Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="cptg1481" data-source="post: 899892" data-attributes="member: 5360">Here's the Melinbonian DragonI'm probably breaking some law here but this is from page 140 of the DLoM by Chaosism on the D20 version of the Dragon in the Elric sagas...Of all the entities in the Elric saga, Moorcock returns again and again only to one species, crimson on gold the symbols of the Melnibonean throne, envenomed slumberers and aerial serpents, the dragons.  Though their origin is a matter of dispute, dragons have slumbered within Melnibone’s caverns since before the isle gained that name.They represent “the first significant sorcery of our race and the purest, the dragon-sorcery” (RR I, 2).  In those days the numbers of dragons were great, and in controlling them the Melniboneans ruled the world.  Yet choosing to employ the might of dragons required wisdom and careful judgment, for a dragon must sleep a hundred years for each day of activity.  In the last millennia, the dragons have dwindled, paralleling the decline of Melnibone from Bright Empire to Dreaming City.  When Elric blows the Horn of Fate, only ninety-eight dragons waken and fly east with him to the final battle.A Melnibonean dragon does not breathe out fire.  Instead it exudes an acid-like venom of POT (DC) equal to its CON.  In flight, the dragon attacks by repeatedly spraying this venom over wide areas.  Everything burnable that the number is finite – Elric’s dragon-steed Flamefang seems to have exhausted himself in thirty to sixty minutes.  Calculate the number of attacks as equal to the dragon’s CON.Caught in a steel helmet or similar container, a droplet of dragon venom cools and hardens into a pastel which (taken with water) can “bring courage to the weak and skill to the strong, (and let a man) fight for five days and five nights and feel no pain” (RR I, 2), but only Melniboneans know this lore.  With substantial immersion in dragon venom, the damage done per round would be the dragon’s CON in hit points.Dragons live for many thousands of years, most of those years asleep, or what we imagine as sleep.  It is also known that ordinarily one warrior rode each dragon using a heavy saddle custom-made for that dragon.  Moorcock mentions softer scales half way up the neck where a sword might penetrate.Huge DragonHD:  27d12+135 (310hp)Initiative :  +0Speed:  40ft, fly 150 ft. (poor)AC:  33 (-2 Size, +25 Natural Armor).  AC 23 for its neck (-2 Size, +15 Natural) requiring a Reflex roll to target (failure means no attack possible).Attacks:  Bite +35 melee, 2 Claws +30 melee, 2 Wings +30 slam, Crush +30 slam, Tail Slap +30 slamDamage:  Bite 2d8+10; Claws 2d6+5; Wings 1d8+5; Crush 2d8+15; Tail Slap 2d6+15Face/Reach:  10 ft x 20 ft/10 ftSpecial Attacks:  Breath Weapon, Frightful PresenceSpecial Qualities:  Low-Light Vision; Darkvision 500 ft., Blindsight, Keen SensesSaves:        Fort +20    Ref +15    Will +20Abilities:      STR 30    DEX 11    CON 21        INT 14    WIS 20    CHA 14Skills:  Intimidate +18, Intuit Direction +18, Jump +27, Listen +18, Search +18, Spot +18, Wilderness Lore +18Feats:  Power Attack, Flyby Attack, WingoverClimate/Terrain:  Any Underground Organization:  Flight (25-100)Challenge Rating:  18Treasure:  (none)Alignment:  Neutral (usually)Advancement Range:  28-39 HD (Gargantuan), 40+ HD (Colossal)Combat:  Melnibonean dragons are organized into flights, which are led by dragons ridden by trained Melniboneans.  Those dragons not ridden are controlled by horns especially designed for such a purpose.  Ingeneral, an individual dragon will pass over an enemy and use its fiery venom, then landand mop up any resistance.Breath Weapon (Ex):  Often described as a venom or acidic spittle, this jet (a line of 100 ft.) of POT 21 poison causes all combustibles (including people and almost all sorts of supernatural creatures, unless immune to both fire and acid) it strikes to immediately combust, doing 2d6 damage per round for 10+1d10 rounds.  The fire can only be extinguished before this time by use of magic.  A Reflex save (DC 20) avoids the jet and any damage from it.  Frightful Presence (Ex):  A dragon can unsettle foes with its mere presence.  This ability takes effect whenever the dragon attacks, charges, or flies overhead.  Creatures within 300 ft. radius of the dragon are affected if they have fewer Hit Dice than the dragon.  A potentially affected creature that succeeds at a Will save (DC 23) remains immune to that dragon’s presence for one day.  On a failure, creatures with 4 or fewer HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds.</blockquote>

Verification