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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 9254502" data-attributes="member: 6915329">Dragons are tough to stat out, since there’s four different statblocks and they have tons of legendary actions and a lot have great wyrm elite versions. Issue #248 is a June issue, which traditionally means more dragons, but fortunately (for me), this Dragon’s Bestiary focuses on dragon-kin. Not full-fledged dragons. Phew! Don’t worry; there will be actual dragons at some point.(This article also puts the tarrasque as a dragon-kin, along with hydras and wyverns.)The first creature is the amphitere a heavy flying snake with a pointed tongue. The name means “two-winged,” which is not particularly helpful as that can describe all vertebrate fliers. Going by Wikipedia, they seem to be a purely heraldic animal, not one with actual mythology behind it. But D&D has never been one to let something like that stop them.[ATTACH=full]344898[/ATTACH]AmphitereDragon’s Bestiary, Dragon Magazine #248Creature by Gregory Detwiler; art by Terry DykstraAmphiteres are fat, winged serpents that can stretch to lengths of twelve feet or more. They’re covered in fine, downy feathers instead of scales that are a deep sky-blue along their backs and a golden orange along their belly. Their leathery wings and the tip of their barbed tail are forest-green in color. Their coloration puts many in mind of a sunrise over a forest and they are considered to be very beautiful animals.Poison-Tongue. Amphiteres are venomous snakes, but they don’t deliver their venom through their bite. Instead, their tongue’s arrowhead-shaped tip delivers a deadly venom. Along with their usually sedentary nature leads many people to domesticate them as guard beasts.Swarmers. These serpents are normally solitary creatures. A female will tend to her eggs, but the hatchlings are precocial and leave the nest immediately after hatching. However, in good seasons when game is plenty, females lay two or even three times as many eggs. These population boons can cause hundreds of hungry amphiteres to flood an area, which can quickly cause the population of prey animals—and humanoids—to drop to dangerously low levels.Climate/Terrain: temperate; desert, forest, hillLegends and LoreWith an Arcana check, the characters can learn the following:DC 10. Amphitere are very large, flying snakes with barbed tails and sharp, venom-laced tongues instead of fangs.DC 15. The amphitere’s venom is extremely dangerous, requiring magical or mundane cures to treat as it doesn’t fade on its own.DC 20. Amphiteres can be trained to serve as guard beasts, and some people even like them as pets.Amphitere EncountersChallenge Rating 3-4 amphitereChallenge Rating 5-10 2 amphiteres; amphitere with 2d8 young (statistics of flying snake)Treasure: 700 gp, 150 sp, 1d4 amphitptere eggs (1,000 gp each), +1 padded cloth, potion of heroismSigns1. Large nest tucked into a tree2. A small pile of blue and gold-orange feathers.3. Tracks on the ground like those made by a very large snake.4. A shed snakeskin, which includes wingsBehavior1. Fighting off a griffon or giant boar that was raiding its nest2. Laying in ambush high in a tree3. Sunning itself on a rock4. Gorging itself on a recent kill5. Flying overhead6. Guarding eggs; attacks on sightAmphitereLarge monstrosity; Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)AC 14 (natural armor)HP 76 (9d10+18; bloodied 38)Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.STR 17 (+3) DEX 16 (+3) CON 14 (+2)INT 2 (-4) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 6 (-2)Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 13Skills Perception +3Damage Immunities poisonCondition Immunities poisonedSenses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 13Languages —Keen Vision. The amphitere has advantage on Perception checks that rely on vision.ActionsMultiattack. The amphitere makes two attacks: one with its tongue and either a constrict attack or a tail spike attack.Tongue. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) piercing damage plus 11 (2d10) poison damage, and the target must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw against disease. On a failure, the creature is poisoned until the disease is cured, and while poisoned, its speed is reduced to 10 feet. On a success, the creature is poisoned for 1 minute and its speed is not reduced.Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d10+3) bludgeoning damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 13). Until this grappled ends, the target is restrained and the amphitere can’t constrict a different target.Tail Spike. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8+3) piercing damageCombatThe amphitere swoops into bite its prey, then constricts it while its too weak to move quickly. Against multiple foes, it bites and flies away, risking opportunity attacks. It flees when bloodied.</blockquote>

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