Blue Dragon

Information largely taken from AJ Pickett's Blue Dragon Video.

Blue dragons, also known as storm dragons, are a breed of chromatic true dragon. Their breath weapon is a line of lightning or a large electrical discharge.

Description

Blue dragons are easily recognizable due to their distinctive physical features, which include a large primary horn and a smaller secondary horn on their heads, complemented by large, frilled ears. Their necks are short and broad, while their tails are thick and flat. The scales of a blue dragon are notably more reflective than those of other chromatic dragons. While not mirror-like, these scales have the unique ability to reflect and blend with blue or dark environments. This camouflage is particularly effective in the sky, where the dragon's scales absorb and mirror the surrounding hues, making the creatures difficult to track once they take flight. Although less noticeable on land, this adaptive coloration provides a significant advantage in aerial stealth, allowing them to hide in plain sight from ground observers or lower-altitude creatures.
The anatomical design of blue dragons also plays a crucial role in their adaptation to stormy environments. The horns and brow ridges are structured to channel rainwater away from their eyes, enhancing their visibility during inclement weather. This, combined with their keen vision, allows blue dragons to disregard any visual impairments caused by rain or similar nonfrozen precipitation. Moreover, the flexibility of their wings is greater than that of other dragon types, enabling them to use the wind for navigation and speed enhancement, akin to sailors skillfully tacking a ship.
In close proximity, especially within their lairs or after resting, the presence of blue dragons is marked by a strong ozone smell, and the air around them is electrically charged, enough to make nearby human hair stand on end. This electrical aura, however, dissipates quickly outdoors with even the slightest breeze, although humans remain quite sensitive to the distinctive scent of electrical discharge. Despite their ability to blend into their surroundings from above, blue dragons typically do not employ stealth on the ground; instead, they prefer the element of surprise from the air.
The wyrmling’s brow horn is a good size from the moment it hatches, but otherwise its face is clear of growths. Its chin sports a cluster of elongated scales that resemble a beard, and its ears are large frills. Thick spikes form a sort of mane along its relatively short neck. Its scales are sky blue with a scattering of darker indigo patches.
The eggs of blue dragons can be identified by a network of thin blue lines visible when illuminated by a strong white light.

Personality

Blue dragons are by nature solitary creatures, however, blues do form into social organizations on a regular basis. The oldest and most powerful blue dragon in a particular geographical region is known as the suzerain, and all blues within that region pay it official homage. The size of the region ruled by a suzerain varies, depending on the dragon population of the region and on the power of the suzerain. Obviously, a millennia-old suzerain can enforce fealty over a larger area and greater number of dragons than could a younger individual. While still evil and rapacious, blue dragons are highly lawful, particularly in dealings with the suzerain.
All blue dragons within the territory claimed by a suzerain have three choices. They can submit themselves to the suzerain's will and command, which is the most usual case. Or they can simply leave the suzerain's territory, either moving into the sphere of influence of another suzerain hopefully one more acceptable to them or finding an area that has been claimed by no suzerain. The third option is to challenge the suzerain to a death-duel, hoping to become suzerain themselves. Death-duels are highly structured things. Official challenge must be given and accepted—however the acceptance is compulsory, as a suzerain refusing to accept a challenge is considered by all other blue dragons to have conceded his or her authority. The date and place of the duel are then set and communicated to all other blues in the territory and sometimes beyond it. In the case of suzerains with high profiles, the duel site is often chosen to be a central location, even outside the suzerain's official territory. Dragons from all over Elaris may attend a duel like this. A duel is a red-letter day for the dragons; and few nearby blues fail to attend for the spectacle. As such, a duel day is the worst time to stumble into the blue dragon territory. Such close proximity with others of their kind isn't an easy thing for solitary dragons to bear, and tempers often reach a hair-trigger state.
The position of suzerain is largely ceremonial. While the suzerain officially has the authority of life and death over the dragons within its territory, this authority is almost never used. About the only official duty that a suzerain has to perform is to authorize or deny petitions from dragons who wish to mate. Of course, should the entire territory be threatened, the suzerain could become the commander-in-chief of a horde of blue dragons who would follow their orders without question. Red dragons may be most famous for their historic flights of hundreds of dragons who scorched a whole civilization to the ground, but blues can mount an actual military force, with a chain of command.
Storm dragons enjoy lording over lesser creatures more to demonstrate their power than from any actual need for tangible outcomes. Notably, blue dragons exhibit a distinct disinterest in the trivial concerns of humanoids, often ignoring their complaints unless these hint at the dragon's own weaknesses or flaws, which triggers a lethal response. Highly territorial, blue dragons show little tolerance for intruders, rarely allowing explanations for trespasses and eschewing the use of elaborate traps in their lairs. Instead, they prefer to rely on dominated allies or direct confrontations to deal with unwanted guests. They spend considerable time resting in their lairs after consuming large meals but are otherwise frequently airborne, patrolling their domains with a zeal comparable to that of silver dragons. In their quest to defend their territories, blue dragons actively seek confrontations with formidable foes, including other dragons and dragon turtles, especially those perceived to infringe upon their boundaries. This aggressive stance towards territorial integrity and preference for specific types of terrain also sheds light on their frequent conflicts with other blue dragons, as well as bronze and brown dragons.
Territorial, domainant, and arrogant, blue dragons are lordly creature, but when other creatures give due respect to the storm dragons’ pride and territorial claims, they are actually one of the most reasonable of the chromatic dragon types. Some blue dragons live as peaceful neighbors of humanoid communities or even, on occasion, of other dragon varieties. They are not cruel, they don't seek to claim any more territory than they can realistically defend or need and blues are wise enough to see the benefits of employing humanoids to perform tasks for them, because blues enjoy both the opportunity to command others—thus showing their superiority—and the accomplishment of goals without having to exert themselves. In many ways, blue dragons are a counterpart to the silver dragons' admiration of humans' drive and ambition. Blues care nothing for human ambition, other than as a tool to get the little creatures to do whatever it wants. They keep a retinue of allies and toadies on hand, sending out enforcers, employing ambitious and powerful arcanists who seek their own paths to power.
When it comes to their attitude toward half dragons, they only really show interest in those who are directly related to them, they have very little respect for life forms that are not true dragons, thus they would never consider a half dragon to even have the potential to be an equal to a real dragon. They often consider dragonborn little more than pawns, and the dragonborn of other dragons to be mutations, but they respect the power of dragonborn to build a cohesive military force and master both arcane and divine magic. Arrogant and self absorbed as Blue dragons may be, they are seldom very stupid and have a keen sense of tactics. They might not respect individual dragonborn, but they respect the power of a legion of them.
Unlike other Chromatic dragons, Blues are quite lawful, they have a society and a hierarchy, even a leadership position among them in the greater reqions they inhabit.

Combat

Blue dragons excel in burrowing into sand, often concealing themselves just beneath the desert surface to ambush prey, with their prominent horns easily mistaken for pointed desert rocks. These dragons are formidable foes, especially challenging for bands of adventurers, due to their preference for aerial combat and long-range attacks over close ground encounters. Blue dragons engage in combat as a protracted affair; they maintain enough distance to execute several attacks before strategically retreating, only to reappear minutes or hours later. They adeptly use the sky for cover, often disappearing into clouds to monitor their adversaries closely, waiting for the opportune moment to swoop down and unleash devastating attacks on their targets. This tactic of hit-and-run combined with their powerful presence in the air makes them particularly difficult opponents in battle.
On rare occasions when a blue dragon hunts from the ground or rests away from its lair, it conceals itself beneath the terrain, burrowing with powerful claws and stout, muscular limbs. Because most stormy regions have soft ground, such as the sand coastlines and deserts or the rich soil of a rain forest, blue dragons find it easy to hide in this fashion.

Society

Diet

Blue dragons are committed carnivores with a diet consisting predominantly of large game, which varies depending on their habitat. In some areas, their prey includes camels, horses, lions, and elephants, while in others, they may target goats, rothe, sea lions, and a variety of marine mammals, including sharks. They also occasionally consume snakes, lizards, and even cacti, the latter possibly serving to clean their fangs. Herders in regions frequented by blue dragons often find themselves subjected to what could be seen as a "livestock tax," as these dragons are known to prey on domesticated animals. In less populous areas, trade caravans may also fall victim to these predators, especially in the absence of easier prey, though blue dragons do not typically hunt humanoids unless they are the most accessible source of food. Blue dragons utilize their lightning breath to partially cook their kills before consumption, ensuring nothing goes to waste. They eat less frequently than other dragons due to their habit of consuming large meals in one sitting. When attacking a caravan, blue dragons prioritize eating the animals first, and might interrogate any surviving humanoids for information on nearby treasures before consuming them as well. However, if satiated, they are likely to spare the humanoids, often leaving them stranded in hostile environments like deserts or remote coastlines.

Lairs

Blue dragons are native to arid wastelands and deserts, choosing underground caves as their lairs, which they access by burrowing through the ground. These formidable creatures dominate their territories from the skies, utilizing the sparse features of the bleak landscape below to easily spot potential opponents. While commonly associated with desert environments, the actual attraction for blue dragons to specific locales is not merely the landscape itself but rather the frequency of violent storms prevalent in those areas. Coastal areas and seaside cliffs often meet their needs, but blue dragons are also drawn to tropical isles and mountainous highlands close to the sea, areas that similarly experience frequent stormy weather.
In the absence of ideal storm-prone regions, blue dragons are adaptable and will settle in various terrains. They are known to establish their lairs in diverse environments such as mountaintops, jungles, the Underdark, or continuing in deserts—anywhere but the coldest arctic climes. A blue dragon views any territory lacking frequent storms as a temporary setup, even if it resides there for centuries with a well-established lair. Such locations are considered mere camps, and the dragons are ready to relocate instantly upon finding a more suitable storm-rich area, often after defeating the current claimant of that territory.
Mariners often recount tales of encountering blue dragons during the fiercest ocean storms near treacherous rocky coasts, which are notorious as ship graveyards. As storms intensify and the sky crackles with lightning, the silhouette of a blue dragon may be seen soaring above a ship's mast. These creatures appear to revel in the tumult, roaring at the sky as if challenging the storm itself, a testament to their fierce nature and love for tempestuous weather.
For their lairs, blue dragons favor enormous stone ruins or caves in the sides of hills, cliffs, or mountains. Blues enjoy taking over structures built by other races as a sign of their dominance. They make their lairs as lofty as possible to survey their domains from the heights, as with most dragons, their eyesight is incredible, able to make out tiny details from miles away also, the elevation makes them feel truly part of storms that roll through. Even if a blue dragon cannot find or construct a lair at high altitude, it will likely choose a lair in which it can easily access the main entrance only by flight. Would-be intruders on land must undertake difficult, if not nearly impossible, climbs, I favor attacking them with griffons and harpies while clinging to unstable rock faces personally, and don't overlook how much fun a giant crab or two in a rock chasm is, with a churning ocean below. keep in mind its really hard to swim wearing metal armor.
Storm dragons stock their lair with treasures that are as visually appealing as they are valuable. Blues love gems, particularly sapphires and other blue stones. They equally admire lovely works of art and jewelry. Although such an event is rare, given blues’ innate draconic greed, blue dragons have been known to leave behind treasures they find unattractive, feeling that the presence of such treasures would sully the magnificence of their hoards and thus the magnificence of the dragons themselves. Inside the lair, the dragons favored resting spot is the center of a showcase of its fabulous wealth and accomplishments. Much like Red dragons, blues will have their minions, typically kobolds, craft great frescos and stunningly attractive mosaic tile murals depicting the dragons exploits, most of which is probably true.
Blue dragons are quite aware of how flesh golems and helmed horrors and such operate and will certainly include a few of them in the lair. Flesh golems make ideal guardians of the dragons hoard, as they can be quickly regenerated with the dragons own lightning bolts.

Reproduction

For blue dragons, mating is an important matter, constrained by social norms. As well as officially asking the suzerain for permission, the prospective mates must also swear an oath to remain together until the offspring of the union reach the age of 26, which is much younger than metallic dragon juveniles, but, they tend to stay reasonably close to the lair for a while longer, looking after themselves, much like bronze dragons.
Storm dragon eggs incubate for approximately twenty months, the last fifteen in the nest. An average clutch numbers two to four, and most eggs hatch into healthy wyrmlings. Blue dragons grow from wyrmlings into youth after about seven years. They become adults around age 160 and elders after about a thousand years. They become ancient at about 1,800. The oldest known blue dragon died at approximately 2,300 years of age. A blue dragon that undergoes environmental diffusion after death creates a permanent storm in the vicinity. This effect happens even underground, though cramped conditions might slacken the strength of the winds. Although the severity of wind and rain rises and falls, ranging from gentle gusts and mild showers to hurricane-force torrents, the storm never dissipates entirely, regardless of the prevailing weather conditions outside it.
As they age, blue dragon wyrmlings stick to the safety of small caves in hillsides, cliff faces, or mountain walls; sometimes they hunt from atop ancient stone ruins. They enjoy the safety of high places, and they instinctively love violent weather just as older blue dragons do. Blue dragon wyrmlings that live in seaside cliffs are exposed to tempests, and some are killed in the wrack of especially powerful storms. Those that survive such punishment are considered true scions of blue dragonkind. Unless forced into melee on the ground, a blue dragon wyrmling is content to remain airborne, especially if it feels danger is about. It begins combat by unleashing its breath weapon, then spends its action point to follow up with lightning burst. When it becomes bloodied, the wyrmling flees from the threat and seeks easier prey elsewhere.

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Table of Contents

AD&D 2e Statistics

Size

Gargantuan

Alignment

Lawful Evil

3.5th Edition Statistics

Size

Wyrmling

Small

Very Young

Medium

Young

Medium

Juvenile

Large

Young Adult

Large

Adult

Huge

Mature Adult

Huge

Old

Huge

Very Old

Huge

Ancient

Gargantuan

Wyrm

Gargantuan

Great Wyrm

Gargantuan

Type

Dragon

Subtype(s)

Earth

Alignment

Always Lawful Evil

Challenge Rating

Wyrmling

3

Very Young

4

Young

6

Juvenile

8

Young Adult

11

Adult

14

Mature Adult

16

Old

18

Very Old

19

Ancient

21

Wyrm

23

Great Wyrm

25

4th Edition Statistics

Size

Young

Large

Adult

Large

Elder

Huge

Ancient

Gargantuan

Origin

Type

Magical Beast

Keyword(s)

Alignment

Evil

Level

Young

6

Adult

13

Elder

20

Ancient

28

5th Edition Statistics

Size

Wyrmling

Small

Very Young

Medium

Young

Medium

Juvenile

Large

Young Adult

Large

Adult

Huge

Mature Adult

Huge

Old

Huge

Very Old

Huge

Ancient

Gargantuan

Wyrm

Gargantuan

Great Wyrm

Gargantuan

Type

Dragon

Subtype(s)

Earth

Alignment

Always Lawful Evil

Challenge Rating

Wyrmling

3

Very Young

4

Young

6

Juvenile

8

Young Adult

11

Adult

14

Mature Adult

16

Old

18

Very Old

19

Ancient

21

Wyrm

23

Great Wyrm

25

Pathfinder 2e Statistics

Level

Young

9

Adult

13

Ancient

18

Size

Young

Large

Adult

Huge

Ancient

Huge

Alignment

Lawful Evil

Traits

, , (ancient only)

General Information

Movement

Flying, Burrowing

Vision

Darkvision, Low-Light Vision, Blindsight, Tremorsense

Activity Cycle

Any

Diet

Carnivore (Special)

Intelligence

Very

Language(s)

High Draconic, Blue Draconic, Vibrant Draconic

Favored Climate

Temperate

Favored Terrain

Deserts

Appearance

Skin Color(s)

Blue (scales)

Eye Color(s)

White, yellow

Typical Build

Dragon

Distinctions

Single horn, lightning breath