How Often Should Dragons Show Up in Dungeons & Dragons?

I have been playing tabletop roleplaying games for over 30 years at this point. I can honestly say there have been long stretches of time and numerous games played with no dragon encounters. Today I ask the dreaded question, “How often should you face a dragon?”

Balancing dragon appearances in D&D

Looking at all the current official monsters for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons I see 128 different stat blocks ranging from as low as challenge rating 1/4 up to a staggering 30. If you are fighting a teeny Tiny pseudodragon or the gargantuan epic aspect of Tiamat or anything in between you are facing a dragon. If you only want to talk about true dragons then wyrmlings can start off as a CR 1 so it could even be your first boss fight and be a deadly challenge for low level characters. In 5E D&D dragons run the full spread of the game.

But are people playing this way? I am sure some tables love dragons and use them all the time. Dragon slaying has to be a thing and part of the game, right? But there is no need to kill them all the time. After all there are good and neutral dragons as well — it is not all chromatics all the time. In one of my current games we are 14th level. I joined the game at 5th and we have fought several dragons. We have a player with a dragon in their backstory so we knew it would be inevitable. One black dragon slain, one white dragon slain, one undead dragon and one chardalyn dragon construct slain. It has been a long journey, we know.

Outside of this game dragons have been more like set pieces than rivals. Dragons are an ancient race of creatures, elemental in nature and a part of the world but being as big as they are they cannot be all over the place or they would wage constant war over territory and treasure. They would destroy so much in their wake that people would have to try and do something about the threat. Dragons themselves are more intelligent and while their survival and even their self importance must dictate they cannot destroy everything and get what they want.

This aspect is what I see leading to their own rarity and thus why dragons should be encountered much more rarely then some tend to see. I know so many of you out there adore sorting through a dragon’s hoard. I too love discovering loot after combat and enjoy seeing what little trinkets or possibly items of legend might be lurking within. But the idea of dragons, as rare as they are, fighting to the death is rather shocking. I do see them as mighty beings not understanding how something so small could enact so much damage to one such as they, and death could be a shock, but dragons should also have an exit strategy. They could flee using a plan set into motion long ago for getting away and securing the passage behind. This could give them the ability to track the ones who killed them because they know the selfish adventurers are gonna take some, if not all, of the treasure they leave behind.

Now the dragon can begin harassing them, possibly from afar with a Breath Weapon — maybe even while the adventurers do battle with something else. Maybe the dragon tries to pick off the weakest of heroes in a grapple flyby attack. Need an excuse to have a player gone for a session or three? Easy pickings for a dragon. The tough part is going be to explaining how they got away but this becomes a terrific opportunity for player agency by letting the player narrate their character’s narrow escape.

Jumping back to the earlier point that not all dragons are bad, the recently released gem dragons in Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons and our lovely metallic dragons have a spot at the table as well, right? Our friends over at WizKids created some new dragon miniatures to assail and entertain your tables. The Adult Gold Dragon as well as the Adult Emerald Dragon are spectacular examples of minis that are so enjoyable as set pieces, deadly encounters or just beautiful decorations for your gaming area. You can add these minis or any of WizKids’ other great tabletop accessories for your own gaming table plus help out Nerdarchy right here.

If you happen to grab these great dragon minis and your players are like mine and wish to play heroes who don’t want to slay any good dragons you might ask, “What do I do?” Fret not my friends — here are some great ideas to use those excellent looking dragon minis even if they are not evil.

• Possession! This is one of my favorites. It can also be done later in the game after the dragon has already been established as a friend and ally. The unexpected attack, perhaps caused by an item retrieved for the dragon, something already in the hoard slowly biding its time or even an external attack arriving too quickly for the dragon to respond fast enough. Either way the adventurers have to deal with the physical dragon and the mentality of another creature controlling it from the inside.
• Protection! This one is great. The dragon has been subdued and is at the center of a ritual or something and the bad guys are all around the dragon. Area effect spells could be a problem as it could affect the injured and allied dragon. Adventurers must take down the villains fast enough to disrupt whatever they are doing. If this fails you get to use Possession!
• Summons! An adversary summons a dragon, which must obey the creature who has bound. What kind of creature is powerful enough to summon an adult dragon?!

I am certain there are plenty more options to help you get those awesome dragon minis on the table. Your mileage may vary of course but I am all for incorporating dragons into your D&D games. It is right in the name of the game for crying out loud. You just do not always have to kill the dragons, am I right?

Thanks for reading. Until next time, stay nerdy!

*Featured image — The D&D Icons of the Realms: Adult Gold Dragon and Adult Emerald Dragon Premium Figures are excellent additions to your miniatures collection or display shelf. Sculpted with highly detailed features and using premium paints they’re great foes for any adventure! [Images courtesy WizKids]

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