Scale Shift

With this spell, a dragon can change the color of its scales to that of another type of dragon. Note, however, that the color change must be within the dragon's related group (for example, chromatic dragons can change their color only to that of other chromatic dragons). Thus, a red dragon can change the color of its scales to green, blue, and so forth, but not to gold, silver, emerald, sapphire, etc.

This spell changes only the dragon's color, not its physical form. Therefore, if a white dragon changes the color of its scales to black, it retains the form of a white dragon. The color change is usually enough to fool most observers, however, for there are few beings who can recognize a dragon by its anatomy. Notable exceptions to this rule are other dragons, sages who specialize in dragons, and people with special knowledge about or extensive experience with dragons (and the latter would probably only know a great deal about particular types of dragons).

While the spell lasts, the dragon may change colors as it desires, but doing so in view of others may ruin the deception. Returning to the dragon's actual color ends the spell immediately. A successful dispel magic ends the spell prematurely as well.

Since the majority of dragons emphasize the superiority of their own particular subspecies, this spell is not as popular among dragonkind as one might think. Often the spell is used by dragons who must rely on guile to assure their continued survival. Weak or crippled dragons are the usual practitioners, as deception is a matter of survival and, therefore, a necessity. Older dragons of this sort often use the spell in conjunction with the alter breath weapon spell to make the ruse even more convincing.