Of all the creatures in fantasy gaming, Dragons are hands down the most fearsome of beings. No other creature can strike fear into the hearts of pc's as these dread beasts.

While many dragons are not evil, they are all beasts to be feared and respected. Many game masters cannot run these beings well, even fewer can run them with skill.

Dragons should always be a distant, near-mythical, threat to the game world. One would be seen only rarely and it should be an experience to be remembered, for a long time.

This simple formula will ensure that dragons are used judicially:

A dragon will roam an area equal to 10 times it's age category (i.e. An age category 4 dragon will hunt and roam in a 40 mile area, age category 7 in 70 miles, etc.).

A dragon will lair in the most inaccessible area for it's given terrain type ( a red dragon might lair in the heart of a treacherous volcanic field or mountain range, a blue in the  highest peak of a dry mountain range in a desert zone, perhaps like the american southwest).

Even the bravest of species will flee from a fight if that fight goes badly for it (if no avenue of escape exists then the dragon will bargain for itself, then at the first possible opportunity, thwart the letter of any agreement and leave or kill it's captors).

A dragons wing span, apparently this is not covered in most books, can be calculated thus:

wing span is equal to three times the body length (excluding the tail) of the dragon, for example a red dragon with a body length of 56 ft. will have a wing span of 168 ft.. This will help in resolving combat in confined spaces, as well as aiding in the overall description of the dragon.

A dragon will have already planned for unwanted visitors and will have set up complicated traps to deal with them, if the visitors can get past these, the dragon will use magic (if available). On first contact the dragon is more likely to use it's breath weapon before attempting to even try to talk with the would be dragon slayers (this tactic also weakens the dragons opponents giving it a better chance of winning).

Pc's should have a sense of dread as soon as they come within a mile of the dragon. Also most never get to actually fight these creatures as the fear aura alone is usually enough to repel them. It should be a very difficult and trying experience when attempting to hunt a dragon, and at no time should the game master give the pc's the impression that dragons are easy pushovers ( as is often the case).

A good example of dragon tactics and their use in a game is given in the pre-made adventure we have supplied called The Lure of the Serpent