Red Dragons
Red dragons are covetous, evil creatures, interested only in their own well-being, vanity and the extension of their treasure hoards. They are supremely confident of their own abilities and are prone to making snap decisions without any forethought. The most powerful of the chromatic dragons, red dragons breath a cone of fire. Red dragons are the most fearsome and cruel of the chromatic dragons. They delight in ruin, death, and destruction.
The most covetous of all true dragons, red dragons tirelessly seek to increase their treasure hoards. They are exceptionally vain, even for dragons, which is reflected in their proud bearing and disdainful expression.
Basic Information
Anatomy
A red dragon has the longest wings of all chromatic dragons, both in actual measurement and in relation to body length. This is mostly due to the outermost alar phalange, which is very long and gives the wing a tapering look. The longest part of the wing is right at the trailing edge. The trailing edge of the wing membrane attaches to the dragon’s body behind the rear lags and well down the tail. The great horns on a red dragon’s head are clearly visible from below. The odor of sulfur, smoke and pumice surrounds a red dragon.
Genetics and Reproduction
Courtship among red dragons can be a perilous affair, because most would-be suitors are treated as dangerous rivals. Successful red dragon courtship usually involves a younger dragon with fairly high status among its peers carefully approaching an older one. Females do most of the courting, but males are also known to do so. After mating, the younger dragon is usually left to guard the eggs. Most red wyrmlings are left to fend for themselves. Occasionally, two parents of about equal age mate and tend their young together. Red dragons rarely fight for mates. Most are wise enough to know that any battle will be fatal, and prudently quit the field when a superior rival makes a claim.
After a gestation period of 165 days, the red dragon lays three to five eggs. The 4 foot long eggs must be incubated in an open flame or in a temperature of at least 140°F for 660 days before hatching.
Growth Rate & Stages
The small scales of wyrmlings are a bright glossy scarlet. Toward the end of the young stage, the scales turn a deeper red, and the glossy texture is replaced by a smooth, dull finish. As the dragon grows older, the scales become large, thick, and as strong as metal. The pupils of a red dragon fade as it ages; the oldest red dragons have eyes that resemble molten lava orbs.
They are considered wyrmlings for the first five years, very young until age 15, reach the juvenile stage at 26 years, and become sexually mature at 51 years, being considered fully adult at 100. They are considered mature at 200, old at 400, very old at 600, and ancient at 800 years. Beyond 1,000 they are considered wyrms, and great wyrms after 1,200 years.
Younger red dragons often find life difficult. Their vivid red scales make them dangerously conspicuous in most landscapes, and so they lurk underground by day and venture forth only at night. Older red dragons, however, are both less vividly colored and more aware of their presumed status as the epitome of dragonkind.
Ecology and Habitats
Red dragons love to make their lairs in deep, underground caves mountainous terrain, but also inhabit hilly regions, badlands, and other locales where they can perch high and survey their domain. Many prefer to dwell in volcanoes, where the intense heat keeps others at bay. Almost all red dragons simply require a high perch. The higher the better as they believe that their domain encompasses all that they could see.
Their preference for mountain homes often brings them into conflict with silver dragons, which red dragons passionately hate. Silver dragons usually get the better of red dragons in battle, which merely serves to stoke the flames of resentment among red dragons. Red dragons also vie for territory with copper dragons from time to time, and the weaker copper dragons are often hard-pressed to survive any direct confrontation.
A red dragon seeks out a large cave that extends deep into the earth for its lair. Caves with some kind of volcanic or geothermal activity are the most highly prized. No matter what its lair is like, however, the dragon always has a high perch nearby from which to haughtily survey its territory.
Dungeon-dwelling red dragons seek out superheated or fiery areas for their lairs. Since dungeons usually lack elevated areas that offer panoramic views of the neighborhood, red dragons living in such places often settle for open spaces or areas with long corridors that offer broad views.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Red dragons are meat-eaters by preference, and their favorite food is a human or elf youth. Their taste for the flesh of young women is well documented. The dragons steadfastly claim that such meat simply tastes better. Sometimes they force villagers into regularly sacrificing maidens to them.
Biological Cycle
Mating is initiated by the female every century or so when she feels the urge to have children. She looks for the nearest red dragon with the most wealth and power. So of course the males never deny their advances. It's a sign of prestige among other males to be requested to mate. The male then abandons her while she hatches her eggs. She jealously guards those eggs, occasionally with an infertile female but rarely lays down her own life for her hatchlings. Once her young reach the young adult stage of development (usually even earlier than this) the mother's natural instincts overrule her maternal ones and she forces all of her young from her territory.
Young red dragons, especially wyrmlings are easy prey for predators and hunters due to their bright, glossy scarlet scales, so they tend to stay underground in the darkness until they feel that they could defend themselves properly.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Red Dragons believe that they are the pinnacle of draconic nature and that all other species are impure. They value vengefulness, rapaciousness, avarice and ferocity above other traits and recognize these traits in themselves with pride. They are solitary creatures and care little for news of other types of dragons. They do however, look for news of other red dragons in their area.
If they believe their own achievements and possessions to be greater than these other red dragons then they stay in their caves, smugly congratulating themselves but if they learn that the achievements or possessions of the other red dragons are greater than their own they fly into a vengeful rage, decimating the surrounding area until they believe that they have outdone their rivals. The dragon becomes much less cautious during this time and much more likely to underestimate their foes.
Unfortunately, red dragons can go to extreme lengths to ensure that every other red dragon in the area knew that they are inferior to the red dragon spreading the news. They will often burn down only half a village or let a single adventurer flee from a battle so that word of their power spreads throughout the region. Not only will this anger other red dragons but it's also like a shining beacon to adventurers and treasure hunters.
If a red dragon ever finds out that another red dragon has "lost it", either by getting badly wounded or if they are becoming senile in old age, then local red dragons will descend on the lair, stripping it clean and usually killing the owner. They despise the thought of weakness in any red dragon and believe that if a red dragon could not protect what it had, then it did not deserve to have it.
Reds are also highly territorial. Entering an area a red considered its domain is just asking to be attacked, especially if it is another dragon entering the area (even more so if it was a red dragon). Conflict is inevitable if this were the case and it is almost always to the death as neither would dare show weakness to the other. Thankfully, most other species are smart enough to flee if they realize the area belongs to a red dragon. Red dragons can get so territorial that in rare occasions they will adopt a protective yet patronizing attitude towards creatures they consider inferior that lived within their self-imposed borders.
Red dragons hate any authority other than their own. They never ask elders for advice, even if doing so would save their lives as to them, admitting they need something their elders have is the same as putting themselves under their authority.
A red dragon is particularly interested in news about other red dragons, mostly because its own status relative to its peers remains a top concern. A red dragon’s pride is easily wounded, because any defeat or insult left unanswered causes a loss of status. This is one reason why red dragons are prone to destructive rages. A red dragon usually can recover some lost status by wreaking havoc.
Every red dragon firmly believes that no being deserves to keep anything it is not strong enough to defend. Red dragons apply this rule to their own kind. Occasionally, red dragons perceive weakness among one of their own, and the subject is not allowed to live. The victim is attacked, and its lair is stripped.
Facial characteristics
Two massive horns sweep back atop a red dragon’s head. These horns can be straight or twisted, and can be any hue from bone white to night black. Rows of small horns run along the top of a red dragon’s head, and the dragon has small horns on its cheeks and lower jaw as well. A red dragon has a beaked snout with a small nose and chin horns. Its tongue is forked, and little flames often dance in its nostrils and eye sockets when it is angry. The dragon has fringed ears that tend to merge with the cheek horns as the dragon ages. A red dragon’s teeth protrude when its mouth is closed, and it has a single backswept frill that begins behind the head and runs all the way to the tip of the tail.
Civilization and Culture
Beauty Ideals
Red dragons are the most obsessive treasure collectors among the true dragons. They covet absolutely anything of monetary value and often can judge a bauble’s worth to within a copper piece with just a glance.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Red dragons are so rapacious, ferocious, vengeful, and avaricious that scholars regard them as the archetypical evil dragons. Red dragons share this opinion of themselves. They believe that, above all other species, they are closest to the ideals of draconic nature and behavior, and that the rest of dragonkind has slipped from this purity.
Every red dragon knows the exact value of items in its hoard, along with exactly how and when the dragon obtained the item and each item’s exact location in the hoard. Bards tell tales of sneak thieves who ignite a dragon’s wrath just by stealing a single trinket. Such tales are firmly grounded in fact, at least where red dragons are concerned. In some cases, in fact, the tales fall short of the mark. An adult red dragon can notice a single coin missing from its hoard, and its rage over the pettiest theft is legendary. The dragon tracks down and slays the thief if possible. If not, the dragon is sure to go on a rampage, killing anything it meets and laying waste to any town or village where the thief might have taken refuge.
Red dragons hate silver dragons with a passion as their familiarity with the element of cold and other natural powers often makes red dragons appear weak in battle with them. They also commonly come into conflict with copper dragons for territory rights, though copper dragons rarely win out against the more powerful red dragons in open conflict. Above all though, red dragons hate gold dragons. Red dragons might loudly proclaim that they would fight and defeat any gold dragon they came across but often find an excuse not to fight when that time eventually came. Gold dragons are so similar to red dragons yet their natural moral differences are extreme.
All red dragons are solitary by nature and fiercely territorial; they keep constant watch for trespassers of any kind and for encroachment by other dragons. Entering a red dragon’s territory uninvited is asking to be attacked. For all their ferocious independence, however, red dragons always seek to know about events in the wider world. They often make use of lesser creatures as informants, messengers, and
spies. The dragons invariably adopt patronizing attitudes toward these servants, and do not hesitate to slay and eat them when they bring bad news.
Red dragons are confident fighters for whom retreat or compromise is not an option. They spend years formulating plans of attack; upon spotting potential foes, they simply choose a strategy and immediately put it into practice. Being swift but not particularly agile flyers, they often choose to fight on the ground when they can. There, red dragons often display considerable mobility and tactical savvy. They are
excellent jumpers, and often leap from place or take short flights to gain the most favorable position possible when using spells or breath weapons. Any red dragon is well aware that its fiery breath can destroy treasure, and it uses its breath weapon judiciously so as to avoid incinerating the spoils of victory.
For all its legendary ferocity, a red dragon also knows when not to attack. If it recognizes a superior foe, it (reluctantly) withdraws to fight another day if it can do so without losing face. Likewise, when dealing with a clearly weaker foe, a red dragon might attempt to bully or fool the creature into rendering it some service or supplying information. In either case, the dragon gets what it wants, or the creature dies. The dragon will accept no other outcomes. Red dragons do not slay every foe they meet in battle. Always conscious of status, they often allow a few survivors to escape and spread word of the dragon’s victory
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Genetic Descendants
Lifespan
2,500 or more years.
Average Height
12 feet tall
Average Weight
20,000 pounds
Average Length
55 feet long, with a 18 foot long body, 16 foot long neck and 21 foot long tail.
Average Physique
Red dragons are physically distinguished by their enormous size and wingspan.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
The wings have a bluish or blue-black tint along the trailing edge (the dragon’s frills show a similar pattern the color resembles metal burned blue in a fire.
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