A Dragon's Lair - Flagrantia the Ancient Red

Dragons should appear more in D&D sessions.  After all, they are in the title of the game.  

Yet I have rarely included dragons, and can only recall encountering one as a player (after a short conversation, we traded our wealth for our lives - a fair deal).  

To remedy this oversight, I had a grand plan. In the wilderness surrounding Ironguard Keep, I had rough plans for a Black dragon to the south, lairing in the swamps abutting the foothills in the ruins of Xak Tsaroth of DL1 fame.  This is heavily due to my loving that map since encountering it decades ago.  

Xak Tsaroth - this map just cries out to be used in a game.

A green dragon claimed the forests across the river.  I hadn't given that one too much thought beyond the potential of making it a short-term ally of the PCs - for the right price, of course.  After all, there are lots of chaotics with treasure on that side of the river, and Greens are lawfuls that love their treasure...

Lastly is an ancient red lairing in the mountains, which is what this post is mostly concerned with.

The players were aware that at least one dragon was afoot, both through Twk-men rumors and physical evidence - they had found a large steaming pile of dragon shit, that they of course searched, discovering a golden chaos pendant from the dragon's last meal - a chaos cultist that awoke the dragon and incidentally set several things in motion.  Randall's warlock claimed the pendant and made good use of it, as a future session report will show.

As for the dragon itself, it's a red.  An ancient wyrm, maybe tainted with shadow.  A Smaug-level dragon who has been quiet for decades, if not centuries.  Now it is stirring... and hungry.  

Part of the fun of running large intelligent beasties (beyond rolling all the dice when they inflict damage) is speaking for them to portray their might and occasional majesty.  This video clip from the Rankin-Bass version of the Hobbit sums up how I suspect meeting this dragon would go - at least my role-playing the dragon would channel Smaug's attitude, and at least his opening lines about smelling and hearing and feeling.

A Chat with a Dragon from the 1977 The Hobbit

Dragons of this caliber have names, and in time-honored fashion, I am leaning towards a pseudo-Latin or pseudo-Greek term for fire or burning.  Something pronounceable when read, so no extraneous Zs, Xs, or apostrophes.  Incineratus or Incendiarius or Flagrantia.  The last sounds feminine which can mean a clutch of eggs or perhaps she has decided it is time to mate.  Maybe both!

If she finds a mate, you'd better believe she slays him post coitus black widow or preying mantis style. Take that, horny bardling! 

Flagrantia lairs in the Worldspine Mountains that divide the borderlands and civilization, such as it is. Besides the main entrance, which is guarded by her minion Orcs and Ogres, the caves she calls home contain a sinkhole leading to the surface, providing a secret way in for clever or (un)lucky PCs.  There is also a shaft descending into the Deep Underdark where dwell lots of ideas cribbed from Veins in the Earth and Operation Unfathomable.  While Flagrantia is aware of this hole, even she has the sense to not explore it, and now she is far too large to try. 

For now, at least, the lair is partially notional.  I have a hand-drawn map, but it lacks the ... interesting suggestions found in the Draconomicon, so the map needs revision.  For posterity, though, here it is:

Let's talk more about this dragon.  As a child, I watched the Rankin-Bass Hobbit often.  We went through one or two VHS tapes of it, and maybe even a BETAMAX tape.  So that is how I will always picture a dragon.

To my players' chagrin, perhaps.

Smaug's Boast from the 1977 classic The Hobbit 

This is Flagrantia.  Honestly, I expect a few PCs - maybe all of them - to die trying to slay her, especially if they try and beard her in her lair.  That said, players exist to surprise DMs, and the crew I had - Ben, Randall, Harley, and Kyle - probably would have done so, likely by utilizing some of the bizarro things I cribbed from assorted blogs and pdfs - an accumulation of ideas resulting in something far greater than the sum of its parts.  (Had they crushed her out of hand, a party of githyanki would be in the wings, there to negotiate an alliance of sorts and ready to take out their frustration on the PCs).

Regardless, Flagrantia is always arrogant and lazy and while she has several escape plans (including the ability to go ethereal), she doesn't honestly believe it will need to use any of them.  She is a spellcaster, as well, because all dragons should be. I haven't given much thought to which spells, and won't have to do so for the foreseeable future.  Still, Mage Hand, Chain Lightning, and Dispel Magic at the least.  Those eyebeams (because it will have them) are more flavor than spell or spell-like ability, but I imagine they should freak out players who never watched the cartoon from the 70s. 

As Flagrantia keeps up the trappings of civilization, there is always the chance for the PCs to converse with her, after all, what does she fear from mere mortals? If feeling benevolent or is sufficiently flattered, Flagrantia may even let invaders leave alive if they divest themselves of all valuables, to include mundane weapons and armor and such.  Basically, the dragon sends them away naked - it is not her fault that ephemerals bothered her, and frankly, they should be happy to leave alive.  

Proper dragons have hoards, and have had them since at least Beowulf was written down (note that both the thief in Beowulf and Bilbo Baggins both awaken a dragon by stealing a CUP).  Flagrantia is no different.  I reckon I can go crazy with hoard contents, because there are no Bags of Holding or Portable Holes in this campaign, so the PCs won't be able to carry off but a small portion of it, again, reminiscent of the Dwarves sorting through Smaug's hoard in the Hobbit.  

One of my favorite Dragon Magazine covers; in this case illustrating my point about dragon hoards.

In proper DM fashion, I can always repurpose a published dragon's trove, such as that of Infyrana of Dragon Mountain (pg 52-55), Flame from Dungeon #1 (pg 50-52), Vesicant from Dungeon #16 (pg 64 mostly), Aliamere (a prismatic dragon!) from Dungeon #51 (pg 37), or Felmurnuzza from Dungeons of the Dread Wyrm (pg 24-25), among many others.  

I can also rely entirely on random generators, which has the benefit of being fast, but boring, or at least disconnected from the world of Ironguard Keep.

A third option is to design the entire hoard myself, which sounds like more work than I care for.   Yes, DMs always have homework, but this DM prefers to keep it to reasonable amounts.

So it appears a compromise is needed.  Yet, before I settle on particulars, let's see what the 5e MM suggests as appropriate hoards for Ancient Reds:

"Obsessive Collectors. Red dragons value wealth above all else, and their treasure hoards are legendary. They covet anything of monetary value, and can often judge the worth of a bauble to within a copper piece at a glance. A red dragon has a special affection for treasure claimed from powerful enemies it has slain, exhibiting that treasure to prove its superiority. 

A red dragon knows the value and provenance of every item in its hoard, along with each item's exact location. It might notice the absence of a single coin, igniting its rage as it tracks down and slays the thief without mercy. If the thief can't be found, the dragon goes on a rampage, laying waste to towns and villages in an attempt to sate its wrath." 

While this type of treasure provides potential story hooks (which is a good thing, and as a conscientious DM, I would do just this in detailing the multi-page trove), it still doesn't help describe it much.  I say this, because as that link points out, most players don't really care - not out of maliciousness, but because such things often have little impact at the table.  So I need to seek guidance elsewhere.

The Draconomicon (Get this book.  PDFs exist, but the hardback is far more satisfying to thumb through) contains an excellent chapter on dragon hoards, with a variety of random tables AND sample hoards running up through CR 27 dragons (roughly 456,000gp in value, if curious).  The sample hoards provide not only art objects, but a smattering of history-based items (Greyhawk-oriented) alongside the standard coins, gems, and book magic items.  This book gets me thinking.

If you like dragons in your Dungeons & Dragons, do yourself a favor and get this book.

Ye olde AD&D Monster Manual, however, provides rather specific guidelines: Red Dragons have treasure types H, S, and T. Furthermore, it says that Ancient Dragons are 75% likely to have 200% of their treasure type.  THAT is useful information that has impact at the table.

H is coins (all measured in the thousands, except platinum, which is measured in the hundreds), gems, jewelry (art objects can be subsumed under jewelry), and any 4 magic items, plus 1 potion, plus 1 scroll.  S is potions, and T is scrolls.  All of this, times two.  (As an aside, looking at the Treasure Types, I am intensely curious about what creatures have treasure types U-Z as those look utterly amazing.) 

Coins, gems, and jewelry are the work of random generators, followed by a bit of DM history-adding to some of the jewelry items.  Magic items, though, should be at least partially decided and placed by DM.    

So 8 nonpotions, nonscrolls, then upwards of 18 potions and 10 scrolls.  I'm not going to roll all this, just place it.  A dragon of Flagrantia's age and history would no doubt have some items that survived their owners, the owners being previous would-be dragonslayers.  Perhaps this band of would-be slayers.

Bill Willingham from the Moldvay Basic Rulebook, 1981

I'll also steal an idea from Dragon Mountain, and have a pile of faintly magical slag that was once a Dragonslayer sword.  Flagrantia didn't live 900+ years by being a fool.  Along with this evidence of past items is a golden ring featuring three diamonds that appear scorched from the inside out.  This is a used-up ring of three wishes.  Flagrantia acquired the ring several centuries ago and spent the better part of a century contemplating each wish before making it.

Her wishes were: to become ethereal at will (it allows for easy access to and from her lair), potent regeneration (15 hp equivalent per round - she will play dead if needed), dispelling breath weapon (her fire damage is normal, but those hit with it ALSO are hit with a potent not-quite-mage's-disjunction dispel magic effect).

In proper D&D fashion, at least one magic item will be outright cursed - very likely a scroll, as scrolls are easy props to make for in-person games.  Speaking of scrolls, at least one scroll is a treasure map (though to where is undecided, likely a published adventure module), and a few scrolls can be turned into a captured spellbook or three, or perhaps the scorched and scarred remains of several spellbooks, for flavor.

Potions will be a mix of book potions, these potions, and maybe a custom potion or two... or quirky book potions.  Like potions of incredible usefulness that also limn the imbiber with Faerie Fire.  Potions of Fire Resistance and Dragon Control would be amusing, but we shall see.  Castle Xyntillan features an assortment of liquors and distilled spirits that function as potions, and this idea is worth borrowing.

A dragon's trove is a fine place to throw players/PCs a bone regarding magic items by including items the party can directly benefit from.  With my players in mind, it would be something for a cleric, a sorcerer, a warlock, and a barbarian.  Generalizing things means some arcane items, some defensive items, and some weapons.  Whether or not the players actually keep such items is on them.

My rambling is finished, so let's consider her magical trove:

Potions: 

a Beaker of Plentiful Potions that pours random potions; its quirk is that ALL of its potions look, smell, and taste the same - until they hit the stomach and take effect.  d6 to see which potion you pour: Gaseous Form, Fire Resistance, Speed, Cloud Giant Strength, Poison (sickened and two levels of exhaustion), Greater Healing.  

Bottled Memories - there are a half-dozen of these metal vials clinking together in a felt bag.  Inside the bag are six labels, apparently having fallen from the vials.  There is no way to tell which label was on which vial.  The labels read (in Elvish): buried treasure (treasure map); terrible secret (worst of all is beings now know you know - enjoy living in terror!); cosmic truth  ; forgotten spell (drinker learns new spell); hidden technique (choose one weapon, drinker gets advantage when fighting with it, but disadvantage on all others); horrid death (by immolation 30d10 psychic damage as skin darkens and drinker burns from within). Note that (re)discovering how to bottle memories is beyond the scope of this post.  (I am certain I read of bottled memories on one blog or another).

A box holding a pair of almost-matching vials, the difference being one has the image of a sword on it, and the other the image of a staff on it.  These are vials of Myrmidon's Milk and Instant Power, respectively.  Myrmidon's Milk is fed to a baby, and the baby will grow to be a mighty warrior.  Instant Power is consumed by a child, who instantly gains 3 levels of wizard.   (d4 Caltrops)

This bottle looks more like a small oil can, and contains several doses of Modron Blood.  Modron Blood drives away gremlins and fixes small broken mechanical devices.  (d4 Caltrops)

Potion of Bright Life - This nondescript vial smells like fresh cut grass and damp leaves when opened.  Consuming it makes your skin turn green, your hair turn to small flowering vines and grass, and you can now subsist entirely through photosynthesis.  The drawback is that a lengthy lack of sunlight can kill you dead. (d4 Caltrops)

Potion of Cure-All - A crystal bottle is labeled "purgative for poisons, diseases, possessions, lycanthropy, and other ailments.  use with caution." in Elvish.  Drinking it cures everything but HP damage.  The drawback is that the drinker vomits up the nastiness in the form of 1d4+1 gelatinous cubes. (d4 Caltrops)

Tomb Sealant - A brown canister with a yellowing label reading "tomb sealant" in archaic common.  Opening it finds a brush attached to the bottom of the lid and the whole thing resembling a paste pot.  When applied to coffins/sarcophagi, it fuses them shut.  Forever.   As might be imagined, you don't want to get any of this on you. (d4 Caltrops)

Scrolls/books: 

Treasure Map - claims to lead to Mimisbrunner and promises knowledge and power.  It warns of Mimir and the 'eye cost of knowledge.'  

Fragile tapestry that is actually a map of the empire from centuries before.  Comparing it to modern maps reveals the location of several lost (and presumably ruined) cities.

Three charred but mostly readable spellbooks, containing Wizard spells (3d4 each of levels 1-5, 2d4 of level 6-7, and 1d4 level 8).

Scroll of Protection from Undead, Scroll of Protection from Fey, Scroll of Protection from Magic 

Scroll of Meteor Swarm - regardless of caster's intent, it centers on reader.  

Cursed Scroll - Reader is Feebleminded, no save.

Cursed Scroll - Reader petrifies (but to clear crystal).  Stone-to-flesh returns to normal.

A fancy prayerbook that allows reader (if they hold) to turn undead as if 1 level higher than they are, or as a third level cleric, whichever is better.  Readers not of the faith (Norse-ish) take psychic damage from reading the book.

A thick treatise on medicine written by someone named Galen, with marginalia and notes by others; healing checks are at advantage after reading this (takes three months of study) and healing spells cast by reader cascade on the top two numbers.

Items:

Ring of Djinni Summoning - as per the book, but each time used, the wearer must save or become a cloud as per gaseous form for d6 turns.  That said, this ring's biggest quirk is the DM channeling Genie from Disney's Aladdin. (The djinn that appears would not be named Djinn Carter, Djinn Balooshi, Djinn Morrison, Djinn Carey, Djinn Stewart, or Djinn Kimmel, if only because I am terrible at impersonations AND my regular players too young to catch most of these puns. Djinn Rumi and Djinn Antonic are fair game, however.)

Orb of Dominance - this mammoth (about 12' diameter, but fits nicely in Flagrantia's hand) crystal ball crackles with an internal energy reminiscent of plasma balls.  The attuned wielder merely makes eye contact (via light or darkvision or even if ethereal or astral) with the intended victim, and if the victim fails to save, a long-term Dominate Person is cast.  The Orb of Dominance allows its wielder to Dominate up to a dozen entities, controlling their actions and seeing through their eyes.  This Domination allows a save once a year on the anniversary of the first time.  DM note - think of how Theoden was dominated by Saruman in LotR (and then how Gandalf cast him out - so Dominated people take on physical changes).  The major drawback of this item is its size and weight.  

As it so happens, Flagrantia has used it on the leadership of the Orc and Ogre tribes she dominates, but would love some non-orcs to Dominate.  Preferably some would-be heroes.  Then chaos shall reign!

Ring of Cold Resistance - this golden band is stretched to its limit to fit on Flagrantia's smallest wing-talon.  It's drawback of Fire Vulnerability is overridden by Red Dragons' inherent immunity to Fire damage.  Investigation reveals the mark of Grandfather Favarro, so it is one of his creations.

Honor - featuring the attributes of both a Scimitar of Speed and Sword of Sharpness, this bastard sword is just that - a right bastard.  Honor is Sentient and extremely Lawful (LE, technically).  It can detect chaotics at will, and will do so.  If it finds any, it loudly calls them out and urges its wielder to attack them.  Failure to do so results in Honor attempting to Dominate its wielder.

Wielders that please Honor find that it provides additional powers, notably vampiric regeneration: half of the damage done by Honor heals its wielder, but never beyond full.  In addition, Honor's wielder is immune to blindness and exhaustion and saves at advantage against poison.  

Wielders that displease Honor will find they strike at disadvantage as Honor twists and shifts in their grasp, as well as losing access to Honor's other abilities (Speed, Sharpness, healing and immunities).  Should Honor dominate its wielder, its priorities are to 'restore its wielder's honor' by striking down people that have insulted, cheated, or otherwise disgraced the wielder.  Honor doesn't care if these people are strangers, allies, friends, family or other PCs.  

Staff of Mambres (Staff of Power) - as per the Staff of Power and Snake Staff in the DMG, with the added bonus of being possessed by it's creator, Mambres, who appears to the PC in dreams.  While in dream form, conversations can be had, and with a successful intelligence check, remembered.  Note that the eventual goal of Mambres is to reinstate the Egyptian-ish pantheon over the current Norse-ish.

Champion's Plate - this suit of +2 field plate is etched with a lion rampant and the symbols of Norse pantheon.  The wearer is immune to magical fear and incapable of retreat, rout, withdrawal, or escape once battle is joined.  This plate provides additional protection, in the form of Element Resistance, as well as immune to blinding, deafening, stunning, and exhaustion.  Allies in your sight attack with advantage due to the armor inspiring them.  All that said, the remains of the last wearer are still inside this armor and her spirit will demand a proper burial (treasure-barrow level - sealing the dragon's lair with her remains and most of the dragon's treasure inside will suffice).

Cindersoul - this longspear is etched with runes that glow a fiendish reddish-purple. In addition to piercing damage, this spear deals necrotic damage and fire damage with each strike.  All beings slain by this spear find their souls/spirits bound to the spear itself.  The wielder can hear these spirits as a continual whispering of words and half-sentences.  Once per three long rests, the wielder must do something to appease one of the spirits (DM choice of task) or suffers exhaustion as long rests become impossible due to the voices.  Discarding Cindersoul requires far more than a Remove Curse, as the spirits will continue to haunt the last wielder until someone new takes up the spear.

A Hand of Glory - the candle version, in a locked wooden box.  All within its light (except holder) are held as per Hold Person or Hold Monster.  All doors within the light are unlocked and opened; this includes planar portals and other portals best left closed, locked, and forgotten.  Once the light goes out, the doors unlocked reseal, so hopefully the person with the candle is on the proper side of the door!

Iron Horn of Valhalla - these berserkers are Einherjar and the power of the horn compels the blower to join them in glorious combat.  Should the horn-blower die during the fray, the Einherjar carry them back to Valhalla with them when they disperse.  Should the horn-blower try to run away, the Einherjar attack the horn-blower for the coward that they are.

There we have it - an ancient wyrm and the more interesting parts of her hoard.

Of course, presuming she is slain, now there is the question of what to do with her body... 

Enjoy.