Sometimes you just have to mix things up a bit. Maybe the PCs are bloody effective at what they do, or maybe they just know all the stats ... whatever the reason, a little variety is always good ;3
Being honest, I could probably better call these "critter traits"; they were written up for dragons but -- with a merest smidge of tweaking, and maybe some thematics -- could be applied to almost any beastie. (I have a sudden terrifying image of a swarm of giant rats ...)
Don't forget to bump the XP awarded appropriately ~!
Roll for a selected trait or simply pick one from the table below. If you're really feeling frisky, roll 1d4 times:
01. Primal Energies: Instead of (or in addition to!) the dragon's breath weapon, its claws and fangs are wreathed in the same damaging forces that compose said breath weapon. Double the damage of these attacks (2d4 instead of 1d4, etc). Appropriate immunities will negate this extra damage.
02. Phaseshift: Every 1d3 rounds the dragon is simply ... not all there, partially fading into some other dimension of existence. Attacks at this time fail 75%; on the upside, the dragon has the same situation.
03. Runic Ablation: Whether an aura of ghostly flame, orbiting glyphs, a transparent, shimmering energy field, glowing channels carved through the scales or most anything else, the dragon has a buffer against damage equal to 1/3 of its hit points. This buffer must be negated before the dragon itself takes damage. Half the instances of such fields affect physical damage, half magical damage.
04. Blood Scion: When reduced to half or less of its hit points, the dragon may produce a blood scion from its spilled life, effectively creating a draconic simulacra resembling a dragon of its type and 1/3 of its Hit Dice. The scion acts as directed by the dragon, lasts for 1 day + a number of days equal to the dragon's Hit Dice, and has a range of 100 miles.
05. Reservoir: Altered by magitech, the dragon bears a oily, slowly-shifting carbuncle mounted in orichalcum and black iron clockwork imbedded in its flesh. The carbuncle contains an additional 1d3 breath weapon uses, regenerating over 48 hours -- and this breath weapon need not match the dragon's own.
06. Life Siphon: The dragon is a psychic vampire, feeding on the pain and injury of those around it. For every four hit points of damage dealt to other creatures within 100' feet of the dragon, the beast regenerates one hit point.
07. Artefact Maestro: The dragon can make use of any and every magic item it may possess, whether warping them (to fit rings on claws, for example) or imbedding them into its scales in order to draw on the item's enchantment. It may expend breath weapon uses instead of using up charges or expending one-use items.
08. Death Curse: Not so useful in combat (unless the dragon has a way of making that impending doom abundantly clear), but a wonderful parting shot. With its dying breath the dragon lays down a major curse on the creatures that ended its life -- DMs, be horribly creative.
09. Master of Nature: All stone/plants/water/flames/more esoteric materials within 1d4+1x100 feet of the dragon may be affected by the beast as if by move earth, stoneform and related spells. Choose one substance, or 1d4 for added malevolence.
10. Godling's Beneficience: The dragon may grant a fraction of its power (a breath weapon equal in damage to its Hit Dice, a half-strength claw attack, a one-shot spell if the dragon has casting ability) to a number of subordinate creatures equal to twice its Hit Dice.
Showing posts with label dragons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dragons. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Dragons and Spawning and pesky Adventurers
Earlier today, Chgowiz posted on uber critters and how they could overrun a campaign world. His finishing paragraph mentioned dragons specifically, and he asks how others deal with the uber monster problem.
I'd started typing a response; then decided it was entirely too long for a comment and moved it over here *grins*
For dragons at least, they have the twin stumbling-blocks of reproduction and adventurers --
My dragons reproduce semi-regularly, and spawn many offspring at a time; but those offspring are weak and puny for a long period and are picked off with impunity by many other creatures, because the adult dragons are indifferent to the fates of all but a selected handful of "best of breed" youngsters. The remainder are turned loose on the countryside, but in a world of many critters (and people!) happy to pick off even a tiny dragon, their odds of survival are low in the extreme.
(Granted, any that do survive are canny and powerful blighters in their own right by the sheer dint of having defeated the odds stacked against them ... so the habit still serve the draconic species tolerably well, in a way.)
Those offspring that a dragon retains aren't exactly exempt from fatalities, either. Even ignoring the possibility of being picked off by adventurers -- and more on that subject shortly -- the dragonets may be killed by a displeased parent, or even their own siblings. Competition can be fierce and deadly for the lion's share of parental attention.
The oldest and strongest dragons -- those who by rights would be the most capable of dealing with the largest numbers of selected offspring -- are no longer properly fertile. Males cannot reproduce without magical assistance, and the females, instead of proper offspring, begin to produce eggs that hatch out into various subdraconic "servitor" humanoids.
Adventurers are the other side of the coin for "dragon control". Every lout who swings a sword or casts a cantrip dreams of the day that they can go after a dragon. Dragons are the Big Game, awesome enough to add immensely to one's reputation but quite utterly predictable in many ways and therefore easier to deal with than, say, major elementals. They hoard treasure, are a source of dragon-stones (for even more treasure), and even the carcases are valuable. Dragon hunting more than justifies the risks involved in the eyes of many, and even the more powerful breeds are not completely immune to the hunt -- they simply attract the more powerful adventurers.
And if a dragon survives all of this, if it lives to many Hit Dice and a hoard of magic it can use, swarms of minions and a vast territory?
Now not only does it have the chance of adventurers arriving on the doorstep of its lair, its now the potential target of other elder dragons eager to get its slice of the resource-and-reputation pie ...
I'd started typing a response; then decided it was entirely too long for a comment and moved it over here *grins*
For dragons at least, they have the twin stumbling-blocks of reproduction and adventurers --
My dragons reproduce semi-regularly, and spawn many offspring at a time; but those offspring are weak and puny for a long period and are picked off with impunity by many other creatures, because the adult dragons are indifferent to the fates of all but a selected handful of "best of breed" youngsters. The remainder are turned loose on the countryside, but in a world of many critters (and people!) happy to pick off even a tiny dragon, their odds of survival are low in the extreme.
(Granted, any that do survive are canny and powerful blighters in their own right by the sheer dint of having defeated the odds stacked against them ... so the habit still serve the draconic species tolerably well, in a way.)
Those offspring that a dragon retains aren't exactly exempt from fatalities, either. Even ignoring the possibility of being picked off by adventurers -- and more on that subject shortly -- the dragonets may be killed by a displeased parent, or even their own siblings. Competition can be fierce and deadly for the lion's share of parental attention.
The oldest and strongest dragons -- those who by rights would be the most capable of dealing with the largest numbers of selected offspring -- are no longer properly fertile. Males cannot reproduce without magical assistance, and the females, instead of proper offspring, begin to produce eggs that hatch out into various subdraconic "servitor" humanoids.
Adventurers are the other side of the coin for "dragon control". Every lout who swings a sword or casts a cantrip dreams of the day that they can go after a dragon. Dragons are the Big Game, awesome enough to add immensely to one's reputation but quite utterly predictable in many ways and therefore easier to deal with than, say, major elementals. They hoard treasure, are a source of dragon-stones (for even more treasure), and even the carcases are valuable. Dragon hunting more than justifies the risks involved in the eyes of many, and even the more powerful breeds are not completely immune to the hunt -- they simply attract the more powerful adventurers.
And if a dragon survives all of this, if it lives to many Hit Dice and a hoard of magic it can use, swarms of minions and a vast territory?
Now not only does it have the chance of adventurers arriving on the doorstep of its lair, its now the potential target of other elder dragons eager to get its slice of the resource-and-reputation pie ...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Monster: Shining Dragon
Shining Dragon
Armour Class: -2
Hit Dice: 12**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-8 / 1-8 / 3-24
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F12
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 3000
Trim and muscular, with broad wings and twin arcs of hornlets adorning the head, shining dragons are scaled in brilliant amber and piercingly pure white; many possess scales edged in translucent topaz, and seem to give off a soft golden light. Their eyes are the colour of sunfire. Shining dragons prefer to lair in deserts and dry mesas, on bare stony plateaus, and essentially anywhere they may bask in as much light as possible. Quixotic and unpredictable creatures in the eyes of non-dragons, shining dragons are sphinxlike in their strange and indirect, riddling talk.
A shining dragon's breath weapon is a line of bubbling, foaming, burning light, 10'x100'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character loses 2 points from Strength, Dexterity and Constitution until a remove curse is administered. Shining dragons have a 100% chance of talking, a 5% chance of being asleep, and may cast four first-level, four second-level and four third level Magic-User spells per day.
Armour Class: -2
Hit Dice: 12**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-8 / 1-8 / 3-24
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F12
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 3000
Trim and muscular, with broad wings and twin arcs of hornlets adorning the head, shining dragons are scaled in brilliant amber and piercingly pure white; many possess scales edged in translucent topaz, and seem to give off a soft golden light. Their eyes are the colour of sunfire. Shining dragons prefer to lair in deserts and dry mesas, on bare stony plateaus, and essentially anywhere they may bask in as much light as possible. Quixotic and unpredictable creatures in the eyes of non-dragons, shining dragons are sphinxlike in their strange and indirect, riddling talk.
A shining dragon's breath weapon is a line of bubbling, foaming, burning light, 10'x100'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character loses 2 points from Strength, Dexterity and Constitution until a remove curse is administered. Shining dragons have a 100% chance of talking, a 5% chance of being asleep, and may cast four first-level, four second-level and four third level Magic-User spells per day.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Monster: Shade Dragon
Shade Dragon
Armour Class: -3
Hit Dice: 12**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-10 / 1-10 / 3-36
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F12
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 3000
Long, lean and slender, with narrow wings, wicked talons and short thin horns, shade dragons are cloaked in tiny, adamantine-hard scales of a deep, velvety black; some few among them possess shining highlights on the tips of some scales, like smoky stars, and their eyes are an inky blue-black. Shade dragons prefer to lair within the deepest and most lightless of dungeons, or -- strangely enough -- in cavern-riddled mountain peaks, from which they emerge only at night. They are cryptic, inscrutable and nearly unfathomable beasts.
A shade dragon's breath weapon is a cloud of clinging, effervescent, roiling darkness, 50' x 50'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character is blinded until a remove curse is administered. Shade dragons have a 100% chance of talking, a 5% chance of being asleep, and may cast five first-level, four second-level and four third level Magic-User spells per day.
Armour Class: -3
Hit Dice: 12**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-10 / 1-10 / 3-36
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F12
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 3000
Long, lean and slender, with narrow wings, wicked talons and short thin horns, shade dragons are cloaked in tiny, adamantine-hard scales of a deep, velvety black; some few among them possess shining highlights on the tips of some scales, like smoky stars, and their eyes are an inky blue-black. Shade dragons prefer to lair within the deepest and most lightless of dungeons, or -- strangely enough -- in cavern-riddled mountain peaks, from which they emerge only at night. They are cryptic, inscrutable and nearly unfathomable beasts.
A shade dragon's breath weapon is a cloud of clinging, effervescent, roiling darkness, 50' x 50'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character is blinded until a remove curse is administered. Shade dragons have a 100% chance of talking, a 5% chance of being asleep, and may cast five first-level, four second-level and four third level Magic-User spells per day.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Draconitae
From the field notes of Salan Kir'ith:
"The Draconitae, or Dragon-Stones, are a gem famed throughout the Empire for their luster and luminescence; indeed, so valued are these prizes that few care to mar their brilliance by re-shaping them. What is less known by the common fancier and unenlightened of the nobility is the nature and origins of these blessed gems.
"What may be observed about the Draconitae? They have the shape and form of a spar of crystal, or Stone Ice as some call it; smooth of facet, transparent and durable. Unlike crystal, the Draconitas may possess a tinge of nearly any other colour, though most specimens tend to faintly smoky or golden in hue; more to the point, a Draconitas glows softly with its own inner light, concentrated along the edges of its facets into a incandescent brilliance. Some few, though less sharp of facet, all but rest within a halo of their own making.
"All well and good; but what of their origin? This is a thing which few have concieved of, imagining the Draconitae to merely be a favoured prize of the great Dragons and thus named Dragon-Stone. To this I say nay; the Draconitas is indeed a product of the great beasts.
"Truely, these magnificent gems begin existence as mere shards of crystal; the resemblance is a true one, for they are one and the same. The dragons, feeling some internal need, swallow the shards in mouthfuls, storing them within an organ much like that of the crop of an avian kind. Here the stones lie at rest, mingling with the energies of the great beast's breath and absorbing the essence thereof; till they reach a point of saturation, and are disgorged before the drake begins anew.
"Alas, the sure purpose of the Draconitas I know not. The subject requires further research ..."
"The Draconitae, or Dragon-Stones, are a gem famed throughout the Empire for their luster and luminescence; indeed, so valued are these prizes that few care to mar their brilliance by re-shaping them. What is less known by the common fancier and unenlightened of the nobility is the nature and origins of these blessed gems.
"What may be observed about the Draconitae? They have the shape and form of a spar of crystal, or Stone Ice as some call it; smooth of facet, transparent and durable. Unlike crystal, the Draconitas may possess a tinge of nearly any other colour, though most specimens tend to faintly smoky or golden in hue; more to the point, a Draconitas glows softly with its own inner light, concentrated along the edges of its facets into a incandescent brilliance. Some few, though less sharp of facet, all but rest within a halo of their own making.
"All well and good; but what of their origin? This is a thing which few have concieved of, imagining the Draconitae to merely be a favoured prize of the great Dragons and thus named Dragon-Stone. To this I say nay; the Draconitas is indeed a product of the great beasts.
"Truely, these magnificent gems begin existence as mere shards of crystal; the resemblance is a true one, for they are one and the same. The dragons, feeling some internal need, swallow the shards in mouthfuls, storing them within an organ much like that of the crop of an avian kind. Here the stones lie at rest, mingling with the energies of the great beast's breath and absorbing the essence thereof; till they reach a point of saturation, and are disgorged before the drake begins anew.
"Alas, the sure purpose of the Draconitas I know not. The subject requires further research ..."
Monday, February 9, 2009
Monster: Sky Dragon
Sky Dragon
Armour Class: 0
Hit Dice: 10**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-8 / 1-8 / 3-30
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F10
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Lawful
XP Value: 2500
Long and lean with huge expanses of billowing wingsail, sky dragons are mottled and rippled in many shades of blue and white and storm-grey; some have highlights on their narrow scales the colour of sunset or lightning. Lairing on the highest of mountaintops and in enchanted clouds, sky dragons are some of the most patient and deliberate of creatures.
A sky dragon's breath weapon is a line-shaped bolt of lightning and icy wind, 100' x 5'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character is dazzled for the next six rounds at a -6 penalty to all rolls; this fades to a -2 penalty which lasts for four hours. Sky dragons have a 60% chance of talking, a 10% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast three first-level, three second-level and three third level Magic-User spells per day.
Armour Class: 0
Hit Dice: 10**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-8 / 1-8 / 3-30
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F10
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Lawful
XP Value: 2500
Long and lean with huge expanses of billowing wingsail, sky dragons are mottled and rippled in many shades of blue and white and storm-grey; some have highlights on their narrow scales the colour of sunset or lightning. Lairing on the highest of mountaintops and in enchanted clouds, sky dragons are some of the most patient and deliberate of creatures.
A sky dragon's breath weapon is a line-shaped bolt of lightning and icy wind, 100' x 5'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character is dazzled for the next six rounds at a -6 penalty to all rolls; this fades to a -2 penalty which lasts for four hours. Sky dragons have a 60% chance of talking, a 10% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast three first-level, three second-level and three third level Magic-User spells per day.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Monster: Hill Dragon
Hill Dragon
Armour Class: -2
Hit Dice: 9**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 2-7 / 2-7 / 4-32
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F9
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 2300
Stocky and blunt-snouted, hill dragons have scales in all the colours of the earth interspersed with larger plates resembling differing types of stone -- some may be pale as marble, others ruddy as granite. Hill dragons are found in deserts, hill country, and low-lying mountains as well as the occasional cavern. They are slow to jump to conclusions but implacable once roused.
A hill dragon's breath weapon is a cone-shaped blast of dust and sharp particles of stone, 70' x 30'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character's Armour Class is worsened by 4 due to the abrasion of the breath weapon's particles. Hill dragons have a 50% chance of talking, a 20% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast three first-level, two second-level and one third level Magic-User spells per day.
Armour Class: -2
Hit Dice: 9**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 2-7 / 2-7 / 4-32
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F9
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 2300
Stocky and blunt-snouted, hill dragons have scales in all the colours of the earth interspersed with larger plates resembling differing types of stone -- some may be pale as marble, others ruddy as granite. Hill dragons are found in deserts, hill country, and low-lying mountains as well as the occasional cavern. They are slow to jump to conclusions but implacable once roused.
A hill dragon's breath weapon is a cone-shaped blast of dust and sharp particles of stone, 70' x 30'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character's Armour Class is worsened by 4 due to the abrasion of the breath weapon's particles. Hill dragons have a 50% chance of talking, a 20% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast three first-level, two second-level and one third level Magic-User spells per day.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Monster: Ember Dragon
There will be an end to the dragons in a few more days, I swear --
Ember Dragon
Armour Class: -1
Hit Dice: 8**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-6 / 1-6 / 3-24
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F8
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 1750
Ember dragons, almost feline in build and well-muscled, possess extremely variable colouration, ranging from rough coal-black scales with the merest hint of dull red to brilliant cherry mottled with flame -- and every mixture and combination to be found between the two extremes. Explosively violent, they are the terrors of the volcanic plains and the subterranean lands.
An ember dragon's breath weapon is a cone of flame and burning magma, 80' x 30'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character caught in the breath weapon -- and their equipment -- catches on fire, taking double normal damage until doused. Ember dragons have a 40% chance of talking, a 30% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast two first-level and two second-level Magic-User spells per day.
Ember Dragon
Armour Class: -1
Hit Dice: 8**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-6 / 1-6 / 3-24
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F8
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 1750
Ember dragons, almost feline in build and well-muscled, possess extremely variable colouration, ranging from rough coal-black scales with the merest hint of dull red to brilliant cherry mottled with flame -- and every mixture and combination to be found between the two extremes. Explosively violent, they are the terrors of the volcanic plains and the subterranean lands.
An ember dragon's breath weapon is a cone of flame and burning magma, 80' x 30'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character caught in the breath weapon -- and their equipment -- catches on fire, taking double normal damage until doused. Ember dragons have a 40% chance of talking, a 30% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast two first-level and two second-level Magic-User spells per day.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Monster: Thorn Dragon
Thorn Dragon
Armour Class: 1
Hit Dice: 7**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 2-5 / 2-5 / 2-12
No. Appearing: 1-2 (1-4)
Save As: F7
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Lawful
XP Value: 1250
Slender, long-necked and slim-tailed, thorn dragons are built for eeling their way through the dense forests and overgrown jungle ruins that they prefer to lair in. Their name comes from their scales: mottled brown and rust-red, edged in green and rose -- and each one's tip drawn out into a long, curved thorn. Thorn dragons consider their forests to be their personal gardens and works of art to be maintained as they see fit.
A thorn dragon's breath weapon is a line of flesh-eating, sticky sap-like fluid, 60' x 5'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character caught in the breath weapon is affected as if under a hold person spell cast as a Cleric of the thorn dragon's level. Thorn dragons have a 30% chance of talking, a 40% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast two first-level and one second-level Magic-User spells per day.
Armour Class: 1
Hit Dice: 7**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 2-5 / 2-5 / 2-12
No. Appearing: 1-2 (1-4)
Save As: F7
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Lawful
XP Value: 1250
Slender, long-necked and slim-tailed, thorn dragons are built for eeling their way through the dense forests and overgrown jungle ruins that they prefer to lair in. Their name comes from their scales: mottled brown and rust-red, edged in green and rose -- and each one's tip drawn out into a long, curved thorn. Thorn dragons consider their forests to be their personal gardens and works of art to be maintained as they see fit.
A thorn dragon's breath weapon is a line of flesh-eating, sticky sap-like fluid, 60' x 5'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character caught in the breath weapon is affected as if under a hold person spell cast as a Cleric of the thorn dragon's level. Thorn dragons have a 30% chance of talking, a 40% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast two first-level and one second-level Magic-User spells per day.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Monster: Bone Dragon
Bone Dragon
Armour Class: 1
Hit Dice: 6**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-8 / 1-8 / 2-20
No. Appearing: 1 (1-4)
Save As: F6
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 725
So named because of the heavy plating of dense, ivory scales that contrast dissonantly with their extremely rangy builds, bone dragons inhabit old battlefields, abandoned graveyards and mausoleums, and wastelands of all stripes -- from desert to tundra and everything between. They are sullen and solitary in nature and quick to take offense at being disturbed, lashing out with jagged fangs and oversized claws.
A bone dragon's breath weapon is a cloud of putrid, corrosive gas, 40' x 40'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character caught in the breath weapon is at a -3 penalty to all rolls for the next six hours. Bone dragons have a 20% chance of talking, a 50% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast three first-level Magic-User spells per day.
Armour Class: 1
Hit Dice: 6**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-8 / 1-8 / 2-20
No. Appearing: 1 (1-4)
Save As: F6
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Neutral
XP Value: 725
So named because of the heavy plating of dense, ivory scales that contrast dissonantly with their extremely rangy builds, bone dragons inhabit old battlefields, abandoned graveyards and mausoleums, and wastelands of all stripes -- from desert to tundra and everything between. They are sullen and solitary in nature and quick to take offense at being disturbed, lashing out with jagged fangs and oversized claws.
A bone dragon's breath weapon is a cloud of putrid, corrosive gas, 40' x 40'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, a character caught in the breath weapon is at a -3 penalty to all rolls for the next six hours. Bone dragons have a 20% chance of talking, a 50% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast three first-level Magic-User spells per day.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Monster: River Dragon
River Dragon
Armour Class: 3
Hit Dice: 5**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-4 / 1-4 / 2-16
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F5
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 525
River dragons are sleek and stub-winged, trailing overgrown wingsails like fins, with long jaws and tiny shining scales. Their scales are coloured in shades of grey and green and blue-green, thin and reflective like those of a trout or salmon. They are capricious and unpredictable, especially in combat. River dragons are found not only in rivers -- or any body of water of respectable size -- but on cliffside beaches and along the banks of major arteries.
A river dragon's breath weapon is a line of hissing, thin acid, 50' x 5'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, some portion of the character's equipment is irreparably ruined. River dragons have a 10% chance of talking, a 50% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast two first-level Magic-User spells per day.
Armour Class: 3
Hit Dice: 5**
Move: 90' (30')
fly 240' (80')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-4 / 1-4 / 2-16
No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)
Save As: F5
Morale: 8
Treasure Type: H
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 525
River dragons are sleek and stub-winged, trailing overgrown wingsails like fins, with long jaws and tiny shining scales. Their scales are coloured in shades of grey and green and blue-green, thin and reflective like those of a trout or salmon. They are capricious and unpredictable, especially in combat. River dragons are found not only in rivers -- or any body of water of respectable size -- but on cliffside beaches and along the banks of major arteries.
A river dragon's breath weapon is a line of hissing, thin acid, 50' x 5'. If a second save vs. Breath is failed, some portion of the character's equipment is irreparably ruined. River dragons have a 10% chance of talking, a 50% chance of being asleep, and (if capable) may cast two first-level Magic-User spells per day.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monster: Dragonet
Because even dragons have to be youngsters at one time or another --
Dragonet
Armour Class: 5
Hit Dice: 2*
Move: 90' (30')
fly 120' (40')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-3 / 1-3 / 1-8
No. Appearing: 1-12 (1-12)
Save As: F2
Morale: 7
Treasure Type: B
Alignment: Any
XP Value: 25
A a young creature, a dragonet has more "childish" proportions (short extremities, large head, large eyes, etc.) than would an adult dragon. Its scales are softer, and of fairly nondescript colours -- pale tans, greys, creams -- which makes identifying the adult dragon subtype difficult at best. Though already very independent creatures, dragonets often remain with their birth clutches.
A dragonet attacks with claws and bite for 1-3 hit points and 1-8 hit points of damage respectively. Its breath weapon, a line of caustic saliva measuring 30' x 5', obeys the standard rules for adult dragon breath weapons.
(Alternatively, a dragonet may possess a scaled-down form of the adult subtype's breath weapon. If using a variant dragon, allow a +4 bonus to the save vs. the breath's secondary effects.)
Dragonet
Armour Class: 5
Hit Dice: 2*
Move: 90' (30')
fly 120' (40')
Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1-3 / 1-3 / 1-8
No. Appearing: 1-12 (1-12)
Save As: F2
Morale: 7
Treasure Type: B
Alignment: Any
XP Value: 25
A a young creature, a dragonet has more "childish" proportions (short extremities, large head, large eyes, etc.) than would an adult dragon. Its scales are softer, and of fairly nondescript colours -- pale tans, greys, creams -- which makes identifying the adult dragon subtype difficult at best. Though already very independent creatures, dragonets often remain with their birth clutches.
A dragonet attacks with claws and bite for 1-3 hit points and 1-8 hit points of damage respectively. Its breath weapon, a line of caustic saliva measuring 30' x 5', obeys the standard rules for adult dragon breath weapons.
(Alternatively, a dragonet may possess a scaled-down form of the adult subtype's breath weapon. If using a variant dragon, allow a +4 bonus to the save vs. the breath's secondary effects.)
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