At long last the remaining linnorms shall get their due.
From MCA1:
Dragon, Linnorm, Rain
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any land
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Special
INTELLIGENCE: Average (8-10)
TREASURE: See below
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 3 (base)
MOVEMENT: 18, Fl 39 (B), SW 9
HIT DICE: 10 (base)
THAC0: 11 (base)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 plus special
DAMAGE/ATTACKS: 1d12 (x2)/3d10/see below
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spells, breath weapon
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Variable
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
SIZE: H-G (20' base length)
MORALE: Fanatic (17-18)
XP VALUE: See below
Rain linnorms are quite vain, to the point of demanding credit for their atrocities. The more heinous the act, the more powerful the rain linnorm feels. Rain linnorms desire more treasure than other dragons could possibly accumulate.
Hatchling rain linnorms' teardrop-shaped scales are shiny and white. As they age, the scales grow larger and thicker, and turn gray, blue, green, or white at the creature's whim.
Rains speak their own language and can communicate with all other Norse dragons, though they rarely lower themselves to do so. A hatchling has a 5% chance of being able to communicate with all other animals, and that chance increases 5% per age category.
Combat: Young and juvenile rains are quick to rush into battle for treasure, attacking first with breath weapons and magical abilities. (A favorite strategem of juveniles is to call lightning.) However, if a target appears nonthreatening, the linnorm fights with claws and bite, hoping to leave valuables intact. Adult and older ones hate to sully their claws, so they always attack first with spells, then assault their targets with breath weapons.
Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: The rain linnorm's breath is a stream of boiling water 3 feet wide and 90 feet long (saving throw for half damage applies). A rain linnorm casts spells at a level equal to 8 plus the dragon's combat modifier.
Rain linnorms are born invulnerable to electrical attacks, and they gain abilities as they age: very young - create food and water (twice per day); young - plant growth and entangle (three times per day each); juvenile - call lightning (twice per day); young adult - lightning bolt (twice per day) and water breathing (at will); adult - control winds (twice per day); mature adult - moonbeam and rainbow (each three times per day); old - immune to missile weapons and transmute dust to water (three times per day); very old - immune to nonmagical blunt weapons, weather summoning (twice per day); venerable - immune to nonmagical edged weapons, conjure water elemental (twice per day); wyrm - regenerate 10 hp/round, control weather (once per day); great wyrm - regenerate 20 hp/round, wind walk (once per day).
Habitat/Society: Rain linnorms live on hills where they can be comfortably buffeted by wind and rain. Their lairs within the hills have treasure hidden inside many chambers. A rain stays in its lair only when the weather is pleasant. Wyrms and great wyrms have been known to control the weather when the land has been too long without inclement weather.
Rain linnorms consider all others beneath them, and therefore improper company. Indeed, the only time more than one is encountered is when a pair has mated--they separate when the eggs hatch, abandoning the young.
Rains attempt to kill all intelligent creatures that come too near their lairs. If a linnorm believes the location of its lair is known, it will painstakingly move its treasure to a new lair.
Ecology: Rain linnorms are able to subsist on almost anything, but their favorite sustenance is lightning bolts. They have no known predators except adventurers.
From Dragon #183 (1992):
Linnorm, Rain
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Special
INTELLIGENCE: Average (8-10)
TREASURE: Special
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
NO. APPEARING: 1 (5% of 1-6)
ARMOR CLASS: 3 (base)
MOVEMENT: 18, Fl 40 (B), SW 9
HIT DICE: 10 (base)
THAC0: 11 (at 10 HD)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 claws/1 bite + special
DAMAGE/ATTACKS: 1d12/1d12/3d10
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spells, breath weapon
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Variable
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Variable
SIZE: H (20’ at base)
MORALE: Fanatic (17-18)
XP VALUE: Variable
Rain linnorms are the most vain of the Norse dragons, and will go out of their way to destroy communities and harm the land in the area of other dragons. However, unlike gray linnorms, the rain linnorms do not attempt to place the blame for the attacks elsewhere. The rain linnorms demand credit for their atrocities. The more heinous the act, the more powerful the rain linnorm considers itself. Further, the rain linnorms seek to gain vast amounts of treasure, more than they believe other dragons could possibly accumulate.
When rain linnorms hatch, their teardrop-shaped scales appear shiny and white. As the linnorm ages, the scales retain their shape, but they become larger, thicker, and are able to become gray, blue, green, or white at the creature's whim.
Linnorms speak their own language and can communicate with all other Norse dragons, although they rarely lower themselves to do so. In addition, a hatchling linnorm has a 5% chance of being able to communicate with all animals. The chance to possess this ability increases 5% per age category of the linnorm.
Combat: Young and juvenile rain linnorms are quick to rush into battles that will net them treasure. This includes attacking traveling merchants, wandering adventurers, and small communities. The linnorms attack first with their breath weapon and any magical abilities they possess.
A favorite strategy of juvenile rain linnorms is to call lightning on a target, then breathe on anything left standing. However, if the target appears small and nonthreatening, the linnorm will combat the victim with its claws and bite in an effort to keep any valuables intact. As the linnorm ages, its tactics change. Adult and older rain linnorms hate to sully their claws with physical combat. The older linnorms always attack first with their weather-related spells, to show their superiority even over the elements. Then they assault their targets with their breath weapons.
Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: A rain linnorm's breath is a stream of boiling water 3' wide at the linnorm's mouth and 90' long. Creatures struck must save vs. breath for half damage. A rain linnorm casts spells at 8th level, adjusted by combat modifiers.
Rain linnorms are born invulnerable to electrical attacks. As they age, they gain additional abilities: very young - create food and water (twice a day); young - plant growth and entangle (each three times a day); juvenile - call lightning (twice a day); young adult - lightning bolt (twice a day), water breathing (at will); adult - control winds (twice a day); mature adult - moonbeam and rainbow (each three times a day); old - immune to missile weapons and transmute dust to water (three times a day); very old - immune to nonmagical blunt weapons, weather summoning (twice a day); venerable - immune to nonmagical edged weapons, conjure water elemental (twice a day); wyrm - regenerate 10 hp/round, control weather (once a day); great wyrm - regenerate 20 hp/round, wind walk (once a day).
Habitat/Society: Rain linnorms live on hills where they can be comfortably buffeted by the winds and rain. Their lairs are usually deep within the hills, and their treasure hidden inside the many chambers. A linnorm usually stays in its lair only when the weather is pleasant.
Wyrms and great wyrms have been known to control weather around their domains when the land has been too long without inclement weather.
Rain linnorms consider all others-including other rain linnorms-to be beneath them, and therefore improper company. The only time more than one rain linnorm will be encountered is when a pair has mated. The pair separate when the eggs hatch, abandoning the baby linnorms to their own devices.
Rain linnorms attempt to kill all intelligent creatures that come too near their lairs. If a linnorm believes the location of its lair is known, it will painstakingly move every piece of treasure to a new lair.
Ecology: Rain linnorms are able to subsist on almost anything. However, their favorite sustenance is lightning bolts, which they attempt to catch in evening storms. They have no known predators except human adventurers.
