Faerie Dragons: Expanding Monsters in D&D 5e

Faerie Dragon featured image is a combination of images credited to Wizards of the Coast’s D&D 5e book Monster Manual and art by Michael Krahn on Unsplash.
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Hello and welcome to this edition of Expanding Monsters, where we take a look at monsters in the 5e Monster Manual and expand their lore, scope, and mechanics to make them more exciting and applicable to any setting. Today we’ll be looking at Faerie Dragons and how they interact with others in the planes and how they can join as a more detailed part of any world lore.

Faerie Dragons: A Missed Opportunity

A few hundred words, lost in the middle of the Monster Manual on page 133, stuck between Ettin and Flameskull, the Faerie Dragon is one of the most overlooked monsters in 5th edition D&D. Add on top of that a complex challenge rating and abilities chart, many StoryCrafters might just pass over the potential of this Dragon for something more simple or flashy. The Faerie Dragon is also called Feydragon in other bestiaries, I’ll be using these terms interchangeably throughout the article. If you are one of the few StoryCrafters that integrate these amazing creatures into your setting, I commend you. What I write in this article is one of many potential interpretations of how this creature can be used in lore, take what you like, and leave what you don’t.

Draconic Tricksters

The magic of the Feywild touches and changes all that call it home, with Illusion and Enchantment magic at its core. Even the powerful dragons bend to the will of the plane and as a result of generations of persistence in the Feywild, Feydragons have evolved. Faerie Dragons lack most of the characteristic markers of True Dragons (Chromatic or Metallic), as they eschew size, presence, and fear in lieu of trickery, observation, and knowledge.

While it is easy to see the extreme variety of Faerie Dragons and assume that they are different creatures, they are all just variations of the same species. The natural ability for draconic creatures to adapt and change their physical bodies to fit their environment is exemplified in the Feydragons. They have the ability to build cocoons and shed their old bodies like a change of clothes to better fit their environment within a few days. Typically this happens when the Faerie Dragon transits to a different plane, biome, or settles in a sapient town. The cocoon itself is one that exists to protect the Feydragon during metamorphosis, typically using invisibility magic or illusions to fool or lure away predators. Once the transformation is complete the dragon will choose to stay in its new environment until they are forced to move, or the area becomes too boring to sustain their mood.

Trickery is the mainstay of any creature of the Feywild, if a fey creature isn’t sewing chaos, it is to be expected that they are dead or on the way to it. Feydragons are still dragons, they hoard things, mostly baubles, trinkets, and other small shiny things, but the thing that they love most is gossip and knowledge. Whether it be the bickering chatter of squirrels fighting over an acorn or the simmering love triangle between the Mayor, Mistress, and Inn Owner, the Fey Dragons love all the small things that go on in the area that it has settled. They will frequently “stir the pot” in order to make things more interesting. Should that love letter find its way into the wrong hands, it certainly would result in a major scandal and a Faerie Dragon would ensure that the letter finds its way into the wrong hands. Like a screenplay from a telenovela, Faerie Dragons watch the comings and goings of a population as a form of entertainment and will manipulate it if it isn’t spicy enough for their tastes.

One important thing to remember about the Feydragons is that they prefer argument and manipulation over any form of physical conflict or violence. While they aren’t above eliminating small animals and pets to feed their appetites when it comes to a conflict that may result in injury or death, they will be sure to attempt a trick, illusion, or just run away. While they may shy away from direct physical altercations, they savor the opportunity to trick someone else into deadly combat.

Omens of the Feywild

Feydragons on the material planes are typically signs from when a rift between the planes allows or has allowed for transit, old Feydragons stranded on the material plane are orphans of a rift that has been closed. Most of the time, this transit through the Feyrift is not noticed by the Faerie Dragons as they will settle anywhere. A recent incursion of these creatures into a town could indicate a nearby rift where more prominent fey could be bleeding into the material plane. Magic Component hunters frequently look for Feydragons as a sign that they could be near a Feyrift, and many of these hunters may bargain with the Faerie Dragon for additional information concerning the location of the rift and what creatures could reside there.

Feydragons are rare among the fey in that they rarely take sides in the Seelie and Unseelie courts. Primarily they are dragons, the dichotomy of the courts in the feywild do not concern them, and they view the interplay between the two types of fey as more of a drama and source of entertainment than a conviction. Due to this, they are frequently used as intermediaries when it comes to court relations when an intermediary is needed, which is rare. The connection with natural magic that all draconic creatures enjoy meshes well with the natural magic of the Feywild and allows them to bypass the need for fealty to the fey courts, though they don’t form a complex society on their own. Feydragons individually may choose to join the Seelie or Unseelie out of necessity or whim, when they do, they become great assets to the Lord that convinced them to join, the abilities of a Faerie Dragon are subtle but powerful.

Due to their neutral nature, many Fey converse with and bribe Faerie Dragons for information on other Fey in the area. Bribes may include a bauble that is particularly shiny, delicious food, or compromising information on another Fey. Hoarding information is the business of a Feydragon, and the more a creature seems to want a piece of information, the more a bribe could increase or change, the fickle nature of the Fey would make the cost of information fluctuate wildly. Many magical component hunters say that it is an artform to coax information out of a Feydragon, and the best negotiators can get information for free through the use of deception, leading a conversation, and feigned dismissal of critical information.

A Faerie Dragon wants to feel important and will frequently flaunt knowledge in hopes that you will become interested in knowing more. It’s attempting to get a bribe out of you for more knowledge, a good negotiator can guide a conversation to trick the Faerie Dragon into giving you the information you need while it is trying to sell you for more. Feigned indifference is the key to successful negotiations, the more it realizes that you want something, the more the cost of that knowledge will go up. – Gerrick, Magic Component Hunter.

Fearie Dragons Physically Rooted in Magic

The physiology of a draconic creature is intriguing. Add in the fact that it is stitched together with the fibers of the Feywild, and you will get a unique creature that can change its form with its mood. Metamorphosis is an innate trait for the Faerie Dragon that allows it to adapt and change according to the environment that it finds itself in. Its adaptable nature combined with innate illusionary abilities allows for an extreme amount of variety within the species, insomuch that no two Faerie Dragons are alike.

Due to their interactions with the plane, Feydragons must be in the Feywild in order to reproduce. The maturity of a mate is important to the dragons, and most will wait until they are Wyrms before choosing a lifelong partner. Not only is the color, style, and design of a potential mate important, knowledge and mischievousness rank high on how to choose a partner. It is speculated that only the mate of a Feydragon will ever truly know the real personality of the creature. Raising young is a short-lived endeavor. After a few years of teaching misdirection and distraction, young Faerie Dragons are released to cause havoc in the Feywild. A clutch of eggs typically will have 8-20 hatchlings, and they quickly develop their invisibility capabilities only hours after hatching.

As the dragons age, their coloration changes as well. This usually plays into major themes of their chosen forms. With time being erratic in the Feywild, age is typically more attuned to accumulated knowledge and magical capability over actual time spent alive. Hatchlings begin with a vibrant Red hue that migrates through Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and finally Violet when the dragon is ranked as a Wyrm. It is not uncommon for members of the same clutch to vary wildly in coloration as some accelerate quickly to Wyrms while others prefer the petulance of youth and remain colored Red, Orange, or Yellow for many sapient lifetimes.

As Feydragon “grow older,” their priorities and methodology mature, the type of information that they deem important changes. A mature dragon may consider politically compromising information more important than a spat between lovers, while a young dragon may believe that everyone finds the badger hole wars the most interesting thing in the area. Likewise, they will exchange information for different bribes; older Feydragons may feel that only personally compromising information about the person they are dealing with is the only acceptable form of payment, while younger dragons would accept a delicious cupcake or a particularly shiny ring. In this way, they are demonstrating their draconic origins in the fact that they hoard what people feel are important.

No one really knows how old a Faerie Dragon will become before it loses the battle with age. The connection with the Feywild might point to the idea that they are physically immortal. Returning to the Feywild to retire and raise a clutch or two of hatchlings may be the final act of a Faerie Dragon. Some arcanists say that the great wyrms of the Faerie Dragons go on to become historians and informants for True Dragons, advising those that could use the information for power.

Abilities and Game Mechanics of Faerie Dragons

I’ll be revamping the game mechanics a bit, so I’ll list out the total of the abilities here, even if they are a word-for-word copy from the official content in the Monster Manual. I’ll make a note when there is no change from what you would expect in the book. All notes/changes will be annotated in red.

Breath Weapon: Euphoria – The Feywild’s influence on the Faerie Dragon has transformed its breath weapon into a euphoric experience. Recharge (5-6) The dragon exhales a puff of euphoria gas (range and DC as indicated in Stat Block). Affected creatures must succeed a charisma save or for 1 minute affected creatures can’t take reactions and must roll a d6 at the start of each of their turns to determine their behavior during the turn.

1-4 – The creature takes no actions or bonus actions and uses all of its movement to move in a random direction (use a d8 to determine direction). At the end of its turn, it may make a charisma saving throw, ending the effect on itself on success against the breath weapon DC.

5-6 – The creature doesn’t move. The only thing it can do on its turn is make a charisma saving throw, ending the effect on itself on success against the breath weapon DC.

Draconic Metamagic: Potent Spells – Dragons have the ability to manipulate their spells in ways that many do not expect. The spells influenced by the Feywild of a Faerie Dragon are very potent, all saving throws made against Enchantment/Illusion spells cast by the dragon are made with disadvantage, and any skill checks made to discern an illusion are made with disadvantage (if you are using passive skills this would add 5 to the DC).

Draconic Polymorph – Dragons gain the innate ability to change into other creatures, they prefer sapient creatures that they would interact with. This dragon has the ability to cast Polymorph to change into a sapient creature a number of times per day equal to their proficiency bonus. This special type of Polymorph can only transform them into a humanoid of their choice and requires concentration, and lasts for an hour. Once a dragon chooses a humanoid form, they can only Polymorph into that form until they spend a long rest picking a new humanoid form to transform into.

Enhanced Magic Resistance – The dragons’ connection to raw magic allows them to better resist the effects of magic. The dragon has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. All spell attacks that target the dragon have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Feywild Affinity – This creature can communicate with the plants and animals of the planes. This creature may cast Speak with Animals and Speak with Plants at will.

Fey Creature – This creature calls the Feywild home. This creature has advantage on saves against charm effects.

Fey Paragon – The creature is considered a master of the Feywild. This creature is immune to charm effects.

Innate Spellcasting – Dragons possess the innate ability to use magic. The dragon’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma-based (Save 8 + prof. mod. + cha mod. / Spell attack = prof. mod. + cha mod.). It can innately cast a number of spells, requiring no material components. As the dragon ages and changes color, it gains additional spellcasting ability. The spells per day and spells known are outlined in the Stat Block.

Note on Spell Selection: If you would like to vary the spell list I would encourage you to do so, I restricted the spell selection for this creature to be Enchantment and Illusion spells only (with a few acceptions). I did so to ensure the dragon retained its flavor in the lore, but you are under no such restriction, feel free to substitute spells to fit your needs.

Limited Telepathy – The creature can communicate telepathically with others of its kind. Using telepathy, the dragon can magically communicate with any other draconic creature within 60 ft of it.

Magical Sight – This creature has the ability to see magic in all its forms. This creature is treated as having Detect Magic (as per the spell) active all the time without the need for concentration. Additionally, it has See Invisibility (as per the spell) active all the time.

Superior Invisibility – The Faerie Dragon has the ability to become invisible with a thought. As a bonus action, the dragon can magically turn invisible until its concentration ends (as if concentrating on a spell). Any equipment the dragon wears or carries is invisible with it. (No change from the Monster Manual)

Faerie Dragon Stat Blocks

The following statblocks allow you to evolve and progress the Faerie Dragons for different purposes and challenges.