and make its lair in the treasure vault.

  The fiery breath of an older red dragon has an additional trick in this edition: it can strip the fire resistance of those it hits. This means they’re equipped to pull the Dark Schneider Maneuver and kill something like an efreet or fire archon with fire. Or your party’s fire sorcerer.

  Red Dragons fill the Soldier role, which means they fight up close and are smart about it. We’ll look at them by book.

  Red Dragon (Monster Manual)

  MM Red Dragons have trained Bluff, Insight, Intimidade and Perception. Like all dragons they have Darkvision and an age-dependent amount of resistance to their signature element (fire). They move fairly fast on land and fly well enough to hover.

  At all ages their basic attack is a bite that does physical and fire damage. They can instead perform two claw attacks if they want. As a reaction, they can use a Tail Strike against an enemy that moves to flank them. This targets Reflex and on a hit does some damage and pushes the target 1 square.

  The famous fire breath is a Close Blast 5 that targets Reflex and does a bundle of fire damage, half on a miss. It recharhes on a 5-6. Bloodied Breath and Frightful Presence round out the universal red dragon kit.

  Young reds are Large Level 7 Solo Soldiers with 332 HP and fire resistance 15. Their land speed is 6, their flight speed 8 (hover) with Overland Flight 12, and their melee reach 2.

  Adult reds are Large Level 15 Solo Soldiers with 750 HP and fire resistance 20. Their numbers are bigger, but they otherwise have the same set of abilities as the young dragon.

  Elder Reds are Huge Level 22 Solo Soldiers with 1050 HP, Fire Resistance 25, and melee Reach 3. Their land speed is 8 and their flight speed 10 (hover). To the standard suite of abilities they add Immolate Foe, a Ranged 20 attack that does slightly less damage than the breath weapon plus ongoing 10 fire damage. It targets Reflex and recharges on a 5-6.

  An Ancient Red Dragon is a Gargantuan Level 30 Solo Soldier with 1390 HP, Fire Resistance 40 and Melee Reach 4. This puts it on par with the Tarrasque, and makes it a good case for this being the Ancient Red Dragon.

  In addition to everything the elder can do, the Ancient has an Inferno aura that extends to 5 squares and does 20 fire damage to anything that enters it or starts its turn there. It also gives everyone inside (including the dragon) concealment against ranged attacks. Its breath weapon gains a secondary attack against Fortitude on a hit, and if that hits it strips all fire resistance from the target until the end of the encounter. This had been hinted at in the lore, but I honestly thought it would kick in earlier in the dragon’s life cycle.

  Red Dragon (Monster Vault)

  MV Red Dragons have the same senses and movement as their MM counterparts, though they lose training in Intimidate for some reason. As usual for MV dragons, they lose Frightful Presence, retain Bloodied Breath, and gain Action Recovery and an instinctive action. In this case it’s Instinctive Assault, which allows them to bite once or claw twice at 10+rolled initiative.

  The basic bite attack got powered up - on a hit it does physical damage and grabs the target with an age-dependent escape DC. Until the grab ends, the target takes ongoing fire damage (which increases if the dragon is bloodied).

  The claw attack also grabs the target on a hit, with a slightly easier escape DC. I think the dragon can have up to three grabbed victims - one from the bite and two from the claws. This can be useful to split the party up.

  The breath weapon works the same: fire damage on a close blast 5, half on a miss. Tail Strike remains, with a reach 1 greater than the dragon’s basic reach.

  The Young Red Dragon is a Large Level 7 Solo Soldier with 332 HP and fire resistance 15. Its melee reach is 2 (3 for the tail strike). Its breath weapon does additional damage if the dragon is bloodied.

  The Elder Red Dragon is a Huge Level 22 Solo Soldier with 832 HP and fire resistance 20. Its land speed is 8, with flight 10. Its melee reach is 3 (4 for the tail). In addition to all of the young red’s abilities, the elder can use Immolate Foe, which works much like its MM counterpart.

  Sample Encounters

  The MM has two, both fairly beefy.

  • Level 18: 1 adult red dragon, and a trio of githyanki. Yes, for some reason red dragons and githyanki get along well. I guess they have a lot in common, since they’re both grasping conquerors and all.

  • Level 24: 1 elder red dragon, 2 fire archon ash disciples, and 2 fire giants. Burn, baby burn! I would probably rewrite the ash disciple stats though.

  Final Impressions

  Ironically, despite being the strongest and most famous of dragons, reds are somewhat lacking in interesting powers compared to the other chromatics. Their breath is straight damage, and their instinctive action doesn’t grant movement. The ability to strip fire resistance is pretty awesome, but only the MM Ancient has it. If I brought it back I’d at least also give it to the Elder.

  The Monster Vault version is better at expressing the monster’s Soldier role. Their grabby attacks allow them to split the party up, and maybe carry a PC or two off if they can’t escape in time.

• Jan 17, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Blue Dragon

  

  This post is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

  Blue dragons are proud, vain, and like lording over lesser creatures in their domain. Unlike greens, they don’t feel the need to stoop to sleazy extortion schemes - they’ll personally land in the middle of your village and announce they’re your new ruler. This, ironically, makes blues one of the more reasonable dragon types, because they’ll take this ruler business seriously if you keep their egos well-inflated.

  Their breath weapon is lightning. Previous editions had them prefer deserts, but 4th Edition says their preferred environments are coastal regions and seaside caves. It makes sense, as thunderstorms are closely associated with the sea and blue isn’t exactly the best color for desert camouflage.

  Aside from any people they might claim as subjects, blue dragons are known to associate with other coastal or sea monsters, like sahuagin or storm giants. However, they are not themselves aquatic, so their domains likely don’t extend to the depths unless those sahuagin are really enthusiastic about serving the dragon. As usual, they’re Natural Magical Beasts with the Dragon keyword.

  Blue Dragon (Monster Manual)

  MM Blue Dragons are all Artillery. They have Darkvision, and trained Perception, Athletics, Insight and Nature. They also have an age-dependent amount of lightning resistance. They move on land and fly well enough to hover.

  That honking big horn in the illustration means their basic attack is not a bite but a Gore, which does a mix of physical and lightning damage. Their claws also count as a basic attack, and they can use Draconic Fury as an action to make one gore and two claw attacks.

  Those melee attacks aren’t the real stars of the show, though. The Breath Weapon is a bolt of lightning that targets 1 creature up to 10 squares away, jumps to another one up to 10 squares away from the first, and then jumps again to a third target up to 10 squares away from the second. Despite looking like a ranged attack, it does not provoke opportunity attacks. It targets Reflex, does lightning damage (half on a miss), and recharges on a 5-6.

  The dragon can also spit a Lightning Burst at will. This is an Area 2 within 20 attack that targets Reflex and does a bit less lightning damage than the breath weapon (half on a miss). Finally, we have Frightful Presence as an encounter power and Bloodied Breath as a triggered action.

  Young Blue Dragons are Large Level 6 Solo Artillery with 296 HP. Their lightning resistance is 15, their land speed 8 and their flight speed 10 (overland flight 15). Their melee Reach is 2.

  Adult Blue Dragons are Large Level 13 Solo Artillery with 655 HP and Lightning Resistance 20. They are otherwise identical aside from icreased level-based stats (accuracy, damage, defenses).

  Elder Blues are Huge Level 20 Solo Artillery with 960 HP and Lightning Resistance 25. Their land speed goes up to 10 and their flight speed to 12. To all the powers listed above they add Thunderclap, an at-will Close Burst 3 that targets Fortitude. On a hit it does thunder (AKA sonic) damage and stuns for a turn. On a critical hit, the stun becomes (save ends). So these do have a reason to land: to claw and gore a stunned victim. Its melee reach is 3.

  Ancient Blues are Gargantuan Level 28 Solo Artillery with 1290 HP and Lightning Resistance 30. To the elder’s abilities they add Wingclap, a move action that recharges on 5-6 and allows the dragon to fly its speed and make a melee attack with its wings that targets Fortitude and does thunder damage. This doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks! Its melee reach is 4.

  Blue Dragons (MV)

  Monster Vault Blue Dragons have the same senses as their MV counterparts, dropping Overland Flight as usual. Their bite does pure lightning damage, with fixed math. The claw is no longer a basic attack, but they can still claw twice.

  The wording on the lightning breath has been vastly simplified: it’s a Close Blast 10 that targets up to three creatures in the blast. This means the dragon can’t use it on someone 30 squares away any more, and that Lightning Burst is now its longest-ranged attack.

  As usual for MV dragons, they lose Frightful Presence but retain Bloodied Breath. Blues also have Wing Backblast, which triggers whenever someone hits them with a melee attack and represents the dragon suddenly taking off. It’s a Close Burst 2 that targets Fortitude and knocks prone with no damage on a hit. Hit or miss, the dragon flies half its speed straight up.

  For passive traits, they have Action Recovery and Uncontained Lightning, an Aura 5 that activates when the dragon is bloodied and causes 5 lightning damage to anyone who enters or starts its turn inside. The instinctive action allows them to fly their speed without provoking opportunity attacks and use Lightning Burst at any point in the movement.

  The Young Blue Dragon is Large Level 6 Solo Artillery with 296 HP and all the abilities outlined above. Its resistance is 10 and its melee reach 2.

  The Elder Blue is Huge Level 20 Solo Artillery with 756 HP, resistance 15 and melee Reach 3. To the youngun’s abilities it adds Thunderclap. This has the same name as the MM ability but it’s pretty different! This is an Area 3 within 20 attack. It targets Fortitude and on a hit does thunder damage and stuns for a turn. On a miss, it does half damage and dazes for a turn. The area of the elder’s breath weapon increases to 20 as well.

  Sample Encounters

  There are two sample encounters in the MM:

  • Level 13, an adult blue dragon and 3 dragonborn raiders. Pirates! Arrrr!

  • Level 24, an elder blue dragon and 2 thunderwaks (which are like Rocs, but lightning-infused). Just taking the pets out for a leisurely flight along the coast.

  Final Impressions

  Neither book’s blue dragons have reason to land when fighting PCs. Lightning Burst allows them to outrange everything except the ranger’s arrows and the wizard’s Magic Missiles. The MV variant can actually keep itself even further away and use its instinctive actions to swoop into range, fire off a burst, and move away again. A blue dragon who wants to play it safe can force the party into a very boring extreme-range artillery battle.

  Fortunately, very few blue dragons would want to play it safe - they should be closing in to use their more powerful breath weapon, and should land to gore and claw anyone they manage to stun. If that seems like a bad bet even for these vain pirate kings, you should provide them with some lightning-resistant henchthings who will engage and hold the party in position for a bombardment. This should give your melee fighters something to do as well.

  You can still play the “long range artillery battle” angle as a run up to the final battle with the dragon - the approach to its lair should have a layout that allows the dragon to bombard the PCs while they deal with the enemies and traps guarding it. Periodic Lightning Burst attacks become another hazard they have to contend with as the blue dragon taunts them from afar.

• Jan 16, 2020

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual and Monster Vault: Green Dragon

  

  This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

  Green dragons are sly manipulators, which makes me think that the first sign you’ll get that one has decided to lair near your village is when it invites you to negotiate its tribute. They like dense forests and places with connections to the Feywild.

  They’re excellent fliers and quite agile in the ground as well. Their breath weapon is a cloud of poisonous gas. Some sources describe that as chlorine, but that would be more caustic than poisonous.

  Aside from the usual kobold riffraff, their preferred allies and minions are fey creatures. They can also travel in pairs or even in packs. Don’t believe it when a green dragon says it’s alone.

  Like all dragons, they’re Natural Magical Beasts with the Dragon keyword. We’ll look at them book-by-book.

  Green Dragon (Monster Manual)

  The MM green dragons have darkvision, plus training in a wide variety of skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Insight, Intimidate and Perception. They also have an age-dependent amount of poison resistance. They’re fast runners and even faster fliers.

  In all age categories it has two basic attacks: a bite that does physical damage plus ongoing poison damage, and a weak claw that can attack twice as a standard action. It can also perform flyby attacks, flying up to its speed and biting at any point along its movement without provoking opportunity attacks. This recharges on a 5-6.

  The Breath Weapon is a Recharge 5-6, Close Blast 5 poison cloud that targets Fortitude, does immediate and ongoing poison damage, and slows (save ends both). There’s also a slow aftereffect, meaning that you need to pass two saves to stop being slowed. I guess that poison is some sort of nerve gas! Unusually, the breath weapon doesn’t do anything on a miss, so it must decay fast.

  Aside from the familiar Frightful Presence, the green dragon can also use a Luring Glare, a minor-action charm power that targets Will and slides the target 2 squares. It uses this to pull people into its breath weapon’s area of effect.

  For triggered actions, it has Bloodied Breath and a Tail Sweep that targets adjacent enemies that don’t move in their turns. It targets Reflex, does some damage, and knocks prone on a hit.

  These dragons don’t have a reason to land as long as they have one of Breath Weapon or Flyby Attack available. With enough luck on the dice they can stay up there quite a while, and will take off again as soon as they can.

  Young Green Dragons are Large. They’re Level 5 Solo Skirmishers with 260 HP, Poison Resistance 15, a land speed of 8, and a fly speed of 10 with overland flight 15. Their melee Reach is 2.

  Adult Green Dragons still Large. They’re Level 12 Solo Controllers, which doesn’t look right to me as I’d expect the role of a given dragon to remain constant. Anyway, they have 620 HP, with poison resistance 20 and the same speed and reach as the young green dragon. They also have all the same abilities, which confirms that the Controller label is a mistake. On top of those they add Lashing Tail, an Aura 1 that makes its area difficult terrain for anyone other than the dragon while it’s on the ground.

  The Elder Green Dragon is basically an up-gunned adult, size Huge. They’re Level 19 Solo Controllers (see above) with 910 HP. Their poison resistance is 25, their land speed is 10, their flight speed 14 with overland flight 18. Their melee reach is 3, the area of their Frightful Presence is 10, and so is their ongoing damage. Everything else is the same.

  The Ancient Green Dragon is Gargantuan, a level 27 solo controller with 1250 HP. Its Lashing Tail is an Aura 2, its poison resistance is 30, and its speeds are the same as the elder’s. It has all the same abilities with appropriately increased damage and melee Reach 4, and adds a new one.

  Mind Poison is a Ranged 20 charm power that targets the Will of a target taking ongoing poison damage. On a hit, it inflicts a -2 penalty to attacks and skill/ability checks by that character. After the first failed save, the target os also dazed. And after the second failure, the target can no longer act to harm the dragon and the effect becomes permanent until the dragon is slain or a ritual like Remove Affliction is used to cure them. Yay, another gradual doom effect!

  Now, it’s not 100% clear to me if the daze and -2 penalties persist once the victim fails the second save. Personally, I’m inclined to say it doesn’t, and that the victim becomes a NPC servant of the dragon who’s able to act with their full capacity. This is an epic power from one of the scariest monsters in the book.

  Green Dragon (Monster Vault)

  Monster Vault green dragons are skirmishers at all age categories. They have the same senses as their MV counterparts, and their stat blocks drop Overland Flight and add Forest Walk to their land speed, allowing them to ignore forest-themed difficult terrain.

  Its bite still does physical and ongoing poison damage on a hit, and does a bit of poison damage on a miss. Its claws are only slightly weaker, and allow the dragon to shift 2 squares on a hit. It can still make two claw attacks on its action, but only against the same target. So it could use the first shift to get around the target, and the second to get away!

  The Breath Weapon is largely the same, down to the slow aftereffect. Flyby Attack is still here but no longer forbids opportunity attacks. On the other hand, the dragon can use its breath instead of a bite if it’s recharged.

  Luring Glare is still a minor action, and has been turned into a Close Blast 10 that affects one creature. The practical effect of this change is that it no longer provokes opportunity attacks.

  Tail Sweep and Frightful Presence are gone, but Bloodied Breath remains. For passive traits we have the usual Action Recovery, plus Poisonous Wounds and Instinctive Flyby.

  Poisonous Wounds is an Aura 1 that becomes active once the dragon is bloodied. Enemies take age-dependent poison damage when they enter or start their turns there, and that damage doubles if the enemy is also bloodied. Instinctive Flyby is an automatic flyby attack at 10+rolled initiative, granting a +4 bonus to defenses against opportunity attacks. As usual for instinctive actions, if the dragon can’t perform it due to a stunning or dominating effect then that effect ends.

  The Young Green Dragon is a Large Level 5 Solo Skirmisher with 252 HP, 10 poison resistance, land speed 8 (forest-walk) and fly speed 10. It has all the abilities outlined above with Melee reach 2.

  The Elder Green Dragon is a Huge Level 19 Solo Skirmisher with 720 HP, 15 poison resistance, land speed 10 (forest-walk) and fly speed 14. It has all the abilities above (with melee Reach 3) plus Cunning Glance, which allows it to use Luring Glare as a reaction to an enemy shifting to a square within 2 squares of itself.

  You can use some interpolation to get the other dragon age categories, and I’d be tempted to add Mind Poison to the late-Epic Ancient Green Dragon too.

  Encounters

  The MM gives us two sample encounters.

  • Level 7, a young green dragon and assorted kobold riffraff. Pretty standard.

  • Level 13, an adult green dragon and a couple of banshrae warriors. It makes perfect sense that a green dragon would buddy up with evil fey when you think about it.

  Final Impressions

  From what I’ve seen in published material, it usually feels like green dragons tend to be somewhat ignored by writers. Black dragons live in pretty similar environments and are more outwardly sinister, so they’re a bit more popular.

  Still, I think their abilities make them effective as solo encounters, particularly in the MV version, and Mind Poison is a surprisingly scary ability. Personality-wise they’re also cool, since they’re highly likely to talk to the party instead of attacking right away. Sure, they’re lying liars who lie, but it at least makes for some interesting banter.

  Adult or older green dragons could conceivably end up joining a fey court. So your party arrives to fight the dragon extorting the nearby kingdom and find themselves drawn into a Feywild court where the dragon is a respected noble with enough connections to make itself immune to a direct assault. Can they convince the other courtiers that the beast is a villain? Would they care if it was?

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