Dragon, Chromatic, Gray
Gray Dragons
* Image: Gray Dragon
Gray Dragons, also known as fang dragons, are unique in many ways, but the one thing that sets them apart from every other dragon is that they don't have a breath weapon. Instead, their fangs secrete dangerous venom that drains the very life force out of any creature unfortunate enough to get caught between its jaws.
Gray dragons are terrifyingly wolf-like in appearance, with long snouts and long narrow ears often scarred and clipped from past battles. Orange or red eyes glare from beneath a stony brow adorned with spikes and plates; their wings are small, and their tails are tipped with a pair of bone blades.
As if to make up for their lack of a breath weapon, gray dragons' claws and fangs are far sharper than their true chromatic cousins'. This makes them deadly in melee combat, and they choose lair locations that capitalize on this strength.
Terrain and Habitat
Gray dragons prefer temperate mountains; they don't like snow and heat, especially if the air is humid. They may also settle in rocky lowlands or other arid, rocky places. The sheen of their scales, which is usually some shade of gray or occasionally mottled brown, lends itself to camouflage in these areas.
Lairs
These dragons prefer to hunt far from their main lair, so they pick somewhere secluded and hard to reach. Often they will have a large boulder or some other obstacle at the lair's entrance that they can push into place when they leave, to keep unwanted visitors out while they are away. They are otherwise not picky about decoration or other contents of the lair, as long as there is a place for a hoard.
If the dragon leaves on an extended hunting trip, it usually establishes a secondary lair in the new area. In this way, a gray dragon can have several lairs scattered for miles around its main lair.
Favored Treasure
For not being true chromatics, gray dragons are among the greediest of their kind. They don't discriminate when it comes to treasure. If it's valuable, they want it.
That said, they tend to prefer natural treasures, rough and unworked, especially gemstones. For this reason, many mines have come under the rule or attack of a gray dragon.
Combat
The deadly claws, teeth, and venom of these dragons make them brawlers. They are masters of physical combat and know how to make every part of their body lethal. They stay on the wing, rending their foes with strafing attacks. If their prey flies or if they are forced to the ground, they tend to flee to closed-off areas where manueverability is limited so the dragon can back its prey into a corner and tear it to shreds. Against other dragons, they try to get as close as possible as quickly as possible, as their lack of a breath weapon puts them at a serious disadvantage.
Against groups, a dragon may try to grapple a single creature and carry it away to deal with it separately, or find a chokepoint where it can deal with threats one or two at a time. Alternatively, it will attempt to grapple a creature in its jaws and attempt to kill it with its venom.
Diet
Gray dragons prefer any sort of fresh meat, but especially that of intelligent creatures. It may be the hunt involved with these creatures that makes them preferable, as the hunt is more exhilerating or more difficult, but every gray dragon declines this and claims that it is indeed the taste that makes the difference.
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.
* The dragon chooses a 10-foot-square area on the ground that it can see within 120 feet of it. The ground in that area turns into 3-foot-deep mud. Each creature on the ground in that area when the mud appears must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or sink into the mud and become restrained. A creature can take an action to attempt a DC 15 Strength check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach and ending the restrained condition on a success. Moving 1 foot in the mud costs 2 feet of movement. On initiative count 20 on the next round, the mud hardens, and the Strength DC to work free increases to 20.
* The dragon chooses a point on the ground that it can see within 120 feet of it. Stone spikes sprout from the ground in a 20-foot radius centered on that point. The effect is otherwise identical to the spike growth spell and lasts until the dragon uses this lair action again or until the dragon dies.
* The dragon targets a single creature with its gaze. That creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC = Frightful Presence) or be frightened of the dragon until initiative count 20 on the next round.
Regional Effects
The region containing a legendary gray dragon's lair is warped by the dragon's magic, which creates one or more of the following effects.
* Creatures within 1 mile of the lair often feel as if they are somehow walking slower, as if through mud.
* The weather for 6 miles around the lair remains temperate, with little or no wind and mild temperatures.
* Menacing faces can occasionally be seen in the clouds within 1 mile of the lair.
If the dragon dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
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