Preface
I've always had gripes with dragons in Dungeons and Dragons ever since I started playing a couple years ago. I grew up knowing dragons as incredible forces of nature, predators that raze towns and destroy cities. In D&D however, dragons are sages, incredibly intelligent beings that live for millenia. Despite this, they live in caves, eat goats, and literally live like wild animals.
This only gets worse in my favorite setting; Eberron. Dragons in Eberron held a civilization for thousands of years, they educated the elves and other races. They ponder the cosmos and act as secretive philosophers. Despite this, they still live in caves and live like savages. They have a whole continent to themselves! Yet they still have that weird contrast of being incredibly intelligent, yet also wild and savage. Now disclaimer, I am new to D&D and my confusion is almost certainly based in a lack of understanding, but still! If it means I get to make a great homebrew then I don't mind it.
So what are they?
My main source of inspiration is a creature I saw in an anime a couple years ago. Specifically, the Orb Piercer from Made In Abyss. Orb Piercer's are powerful predators that utilize poisonous toxins. However the most dangerous part of them is their precognition. Orb Piercers possess the ability to read subtle changes in the air (To not go too deep into the lore) so that they know what move you're going to make before you make it.
Dragons in Eberron are sages because they can read the Draconic Prophecy, a prophecy that serves as a tool for the DM. It doesn't really predict anything important until the DM says it does, but it does predict a little bit of everything. What better way to make dragons serve as apex predators than to say they have a form of precognition?
What are they?
Beasts of Lore
Since the dawn of time, Dragons have existed in the Material Plane. Their claws have rended many would-be adventurers, and just as many if not more townsfolk have been layed to rest by the fangs and breath of these incredible beasts. Defeating a dragon has its merits though. The scales that a dragon carries are incredibly tough, and serve as potent components for all sorts of magic. Even the most mundane of wands could be given an ample boost if constructed with parts from a dragon.
Precognition
One of the tools that allow dragons to be such potent predators is their ability to read the Draconic Prophecy. Every piece of the world, and every creature carries secrets of this incredible secret. The wisest beings in Khorvaire try to cultivate power by deciphering the Draconic Prophecy. Dragons are adept at reading it, and can sense subtle shifts in it almost instinctually. This allows them to cut of prey's escape before they even attempt it, making their foes feel like the beast knows their move before they do. Their is a secret to this ability though, the dragon must be conscious to lose it. This means the best time to hunt a dragon is while it's sleeping. You'll stand a better chance of hunting a dragon if you chase it to it's layer, delivering a fatal blow while it slumbers. Dragons are incredibly hard to trick though. Due to Precognition, dragons can detect sutble changes in the mood of their foes, making lying all but impossible. The moment of relief when a lie is believed is all a dragon needs to see through it. They may not be knowledgeable about customs and the thought processes of higher creatures, but by reading their opponents emotional state with a sharp eye and wit, even seasoned scoundrels are caught in their lies.
Apex Predators
Dragons are incredibly powerful. Their ability to read the Draconic Prophecy gives them an unbeatable edge over all other predators making them the kings of whatever domain they choose. They possess insight into the nature of all things, allowing them to see through the Deception of even the most intelligent creatures. This has put them at odds with all manner of creatures, from Abberations, Humans, and even Goblins all throughout history. Decieving a dragon is all but impossible.
Fountains of Power
Dragons are creatures of incredible power. Not only can they foresee the future, granting incredible knowledge if they can be pursuaded to do so, but their blood is a fountain of arcane power. Many a creature have gained power by contact with draconic blood. It's for this reason that many an adventurer seek out dragons, hoping to bargain with them for power and knowledge. But what could one give a creature that wants nothing, one who's pride has existed for countless millenia?
Predators, not Sages
Dragons aren't intelligent creatures, at least not by human standards. They hunt, breed, and otherwise live like wild animals. They only have a basic ability to understand social structures and intelligent creatures such as elves and humans. They make up for this though with their incredible insight. They can understand social structures and complex emotions and thought processes, but they lack the desire, or the capability to form them themselves. As such they can conversate, broker a deal, argue, and exchange service when it's to their benefit, however they're content to live as wild animals, ruling the animal kingdom through sheer might and cunning.
How to portray a dragon's precognition
Now while it is tempting to redesign every aspect of dragons to make them omniscient predators who know everything, I think it's better to just keep their CR and their statblocks as is, making as little changes as possible. As such, portraying them will fall heavily on you as the DM.
Every time a player describes their action, have the player turn to face them, surveying the immediate threat even when they couldn't have seen it coming. If a rogue climbs on their back, intending to stab their wings, describe a miss as having been due to a tail strike aimed directly at them. A missed spell could whizz past the dragon, despite him having had no way to have seen it coming.
Small Changes
The mechanical changes to dragons are small. Add the features and changes to Dragons.
- Switch the Intelligence and Wisdom scores of all Dragons
- Decrease the Intelligence score of Dragons to 5-8, to reflect their nature as predators and not sages.
- Add the following feature to every Dragons statblock:
Precognition
The Dragon cannot be surprised while conscious.
History
The Age of Demons
At the dawn of time, Eberron was ruled by the fiends of old. These beings from Khyber ruled Eberron with cruelty and cunning for almost ten million years. However the combined might of the dragons and couatls defeated them. The dragons saw through the guile and trickery of the fiends, overpowering them with their might. The Couatls, servants of the divines, sacrificed themselves to seal away the Overlords in Khyber, locking them away for all of time.
Dragons received punishment from the fiends for their rebellion. As a final revenge, the demons gave every dragon a curse, one that altered their very being. Every dragon was given the sin of greed, so they'd live their lives never being satisfied. Then every breed of dragon was cursed individually. The green dragons were cursed with cowardice, so that they could only succeed through guile like the fiends that all dragons hated. The white dragons were cursed to live as simple beasts, so that they'd forever know existence as the lowest of their kin. The brass dragons were cursed with curiosity, so that they'd seek the company of those they hunt. And so it was that every dragon received a curse, weakening them as predators for when the fiends returned to the world. To this day dragons still carry their curses. Worst still, the sin of pride that every dragon was given drives them into solitude. Over the years, as civilization has grown, dragons have become rarer and rarer. In modern times, dragons have become more creatures of legend than ever. Still, the dragons that do remain are still as fearsome as ever. Despite being reduced to predatory beasts, their intellect surpasses that of most other beasts, and wherever they go becomes their domain.
The Age of Giants
After the fall of the demons, the world became wild and free. The first of many groups to rise to power were the giants. Clever and beguiling, the giants beseeched the dragons, teach us the mysteries of the universe and we will give you whatever you ask. And so it was. The dragons granted the giants knowledge of all manner of arcane power. For a time the giants were the dominant force on Eberron, teaching other races what they had learned in small bursts.
However the giants became overconfidant. Through the use of their magic, they nearly destroyed the world over. Enraged at this, the dragons lashed out against their pupils, destroying almost every giant in a earth shattering frenzy. Many citizens of Khorvaire have scarecely heard of giants past that of lumbering brutes and gargantuan tyrants. Still, if one were to journey to the far corners of the world one may find one. Such a giant is likely resigned to its reclusion, guarding its land against all intruders and planning for the day when the giants return.
The Mark of Death
Roughly two thousand years ago, a noble bargained with a dragon. She wanted her daughter, heir to House Vol, to possess dominion over life and death through an enhanced form of the Mark of Death. After decades of searching, she received her wish. It cost centuries of fortune that the house had amassed, but in the end, Erandis received her Mark. The dragons across the world caught wind of this though. The Draconic Prophecy predicted terrible destruction if the Mark was allowed to live. As punishment for her house's lust for power, the dragons and dragonmarked houses of the world eradicated House Vol, annihilating the house absolutely.