[AD&D] Random Unique Dragon Generator

[E.G.Palmer]

This is the full sized version of a d6 only dragon generator that I posted on my game blog a while ago. The point of this is to create unusual dragons that won't feel routine for experienced players.
I think dragons have gotton way to standardized in the game. The color coded heirarchy of dragons feels too predictable to me now. It's really only fairly recently that the dragon has become something which is always reptilian, four-legged, and winged with a breath-weapon. The ancient and medieval conception of dragons was far more varied and all sorts of creatures fell into a broad catagory of "dragons".

This should generate something that you could call, "the Dragon of Sluurdy Vale", or "the Beast of Grumild", rather than, dragon;red,mature.

note; I'm a big fan of do-it-yourself gaming, so the dragon generator mentions tables I haven't included here. Make them up to fit your game.


The Random Unique Dragon Generator.

Intelligence.
roll 1d6
1. Animal
2. Low
3. Average *
4. Very
5. Highly
6. Genius
* If intelligence is greater than Average, there is a 20% chance of some form of madness. If so, roll on Mental Disorder Sub-table.

Alignment.
There is only a 20% chance the dragons alignment will be any form of Good. Roll 2d10 first, and then roll 1d8. Only if indicated by the percentile roll, can the dragon’s alignment be a Good one.
1. Lawful Good
2. Lawful Evil
3. Neutral Good
4. Neutral
5. Neutral Evil
6. Chaotic Good
7. Chaotic Evil
8. Alignment subject to change. Re-roll per encounter


Age.
roll 1d8
1. Very Young. 1 hit point per die.
2. Young. 2 hit points per die.
3. Sub-adult. 3 hit points per die.
4. Young adult. 4 hit points per die.
5. Adult. 5 hit points per die.
6. Old. 6 hit points per die.
7. Very old. 7 hit points per die.
8. Ancient. 8 hit points per die.

Size.
roll 1d6. The size list is very general, it is open to interpretation by the DM.
1. S (smaller than man-size, up to 140 lbs)
2. M (man-size, up to 300 lbs)
3. L (larger than man-size, up to 12 feet, 1000 lbs)
4. H (huge, up to 20 feet, 2000 lbs)
5. G (giant, up to 35 feet, 3500 lbs)
6. E (enormous, up to 55 feet, 5000 lbs)


Armor Class.
roll 1d8
1. Ac 8
2. Ac 6
3. Ac 4
4. Ac 2
5. Ac 0
6. Ac -1
7. Ac -2
8. Ac -3


Hit Dice.
roll 1d8
1. 4-6 hit dice
2. 5-7 hit dice
3. 6-8 hit dice
4. 7-9 hit dice
5. 8-10 hit dice
6. 9-12 hit dice
7. 10-13 hit dice
8. 11-14 hit dice

Move: On the ground/flying
roll 1d6
1. 6/18
2. 10/10
3. 12/24
4. 9/24
5. 9/30
6. 12/30

Number of attacks per round.
roll 1d6
1. 1 APR
2. 2 APR
3. 2 APR
4. 3 APR
5. 3 APR
6. 4 APR

Damage per attack.
roll 1d6 (Roll as many times as indicated by # of attacks per round)
1. 1-4
2. 1-6
3. 1-8
4. 1-10
5. 1-12
6. 2-12

Breath Weapon.
roll 1d8
1. No breath weapon
2. Fire. (as red dragon)
3. Cold. (as white dragon)
4. Acid. (as black dragon)
5. Poison Gas. (as green dragon)
6. Lightening. (as blue dragon)
7-8. Unique breath weapon. (roll on Unique Breath Weapon table)

Unique Breath Weapon.
Roll 1d10
1. Spittle ball causes random polymorph to those hit.
2. Laughing gas, save vs dragon breath or be rendered defenseless due to convulsions of laughter. (gas attack has same dimensions as green dragon toxic gas breath weapon)
3. Roar/cone of sound, does 1-8 points of damage per hit die, and causes permanent deafness to those failing save.
4. Dragon vomits forth a gusher of stinging insects. 1-4 points of damage per hit die, plus save vs poison or be immobilized with pain for a number of rounds equal to the dragons hit dice.
5. Breath becomes "Web" as per the spell.
6. A gust of "Sleep" fumes as per the spell.
7. A glob of protoplasm which transforms into a random monster under the dragon’s control.
8. Breath disintegrates metal. Only magic items may attempt to save.
9. Giant wad of phlegm which will glue victims to surfaces or to each other. The dragon will direct it at the highest concentration of foes. Alcohol will dissolve the phlegm in three rounds.
10. Hurricane force wind. Failure to save results in targets being dashed against closest obstruction. Calculate as falling damage.

Special Defenses. ( 2 in 6, or 35% chance of possessing.)
roll 1d10
1. Only hit by magic weapons.
2. Anti-magic field, 5' radius.
3. Chameleon, treat as elven cloak.
4. Constantly sheds caltrop-like scales. Unless characters have a dexterity greater than 14, they have a 20% chance per round of stepping on a shed scale and taking 2 points of damage when within twenty feet of the dragon.
5. Dragon is perpetually enveloped in fire. Coming within melee range causes 1-4 points of damage per round.
6. Miasmal fog surrounds the dragon. Anyone closing to melee range must save or contract random disease.
7. Dragon regenerates as does a troll.
8. Dragon is constantly coated in frost. Immune to cold-based attacks and anyone coming withing melee range must save or be frost-bitten for 1-4 points of damage a single time.
9. Dragon blinks as does a Blink Dog.
10. Dragon’s blood is poisonous. If wounded by an edged weapon, the attacker must save vs poison.

Special Attacks. ( 2 in 6, or 35% chance of possessing.)
roll 1d10
1. Dragon has claws of sharpness. On a natural twenty, the victim of the dragons claw attack will have a random limb severed.
2. Dragon Speech. Those hearing the dragon speak must save or be charmed and become the dragons staunch supporters.
3. Frog tongue. The dragon can attack as would a Cave Fisher.
4. Tail spines as a Manticore.
5. Gaze weapon causes diametric alignment shift. Treat as a Medusa’s gaze attack.
6. Dragon sprays caustic urine causing 2-12 points of damage and painful blistering.
7. A slap of the dragon’s tongue will cause madness. Target must save or be stricken with a random mental illness.
8. Dragon’s wings are edged with bony serrations. It may slash for 1-8 points of damage at targets twice as far away as normal melee range.
9. Dragon may speak a minor curse once per day. Example; "May you never wield a sword again!" The curse will hold until lifted by a cleric.
10. Dragon’s tail ends in a bone club. When stuck against the ground, or other hard surface, the bone club will shatter, hurling shrapnel in all directions. Those struck will take 1-6 points of damage. The club regrows within a day.

Special Abilities. ( 2 in 6, or 35% chance of possessing.)
roll 1d10
1. Dragon burrows as a Bullette
2. Dragon travels distances greater than 100 feet via natural Dimension Door.
3. Dragon possesses lernaean regeneration abilities. If it loses a head, or limb, it will regrow two to replace it within 1-4 rounds if the stump is not burned with fire.
4. The dragon may climb surfaces as would a giant gecko.
5. The dragon sprays a musk which will attract wandering monsters until removed by rubbing with pumpkin flesh. Every subsequent wandering monster check will result in an encounter.
6. The dragon is an oracle and may foretell events if persuaded.
7. As a displacer beast, the dragon always appears to be 3 feet from it’s actual position. This adds two points to it’s saving throws, and subtracts 2 points from opponents attack rolls.
8. The dragon has the ability to mimic the form of anyone it has recently observed. Treat as a doppleganger.
9. The dragon can see and strike ethereal and astral creatures, and those using magic to transport themselves to those planes.
10. Undead must obey the dragon. It cannot create, or summon them, but any encountered must heed it’s commands.

General Characteristics.
The dragon’s dominate features are generally:
roll 1d8
1. Mammalian. Bare flesh, or fur. The dragon exhibits qualities which are, cat-like, bearish, wolf-like, etc...
2. Reptilian. Scaled or pebbled hide. The dragon is serpent-like, crocodilian or dinosaurian.
3. Amphibian. Smooth and slimy skin. The dragon is salamander-like, or frogish.
4. Avian. Feathered and/or beaked and taloned. The dragon is somewhat bird-like.
5. Unnaturally monstrous. The dragon may not be native to this plane. It’s form may be difficult to discern, or may not be set. The dragon may be only partially material.
6. Construct. The dragon is a made thing. It may be like a flesh golum or built of unliving materials.
7. Humanoid dragon. The general form of the dragon’s body is similar to that of a man. Or, it may have human-like features, eyes, hands, a human like mouth, etc...
8. Amalgamation. Roll twice on this table and combine results to make a dragon which is truly bizarre.

General Form.
roll 1d20
1. Serpentine, no limbs.
2. Serpentine, winged
3. Serpentine, forelimbs only.
4. Serpentine, forelimbs and wings.
5. Serpentine, four legs only.
6. Serpentine, four legs and wings.
7. Serpentine, bipedal rear legs only.
8. Serpentine, bipedal rear legs and wings.
9. Serpentine, bipedal rear legs and fore arms.
10. Serpentine, bipedal rear legs, fore arms, and wings
11. Traditional heavy bodied dragon with four limbs and wings.
12. Bipedal, carnosaur-like.
13. Bipedal, carnosaur-like with wings.
14. Traditional heavy bodied dragon, four limbs only.
15. Multi-legged, six limbs or more.
16. Multi-legged, six limbs or more and winged
17. Multi-legged, one hundred limbs or more.
18. The dragon’s form changes after each encounter. Re-roll for beginning form.
19. The dragon lacks limbs. paws, claws, or hands attach directly to the body.
20. Head and body as one, no neck. Bipedal, long tail, no fore arms or wings.

Primary and Secondary colors.
Roll 1d8 twice for colors, Choose scheme or pattern as you like. (Spots, stripes, blotches, solids, etc...)
1. Black
2. White.
3. Red.
4. Green.
5. Blue.
6. Yellow.
7. Brown.
8. Grey.

% in lair.
roll 1d6.
1. 10%
2. 20%
3. 30%
4. 40%
5. 50%
6. 60%

Chance of Speaking/Magic-use/Sleeping
roll 1d6
1. 30%/10%/50%
2. 60%/30%/30%
3. 30%/30%/50%
4. 45%/40%/40%
5. 75%/40%/20%
6. 100%/100%/5%

Purpose or Obsession.
The thing which drives the dragons actions.
roll 1d12
1. Arcanovore. The dragon devours magic items, spell books, and spell casters.
2. The dragon lusts to accumulate treasure.
3. The dragon must eat sentient creatures.
4. The dragon loves music and collects musicians who must play for it’s enjoyment until they die.
5. Bibliophile. The dragon hoards knowledge. If it captures books which it cannot itself, read, it will search for persons who can be forced to read to it.
6. The dragon exists to foul pure wells and water sources.
7. The dragon collects maidens. It may or may not eat them.
8. The dragon destroys temples and priests regardless of alignment.
9. The dragon is obsessed with colorful fish.
10. The dragon always seeks to expand it’s personal desolation.
11. The dragon is zealously attempting to found it’s own religion, centered on the worship of itself.
12. Fighting is the dragon’s raison d’etre. It always seeks to match itself to the greatest possible foes.

Allies or Minions.
There is only a 25% chance the dragon will have either.
If so, roll 1d10
1. A second, lesser dragon of a standard type.
2. A second, lesser Randomly generated dragon.
3. A thrall monster. (roll on appropriate random wilderness encounter table.)
4. A non-dragon mate. The Random Unique Dragon is a Monster and capable of breeding with any other creature.
5. The dragon functions as the Local Lord. Roll for a group of fighters of the dominate area race.
6. The dragon is venerated by the locals. It will be defended by it’s Zealots who will sacrifice offenders to their "god".
7. The Local Lord placates the dragon by regular human sacrifices. He will prevent anyone upsetting the arrangement.
8. The dragons actions serve the purposes of a minor infernal power. There is a 20% chance that it may send demonic assistance if the dragon is hard pressed.
9. A famous dragon-slayer opposes any who would attempt to destroy the dragon before him.
10. The dragon is in-fact, an agent of, or controlled by, a neighboring power of the lands it is despoiling. Destroying it may upset plans the PCs know nothing about, and gain them the attention of powers of which they are unaware.

The dragon generated by these lists may have apparent contradictions. The DM may re-roll attributes which cause conflicts, or he may come up with creative rationalizations which smooth out stat conflicts.
Many of the randomly generated statistics will require the DM to come up with plausible back-stories or justifications for exactly why the dragon is as it is, and why it does as it does. This, fleshing out of the dragon is nearly as much fun for the DM as it is when he gets to see the over confident PCs first encounter the Unique Dragon.

There is no promise that the randomly generated dragon will be a level-appropriate foe for the party. It could easily outmatch them, and it could just as easily be a push-over. The fun part is, they don't know which it is. The beast's size and appearance can be totally at odds with it's actual ability to deal out death.

An example dragon, Slurgorth, the Beast of the Black Vale. Rolled up with out any fudging of the dice, so help me Gary.

Intelligence: Highly intelligent. (I rolled a 5, and a 15% on the chance for mental problems, under the 20% required. Slurgorth has some form of insanity.)

Alignment: Subject to change, re-roll at each encounter. ( I rolled an 8 and re-rolled a 4, so, Slurgorth starts with a Neutral alignment.)

Age: Sub-adult, 3 hit points per die. ( rolled a 3, so Slurgorth is not as old and formidable as he might otherwise be.)

Size: L. ( I rolled a 3, so I’m going to make him maximum for the class, 12 feet long, and 1000 lbs.)

Armor class: -3. ( I rolled an 8, so Slurgorth is very difficult to hit and damage.)

Hit dice: 4-6. ( I rolled a 1, so Slurgorth dosen’t have as many hit dice as he might. I therefore go for the max allowed, 6 hit dice. This gives him 18 hit points at his age. Not a lot, but his high AC will compensate for this.)

Move: 6/18. ( I rolled a 1 again, Slurgorth moves slowly on the ground and flys heavily through the air.)

Attacks per round: 2 attacks per round. ( Rolled a 3, Slurgorth is slow enough that he doesn’t get two claws and a bite in the same round.)

Damage/attacks: 1-10/1-8. ( I rolled a 4, and a 3, Slurgorth’s clawed fore arms are more dangerous than his relatively weak bite.)

Breath weapon: ( I rolled an 8, indicating a unique breath weapon.)

Unique Breath Weapon: Slurgorth can expel a spittle ball which causes those struck to undergo a random polymorph. Roll on reincarnation tables to determine new form. Victim may save vs dragon breath to make the transformation temporary. As with standard breath weapons, this may be used three times per day.

Special defenses: nil. ( There is only a 35% chance of the dragon possessing special defenses, and I rolled above that, so nothing for Slurgorth.)

Special attacks: Slurgorth’s wings are edged with bony serrations. He may slash at targets twice normal melee range distant for 1-8 points of damage. This means he may attack first in the first round of melee regardless of initiative. ( I rolled a 10%, under the 35% required for Special attacks, and then an 8 for the wing serrations.)

Special abilities: nil. (I rolled above the 35% chance to possess special abilities.)

General characteristics. Amalgamation, Amphibian and Unnaturally Monstrous. ( I rolled an 8 and got amalgamation, and then a 3 and a 5. I decide that Slurgorth is a salamander-like thing from the outer dark, possibly brought here to this world accidentally. )

General Form: Serpentine and bipedal, with long taloned fore arms and wings. ( I rolled and got a 10. Slurgorth walks in a powerful, but shambling gait on it’s long hind legs. It’s terrible forearms hang nearly to the ground and it’s long flexible back allows it to quickly turn and attack in any direction. It’s mucous coated wings lie flat against it’s back when not in use. It’s pale and lamp-like eyes goggle about in search of victims.)

Colors: Slurgorth is a glistening black and mottled with a random pattern of brown speckling. ( I rolled a 1 for primary color, and a 7 for secondary.)

% in lair: 50% ( I rolled a 5, Slurgorth spends much time in it’s foul lair, contemplating it’s hopes for future malevolence. )

Chance of Speaking/Magic-use/Sleeping: 75% chance of speaking, 40% chance of magic-use, 20% chance of sleeping. (I rolled a 5. Slurgorth may or may not speak, quite possibly can use magic, and is rarely to be caught sleeping.)

Purpose or Obsessions: Arcanovore, Slurgorth compulsively devours anything with the scent of magic upon it, or them. It hopes that if it absorbs enough magical potential, it may be able to force a door to it’s place of origin. Perhaps to return home, or perhaps to bring others into this world. ( I rolled a 1.)

Allies or Minions: nil. ( I rolled above the 25% possibility that the dragon could have any allies.)

[Golan2072]

Very impressive!

[Snorri]

Perefect! I'd like to see a .pdf version with tables.

[Maliki]

Nice work, for my next campaign I was wanting something besides the standard color coded dragons that everyone is so familar with. I don't know if I will use every table but, this is a great way to generate a unique and memorable "dragon" for the PCs to encounter.

[sycarion]

Very cool indeed. Thanks!

I'll see if I can put it a pdf for everyone. Working on it now...

[viking vince]

I congragulate you effort

[E.G.Palmer]

Thank you, gentlemen! I'm glad you like it. If I ever do figure out how to convert it to a pdf, I'll make it available. I'm a bit e-challenged.

[sycarion]

Perefect! I'd like to see a .pdf version with tables.

Typed it up and put in into a PDF file. I need help with the statblock for Slurgoth at the end. I think I got the Movement stat wrong somehow. Let me know if you want any tweaking done.

http://www.sycarion.com/scribd/UniqueDragon.pdf

[E.G.Palmer]

Well, thanks, Sycarion! I think that looks very nice! Please, everyone, take advantage of Sycarion's kind work by creating murderous unique dragons to kill your players.

[Myrystyr]

Dragons in my world were always more unique than the basic statistics and descriptions (I had a lawful evil gold dragon back in the 80s/90s), so I'll definitely be making use of this, thanks... maybe tweaked a little, to reflect my world - I might even dig up that old White Dwarf article on vampires too

[viking vince]

Marked for later use

[bobjester]

Thanks for this, EG Palmer & Sycarion for the PDF!

[Telemachus]

Well, thanks, Sycarion! I think that looks very nice! Please, everyone, take advantage of Sycarion's kind work by creating murderous unique dragons to kill your players.

I think that's the least we could do as a vote of thanks! Very nice -- and a good Footprints article?

[sycarion]

I agree, this would be a good Footprints article.

[E.G.Palmer]

Hmmm, I'd go along with that. What do we do? Yell for a moderator or something?

[E.G.Palmer]

I could write a larger foreward for it. I've got lots to say about monsters.

[Telemachus]

Hmmm, I'd go along with that. What do we do? Yell for a moderator or something?

Drop Gnarley an email at gnarleybones@dragonsfoot.org

[Telemachus]

Well, I whipped up a Random Dragon just for fun and thought I'd share; I'm quite pleased with the results. I'm increasingly a fan of the sort of weird fairytale aspect of D&D (goes along nicely with megadungeons and the 'mythic underworld' thing) and these fit the bill excellently. It also led me to this, which I find quite amusing.

The dragon:
The Howling Child; the Beast of Fretleigh: AC 4, MV 12"/30", HD 9, hps 18 (young: 2 hps/die), % in Lair 40%, Att 2, Dmg 1-6/1-10, SA breath weapon: hurricane-force wind; bony serated wings slash for 1-8, SD none, Int Average, Size S. The Beast talks but does not use spells and has a 20% chance of being asleep. It has human characteristics (upper body in this case), but its body is serpentine with two forelimbs; its is a sickish yellow, fading to brown at the tail. It is obsessed with music, and PCs will be hampered by a 'famous dragon slayer' who claims its head as his own.

Here's the rumours the PCs might hear (very quickly whipped up):
Disaster has befallen the village of Fretleigh (which tends to come as no great surprise to its pessimistic inhabitants). On the eve of the Feast of Banthen, many of the village folk had foregathered to watch the entertainments of the wandering company of mummers, jugglers and minstrels put on in Banthen's honour. Into the happy noise of drum, pipe and sacbut came a hideous clamour of whirlwind, and a very dragon descended amidst the crowd. Its roaring and its stinking breath laid the crowd low, and the dragon seized up a troubadour in its talons and flew away. Some days later the troupe, taking up their wanderings, was again assailed by the beast and one of their members carried off, as before alive and whole (so far). Since then, the beast has occasionally been spotted flapping about the Tangle and Gower's Hill, and farmers on the outskirts report swine, sheep and cattle -- and the occasional goat-herder -- have disappeared.
The villagers fear attack at any moment, and whisper that music summons the beast; all singing and playing has been forbidden in the town, making it a yet more miserable place. The fears of the townfolk have been only somewhat assuaged by the appearance of Sir Polworth, an elderly knight errant, who has decreed that the slaughter of this beast is now his Quest. He is rumoured to have set up camp near the fetid grotto of the beast, and challenges it daily to a duel.
Villagers described the monster, now known as the Howling Child, or the Fretleigh Beast, as a sickened-yellow thing, half winged snake and half petulant child. What other treasure the Beast may have gathered in its lair, the villagers can only guess.

The dragon will live in a series of caverns with strange acoustic properties -- changing echoes, the PCs own footsteps seeeming approaching monsters, and possibly a chance of spell failure or alteration too, as well as the singing/playing of the captured musicians. The elderly cavalier Sir Polworth will be a sort of Sir Pelenore type, perhaps, very possessive of his own Questing Beast, surrounded by exasperated esquires and put out by the dragon's ignoring of his challenges. Treasure will include musical things -- perhaps even, of course, a golden harp...

The 'obsessions' and 'minions' bits of the chart make it more than a random monster generator -- you get whole little adventure seeds too! Great for a sandbox.

[E.G.Palmer]

That is excellent, Telemachus! That's exactly the sort of thing I was shooting for with RDG. You've done a great job with the back story and rumors too. I want to hunt the Howling Child myself!

[Telemachus]

The oracular power of the dice really does work, doesn't it?

I must say I took the chance to have a trawl through your blog too and I enjoyed it -- and the creatures therein -- enormously! Post more often, sir.

[E.G.Palmer]

Glad you stopped in at the blog! I've got a half dozen more monsters in the que, and other stuff for gaming that I'll rotate in as I get the chance. I haven't had as much time for the blog lately, I'm at a post a week right now.

Real life is just a ball and chain on the imagination some times.

[teh clawring crabe]

Nice work! Love this. Were you inspired at all by Dave Arneson's dragon generator in "Adventures in Fantasy"? I only just discovered that gem myself and yours has a lot of similar, yet different details. However, they very much seem to be cut from the same cloth. I was looking to expand on the Arneson generator myself, but it looks like I won't have to do much work at all with what you've provided here. Should be easy to mix and match the two together.

If you hadn't seen that dragon generator, you should - you'd dig it the most! PM me and I can send over a PDF scan of just those few pages. (I have a copy courtesy of fellow 'footer Thoth Amon, who generously shared a scan from his own collection. Sad to say I don't own "Adventures in Fantasy" myself, but dang does the dragon generator in it rock!)

As does yours - Kudos! The PDF is in my collection for good.

[bobjester]

Mr. Palmer, I've had this document for a couple of years now, and failed to put your name on it as author. Thanks to Telemachus for sending me here, I can now put your name on the PDF I'm creating, along with a few snippets of Dave Arneson's Random Dragon Generation tables from his Adventures in Fantasy, and a few additions to your tables by myself.

I do not have the PDF quite finished yet, nor do I have an online place to host it once I've finished it, as I do want to check with you first before I do any such thing.

[deathsdj]

This is very cool. I missed it until bobjester brought it up.

I would be interested in seeing that pdf if you get it hosted somewhere. How about here at DF?

Cheers!

MJW

[bobjester]

This is very cool. I missed it until bobjester brought it up.

I would be interested in seeing that pdf if you get it hosted somewhere. How about here at DF?

Cheers!

MJW

Hey, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I'm unsure of some copyright issues with the bits of Dave Arneson's Dragon Generation system from Adventures in Fantasy, and before I release it, I want to get permission from James Holloway, SightBlinder X & GLAD for 3 specific pieces that I would like to include.

Right now, it weighs in at 15 pages.

Oh, I still have to work on page numbering*...

(*I use a Linux .odt format (their version of MSWord) - and as proficient as I am getting with it, page numbering, headers & footers still give me fits.)