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Black Dragon 5e: Stats for Every Age, Acid Breath and Swamp Ambushes
A black dragon is the chromatic dragon built for ambush. The adult is a CR 14 Huge dragon with AC 19, 195 hit points, Stealth +7, a 40-foot swim speed and the ability to breathe underwater. Its Acid Breath is a 60-foot line, only 5 feet wide, that deals 54 acid damage on a failed DC 18 Dexterity save. Black dragons are immune to acid and suit swamps and flooded ruins. In the 2024 rules the adult also casts Acid Arrow and Fear at will, and the ancient can raise the dead as ghouls.
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Black Dragon Ages Compared
A black dragon sits below the red, blue and green at every age except the wyrmling, where it ties the green at CR 2. Its breath is a line instead of a cone, so it hits fewer characters per use but suits tunnels, causeways and anywhere the party walks single file.
Age
CR (XP)
AC
HP
Acid Breath (Dex save)
Melee per round if all hit (2014 / 2024)
Wyrmling
2 (450)
17
33
15 x 5 ft line, DC 11, 22 (5d8)
9 / 14
Young
7 (2,900)
18
127
30 x 5 ft line, DC 14, 49 (11d8 in 2014, 14d6 in 2024)
41 / 36
Adult
14 (11,500)
19
195
60 x 5 ft line, DC 18, 54 (12d8)
47 / 51
Ancient
21 (33,000)
22
367
90 x 10 ft line, DC 22, 67 (15d8)
58 / 78
Hit points, AC, CR and breath damage are identical across the two editions at every age. The changes are in the attacks, the saves and, for the adult and ancient, an entire spell list. The young black is the one age that got weaker in melee in 2024: three Rends of 12 damage instead of a bite and two claws totaling 41.
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage plus 2 (1d4) acid damage.
Acid Breath (Recharge 5–6).The dragon exhales acid in a 15-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking 22 (5d8) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
Rend.Melee Attack Roll: +4, reach 5 ft. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) Slashing damage plus 2 (1d4) Acid damage.
Acid Breath (Recharge 5–6).Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 11, each creature in a 15-foot-long, 5-footwide Line. Failure: 22 (5d8) Acid damage. Success: Half damage.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
The black wyrmling has only 33 hit points, fewer than a red, blue or green wyrmling, and a 15-foot line of acid that can catch at most three Medium characters standing in a row. Its real strength is Stealth +4 and a 30-foot swim speed: it can wait under murky water and choose when the fight starts.
In 2014 it bites once (+4, 9 damage). In 2024 it makes two Rends (+4, 7 each). Against AC 16 each attack hits on a 12 or higher (45%), so it averages about 4 damage a round in 2014 and 6 in 2024. The breath is what kills: 22 acid damage on a failed DC 11 Dexterity save.
Multiattack.The dragon makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) acid damage.
Claw.Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.
Acid Breath (Recharge 5–6).The dragon exhales acid in a 30-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 49 (11d8) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
Rend.Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 10 ft. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) Slashing damage plus 3 (1d6) Acid damage.
Acid Breath (Recharge 5–6).Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 14, each creature in a 30-foot-long, 5-footwide Line. Failure: 49 (14d6) Acid damage. Success: Half damage.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
The young black's 30-foot line deals 49 damage on a failed DC 14 save. The two editions get there with different dice (11d8 against 14d6), but the average is the same. For a level 5 party, that is enough to drop almost anyone caught in the line on a failed save.
Its melee is where the editions split. The 2014 young black bites for 19 (15 piercing plus 4 acid) and claws twice for 11. The 2024 version makes three Rends for 12 each (9 slashing plus 3 acid). Against AC 17, +7 hits on a 10 or higher (55%), so the 2014 dragon averages about 23 a round and the 2024 dragon about 20. At this age, the 2014 stat block is the scarier one.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day).If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Actions
Multiattack.The dragon can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) acid damage.
Claw.Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) slashing damage.
Tail.Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
Frightful Presence.Each creature of the dragon's choice that is within 120 feet of the dragon and aware of it must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dragon's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Acid Breath (Recharge 5–6).The dragon exhales acid in a 60-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 54 (12d8) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Legendary Actions
The adult black dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The adult black dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect.The dragon makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Tail Attack.The dragon makes a tail attack.
Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions).The dragon beats its wings. Each creature within 10 ft. of the dragon must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 13 (2d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The dragon can then fly up to half its flying speed.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
Challenge 14 (XP 11,500, or 13,000 in lair; PB +5)
Traits
Amphibious.The dragon can breathe air and water.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day, or 4/Day in Lair).If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Actions
Multiattack.The dragon makes three Rend attacks. It can replace one attack with a use of Spellcasting to cast Acid Arrow (level 3 version).
Rend.Melee Attack Roll: +11, reach 10 ft. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) Slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) Acid damage.
Acid Breath (Recharge 5–6).Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 18, each creature in a 60-foot-long, 5-footwide Line. Failure: 54 (12d8) Acid damage. Success: Half damage.
Spellcasting.The dragon casts one of the following spells, requiring no Material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks):
At Will: Acid Arrow (level 3 version), Detect Magic, Fear
1/Day Each: Speak with Dead, Vitriolic Sphere
Legendary Actions
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature’s turn, the adult black dragon can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The adult black dragon regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Cloud of Insects.Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 17, one creature the dragon can see within 120 feet. Failure: 22 (4d10) Poison damage, and the target has Disadvantage on saving throws to maintain Concentration until the end of its next turn. Failure or Success: The dragon can’t take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Frightful Presence.The dragon uses Spellcasting to cast Fear. The dragon can’t take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Pounce.The dragon moves up to half its Speed, and it makes one Rend attack.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
2014 Adult Black Dragon
2024 Adult Black Dragon
Melee
Bite 21, two claws 13 each, tail 15 (reach 15 ft)
Three Rends, 17 each (13 slashing + 4 acid)
Breath
60 x 5 ft line, 54 (12d8), DC 18 Dex
Same
Fear
Frightful Presence, DC 16 Wis, 120 ft
Fear spell at will (DC 17), also as a legendary action
Spells
None
Acid Arrow (level 3), Detect Magic, Fear at will; Speak with Dead, Vitriolic Sphere 1/day; DC 17, +9 to hit
Legendary actions
Detect, Tail Attack, Wing Attack (2)
Cloud of Insects, Frightful Presence, Pounce
Saves
Dex +7, Con +10, Wis +6, Cha +8
Dex +7, Con +5, Wis +6, Cha +4
The 2024 adult can replace one Rend with Acid Arrow: a +9 ranged spell attack out to 90 feet for 12 (5d4) acid damage now and 7 (3d4) more at the end of the target's next turn. Even a miss deals half the first hit. It's the dragon's answer to the archer on the riverbank.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day).If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Actions
Multiattack.The dragon can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d10 + 8) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) acid damage.
Claw.Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) slashing damage.
Tail.Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) bludgeoning damage.
Frightful Presence.Each creature of the dragon's choice that is within 120 feet of the dragon and aware of it must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dragon's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Acid Breath (Recharge 5–6).The dragon exhales acid in a 90-foot line that is 10 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 22 Dexterity saving throw, taking 67 (15d8) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Legendary Actions
The ancient black dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The ancient black dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect.The dragon makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Tail Attack.The dragon makes a tail attack.
Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions).The dragon beats its wings. Each creature within 15 ft. of the dragon must succeed on a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw or take 15 (2d6 + 8) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The dragon can then fly up to half its flying speed.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
Challenge 21 (XP 33,000, or 41,000 in lair; PB +7)
Traits
Amphibious.The dragon can breathe air and water.
Legendary Resistance (4/Day, or 5/Day in Lair).If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Actions
Multiattack.The dragon makes three Rend attacks. It can replace one attack with a use of Spellcasting to cast Acid Arrow (level 4 version).
Rend.Melee Attack Roll: +15, reach 15 ft. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) Slashing damage plus 9 (2d8) Acid damage.
Acid Breath (Recharge 5–6).Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 22, each creature in a 90-foot-long, 10-footwide Line. Failure: 67 (15d8) Acid damage. Success: Half damage.
Spellcasting.The dragon casts one of the following spells, requiring no Material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 21, +13 to hit with spell attacks):
At Will: Acid Arrow (level 4 version), Detect Magic, Fear
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature’s turn, the ancient black dragon can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The ancient black dragon regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Cloud of Insects.Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 21, one creature the dragon can see within 120 feet. Failure: 33 (6d10) Poison damage, and the target has Disadvantage on saving throws to maintain Concentration until the end of its next turn. Failure or Success: The dragon can’t take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Frightful Presence.The dragon uses Spellcasting to cast Fear. The dragon can’t take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Pounce.The dragon moves up to half its Speed, and it makes one Rend attack.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
At this age the line doubles in width to 10 feet and reaches 90 feet, for 67 acid damage on a DC 22 save. Ten feet wide means two characters standing side by side can both be caught, which a 5-foot line rarely manages.
The 2024 ancient keeps the same 367 hit points but hits much harder in melee (three Rends of 26, up to 78 a round) and adds Create Undead once a day. That spell can only be cast at night, takes 1 minute, and turns up to three corpses of Small or Medium Humanoids into ghouls under its control. An ancient black that wins one fight with the party's hirelings fights the next one alongside them.
How Black Dragons Fight
A black dragon picks the fight's first round. Everything else follows from that.
Start hidden, start in water. An adult has Stealth +7 and a 40-foot swim speed and breathes underwater. Under the brown surface of a swamp it can wait as long as it likes. When the party crosses a causeway or a fallen log in single file, the dragon surfaces at one end and fires its breath down the length of the line. That's the terrain where a 5-foot-wide line hits as many people as a cone would.
Breath odds by round. Acid Breath recharges on a 5 or 6 rolled at the start of each turn. After it's used, the chance it's back is 33% by the next round, 56% within two rounds and 70% within three. Most black dragons breathe twice in a fight. Because the line is narrow, though, each breath usually catches one or two characters, not four. Against a target with a +2 Dexterity save, the adult's DC 18 breath fails on a 15 or lower (75%), for an expected 0.75 x 54 + 0.25 x 27, about 47 damage.
Evasion cuts it to almost nothing. A rogue or monk with Evasion takes no damage on a successful Dexterity save and half on a failure. A level 11 rogue with a +9 Dexterity save fails the adult's DC 18 only on an 8 or lower (40%), so their expected damage is about 11. A smart black dragon targets the cleric or wizard and leaves the rogue to its claws.
The 2014 adult: dive, frighten, bite, leave. On the first round in melee it uses Frightful Presence (DC 16 Wisdom) and attacks: bite and two claws at +11 hit AC 18 on a 7 or higher (70%), about 33 damage a round. Its Wing Attack (two legendary actions) knocks everything within 10 feet prone on a failed DC 19 Dexterity save and lets it fly 40 feet, often straight back into the water.
The 2024 adult: break concentration, then scatter the party. Its legendary actions are built to tear apart the party's spellcasting:
•Cloud of Insects (after the cleric's turn): DC 17 Dexterity save, 22 (4d10) poison damage, and the target has disadvantage on saves to maintain Concentration until the end of its next turn.
•On its own turn: two Rends and an Acid Arrow at the same caster. Each hit forces a concentration save, now with disadvantage. Acid Arrow's 3d4 at the end of the target's next turn forces another.
•Frightful Presence casts Fear: a 30-foot cone, Wisdom save, and a failed save means the target drops what it's holding, becomes frightened and must Dash away from the dragon on its turns. Use it on the melee characters who reached the riverbank.
Fear requires the dragon's Concentration, so a hit on the dragon can end it. The dragon doesn't care much: it can cast it again next round.
Vitriolic Sphere once a day. A 20-foot-radius burst out to 150 feet for 25 (10d4) acid damage on a failed DC 17 Dexterity save, plus 12 (5d4) at the end of each target's next turn. This is the dragon's answer to a party that learned to stand apart from the line.
It retreats under water. A black dragon below half hit points dives, swims off at 40 feet, and comes back later. With Speak with Dead (2024), it may question the corpse of a slain party ally or hireling first, to learn what the party planned.
Running a Black Dragon Encounter
Budgets for four characters under the 2024 rules (SRD 5.2.1):
Age
XP
Four characters of level
Low / Moderate / High budget
Difficulty
Wyrmling
450
2
400 / 600 / 800
Moderate
Young
2,900
5
2,000 / 3,000 / 4,400
Moderate
Adult
11,500 (13,000 in lair)
11
7,600 / 11,600 / 16,400
Moderate (High in lair)
Ancient
33,000 (41,000 in lair)
18
20,000 / 34,800 / 56,800
Moderate (High in lair)
The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator) put a solo adult black dragon at Hard for four level 11 characters (Hard 9,600, Deadly 14,400) and Medium for four level 13 characters.
Terrain is the black dragon's multiplier. The same adult is a Moderate fight on a dry hilltop and a much harder one in a flooded ruin where the party wades at half speed and the dragon swims at 40 feet. If you add terrain like that, add fewer extra monsters. When you do add allies, swamp creatures that fight in the water alongside it work well: a few lizardfolk or, for a 2024 ancient, the ghouls it raised.
How Players Beat a Black Dragon
•Never stand in a row. The line hits only creatures in its path. Spread out sideways, not front to back, and avoid narrow causeways and corridors when a black dragon could be near. Against the ancient's 10-foot-wide line, leave at least 10 feet of open ground between characters.
•Lean on Evasion and Dexterity saves. Rogues and monks with Evasion, and Haste for advantage on Dexterity saves, blunt the breath badly.
•Don't use acid. Every age is immune to acid damage. Acid Splash and Acid Arrow are wasted.
•Force it out of the water. Fight it on dry ground or near water too shallow to submerge in. A black dragon that can't hide or retreat loses its two best tactics.
•Protect concentration against the 2024 adult. Give the concentration spell to the character with the best Constitution save, or plan for it to drop. Cloud of Insects and Acid Arrow's delayed damage are aimed squarely at it.
•Target Charisma and Constitution after its Legendary Resistance is gone. The 2024 adult's saves are Con +5 and Cha +4 (2014: +10 and +8), so Banishment and Constitution-save spells become realistic once its 3 Legendary Resistances (4 in its lair) are spent.
•Counter its spells. In the 2024 rules, Counterspell forces a Constitution save. With +5, the adult fails a DC 17 Counterspell 55% of the time, so Vitriolic Sphere and Fear are worth contesting.
Black Dragon Lairs: What the SRD Covers
SRD 5.2.1 gives the 2024 adult and ancient black dragon "in lair" numbers only: XP rises (13,000 for the adult, 41,000 for the ancient), Legendary Resistance goes up by one (4/day and 5/day), and legendary action uses go from 3 to 4. It doesn't list lair actions or regional effects and doesn't say what the lair looks like.
SRD 5.1 has no lair actions for black dragons and no general lair-action rules. The swamp lair actions and regional effects for black dragons come from the Monster Manual and aren't part of the SRD. If you want lair effects without those books, build them from the dragon's existing tools: murky water that heavily obscures, insect swarms, sinking mud as difficult terrain. Those are your design, not SRD rules.
Black Dragon Encounter Ideas
The ferry. A rope ferry crosses a black river in a swamp. Halfway across, the rope goes slack: a young black dragon has chewed through it, and the raft drifts downstream toward its hunting pool. Everyone is standing on a 10-by-30-foot raft, which is exactly the shape of a 30-foot line.
The questioner (2024). A party's hireling vanished a week ago. Now the adult black dragon in the fen knows their names, their route and the password to their patron's tower. It found the hireling's body and cast Speak with Dead. The party has to work out what the corpse told it, and in what order the dragon will use it.
The drowned chapel. An abandoned chapel stands in a lake that rose over a century. The floor is under 4 feet of black water. A black dragon wyrmling lives in the flooded crypt below and treats the chapel's bell as its alarm. The local priest wants the crypt's relic. The wyrmling wants the priest.
A black dragon wyrmling is CR 2, a young black dragon CR 7, an adult black dragon CR 14 and an ancient black dragon CR 21. These are the same in the 2014 and 2024 rules.
How big is a black dragon's breath weapon?
Acid Breath is a line: 15 feet long and 5 feet wide for a wyrmling, 30 by 5 feet for a young dragon, 60 by 5 feet for an adult and 90 by 10 feet for an ancient. Creatures in the line make a Dexterity save and take half damage on a success.
Is a black dragon immune to acid?
Yes. All four ages are immune to acid damage in both editions. Black dragons have no other damage immunities, resistances or condition immunities.
Can black dragons breathe underwater?
Yes. Every black dragon has the Amphibious trait, so it can breathe air and water, and a swim speed (30 feet for wyrmlings, 40 feet for older dragons).
What spells can a 2024 black dragon cast?
The 2024 adult casts Acid Arrow (level 3), Detect Magic and Fear at will, and Speak with Dead and Vitriolic Sphere once a day each, with save DC 17 and +9 to hit. The ancient casts Acid Arrow at level 4 and Vitriolic Sphere at level 5, adds Create Undead once a day, and has save DC 21 and +13 to hit.
Black dragon vs green dragon: which is harder?
At each age the green dragon has a higher CR (except as wyrmlings, where both are CR 2), more hit points and a cone that hits more characters. The black dragon's narrow line is easier to dodge, but its stealth and swamp terrain make it the better ambusher.
Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.