rferries
2018-12-08, 08:31 AM
This wyrm is a low-magic variant; still sentient but lacking the spellcasting and SLAs of true dragons.
Note also that I've removed the standard dragon-type immunities (why are dragons immune to sleep? They sleep more than cats!), though those are easily restored.
DRAGON, MOUNTAINHUGE DRAGON
Hit Dice: 12d12+72 (150 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), fly 80 ft. (poor)
Armor Class: 23 (+3 Dex, +12 natural, -2 size), touch 11, flat-footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+32
Attack: Claw +20 melee (1d8+12) or bite +20 melee (2d6+12) or tail slap +20 melee (2d6+12)
Full Attack: 2 claws +20 melee (1d8+12) and bite +17 melee (2d6+6) and tail slap +17 melee (2d6+6)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Breath weapon
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 15/adamantine or magic, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire, low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +14, Ref +11, Will +11
Abilities: Str 34, Dex 16, Con 22, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 16
Skills: Appraise +14, Intimidate +18, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +14, Listen +18, Spot +18, Survival +3 (+5 underground)
Feats: Ability Focus (breath weapon), Flyby Attack, Hover, Multiattack, Snatch
Environment: Warm mountains
Organization: Solitary or family (1-2 plus 2-5 hatchlings)
Challenge Rating: 12
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 13-17 HD (Huge), 18-23 HD (Gargantuan), 24-30 HD (Colossal)
Level Adjustment: +0 (cohort)
The dragon is truly awe-inspiring, in spite of its wickedness. The last light of the sunset gleams on its crimson scales as it stretches its great wings and swivels its head to regard your party.
"What's this? Mortal mice come to pilfer my wealth?"
Dragons are the malevolent fire-breathing, treasure-collecting, winged reptilian creatures of legend. Brutish (yet not without a certain cunning), they often lay waste to kingdoms for leagues in every direction in their search for wealth and prey. Adventurers seek them out to plunder their hoards, benefit from the miraculous powers of their blood and hearts, or fashion armour from their scales.
Dragons are immortal, though they can be slain. Elder wyrms grow to unsurpassed size yet spend most of their time asleep amongst their hoard, and can even be sources of wisdom for adventurers who bargain with them for information.
A dragon speaks Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Undercommon.
Combat
A dragon relishes the savagery of melee combat against heroes, but does not hesitate to loose its breath weapon early and often against ranged or elusive opponents. If facing peasants or mortal armies, it simply uses its Flyby Attack feat to incinerate them from above with its breath weapon.
Breath Weapon (Su)
50-foot cone, once every 1d4 rounds, damage 12d6 fire, Reflex DC 24 half. The save DC is Constitution-based. The flames ignite flammable material and even melt certain metals, as a fireball.
Dragon Hoards
All dragons amass colossal treasure troves, far beyond even what would be indicated by their treasure rating. Their lairs are filled with gold coins, piled high and strewn with sparkling jewels, various art objects and plenty of magic items. However, much of this wealth is under a terrible curse - mortals who seek to collect the entire hoard will eventually be transformed into avaricious dragons themselves.
Plundering adventurers are free to collect whatever treasure the GM rolls for the dragon's "triple standard" rating - it is assumed that this is the treasure the PCs encounter "first" from the hoard. However, attempting to collect excess treasure fills a character with an intense feeling of foreboding - an untrained DC 10 Knowedge (arcana) check is sufficient to know that coveting a dragon's hoard results in becoming a dragon oneself.
A character who persists in gathering the treasure gains the half-dragon template after 1d10 days, and completely transforms into a dragon after another 1d10 days (losing all class levels and effectively becoming a hostile NPC ). The only way to reverse this transformation is to restore all the excess treasure to the hoard's original site (which the new dragon will instinctively attempt to do, albeit for selfish purposes), then cast break enchantment on the new dragon.
Dragons and Aging
Dragons do not accumulate aging penalties to their physical ability scores and have no maximum age. However, they accumulate aging bonuses to their mental ability scores for reaching the middle-aged, old, and venerable age categories (at the same rate as elves (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/description.htm#age)). Older dragons spend more and more of their time in deep slumber (often lasting centuries at a time) and typically gain ranks in Knowledge (history).
Dragon eggs and hatchlings are helpless noncombatants, though they make for extremely valuable commodities if they can be captured.
Dragon Varieties
The above entry describes the traditional mountain-dwelling dragon, but other varieties exist. The traits of the varieties described below replace those of a mountain dragon.
Polar Dragon
These creatures have snow-white scales and dwell in the coldest arctic regions. They have immunity to cold, and ranks in Knowledge (nature) rather than Knowledge (dungeoneering). Their breath weapons deal cold damage.
Swamp Dragon
These creatures have viridian or inky black scales and dwell in the murkiest bogs. They have the [Aquatic] subtype (and the Amphibious special quality), swim speeds of 60 ft., immunity to acid, and ranks in Knowledge (nature) rather than Knowledge (dungeoneering). Their breath weapons deal acid damage.
New Feats
Dragon Slayer
You have slain a dragon, and bathed in the creature's magical blood or feasted on its mighty heart.
Prerequisites
Must have directly participated in slaying a dragon.
Benefits
You gain damage reduction 5/magic.
You gain resistance 10 against the energy type of the slain dragon's breath weapon (typically fire).
Dragonlord
You are served by a mighty dragon.
Prerequisites
Character level 15th; must have raised a dragon from an egg, or defeated one in magical or physical combat.
Benefits
You gain a dragon as a cohort. This is in addition to any cohort you acquire from the Leadership feat, or any animal companion, familiar, and/or special mount to which you are otherwise entitled.
Dragonscale Armour
Masterwork armour fashioned from the scales of a slain dragon is imbued with powerful magic, even if forged by a non-spellcaster. Such armour has an enhancement bonus of +1 per four Hit Dice of the slain dragon, and grants energy resistance 10 against the energy type of the dragon's breath weapon (typically fire). The energy resistance improves to 20 for medium armour and 30 for heavy armour.
Druids may wear dragonscale armour without penalty.
Note also that I've removed the standard dragon-type immunities (why are dragons immune to sleep? They sleep more than cats!), though those are easily restored.
DRAGON, MOUNTAINHUGE DRAGON
Hit Dice: 12d12+72 (150 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), fly 80 ft. (poor)
Armor Class: 23 (+3 Dex, +12 natural, -2 size), touch 11, flat-footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+32
Attack: Claw +20 melee (1d8+12) or bite +20 melee (2d6+12) or tail slap +20 melee (2d6+12)
Full Attack: 2 claws +20 melee (1d8+12) and bite +17 melee (2d6+6) and tail slap +17 melee (2d6+6)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Breath weapon
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 15/adamantine or magic, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire, low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +14, Ref +11, Will +11
Abilities: Str 34, Dex 16, Con 22, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 16
Skills: Appraise +14, Intimidate +18, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +14, Listen +18, Spot +18, Survival +3 (+5 underground)
Feats: Ability Focus (breath weapon), Flyby Attack, Hover, Multiattack, Snatch
Environment: Warm mountains
Organization: Solitary or family (1-2 plus 2-5 hatchlings)
Challenge Rating: 12
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 13-17 HD (Huge), 18-23 HD (Gargantuan), 24-30 HD (Colossal)
Level Adjustment: +0 (cohort)
The dragon is truly awe-inspiring, in spite of its wickedness. The last light of the sunset gleams on its crimson scales as it stretches its great wings and swivels its head to regard your party.
"What's this? Mortal mice come to pilfer my wealth?"
Dragons are the malevolent fire-breathing, treasure-collecting, winged reptilian creatures of legend. Brutish (yet not without a certain cunning), they often lay waste to kingdoms for leagues in every direction in their search for wealth and prey. Adventurers seek them out to plunder their hoards, benefit from the miraculous powers of their blood and hearts, or fashion armour from their scales.
Dragons are immortal, though they can be slain. Elder wyrms grow to unsurpassed size yet spend most of their time asleep amongst their hoard, and can even be sources of wisdom for adventurers who bargain with them for information.
A dragon speaks Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Undercommon.
Combat
A dragon relishes the savagery of melee combat against heroes, but does not hesitate to loose its breath weapon early and often against ranged or elusive opponents. If facing peasants or mortal armies, it simply uses its Flyby Attack feat to incinerate them from above with its breath weapon.
Breath Weapon (Su)
50-foot cone, once every 1d4 rounds, damage 12d6 fire, Reflex DC 24 half. The save DC is Constitution-based. The flames ignite flammable material and even melt certain metals, as a fireball.
Dragon Hoards
All dragons amass colossal treasure troves, far beyond even what would be indicated by their treasure rating. Their lairs are filled with gold coins, piled high and strewn with sparkling jewels, various art objects and plenty of magic items. However, much of this wealth is under a terrible curse - mortals who seek to collect the entire hoard will eventually be transformed into avaricious dragons themselves.
Plundering adventurers are free to collect whatever treasure the GM rolls for the dragon's "triple standard" rating - it is assumed that this is the treasure the PCs encounter "first" from the hoard. However, attempting to collect excess treasure fills a character with an intense feeling of foreboding - an untrained DC 10 Knowedge (arcana) check is sufficient to know that coveting a dragon's hoard results in becoming a dragon oneself.
A character who persists in gathering the treasure gains the half-dragon template after 1d10 days, and completely transforms into a dragon after another 1d10 days (losing all class levels and effectively becoming a hostile NPC ). The only way to reverse this transformation is to restore all the excess treasure to the hoard's original site (which the new dragon will instinctively attempt to do, albeit for selfish purposes), then cast break enchantment on the new dragon.
Dragons and Aging
Dragons do not accumulate aging penalties to their physical ability scores and have no maximum age. However, they accumulate aging bonuses to their mental ability scores for reaching the middle-aged, old, and venerable age categories (at the same rate as elves (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/description.htm#age)). Older dragons spend more and more of their time in deep slumber (often lasting centuries at a time) and typically gain ranks in Knowledge (history).
Dragon eggs and hatchlings are helpless noncombatants, though they make for extremely valuable commodities if they can be captured.
Dragon Varieties
The above entry describes the traditional mountain-dwelling dragon, but other varieties exist. The traits of the varieties described below replace those of a mountain dragon.
Polar Dragon
These creatures have snow-white scales and dwell in the coldest arctic regions. They have immunity to cold, and ranks in Knowledge (nature) rather than Knowledge (dungeoneering). Their breath weapons deal cold damage.
Swamp Dragon
These creatures have viridian or inky black scales and dwell in the murkiest bogs. They have the [Aquatic] subtype (and the Amphibious special quality), swim speeds of 60 ft., immunity to acid, and ranks in Knowledge (nature) rather than Knowledge (dungeoneering). Their breath weapons deal acid damage.
New Feats
Dragon Slayer
You have slain a dragon, and bathed in the creature's magical blood or feasted on its mighty heart.
Prerequisites
Must have directly participated in slaying a dragon.
Benefits
You gain damage reduction 5/magic.
You gain resistance 10 against the energy type of the slain dragon's breath weapon (typically fire).
Dragonlord
You are served by a mighty dragon.
Prerequisites
Character level 15th; must have raised a dragon from an egg, or defeated one in magical or physical combat.
Benefits
You gain a dragon as a cohort. This is in addition to any cohort you acquire from the Leadership feat, or any animal companion, familiar, and/or special mount to which you are otherwise entitled.
Dragonscale Armour
Masterwork armour fashioned from the scales of a slain dragon is imbued with powerful magic, even if forged by a non-spellcaster. Such armour has an enhancement bonus of +1 per four Hit Dice of the slain dragon, and grants energy resistance 10 against the energy type of the dragon's breath weapon (typically fire). The energy resistance improves to 20 for medium armour and 30 for heavy armour.
Druids may wear dragonscale armour without penalty.