Red dragon (s18 overflight)

Stub-class article · First seen: s18 · Last seen: s18
Red dragon (s18 overflight)
the giant red dragon · the red-scaled dragon · Sevryn's red dragon (PC speculation)
Portrait of Red dragon (s18 overflight).
Character
StatusUnknown
First seens18
Last seens18
FactionChromatic dragons

The red dragon (s18 overflight) is the huge red-scaled dragon that flew north overhead, towards Arcanthys, while the party sailed south in session 18, and never engaged them [2][14][18]. Steven’s natural-20 Perception spotted it and the skiff’s Stealth of 21 kept the party hidden [28][29]. Minutes later a flash lit the sky where it was heading, “kind of like a nuke” in the DM’s words [19][30]. Whether it is the red dragon Sevryn warned about is Hugo’s guess, not confirmed [6].

Overview

The red dragon (s18 overflight) is the huge red-scaled dragon that passed over the party’s skiff during the southbound sail in session 18, flying north towards Arcanthys [2][14][7]. No initiative was rolled: it flew by, and the party hid.

It is known only from that scene and from the flash seen where it was heading, which the DM later compared to other flashes. Hugo’s guess that it is the red-scaled dragon Sevryn warned them about is unconfirmed [6]. The DM’s notes record only that the dragon flew overhead, heading north (the DM’s post-s21 clarifications, 2026-09-27).

Appearance and demeanour

  • Huge. “Bigger than anything you’ve ever seen” [2]. Asked whether it was huge or gargantuan, Mike was told “It’s huge.”, a three-by-three token [5].
  • Red scales. “It can only be described as a giant dragon. Red scales.” [2]
  • An enormous wingspan. Its passing rocked the skiff to one side [15].
  • No interest in the party. It “seems to continue towards the north” [14].

Abilities as played

None shown. It did not attack, breathe or notice the party. The DM said only that its wingspan was enormous and that its “sheer presence” nearly killed them [15]. Terry readied an action to jump overboard if it breathed [16]. The flash that followed is the DM’s description of “where it was flying to”, and the table’s readings of it are speculation: Terry’s “An anti-aircraft nuke?”, Mike’s “Like a flame breath”, neither confirmed [17].

Relationships

  • Sevryn: Hugo asked whether this was “the red-scaled one that Sevryn was talking about” [6], and later meant to tell Sevryn that “they got the dragon wrong” [11]. The DM confirmed neither, and the recorded sessions hold no earlier mention of a red-scaled dragon by Sevryn (session 1 is unrecorded).
  • Arcanthys: the direction of its flight, “sort of towards Arcanthys” [18].

Notable quotes

“bigger than anything you’ve ever seen. Flies overhead. And it can only be described as a giant dragon. Red scales.” — Nick (DM), [2]

“so where it was flying to, something lit up the sky before it died out again.” — Nick (DM), [19]

History in the campaign

Session 18: The Wyrm Falls, the Catfish Escapes, and Mike Dies on the Road

Main article: Session 18

Steering closer to land, the party rolled Perception and Steven’s natural 20 caught the sound of something overhead [20]. It was a giant red dragon; Steven’s Stealth of 21 hid the skiff, its wingbeat rocked the boat, and it flew on north [21]. Mike asked whether it was huge or gargantuan and was told huge [5]. Hugo wondered if it was Sevryn’s red-scaled one, and the party noted they were sailing the opposite way [22]. Terry’s Perception of 10 caught a flash where it was heading, “kind of like a nuke, I guess” [23]. At the beach camp Mike called it “a real dragon” and noted “that thing was red” [24].

Session 19: A Penitent Priest, an Unmade Leash, and the Pixie in the Dark

Main article: Session 19

The dragon is off-screen. Planning the route in session 19, Hugo said that the party would update Sevryn: “they got the dragon wrong and instead there was a red dragon flying up” to Arcanthys [25]. The DM did not comment, and the flash was not mentioned.

Session 20: The Man Who Was Always Here

Main article: Session 20

A flash in the sky drew off an Aurelian binder who was questioning the camp [26]. Asked how far away it was, Caelumn learned that it was three to four hours off, “oddly reminiscent of what happened on the ocean with that dragon that lit up the sky” [27]. The comparison is the DM’s; he did not say what caused either flash.

Session 21: The Hand That Points North

Main article: Session 21

In his opening recap the DM likened the flash that had saved Father Thomas’s bluff to “the dragon that flew overhead and attacked something in the distance” [13]. He later confirmed that his notes record only the dragon flying overhead, heading north, so the attack is recap wording and not an event (the DM’s post-s21 clarifications, 2026-09-27). The dragon does not appear in play.

Status

As of session 21. Unknown. Last seen flying north towards Arcanthys [14][18]. Open: whether it is the dragon Sevryn warned about, whether it survived the flash or caused it, and what lit the sky each time.

See also

  • Sevryn: the quest-giver whose red-scaled dragon Hugo had in mind
  • Arcanthys: the city the dragon was flying towards
  • Sapphire Sea: the water the party was sailing at the time

References

  1. ^ Session 18, line 461-463: Steven nat-20 perception spots the dragon.
  2. ^ Session 18, line 469: DM description: "this is bigger than anything you've ever seen. Flies overhead. And it can only be described as a giant dragon. Red scales.".
  3. ^ Session 18, line 476-479: Steven's 21 stealth check hides the boat from the dragon.
  4. ^ Session 18, line 491-493: "The wing span of this creature is enormous, and just the sheer presence of it nearly kills you ... However, it seems to continue towards the north.".
  5. ^ Session 18, line 496: Size clarification: asked "Is this a huge or is it gargantuan?", the answer is "It's huge.", a three-by-three token.
  6. ^ Session 18, line 497: Hugo PC speculation: "Is it fairly safe to assume that this might have been the red-scaled one that Sevryn was talking about?" (DM-unconfirmed).
  7. ^ Session 18, line 505-507: Flight path: north, "sort of towards Arcanthys".
  8. ^ Session 18, line 529-533: Distant bright-flash incident at the dragon's destination: "where it was flying to, something lit up the sky before it died out again".
  9. ^ Session 18, line 536-538: Terry's table interpretation: "An anti-aircraft nuke?"; the DM: "I mean, kind of like a nuke, I guess"; Terry: "Good job Sevryn".
  10. ^ Session 18, line 1761-1764: At the beach camp Mike calls it "a real dragon. That looked very real"; "that thing was red".
  11. ^ Session 19, line 271: Hugo, in the plan to update Sevryn: "they got the dragon wrong and instead there was a red dragon flying up" to Arcanthys (DM-unconfirmed).
  12. ^ Session 20, line 295-327: A flash in the sky draws off the Aurelian binder; the DM likens it to "what happened on the ocean with that dragon that lit up the sky".
  13. ^ Session 21, line 32: The DM's opening recap likens the s20 sky-flash to "the dragon that flew overhead and attacked something in the distance"; the attack is not recorded as an event, since the DM's notes record only the dragon flying overhead, heading north (the DM's post-s21 clarifications, 2026-09-27; flag closed).
  14. ^ Session 18, line 493: Inline citation.
  15. ^ Session 18, line 491: Inline citation.
  16. ^ Session 18, line 492: Inline citation.
  17. ^ Session 18, line 533-537: Inline citation.
  18. ^ Session 18, line 507: Inline citation.
  19. ^ Session 18, line 533: Inline citation.
  20. ^ Session 18, line 461-467: Inline citation.
  21. ^ Session 18, line 469-493: Inline citation.
  22. ^ Session 18, line 497-508: Inline citation.
  23. ^ Session 18, line 529-537: Inline citation.
  24. ^ Session 18, line 1763: Inline citation.
  25. ^ Session 19, line 271-272: Inline citation.
  26. ^ Session 20, line 295: Inline citation.
  27. ^ Session 20, line 327: Inline citation.
  28. ^ Session 18, line 462: Inline citation.
  29. ^ Session 18, line 478-479: Inline citation.
  30. ^ Session 18, line 537: Inline citation.
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