Verdant Dragon, Ancient

Family: Dragons

Gargantuan dragon, neutral good

Armor Class 22 (natural armor
Hit Points 697 (34d20 + 340
Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft., burrow 50 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
30 (+10)	11 (+0)	30 (+10)	12 (+1)	21 (+5)	26 (+8)

Saving Throws Str +18, Con +18, Wis +13
Skills Animal Handling +21, Perception +13, Persuasion +16
Damage Resistances acid
Damage Immunities radiant
Senses tremorsense 120 ft., passive Perception 23
Languages Common, Draconic, Druidic, Sylvan
Challenge 25 (75,000 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Camouflage. When it remains motionless, the dragon is indistinguishable from a natural lump of verdigris and foliage.
• Greenwalker. The dragon can move through solid plants and organic material as though it were difficult terrain. If it ends its turn inside a plant, it is shunted to the nearest unoccupied space and takes 4 (1d8) necrotic damage for every 5 feet it is shunted in this manner.
• Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The dragon makes four attacks: one with its Bite, two with its Claw, and one with its Tail. It can forgo making any number of attacks in this manner to instead use its Healer’s Touch action.
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 55 (7d12 + 10) piercing damage.
• Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 26 (3d10 + 10) slashing damage.
• Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 29 (3d12 + 10) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 26 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
• Healer’s Touch. The dragon touches a creature within 15 feet of it, causing it to regain 21 (6d6) hit points.
• Viridian Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales a wave of green wind in a 90-foot cone. Each creature of the dragon’s choice in the affected area must attempt a DC 26 Constitution saving throw, taking 88 (16d10) radiant damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Creatures of the dragon’s choice affected by the breath weapon instead take no damage and regain 88 (16d10) hit points.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

• Claw. The dragon makes a Claw attack.
• Healer’s Touch. The dragon uses its Healer’s Touch action.
• Burrow (Costs 2 Actions). The dragon burrows up to its burrowing speed.
• Breath Weapon (Costs 3 Actions). The dragon uses or recharges its breath weapon.

LAIR

Verdant dragons make their lairs in deep forest groves hidden among miles of wilderness, rivers, and hills, the pathways of which are known only to the most dedicated foresters. Rare flowers, useful herbs, mighty trees, and bold fauna make their home in these lairs as well. Only elder verdant dragons create their own groves, and by then, they are titanic in their size, needing lairs as large as small towns.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the verdant dragon takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects.

• Trees shift their position when unobserved, changing forest paths along with them. Any creature that attempts a Wisdom (Survival) check to track a creature in the lair must make the check with disadvantage.
• Vines, undergrowth, and dense plants in the area become difficult terrain for 1 round.
• Edible vegetation, mushrooms, and fruit are easily found within the lair.

Regional Effects

The region containing the verdant dragon’s lair is warped by its magic, which creates one or more of the following effects within 1 mile of the lair.

• Water becomes purified, and all fresh food tastes delicious.
• Any spell or effect that produces a cloud has its duration reduced to 1 round.
• Any creature in the region who has upset a resident verdant dragon takes a 1d10 penalty to all Wisdom (Survival) and Wisdom (Perception) checks made while in the region.

ABOUT

Verdant dragons are massive, even as newborns. Immense, indescribably majestic, and gentle creatures, verdant dragons are embodiments of nature itself. Their scales are thick and furrowed, not dissimilar to bark. These behemoths often have moss, vines, and flowers growing on them, overgrowth from their long naps in their forest homes. Older members of this dragon species bear entire trees on their backs. Their horns sweep back, taking the appearance of tree branches, and their eyes are an emerald hue. One of the most surefire methods travelers have of knowing that a verdant dragon is nearby is a sudden crispness to the air and the soft smell of flowers.

Verdant dragons make their homes in the oldest and grandest forests in the world, and their offspring move to either other parts of the same forest or to new woodlands entirely.

Their lives follow the patterns of trees in this way—just as seeds disperse and spread far from their parent plant, so do the young verdant dragons depart and grow elsewhere.

Older members spend much of their days slumbering, nearly melding with the forest floor itself, their breath providing pleasant breezes throughout the trees. Younger members spend much of their time wandering the forest, encouraging its growth, meeting with others in their forest, and destroying all sources of rot.

Popular theory holds that any forest with verdant dragons is more bountiful and gentler than those without, with their natural capabilities actively making the forest abundantly healthy and nearly always in a state of growth. The true risk of these forests is their slow encroachment on nearby lands and settlements, but if a dragon believes that the residents are no threat, it may limit how far the forest spreads or encourage growth of fruit-bearing trees and flora within its borders.