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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 8800404" data-attributes="member: 6915329">This article is called “That’s Not in the Monstrous Compendium, and is a “sequel” of sorts to an article called “That’s not in the Monster Manual!”, written in #37, which introduced the gem dragons. Both articles are written by the same person, Aaron McGruder, so these are about as official as those are. The article says that psionic-using neutral dragons are possible (using the 1e rules, since The Complete Psionicist’s Handbook wouldn’t be out until the following year). Sadly, it doesn’t say what sort of powers they would have, just how many minor and major powers they have, so I hope I’m able to make their psionics feel appropriate to them. Let me know if you think they should have different powers!Anyway, the first dragon up is the pearl dragon. I looked up some myths about pearls to help figure out what sort of psionics they should have. One spirituality site said that you shouldn’t buy pearls because it’s bad luck, but only get them as gifts. A jewelry store site said you should never give or accept pearls as gifts because it’s bad luck, but buy them for yourself. Although it also said that’s just a myth. Most of the sites say pearls represent tears, but also spiritual insight. The end result is… kind of a depressed cultist-dragon. Who collects pearls. I’m not quite sure how it got that far. Blame it on converting monsters that don’t have all that much to them in the first place.I won’t be doing the jade dragon, BTW, since that’s far too similar to the emerald dragon—it’s even described as the “Oriental cousin” of the emerald. Even if I try to throw in information from the Mystaran jade dragon, it didn't work. That dragon's breath weapon is like the green dragon's poison breath, but on a failed save it causes a "flesh-rotting disease." I thought about having the breath cause a mind-rotting disease, but even that's too close to Level Up's emerald dragon and it's sanity-warping breath. So… just imagine a less glittery, less paranoid emerald dragon?[ATTACH=full]264000[/ATTACH]Art by Tony DiTerlizziDragon, PearlThat’s Not in the Monstrous Compendium!, Dragon Magazine #158Created by Aaron McGruderAmong the smallest and weakest of dragons, pearl dragons are beautiful creatures. Their scales look as if they have thousands of pearls pushed into their skin. While a majority of them are a lustrous, creamy white color, some have rose, golden, or even black overtones. Pearl dragons lack horns but have a noticeable pelican-like gular pouch on their lower jaws that makes them instantly recognizable, even without their beautiful hides.Beach-Dwellers. Pearl dragons live on steep, rocky coastlines, as have a deep love of salt air and open ocean, a far cry from other gem dragons who tend to leave deep underground. Their diet consists almost entirely of fish and oysters. They spend much of their time diving for pearls or tending to cultivated oyster beds. They hunt their territories to exhaustion; should a stretch of ocean run out of fish or pearls, they simply pack up and move out, carefully ensuring that every single object in their lair is moved with them. Pearl dragons and bronze dragons sometimes share territory—although bronze dragons rarely tolerate a pearl dragon’s carelessly destructive behaviors for long.Piratical. Although they have little to do with humanoids, pearl dragons have been known to attack both merchant and pirate ships—any ship that seems as if it would have valuable cargo. They are generally kind enough to request that the ship’s crew to hand over the valuables before resorting to violence, though, and rarely use more violence than is needed to secure the wealth.Pearls of Wisdom and Despair. Many myths about pearls describe them as being the tears of a god, and as such, the represent spiritual insight and bring both good and bad luck. These myths have their origins in the pearl dragon, who seek to learn the knowledge that could make a god weep. Their psionic powers open up a creature’s mind to the minds of the gods, and while some affected creatures have great insights from these probings, most find themselves overcome with confusion and misery… and still other creatures find such a vision brings with it terrible luck.Pearl dragons always seem a bit mad. There’s a methodical, obsessive madness, where they seek to learn more knowledge. While they love pearls because these gems resemble their own scales, they also love pearls because they believe that they contain the knowledge of the gods, even if it is knowledge so terrible as to cause such beings sorry.Legends and LoreWith an Arcana or History check, the characters can learn the following:DC 15. A pearl dragon is great collectors of both natural pearls and of knowledge, but it gains much of their knowledge from unearthly sources. Its breath weapon is made by psychically agitating the air’s molecules until they become burning hot.DC 20. The oldest pearl dragons can blast a creature’s mind with such horrific knowledge, causing it to make terrible blunders and to succumb to misery.Pearl Dragon EncountersTerrain: coastline, Plane of Water, oceanCR 3-4 pearl dragon wyrmling with 3-4 merfolk; 2 pearl dragon wyrmlingsTreasure: 250 sp, 2 pearls (100 gp each), cloak of the manta rayCR 5-10 young pearl dragon; young pearl dragon with 2 steam mephits or merfolk knight; young pearl dragon with 2-4 coralfishTreasure: 120 gp, 450 sp, 9 pearls (100 gp each), 2 midnight pearls, spell scroll of thunderwave, vial of beauty, pearl of power.CR 11-16 adult pearl dragonTreasure: 800 gp, 3,500 sp, 21 pearls (100 gp each), pearl-studded silver cup (500 gp), +1 breastplate, chime of opening, ring of warmthCR 17-22 ancient pearl dragon; adult pearl dragon with coven sea hag or chuulTreasure: 150 pp, 4,000 gp, 55 pearls (100 gp each), dragon-shaped figurine carved out of coral (1,000 gp), history book on an ancient and forgotten tragedy that occurred in the area (500 gp), bowl of commanding water elementals, pearl of power, spell scrolls of gust of wind and moonbeam.CR 23-30 ancient pearl dragon with giant lanternfish, merrow mage, or water elementalTreasure: ancient tome of tales of the downfall of gods, as written by a god (2,000 gp), 87 pearls (100 gp each), egg-sized green-black pearl (1,000 gp), arrow of slaying, ioun stone of absorption, spell scroll of control weather.CR 31+ ancient pearl dragon with aboleth, marid, or merclopsTreasure: 11,000 pp, 17,000 gp, 400 pearls (100 gp each), opera necklace of black pearls (10,000 gp), large coral statue of a weeping god (worth 7,500 gp), scrimshawed whalebone on which are writings that leads to the discovery of a rare 7th-level spell, manual of stone guardians, potion of cloud giant strength, robe of starsSigns1. Light fog obscures the coastlines, hiding dangerous reefs, choking sea weeds, and venomous sea life.2. Creatures in the area have sad dreams full of longing and loss.3. Enormous piles of empty oyster shells.4. Pearlescent fog.5. The sound of a sorrowful song being carried on the wind.6. A pearl, dropped (but not forgotten) by the dragon while it was moving its hoard.Behavior1-3. Diving for pearls.4. Carefully moving its treasure to a new lair.5. In a trance, communing with otherworldly beings.6. Sorting its collection of pearls by color, shape, or other criteria.Pearl Dragon Lair FeaturesThe save DC for the following effects is 13 + the dragon’s proficiency modifier. Choose or roll one or more of the following lair features:1. Pearlescent fog blankets the lair, causing the area to be lightly obscured. Within the mist are steam mephits, who watch an intruder’s every move and telepathically report back to the dragon.2. Strange writings that speak of mind-bending things cover the walls. If a creature other than the dragon attempts to read the writing, it must make a Wisdom saving throw against the lair’s DC, taking a level of strife on a failure.3. Bizarre architecture, combined with walls that are covered in reflective nacre, make the lair a veritable maze. When a creature tries to reach a specific location in the lair or leave it, it must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure the creature ends up back where it started a few minutes later.4. The dragon employs creatures whose minds have been destroyed by its mental manipulations. Once per day, when the dragon would use Pearls of Wisdom, it can summon three creatures that have the attributes of aboleth thralls, except their Int, Wis, and Cha are all 7 (-2). Creatures summoned in this way fight until killed or the dragon dismisses them as a bonus action.NamesBearach, Ghitredel, Iridess, Pinctada, OpalineVariant: Pearl Dragon SpellcasterSome gem dragons develop the ability to psionically cast spells. A pearl dragon’s spellcaster ability is Charisma. It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components. Each age category knows its own spells and those of younger age categories.Young (save DC 15): 3/day each: tearful sonnet, detect thoughtsAdult (save DC 19): 3/day each: commune, dominate personAncient (save DC 22): contact other planes, feeblemindAncient Pearl DragonLegendary Gargantuan DragonChallenge 20 (25,000 XP)AC 21 (natural armor)HP 315 (18d20+126; bloodied 157)Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft., swim 40 ft.STR 24 (+7) DEX 10 (+0) CON 25 (+7)INT 17 (+3) WIS 19 (+4) CHA 26 (+8)Proficiency +6Maneuver DC 21Saving Throws Dex +6, Con +13, Int +9, Wis +10Skills Insight +10 (+1d6), Perception +10 (+1d6), Persuasion +14, Stealth +6Damage Immunities fireSenses blindsight 120 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 23Languages Aquan, Common, Deep Speech, Draconic, telepathy 120 ft.Amphibious. The dragon can breathe air and water.Insightful Mind (3/Day). If the dragon makes a successful Insight check against a creature, then for the next hour, that creature has disadvantage on saving throws against the dragon’s Pearls of Wisdom and Tears of Despair actions.Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead, and some of its scales lose their luster and fall off. If it has no more uses of this ability, its Armor Class is reduced to 19 until it finishes a long rest.Psionic Powers. The dragon’s psionic abilities are considered both magical and psionic.Water Vision. The dragon’s blindsight only works while underwater.ActionsMultiattack. The dragon attacks once with its bite and twice with its claws. In place of its bite, it can use Tears of Despair.Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 29 (4d10+7) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) fire damage.Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8+7) slashing damage.Boil. The dragon targets a creature within 60 feet, forcing it to make a DC 21 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) fire damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one.Steam Breath (Recharge 5-6). The dragon exhales a blast of steam in a 90-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 21 Constitution saving throw, taking 72 (16d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.ReactionsCurse of Ill Luck (While Bloodied). When a creature the dragon can see damages the dragon, the dragon plants a shred of divine knowledge in the target’s mind that causes the target to doubt its place in the universe. The attacker must make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, then until the end of its next turn, it has disadvantage on all ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws it makes, and whenever the creature rolls a 1 on a d20, of if both dice roll a 5 or lower and the roll is a failure, it takes a level of strife.Legendary ActionsThe dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.Create Fog. The dragon exhales a cloud of steam in a 90-foot cone which lasts until the end of the dragons’ next turn. The area is heavily obscured. Misty shapes, taken directly from each creature’s mind, appear within the cloud, and each creature in the cloud when it appears is rattled until the start of their next turns.Pearls of Wisdom (Costs 2 Actions). The dragon targets a creature within 60 feet, forcing it to make a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target’s mind is opened to the sorrow of the divine, and the creature becomes confused. When rolling to determine its actions, treat a roll of 3-4 as a result of 5. It may make a new saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.Boil (Costs 2 Actions). The dragon makes a Boil attack.Tears of Despair (1/Day, Costs 3 Actions). The dragon psionically emits a wave of despair. Each creature within 20 feet must make a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes 1 level of strife. Creatures confused by the dragon make this saving throw with disadvantage.*Adult Pearl DragonLegendary Huge DragonChallenge 14 (11,500 XP)AC 19 (natural armor)HP 212 (17d12+102; bloodied 106)Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft., swim 40 ft.STR 20 (+5) DEX 10 (+0) CON 22 (+6)INT 15 (+2) WIS 17 (+3) CHA 23 (+6)Proficiency +5Maneuver DC 20Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +11, Int +7, Wis +8Skills Insight +8 (+1d6), Perception +8 (+1d6), Persuasion +11, Stealth +5Damage Immunities fireSenses blindsight 120 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 21Languages Aquan, Common, Deep Speech, Draconic, telepathy 120 ft.Amphibious. The dragon can breathe air and water.Insightful Mind. If the dragon makes a successful Insight check against a creature, then for the next hour, that creature has disadvantage on saving throws against the dragon’s Pearls of Wisdom and Tears of Despair actions.Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead, and some of its scales lose their luster and fall off. If it has no more uses of this ability, its Armor Class is reduced to 17 until it finishes a long rest.Psionic Powers. The dragon’s psionic abilities are considered both magical and psionic.Water Vision. The dragon’s blindsight only works while underwater.ActionsMultiattack. The dragon attacks once with its bite and twice with its claws. In place of its bite, it can use Boil.Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (3d10+5) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage.Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (3d8+5) slashing damage.Boil. The dragon targets a creature within 60 feet, forcing it to make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) fire damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful one.Steam Breath (Recharge 5-6). The dragon exhales a blast of steam in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw, taking 58 (13d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.ReactionsCurse of Ill Luck (While Bloodied). When a creature the dragon can see damages the dragon, the dragon plants a shred of divine knowledge in the target’s mind that causes the target to doubt its place in the universe. The attacker must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, then until the end of its next turn, it has disadvantage on all ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws it makes, and whenever the creature rolls a 1 on a d20, it takes a level of strife.Legendary ActionsThe dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.Create Fog. The dragon exhales a cloud of steam in a 90-foot cone which lasts until the end of the dragons’ next turn. The area is heavily obscured. Misty shapes, taken directly from each creature’s mind, appear within the cloud, and each creature in the cloud when it appears is rattled until the start of their next turns.Pearls of Wisdom. The dragon targets a creature within 60 feet, forcing it to make a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target’s mind is opened to the sorrow of the divine, and the creature becomes confused. When rolling to determine its actions, treat a roll of 3-4 as a result of 5. It may make a new saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.Boil (Costs 2 Actions). The dragon makes a Boil attack.Tears of Despair (1/Day, Costs 3 Actions). The dragon psionically emits a wave of despair. Each creature within 20 feet must make a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes 1 level of strife. Creatures confused by the dragon make this saving throw with disadvantage.*Young Pearl DragonLarge DragonChallenge 7 (2,900 XP)AC 19 (natural armor)HP 114 (12d10+48; bloodied 57)Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft., swim 40 ft.STR 18 (+4) DEX 10 (+0) CON 19 (+4)INT 14 (+2) WIS 15 (+2) CHA 19 (+4)Proficiency +3Maneuver DC 15Saving Throws Dex +3, Con +7, Int +5, Wis +5Skills Insight +5, Perception +5, Persuasion +7, Stealth +3Damage Immunities fireSenses blindsight 120 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 18Languages Deep Speech, Draconic, telepathy 120 ft.Amphibious. The dragon can breathe air and water.Psionic Powers. The dragon’s psionic abilities are considered both magical and psionic.Water Vision. The dragon’s blindsight only works while underwater.ActionsBite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d10+4) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage.Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing damage.Steam Breath (Recharge 5-6). The dragon exhales a blast of steam in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 45 (10d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.ReactionsCurse of Ill Luck (1/Day While Bloodied). When a creature the dragon can see damages the dragon, the dragon plants a shred of divine knowledge in the target’s mind that causes the target to doubt its place in the universe. The attacker must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, then until the end of its next turn, it has disadvantage on all ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws it makes, and whenever the creature rolls a 1 on a d20, of if both dice roll a 5 or lower and the roll is a failure, it takes a level of strife.*Pearl Dragon WyrmlingLarge DragonChallenge 2 (750 XP)AC 19 (natural armor)HP 52 (8d8+16; bloodied 26)Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft., swim 40 ft.STR 15 (+2) DEX 10 (+0) CON 15 (+2)INT 13 (+1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 16 (+3)Proficiency +2Maneuver DC 12Saving Throws Dex +2, Con +4, Int +3, Wis +4Skills Insight +4, Perception +4, Stealth +2Damage Immunities fireSenses blindsight 120 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 18Languages Aquan, Common, Draconic, telepathy 120 ft.Amphibious. The dragon can breathe air and water.Psionic Powers. The dragon’s psionic abilities are considered both magical and psionic.Water Vision. The dragon’s blindsight only works while underwater.ActionsBite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d10+2) piercing damage.Steam Breath (Recharge 5-6). The dragon exhales a blast of steam in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (5d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.</blockquote>

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