Infernal Dragon Template
Publisher’s Choice Quality Stock Art © Rich Hershey / Fat Goblin Games
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With the release of Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus I wanted to share a template and story I’ve created for infernal dragons, which are chromatic dragons who live in Avernus and serve Tiamat. Take a look, and let me know what you think! You could also drop a few of these baddies into you Tyranny of Dragons campaigns!
Infernal Dragons
Infernal dragons are Tiamat’s guardians, enforcers, and assassins that serve her in Avernus.
Tiamat’s Devoted. Only chromatic dragons who are truly devout in their devotion to Tiamat are selected by the goddess for the honor of becoming infernal dragons. They serve their queen without question and embody her tenants of greed, pride, tyranny, and wrath. Tiamat trusts these dragons to guard her most valuable treasures and allies, kill her most powerful enemies, and manipulate those creatures who are useful to the chromatic queen.
Warped by Hell. Infernal dragons are pulled into Avernus after signing an infernal contracts to serve Tiamat. Tiamat opens a pit seemingly thousands of miles deep in the ground which leads to her palace in Avernus. This pit is warped by the essence of the Nine Hells and as the dragon falls through it, they are changed by the experience. The dragon’s body becomes leaner, its skin stretching over its bones, its horns lengthen, and huge spines grow from the creature’s back. The magic infuses the creature’s body, giving them powers related to the Nine Hells and Tiamat.
Back from the Dead. Tiamat typically selects living dragons for the honor of serving her as infernal dragons, but she has been known to bring a slain dragon’s soul back from the dead to warp them into one of her most devoted. The Chromatic Queen allows these dragons to return to the Material Plane and seek out those who vanquished them. Every dragon slayer who dies at the hand of an infernal dragon is a display of Tiamat’s power and vengeance.
Infernal Dragons Template
Only a true chromatic dragon can turn into an infernal dragon. When a dragon becomes an infernal dragon, it retains its statistics except as described below. The dragon might retain or lose any or all of its lair actions or inherit new ones, as the DM sees fit.
Type. The dragon’s type changes to fiend.
Damage Resistances. The dragon gains resistance to cold damage and bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks that aren’t silvered, unless the dragon already has immunity to these damage types.
Damage Immunities. The dragon gains immunity to fire and poison damage.
Condition Immunities. The dragon gains immunity to the poisoned condition.
Devil’s Sight. Magical darkness doesn’t impede the dragon’s darkvision.
Magic Resistance. The dragon has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The dragon’s weapon attacks are magical.
Breath of Tiamat. When the dragon uses its breath weapon, it can change the damage type the breath weapon deals this turn to acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison. All other aspects of the breath weapon (size, shape, damage dice, and saving throw ability and DC) remain the same.
Fanatical Presence. When the dragon uses its Frightful Presence, each creature of the dragon’s choice within 120 feet of the dragon and aware of it makes attack rolls with advantage and can’t be frightened for 1 minute. Once a creature benefits from the dragon’s Fanatical Presence, the creature cannot benefit from this dragon’s Fanatical Presence for the next 24 hours.
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