Aquatic Dragon |
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| Dragon (Aquatic) |
| Environment: Any aquatic |
| Organization: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: solitary or clutch (2–5); adult, mature adult, old, very old, ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: solitary, pair, or family (1–2 and 2–5 offspring) |
| Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 4; very young 5; young 7; juvenile 10; young adult 13; adult 15; mature adult 18; old 20; very old 21; ancient 23; wyrm 24; great wyrm 26 |
| Treasure: Triple standard |
| Alignment: Always lawful evil |
| Advancement: Wyrmling 8–9 HD; very young 11–12 HD; young 14–15 HD; juvenile 17–18 HD; young adult 20–21 HD; adult 23–24 HD; mature adult 26–27 HD; old 29–30 HD; very old 32–33 HD; ancient 35–36 HD; wyrm 38–39 HD; great wyrm 41+ HD |
| Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +4; very young +4; young +5; others — |
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Aquatic Dragon Abilities by Age
| Age |
Speed |
Initiative |
AC |
Special Abilities |
Caster
Level* |
SR |
| Wyrmling |
40 ft., swim 150 ft. |
+0 |
14 (+4 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14 |
Hold breath, immunity to strangulation, immunity to water, resistance to cold 5 and fire 5, vulnerability to electricity |
— |
— |
| Very Young |
40 ft., swim 150 ft. |
+0 |
16 (-1 size, +7 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 16 |
— |
— |
— |
| Young |
40 ft., swim 150 ft. |
+0 |
19 (-1 size, +10 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 19 |
— |
1st |
— |
| Juvenile |
40 ft., swim 150 ft. |
+0 |
22 (-1 size, +13 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 22 |
Resistance to cold 10 and fire 10 |
3rd |
— |
| Young Adult |
40 ft., swim 150 ft. |
+0 |
24 (–2 size, +16 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 24 |
DR 5/magic |
5th |
21 |
| Adult |
40 ft., swim 150 ft. |
+0 |
27 (–2 size, +19 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 27 |
— |
7th |
23 |
| Mature Adult |
40 ft., swim 150 ft. |
+0 |
30 (–2 size, +22 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 30 |
DR 10/magic, Resistance to cold 15 and fire 15 |
9th |
25 |
| Old |
40 ft., swim 200 ft. |
+0 |
31 (–4 size, +25 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 31 |
— |
11th |
27 |
| Very Old |
40 ft., swim 200 ft. |
+0 |
34 (–4 size, +28 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 34 |
DR 15/magic |
13th |
28 |
| Ancient |
40 ft., swim 200 ft. |
+0 |
37 (–4 size, +31 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 37 |
Resistance to cold 20 and fire 20 |
15th |
30 |
| Wyrm |
40 ft., swim 200 ft. |
+0 |
36 (–8 size, +34 natural), touch 2, flat-footed 36 |
DR 20/magic |
17th |
31 |
| Great Wyrm |
40 ft., swim 200 ft. |
+0 |
39 (–8 size, +37 natural), touch 2, flat-footed 39 |
— |
19th |
33 |
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This dragon's body is long and slender. A small crest runs the length of its back, and two smaller crests adorn its neck and tail. Its four webbed feet are tipped with sharp claws, and its tail sports four spikes, two on each side. A pair of frills sweep back behind its eyes, while a second pair hand down from where its jaws meet. A strong briny scent accompanies the creature.
Although they share territory with many lung dragons and superficially resemble a few, aquatic dragons are most closely related to dragon turtles. Aquatic dragons prowl the depths of large saltwater and freshwater seas and oceans, feeding on anything smaller than themselves. Since they are capable of retaining great draughts of water in their lungs, aquatic dragons can effectively "hold their breath" and make raids on surface communities.
Aquatic dragons make their lairs in deep underwater caverns. Such lairs often have at least one chamber filled with air, in which the dragon stores scrolls and other magic items that are vulnerable to water. The entrance to an aquatic dragon's lair is generally tangled in seaweed, and the dragon often ties at least one strand to itself when it sleeps to detect a disturbance. Because they are immune to strangulation, aquatic dragons often make their lairs near patches of strangleweed for additional defense.
An aquatic dragon's scales vary in color from seafoam green to azure. As the dragon ages, its scales darken, to a deep green or blue at great wyrm.
Combat
Aquatic dragons are highly maneuverable in water, and use this to great effect. They utilize their breath weapon strategically, often using it to blow the hulls out of seagoing vessels.
An aquatic dragon lacks wing buffet attacks, but gains two additional claw attacks upon reaching Medium size. Due to the spikes, its tail slap attack deals half piercing damage.
Breath Weapon (Su): An aquatic dragon has one type of breath weapon, a cone of adhesive particles that stick to everything in the area. One round after the use of the breath weapon, the particles undergo a reaction with the surrounding water and deal electricity damage to anything they touch, including equipment. A successful Reflex save at the time the breath weapon is used halves the damage (by reducing the number of particles that stick to a character and his or her equipment). This breath weapon does not function out of the water. An aquatic dragon is immune to the effects of its own breath weapon, as its scales naturally inhibit the particles from energizing.
Hold Breath (Ex): An aquatic dragon can hold great draughts of water in its lungs. It may do so for a number of rounds equal to 8 times its Constitution score. If out of water at that time, it risks drowning. While holding its breath, an aquatic dragon may not use its bite attack or breath weapon.
Immunity to Strangulation (Ex): Due to a combination of powerful neck musculature and its inherent resistance to water pressure, an aquatic dragon cannot be strangled. This renders it immune to garrotte attacks, the constriction attack of chokers, and other attacks that target the neck and deal damage based upon cutting off breathing.
Immunity to Water (Ex): An aquatic dragon is immune to the detrimental effects of spells with the water descriptor.
Water Pressure Tolerance (Su): Aquatic dragons are able to survive in the deepest oceans due to innate magic, and thus take no damage from water pressure at any depths (see Water Dangers in the Dungeon Master's Guide).
Skills: Survival, Swim, and Tumble are considered class skills for aquatic dragons. |
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1988 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Originally found in Dragon Magazine #134 |
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