All dragons used to have a Frightful Presence in the Dungeons & Dragons 5e 2014 Monster Manual. Not anymore.
Now, in the new D&D 5e 2024 Monster Manual, that Frightful Presence is transmogrified into different powers. Rather than just a blanket 120-foot sphere of Fear, the Red Dragon, for instance, casts Commanding Presence as a Legendary Action. The Gold Dragon can simply Banish you. The Black Dragon summons a Cloud of Insects.
Much more flavorful on the battle map, even if none of these strike raw Fear into a dragon's enemies like the old Frightful Presence used to.
Here's a breakdown in each 2024 dragon (their Ancient and most powerful setting):
| SPECIES | OLD POWER | NEW POWER |
|
Black Dragon |
Frightful Presence. Each creature of the dragon's choice that is within 120 feet of the dragon and aware of it must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute... | Cloud of Insects. Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 21, one creature the dragon can see within 120 feet. Failure: 33 (6d10) Poison damage, and the target has Disadvantage on saving throws to maintain Concentration until the end of its next turn... |
|
Blue Dragon |
See above. | Cloaked Flight. The dragon uses Spellcasting to cast Invisibility on itself, and it can fly up to half its Fly Speed... |
|
Green Dragon |
See above. | Noxious Miasma. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 21, each creature in a 30-foot-radius Sphere centered on a point the dragon can see within 90 feet. Failure: 17 (5d6) Poison damage, and the target takes a -2 penalty to AC until the end of its next turn... |
|
Red Dragon |
See above. | Commanding Presence. The dragon uses Spellcasting to cast Command (level 2 version)... |
|
White Dragon |
See above. |
Frightful Presence. The dragon casts Fear, requiring no Material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (sepll save DC 18)... |
|
Brass Dragon |
See above. | Scorching Sands. Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 20, one creature the dragon can see within 120 feet. Failure: 36 (8d8) Fire damage, and the target's Speed is halved until the end of its next turn... |
|
Bronze Dragon |
See above. | Thunder Clap. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 22, each creature in a 20-foot-radius Sphere centered on a a point the dragon can see within 120 feet... |
|
Copper Dragon |
See above. | Giggling Magic. Charisma Saving Throw: DC 21, one creature the dragon can see within 120 feet. Failure: 31 (9d6) Psychic damage. Until the end of it its next turn, the target rolls 1d8 whenever it makes an ability check or attack roll and subtracts the number rolled from the D20 test... |
|
Gold Dragon |
See above. | Banish. Charisma Saving Throw: DC 24, one creature the dragon can see within 120 feet. Failure: 24 (7d6) Force damage, and the target has the Incapacitated condition and is transported to a harmless demiplane until the start of the dragon's next turn... |
|
Silver Dragon |
See above. | Cold Gale. Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 23, each creature in a 60-foot-long, 10-foot-wide Line. Failure: 14 (4d6) Cold damage, and the target is pushed up to 30 feet straight away from the dragon... |
The White Dragon is the only dragon that still has Frightful Presence. Though its area of effect is reined in. Instead of the 2014 dragons' Frightful Presence hitting everyone within 120 feet with Fear, the 2024 Frightful Presence—which likewise operates like a Fear spell—nevertheless has a reduced area of effect of a 30-foot cone.
A lot more changes have gone into effect, not only for dragons, but for every creature you can get your dirty paws on.
