Dragon making advice.

Samples of things any DM should do to optimize their dragon encounters.
By: TryMeIke

(note: this is for D&D 3.5 edition players with the draconomicon.)

1: IF spellcaster: take ONE actual sorcerer level: boosts will save, grants higher spell level spells and spells known, and swap the familiar with the rapid metamagic alternate feature which with a dragons high int, will get many uses a day. Rapid metamagic trades your familiar for the ability to 3+ int modifier a day use a metamagic feat on a spontaneously cast spell without increasing casting time.

2: TAKE PRACTICED SPELLCASTER! seriously, this increases caster level by 4 flat out. NO DRAGON WITH SPELLCASTING WOULD NOT TAKE IT! (prerequisites: 4 ranks in Spellcraft, which all dragons, even with 1 hit dice, should have.)

3: Give planar dragons sorcerer spellcasting: seriously, a great wyrm radiant dragon with gold dragon casting is more like CR 30, then the current CR 23. it's insane.

4: If an evil DM: Take martial weapon proficiency, then 5 levels of abjurant champion. caster level=attack bonus, of around, say, 40+ or so for a dragon of wyrm age that has done this. INSANE. adding a blasphemy spell and using it on the PCS? EVILLLLLLL! (be ready to dodge flying books from upset players.)

5: take all of these: multiattack, improved multiattack, rapidstrike (twice.) Improved rapidstrike (twice.) instead of 6 attacks, now your dragon has like, 15! (6 normal, +4 improved rapidstrike claws, +4 improved rapidstrike wing slap, +1 haste)

6: if dragons ever achieve 9th level spells: take breath weapon admixture, seriously. it should be the first 9th level spell a dragon gets.

7: if allowing paladins to have dragon mount companions: allow the strongest to be a juvenile radiant dragon mount with 20 hit dice for a 20th level paladin. it will be really useful, in the long run. 8D10 force breath and 20 hit dice for 20 base attack bonus. SWEET for a mount companion. you can have the paladin start with a wyrmling radiant dragon at level 9. add a hit dice from there every level, and advance to very young at: level 12. Young at: level 15 and juvenile at: level 18. have the dragon only get the most basic benefits for being a paladin mount with the exception that it only has as many hit dice as the paladin does.

8: Also get the feats: Heighten breath (makes your breath weapon DC even higher by allowing you to add up to your con modifier to it at the cost of waiting that amount you add in extra rounds before breathing a breath weapon again) , extend spell (makes spells last longer), fortify spell (makes buffs harder to dispel by adding +2 to effective caster level for each spell level you add to it, can be used to better penetrate spell resistance the same way), maximize breath (full round action for breath weapon, adds 3 rounds to wait time for next use of breath weapon) and recover breath (shortens wait time by 1 round +1 round per metabreath feat added to breath weapon, using a maximized recover breath would take 1D4 +1 rounds to til next use instead of 1D4 + 3 without recover breath) dragons get many feats (for a great wrym dragon, around 13-15 of them): this should be easy. also a great wyrm red, gold, radiant and howling dragon with breath weapon admixture will be dealing 480 damage with a maximized breath. BWAHAHAHAHA! (for use on evil (gold, radiant) or good (red, howling)  parties.)

9: A dragon without a belt of magnificence +6 is a dragon who is not as good as it SHOULD BE, give any high CR dragons one of these. plus, they are a useful reward for your players.

10: if your paladin is level 20, he better have made his dragon companion a celestial version. who says no to a bonus 20 damage from smiting  1/day or more if you have your companion spend some feats for extra smiting?

11: improved toughness > any other hp feat. for a dragon, this is like, 30-40+ bonus health with one feat. plus, they are able to get it easy. 1 hit dice and they meet the prerequisites. (a +2 to fort, if you must know)

12: if you can spare the feat, get ability focus breath weapon. a dragons breath weapon is hard enough to resist as is, a free +2 to it is just nasty.

13: If PCs can get flaws for bonus feats and are allowed to gain action points, so should dragons.

14: Pounce. is. FANTASTIC. yet, dragons don't get it naturally. rectify that with non-lawful dragons with a single level in barbarian: you can swap fast movement for pounce, and it gives a boost to your attack, fort and 1 rage a day, which can be useful especially with feats like reckless rage (gives a +2 extra strength and con to rage, and a +1 extra morale bonus to will, but increases the AC penalty to -4.) and extra rage (two extra rages a day.) and the blood scaled fury prestige class (in the draconomicon.)

15: rings=goodness. a ring of evasion on a dragon will be very useful, as will a ring of mettle. better yet, get a custom ring with both. the players will thank you for the useful item after beating the dragon and looting it. (though they may curse you for making the fight harder, as in the belt of magnificence example.)

16: elite array. +4 dex, + 4 con, +2 str and int same cha, -2 wis. combine with the belt of magnificence +6, and you are looking at two +5 modifiers, two +4 modifiers, a +3 modifier and a +2 modifier. a dragons greatest weakness is a low dex (we're looking at you, shivering touch! 3D6 dex damage on a normal dragon=helpless dragon.) now it no longer has it.

17: add ability score increases for every 4 hit dice a dragon gets. normally dragons don't get these because of power increasing via age category, but to a great wyrm, this is a 9 or 10 point increase to spend as they see fit. thats pretty damn useful. (a ten point increase to dex? the sheer horror of a 30 dex dragon will give your players nightmares for a long time. especially combined with a ring of evasion and mettle= spells are practically useless even if you get past spell resistance.)

18: Dip cloistered cleric of tiamat. 1 level increases fortitude and will saves, grants proficentices, can nabs you devotions: with cloistered cleric of timat, you can get law devotion (being a neutral evil cleric allows you to retain barbarian abilities and still get these.) destruction devotion and knowledge devotion. use your turn attempts (plenty from high cha.) for extra uses a day.

19: List of sample feats a great wyrm red dragon with two flaws and around 57 (from 1 barbarian level, 1 sorcerer level, one level as cloistered cleric of tiamat, 5 abujurant champion, 9 contemplative from complete divine for bonus domains.) hitdice should have. (or, around 21 feats not counting domain feats)
level one feat: power attack level one flaw feat: Improved toughness. Level one flaw feat again: powerful charge. level three feat: Combat casting: level 6 feat: leap attack Level 9 feat: Ability focus (breath weapon.) level 12 feat: practiced spellcaster, Level 15 feat:  multiattack. Level 18 feat: improved multi attack, level 21 feat: rapidstrike (claw.) level 24 feat: rapidstrike (wing slap.) level 27 feat: Improved Rapid strike (claw) level 30 feat: Improved rapidstrike (wingslap.) level 33 feat: fortify spell. level 36 feat: heighten breath. level 39 feat: Maximize breath. level 42 feat: recover breath. Level 45 feat: extend spell. Level 48 feat: persist spell. Level 51 feat: irressitable spell. (can't spell it, the one that takes away saves froms spells, or at least imposes a -10 penalty on them) level 54 feat: Practiced spellcaster (cleric). level 57 feat: divine metamagic: persist.
domain feats: animal, air (contemplative.) Destruction, law, knowledge (cleric.)