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Draconomicon, The Book of Dragons
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DRACONOMICON™
Andy Collins, Skip Williams, James Wyatt
DEVELOPER
Andy Collins
DESIGN ASSISTANCE
Ed Stark, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel
Todd Lockwood
INTERIOR ARTISTS
Wayne England, Emily Fiegenschuh,
Lars Grant-West, Rebecca Guay-Mitchell,
David Hudnut, Jeremy Jarvis, Ginger Kubic,
John & Laura Lakey, Todd Lockwood,
David Martin, Dennis Crabapple-
McClain, Matt Mitchell, Mark Nelson,
Steve Prescott, Vinod Rams, Richard
Sardinha, Ron Spencer, Stephen Tappin,
Joel Thomas, Ben Thompson, Sam Wood
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Dawn Murin, Mari Kolkowski
CARTOGRAPHER
Todd Gamble
GRAPHIC PRODUCTION SPECIALISTS
Erin Dorries, Angelika Lokotz
ORIGINAL INTERIOR DESIGN
Sean Glenn
ART
E
DI
T
OR
S
Michele Carter, Dale Donovan,
Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, Charles Ryan
MANAGING EDITOR
Kim Mohan
D&D DESIGN MANAGER
Ed Stark
DIRECTOR OF RPG R&D
Bill Slavicsek
VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLISHING
Mary Kirchoff
PROJECT MANAGER
Martin Durham
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Chas DeLong
Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison.
This W IZARDS OF THE C OAST ® product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form with-
out written permission. To learn more about the Open Gaming License and the d20 System License, please visit
www.wizards.com/d20.
Playtesters: Greg Collins, Jesse Decker, Viet Nguyen, Marc Russell, Dennis Worrell
Valuable advice provided by Todd Lockwood and Sam Wood (Dragon Anatomy and Motion), Monica Shellman and Michael S.
Webster (Dragon Names)
Resources for this product (and the authors of those works) include Atlas of Animal Anatomy (W. Ellenburg and H. Deittrich), Book of
Eldritch Might (Monte Cook/Malhavoc Press), Book of Vile Darkness (Monte Cook), Bulfinch’s Mythology (Thomas Bulfinch),
Transformations of Myth Through Time ( Joseph Campbell), “Class Acts: Dragonkith,” Dragon Magazine #284 (Monte Cook), Council of
Wyrms (Bill Slavicsek), Defenders of the Faith (Rich Redman and James Wyatt), AD&D ® 2nd Edition Draconomicon (Nigel Findley,
Christopher Kubasik, Carl Sargent, John Terra, and William Tracy), “Dragontongue: A Draconic Language Primer,” Dragon
Magazine #284 (Owen K. C. Stephens), Forgotten Realms ® Campaign Setting (Ed Greenwood, Sean K Reynolds, Skip Williams, and
Rob Heinsoo), The Golden Bough ( James George Frazer), AD&D 1st Edition Monster Manual (Gary Gygax), Monsters of Faerun ( James
Wyatt and Rob Heinsoo), AD&D 2nd Edition Monstrous Manual , Oriental Adventures ( James Wyatt), Savage Species ( Jennifer Clarke
Wilkes, David Eckelberry, and Rich Redman), Tome and Blood (Bruce Cordell and Skip Williams).
game by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook,
U.S., CANADA, ASIA, PACIFIC,
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Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, AD&D, Draconomicon , Dungeon Master, d20, d20 System, Forgotten Realms, Wizards of the Coast, Player’s Handbook , Dungeon Master’s Guide , Monster
Manual , and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the U.S.A. and other countries. Distributed to the hobby, toy, and comic trade in the United States and Canada
by regional distributors. Distributed in the United States to the book trade by Holtzbrinck Publishing. Distributed in Canada to the book trade by Fenn Ltd. Distributed worldwide by Wizards
of the Coast, Inc., and regional distributors. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork
contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or
events is purely coincidental. Printed in the U.S.A. ©2003 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Visit our website at www.wizards.com/dnd
ART DIRECTOR
Dawn Murin
COVER
This d20™ System game utilizes mechanics developed for the new Dungeons & Dragons ®
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Contents
Chapter 3: The Player’s
Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Initiate of the Draconic
Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Dragons’ Advantages
and Disadvantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Chapter 2: A DM’s Guide
to Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Dispassionate Watcher
of Chronepsis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
3
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Introduction
The dragon reared, roaring, clawing at air
And belching fire, and began to lunge down
Upon Dydd, but the druid slashed into
Ashardalon’s heart, her scimitar cut
And the lifeblood began to spill. Then Dydd
Was slain, her heart wrested from her breast by
The dragon’s grasping jaws, swallowed, consumed
To sustain Ashardalon’s ebbing life
For a time. . . .
—The Lay of Dydd
actions, their schemes, even their dreams are felt through-
out the world. From a wyrmling raiding herds of sheep to
the mighty Ashardalon feasting on preincarnate souls,
dragons do things that matter, whether on a small local
scale or in the cosmic big picture. They are the embodi-
ment of fantasy itself.
That, in a nutshell, is the reason for this book. Dragons
are such a central part of the game that a rules reference
of this nature is an essential addition to any campaign,
enhancing the excitement of draconic encounters for
players and Dungeon Masters alike. A DM will find infor-
mation here on the powers and tactics of dragons, as well
as a wealth of new feats, spells, magic items, and prestige
classes designed to make dragon encounters more interest-
ing, challenging, and unusual. In case the dragons already
described in the Monster Manual and other books are not
enough, this book also presents a variety of new dragon-
related monsters of all types to include in the game. Players,
meanwhile, can unearth dragonslaying tactics and take
advantage of new feats and spells, magic items, and prestige
classes to make their characters the ultimate dragon slayers,
dragon riders, or even dragon servants.
Draconomicon is not just about the rules, tactics, and ecol-
ogy of dragons, however. The illustrations in this book are
intended to inspire a fresh sense of wonder and awe at the
creatures that make up such an important part of the D&D
game. Dragons are rapacious, arrogant, and deadly—but
they are also majestic, awesome, and magnificent. A renewed
sense of the grandeur of dragons might not have as con-
crete or noticeable an impact on your game as all the new
rules you will find in this book, but its influence will surely
be felt around your gaming table.
Let this book inspire you. Whether you use it to build
new draconic adversaries and exciting dragon lairs stocked
with legendary treasure, or to build a character who rides
a silver dragon into battle against the servants of Tiamat,
you are sure to find not just the rules you want, but the
wonder you need to make your game more fun. Dragons
are creatures of legend, and with this book you can be a
part of that legend. Retell it, relive it, reshape it in your
character’s or your campaign’s image. Draconomicon will
show you how.
More than any other creature, dragons are a symbol of all
that is the D UNGEONS & D RAGONS ® game. From the savage
white to the majestic gold, dragons represent the greatest
perils adventurers face at any point in their careers, as well
as the greatest rewards they may hope to claim. From the
tiny wyrmling at the bottom of an adventurer’s very first
dungeon to the colossal great wyrm he meets at the height
of his career, dragons are the ultimate climactic encounter:
a brutal and memorable fight that will pay off in riches
from the dragon’s hoard.
Dragons are creatures of myth, often described as the first
sentient race to appear on a world, with life spans that
stretch over hundreds of years. They symbolize the world
itself and embody its history, and the oldest dragons are
repositories of vast knowledge and ancient secrets. This
aspect of dragons makes them much more than just a chal-
lenging combat encounter: They are sages and oracles, fonts
of wisdom and prophets of things to come. Their very
appearance can be an omen of good or ill fortune.
Perhaps most important, dragons are a reminder that
the action of the D&D game takes place in a world of fan-
tasy, wonder, and magic, a world far from mundane in
every way. Any attempt to describe them as little more
than glorified lizards with wings and breath weapons is a
disservice, not only to dragons, but to the fantasy universe
of D&D and the wealth of legends, myths, and heroic sto-
ries that place dragons in such an iconic position that
they had to be a part of the very name of the game. Dragons
are, by their very nature, epic forces in the world. Their
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a complete list of all true dragons that have been presented in
official sources.
Other creatures of the dragon type that do not advance
through age categories are referred to as lesser dragons (which
should not be taken to mean that they are necessarily less
formidable than true dragons).
The three kinds of lesser dragon described in the Monster
Manual are the dragon turtle, the pseudodragon, and the
wyvern. Chapter 4 of this book contains a number of descrip-
tions of other lesser dragons, and Appendix 2 lists every lesser
dragon that has been described in a D UNGEONS & D RAGONS rule-
book or accessory.
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4
THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF DRAGONS
In the D&D game, the term “dragon” encompasses a number
of different creatures, some of which bear little resemblance to
the great flying creatures with breath weapons that we commonly
think of as dragons.
For the most part, this book concerns itself with the ten
varieties of true dragon described in the Monster Manual —
the five chromatic dragons (black, blue, green, red, white) and
the five metallic dragons (brass, bronze, copper, gold, silver).
True dragons are those creatures that become more powerful
as they grow older.
A number of other true dragons are described in Chapter 4
of this book. In addition, Appendix 2: Index of Dragons provides
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wealth of material, from bard’s tales and ponderous
tomes alike, has been recorded about dragons.
Unfortunately for adventurers planning to con-
front a dragon, most of that information is wrong.
The opening chapter of this book presents the
truth about dragons—their types, habits, physiology, and
worldview.
EXTERNAL ANATOMY
Despite its scales and wings, a dragon’s body has fea-
tures that seem more feline than reptilian. Refer to
the illustrations on the next few pages as you read on.
Like a cat’s eye, a dragon’s eye has a comparatively
large iris with a vertical pupil. This arrangement
allows the pupil to open extremely wide and admit
much more light than a human eye can.
The sclera, or “white,” of a dragon’s eye is often
yellow, gold, green, orange, red, or silver, with an
iris of a darker, contrasting color.
To a casual observer, a dragon’s pupils always
look like vertical slits. If one were to look very
closely into a dragon’s eye, however, one could
see a second iris and pupil within the first. The
dragon can shift and rotate this inner aperture
up to 90 degrees, so that the inner pupil can
overlay the outer one or lie at a right angle to it.
This ocular structure gives a dragon extremely
accurate depth perception and focusing abil-
ity no matter how much or how little light is
available.
A dragon’s eye is protected by a leathery
outer eyelid and three smooth inner eyelids, or
nictitating membranes. The innermost mem-
brane is crystal clear and serves to protect the
eye from damage while the dragon flies,
THE DRAGON’S BODY
“How can one imagine anything more magnificent than . . . a
dragon, the paragon of creation?”
— Bheilorveilthion, red wyrm
“Nothing but a bunch of vain, glorified flying reptiles, if you
ask me!”
— Hatredymaes, androsphinx
At first glance, a true dragon resembles a reptile. It has a
muscular body, a long, thick neck, a horned or frilled
head with a toothy mouth, and a sinuous tail. The crea-
ture walks on four powerful legs with clawed feet, and it
flies using its vast, batlike wings. Heavy scales cover a
dragon from the tip of its tail to end of its snout. As
you’ll see from the details to come, however, that first
glance doesn’t begin to tell the whole story about the
nature of dragons.
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