Handbook

Red Dragon

Bestiary

srd

SRD

Dragon (Fire)

Environment: Warm mountains

Organization: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: solitary or clutch (2–5); adult, mature adult, old, very old, ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: solitary, pair, or family (1–2 and 2–5 offspring)

Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 4; very young 5; young 7; juvenile 10; young adult 13; adult 15; mature adult 18; old 20; very old 21; ancient 23; wyrm 24; great wyrm 26

Treasure: Triple standard

Alignment: Always chaotic evil

Advancement: Wyrmling 8–9 HD; very young 11–12 HD; young 14–15 HD; juvenile 17–18 HD; young adult 20–21 HD; adult 23–24 HD; mature adult 26–27 HD; old 29–30 HD; very old 32–33 HD; ancient 35–36 HD; wyrm 38–39 HD; great wyrm 41+ HD

Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +4; very young +5; young +6; others —

Red Dragons by Age

AgeSizeHit Dice (hp)StrDexConIntWisChaBase Attack/<br>GrappleAttackFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveBreath Weapon (DC)Frightful Presence DC
WyrmlingM7d12+14 (59)171015101110+7/+10+10+7+5+52d10 (15)—
Very youngL10d12+30 (95)211017121312+10/+19+14+10+7+84d10 (18)—
YoungL13d12+39 (123)251017121312+13/+24+19+11+8+96d10 (19)—
JuvenileL16d12+64 (168)291019141514+16/+29+24+14+10+128d10 (22)—
Young adultH19d12+95 (218)311021141514+19/+37+27+16+11+1310d10 (24)21
AdultH22d12+110 (253)331021161916+22/+41+31+18+13+1712d10 (26)24
Mature adultH25d12+150 (312)331023181918+25/+44+34+20+14+1814d10 (28)26
OldG28d12+196 (378)351025202120+28/+52+36+23+16+2116d10 (31)29
Very oldG31d12+248 (449)371027222322+31/+56+40+25+17+2318d10 (33)31
AncientG34d12+306 (527)391029242524+34/+60+44+28+19+2620d10 (36)34
WyrmG37d12+370 (610)411031242524+37/+64+48+30+20+2722d10 (38)35
Great wyrmC40d12+400 (660)451031262726+40/+73+49+32+22+3024d10 (40)38

Red Dragon Abilities by Age

AgeSpeedInitiativeACSpecial AbilitiesCaster LevelSR
Wyrmling40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)+016 (+6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 16Immunity to fire, vulnerability to cold——
Very young40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)+018 (–1 size, +9 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 18——
Young40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)+021 (–1 size, +12 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 211st—
Juvenile40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)+024 (–1 size, +15 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 24Locate object3rd—
Young adult40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)+026 (–2 size, +18 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 26DR 5/magic5th19
Adult40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)+029 (–2 size, +21 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 297th21
Mature adult40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)+032 (–2 size, +24 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 32DR 10/magic9th23
Old40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy)+033 (–4 size, +27 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 33Suggestion11th24
Very old40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy)+036 (–4 size, +30 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 36DR 15/magic13th26
Ancient40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy)+039 (–4 size, +33 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 39Find the path15th28
Wyrm40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy)+042 (–4 size, +36 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 42DR 20/magic17th30
Great wyrm40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy)+041 (–8 size, +39 natural), touch 2, flat-footed 41Discern location19th32
\*Can also cast cleric spells and those from the Chaos, Evil, and Fire domains as arcane spells.

The small scales of a wyrmling red dragon are a bright glossy scarlet, making the dragon easily spotted by predators and hunters, so it stays underground and does not venture outside until it is more able to take care of itself. Toward the end of young age, the scales turn a deeper red, and the glossy texture is replaced by a smooth, dull finish. As the dragon grows older, the scales become large, thick, and as strong as metal. The neck frill and wings are an ash blue or purple-gray toward the edges, becoming darker with age. The pupils of a red dragon fade as it ages; the oldest red dragons have eyes that resemble molten lava orbs.

Combat

Because red dragons are so confident, they seldom pause to appraise an adversary. On spotting a target, they make a snap decision whether to attack, using one of many strategies worked out ahead of time. A red dragon lands to attack small, weak creatures with its claws and bite rather than obliterating them with its breath weapon, so as not to destroy any treasure they might be carrying.

Breath Weapon (Su): A red dragon has one type of breath weapon, a cone of fire.

*Locate Object* (Sp): A juvenile or older red dragon can use this ability as the spell of the same name, once per day per age category.

Other Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day—suggestion (old or older); 1/day—find the path (ancient or older), discern location (great wyrm).

Skills: Appraise, Bluff, and Jump are considered class skills for red dragons.

Open Game Content from the System Reference Document 3.5, used under the Open Game License 1.0a.