AC 19 (natural armor)
HP 304 (29d12 + 116; bloodied 152)
Speed 40 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 80 ft.
Proficiency +6; Maneuver DC 20
Saving Throws Con +10, Int +12, Wis +11, Cha +10
Skills Arcana +12, Deception +10, History +12, Insight +11 (+1d6), Perception +11 (+1d6), Persuasion +10
Damage Immunities psychic
Condition Immunities fatigue
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 24
Languages Common, Deep Speech, Draconic, Undercommon, telepathy 120 ft.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). When the dragon fails a saving throw , it can choose to succeed instead. When it does, its eyes dull as it briefly loses its connection to the future. Until the end of its next turn, it can’t use Foretell, Prognosticate, or Prophesy Doom, and it loses its Predictive Harmonics trait.
Predictive Harmonics. The dragon is psionically aware of its own immediate future. The dragon cannot be surprised , and any time the dragon would make a roll with disadvantage , it makes that roll normally instead.
Psionic Powers. The dragon’s psionic abilities are considered both magical and psionic.
Far Thoughts. The dragon is aware of any creature that uses a psionic ability or communicates telepathically within 100 miles of it. As an action, the dragon can psionically observe a creature, object, or location it is familiar with within 100 miles. While observing a subject in this way, the dragon can see, hear, and communicate telepathically, but it is blind and deaf in regard to its physical senses and does not require food or water. The dragon can psionically observe a subject indefinitely and can end this effect and return to its own senses as an action.
Innate Spellcasting. The dragon’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (save DC 18). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components.
3/day each: comprehend languages , detect thoughts , telekinesis , wall of force
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The dragon attacks once with its bite and twice with its claws. In place of its bite, it can use Psionic Wave.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d10 + 6) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) psychic damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (3d8 + 6) slashing damage.
Psionic Wave. The dragon psionically emits a wave of crushing mental pressure. Each creature within 20 feet makes a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw , taking 16 (3d10) psychic damage on a failed save or half damage on a success. Creatures suffering ongoing psychic damage make this saving throw with disadvantage .
Discognitive Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon unleashes psychic energy in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area makes a DC 18 Intelligence saving throw , taking 60 (11d10) psychic damage and 11 (2d10) ongoing psychic damage on a failed save or half as much psychic damage and no ongoing psychic damage on a success. The ongoing damage ends if a creature falls unconscious . A creature can also use an action to ground itself in reality, ending the ongoing damage.
Prognosticate (3/Day). The dragon psionically makes a prediction of an event up to 100 years in the future. This prediction has a 67 percent chance of being perfectly accurate and a 33 percent chance of being partially or wholly wrong. Alternatively, the dragon can choose to gain truesight to a range of 90 feet for 1 minute.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
The dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Foretell. The dragon psionically catches a glimpse of a fast-approaching moment and plans accordingly. The dragon rolls a d20 and records the number rolled. Until the end of the dragon’s next turn, the dragon can replace the result of any d20 rolled by it or a creature within 120 feet with the foretold number. Each foretold roll can be used only once.
Psionic Wave (Costs 2 Actions). The dragon uses Psionic Wave.
Shatter Mind (Costs 2 Actions). The dragon targets a creature within 60 feet, forcing it to make a DC 23 Intelligence saving throw . On a failure, the creature takes 22 (4d10) ongoing psychic damage. An affected creature repeats the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the ongoing psychic damage on a success. A creature can also use an action to ground itself in reality, ending the ongoing damage.
Combat
While individual dragons have their own personalities and tactics, most rely heavily on their breath weapons. They use them whenever they can, preferably from maximum distance and while flying above their enemies.
When fighting in the open, dragons often circle above their enemies as they wait for their breath weapons to recharge. They only close to melee if their enemies deal significant damage with ranged attacks, or if they can savage an enemy cut off from its allies. Once bloodied , dragons become more aggressive, attacking with bite and claws when their breath weapons aren’t available.
If a dragon is protecting its lair, it utilizes lair features, traps, allies, and architecture such as escape tunnels to keep up a hit-and-run fight, reappearing only when it has a fully-recharged breath weapon. If the dragon is forced into melee combat, it uses its bite and claws against a single foe. If it has legendary actions like Roar and Wing Attack, it uses them to disperse its other enemies.
If reduced to less than one-fourth its hit points while fighting in the open, a dragon flies away. However, it fights to the death to defend its lair, unless it can regain the upper hand through tricks or bargains.
Sapphire Dragon Lair Features
Choose or roll one or more of the following lair features:
1 The dragon has a trusted academic companion. Once per day when it would use Shatter Mind, it may instead summon a mage ally, which acts on the dragon’s initiative.
2 The dragon has been expecting visitors for a very long time. There are centuries-old murals, inscriptions, or other depictions of any creature that enters the lair, strategically placed to be spotted by the creatures as they enter. Creatures that see their own depictions in this way are rattled so long as they remain within the lair.
3 The lair is laid out in an esoteric way that makes sense only to the dragon. Perception and Survival checks to observe or navigate the lair are made with disadvantage .
4 The dragon is aware of the correct time and place to repel intruders. Creatures hostile to the dragon begin combat surprised while within the lair.
Names
Aluvinia, Azuldan, Kashmirivala, the Oracle, Verneuil, Whisper
Legends and Lore
With an Arcana or History check, characters can learn the following:
DC 15 Sapphire dragons live deep below the earth, sifting through the sands of time and working to guide the world away from the worst possible futures. It is impossible to surprise a sapphire dragon: they always know you’re coming and have already prepared for your arrival.
DC 20 A sapphire dragon’s breath weapon is truly terrifying. Those caught in it become dislodged from reality itself.
From secret places deep in the earth, the minds of the sapphire dragons wander through space and time seeking answers. Their psionic powers allow them to see the future, albeit hazily, and their prescient warnings have prevented countless disasters. Of all gem dragons, sapphire dragons spend the least time attending to their physical bodies, their far-reaching minds achieving more than fangs or talons ever could. They hide their physical forms well, but if uncovered they are far from defenseless. A sapphire dragon does not breathe mere elements; instead, it projects psychic waveforms that reduce mortal minds to ash.
Esoteric Orchestrators. As sapphire dragons grow older, their capacity for precognition increases. The eldest can see centuries into the future. And while their intentions are not always pure, they often aim to prevent the worst disasters. A sapphire dragon’s demands can be downright bizarre. They might order their minions to steal an emperor’s tea kettle, ensure two seemingly random people fall in love, or assassinate a pet goldfish. Most agents are confident in their master’s premonitions, but it is often impossible to prove or disprove their value.
Digging for Answers. The fortune-telling abilities of sapphire dragons are legendary, leading enterprising rulers to seek them out as sages, or even to take them captive to serve as private prognosticators. A sapphire dragon’s predictions must be evaluated carefully, however. The wisdom they impart might be the answers their masters seek, or simply a cunning misdirection created by the dragon to further its own ends.
1 Angry about something the party hasn’t said yet but will say; attacks while admonishing them
2 Has a seemingly unimportant job it needs the party to do
3 Offers them an answer to a question in exchange for leaving at once
4 Attacks while explaining that combat to the death is regrettable but necessary
1 Ancient stone slabs carved with prophecies; statues of unborn monarchs
2 A telepathic question, perhaps a riddle or challenge
3 Recently-laid out refreshments at a table with the right number of chairs
4 A note promising a profitable opportunity for those who turn back from the lair now
A sapphire dragon’s lair is a hidden sanctuary that often takes the form of a great library, mystic observatory, or rune-inscribed grotto.
CR 3–4 sapphire dragon wyrmling
Treasure 150 gp, gold pendulum (100 gp), hourglass filled with powdered silver (25 gp), potion of healing , gloves of swimming and climbing
CR 5–10 young sapphire dragon ; sapphire dragon wyrmling with 2 or 3 centaurs , gargoyles , or priests
Treasure 800 gp, 1,000 sp, 6 portraits of alternate-universe versions of the characters (75 gp each), potion of healing , amulet of health
CR 11–16 young sapphire dragon with 2 basilisks , knights , mountain dwarf defenders , or mummies
Treasure 1,500 gp, 3 bejeweled telescopes (1,000 gp each), sapphire (1,000 gp), a notebook describing the dragon’s efforts to keep the characters safe via timely interventions and strange coincidences, spell scroll of haste , potion of supreme healing , ring of spell storing
CR 17–22 adult sapphire dragon
Treasure 10,000 gp (some of which seem to be from future years), 5 pieces of gold jewelry (250 gp each), collection of random objects that must be given to certain people at certain times over the next 20 years, potion of supreme healing , ring of animal influence , cloak of arachnida
CR 23–30 ancient sapphire dragon ; adult sapphire dragon with clockwork sentinel , mage, or sphinx
Treasure 8,000 gp, 13 sapphires (1,000 gp each), gold water clock (2,500 gp), sapphire dragon egg (25,000 gp), spell scroll of foresight , robe of eyes , +2 half plate
CR 31+ ancient sapphire dragon with iron guardian , sphinx , or storm giant
Treasure jeweled model of solar system (10,000 gp), 100 rare books (250 gp each), 12 volumes of ancient prophecies (2,500 gp each), 3 potions of supreme healing , ring of telekinesis , oathbow , rod of absorption
Dragons include red and gold dragons, which are huge reptilian fire-breathers that number among the world’s most dangerous monsters. This type includes white dragons , which breathe killing frost, as well as smaller reptilian creatures related to true dragons, such as pseudodragons .