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Caustic Drake
This creature resembles an enormous snake with the head of a dragon and piercing yellow eyes. Its body is covered in overlapping green and grey scales, and its tail ends in a fan-like fin. Its two short arms bear webbed claws.

Caustic Drake CR 7
Usually NE Large Dragon (Aquatic)
Init +5, Senses darkvision 60ft, low-light vision, Listen +14, scent, Spot +14
Defense
AC 23, touch 10, flat-footed 22
(-1 size, +1 Dex, +13 natural)
hp 85 (9d12+27)
Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +6
Immune acid, paralysis, sleep
DR 5/magic
Offense
Spd 30ft, swim 50ft
Melee bite +13 (2d6+5 plus 1d6 acid, 19-20x2) and 2 claws +8 melee (1d4+2)
Ranged caustic spittle +9 ranged touch (3d6 plus entangle)
Space 10ft Reach 5ft (10ft with bite)
Special attacks Caustic spittle
Spell-like abilities CL 9th
At will—speak with animals, speak with plants
3/day—speak with dead (DC 16), suggestion (DC 16)
Tactics
Before Combat If it knows trouble is coming, a caustic drake uses its speak with spell-like abilities to gather information about its opposition. They prefer to attack from hiding, from the water, and with numbers of disposable minions at their beck and call
During Combat A caustic drake usually opens combat with its caustic spittle, targeting an obvious spellcaster if it can. It prefers to use its suggestions on heavily armored opponents, forcing them to take off their armor or go for a swim.
Morale Cowards at heart, caustic drakes will flee if reduced to half of its hit points. If cornered, they will begrudgingly fight to the death.
Statistics
Abilities Str 20, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 16
Base Attack +9; Grp +18
Feats Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
Skills Bluff +15, Diplomacy +17, Disguise +3 (+5 acting), Hide +9, Intimidate +17, Listen +14, Move Silently +13, Spot +14, Survival +14, Swim +13
Languages Boggard, Common, Draconic, tongues
SQ amphibious
Ecology
Environment Warm and temperate marshes
Organization Solitary, grudge (2-3) or kingdom (1 plus 2-12 boggards or lizardfolk)
Treasure double standard
Advancement 10-18 HD (Large), 19-27 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment—

Special Abilities
Caustic Spittle (Su) As a standard action once every 1d4+1 rounds, a caustic drake can spit a bolus of sticky acid at a range of 100 feet with no range increment. A creature struck by this attack takes 3d6 points of acid damage and is entangled for the next three rounds. During this period, on the caustic drake’s turn, the victim takes an additional 1d6 acid damage. The acid damage from multiple caustic spittle attacks stacks, but the entanglement does not. A pint of alcohol washes off the spittle before the duration expires.

Tongues (Sp) A caustic drake is affected at all times as if by the tongues spell. This effect can be dispelled, but the drake can create it again as a free action on its turn.

Skills A caustic drake has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

The most intelligent and cunning of the drake species, caustic drakes are petty tyrants that take over primitive tribes of humanoids in order to collect tribute and attention. The average caustic drake is about fifteen feet long and weighs half a ton, but they can grow much larger.

Ecology
Carnivores, caustic drakes will eat anything that creeps, crawls or swims in the muddy waters they call home. They prefer not to do their own hunting, either relying on bullied servitors to do all the hard work, or stealing kills from other swamp predators such as manticores, hydras and trolls. True dragons despise them as they do all drakes, and will gladly kill them if they get the chance. As such, caustic drakes are smart enough to avoid the attentions of dragons at all costs, avoiding their territories and abandoning their schemes if a dragon gets involved.

Habitat and Society
Caustic drakes are amphibious, and prefer to lair beneath the water’s surface, where they know many of their enemies are at a disadvantage. Their dens tend to be labyrinthine complexes of muddy tunnels, which the serpentine drakes can navigate with ease. In the center of these mazes, it is said, lay great riches.

The preferred society of a caustic drake is as the leader of a tribe of savage humanoids. Due to their habitat, they prefer boggards and lizardfolk, but orcs, swamp goblins and even primitive human tribes are all worthy of their attentions. A caustic drake will generally infiltrate a tribe with charm and tact rather than brute force, using honeyed words, promises of riches and a few carefully placed suggestions to carve out a niche as a tribe’s adviser, ruler or even god. Once it has a tribe under its control, the caustic drake will use them to fatten its belly and coffers, rewarding the people who serve it just enough to avoid rebellion.

Caustic drakes are inherently social creatures, but their arrogance and cruelty means that they despise each others’ company. Caustic drakes will only work together on controlling especially large and powerful groups of humanoids, and these associations are generally rife with in-fighting and power plays. Caustic drakes are poor parents, generally laying their eggs in a hard-to-reach location and abandoning them.

Copyright 2008 Nicholas Herold. The Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting is copyright 2008 Paizo Publishing.

Demiurge out.