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When your name is included in the nameDungeons & Dragons, you know you are legendary. Dragons are iconic creatures that range in all sizes and colors, each coming with their own unique abilities and personalities. Given their reputation as some of the most powerful monsters in Dungeons & Dragons, they should serve as menacing opponents to a party.
Since Dragons are also one of the few non-humanoids that can communicate, a fair amount of roleplay is involved when using them in your campaign. Whether as a passing or the BBEG looking to destroy a kingdom, you’re able to stick with a few guidelines when roleplaying a Dragon as the Dungeon Master.
Dragon Types & Personalities
There aredozens of different Dragonsin the realm of Dungeons & Dragons. They can come inregular colors, chromatic, or evenwhimsical fae-like forms.On a core level, a Dragon’s personality is correlated with theirbase alignment. Similar to other creatures and NPCs in Dungeons & Dragons,roleplaying a creature based on their alignment is a great startto add variety and flavor to your story.
Roleplaying Based On Dragon Types
Dungeons Masters will often choose a specific Dragon type tofill the needs of their story.Dragons can even be the center of a campaign’s plotline or sidequest, as they are proven to be formidable foes against any group of adventurers.
Regular Dragons are thetrue villains of the Dragon world.With the larger variants residing in their lairs, they flex their stature in exchange for treasure, power, andpersonal motivations.Chromatic Dragons, sometimes calledMetallic Dragons, are the near opposite of the regular kind, as they are oftenhelpful aids to a party.
Dracolichs arebeasts on an entirely different level.When Dragons begin to decay from age, they occasionally embrace death,becoming unnatural, terrifying monsters.These types of Dragons oftencontinue to work with cults, mages, and other necromancersto further their undead agenda.
Dragon Turtles and most other fae-like Dragons are moreanimalistic in spirit. Like playful dogs or cats, they don’t speak, instead opting tohoard treasure and toying with adventurers as if they were pets.
Motivations For A Dragon
When incorporating Dragons into your campaign,coming up with their core motivations and beliefsis essential to making them memorable villains/allies. Dragons are meant to be highly intelligent creatures that have their own goals and ambitions.
While some may have their own lairs,others may serve another Dragon or entityto gain more reputation for themselves or accomplish a goal. The Dragon Queen Tiamat was infamously resurrected by a cult of Dragons, all of which were of the regular variety.
Especially when centering Dragons around a campaign’s plotline or story, they can also serve as the opposing force to your party’s needs. Such examples include:
Dragons don’t have to directly affect a campaign, but they can provide background story progression that a party would notice as time passes. Perhaps a city has an influx of people because their home was destroyed, meaning the person they have been searching for has become much harder to find.
Interacting With The Party
When it comes to acting like a Dragon,bold and stoic is your goal. Dragons are fierce, intimidating creatures regardless of their alignment, so that should be a general rule for how you should roleplay as one.
When roleplaying between the different types (keeping their goals in mind as well),you can focus on dictation and speech patterns.Most Dragons tend to be well-spoken from centuries of experience, while still acting harsh and direct when talking to others, especially adventurers.
Does the Dragon you’re roleplaying have a severe scar across their jaw that slurs some of their words? Maybe it has been blinded with rage and death and merely demands what it wants instead of leaving it to negotiation.
Even for Dragons that aren’t predominately the BBEG of a campaign,they are still worth giving their own personality and flair to help steer a party in the right direction.For mute Dragons, such as Fae or Dragon Turtles, although they are silent, they can still be roleplayed as you would a beast or even a puppy.
A Dragon Turtle continuously bumping at the side of the ship for a treasure offering, or a Pseudodragon knocking off a row of glasses off a table in a tavern. Either these are perfect examples ofroleplaying through actioninstead of just talking about what they want.
Very few of the monsters used in a Dungeons & Dragons campaignmatch the prowess and scale of Dragons. With the correct amount of personality and roleplay, you’re able to make some of your party’s most memorable moments and encounters.
