Huge Dragon (Metallic), Lawful Good
- AC
- 18
- Initiative
- +10 (20)
- HP
- 212 (17d12+102)
- Speed
- 40 ft., Fly 80 ft., Swim 40 ft.
| Score | Mod | Save | |
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 25 | +7 | +7 |
| DEX | 10 | +0 | +5 |
| CON | 23 | +6 | +6 |
| INT | 16 | +3 | +3 |
| WIS | 15 | +2 | +7 |
| CHA | 20 | +5 | +5 |
Traits
Amphibious. The dragon can breathe air and water.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day, or 4/Day in Lair). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Actions
Multiattack. The dragon makes three Rend attacks. It can replace one attack with a use of (A) Repulsion Breath or (B) Spellcasting to cast Guiding Bolt (level 2 version).
Rend. Melee Attack Roll: +12, reach 10 ft. Hit: 16 (2d8+7) Slashing damage plus 5 (1d10) Lightning damage.
Lightning Breath (Recharge 5-6). Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 19, each creature in a 90-foot-long, 5-foot-wide Line. Failure: 55 (10d10) Lightning damage. Success: Half damage.
Repulsion Breath. Strength Saving Throw: DC 19, each creature in a 30-foot Cone. Failure: The target is pushed up to 60 feet straight away from the dragon and has the Prone condition.
Spellcasting. The dragon casts one of the following spells, requiring no Material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 17, +10 to hit with spell attacks):
At Will: Detect Magic, Guiding Bolt (level 2 version), Shapechange (Beast or Humanoid form only, no Temporary Hit Points gained from the spell, and no Concentration or Temporary Hit Points required to maintain the spell), Speak with Animals, Thaumaturgy
1/Day Each: Detect Thoughts, Water Breathing
Legendary Actions
Adult Bronze Dragon can take 3 Legendary Actions per round, regaining all uses at the start of its turn.
Guiding Light. The dragon uses Spellcasting to cast Guiding Bolt (level 2 version).
Pounce. The dragon moves up to half its Speed, and it makes one Rend attack.
Thunderclap. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 17, each creature in a 20-foot-radius Sphere centered on a point the dragon can see within 90 feet. Failure: 10 (3d6) Thunder damage, and the target has the Deafened condition until the end of its next turn.
How to run Adult Bronze Dragon
An adult bronze dragon on the party's side is a coastal protector who has decided this particular fight aligns with its long view of the realm. Bronze dragons are lawful good and notoriously interrogative, so before they help anyone they will use Detect Thoughts (1/Day) on whoever is asking. Play that scan on screen. The party should feel inspected.
Once recruited, the bronze fights from the air at 80 ft. fly speed and prefers to open with Lightning Breath, a 90-foot line that lands 55 lightning on a failed DC 19 Dex save. Position the line so it does not clip the party. If the players bunch up, have the dragon hover and call out for them to spread before it breathes. That single piece of dialogue is the difference between a thrilling moment and a TPK from your own NPC. Once the breath weapon is spent, the dragon switches to three Rend attacks per Multiattack, optionally swapping one Rend for Repulsion Breath when the front line is being overrun. Repulsion is the protective tool: a 30-foot cone that pushes failed STR-save targets 60 ft. and prone. Use it to peel a brute off a downed PC.
The bronze will also walk willingly into negotiations, since Common and Draconic plus Shapechange (Beast or Humanoid only) make it a serviceable diplomat. Let it shapeshift into a tall mariner for the human courts and a dolphin in the harbor. The Spellcasting list is light on combat utility, but Speak with Animals at-will is genuinely useful for shoreline scouting.
Tell the players the dragon will leave at dawn whether or not the work is done. Fixed exits make the party respect borrowed power.
A hostile adult bronze dragon almost always means the party has crossed a line a bronze considers non-negotiable, like enslaving sailors, sinking a ship full of refugees, or breaking an oath sworn on the dragon's name. Open the encounter with the dragon hovering 100 ft. up, calling the offense out by name, and offering one chance to make it right. A bronze that fights the party should always have given them a way out first.
In combat, lead with Lightning Breath if the party is grouped, then drop into Multiattack with three Rend attacks at +12 to hit for about 16 slashing plus 5 lightning each. Repulsion Breath is your control tool. Use it when a melee PC has finally closed: 30-foot cone, DC 19 Strength save, fail by any margin and they get pushed 60 ft. straight back and knocked prone. Now they have to spend their next turn standing up and running. Spellcasting offers Guiding Bolt at level 2 every round it wants, either through the Multiattack swap, through Spellcasting, or through the Guiding Light legendary action. Three Guiding Bolts in a single round on the party caster is brutal, since each gives the next attacker advantage.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day, or 4/Day in Lair) protects the dragon from the obvious lockdowns: Hold Monster, Banishment, Stun. Save the resistances for those, not for a level-1 save. Pounce keeps it mobile when the fighter wants it pinned. Thunderclap at the end of a round can deafen casters who rely on verbal components.
Bronze dragons do not fight to the death over pride. If Bloodied and the breath weapon hasn't recharged, fly out over open water and submerge. Amphibious means the chase ends there.
Stat block from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 © Wizards of the Coast LLC, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.