For this encounter I thought it would be appropriate to use the one creature likely the most difficult to run — a dragon. Dragons wield immense powerful capable of destroying a party outright within a few rounds if played to their potential. It then falls to you, Game Master, to create an encounter both reasonable to the characters and yet fair to the creature in question. You want the moment to be memorable, and do the creature justice.
This can be tricky, because older dragons create regional effects and gain lair actions — on top of flying past the characters and breathing fire, cold, poison gas or the like. Younger dragons are less refined and can be easier to corral for the more cunning player. So, where does one fit a challenging, yet rewarding, dragon encounter that is neither a total party kill or murder-hobo-fest? I think it’s in the young-adult range. And to make it more interesting, make it a metallic. Most metallic dragons are not only known shapeshifters, but all come with personality quirks making them more relatable as individuals, despite their vast power.
At either the adult or ancient phase of their lives, metallic dragons gain the ability to Change Shape. Taking the guise of a humanoid or beast these dragons can interact with the world without arousing the terror or awe their natural forms would undoubtedly elicit. I see no reason why a dragon could not manifest this ability earlier in their life. Perhaps they have a special talent for it, a powerful mentor, a genetic tendency for shape changing earlier in their life or some other trait that triggers this effect ahead of the typical age.
To flesh this encounter out, you need a reason for a young copper dragon to be in disguise, and some reason for the characters to help them. Powerful creatures are generally more capable of helping themselves out of a problem, so you need to create a scenario requiring character input.
If you have a dragon show up in dragon form, you either have characters who seek to avoid them, or the murder-hobo gene is triggered and it becomes a bloodbath one way or another. To reinforce a dialogue, it’s also a good idea to make sure there’s some reason to keep the dragon out of the affair as much as possible. Cursed magic items, high level spells or enchantments or interference by an entity more powerful than the dragon are all possibilities. The following encounter suggests some of these directions.
Encounter Type: Social and combat
Map: Tavern map
Lighting: Dynamic lighting
System: 5E
Length: One shot
Installation Type: Addon
License: Roll20 End User License Agreement
(Personal Use Only, Do Not Distribute)