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I would go with DM Blake's (my namesake's) interpretation. If it was written in the form of hours and said something like "a dragon must wait 1d4 hours between uses", then rolling 1 would mean that if it used its breath weapon at 6:30 PM, it could use it again at 7:30 PM.
Remember a round is just 6 seconds. So if it rolls a 1, it only needs to wait another 6 seconds, which should be the time between one turn and the next.
Look at it this way. If a spell paralyzes/stuns/nauseates you for one round are you able to act the next round, because basically that 1d4 is determining how long the dragon's breath is out of action.
Would you be out of action until it is your turn again? =Dragon can use his breath in back to back rounds
or
Do you have to wait until X number of rounds have passed before you can act again? =Dragon must wait at least one round to use the breath again.
Look at it this way. If a spell paralyzes/stuns/nauseates you for one round are you able to act the next round, because basically that 1d4 is determining how long the dragon's breath is out of action.
Would you be out of action until it is your turn again? =Dragon can use his breath in back to back rounds
or
Do you have to wait until X number of rounds have passed before you can act again? =Dragon must wait at least one round to use the breath again.
Apples and oranges.
The apple: Dragon is referencing it's own abilities on its own turns.
The orange: Your paralysis example references an ability used on your turn to affect me on my turn.
Why is it different?
If you don't see it right away, then you'll need to look at an entire combat:
Fighter, rogue, mage, cleric vs. dragon:
Initiatives: rogue 20, fighter 18, dragon 15, mage 12, cleric 8
Round 1:
On 20 rogue attacks dragon
On 18 fighter attacks dragon
On 15 dragon breathes, then rolls a 1 to recharge its breath weapon
On 12 mage casts a spell
On 8 cleric casts a spell
Round 2:
On 20 rogue attacks dragon
On 18 fighter attacks dragon
On 15 dragon breathes again, and 1 round (everyone acted 1 time) has passed since its last use of the breath weapon
On 12 mage casts a spell
On 8 cleric casts a spell
Fighter, rogue, mage, cleric vs. ghoul:
Initiatives: rogue 20, fighter 18, ghoul 15, mage 12, cleric 8
Round 1:
On 20 rogue attacks ghoul
On 18 fighter attacks ghoul
On 15 ghoul touches fighter who is paralyzed for 1 round
On 12 mage casts a spell
On 8 cleric casts a spell
Round 2:
On 20 rogue attacks ghoul
On 18 fighter is paralyzed and cannot act this round
On 15 ghoul attacks (the 1 round of paralysis from round 1 effectively ends on the ghoul's turn in round 2, having paralyzed the fighter for 1 round)
On 12 mage casts a spell
On 8 cleric casts a spell
See, no difference.
In the first example, the dragon must wait 1 round to breathe again (not much of a wait, but if he had rolled a 4, he would have to actually wait 4 rounds, breathing again on round 5, 4 rounds after his last use of his breath weapon, with 3 rounds - 2, 3, and 4 - in between that he couldn't use it).
In the second example, the ghoul paralyzed the fighter who lost his very next turn and then the paralysis wore off because it was just a 1-round paralysis effect.
No, to answer concerro, the fighter is not paralyzed until his own next turn - he is paralyzed until the ghoul's next turn.
(yeah, I know, ghoul paralysis lasts longer than 1 round, so using a ghoul for paralysis wasn't an ideal choice, but it was the first thing that came to mind given concerro's argument).
Hope that helps.