DnD: 5 Actual Dragons That Aren’t Chromatic or Metallic

Not long ago, I came across this BolS article that was about 5 kinds of dragons in D&D that aren't chromatic or metallic. I love lists like this, not only because I love dragons, but because I love weird and outrageous dragons.

The problem was, the list was lame. No shade at BolS, because I like the site, but this article was about as perfunctory as possible. The list they included was:

• Faerie Dragon
• Wyvern
• Dragon Turtle
• Half-Dragon
• Kobolds

I get why BolS would list those, but…they're lame. I clicked in, hoping to find new kinds of draconic beasties to pit against my party…and I get kobolds. That just doesn't cut it.

So I want to give you five actual dragons that aren't chromatic or metallic that you can use in your D&D 5e campaigns immediately.

1. Void Dragons

I can't lie, void dragons from Kobold Press's Tome of Beasts are my favorite type of dragon. Not only is the art cool af, but their abilities are terrifying and incredibly fun to throw at your party.

I've had my parties fight them, and it's always a good time. They have stellar flare breath weapons that deal fire and radiant damage, while their gravity breaths restrain those caught in it. Their reactions create hey create rifts in spacetime, and their lairs are the “freezing, airless voids between stars.”

Dragons just don't get cooler than this.

2. Hellfire Wyrm

The Hellfire Wyrm is in the Monster Manual Expanded 3 on DMs Guild. A smarty pants devil dragon, it can change into a Tiefling whenever it wants, has innate spellcasting to charm people, and can control the aura of heat that it simply emits from its molten body.

Its lair is pretty cool, too, because they generally homestead in ancient volcanoes or deep ruins beneath a kingdom's capital. It can do poison damage because of sulphur in the air, and it can portal to the Nine Hells to bring in lesser devils and hell hounds.

I hesitate to say “what's not to love?” about this dragon because it's hideous and horrifying, but as a DM using it or a player against it, I think the encounters could be incredible to play.

2a. Diabolic Dragon

When Paizo did the remaster of Pathfinder second edition, it rooted out all instances of OGL content, and that included chromatic and metallic dragons. So if you're used to Pathfinder being D&D 3.75, it's moved well beyond that, even further than the original 2e had.

There are no more green, red, black, etc. dragons in the bestiary. Instead, there are cool variations like the diabolic dragon with its hellfire breath that can deal spirit damage and Hell's Sting reactions that “[overwhelm their foe] with an infernal assault on the mind.”

Like the Hellfire Wyrm above, I just wanted to include this one because it's in the same vein and I can't wait for my party to run into one.

3. Spiderdragon

It's a dragon that breathes spiders.

How in the world this isn't on every single list of awesome dragons is beyond me. Because, I repeat, it's a dragon that breathes spiders.

The part that irritates me about this one is that it's a monstrosity in the book and not an actual dragon. Which is kind of silly considering that it's Huge, understands Draconic language, and has a breath weapon (that exhales spiders, in case you missed that very salient point). It doesn't have wings, which is maybe why. But that's stupid. It's a dragon.

That breathes spiders.

4. Illithidragon

Another one from what might be the best title on Dungeon Masters Guild, Monster Manual Expanded III, the illithidragon is exactly what it sounds like: it's a mind flayer dragon.

Of course it lives in the Underdark, and of course it eats brains. It has psionic spellcasting and a mind blast ability that's essentially a mental breath weapon. But at your mind!

It has tentacles, and its lair is filled with vermin and other creatures under its thrall. The whole thing is terrifying, and even though I haven't put my players against this yet, I fully intend to the next time they get into the Underdark (or an Underdark-like area in whatever game we're playing.)

Heck, it might even team up with a Spiderdragon. Because then…mind spiders!

5. Lunar Dragon

Literally the most fun I've ever had running a fight in D&D 5e was when my party came up on an Adult Lunar Dragon in the middle of an asteroid-like moon, and they had to fight it and its two Young children.

Found in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space for 5e, the Lunar Dragon has a rocky hide that lets it burrow through the rock of whatever moon it calls home. Thee burrow speed of 20 feet it gives is perfect for letting it fly high to the ceiling of the chamber, out of reach of the party, and then dig through for a turn or two until it can surprise them by crashing out of the ceiling after using a few legendary actions of causing ice to cover the ground beneath them.

These things don't look as nasty as some of their cousins on paper, but I promise if you run them correctly (i.e. use all their abilities and traits and don't have them just stand still), your party will have a blast fighting these things to the moon and back.

And There Are So Many More

Some of my other favorites include the Solar/Radiant Dragon from Spelljammer, the Conspirator Dragon from Pathfinder 2e, and I look very much forward to the Akashic Dragon in Starfinder 2e (it looks badass on the cover of the upcoming Player Core, so I can only assume it's in the game somewhere). I'm also pretty partial to Clockwork Dragons, and there are variations of those in pretty much every game.

So you can see now why I think the BolS article on non-chromatic/non-metallic dragons was a total cop out. Because I like kobolds and half-dragons, but they're not what people reading that kind of article are looking for. DMs are looking for big bag meanie monsters to swoop in on their parties and give them the fight of their lives.

Do you have a favorite dragon that's not chromatic or metallic? What do you like using against your players or fighting when your DM throws it at you?

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