Intelligent creatures

My players are going up against this guy tomorrow: but I'm not sure how to handle the battle. Dragons are extremely intelligent creatures. What kind of things would a dragon do in battle that regular goblins and whatnot would not?

First. It can fly. Abuse breath weapon, do not engage in melee.

Second. It can plan. It won't engage in battle unless it thinks it can win. It should have a plan to win, and backup plans if the adventurers are too strong to beat.

Use the terrain to their advantage in complex ways.

Be able to realize when it is losing the battle, meaning it is much more likely to know when it needs to run.

Prioritize targets by their threat level rather than size or proximity.

Lay traps for the party, especially complex ones designed specifically to capture a specific party member or mitigate a certain party advantage.

Basically, think, "How would a real-life person fight this party?"

Just use your own strategic knowledge, goblins make stupid decisions about who to attack or where to move, dragons can plan 3 moves or more ahead. They can see the weak link from the look of their build and the armor they're wearing. You've played with the players before so you know their combat tendencies, a dragon would be able to accurately predict these too, he'd have an escape or back up plan if things went south

It can converse with them. It can gloat when things are going well, and underestimate them because it knows it's smarter than they are.

Dragons will definitely run away if they lose the upper hand. You might use this to feint the players by making it look like the dragon escaped only to have it ambush the party soon after.

Basically everything everyone else has said, plus one more thing: have the dragon escape and return later in the campaign, and present the encounter as a planning challenge for your players. Have them come up with a novel way of preventing the dragon's escape a second time. They ought to enjoy that.

Consider the draconomicon and other such materials to offer advice. Depends on the personality, experience and power of the dragon. Is it the type to cast spells of defense, offense, or simply swat them about

Give it a wand of fire ball.

Try to give the dragon a distinct personality. Has it been just killing people for funzies and burning villages? Maybe then its overconfident and essentially a bully. What happens when that idea is shattered and it realizes its not hot shit? Does it run or get super angry and attack? Is it old and wise? Then it would be more cautious in battle, abuse its strengths and retreat if need be.

It can cast spells.

While it's smart, it's also arrogant depending on what type it is. Don't go too balls to the wall with it's ability to plan. It should think that these things couldn't possibly outsmart it

>Dragons are always super intelligent
I hate this. Every other race or creature runs the gamut from genius to idiot, why not dragons too? I'd love to see a simple-minded, blue-collar type of dragon.

So White Dragons of D&D then? They're actually kinda dumb and more bestial and lizardlike than other dragons. Frost giants sometimes keep them as pets.

There was a marginally smarter one from the Tyranny of Dragons stuff. Aarauthator, I think? He stole some spellbooks from the arcane order and learned a few spells out of them. Fun fact, manipulating water against the party is fun when its frigid temperature induces exhaustion.

...God, I miss that campaign. Nothing beats almost killing your party in a dragon boss fight and then having them somehow manage to scrape out a minor victory with no casualties, somehow.

If you faggots are out there, I want you to know I loved running that game...

I was thinking something more in-between bestial lizard and nefarious genius. Something akin to the Hank Hill of dragons.

It traps its horde. Imagine the bullshit that it would use if the players went through its lair, realized they had to deal with the kind of metagame bullshit they've been using.

Pretend the dragon is another player character who is trying to win.

I don't have a Blue's stats in front of me, but I'm a huge fan of doing some really imposing theme-establishing stuff.

For example, if you're in its lair and it has an action that creates a wall of something, I fluff it out as thrashing the ground behind it with its tail, and the resulting effect taking place. Just being near a red dragon should be a swelteringly hot experience. If you can kick up a cloud of dust or something, create a large patch of obscured area. Maybe with a wingbeat.

Then have the dragon's looming maw swoop through the cloud of dust as it makes its attack, or something cool.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is don't just make a draconic encounter a hard boss fight. Make it something MEMORABLE. Because dragons are fucking dragons, and the fight should be intimidating, awesome, and definitely lethal. Try to make it something your group will remember a long time from now, and look back on fondly while they brag about dragonslaying to barwenches the realm over.

>Hank Hill of Dragons
>Fighting a firebreathing lizard in the midst of its hoard of explosive gas and explosive gas accessories

Probably significantly deadlier than a hypergenius dragon who just overthinks things

I breathe propane and propane accessories

"You think you can outsmart me, human? Then, how about a contest of wits?"
"Did you have something in mind?"
>Boggle.

Blue Dragons are the masters of running everything behind the scenes, so having blue-collar mafia dragon who replaces intelligence with brutal cunning is a pretty neat idea that still fits the type-casting of blue dragons.

Only if it wears a fedora and carries a tommy gun.

Why would the dragon be athiest?

(You) tried.