Resizing Your Wyrms: Improved Dragons in 1st Edition Dungeons & Dragons

This article details an alternate system for determining dragon size and attack damage for 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

By R. Nelson Bailey

Based on an illustration by Matthew Ray.

All species of dragons in 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons progress through eight growth stages, from “very young” to “ancient.” However, only the number of hit points they possess changes as they age. Armor Class, size, and physical attack damage are treated the same for a 1-year-old dragon as they are for a 400-year-old dragon. These inconsistencies are often confusing to Dungeon Masters and players alike. The module I6 Ravenloft provides an example of this: one encounter involves four small “young” red dragons (6 to 15 years old), each with 18 hit points. However, their claw and bite attacks inflict the same damage as those of an adult dragon with far more hit points. This can surprise players, since these “young” dragons deliver powerful bites and claw rakes, yet their feared breath weapon is comparatively weak.

This article attempts to rectify these issues by assigning dragons of different growth stages graduated claw and bite damage, along with varying sizes and Hit Dice. In short, younger dragons inflict lesser amounts of damage per their smaller size. Conversely, dragons older than the “adult” stage inflict greater physical damage than what is listed in the manuals. Furthermore, most dragons possess wing buffet and tail lash attacks that enhance their combat effectiveness.

Wing Buffet: A winged dragon can strike with each wing once per melee round at opponents to its flanks. A successful wing buffet inflicts damage equal to a claw attack. Dragons cannot use this attack while flying.

Tail Lash: Dragons with tails can lash out at opponents to their rear. This attack inflicts approximately one-third of a dragon’s bite damage. Dragons cannot use tail lashes while airborne.

Hit Dice: The Hit Dice for each type of dragon may be lower or higher than the standard amount. Instead of assigning a set number of points to each growth stage, as typically done in AD&D and Original Dungeons & Dragons, the Dungeon Master simply rolls 1d8 for each Hit Die the dragon possesses, as in the “Basic” Dungeons & Dragons game. Optionally, dragons in the “very young” stage may be assigned 1d6 hit points per Hit Die, while “ancient” dragons may be assigned 1d10 per Hit Die. This system gives the DM greater flexibility in controlling the toughness of any dragon that the party encounters.

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Listed below are tables for each type of dragon from the 1st Edition Monster Manual, Monster Manual II, and Fiend Folio, except for the faerie dragon.

Black Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	4	5	1d2/1d2	3d4	1d4	9’ long
2. Young	5	4	1d3/1d3	2d8	1d4+1	12’ long
3. Sub-adult	6	4	1d3/1d3	2d8	1d4+1	18’ long
4. Young adult	7	3	1d4/1d4	3d6	1d6	24’ long
5. Adult	8	3	1d4/1d4	3d6	1d6	30’ long
6. Old	9	2	1d6/1d6	3d8	1d8	36’ long
7. Very old	10	2	1d6/1d6	3d8	1d8	42’ long
8. Ancient	11	1	1d8/1d8	3d10	1d10	48’ long

Blue Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	6	4	1d3/1d3	3d6	1d4+1	18’ long
2. Young	7	3	1d4/1d4	2d10	1d6	24’ long
3. Sub-adult	8	3	1d4/1d4	2d10	1d6	30’ long
4. Young adult	9	2	1d6/1d6	3d8	1d8	36’ long
5. Adult	10	2	1d6/1d6	3d8	1d8	42’ long
6. Old	11	1	1d8/1d8	3d10	1d10	48’ long
7. Very old	12	1	1d8/1d8	3d10	1d10	54’ long
8. Ancient	13	0	1d10/1d10	3d12	1d12	60’ long

Brass Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	4	4	1d2/1d2	1d10	1d3	9’ long
2. Young	5	3	1d3/1d3	3d4	1d4	12’ long
3. Sub-adult	6	3	1d3/1d3	3d4	1d4	18’ long
4. Young adult	7	2	1d4/1d4	4d4	1d4+1	24’ long
5. Adult	8	2	1d4/1d4	4d4	1d4+1	30’ long
6. Old	9	1	1d6/1d6	3d6	1d6	36’ long
7. Very old	10	1	1d6/1d6	3d6	1d6	42’ long
8. Ancient	11	0	1d8/1d8	5d4	1d6+1	48’ long

Bronze Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	6	2	1d3/1d3	3d6	1d6	18’ long
2. Young	7	1	1d4/1d4	5d4	1d6+1	24’ long
3. Sub-adult	8	1	1d4/1d4	5d4	1d6+1	30’ long
4. Young adult	9	0	1d6/1d6	4d6	2d4	36’ long
5. Adult	10	0	1d6/1d6	4d6	2d4	42’ long
6. Old	11	–1	1d8/1d8	5d6	1d10	48’ long
7. Very old	12	–1	1d8/1d8	5d6	1d10	54’ long
8. Ancient	13	–2	1d10/1d10	6d6	2d6	60’ long

Cloud Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class†	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	10	2/–1	1d6/1d6	4d6	2d4	36’ long
2. Young	11	1/–2	1d8/1d8	5d6	1d10	48’ long
3. Sub-adult	12	1/–2	1d8/1d8	5d6	1d10	54’ long
4. Young adult	13	0/–3	1d10/1d10	6d6	3d4	60’ long
5. Adult	14	0/–3	1d10/1d10	6d6	3d4	66’ long
6. Old	15	–1/–4	1d12/1d12	7d6	4d4	72’ long
7. Very old	16	–1/–4	1d12/1d12	7d6	4d4	78’ long
8. Ancient	17	–2/–5	2d8/2d8	8d6	5d4	84’ long

† The number listed to the left of the slash indicates the dragon’s normal Armor Class; the number on the right indicates its gaseous Armor Class.

Copper Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	5	3	1d2/1d2	4d4	1d4+1	12’ long
2. Young	6	2	1d3/1d3	3d6	1d6	18’ long
3. Sub-adult	7	2	1d3/1d3	3d6	1d6	24’ long
4. Young adult	8	1	1d4/1d4	5d4	1d6+1	30’ long
5. Adult	9	1	1d4/1d4	5d4	1d6+1	36’ long
6. Old	10	0	1d6/1d6	4d6	2d4	42’ long
7. Very old	11	0	1d6/1d6	4d6	2d4	48’ long
8. Ancient	12	–1	1d8/1d8	5d6	1d10	54’ long

Dragon Turtle

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Size
1. Very young	10	2	2d8/2d8	3d6	9’ diameter
2. Young	11	1	1d10/1d10	3d8	12’ diameter
3. Sub-adult	12	1	1d10/1d10	3d8	18’ diameter
4. Young adult	13	0	2d6/2d6	4d8	24’ diameter
5. Adult	14	0	2d6/2d6	4d8	30’ diameter
6. Old	15	–1	2d8/2d8	3d12	36’ diameter
7. Very old	16	–1	2d8/2d8	3d12	42’ diameter
8. Ancient	17	–2	3d6/3d6	5d8	48’ diameter

Gold Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	8	0	1d4/1d4	4d6	2d4	30’ long
2. Young	9	–1	1d6/1d6	5d6	1d10	36’ long
3. Sub-adult	10	–1	1d6/1d6	5d6	1d10	42’ long
4. Young adult	11	–2	1d8/1d8	6d6	2d6	48’ long
5. Adult	12	–2	1d8/1d8	6d6	2d6	54’ long
6. Old	13	–3	1d10/1d10	7d6	2d6+2	60’ long
7. Very old	14	–3	1d10/1d10	7d6	2d6+2	66’ long
8. Ancient	15	–4	1d12/1d12	8d6	4d4	72’ long

Green Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	5	4	1d3/1d3	2d8	1d4+1	12’ long
2. Young	6	3	1d4/1d4	3d6	1d6	18’ long
3. Sub-adult	7	3	1d4/1d4	3d6	1d6	24’ long
4. Young adult	8	2	1d6/1d6	2d10	1d6+1	30’ long
5. Adult	9	2	1d6/1d6	2d10	1d6+1	36’ long
6. Old	10	1	1d8/1d8	3d8	1d8	42’ long
7. Very old	11	1	1d8/1d8	3d8	1d8	48’ long
8. Ancient	12	0	1d10/1d10	3d10	1d10	54’ long

Li Lung

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	5	6	1d4/1d4	2d8	1d4+1	4’ long
2. Young	6	5	1d6/1d6	3d6	1d6	6’ long
3. Sub-adult	7	5	1d6/1d6	3d6	1d6	9’ long
4. Young adult	8	4	2d4/2d4	1d20	1d6+1	12’ long
5. Adult	9	4	2d4/2d4	1d20	1d6+1	18’ long
6. Old	10	3	2d6/2d6	2d12	2d4	24’ long
7. Very old	11	3	2d6/2d6	2d12	2d4	30’ long
8. Ancient	12	2	2d8/2d8	3d10	1d10	36’ long

Lung Wang

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Size
1. Very young	9	2	1d8/1d8	4d6	9’ diameter
2. Young	10	1	1d10/1d10	5d6	12’ diameter
3. Sub-adult	11	1	1d10/1d10	5d6	18’ diameter
4. Young adult	12	0	1d12/1d12	6d6	24’ diameter
5. Adult	13	0	1d12/1d12	6d6	30’ diameter
6. Old	14	–1	2d8/2d8	7d6	36’ diameter
7. Very old	15	–1	2d8/2d8	7d6	42’ diameter
8. Ancient	16	–2	3d6/3d6	8d6	48’ diameter

Pan Lung

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	4	4	1d2/1d2	1d10	1d3	30’ long
2. Young	5	3	1d3/1d3	2d6	1d4	36’ long
3. Sub-adult	6	3	1d3/1d3	2d6	1d4	42’ long
4. Young adult	7	2	1d3/1d3	2d8	1d4+1	48’ long
5. Adult	8	2	1d3/1d3	2d8	1d4+1	54’ long
6. Old	9	1	1d4/1d4	3d6	1d6	60’ long
7. Very old	10	1	1d4/1d4	3d6	1d6	66’ long
8. Ancient	11	0	1d6/1d6	2d10	1d6+1	72’ long

Red Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	7	1	1d4/1d4	2d10	1d6+1	24’ long
2. Young	8	0	1d6/1d6	3d8	1d8	30’ long
3. Sub-adult	9	0	1d6/1d6	3d8	1d8	36’ long
4. Young adult	10	–1	1d8/1d8	3d10	1d10	42’ long
5. Adult	11	–1	1d8/1d8	3d10	1d10	48’ long
6. Old	12	–2	1d10/1d10	3d12	1d12	54’ long
7. Very old	13	–2	1d10/1d10	3d12	1d12	60’ long
8. Ancient	14	–3	1d12/1d12	7d6	1d12+2	66’ long

Shadow Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice†	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	2	0	1d2+1/1d2+1	2d4	1d3	6’ long
2. Young	3	–1	1d3+1/1d3+1	1d10	1d3	9’ long
3. Sub-adult	4	–1	1d3+1/1d3+1	1d10	1d3	12’ long
4. Young adult	5	–2	1d4+1/1d4+1	3d4	1d4	18’ long
5. Adult	6	–2	1d4+1/1d4+1	3d4	1d4	24’ long
6. Old	7	–3	1d6+1/1d6+1	4d4	1d4+1	30’ long
7. Very old	8	–3	1d6+1/1d6+1	4d4	1d4+1	36’ long
8. Ancient	9	–4	1d8+1/1d8+1	3d6	1d6	42’ long

†Shadow dragons gain an additional 1 hp per Hit Die.

Shen Lung

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	7	3	1d2/1d2	2d8	1d4	24’ long
2. Young	8	2	1d3/1d3	2d10	1d6	30’ long
3. Sub-adult	9	2	1d3/1d3	2d10	1d6	36’ long
4. Young adult	10	1	1d4/1d4	2d12	1d8	42’ long
5. Adult	11	1	1d4/1d4	2d12	1d8	48’ long
6. Old	12	0	1d6/1d6	3d10	1d10	54’ long
7. Very old	13	0	1d6/1d6	3d10	1d10	60’ long
8. Ancient	14	–1	1d8/1d8	3d12	1d12	66’ long

Silver Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	7	1	1d3/1d3	5d4	1d6+1	24’ long
2. Young	8	0	1d4/1d4	4d6	2d4	30’ long
3. Sub-adult	9	0	1d4/1d4	4d6	2d4	36’ long
4. Young adult	10	–1	1d6/1d6	5d6	1d10	42’ long
5. Adult	11	–1	1d6/1d6	5d6	1d10	48’ long
6. Old	12	–2	1d8/1d8	6d6	2d6	54’ long
7. Very old	13	–2	1d8/1d8	6d6	2d6	60’ long
8. Ancient	14	–3	1d10/1d10	7d6	2d6+2	66’ long

T’ien Lung

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	9	0	1d3/1d3	3d10	1d10	18’ long
2. Young	10	–1	1d4/1d4	3d12	2d6	24’ long
3. Sub-adult	11	–1	1d4/1d4	3d12	2d6	30’ long
4. Young adult	12	–2	1d6/1d6	4d10	2d6+2	36’ long
5. Adult	13	–2	1d6/1d6	4d10	2d6+2	48’ long
6. Old	14	–3	1d8/1d8	4d12	4d4	54’ long
7. Very old	15	–3	1d8/1d8	4d12	4d4	60’ long
8. Ancient	16	–4	1d10/1d10	5d10	3d6	66’ long

White Dragon

Age Group	Hit Dice	Armor Class	Claw/Wing Damage	Bite Damage	Tail Damage	Size
1. Very young	3	5	1d2/1d2	1d10	1d3	6’ long
2. Young	4	4	1d3/1d3	2d6	1d4	9’ long
3. Sub-adult	5	4	1d3/1d3	2d6	1d4	12’ long
4. Young adult	6	3	1d4/1d4	2d8	1d4+1	18’ long
5. Adult	7	3	1d4/1d4	2d8	1d4+1	24’ long
6. Old	8	2	1d6/1d6	3d6	1d6	30’ long
7. Very old	9	2	1d6/1d6	3d6	1d6	36’ long
8. Ancient	10	1	1d8/1d8	2d10	1d6+1	42’ long

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