The Dragon Graveyard of Ashvale Legend
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The Dragon Graveyard of Ashvale

Where old dragons come to die, someone dug up something that should have stayed buried.

The Bone-Dragon of the Valley
The Adversary
The Bone-Dragon of the Valley
undead (dragon skeleton) · CR 13

A century of draconic fury holds its bare bones upright, and it suffers no thief on its graveyard.

Show stat block
The Bone-Dragon of the Valley
Large undead, chaotic evil
Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points 260 (21d10 + 147)
Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft.
STR23+6
DEX10+0
CON25+7
INT10+0
WIS12+1
CHA15+2
Saving Throws Str +11, Con +12, Wis +6
Skills Intimidation +7, Perception +6
Resistances & immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons; suffocation, poison; exhaustion, poisoned (immune)
Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 16
Challenge 13 (10,000 XP)
Traits

Bone Vigilance. The Bone Dragon cannot be surprised while on its own graveyard, and has advantage on initiative rolls there.

Graveyard Grip. Terrain within 60 ft. of the Bone Dragon counts as difficult terrain for any living creature that is not its owner, due to encroaching bones and gravestones.

Actions

Multiattack. The Bone Dragon attacks three times: once with its bite and twice with its claws.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d10+8) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) necrotic damage.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +11, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6+8) slashing damage.

Bone Storm (Recharge 5-6). The Bone Dragon exhales a storm of bone shards in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw, taking 42 (12d6) necrotic damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.

5e-compatible stat block · this monster also appears in the adventure PDF

The Story

Beneath an ash-gray sky stretches a valley strewn with the skeletons of dragons as large as cathedrals; their ribs rise like gates from the dust, and the wind whistles a dirge through hollow skulls. Old dragons come here to die, and among the bones something moves that has outlived them all.

Poachers have broken into Ash Valley to harvest dragon marrow, a substance worth its weight in gold to alchemists and mages. But their digging disturbed an ancient guardian and woke the restless fury of the dragons buried here. Their spirits and their bones are stirring, and the poachers are already losing.

You must stop the poachers before they wake more, survive among collapsing ribcages and rising dragon bones, and unravel the curse that guards this graveyard. A weathered bone-hunter shows you the way but will not come along, for she knows what moves here and why you must touch nothing.

The climax draws you to the largest skull of all, where the guardian dwells: the Bone Dragon of the Valley, a dragon skeleton held upright by a century of pent-up fury that suffers no thief in its graveyard. Defeat it and seal the graveyard, and you choose for yourselves which treasure leaves with you; fail, and the valley becomes your grave, and your bones join those of the giants.

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The fifth edition (5e). It is compatible with the common 5e rules and includes stat blocks and encounters.

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This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, licensed under CC-BY 4.0. All story, characters and artwork are 100% original. DM Shots is an independent publisher, not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast. More about our license & 5e compatibility.