The earliest edition of Dungeons and Dragons released in the late 1970s listed only ten different types of dragons for adventurers to test themselves against. The good-aligned ones were Metallic: Copper, Brass, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, while the evil ones were Chromatic and named after colors: Black, White, Blue, Red, and Green. Each type had different habitats, breath weapons, and personalities. Gold dragons, for example, were patterned after Asian ones, while Black ones spat acid and lived in swamps.
AD&D Gold dragon
In the decades since dragon species have multiplied for the game, including new additions to the existing types (like Brown and Steel dragons) to whole new types (Gem dragons, Space dragons) and even different subspecies or states of being for regular dragons, like the humanoid Dragonkin and Dragon liches. This helpful chart by artist Jason Thompson displays the relationships between the variously types and is a true labor of love.
Despite all the draconic overdrive, the original ten species remain strongly at the game’s core.
Here’s some randomgen AD&D good-aligned dragons for your own campaign use.
Metallic dragons
Unthz
Small, young female silver dragon. She likes to hoard pelts and furs and has a tough, wrinkled hide covered with a few dull blue freckles. She speaks in a soothing human voice and has a confidant, self-assured personality. Despite her youth, rumor says she caused the ruin of several local goblin communities. Unthz dwells in an old monastery high in the mountains. She often takes the form of one of the local human nomads, varying the age and gender.
Draukkrung
Large, very old, male brass dragon known as “The Elder Hero” by the Elves. Draukkrung likes to hoard suits of armor in addition to precious objects made of wood and plant fiber. Much of the armor was gifted to him by grateful elves. Draukkrung has dry, scaly bronze skin with a faint metallic purple cast. He has a casual, conversational, relaxed manner when dealing with humanoids. With other intelligent creatures, he is more brusque. Much of Draukkrung’s magic centers around attack spells, and is more likely to be the aggressor rather than the defender in combat situations. In addition to his breath weapon attacks he can stun opponents with an unearthly screech, an ability that was entirely self-taught.
Firespark
Slim, mature adult female gold dragon. Firespark’s golden scales are exceptionally tough and sport light gold speckles. Firespark has a no-nonsense manner and a loud, commanding voice. Like many gold dragons she craves knowledge and likes to hoard tomes of magic, even if she can’t use them. She has been known to host human and elven sages in her canyon cliffside lair. To guard it when she is away, she employs four dragonnes who are magicked to serve. She often disguises herself as a shaman of the native elves who live in the canyons.
Unthbegonne the Terrible
Ancient two-headed male silver dragon. Despite having two heads, he has only one consciousness. He likes to hoard magical items and keeps trophies from defeated enemies. Unthbegonne has fine, scaly skin with metallic blue-white blotches. Despite being labelled “The Terrible” he is genuinely fond of human children and often fosters orphans. He lives alone under a remote glacier, having never found a dragon mate who could accept his extra head. (When shapechanged, he does not have an extra head.) Unthbegonne is very close to a local city of humans and often visits there in his human form.
Ginth
Young female brass dragon. She has a musical voice and laughs freely and often when conversing, which, being a brass dragon, she does most of the time. Her thick, scaled hide is dark brown with touches of red on her legs and belly. Ginth dwells with several of her littermates in a large, sandy lair. She has taken to hoarding magical items that deal with plants, and is very proud of this growing collection.
Ziove
Large wyrm-age male bronze dragon. Ziove is half again as large as others of his age, a truly massive creature. He has strong, supple scales dappled with light orange flecks. Ziove lives with his mate in a cliffside lair overlooking the sea. He has a world-weary, tattered appearance and periodically snorts out steam from his nostrils. His long tail has been truncated from a fight with a red dragon. He is an elder in the bronze dragon community and is often asked for help or advice from younger dragons. Ziove is equitable and reasonable. The only exception to his placid nature is his feud with the red dragon who maimed him. He will gladly pay humans in gold for any information they have on that creature so he can seek his vengeance
Kakiffier
Immature, very young female copper dragon. Likes to hoard bones, as she hasn’t quite figured out the value of treasure yet. Her armored hide is light brown, covered with small black spots. Though she has a frail appearance, Kakiffier is strong as any dragon and likes to tease lesser creatures by chasing them to exhaustion. When she speaks, it is in a hissing voice like bacon frying in a skillet, with a sinister laugh. She has an insatiable appetite and will look kindly on anyone who provides her with her favorite food (giant scorpions and large, poisonous snakes.) Her lair is a small, dry cave.
Oorlcint
Small, plump, adult female bronze dragon with rough-scaled skin and faint purple stripes. Oorlcint has rugged jaws filled with jagged teeth, and hence a discomforting grin. She prefers to buy treasure rather than take it by force, and one of her favorite things to buy is bejeweled fossils. She is fastidious about her lair, which always smells like fresh-cut lemons. She is friendly, but tends towards lawful neutral in alignment and is often at odds with other bronze dragons because of this. Her favorite food is ichthyosaurs.
