Planar Dragon
Planar Dragons, as their name suggests, are a kind of Dragon found amongst the various planes of Dungeons & Dragons. This has caused them to evolve into very different creatures indeed to their Chromatic Dragon and Metallic Dragon counterparts, being shaped more by their particular plane of origins than their family ties. Indeed, planar dragons don't form the same kind of overarching family as the other D&D Dragon breeds.
Planar Dragons are unique to 3rd and 4th edition; whilst the Adamantite Dragon of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is native to the Twin Paradises of Bytopia, it is unique in that status and there are no other dragons native to the planes despite dragons still having top billing in the game's name.
3e Planar Dragons
Astral Dragon - Ethereal Dragon | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Radiant Dragon | Adamantite Dragon | Elysian Dragon | Beast Dragon | Arboreal Dragon |
- | Oceanus Dragon | Battle Dragon | ||
Axial Dragon | Concordant Dragon | Chaos Dragon | ||
Rust Dragon | Styx Dragon | Howling Dragon | ||
Hellfire Wyrm | Pyroclastic Dragon | Gloom Dragon | Tarterian Dragon | Chole Dragon |
3e dropped a lot of the grid filling of Planescape, but it did go the extra mile to add in dragons for many of the Outer and Transitive Planes. The only of the Outer Planes not covered this way is Arcadia, whose people are not very fond of dragons to begin with (and as such likely hunted their planar dragons to extinction).
Adamantite Dragon
Introduced in the Planescape supplement "Monstrous Compendium: Outer Planes Appendix", the Adamantite Dragon is a Neutral Good dragon species unique to the Twin Paradises of Bytopia. Belived by some to be one of the mightiest of all the dragon species, adamantite dragons are strange even by the standards of Metallic Dragons; believing utterly in the principle of the greatest good and of sacrificing whatever is necessary for the common good of intelligent creatures everywhere, they are hatched with their shining silver scales already fully developed with their adamantite-like durability.
Self-appointed guardians of the Twin Paradises, these great creatures are extremely powerful and will come to the aid of any intelligent creature. It should be noted, however, that they are unconcerned with law or chaos, but only the protection of sentient lifeforms. Ironically, they have little place in the ecosystem of the Twin Paradises. They can, however, be avaricious hunters with huge appetites, especially as they have no moral objection to hunting unintelligent lifeforms for food.
They possess two breath weapons, the first being a conical gout of magical flames that can burn through just about anything and the second being a Time Stop breath weapon they can only use 1/day, and that only when they are in Bytopia, but they relish physical combat, And as such learn the various physical attacks of their species at a much earlier age. Adamantite dragons can launch a five-missile Magic Missile each round, and Polymorph Self three times per day. Being extraplanar creatures, they are also totally immune to non-magical attacks.
The Adamantite Dragon's concept would be updated - or arguably replaced - in the "Planar Dragons" article of Dragon Magazine #321. Now called the Adamantine Dragon, it's still the Neutral Good dragon of Bytopia, a self-appointed guardian species that seeks to protect the Twin Paradises from fiends, rilmani, or any other force that might attack the plane's residents. Helpful and friendly by nature, they are close allies to the gnome petitioners and planars who make up the bulk of Bytopia's sapient races - as such, adamantine dragons typically live in castles built near gnome cities, constructed by the smallfolk in gratitude for the protection their draconic allies grant them. They have also been known to make lairs on the layer of Shurrock, in order to protect travelers from that wilder layer's dangers.
Adamantine dragons look smaller than they are, thanks to their disproportionately large claws, wings and tails, armored with shimmering scales that look like silver coated in diamond dust and with a distinctive radiant pattern of sweeping horns that emerge from the back of its head to form a crown-like crest. Their oversized appendages makes the physical attacks of adamantine dragons more dangerous than normal for a dragon of their stature, and their claws are sharp as adamantine, allowiong them to tear through just about anything they can grip. Like adamantite dragons, they possess two breath weapons, but theirs consist of a line of fire and a cone of paralytic gas that mimics a Hold Monster spell. Natural shape-shifters, they can asume the form of any animal or humanoid thrice per day, and also have a small arsenal of spell-like abilities. At the Very Young age, they can cast Mirror Image 3/day, whilst Juveniles can cast Dimension Door 3/day and Adults can cast Dispel Evil 3/day. Adamantine dragons of the Old age category can cast Banishement 3/day and Antipathy 1/day, whilst Ancient ones can speak Power Word: Stun 1/day and Great Wyrms can Reverse Gravity 1/day.
The Adamantine Dragon name would be used again in 4th edition, here as an Underdark-dwelling breed of Metallic Dragon.
Arboreal Dragon
The Chaotic Good Arboreal Dragon is a feylike dragon species native to the Olympian Glades of Arborea, although they often travel to other pworlds in order to undertake missions to aid noble heroes truggling in lands overwhelmed by evil. Arboreal Dragons are fiercely devoted to promoting freedom and goodness for all, but also champion the beauty of untamed nature; as a result, they frequently are found in the company of elves and other fey creatures, especially in celebrations where they can indulge in their love of wine and song.
Arboreal Dragons are the least "dragony-looking" of the planar dragons, completely lacking in the iconic array of horns, spikes, back ridges and other pointy bits that most associate with dragons. Their wings are huge affairs of gossamer, whilst their streamlined bodies are covered in a patchwork of scintillating scales that slowly change in color and hue, offsetting elf-like eyes of solid black. When an arboreal dragon moves, it leaves a trail of sparkling mist in its wake. That said, their delicate frames are misleading and they are much stronger than they appear. It's unknown what relationship, if any, there is between this dragon breed and the Faerie Dragon.
When drawn into battle, arboreal dragons are a chaotic opponent, whimsically switching between employing their various powers in unpredictable fashions, ensuring that they are hard to counter. They also have no shame about retreating if outmatched - adult or older arboreal dragons will usually lash out with their three Baleful Polymorphs per day spell-like ability in order to throw their foes into disarray and make pursuing them unlikely. For their breath weapon, these dragons launch conical gouts of wickedly sharp thorns. They can shapeshift into humanoids, fey and animals 3/day, and have a number of spell-like abilities; those of at least Young Adult age can cast Telekinesis 3/day, Very Old arboreal dragons can cast Otto's Irresistible Dance 1/day, and Wyrms can cast Polymorph Any Object 1/day.
This dragon is one of the five planar dragons found in Dragon Magazine #321.
Astral Dragon
This dragon is found in Dragon Magazine #344. It is native to the Astral Plane.
Axial Dragon
Native to the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus, the Axial Dragon is a sleek, sharply angular dragon whose body is always symmetrical and perfectly proportioned. Their horns and scales sparkle as if just polished, and their wounds always heal without scarring. These dragons possesses two pairs of rigid, fan-shaped wings, and their scales are light blue as wyrmlings before darkening to deep purple as they age.
These dragons are proud successors to the Planescape tradition of Lawful characters/races/factions being absolute dicks: possessing an extra-generous dose of dragonic ego and complete certainty of themselves, they regard themselves as being the embodiments of draconic perfection. In fact, perfection is their raison de etre; their lives are dedicated to pursuing perfection in thought and body, both in themselves and in the wider multiverse. Ironically, this philosophy is not unmarred by its own aspect of chaos; after all, "perfection" has no one universal standard, and so axial dragons may devote themselves to purity, order, symmetry or any other interpretation of "perfection".
A side effect of this is that axial dragons are the most racist dragon around. See, whilst some of their ilk prefer to destroy flawed gemstones or illogical philosophies, others seek the annihilation of anarchic civilizations - or any "half-breed" race. As in, advocating genocide against half-elves, half-orcs, tieflings, aasimar, genasi, or any of the myriad other mixed-ancestry races in the D&D multiverse. Even axial dragons that don't outright seek to exterminate mixed-breeds will never mate outside of their own species; there are no half-dragons with axial dragon ancestry in them.
An axial dragon possesses a single breath weapon, in the form of a conical gout of raw force. They have a vast array of elemental immunities, which grows more diverse as they age, and a fairly small array of spell-like abilities.
This dragon is found in Dragon Magazine #321.
Battle Dragon
This dragon is found in the 3e Draconomicon. It is native to the Heroic Domains of Ysgard.
Beast Dragon
This dragon is found in Dragon Magazine #321. It is native to the Wilderness of the Beastlands.
Chaos Dragon
This dragon is found in the 3e Draconomicon. It is native to the Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo.
Chole Dragon
This dragon is found in Dragon Magazine #344. It is native to the Infinite Layers of the Abyss.
Concordant Dragon
This dragon is found in Dragon Magazine #321. It is native to Concordant Domain of the Outlands.
Elysian Dragon
This dragon is found in Dragon Magazine #344. It is native to the Blessed Fields of Elysium.
Ethereal Dragon
This dragon is found in the 3e Draconomicon. It is native to the Ethereal Plane.
Gloom Dragon
This dragon is found in Dragon Magazine #344. It is native to the Gray Wastes of Hades.
Hellfire Wyrm
This dragon is found in the Monster Manual 2. It is native to the Nine Hells of Baator.
Howling Dragon
This dragon is found in the 3e Draconomicon. It is native to Windswept Depths of Pandemonium.
Oceanus Dragon
This dragon is found in the 3e Draconomicon. It is native to the Upper Planes.
Pyroclastic Dragon
This dragon is found in the 3e Draconomicon. It is native to the Bleak Eternity of Gehenna.
Radiant Dragon
This dragon is found in the 3e Draconomicon. It is native to the Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia.
Rust Dragon
This dragon is found in the 3e Draconomicon. It is native to Infernal Battlefield of Acheron.
Styx Dragon
This dragon is found in the 3e Draconomicon. It is native to the Lower Planes.
Tarterian Dragon
This dragon is found in the 3e Draconomicon. It is native to Tarterian Depths of Carceri.
4e Planar Dragons
Whilst the Great Wheel may have been replaced by the World Axis, the idea of dragons unique to specific planes didn't go away. The Chromatic Draconomicon for that edition included multiple dragons unique to each of the five planes beyond; the Abyss, the Elemental Chaos, the Astral Sea, the Feywild and the Shadowfell.
Abyssal Dragons
Frostforged Wyrms
Deathmask Dragons
Astral Dragons
Battle Dragons
Pact Dragons
Elemental Dragons
Blazewyrms
Dragon Eels
Tempest Dragon
Pyroclastic Dragons
Feywild Dragons
Mirage Dragons
Wretch Dragons
Shadowfell Dragons
Blight Dragons
Shadow Dragons
The Dragons of Dungeons & Dragons | |
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Dragons | Albino Wyrm - Arcane Dragon - Aquatic Dragon - Brine Dragon - Catastrophic Dragon - Cerilian Dragon - Chromatic Dragon - Cloud Dragon - Cobra Dragon - Crimson Dragon - Deep Dragon - Dragonet - Epic Dragon - Faerie Dragon - Fang Dragon - Ferrous Dragon - Gem Dragon - Half-Dragon - Linnorm - Metallic Dragon - Minidragon - Mist Dragon - Moon Dragon - Obsidian Dragon - Oriental Dragon - Planar Dragon - Prismatic Dragon - Pseudodragon - Radiant Dragon - Red Hawk Dragon - Sand Dragon - Sea Wyrm - Shadow Dragon - Song Dragon - Stellar Dragon - Stone Dragon - Sun Dragon - Dragon Turtle |