Blue Dragon

Image credit WOTC

Vain and territorial, blue Dragons soar through the skies over deserts, preying on caravans and plundering herds and settlements in the verdant lands beyond the desert’s reach. These Dragons can also be found in dry steppes, searing Badlands, and rocky coasts. They guard their territories against all potential competitors, especially brass Dragons.

A blue dragon is recognized by its dramatic frilled ears and the massive ridged horn atop its blunt head. Rows of spikes extend back from its nostrils to line its brow, and cluster on its jutting lower jaw.

A blue dragon’s scales vary in color from an iridescent azure to a deep indigo, polished to a glossy finish by the Desert sands. As the dragon ages, its scales become thicker and harder, and its hide hums and crackles with static electricity. These Effects intensify when the dragon is angry or about to Attack, giving off an odor of ozone and dusty air.

***Vain and Deadly.*** A blue dragon will not stand for any remark or insinuation that it is weak or inferior, taking great pleasure in lording its power over humanoids and other lesser creatures.

A blue dragon is a patient and methodical combatant. When fighting on its own terms, it turns Combat into an extended affair of hours or even days, attacking from a distance with volleys of lightning, then flying well out of harm’s reach as it waits to Attack again.

***Desert Predators.*** Though they sometimes eat cacti and other Desert Plants to sate their great hunger, blue Dragons are carnivores. They prefer to dine on herd animals, cooking those creatures with their lightning breath before gorging themselves. Their dining habits make blue Dragons an enormous threat to Desertcaravans and nomadic tribes, which become convenient collections of food and Treasure to a dragon’s eye.

When it hunts, a blue dragon buries itself in the Desert sand so that only the horn on its nose pokes above the surface, appearing to be an outcropping of stone. When prey draws near, the dragon rises up, sand pouring from its wings like an Avalanche as it attacks.

***Overlords and Minions.*** Blue Dragons covet valuable and talented creatures whose service reinforces their sense of superiority. Bards, sages, artists, wizards, and assassins can become valuable agents for a blue dragon, which Rewards loyal service handsomely.

A blue dragon keeps its lair Secret and well protected, and even its most trusted servants are rarely allowed within. It encourages ankhegs, giant scorpions, and other creatures of the Desert to dwell near its lair for additional security. Older blue Dragons sometimes attract air Elementals and other creatures to serve them.

***Hoarders of Gems.*** Though blue Dragons collect anything that looks valuable, they are especially fond of gems. Considering blue to be the most noble and beautiful of colors, they covet sapphires, favoring jewelry and Magic Items adorned with those gems.

A blue dragon buries its most valuable treasures deep in the sand, while scattering a few less valuable Trinkets in plainer sight over hidden sinkholes to punish and eliminate would-be thieves.

## A Blue Dragon’s Lair

Blue Dragons make their lairs in barren places, using their lightning breath and their burrowing ability to carve out crystallized caverns and tunnels beneath the sands.

Thunderstorms rage around a legendary blue dragon’s lair, and narrow tubes lined with glassy sand ventilate the lair, all the while avoiding the deadly sinkholes that are the dragon’s first line of defense.

A blue dragon will collapse the caverns that make up its lair if that lair is invaded. The dragon then burrows out, leaving its attackers to be crushed and suffocated. When it returns later, it collects its possessions—along with the Wealth of the dead intruders.