Fairy tales speak of noble dragons with glittering scales of precious metal, who act as guides and protectors to errant humans. And indeed, while metallic dragons are as greedy and power-hungry as any dragon, they are more likely to uphold the tenets of peace and order than to ravage the land with fire and fury.

Careful Stewards. Many metallic dragons consider themselves stewards of their territories. With an eye to tomorrow’s hunt, metallic dragons avoid overtaxing the land’s boundary. They extend this understanding to humanoids in their dominion, whom they allow to flourish so long as they don’t challenge dragons for supremacy. Humanoids, after all, are useful: they produce fine art and mine for precious metals, both of which dragons covet. Some metallic dragons trade their benevolence for such gifts, while others take what they want by force, especially from those they deem unworthy of protection: bandits, troublemakers, and those who assert independence from the dragons’ dominion.

Social Creatures. Metallic dragons are the most social of true dragons, organizing themselves in close-knit communities based on blood relation or found family. They often fly long distances to share each others’ company. When other dragons are scarce, some metallic dragons even turn to humanoids for companionship. Adult metallic dragons can magically take on humanoid shape, and they sometimes form genuine friendships with humanoids. Not even the most affable dragon, however, will risk its treasure by sharing the secrets of its lair. 

From secret places deep in the earth, the minds of the sapphire dragons wander through space and time seeking answers. Their psionic powers allow them to see the future, albeit hazily, and their prescient warnings have prevented countless disasters. Of all gem dragons, sapphire dragons spend the least time attending to their physical bodies, their far-reaching minds achieving more than fangs or talons ever could. They hide their physical forms well, but if uncovered they are far from defenseless. A sapphire dragon does
not breathe mere elements; instead, it projects psychic waveforms that reduce mortal minds to ash.

Esoteric Orchestrators. As sapphire dragons grow older, their capacity for precognition increases. The eldest can see centuries into the future. And while their intentions are not always pure, they often aim to prevent the worst disasters. A sapphire dragon’s demands can be downright bizarre. They might order their minions to steal an emperor’s tea kettle, ensure two seemingly random people fall in love, or assassinate a pet goldfish. Most agents are confident in their master’s premonitions, but it is often impossible to prove or disprove their value.

Digging for Answers. The fortune-telling abilities of sapphire dragons are legendary, leading enterprising rulers to seek them out as sages, or even to take them captive to serve as private prognosticators. A sapphire dragon’s predictions must be evaluated carefully, however. The wisdom they impart might be the answers their masters seek, or simply a cunning misdirection created by the dragon to further its own ends.

Emerald dragons claim their kind once ruled the world—a loss the dragons still bemoan, despite the fact the claim has no historical merit. The plots of emerald dragons revolve around revenge directed at anyone the dragon believes to have slighted it. Gaining an audience with an emerald dragon is a herculean task, one often rewarded by death from the dragon’s ear-splitting screams.

Revenge Cults. Emerald dragons form alliances based on the principle that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. They seek out those who share their animosity, working from the shadows to undermine their mutual foes. Many tyrants have found themselves undone by sedition and revolt, completely unaware their downfall was caused by an innocuous action decades in the past that drew an emerald dragon’s ire.

Maddening Spite. Anyone who spends time in an emerald dragon’s lair feels increasingly anxious, and not just because of the many carefully hidden traps. Innocent acts may be perceived as preambles of betrayal, while true offenses are considered declarations of war. This sense of paranoia is not simply imagined. An emerald dragon’s delusions resonate throughout its lair and take root in nearby minds, filling them with a single, persistent thought: they are out to get you, and you should get them first.

Though still reclusive by draconic standards, amethyst dragons are the most diplomatic of the gem dragons. They favor nonviolent negotiations, but even deals they make in good faith seem to end in their favor. They make their lairs welcoming to humanoid guests and are always eager to resolve a conflict with words before resorting to talons or the earth-shattering force of their breath weapons.

Master Manipulators. To meet an amethyst dragon is to become its puppet. The moment it becomes aware of a creature, the dragon is already plotting to thwart the creature’s plans or claim it as a pawn. An amethyst dragon’s only saving grace is its lack of malice. Rarely does an amethyst dragon kill its foes outright, considering such violence a needless waste of resources. Instead, it seeks to turn each situation to its advantage—and occasionally to the advantage of its allies as well.

In deep caverns on the Material Plane and the Elemental Plane of Earth shine the gem dragons. Gem dragons take their name from their multicolored scales and scintillating gemstone eyes. They are among the most intelligent of the true dragons, and certainly the most patient. Born schemers, their elaborate plots are often centuries in the making.

Hidden Gems. Scholars believe gem dragons are the rarest true dragons, but perhaps they are simply the best hidden. Gem dragons tend to be intensely paranoid, far more comfortable sending agents to carry out their will than exposing themselves to risk. They are less greedy than their chromatic cousins, valuing information above gold. Each has its own vision of how the world should function. A gem dragon’s plans may be well-meaning or insidious, but their first step is always control.

Deep Scions. All gem dragons are psionic to some degree. As they age, gem dragons refine their mental talents until there is no distance beyond their mind’s reach. The eldest gem dragons bury their physical bodies deep below the earth, telepathically coordinating their intricate plans through the power of their minds alone. These ancient wyrms may “hibernate” for centuries. When they finally awaken, they shake the soil from their wings and take flight, much to the surprise of those who live above them.

Far Thoughts. The dragon is aware of any creature that uses a psionic ability or communicates telepathically within 100 miles of it. As an action, the dragon can psionically observe a creature, object, or location it is familiar with within 100 miles. While observing a subject in this way, the dragon can see, hear, and communicate telepathically, but it is blind and deaf in regard to its physical senses and does not require food or water. The dragon can psionically observe a subject indefinitely and can end this effect and return to its own senses as an action.

Shadow dragons inhabit places connected to shadowy realms, nations beset by constant war, and lands befouled by pollution and decay. They are neither conquerors nor despoilers. Rather, they are symptoms, signs that the soul of their land has succumbed to blight.

Life of Death. Shadow dragons begin as other essence dragons, but when their land is stricken with evil, they become insubstantial versions of their former selves. The shadow dragons of war-torn lands often bear countless open wounds; pollution and plague marks a dragon with gangrenous flesh and weeping sores; and dragons whose lands have become cursed appear gaunt and often fall into madness. Over time, a shadow dragon loses all traces of its former nature.

Linked to great, coursing rivers, these essence dragons embody the reckless, ever-changing power of water itself. Like a streak of quicksilver or a pennant fluttering in the wind, a river dragon is always moving, running an endless circuit from the river’s source to the ocean and back again. Like the rivers they exemplify, these dragons are fickle things. A ship or passerby that catches the attention of a river dragon might find fortune or ruin, depending on the fleeting whims of the river.

The Serpent Eats Its Tail. While the oldest river dragons have grown complacent in their wide, meandering rivers, most river dragons are on constant watch for competition. River dragon wyrmlings rule over tributaries and must pay proper respect to their parent rivers, at least until they grow strong enough to challenge them.

Gods of the Waterway. Those who fish along the river’s edge sometimes spot disporting river dragons, giving rise to legends of river gods. River dragons treated as gods are usually flattered by such honors, and may take efforts to ensure bountiful catches. Those regarded as monsters are often equally amused, and work to keep their fearsome
legend alive by devouring the occasional lone angler.

Inexorably tied to monuments of rock and stone, earth dragons share the quiet patience and the harsh indifference of the land itself. Most earth dragons are slow to action, and even slower to anger. All things pass, and the rise and fall of civilizations are like the flowers, beautiful in their time but not to last. Only threats to their bonded lands are given  consideration—but when roused to anger, earth dragons devastate their enemies like a landslide.

Slumbering Peaks. Earth dragons of jagged peaks grow sharp scales, while the scales of desert dragons look more like those of serpents. When still, earth dragons blend in perfectly with their environment. They might spend days or weeks slumbering between meals, leading many travelers to mistake them for natural stone outcroppings. Some dragons move so infrequently that they become landmarks, outdating maps on the rare occasions that they rise from their perches.

Mountain Kings. Except when defending their home, earth dragons are largely indifferent to other creatures. Rarely, earth dragons come to regard the little villages atop their mountains as inherent features of their land. In such cases, these settlements offer tribute (usually precious stones) to their draconic protector. Living sacrifices are sometimes offered, as well—usually beasts of burden, although more significant sacrifices must be made to appease the arrogant and wrathful earth dragons of volcanoes.

Whereas chromatic dragons reshape the land and metallic dragons cultivate it, essence dragons embody the land. Every essence dragon reflects the nature of its home; ancient mountain ranges, great rivers, and even accursed wastelands all have their draconic counterparts.

Patron Spirits. Essence dragons are bound to their chosen lands, and their power waxes and wanes with its strength. If a river dries up, its dragon may die; as necrotic power corrupts a valley, its dragon may transform into a shadow dragon .

Some essence dragons are guardians of their lands’ inhabitants. In such places, villages pay reverence to the wisdom of their earth dragon or the blessings of their river dragon . In less hospitable environments, essence dragons are as indifferent to mortals as the land itself.

Essence dragons bolster the vitality of the place they’re bound to, but they also present a vulnerability. When an essence dragon is killed, its land dies with it. Forests wither, rivers give way to mire, and mountains erupt with the fury of the dragon’s death throes.

Eternal Souls. Like all dragons, essence dragons are long-lived but not immortal. However, when an essence dragon succumbs to old age, a wyrmling hatches from a long-buried egg. This reborn dragon is heir to the hazy memories of its parent’s past, as well as to the land itself.

Essence Link. The essence dragon is spiritually linked to a specific area or landmark. The dragon gains no benefit from a long rest when more than 1 mile away from its linked area. If the dragon dies, the area it is linked to loses its vital essence until it forms a new essence dragon, which can take centuries. When a creature first enters an area that has lost its vital essence in this way, they gain a level of fatigue and a level of strife . This fatigue and strife can be removed only by completing a long rest outside the area.

Although the smallest of chromatic dragons, white dragons are also the most vicious. They find the presence of other creatures loathsome and slay those who enter their frozen domain.

Frozen Solitude. White dragons gravitate toward the cold, deserted lands at the edges of the world. They enjoy the solitude and purity of their icy homes. Most white dragons consider any intrusion into their territory an affront. Quick to anger and careless of its own wounds, a white dragon’s fury can drive off even larger dragons.

While white dragons prefer to be alone, they occasionally tolerate servants who remain quiet and stay out of sight. The dour frost giants and cowed kobolds that serve a white dragon know better than to call attention to themselves, especially when their master is hungry.

Icy Fastness. A white dragon’s territory slowly transforms into a frozen wasteland and eventually becomes the eye of a permanent winter storm. The largest white dragons have ambitions to extend their realms further, freezing the entire world.