An Alternate Character Interpretation for Chromatic Dragon Villains

Dragons! Everyone loves 'em! They're in the name of the freakin' game! And while Metallic dragons can make fun allies or NPCs, the real meat of what makes dragons great for games is villainous dragons-- those nasty Chromatics!

Now, I like a big bad element-breathing tyrant as much as the next guy, and there's a lot of mileage that can be gained out of running dragons straight out of the way that they're interpreted in the Monster Manual! Sure, they may lack character depth, but they work great as a motive force or objective around which interesting play can occur-- the Chroma Conclave from Critical Role is a great example of these villainous dragons being played straight in a complex and dramatic game.
Some of you may be dissatisfied by this, and it is your right! Villains that are just plain bad can get boring or samey. Many DMs mix it up with a little bit of moral ambiguity-- evil Metallics, good Chromatics, and neutral members of both parties. There are positives and negatives to this approach as well, but it can work just as well as the out-of-the-box version!

Ah, but what if we combined these approaches? What if we didn't merely discount or accept the Monster Manual's description of these terrific beasts, but instead found a way to give their traditional personalities a new twist? Here is my attempt to reinterpret the personality quirks of the Chromatics:

BLACK-- The Critic of Civilizations
All this wealth. All this power. And you mortals pissed it all away. I'm not surprised. Have you ever met the average mortal? Now imagine-- fifty percent of them are stupider than that! Hell, I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did.

Black dragons are know to collect the artifacts of civilizations they've outlasted-- seeing it as a point of pride. They're also known for being sadistic and cruel. I've reinterpreted this as a sort of "Evil George Carlin" motif-- someone who's interested in tearing down the accomplishments of others simply because they can't help but see the flaws in them (and probably to make themselves feel better). They lay claim to ancient ruins, deliberately defacing them to mock the failures of their former inhabitants. Those who are capable of spellcasting may abuse spells like Zone of Truth or Geas just to try and force their prisoners to admit to their personal failures. They can't help but see the worst in everyone, partially because they've seen so many terrible things, and partially because they're just irritable pricks.

A lighter shade of Black may be a dragon who's more harmlessly cynical-- like a less evil George Carlin-- someone who's seen so many 'great' mortals achieve nothing that they can't help but feel down in the dumps.

A darker shade of Black may be a dragon whose cruelty is focused on sabotaging existing civilizations and deconstructing the ethics of their foes. They're axiomatically certain everyone is terrible and are willing to push people to the end of their rope to prove it. All it takes is one bad day, right?

WHITE-- The Intelligent Beast
The first avalanche was seen as bad luck-- a sign that this beast was protected by the gods. By the third, we knew the mistake we had made, but by then it was too late. It had cut off access to the pass, and picked us off one by one-- at night or when we went on patrol. It never spoke. I don't think it saw us as anything more than a meal. It's why it let me live. A hunter's logic-- it knew I would return with allies to avenge my comrades-- another meal for another winter.

White dragons are the most animalistic of all dragons (if you look at their stats, even Ancients barely have positive INT and WIS modifiers). This can be interpreted as Whites being stupid people, but an alternate interpretation is to treat them as smart animals, like Xenomorphs or raptors. If used correctly, these can be truly fearsome monsters. They're uninterested in taunting the players or taking prisoners-- fully focused on the hunt. Sure, they don't cast spells or have minions, but they are tank sized killing machines that are perfectly adapted for their environment and are smart enough to set traps and use chokepoints. They have a Stealth bonus. Use it.

A lighter shade of White could take the animal aspect to a more endearing place. They may lack some of the more civilized sins of the other Chromatics and in fact be perfectly content simpletons when their territory is respected and their bellies are full. Perhaps a White Wyrmling was adopted by a mountain village, and now, hundreds of years later, it's their town's mascot, keeping them safe in return for a healthy portion of livestock.

A darker shade of White is a horror movie monster, straight up. Bump up their Stealth bonus and give them some Ranger spells if you're feeling a bit moddy. Try to pick party members off one-by-one if you're feeling sadistic.

BLUE-- The Rabid Fan
It's you! It's really you! I loved your show! It's a shame, what happened in Glamour Springs, but I never listened to the haters! I'm a fan-- through and through. Wait, what do you mean, you want to leave?

So, you guys have seen Misery, right? At least you know about the plot? Now imagine the crazy fan from the movie is a tank sized spellcaster with natural flight and hundreds of hitpoints. Blue dragons have a superiority complex and love having minions with unique talents. I figured crazy fan would fit right in! It's a good plot for your bard (or their mentor) to have them be stalked by a powerful unknown foe with massive resources... and have it turn out to be a Blue who really wants an autograph. It helps that Blues live in deserts-- they probably get rather lonely and may just want a friend (who can stay forevvverrr).

A lighter shade of Blue doesn't have to be crazy! You could even make them a comedic sort of character-- very powerful entities with mundane or embarrassing hobbies are comedy gold! They might even end up as a beneficial contact for the party's bard or wizard, as long as they remember to name a few songs or spells after their patron.

A darker shade of Blue is a crazy fan. Y'all don't even need a media reference to know what's up with that-- if you've been on the internet long enough, you know what that looks like. Kidnapping favored content creators, writing cursed fanfiction, engaging in shipping wars that are literal wars, the opportunities for villainy extend beyond even the Misery ripoffs!

GREEN-- The Kindly Deceiver
Tyrant? You call me a tyrant? These people lived with war, famine, hatred, inequality. Now they have none of that! They are free of all they wished to escape, and you want to take that away from them? You call ME the monster.

Green dragons like to lie. It's their primary personality trait. The tweak here is to shift why they want to lie. Normal Greens do it for normal selfish reasons, but what if a Green wanted to be selfless but was still a lying control freak with high level magic at their disposal? You get kingdoms with charmed populations and dominated leaders that have no crime or strife, but also neglect anything beyond their duties. Everyone is happy and might as well be dead. It's a 'perfect' world without free will. Nobody needs to know anything-- it's the ultimate white lie.

A lighter shade of Green may feel like they were forced into this position-- they may actually be quite kindly and are only deceiving so they don't have to go through the pain of seeking truth. They may also not want to control entire populations, instead looking for ways to 'rehabilitate' evildoers through mental magic and mundane brainwashing techniques. These may even be allies to parties with fewer scruples about solving problems-- or they may present a fun NPC moral conundrum for parties seeking to look for ways to neutralize persistent threats. Heck, these Greens may even help combat evil mind-controllers with their own methods. Set a thief, right?

A darker shade of Green amps up the mind control. They're out to not only 'save' a kingdom but 'save' the whole world-- to eliminate all strife through the elimination of all choice. They may be genuinely good intentioned or may simply be looking for an excuse to take over the world, but these Greens are an active threat that need to be solved.

RED-- The Ultimate "Hero"
Lord Arcathrax has protected these lands for the past thousand years! Armies have broken against his might! We have outlasted all our neighbors! All he asks in return is a very reasonable tithe. What? You wish to slay the hero? Madness! I will fight to protect my liege!

Red dragons are proud, territorial, combative, and greedy. These are all phrases that can also be used to describe even mildly murder-hoboish parties. This dragon has decided to become this sort of 'hero'-- maybe they're young and just starting out, maybe they're ancient and they 'protect' a whole continent. Either way, these guys are stealing the PC's thunder by killing enemies of the realm and taking their stuff. You don't need to be super judgemental about this-- reasonably ethical parties will find reasons that their murder-hoboing is better than the Red's and true murder hoboes will just be happy to fight an interesting enemy that's accumulated loads of rad loot (which this Red almost certainly has). Also, dramatic folk may really like the chance to take a crack at that famous "We're not so different" line that pops up here and there!

A lighter shade of Red means this dragon really is a hero. They might be proud and greedy, but they offer the same services any Lawful government does-- protection at a price. If they're not that bad, it's possible that they have a code that they follow and that their taxes are competitive with those of other traditional kingdoms. These are potential PC allies or potential PC rivals that may not be true enemies. Perhaps they're competing for the loyalty of the same people?

A darker shade of Red is pretty close to the traditional Red Dragon tyrant-- burns villages, steals gold, rules with an iron fist. The only difference is the skin this one wears. They call themselves a hero and claim to fight for justice or something, I don't know. These would make awesome enemies for Chaotic heroes, especially Rogues.

These are not intended to replace or trump any of the traditional (or non-traditional) interpretations of the ol' reliable Chromatic Dragons. They are here for inspiration and to open people's minds to the possibilities that a fusion of traditional lore and modern reinterpretation may offer! Use it well!

TL;DR Emphasize the cynicism of Blacks, Emphasize the bestial nature of Whites, Emphasize the love of performers and artists for Blues, Have Greens self-justify their deception as 'for the greater good', reinterpret the pride and greed of Reds as a reflection of the behavior of murder-hobo PCs.

(Originally published here on February 6, 2018)