Chromatic Dragon

A chromatic dragon is a Dragon with flat-colored scales (red, blue, green, black, or white) and a fundamentally evil nature.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Chromatic dragons are lizardlike winged quadrupeds that can grow to incredible size, weighing tens of thousands of pounds at their largest.
There are five subspecies of chromatic dragon, each associated with a separate element:

• Red (fire)
• Blue (lightning)
• Green (poisonous gas)
• Black (acid)
• White (frost)

A dragon has immunity to its associated element, as it is an intimately integrated part of its anatomy. It can expel this element from its throat as a powerful projectile weapon, either in a long stream or a cone.
Dragons have four stomachs for digestion, much like ruminants, plus a fifth "pseudostomach" that connects directly to the esophagus. This contains the raw fuel that powers its breath weapon.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Draconic perception and sight is legendary. Some even believe that the most ancient and powerful of dragons can see into the past and future.

Civilization and Culture

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Chromatic dragons primarily speak Draconic. However, their high intelligence allows them to pick up human languages quite easily. Virtually all learn Common before their hundredth birthday, and most speak either Elvish or Dwarvish as well.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Chromatic dragons, on the whole, believe that the world's wealth is rightfully theirs merely by virtue of their existence. They steal from others without disregard for fairness or propriety, and they hoard their treasures en masse, harshly punishing any who dare come near even a single copper coin which belongs to them.
The five types of chromatic dragon tend to live in harmony despite the occasional petty squabble between them. The reason for this is twofold: firstly, that the various kinds of dragons prefer different environments for their lairs, and secondly, because they believe (on the whole) in their kind's innate right to rule together, as the five heads of Tiamat do. The chromatic dragons would be more than happy to split the world between them, each to their own ecosystems.

Common Taboos

Selfless acts, particularly the giving away of any part of one's hoard, are seen as absolute heresy on the part of a chromatic dragon. A chromatic dragon known to spare too many people or let its treasure go will be shunned by its fellow chromatic dragons.

History

The mother of all chromatic dragons is the Titan TIamat, a goddess whose avatar is that of an enormous five-headed dragon, with each head corresponding to one type of chromatic dragon (red, blue, black, green, and white, in that order).

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Chromatic dragons look down upon all other forms of life, considering them as inferior as a Humanoid might consider a beast or even an insect. The only other mortal life form they consider even remotely their equal is the Metallic Dragon, who they despise and will do anything to tear down.

Geographic Distribution

• Draxhaven

Related Ethnicities

• Dragon