Dragon (variation)

Dragon
Rank	Boss Elite Boss
Skills	Flame Breath, Overwhelm (Monster)
Variations	Dragonling Drake Dragon Dragon Thrall High Dragon Archdemon
Affiliation	Dragons
Appearances	Dragon Age: Origins

Female dragons take much longer to mature than their male counterparts. They too undergo a metamorphosis of sorts at adulthood; But while males lose the use of their forepaws, females actually grow a third set of limbs specifically to serve as wings.

Young females travel great distances looking for a suitable nesting site. Because of their nomadic habits, these are the dragons most frequently encountered by man.

—From Codex entry: Dragon

Dragons are immature females, the precursors to High Dragons. Always be wary, for they are strong opponents, capable of breathing fire and catching opponents beneath their talons.

Abilities

Breath (Monster)

For the dog talent, see Overwhelm.

For the Spider/Bear Shape talent, see Overwhelm (ability).

For the bear (monster) ability, see Overwhelm (bear).

For the deepstalker ability, see Overwhelm (deepstalker).

For the dragon ability, see Overwhelm (dragon).

For the shriek ability, see Overwhelm (shriek).

For the spider (monster) ability, see Overwhelm (spider).

Information

A werewolf leader using Overwhelm

• This talent generates an auto-hit.
• The target is incapacitated and hit several times, each for normal attack damage from the attacker.
• It is generally activated by the AI when the target dips to 50% or less health, as this is the default tactic for creatures with Overwhelm of any type. In Awakening, enemies would use this ability even when the target is at full health.
• Can be interrupted by effects that have higher animation priority, including knockdown, paralyze, root (Pinning Shot), draining (Crushing Prison), "heavy impact" (Mighty Blow), and fear.

Used by

• Bears: Great Bear and Bereskarn
• Deepstalkers: Deepstalker leader and Deepstalker matriarch
• Children: All variations
• Dragons: Dragons and Drakes
• Dogs: Dogs and Alpha Dogs
• Sand stalkers: Sand stalker leader
• Spiders: All variations, except Spiderlings and Giant spiderlings
• Werewolves: All variations, including Swiftrunner and Gatekeeper
• Wolves: All variations, including Witherfang
• Shrieks: All variations, including Shriek (thrall)

Notes

A deepstalker leader using Overwhelm

• This ability can fail to execute properly in some cases due to obstructed line of sight.
• Overwhelm only affects humans, elves, dwarves, Qunari, hurlocks, and genlocks. All classes with Overwhelm are immune to its effect. A shapeshifted mage, Shale, and Dog are immune to Overwhelm.
• Several enemies in a group can easily chain-Overwhelm against a solo character, which may be lethal for units with little armor, and very annoying and time consuming for highly armored characters, as openings to counterattack are few, short-lived, and far between. This threat is greatest when facing a large group of Shadow werewolves, as they can Overwhelm a defenseless party member from Stealth, evading countermeasures.
• This attack cannot be countered or mitigated by Misdirection Hex, as it does not need to confirm attack result.
• Some abilities grant a target the "damage ward" effect which makes the target immune to damage. This effect completely negates Overwhelm. These abilities include Force Field, Strength of Stone, and Carapace after being upgraded by Bulwark of the Ages.
• Some modal abilities apply on the character a special effect which has higher animation priority than Overwhelm. This means the character cannot be interrupted by Overwhelm when any of these abilities is active. These abilities include Captivating Song, Unending Flurry, and Reaving Storm.

Rake

Roar (Monster)

Shred (Monster)

Buffet

Appearances

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Origins.

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During the ritual to become a Reaver, Kolgrim gives The Warden Wyvern blood to drink suggesting dragons are called by different names, there is another species of dragon, or that there is another step in the growth cycle of male/female dragons. The codex description of adult male dragons seems to match the appearance of wyverns from real-life mythology.

Strategies

A strategy for dealing with the dragon found in the ruins through the Brecilian Forest:

• Before going near the center of the hall to trigger the dragon appearing, equip ranged weapons on all characters. This strategy works best if there is a mage in the party.
• After equipping range weapons, try to place your characters in the corners like: Behind the fire torch, between or behind fallen statues, behind the standing Urn next to the entrance, etc.
• This way the dragon will be unable to attack except with its ranged attacks such as Flame Breath and Roar which do minimal damage.
• Send out either Sten or Alistair (preferably Sten because Alistair has more dexterity for range attacks) to lure the dragon.

If everything works correctly, you will have 3 ranged characters behind corners (and Sten if you get him to safety behind a corner) constantly attacking the dragon while its helplessly trying to find a way to attack you. If you have a mage, you can constantly cast spells without much physical resistance from the dragon.

Or:

• Teach Trap-Making to one of the party members
• Create 20-25 pieces of Small Shrapnel Traps (requires 1 Metal Shard and 1 Trap Trigger for each one)
• Stop the party outside the room (hold, and place them on top of the stairs in front of the dragon's chamber)
• Send in the trap-making member, and place all of your shrapnel traps in a narrow line, leading through the entrance; it is possible to lay traps almost on top of each other
• Send in someone to the center to get the dragon's attention, then run back out, luring it into the traps

This way, the dragon will be almost dead by the time it reaches the stairs (I used 25 traps, and the dragon collapsed before it reached the party; in this case, kill goes to the trap-layer)