D&D Monster Spotlight: White Dragons Are Cold-Blooded Killers
Mean, vicious, greedy, and hungry, D&D White Dragons have hearts as cold as the icy caverns they like to call home.
First Edition
D&D White Dragons are a chilly as their snowy home and icy look would indicate. These creatures live in colder regions. So they’re dragons that you may not encounter unless your party is heading to some snow covered peaks. Of course they’ve got the standard claw and bite attacks. But they also have a breath weapon in the form of a Cone of Cold blast. Some White Dragons can learn to use magic, but this is supposed to be a rare trait. Your DM will let you know if you’ve encountered one of these rare magic-wielding dragons. Lucky you!
Second Edition
Compared to all of the other evil dragons, White Dragons are the smallest. They’re also the weakest, and considered “slow witted.” But they are evil dragons. They’re effective hunters, and as greedy as any other creature with a treasure hoard. They prefer to live in cold, snowy climates, where their white scales make them virtually invisible. Once a White Dragon defeats its enemy or kills its prey, it won’t even eat them right away. The White Dragon only eats frozen food. It will either eat a carcass frozen by its icy breath weapon or wait until nature has done the job.
Third Edition
The D&D White Dragon may not be the most intelligent of the dragons, but they know how to make their homes work for them. Their lairs are deep, underground icy caves with openings carefully facing away from the sun’s warming rays. And inside their lairs are full of use to best reflect the sparkle of their gem filled treasure hoard. Unsurprisingly, their favorite gems are the icy looking diamonds. White Dragons are also known to bury their meals in the snow to allow them to get suitably frozen. These dragons have the same level of ingenuity as party attendees keeping their drinks cold in cold climates. In Third Edition, White Dragons have Icewalking in addition to their breath weapon. This allows them to use a Spider Climb like spell, only on icy surfaces.
Fourth Edition
4E’s lore blurbs let us know that D&D White Dragons are highly adaptable and could live anywhere they wish, but they prefer to live in cold climates. There, they can swoop down on their victim from above. They’ve also been known to spring out from their hiding places in the show where they would blend in with their surroundings. White White Dragons are ferocious, mean, and driven by hunger, they are equally driven by greed. So it’s possible to bribe your way out of trouble with a White Dragon. Try offering them meat, gems, and especially diamonds.
Fifth Edition
The White Dragon prefers treasure of gold and gems. But in their remote arctic homes, they are much more likely to have ivory, figureheads of ships, furs, and magic items thought to be lost. What sparkling treasure they can find, they spread throughout their lair where it can glitter like stars. But they will also encase treasure chests in ice so intruders have to chip them out. Of course, a White Dragon would likely recognize that an intruder had entered their lair long before that. They can hear unwelcome guests in the way the wind through heir lair changes tone.
Have you encountered a White Dragon? How did that battle turn out for your party? Did you attempt to bribe it with diamonds and gems? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
