Spellcasting is lame, use the flying and blasting from above, add a dive attack or other tricks, tail slap, to prone the PCs

What is a dive attack?

I do like prone condition, but I don't think that wyrmling tail is strong enough for this, so I'm considering Tremor for DC15 or fall prone.

I agree, though, that even a 3rd level spellcaster newborn is a bit strange. I will give him 1st level sorcerer, though.

The best way to make a dragon encounter interesting, is by coming up with something interesting for its lair. Something other than the lair just being a cave. Maybe the dragon laid claim to an old vestibule, and littered it with various things it collected. Not just treasure, but entire carriages, statues, furniture. Some of these objects are made of wood, and thus very flammable. The dragon could easily set entire corridors of its lair ablaze. The old staircases of the vestibule would have broken in many places, due to not being made to handle the weight of the dragon. And thus the terrain certainly does not favor the players.

Another idea for a lair, would be an interesting environmental feature. An active volcano, a sufuric lake, an underground petroleum lake, a large fissure in the earth, or a huge hot water geyser. An environment that is dangerous to the players by its very nature, but mostly harmless to the dragon.

A good lair gives the dragon room to fly and take cover from projectiles and spells. It has multiple entrances/exits, and is very dark. The light of a torch or lantern will only carry so far. If the players are walking through a dark dragon's lair, and the dragon is up high above, looking down at them, they will have no clue it is there. It could strike suddenly and unexpected, showering them with fire from above, and taking cover immediately, without the players having a way to quickly close the distance.

Also, no lair is complete without minions. A dragon is most dangerous if the players can't just completely focus on one target. Give the dragon some back up.

Some great ideas, despite my dragon being just a kid and without much treasure. Definitely not going to fight adventurers in a 40x40 box.

So far my idea is that the Lizardfolk cult was trying to hatch the eggs of a Red Dragon laid in a not hot enough swampy region by artificially heating the waters in the old temple using Fire Snakes summoned through an old portals to the Plane of Fire (how the portals were created is a different part of the story).

(I also really like Fire Snake creature design)

So, what I have so far for the encounter is:

- Red Dragon Wyrmling
-- 1st lvl Sorcerer (Prestidigitation, Message, Minor Illusion, True Strike; Silent Image, Shield)
-- Swimming speed 30 ft.
-- Lair Actions (DC 13):
--- Tremor shakes the lair in a 30-foot radius around the dragon. Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone
--- Flaming Sphere appears at a visible point within 60 feet of the dragon, it lasts for 1 minute and moves randomly
--- Sulphurous gases form a cloud in a 20-foot-radius sphere centred on a point the dragon can see within 120 feet of it; creatures inside must succeed a Con save or take 1d4 necrotic damage & gain no benefit from the first magical healing trying to affect them before their next rest.

- 3 Fire Snakes
-- Swimming speed 30 ft.
-- Cold Vulnerability
-- Each is bound to one of the Portals, gets resummoned after destruction

Terrain: A partially submerged temple with:

-- Roof which has no convenient way for PCs to get on to
-- Main level with lots of walls and columns for cover and lots of shallow, muddy water (difficult terrain) and some deep water where uncareful PCs can fall to the
-- A lower submerged dark level which contains
-- 3 Portals to the Plane of Fire that:

--- Have a 100 gp glowing ruby in the centre that can be removed/destroyed to deactivate it
--- Generate boiling (1d6 fire damage) water 10 ft. around it
--- Resummon Fire Snakes 1d4 turns after destruction

Encounter Tactics
Fire Snakes lay in wait on the lower level, boiling the water. They raise to the main level at the sounds of a fight.

Unless PCs advance stealthily through previous encounters leading to the Lair, the dragon is hiding on the roof, observing the main floor through a hole in the roof. A Minor Illusion of a still, sleeping dragon is laying at the pedestal.

Dragon is planning to surprise adventurers, engulf as many as possible in a breath attack and when to retreat into hiding, gathering power for a next breath attack, confusing PCs with Illusions and Messages and letting Flame Snakes and Lair actions to weaken them. He will use his superior mobilty to move through different levels of his lair.

If he feels like he is losing combat, he will attempt to flee either by air or through a tunnel on the underwater level.

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