Brown Dragon

From the sands of the desert plain comes a mighty dragon covered in spines, propelling itself through the dust on its long claws. The brown dragon can be found in open plains, grasslands and desert canyons, and prefers hot environments. Unlike the blue dragon, which hunts from the skies above, the brown dragon lurks beneath the surface, using its tremorsense to quietly stalk its prey. A brown dragon is recognised by the long spikes on its jaw, its long, large jaws and the frill-like wings extending to the end of its tail in a similar fashion to some metallic dragons. Large webbed claws allow it to grip the desert sand with ease, allowing for the dragon to almost swim through it at great speed. Its scales range from a dark brown to a yellow-bronze colour, the oldest specimens becoming a lighter, almost white, complexion.

Hidden Danger. Although a brown dragon can fly, it prefers not to draw attention to itself, staying out of sight of its natural enemy, the blue dragon, and pursuing its prey without alerting it. A brown dragon may partially surface at a distance in order to assess a target; its speed, difficulty to overcome, potential reward in food and treasure, and whether it is worth pursuing. Once it has settled on a quarry, the dragon can hunt it for hours, waiting for an opportune moment to strike, blasting it with an explosive cloud of corrosive sand that blinds and burns the flesh. It can rely on a diet of minerals to survive in the long term, but its preferred food is meat, and it will target humanoids, horses, camels and other large desert creatures, occasionally taking smaller dragons if it can.

Master of the Desert Sands. A brown dragon has a very good memory and sense of direction, and knows its home plains better than any other creature around. Venturing far from its lair to secure prey or potential treasure, the dragon can always find its way back to the safety of its lair. The dragon carves a cavern out of the rock beneath the surface, or finds a secure pre-existing cave, where it hoards its treasure and rests when weakened or wounded. Sometimes the dragon will set pitfall traps at strategic points where prey will be trapped until it returns.

Travelling desert caravans fear and hate the brown dragon almost as much as the blue. The dragon attacks by surrprise, slays the caravan guards, and hauls its humanoid corpses and newly-acquired treasure back to its lair. Not wanting to give away its position, a brown dragon rarely eats out in the open, preferring to drag its kill back to its lair where it can feast at its leisure.

Solitary Hunters. A brown dragon has no need for allies. It views humanoids and other smaller creatures as food, and considers conversing with your food before eating a strange custom. Other dragons are potential threats, especially if larger and older, and should be avoided. Its greatest enemies are blue and brass dragons, and overlapping borders of territory may bring the brown dragon into conflict from time to time. Mostly, however, the brown dragon remains out of sight, preferring to be left alone.

Obsessive Hoarders. Brown dragons really aren’t fussy when it comes to treasure. They collect anything even remotely valuable, carrying it back to their tunnels and burying it in sand. If a brown dragon defeats another, it will furiously loot its lair until it finds every last item in the place. Any intruders that enter their caverns can expect to be immediately attacked, as the dragon will not stand for any theft of its belongings and will chase the thief for days on end, never relenting until the individual has been punished and its items recovered.

Underdark Denizens. Some brown dragons tunnel so far down that they find themselves trapped in the twisting, labyrinthine caverns of the Underdark. Rather than trying to escape, they may see it as an opportunity for success, far removed from most other dragons and with plenty of food, and establish themselves as major predators there. Such specimens may grow slightly larger than their surface counterparts, with their scales turning a very dark hue, almost black in places. They lurk unseen, using their tremorsense to detect incoming enemies, before pouncing from the shadows to tear and rend prey with their claws.