Chromatic Dragons
The black, blue, green, red, and white dragons represent the chaotic side of dragonkind. Prone to aggression and vanity, they are violently solitary creatures, unlike their most social metallic cousins.
Draconic Compulsion. The mark of dragonkind, chromatic or metallic, is their greed. All dragons develop upon reaching maturity an irresistible compulsion to collect. Chromatic culture instills in young dragons a pride and superiority, and they believe they are owed their riches by the denizens of the Material Plane by virtue of their very existence. Their hoards tend to be full of treasures of a particular kind, currencies of a particular color, and so on. Like all dragons, they will defend their hoard with their life...or yours.
Creatures of Ego. Chromatic dragons drill into their young (before booting them from the nest) a sense of superiority. They believe their very presence is a gift to the world, for which they are owed worship and praise. This has grown into older and more powerful dragons having a sense of ownership over the world, believing they should rule all living things. Trying to humble a chromatic dragon is as futile as convincing the wind to stop blowing.
Solitary Lairs. A dragon's lair serves as the seat of its power and as a vault for its hoard. Chromatic dragons are solitary creatures, and will choose a lair in an extreme, remote environment to dissuade any other creatures--especially other dragons--from seeking it out. In addition to natural defenses, a more powerful dragon will defend its lair with magical guardians, traps, and servants to protect their hoard.
Queen of Color. The chromatic dragons do not serve any but themselves, but they do acknowledge that there is one of their kind who is most ancient, most powerful, and worthy of respect. They believe that she was the first of all chromatic dragons, and is the untamed chaos from which they were all birthed. As she is seemingly immune to the The Divine Cycle, it is believed that Tiamat is not a true god. However, she is capable of granting wishes and performing miracles for those who worship her.
Tiamat takes the form of a dragon of unimaginable size whose five heads represent the forms of the chromatic dragons she birthed. She is a terror on the battlefield, wielding all five breath weapons and her claws as large as mountains.
The statblock of all chromatic dragons are identical to their vanilla statblocks, with two exceptions:
- Chromatic dragons no longer are required to be evil in alignment. They are, however, required to be chaotic in alignment.
Basic Information
Genetics and Reproduction
Chromatic dragons reproduce via parthenogenesis: whenever a dragon feels ready, they can lay a clutch of anywhere from one to ten eggs, which will always be the same color as the parent.
Dragons can also reproduce with almost any species. Having a child with another species while transformed results in a half-dragon. Half-dragons are extremely rare, however, as the magic required to keep them alive through the pregnancy is exorbitant.
Growth Rate & Stages
Chromatic dragons can live for milennia. The eldest dragon known to history is seven thousand years old.
Dragons have four life stages: wyrmling, young, adult, and ancient. They are considered wyrmlings from the moment of hatching until they reach certain developmental milestones, at around fifty years when they become "young dragons." They are not considered adult until about a hundred and fifty years after hatching, and from this point they will continue to grow in size and power (as chromatic dragons never stop growing.) At eight hundred years, they are considered ancient, though, again, they will continue to grow past this point if they do not die.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Chromatic dragons devour the world around them. Water, earth, fire, and air may all be their sustenance, though they like most of all to devour things crafted of nature: weapons, cloth, statues, etc.
Civilization and Culture
Gender Ideals
Chromatic dragons have almost no concept of gender or sex, as they reproduce without the need of a mate. They may use whatever pronouns they wish.
Relationship Ideals
Chromatic dragons are so solitary that mated pairs are extremely uncommon, but are considered an extremely romantic concept. While the idea of your partner being a part of your "hoard" might seem toxic by human standards, to a dragon that is the height of romance. Unfortunately, most chromatic dragons can't stand each other long enough to reach that level.
Genetic Descendants
Lifespan
650 years