The DnD Gold Dragon Gets a Glow Up
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2024 marks the 50th birthday of D&D, so it’s only fitting that the game’s golden anniversary would also involve a major refresh to one of their most iconic creatures: the DnD gold dragon. These legendary creatures have been around since some of the earliest editions of Dungeons & Dragons, displaying a sense of benevolence and justice that’s rare among the chromatic species.
As part of the upcoming 2025 Monster Manual, Wizards of the Coast recently revealed a radical new design for these golden oldies, with the creatures also gracing both the primary and alternate cover of the upcoming 2024 Players Handbook.
So did the DnD art team strike gold with their updated design? Below, we take a closer look at the new artwork and the design philosophy behind it.
What are gold dragons in DnD lore?
In DnD, Gold dragons (also known as royal dragons) are the epitome of wisdom and benevolence, having appeared in virtually every edition of the game since the late 1970s. Renowned for their sense of justice and honor, in the newer versin of DnD 5e, gold dragons are the antithesis of their chromatic counterparts and are often seen as protectors of the innocent and champions of less powerful species.
Gold dragons typically make their lairs in remote locations, such as high mountain peaks, deep beneath the earth in vast caverns or near sacred sites imbued with ancient magic. Their lairs are resplendent and often filled with treasures that are meticulously organized and displayed, including gems, gold, and artifacts of great historical or magical significance. The heart of a gold dragon’s hoard, however, is often comprised of objects of virtue and beauty, such as ancient tomes of wisdom, rare art pieces or relics imbued with holy magic.
Physically, gold dragons are awe-inspiring, with scales that shimmer like molten metal, giving them an almost celestial appearance. They have long, graceful necks, impressive horns that sweep back from their heads, and a pair of chin tendrils that give them a wise and venerable look. Their wings are massive and sail-like, allowing them to soar through the skies with unparalleled grace and speed.
In combat, gold dragons are formidable, combining their physical prowess with potent magical abilities. They often begin battles by using their powerful breath weapon, which can take the form of a cone of fire or a weakening gas. Gold dragons are also accomplished spellcasters, using their magic to protect themselves and their allies or to heal the wounded. They are also strategic thinkers and prefer to avoid unnecessary violence, seeking to subdue rather than kill whenever possible. However, when forced into a fight, they are relentless and powerful, employing their claws, teeth and tail with deadly precision.
How are DnD gold dragons changing in 2024?
The overall look of gold dragons has changed over the years, with the creature having a more serpentine appearance in the 1st and 2nd editions of DnD before assuming a more traditional appearance starting in the 3rd edition. This latest redesign is really a combination of these previous styles and part of a larger refresh of dragons in general within 2024 DnD Core Books.
In a recent interview with Comicbook.com, Head of Art for D&D Josh Herman explained some of the new design choices and how the lawful good alignment and core stats of the gold dragon informed the new appearance.
“When you even read about the gold dragon as compared to the others, especially compared to the rest of the metallic dragons, they are different,” Herman says. “They don’t interact with people as much. They like to be more isolated. They have a sort of almost a different code in the way that they think. And so to me, the gold dragon felt like something that should be it’s almost…be its own group in a way.”
Herman also points out that the goal was to showcase how the new dragon flies. “We didn’t want to just chop the wings off and all of a sudden it just feels like a totally different creature. With the gold, what we wanted to do is actually shrink the main wings and play up the sort of ribbon-like appearance that they would have.”
Herman notes that the gold dragon will have different “modes” during flight (something which may be reflected in its updated stats). “It has sort of a gliding mode, it has sort of a flying mode. It has sort of a relaxed mode. So, I could see [the wings] being a thing where it might not use them all the time, and maybe it is able to fly with them sort of tucked back a lot of the time when it’s going at a fast speed, almost like an F-14 Tomcat. The wings might come out to do different types of maneuvers at different times.”
Herman also points out that the wing change was to help make it clear that as a magical dragon, it doesn’t really need wings to fly. “The wing change was really to give it a little bit of something extra, but also hopefully make it clear that they don’t need their wings to fly all the time. That actually came from the stats…the Charisma modifier of an ancient gold dragon is like a 28. Which means this is probably one of the most magical creatures in D&D’s existence.”
Herman also points out that while the team as a whole was involved in the redesign of the gold dragon, much of the new art was created by Alexander Ostrowski (a noted concept artist and illustrator) and Chase Stone (who is also a prolific concept artist and designer). Both artists were also involved in the redesigns of the new green dragon and new black dragon.
Final Thoughts
The gold dragon stands apart from others of its kind due to its unique lawful alignment and magical abilities. It’s also one of the few DnD dragons that’s genuinely seen some significant design changes over the decades, so it’s great to see that the Wizards of the Coast art team is paying homage to these traditions while also giving the creature a completely unique look.
The redesigned gold dragon will be appearing in the 2025 Monster Manual, which is slated for release on February 18th and which you can pre-order now on D&D Beyond and Amazon.
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Paige Stuart is a Staff Writer who lives in Chicago, Illinois where she majored in English Literature at Northwestern University. She’s relatively new to Dungeons & Dragons having started playing 5th edition several years ago. Her favorite D&D campaign setting so far is the Forgotten Realms and her favorite character to play is a Wizard named Felician who hurls both bad puns and fireballs with equal ease.
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