Dragon, Cave
- Armor Class
- 0 [19]
- Hit Dice
- 8–10
- Attacks
- Bite (2d6)
- Special
- sonic breath, echolocation, stun, cave-in
- Move
- 12/15 (when flying)
- HDE/XP
- 10/1,400; 11/1,700; 12/2,000
Description
Cave dragons dwell in the deepest caverns, only rarely venturing to the surface. Their long, sinuous bodies are well adapted to narrow tunnels and broken stone, and their slow but agile flight is suited to stalactites, columns, and cramped underground airspace.
Hatchlings have deep purple scales so dark they are almost black, lightening through violet to indigo as they age. Their eyes are poor compared with those of other dragons, but their echolocation lets them “see” in total darkness and Detect Invisibility creatures within 240 feet.
The breath weapon is a cone of destructive sonic resonance. A typical adult cone is about 80 feet long and 35 feet wide at the base. Victims save for half damage; those who fail a second saving throw are stunned for one round. Directed at unstable stone, the breath may also trigger a cave-in, with results decided by the Referee.
Use the normal White Box dragon age rule for hit points and breath damage. The breath weapon is usable three times per day.
Dragons
All dragons have a breath weapon of some kind, which can be used up to three times in a day. The Referee chooses when a dragon will use the breath weapon or may roll for it (50% chance) in any given round.
Referees should not roll for a dragon’s hit points, like one would for other monsters. Instead, determine the age category of the dragon—this will give both the dragon’s hit points per hit dice and how many points of breath weapon damage per hit dice the dragon inflicts.
For example, an “Adult” dragon has both 4 hit points and 4 points of breath weapon damage per hit dice. So an “Adult” black dragon with 6 HD would have 24 HP and deal 24 points of acid damage when using its breath weapon.
Table 41: Dragon Age Category
| Roll | Age | Hit Points/Hit Dice | Damage/Hit Dice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very Young | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Young | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Immature | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Adult | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Old | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Very Old (100 years) | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Aged (100–400) | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Ancient (400+) | 8 | 8 |
Table 42: Dragon Breath Weapons
| Shape* | Type |
|---|---|
| Cloud | Gaseous |
| Cone | Fiery/Frosty |
| Line | Spitting |
* The dimensions of a dragon’s breath differ according to the dragon’s type.
Note that dragons, while dangerous opponents, are not by any means invincible. In a medieval-type fantasy world, dragons are a common problem rather than a godlike creature of legend—so the statistics for dragons reflect a deadly but not mythical foe. The Referee is, of course, free to create stats for a more “mythical” conception of dragons. Since dice aren’t rolled for dragon hit points, it is possible for a truly mythical dragon to have more “numbers” per die than it’s actually possible to roll on a hit dice.
See Also
Other creatures in the Dragon category: Dragon, Black, Dragon, Blue, Dragon, Cloud, Dragon, Death, Dragon, Gold, Dragon, Green, Dragon, Plains (Yellow Dragon), Dragon, Red, Dragon, Sea (Gray Dragon), Dragon, White.
Source note: This creature is converted from The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign – Omnibus Edition, 1st Edition Release 4, © 2010–2025 Chris Gonnerman, R. Kevin Smoot, James Lemon, Matt Sluis, and Contributors. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide textual material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; this page adapts that creature to White Box.