Help with White Dragon Lair Actions

[Decstarr]

Hey guys,

last session my group fought through an high up in the mountains, underwater, freezing cold dungeon, using up most of their resources and already damaging the dragon. They made it to the final big cave, which allows them to get out of the water at least but is, of course, freezing cold. They are in the White Dragon's Lair now and I'm looking for advice for the Lair Actions.

Group of 4 (lvl 14) with quite some magical items, using modified dragons, it's an Old White One I took straight from Dragons Volume 1 by Tony Petrecca. (AC 19, HP 243)

The entire terrain is difficult already. The whole dungeon has been a constant hit & run and "have a hard time not to drown or freeze to dead" situation, since the group engaged with only limited access to protection from elements and water breathing. So I'd like this final encounter to be a bit of a hit & run ride, too. The dragon is already hurt and will fight to the death to protect its hoard. The party consists of a fighter 14 dual wield battle master, a 14 wild magic sorcerer, a 14 assa rogue and a 14 lore bard who's been using Otto's irresistible dance in the past to mess with dragons.

So what ideas for lair actions would you have?

What I have so far is:

- Ice Prison: The Dragon chooses a 10x10 foot area. Big blocks of ice break loose from the cave's ceiling, completely engulfing the area. Dexterity Save (DC 17) to dodge the falling ice. On a fail, taking 5d6 bludgeoning damage and being restrained under the ice.

- Stalagmite Spears: Razor sharp icy stalagmites burst out of the cave's floor, targeting up to 3 creatures of the dragon's choice. Dexterity Save (DC19) to take half damage, on a fail taking 3d6 piercing damage + 1d6 cold damage.

[SMac8988]

I had an idea at one time that a ancient white had a magic necklace that allowed it to pass through the ice of its lair. Basically it could dive and "swim" through the ice, then explode out near the PCs and throw some attacks before diving back in.

This could be very mean through depending on your group. A good deal of their attacks would have to be prepared actions, or responses to when the dragon came out.

Maybe allow for precepts checks on the start of their turns to see where the beast may be coming out, or have ways they can block access to the ice at times. Like causing some of the horde to collapse onto the ground blocking it's dive in, or massive stones that can be shoved around.

Just an idea.

[Decstarr]

Thanks for the idea, but I'm really looking for more and diverse Lair Actions.

[Gastronomie]

- Ice Prison: The Dragon chooses a 10x10 foot area. Big blocks of ice break loose from the cave's ceiling, completely engulfing the area. Dexterity Save (DC 17) to dodge the falling ice. On a fail, taking 5d6 bludgeoning damage and being restrained under the ice.

- Stalagmite Spears: Razor sharp icy stalagmites burst out of the cave's floor, targeting up to 3 creatures of the dragon's choice. Dexterity Save (DC19) to take half damage, on a fail taking 3d6 piercing damage + 1d6 cold damage.Since lair actions are taken every turn, I wouldn't make it "DEX save, succeed for half damage" - better to make it 0 damage on a success instead, because otherwise it could be too dangerous.

The "ice wall" idea in the Monster Manual is pretty interesting for starters.

Other ideas may include blinding players in a certain area with icy mist, using reflections on ice to confuse enemies, making enemies slip and be blasted away by wind (though this could overlap with the dragon's Legendary Actions), and so on.

As a DM, I generally prefer conditions and field control to simple damage (having both of them combined in a single action is also nice). Just adding up numbers can be sorta bland.

[Decstarr]

Since lair actions are taken every turn, I wouldn't make it "DEX save, succeed for half damage" - better to make it 0 damage on a success instead, because otherwise it could be too dangerous.

The "ice wall" idea in the Monster Manual is pretty interesting for starters.

Other ideas may include blinding players in a certain area with icy mist, using reflections on ice to confuse enemies, making enemies slip and be blasted away by wind (though this could overlap with the dragon's Legendary Actions), and so on.

As a DM, I generally prefer conditions and field control to simple damage (having both of them combined in a single action is also nice). Just adding up numbers can be sorta bland.

Thanks a lot. I also do prefer battle field shenanigans over flat damage. In this particular case though, I'm kind of worried about logic. The dragon's lair is behind a rather big underwater dungeon which is magically cooled down to just above freezing temperature. Wouldn't it be save to assume that the dragon rigged the lair in a way to get rid of pesty intruders who already made it through the freezing underwater maze?

The Ice Wall idea is really interesting and I especially like the idea of icy reflections which could be used like a mirror image. Thanks a lot!