OK, as requested by Shade...
Dragon 183
Linnorm, Midgard
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Unique
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Special
INTELLIGENCE: Supra-genius (20)
TREASURE: S,T,U,V,W,X (all × 5)
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: -12
MOVEMENT: 18, SW 40
HIT DICE: 25 (200 hp)
THAC0: 2
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 claws/1 bite/1 tail strike + special
DAMAGE/ATTACKS: 3d10/3d10/2d12/4d10
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spells, breath weapons, constriction
SPECIAL DEFENSES: + 2 or better weapon to hit, spells
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%
SIZE: G (500' long)
MORALE: Fearless (19)
XP VALUE: 31,000
The Midgard linnorm is said to be the sole offspring of the Midgard Serpent, child of Loki. The Midgard linnorm, of which sages believe (and hope) there is only one, is the most magnificent of the Norse dragons and rivals Bahamut and Tiamat in power (see FOR1 Draconomicon, pages 57-59). Sages think that this great wingless serpent may be as immortal as his sire. Their flamboyant and frightening stories claim the Midgard linnorm lives at the bottom of the ocean. Few have actually seen the Midgard linnorm, and fewer still have lived to tell of it. They say the creature is so long they could not see the end of it.
The giant linnorm's body is covered with massive blue, green, and silver scales that glisten like opals. When it moves, the shifting colors make it look like a stream of running water. Its head, filled with a double row of pale-blue teeth, is said to stretch 50' wide and twice that long. Its emerald-green, lidless and pupil-less eyes are perfectly round and mirror whatever is looking into them. While the Midgard linnorm has no horns, its head is topped with a ridge of coarse midnight blue hair that looks like a horse's mane. The hair extends partway down its massive neck where it becomes a lighter blue spinal ruff that runs to the tip of its barbed tail.
The Midgard linnorm's rear legs are short and stumpy for its massive form, and appear as if they are not strong enough to support it. Its front legs are longer and end in razor-sharp claws. The linnorm uses its legs primarily to aid its maneuverability as it slithers along in the water and across the land.
Combat: Despite its malicious nature, the Midgard linnorm avoids battles, considering physical struggles beneath it. It prefers to meddle in the affairs of other linnorms, humans, and demihumans through its spells and abilities, keeping its distance yet maintaining control of the situation. The Midgard linnorm has entered few fights in its centuries-long existence. It relies on guards to fight for it.
However, if a threat is menacing enough, the Midgard linnorm breathes on the targets. Those left standing are next subjected to its spells and further breath weapons. The Midgard linnorm will only attack with its bite, claws, and tail slash if there is no other recourse. The Midgard linnorm speaks the languages of all Norse dragons and can telepathically communicate with all other intelligent creatures. This is the only linnorm with this extensive telepathic ability.
Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: The Midgard linnorm possesses three breath weapons. The first is a spray of boiling water 10' wide and 200' long. Creatures of fewer than 4 HD struck by the spray automatically drown unless they are capable of breathing water. Creatures of 5-7 HD drown only if they fail their saving throws vs. breath weapon. Creatures of greater than 7 HD are not subject to the drowning attack. Further, all those struck by the water spray suffer 20d20 + 12 hp damage (save vs. breath weapon for half), and they are propelled 100' back. The second breath weapon is a cloud of dust 200' long, 80' wide, and 60' deep. Those caught within the cloud suffer 16d20 + 12 hp damage (save vs. breath weapon for half). All those who fail their saving throws are affected as if they were subject to dust of sneezing and choking. The final breath weapon is a cone of wind 20' wide at his mouth, 200' long, and 50' wide at the base. All those caught within the cone suffer 12d20 + 12 hp damage (save vs. breath weapon for half). Further, they are automatically propelled backwards 200' from their starting position. The Midgard linnorm is able to breathe every other round as often as it wishes. Creatures struck by a breath weapon save at -3 because of this linnorm's awesome power.
Another deadly attack is its ability to constrict creatures by wrapping its tail about them and squeezing. Those caught in this grip suffer 20 hp damage per round until dead. A successful bend-bars attempt at one-half normal chances is needed to wriggle free.
In addition, this great linnorm has the following permanent abilities, useable at will: water breathing, ESP, telepathy, create water, and protection from fire. At will, he can perform the following, once a day: charm person, charm monster, wall of fog, detect invisibility, hypnotic pattern, whispering wind, improved invisibility, solid fog, wizard eye, airy water telekinesis, death fog, raise water, veil, power word stun, teleport without error, power word blind, and shape change. The Midgard linnorm uses his magical abilities at 14th level.
Habitat/Society: The Midgard linnorm lives at the bottom of the ocean on the world of the Vikings, and there spends most of its time. The serpent is a solitary creature, believing the company of others largely inconsequential. Still, the linnorm recognizes the value in keeping others nearby as guards. The serpent's lair is a huge underwater sea cave, so deep beneath the surface of the water that no light filters down. In this lair, the Midgard linnorm is guarded by a quartet of venerable sea linnorms of maximum hit points (see DRAGON® issue 182). The Midgard linnorm stores his wealth within the deepest chambers. Discarding coins and gems, the serpent elects to keep primarily magical treasure, and he employs some of that magic when venturing out of his lair. Also in his lair are remnants from visits to the surface-prows of Viking ships, statues from villages, large shields, and other trinkets.
The Midgard linnorm considers all of the sea floor his domain and is quick to dispatch any creatures that claim territory in his presence.
Ecology: The Midgard linnorm requires very little sustenance, dining once every four or five decades. During this time, the linnorm consumes vast amounts, of sea foam-and whatever is floating on it.
The Midgard linnorm has no known predators but many enemies in human and demihuman communities. Occasionally, bands of humans and demihumans who have heard of the Midgard linnorm foolishly band together in an attempt to hunt it; they are never heard from again. All normal linnorms bow to the Midgard linnorm, never daring to challenge it.
MCA1:
Dragon, Linnorm, Midgard
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Deep ocean /any
FREQUENCY: Unique
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Special
INTELLIGENCE: Supra-genius (20)
TREASURE: S,T,U,V,W,,X (all x5)
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: -12
MOVEMENT: 18, Sw 39
HIT DICE: 25 (200 hp)
THAC0: 2
NO. OF ATTACKS: 4 plus special
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3d10 (x2)/2d12/4d10/speciaI
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spells, breath, constriction
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Spells, +2 weapon to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 70%
SIZE: G (500' long)
MORALE: Fearless (19)
XP VALUE: 31,000
The Midgard linnorm may be the sole offspring of the Midgard Serpent, child of Loki - sages believe (and hope) there is only one. This great wingless serpent may be as immortal as its sire.
The linnorm's body is covered with blue, green, and silver scales that glisten like opals. Its head, filled with a double row of pale-blue teeth, stretches 50 feet wide and twice that long. Its emerald-green, lidless and pupil-less, eyes are round and mirror whatever looks into them. The head is topped with a ridge of coarse, midnight blue hair that extends partway down its massive neck, where it becomes a lighter-blue spinal ruff that runs to the tip of the barbed tail. The creature's rear legs are stumpy for its massive form, appearing too weak to support it; its longer front legs end in razor-sharp claws.
The Midgard linnorm speaks the languages of all Norse dragons and can telepathically communicate with all other intelligent creatures as well.
Combat: Despite its malicious nature, the Midgard avoids battle, considering combat beneath it. It prefers to meddle in the affairs of other creatures through its magic, keeping its distance yet maintaining control of the situation. The dragon relies upon guards to fight for it, but if a threat menaces, it uses its deadly breath and spells. The Midgard attacks with its claws, bite, and tail slap only if necessary.
Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: The Midgard possesses three breath weapons. The first is a spray of boiling water 10 feet wide and 200 feet long. Struck creatures with fewer than 4 HD drown unless they can breathe water; creatures of 5-7 HD drown if they fail to save (those with more than 7 HD aren't subject to drowning). All victims suffer 20d20 + 12 points of damage (save for half) and are thrust back 100 feet. The second breath weapon is a cloud of dust 200 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 60 feet deep that inflicts 16d20 + 12 damage (save for half). Those who fail to save are affected as if subjected to
dust of sneezing and choking. The third breath weapon is a cone of wind 20 feet wide at the mouth, 200 feet long, and 50 feet wide at the base, inflicting 12d20 + 12 damage (save for half) and pushing victims back 200 feet. The dragon can breathe every other round, as often as it likes. Victims of any breath attack save with a -3 penalty due to this creature's power.
This dragon can constrict creatures with its tail, inflicting 20 points of damage per round; a successful bend bars roll at half-normal chance is needed to wriggle free. The linnorm has the following abilities, useable at will: create water, ESP, protection from fire, telepathy, and water breathing. It can perform at will, once per day: airy water, charm person, charm monster, death fog, detect invisibility, hypnotic pattern, improved invisibility, power word blind, power word stun, raise water, shape change, solid fog, telekinesis, teleport without error, veil, wall of fog, whispering wind, wizard eye. It uses magic at 14th level.
Habitat/Society: The Midgard lives at the bottom of the ocean, considering the company of others inconsequential. Its lair is a huge, dark underwater sea cave guarded by four venerable sea linnorms with maximum hit points. The creature stores its wealth within the deepest chambers. Discarding coins and gems, the dragon primarily keeps magical treasure, which it wields when venturing out of its lair. Also in the lair are remnants of visits to the surface: prows of ships, statues from villages, large shields, and other trinkets.
This dragon considers the sea floor its domain and is quick to dispatch any creature that claims territory in its presence.
Ecology: The Midgard requires little sustenance, dining once every 40 or 50 years upon vast amounts of sea foam - and anything floating on it. It has no known predators, but many enemies in human and demihuman communities. All other linnorms bow to the Midgard.
Originally found in Dragon Magazine #183 ("The Vikings' Dragons," July 1992, Jean Rabe), and Monstrous Compendium Annual One (1994).