BLACK DRAGON

The most evil-tempered --and vile of the chromatic

dragons, black dragons collect the wreckage and
treasures of fallen peoples. These dragons loathe seeing
the weak prosper and revel in the collapse of humanoid
kingdoms. They make their homes in fetid swamps and
crumbling ruins where kingdoms once stood.
With deep-socketed eyes and broad nasal openings,
a black dragon's face resembles a skull. Its curving,
segmented horns are bone-colored near the base and
darken to dead black at the tips. As a black dragon ages,
the flesh around its horns and cheekbones deteriorates
as though eaten by acid, leaving thin layers of hide that
enhance its skeletal appearance. A black dragon's head
is marked by spikes and horns. Its tongue is flat with a
forked tip, drooling slime whose acidic scent adds to the
dragon's reek of rotting vegetation and foul water.
When it hatches, a black dragon has glossy black
scale. As it ages, its scales become thicker and duller,
helping it blend in to the marshes and blasted ruins that
are its home.
Brutal and Cruel. All chromatic dragons are evil, but
black dragons stand apart for their sadistic nature. A
black dragon lives to watch its prey beg for mercy, and
will often offer the illusion of respite or escape before
finishing off its enemies.
A black dragon strikes at its weakest enemies first,
ensuring a quick and brutal victory, which bolsters its
ego as it terrifies its remaining foes. On the verge of
defeat, a black dragon does anything it can to save itself,
but it accepts death before allowing any other creature
to claim mastery over it.
Foes and Servants. Black dragons hate and fear other
dragons. They spy on draconic rivals from afar, looking
for opportunities to slay weaker dragons and avoid
stronger ones. If a stronger dragon threatens it, a black
dragon abandons its lair and seeks out new territory.
Evillizardfolk venerate and serve black dragons,
raiding humanoid settlements for treasure and food to
give as tribute and building crude draconic effigies along
the borders of their dragon master's domain.
A black dragon's malevolent influence might also
cause the spontaneous creation of evil shambling
mounds that seek out and slay good creatures
approaching the dragon's lair.
Kobolds infest the lairs of many black dragons like
vermin. They become as cruel as their dark masters,
often torturing and weakening captives with centipede
bites and scorpion stings before delivering them to sate
the dragon's hunger.
Wealth of the Ancients. Black dragons hoard the
treasures and magic items of crumbled empires and
conquered kingdoms to remind themselves of their
greatness. The more civilizations a dragon outlasts,
the more entitled it feels to claim the wealth of current
civilizations for itself.

A BLACK DRAGON'S LAIR