AC 16 (natural armor)
HP 38 (7d8 + 7; bloodied 19)
Speed 30 ft., burrow 15 ft., fly 60 ft.
Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 12
Skills Arcana +4, History +4, Nature +4, Perception +3, Religion +4, Stealth +3
Damage Immunities fire
Senses blindsight 10 ft., darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Draconic
Self-Sufficient. The brass dragon can subsist on only a quart of water and a pound of food per day.
ACTIONS
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d10 + 2) piercing damage.
Breath Weapons (Recharge 5–6). The dragon uses one of the following breath weapons:
Molten Breath. The dragon exhales molten glass in a 20-foot-long, 5-foot-wide line. Each creature in the area makes a DC 11 saving throw , taking 10 (3d6) fire damage on a failed save or half damage on a success.
Sleep Breath. The dragon exhales sleep gas in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in the area makes a DC 11 Constitution saving throw . On a failure, a creature falls unconscious for 10 minutes or until it takes damage or someone uses an action to wake it.
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.
Brass Dragon Lair Features
The save DC for the following effects is 13 + the dragon’s proficiency bonus. Choose or roll one or more of the following lair features:
1 The lair’s entrance is covered by a stone slab that reads, in Draconic, “Tell me a story.” A character can make a History or Performance check against the lair DC to tell a story to the door, which opens on a success. (Grant advantage to any player who actually improvises a story.)
2 As a legendary action, the brass dragon can mentally call upon sandy winds to blast through a corridor or chamber for 1 round, extinguishing unprotected flames. A creature other than the dragon caught in these winds makes a Constitution saving throw . On a failure, it is blinded by the sand until the end of its next turn.
3 The caverns are designed to carry sound anywhere in the lair. The brass dragon can use this ability to spy on visitors or tell them stories as they travel through the lair. A creature that listens to the dragon’s stories for 10 minutes makes a Charisma saving throw or becomes slowed as the dragon’s droning voice puts it in a state of walking torpor. If a creature can no longer hear the story, the effect ends.
4 A tunnel in the dragon’s inner sanctum is concealed by a thick layer of sand. The dragon can burrow into this tunnel to escape, kicking up a 20-foot-radius cloud of sand that persists for 1 round and creates heavy obscurement .
Names
Elgenor, Glimlight, Keldathris, Pangloss, Sirac, Xalindra
Legends and Lore
With an Arcana or History check, characters can learn the following:
DC 10 Brass dragons are notoriously talkative. They collect stories like other dragons gather gold.
DC 15 When angered, brass dragons exhale blasts of molten glass—or clouds of soporific gas if they’re feeling merciful.
DC 20 Like all metallic dragons, brass dragons learn to transform into humanoids and beasts as they age. In their humanoid forms, they are sometimes found in royal courts serving as advisors.
Of all dragons, none is more likely to talk your ear off than a brass. Gregarious creatures, brass dragons have been known to invite would-be dragonslayers into their lairs simply to share gossip. They have a habit of losing track of time in pleasant company, however, so visitors too polite (or too fearful) to interrupt a brass dragon could find themselves trapped in its lair for days on end.
Sages and Scholars. Brass dragons often turn their hoarding instinct toward accumulating vast libraries. As a result, many are experts in a wide array of subjects. Brass dragons are careful not to share their knowledge too freely, however, as they know all too well what havoc short-lived humanoids can cause when their information supplants wisdom. Brass dragons may even take it upon themselves to reclaim knowledge used for evil ends—or hire adventurers to do so on their behalf.
Hermits and Advisors. As brass dragons age, some grow weary of the short-lived triumphs and repeated mistakes of humanoids. Others, however, become even more involved in humanoid politics. As they learn to shapeshift, older brass dragons may assume positions as royal advisors in order to steer the short-lived folk onto what they see as the proper path.
Needs of the Many. Because they take a “big picture view” of morality, brass dragons sometimes undervalue individual lives. If ransacking a village to recover a forbidden tome could save an entire nation from ruin, they may consider the atrocity a small price to pay for the greater good. Such pride transforms some brass dragons into villains—at least in the eyes of those too short-sighted to comprehend the dragon’s long-term plans.
1 In humanoid form, reading
2 Hungry for news and gossip and won’t take no for an answer
3 Disgusted with humanoid foolishness and frailty; violently defends its territory against trespass
4 Demands a tribute of secrets, writings, or spell scrolls
1 A permanent sandstorm around one rocky outcropping
2 An ancient, windswept road
3 A half-buried scroll case containing a history text
4 A caravan hired to leave a shipment of rare books at a specific landmark
Brass dragons make their lairs in desert caves, preferably inside towering mesas, where they construct elaborate libraries to shelter their collections from the desert sun.
CR 3–4 brass dragon wyrmling with 3 or 4 acolytes , blink dogs , or dragonbound warriors (see warrior)
Treasure 100 gp, 400 sp, 100 square brass coins (worth 1 gp each only in the City of Brass), 5 scroll of prophecy (50 gp each), 2 potions of healing
CR 5–10 young brass dragon
Treasure 800 gp, 5 carnelian gemstones (50 gp each), 25 books (50 gp each), potion of animal friendship , adamantine chain shirt
CR 11–16 adult brass dragon ; young brass dragon with 2 dragon cultists , minstrels , or sandlings (see scarecrows)
Treasure 2,000 gp, 3 silver bracelets (75 gp each), brass alchemical equipment (250 gp), 20 rare books (125 gp each), potion of supreme healing , 2 quarterstaff (named Basilisk; its wielder is immune to petrification )
CR 17–22 ancient brass dragon ; adult brass dragon with basilisk , doppelganger , or scorpionfolk
Treasure 100 pp, 8,000 gp, 4 topaz gemstones (500 gp each), 7 of the dragon’s arcane journals (250 gp each), 3 potions of flying , spell scrolls of control weather and guards and wards , 3 wand of the war mage
CR 23–30 ancient brass dragon with earth elemental , mage , or young brass dragon
Treasure 20,000 gp, 10 sapphires and emeralds (1,000 gp each), large-scale continental map (10,000 gp), 6-foot-tall magic book that answers one question per day as if legend lore were cast, adamantine breastplate , belt of dwarvenkind
CR 31+ ancient brass dragon with clay guardian , guardian naga , or sphinx ; 2 adult brass dragons
Treasure 80,000 gp, 20 sapphires and emeralds (1,000 gp each), 1,000 books (50 gp each), 100 rare books (125 gp each), gateway to an astral library patrolled by strange librarians, 3 potions of supreme healing , oathbow , ring of djinni summoning
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 .