Crimson Dragon

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Crimson Dragons are a species of mutant dragon native to the Savage Coast region of Mystara. Widely suspected in-universe of having originally been Red Dragons, they have been mutated by the multitude of curses saturating the region and transformed into an entirely different creature.

At their core, every Crimson Dragon looks like a Red Dragon, save for their coloration; they're born with the deep, dull red coloring of a mature red dragon. As they grow older, their scales grow larger and thicker, turning such a dark crimson that they seem black. The scales also take on a metallic sheen — not shiny, but more of a polished sheen. This coloring greatly resembles cinnabryl. Aside from that unique color, Crimson Dragons are often wildly mutated, due to their natural ability to pick up Legacies and their active desire to accumulate more.

See, Crimson Dragons don't need to worry about the negative side-effects of acquiring Legacies. They just get stronger the more mutated that they get. In fact, they're so uniquely attuned to the Legacy Curses that their breath weapon is a 100ft long cone of energy that instantly depletes all cinnabryl caught in its path... and there's a cumulative 3% chance per ounce of cinnabryl depleted that the dragon will pick up a new Legacy! As a result, Crimson Dragons actively hunt down cinnabryl and destroy it in hopes of making themselves more powerful. As the humanoids of the Savage Coast need cinnabryll to, y'know, not die, this makes them public enemy #1 in the region.

Of course, they'd probably be hated even if they weren't running around and nuking all the cinnabryll, simply because these guys are jerks who love to humiliate other people.

The one good thing about Crimson Dragons is that certain Crimson Dragon scales, if treated with a Potion of Crimson Essence, can be used to fashion a suit of armor that will regulate the Legacy curse just like cinnabryl. Unfortunately, there's only enough of these scales on one Crimson Dragon to make one functioning suit. Also, if this suit gets shredded, then not only is it ruined, but it'll also release all of its pent-up toxic magical energies in a similar way as a smokepowder detonation.

Crimson dragons can be found almost anywhere in the cursed lands of the Savage Coast. They never travel extremely high into the mountains, but they do like caves. Their lairs are often found along foothills or at lower mountain elevations. A crimson dragon might even dig out a lair, tunneling down into the soft earth of a temperate forest or in the plains. Though they avoid heavily traveled routes, the malevolent desire to deplete cinnabryl keeps them fairly close to civilization.

Because they like to travel about, crimson dragons often have more than one lair. They visit each region along the Savage Coast about once every few years. However, only one lair will possess its treasure hoard. The dragon carries all useful magical items and a few expensive baubles with it, sealing up its main lair when leaving. They never leave their treasure laying about to be discovered. A typical hoard will be hidden in the bottom of a deep cavern pool or in a collapsed section of a cave; it would be guarded by some animal and the mouth would be carefully hidden. If the lair was dug in soft ground, the dragon carefully fills it back in, leaving no trace of its passage.

Crimson dragons use their treasures and abilities to gain control over other intelligent creatures. Their personal goals are varied and secret, but these goals almost always include the domination of others. Also, crimson dragons tend to be slightly paranoid at times, even inventing a rival if one is not immediately apparent.

Fortunately for everybody, crimson dragons are extremely territorial; they tolerate each other only long enough to mate (after which they go their separate ways), or in the case of a female, until their 1d3 hatchlings reach juvenile age, whereupon they are chased off to find their own territories.