Spells for a dragon to learn?


Advice


I looked at some of the dragon default know lists, and they're often pretty terrible (CL1 burning hands at CR7 on a type that has a reusable fire breath weapon). How do we fix this?

0:
Read Magic (utility)
Detect Magic (utility. If something is magic it's valuable and or dangerous)
Prestidigitation (utility, also things you can't do without hands)
Mage Hand (for fine movements without turning into a humanoid, especially so for those that can't)
Mending (for fixing up loot)

1:
Unseen Servant: Another in the theme of working things intended for small hands. Also general labor fits dragons.
Thunderstomp: You can use your casting stats and casting level instead of BAB and strength. This spell still lets them shake the ground with a stomp with their huge strength and BAB
Truestrike: Same as any gish really.
Blurred Movement/Vanish: Basic defenses
Wizened Appearance: More size is still great even without ability score changes. Also good for a bluff.


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Slap Mage Armor and Shield on that bad boy (or girl. The terror of a dragon with +8 AC over what the bestiary says knows no gender boundries).

Clever use of Thunderstomp though. I'd add Resist Energy (Whatever the dragon is weak to), and maybe take out truestrike. Only useful if the dragon knows exactly when the party will show up. Otherwise that's a round not spent killing the cleric first. Or Wizard.


Forgot those. They're so obvious too.

What's the point of a lair and great senses if you can't prebuff though?


Summoning spells.

You need something small that can fit into tight spaces (read: door ways) when those pesky dragon slyer wannabes try to escape.

Earth elementals are particularly useful for sneaking around with earth glide for sudden recon and making their way through a mazelike series of tunnels.

Overall: getting 1d4 minions to take care of a momentary task is useful when you haven't yet replaced the last ones after your...."midnight snack".

Grand Lodge

Detect Gold (aka detect metal)
Disguise self (red dragon looks like a blue dragon...)


instead of giving it spells you could also just give it some neat passive and active abilities like an extra immunity and some resistance to the other 2 elements, a supernatural breath weapon 1d6 elemental damage per hit die recharges every 2d4 rounds, single target fear effects #/day= to 1/3 hit die min 1, supernatural and extended bull strength, cats grace, bear endurance, ect #/day 1/5 hit die min 1 of each, supernatural extended quickened mage armor and shield #/day 1/4 hit die min 1. would be alot more useful than the base dragon spells and would provide a boost to the challenge for the party pair these abilities with the creature that is similar to a dragon but trades all their magical prowess for more deadly physical prowess i cant remember the name but i know its out there and you got a very decent BBDG.


If I'm a dragon, I'd have something handy, that works well with my size and abilities:
- invisibility
- illusions to disguise me (and my vulnerabilities) or my lair
- resist spells
- haste
- AC buffs (I was on the receiving end of a buffed dragon once, the mob had AC 56)
- anything granting miss chances (blur, displacement, mirror image)
- dispel magic, greater if possible
- dimension door or other location swappers
- mindblank, contingency, dust form and heal are all nice, but not many dragons can use that spell level...still, a dust formed disguised dragon with AC buffs is a solid opponent...

What I don't need are:
- truestrike (good for weak humans, I hit anything on a 2;) )
- any damage spell that does less damage than my breath (or has no area)
- any single target attack spell, unless it does something I really really want (like petrification to decorate my lair)


Don't forget -- dragons aren't just powerful killing machines, but clever deceptive will-confounding powerful killing machines.

Charm and suggestion are great for hunters, or for gathering information, or for turning would-be dragonslayers into your best friends (for five minutes while you convince them to disarm themselves for a romantic encounter, before you eat them). Confusion is really handy to cast on a maze of enemies.

Tune your spells to match your lair and preferred hunting area, too. Invisibility is great when flying or to attack out of, but big fog clouds or other ways to prevent your enemies from seeing you are good -- you can locate them accurately enough for a breath weapon even through fog or mist or rain or darkness.

A few spells to modify your lair to be even more inhospitable to thieves are great, too.

Sovereign Court

As a level 1 spell before they get Resist Energy - take Disguise Self.

"I'm not a red dragon which you should attack with cold spells, I'm totally a white dragon and you aren't wasting your time casting Fireball and Scorching Ray at all! Keep trying!"

Sovereign Court

Green Smashomancer wrote:
Slap Mage Armor and Shield on that bad boy (or girl. The terror of a dragon with +8 AC over what the bestiary says knows no gender boundries).

Of course - Mage Armor isn't useful if the dragon actually uses a tiny tiny portion of their horde on armor or bracers of armor.


Also good choices:

Expeditious retreat. When you do those pesky flybys, might want just a little more movement rate, just to aggravate the PCs.
Blur/displacement. When the PCs take a swing and miss you when you're the size of a house, you get to taunt them for their inadequacy just that much more. Also add blink to this.
Haste. Why not get just that one extra bite attack in if there's a tasty elf, you know?
Resist energy. Particularly for those with vulnerability to cold/fire. Won't save the dragon in question completely, but it can't hurt to have a little something extra.
Arcane sight. Might as well know a bit about the mages who think they're all that.
Scrying. Knowledge is power, and you're a dragon. 'Nuff said.


Legacy of Dragons had a spell to use your regular AC in place of touch AC (sorry, gunslingers) and one to overcome fear immunity.

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