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White Dragon 5e: Every Age, Cold Breath and the Ice Hunter's Tactics
A white dragon is the dimmest chromatic dragon and the weakest by CR: CR 2 as a wyrmling, CR 6 young, CR 13 adult and CR 20 ancient. The adult has AC 18, 200 hit points, immunity to cold, a 60-foot cone of Cold Breath (DC 19 Constitution, 54 damage) and three speeds a party on foot can't match: burrow, fly and swim. It plays like a predator, not a schemer. In the 2024 rules it is the only adult or ancient dragon in the SRD with no Spellcasting action. It gets a Freezing Burst that roots targets in place instead.
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White Dragon Ages at a Glance
Every age keeps the same kit: cold immunity, Cold Breath in a cone on a Constitution save, and Ice Walk (from young up in 2014; the 2024 wyrmling has it too). What grows is the cone, the DC and the hit points.
Age
CR (XP)
AC
HP 2014 / 2024
Cold Breath cone
Save DC
Breath damage 2014 / 2024
Wyrmling
2 (450)
16
32 / 32
15 ft.
Con 12
22 (5d8) / 22 (5d8)
Young
6 (2,300)
17
133 / 123
30 ft.
Con 15
45 (10d8) / 40 (9d8)
Adult
13 (10,000)
18
200 / 200
60 ft.
Con 19
54 (12d8) / 54 (12d8)
Ancient
20 (25,000)
20
333 / 333
90 ft.
Con 22
72 (16d8) / 63 (14d8)
In the 2024 rules the adult is worth 11,500 XP and the ancient 33,000 XP when fought in their lairs.
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) piercing damage plus 2 (1d4) cold damage.
Cold Breath (Recharge 5–6).The dragon exhales an icy blast of hail in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (5d8) cold 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.
Ice Walk.The dragon can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, Difficult Terrain composed of ice or snow doesn’t cost it extra movement.
Actions
Multiattack.The dragon makes two Rend attacks.
Rend.Melee Attack Roll: +4, reach 5 ft. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) Slashing damage plus 2 (1d4) Cold damage.
Cold Breath (Recharge 5–6).Constitution Saving Throw: DC 12, each creature in a 15-foot Cone. Failure: 22 (5d8) Cold 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 wyrmling is a CR 2 ambusher with blindsight 10 feet, darkvision 60 feet and a 30-foot swim speed. The 2014 version gets one bite (+4, 9 damage). The 2024 version swings two Rends (+4, 8 damage each), so its expected melee damage against AC 16 roughly doubles, from about 4 to about 7 a round. Both share the 15-foot breath for 22 cold damage.
That breath is the danger at level 1 and 2. A wizard with Constitution +1 fails DC 12 half the time (a roll of 10 or lower) and takes 16.5 damage on average. A 2nd-level wizard with Constitution 12 has 12 hit points, so a failed save (22 on average) drops it in one exhale.
Ice Walk.The dragon can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, difficult terrain composed of ice or snow doesn't cost it extra movement.
Actions
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) cold damage.
Claw.Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.
Cold Breath (Recharge 5–6).The dragon exhales an icy blast in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 45 (10d8) cold 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.
Ice Walk.The dragon can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, Difficult Terrain composed of ice or snow doesn’t cost it extra movement.
Actions
Multiattack.The dragon makes three Rend attacks.
Rend.Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 10 ft. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) Slashing damage plus 2 (1d4) Cold damage.
Cold Breath (Recharge 5–6).Constitution Saving Throw: DC 15, each creature in a 30-foot Cone. Failure: 40 (9d8) Cold 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.
By young age its swim speed reaches 40 feet, its burrow 20 feet and its blindsight 30 feet, and the 2014 version picks up Ice Walk. It still has no legendary actions or Legendary Resistance, so a party at level 5 or 6 can lock it down with a single failed save.
The 2024 young white is the softer one: 123 hit points instead of 133, 40 breath damage instead of 45, and three Rends for 11 each instead of a bite and two claws (19 + 11 + 11). Against AC 17 that's about 18 damage a round in 2024 versus about 23 in 2014.
Ice Walk.The dragon can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, difficult terrain composed of ice or snow doesn't cost it extra movement.
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) cold 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 ft. of the dragon and aware of it must succeed on a DC 14 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.
Cold Breath (Recharge 5–6).The dragon exhales an icy blast in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw, taking 54 (12d8) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Legendary Actions
The adult white 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 white 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 13 (XP 10,000, or 11,500 in lair; PB +5)
Traits
Ice Walk.The dragon can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, Difficult Terrain composed of ice or snow doesn’t cost it extra movement.
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.
Rend.Melee Attack Roll: +11, reach 10 ft. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) Slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) Cold damage.
Cold Breath (Recharge 5–6).Constitution Saving Throw: DC 19, each creature in a 60-foot Cone. Failure: 54 (12d8) Cold damage. Success: Half damage.
Legendary Actions
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature’s turn, the adult white dragon can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The adult white dragon regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Freezing Burst.Constitution Saving Throw: DC 14, each creature in a 30-foot-radius Sphere centered on a point the dragon can see within 120 feet. Failure: 7 (2d6) Cold damage, and the target’s Speed is 0 until the end of the target’s next turn. Failure or Success: The dragon can’t take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Frightful Presence.The dragon casts Fear, requiring no Material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 14). 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.
The adult is the CR 13 centerpiece of the family. It has the same 200 hit points and 54-damage breath in both editions, Legendary Resistance (3/day; 4/day in a 2024 lair) and three legendary actions. The editions differ in what those actions do:
•2014: Detect, Tail Attack (+11, 15 ft. reach, 15 damage) or Wing Attack (2 actions: DC 19 Dexterity or 13 damage and prone, then it flies off at half speed). Frightful Presence is part of its Multiattack (DC 14 Wisdom, 120 feet).
•2024: Freezing Burst (DC 14 Constitution, 30-foot-radius sphere up to 120 feet away, 7 cold damage and Speed 0), Frightful Presence (casts Fear, DC 14, a 30-foot cone that leaves failures Frightened and fleeing) or Pounce (move half Speed, one Rend). Freezing Burst and Frightful Presence each work once between its turns.
Its weakest numbers are mental. Charisma 12 gives its fear effect a DC of 14 (8 + proficiency bonus 5 + Charisma 1), the lowest Frightful Presence of any adult dragon in the 2014 SRD.
Ice Walk.The dragon can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, difficult terrain composed of ice or snow doesn't cost it extra movement.
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: +14 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d10 + 8) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) cold damage.
Claw.Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) slashing damage.
Tail.Melee Weapon Attack: +14 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 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 .
Cold Breath (Recharge 5–6).The dragon exhales an icy blast in a 90-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 22 Constitution saving throw, taking 72 (16d8) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Legendary Actions
The ancient white 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 white 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 22 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 20 (XP 25,000, or 33,000 in lair; PB +6)
Traits
Ice Walk.The dragon can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, Difficult Terrain composed of ice or snow doesn’t cost it extra movement.
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.
Rend.Melee Attack Roll: +14, reach 15 ft. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) Slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) Cold damage.
Cold Breath (Recharge 5–6).Constitution Saving Throw: DC 22, each creature in a 90-foot Cone. Failure: 63 (14d8) Cold damage. Success: Half damage.
Legendary Actions
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature’s turn, the ancient white dragon can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The ancient white dragon regains all expended uses at the start of each of its turns.
Freezing Burst.Constitution Saving Throw: DC 20, each creature in a 30-foot-radius Sphere centered on a point the dragon can see within 120 feet. Failure: 14 (4d6) Cold damage, and the target’s Speed is 0 until the end of the target’s next turn. Failure or Success: The dragon can’t take this action again until the start of its next turn.
Frightful Presence.The dragon casts Fear, requiring no Material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 18). 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.
The ancient white is Gargantuan, with 333 hit points, AC 20 and a 90-foot cone. Its 2014 bite reaches 15 feet and its tail 20 feet. In 2024 its Charisma jumps from 14 to 18, so Frightful Presence rises to DC 18, its Legendary Resistance goes to 4/day (5 in its lair), and Freezing Burst hits harder (DC 20, 14 damage). Its breath drops from 72 to 63 damage. Three Rends at +14 for 24 each add up to 72 in melee, up from 58 for the 2014 bite-and-claws routine.
What the 2024 Rules Changed
2014
2024
Creature type
Dragon
Dragon (Chromatic)
Attacks
Bite + 2 claws (plus tail at adult+)
2 or 3 Rends, each with cold damage on top
Saving throw proficiencies
Dex, Con, Wis, Cha
Dex and Wis only
Frightful Presence
Part of Multiattack (adult+)
Legendary action that casts Fear
Legendary actions
Detect, Tail, Wing Attack
Freezing Burst, Frightful Presence, Pounce
Initiative
Dex modifier (+0)
+10 adult, +12 ancient
Lair
Not in SRD 5.1
Higher XP, extra Legendary Resistance and legendary action
The save change matters more than it looks. A 2014 adult has Constitution +11 and Charisma +6. The 2024 adult has Constitution +6 and Charisma +1. Spells that call for those saves land far more often against the newer dragon.
How White Dragons Fight
A white dragon wins by choosing where the fight happens. Ice Walk, burrow, swim and blindsight all point the same way: fight on ice, in snow, in water or in a whiteout, where the party is slow and blind and the dragon isn't.
Open with the breath. Cold Breath recharges on a 5 or 6, about one round in three. On round one the adult catches as many characters as it can fit in a 60-foot cone. Against a 13th-level wizard with Constitution +2, DC 19 fails 80% of the time, so the expected hit is about 49 damage. A fighter proficient in Constitution saves (+7) still averages about 42.
Use whiteout and darkness. Blindsight covers 60 feet for an adult. In a blizzard (heavily obscured) the dragon sees everyone inside that radius while most characters see nothing. Under either edition's rules, an attacker who can't be seen attacks with Advantage and its targets attack it with Disadvantage.
Pin, then bite (2024). Freezing Burst lands right after an enemy's turn. Anyone who fails has Speed 0 until the end of their next turn, so the melee character who just ran up stays put, and the archer who wanted to reposition can't. The SRD doesn't say whether Freezing Burst's "Speed 0" makes a flying character fall, so that's a DM ruling; settle it before the fight.
Melee math. The 2024 adult's three Rends (+11, 17 damage each) hit AC 18 70% of the time, about 36 damage a round. Add one Pounce (another Rend) and it's about 48, before the breath.
Leave through the floor. Speed 40, burrow 30 and fly 80 give it three exits. When a white dragon drops below half hit points, have it dive under the ice or into a snowbank and come back after the breath recharges. A dragon that can't be followed is more frightening than one that fights to the death.
Play its mind honestly. With Intelligence 5 to 10, a white dragon doesn't plan three moves ahead. Play it as a predator: it goes for whoever looks weakest, ignores clever bait it doesn't understand, and backs off from anything that hurts it badly.
Running a White Dragon Encounter
Use the 2024 XP budget for four characters. White dragons are solo monsters at every age, but the younger ones work well with minions.
White dragon
XP
Four characters, 2024 budget
Wyrmling
450
Moderate at level 2 (450 of the 600 Moderate budget; Low is 400); above High at level 1 (High budget 400)
Two wyrmlings
900
Moderate at level 3 (exactly the 900 Moderate budget)
Young
2,300
Moderate at level 5 (2,300 of the 3,000 Moderate budget; Low is 2,000)
Adult
10,000
High at level 9 (10,400); Moderate at level 11 (11,600)
Adult in its lair
11,500
Moderate at level 11 (11,600)
Ancient
25,000
High at level 15 (over Moderate 21,600, within High 31,200); Moderate at level 17 (25,000 of the 28,800 Moderate budget)
Good companions: a young white with two polar bears (450 XP each) totals 3,200 XP, a Moderate encounter for four 6th-level characters (3,200 of the 4,000 Moderate budget; Low is 2,400). An adult with two winter wolves (700 each) is 11,400 XP, a High encounter for four 10th-level characters (over Moderate 9,200, within High 12,400). Winter wolves are also immune to cold, so the dragon can breathe through them.
The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator) apply a ×1 multiplier to a lone dragon, so a single adult is rated by its raw 10,000 XP. Add minions and the multiplier climbs fast.
How Players Beat White Dragons
•Pick the battlefield back. Fight it on rock, indoors or in clear weather. Ice Walk, swim and burrow stop mattering in a stone hall.
•Spread out against the cone. A 60-foot cone is wide at the far end. Keep at least two characters out of any one cone the dragon could aim, and stand where its breath would also hit its own allies (most of which aren't cold-immune).
•Target Charisma or Constitution in 2024. The 2024 adult has Charisma +1 and Constitution +6. Banishment (Charisma save) forces it to spend Legendary Resistance or vanish for the duration. Burn its three resistances (four in its lair) with cheaper spells first.
•Fear is its weakest weapon. DC 14 on the adult is easy for characters proficient in Wisdom saves: a 9th-level cleric with Wisdom 18 saves at +8 and passes on a 6 or higher (75%).
•Bring fire, lightning, anything but cold. The white is immune to cold and nothing else. A wizard who prepared Cone of Cold wasted the slot.
•Track the recharge. Roll the recharge openly with the dice roller if your table likes tension. When the breath is spent, that's the round to close in.
The White Dragon's Lair in the SRD
The SRD has no white dragon lair actions or regional effects. SRD 5.1 explains how lairs work in general but gives dragons no lair sections. SRD 5.2.1 gives one lair rule set: in its lair an adult white has 4 Legendary Resistances instead of 3, 4 legendary actions instead of 3, and is worth 11,500 XP. The ancient gets 5 resistances, 4 actions and 33,000 XP. Everything else about the lair (ice caves, frozen lakes, trophies in the walls) is yours to design, and the dragon's speeds tell you what to build: tunnels it can burrow through, water it can swim under, and open sky.
White Dragon Encounter Ideas
The frozen ferry. A town crosses a frozen lake to reach the mountain pass every winter. This year sledges vanish halfway across. A young white swims under the ice and bursts up through thin patches, then drags its prey down. The party has to cross anyway, and the ice is the dragon's terrain, not theirs.
The thaw. A late spring has melted the glacier where an adult white sleeps. It wakes hungry and confused, its lair exposed. It isn't clever enough to bargain, but it is smart enough to be scared. A party that offers it a new frozen cave further north might move it without a fight.
Trophy hall. An ancient white keeps frozen adventurers in the walls of its lair as trophies. One of them is still alive in a magical stasis and can be freed. Everyone who enters hears its muffled voice, which the dragon also hears.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is a white dragon in 5e?
A white dragon wyrmling is CR 2, a young white dragon CR 6, an adult white dragon CR 13 and an ancient white dragon CR 20. The CRs are the same in the 2014 and 2024 rules, and no chromatic dragon of the same age has a lower CR.
How much damage does a white dragon's breath do?
The adult's Cold Breath deals 54 (12d8) cold damage in a 60-foot cone, DC 19 Constitution for half, in both editions. The wyrmling deals 22, the young 45 (40 in 2024) and the ancient 72 (63 in 2024).
Is a white dragon immune to cold?
Yes. Every white dragon is immune to cold damage, and from young up its Ice Walk trait lets it cross and climb ice without checks and ignore difficult terrain made of ice or snow.
Does the 2024 white dragon cast spells?
No. In SRD 5.2.1 every other dragon from adult up has a Spellcasting action, but the white dragon doesn't. Its 2024 Frightful Presence legendary action casts Fear, and that's the only spell it uses.
What's the difference between a white dragon and a silver dragon?
Both breathe cold, but they play opposite roles. A white dragon (CR 13 adult) is a dim, chaotic evil predator that fights on ice. A silver dragon (CR 16 adult) is lawful good, has a second Paralyzing Breath and, in 2024, casts Hold Monster. The white hits like an animal; the silver fights like a spellcaster.
Can a white dragon fly and swim?
Yes. An adult white dragon has a walking speed of 40 feet, burrow 30 feet, fly 80 feet and swim 40 feet. It can attack from under ice and leave through snow, so fights near water or snowfields favor it.
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.