Converting True Dragons

[Shade]

I'm definitely on-board with giving it scent as a special ability (see a few posts back), but it is not a skill in the core game. Some third-party supplements like Denizens of Avadnu do use it as a skill, though.

 

[Shade]

I updated it in Homebrews. Let me know how it's looking now.

 

[RavinRay]

Very good, I think it's gonna give the most powerful yuan-ti's a run for their money. I can easily envision a cobra dragon migrating from Shou Lung to Mulhorand and establishing itself there.

 

[Shade]

Thanks! I'll finish up the CR, LA, and other loose ends and we can start on the next one.

 

[Shade]

Next...

Dragon, Maztican (Tlalocoatl, Rain Dragon)
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Tropical clouds and mountain caves
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Special
INTELLIGENCE: Average (8-10)
TREASURE: Special
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 0 (base)
MOVEMENT: 3, Fl 30 (B)
HIT DICE: 12 (base)
THAC0: 7 (base)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 + special
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-24/3-18/2-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Special
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Variable
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Variable
SIZE: G (30' base)
MORALE: Fanatic (17 base)
XP VALUE: Variable

Also called rain serpents, tlalocoatls are limbless and serpentine, with a head at each end. One head is snake-like; the other resembles a reptilian jaguar head. A tlalocoatl is bluish in color, ranging from sky blue on its underside to turquoise blue on top.

Tlalocoatls help dispense rain in Maztica. They will aid an arid area with moisture if properly appeased, but they sometimes act capriciously, causing floods or allowing droughts.

They have the standard dragon characteristics, except for age categories, maneuverability class, and attacks, as noted herein.

Combat: Tlalocoatls fly using natural magical ability and are more maneuverable than most other dragons.

They prefer to use spells and special abilities before melee. In melee, they may bite once per head, constrict, snatch (using a mouth), or plummet, but may not use other special dragon attack forms. The fanged snake head bites for 3d6 points of damage and injects poison, against which victims must make a saving throw or die. The jaguar head does 3d8 points of damage. A constriction attack causes 2d4 points of damage per round until the victim or the dragon is slain. A tlalocoatl can constrict one victim for each 8' of body length.

Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: A tlalocoatl has two breath weapons, each usable once every three rounds. The jaguar head breathes a cloud of water vapor 90' long, 30' wide, and 30' high. The cloud may be scalding steam, doing damage as indicated above, or cool fog which does no damage. Either form lasts for 1d4 + 4 rounds, obscuring vision as does normal darkness. The serpent head breathes a cone of ice crystals 75' long, 5' wide at the
mouth, and 25' wide at the base. Damage indicated is caused half by cold and half by abrasion. If used together, the breath weapons cause normal damage, then cause rain, making as much water as a create water cast by the dragon. The rain continues for one round per four gallons of water. Creatures take 1d4 points of drowning damage for each round they stay within the storm, which has the same dimensions as the original vapor cloud.

A tlalocoatl casts spells and uses magical abilities at 5th level plus its combat modifier. Rain dragons are immune to electricity and cold. As they age, they gain the following additional powers:
Very young: water breathing three times a day.
Young: obscurement twice a day.
Juvenile: solid fog twice a day.
Adult: call lightning twice a day.
Mature adult: transmute water to dust twice a day.
Old: weather summoning twice a day.
Very old: transmute rock to mud once a day.
Venerable: control weather once a day.

Habitat/Society: Rain serpents lair in caves in cloud-shrouded mountains, sometimes accompanied by chacs (jaguar-like rain spirits). Every tlalocoatl is a priest of Azul, and is both male and female, producing offspring when Azul gives permission. Many die young because they mature so slowly. However, they age rapidly in later years. They have a maximum age of 676 years.

Ecology: Tlalocoatls are not as greedy as other dragons, but they do collect treasure. Substitute Maztican valuables for coinage: cocoa beans for copper pieces, copper blades for silver pieces, coral buds for electrum, jade or turquoise for gold, and quills of gold dust for platinum. Magical items will also be Maztican.

Tlalocoatls are especially fond of cocoa beans, turquoise, and jade, which they consume. They also drink a great deal of water, possibly increasing the dangers of a local drought. They are fond of meat, particularly that of young animals or human children.

The scales from the tops of their bodies are beautiful turquoise, worth up to 1 gq each. A skilled craftsman can shape them like rock, but they are as tough as metal. Weapons made with the scales do not break like bone or stone weapons.

Age
1 (0-51 yrs)
2 (52-103)
3 (104-155)
4 (156-207)
5 (208-259)
6 (260-311)
7 (312-363)
8 (364-415)
9 (416-467)
10 (468-519)
11 (520-571)
12 (572-675)

BodyLgt.
5-8
9-12
13-16
17-20
21-24
25-28
29-32
33-36
37-40
41-44
45-48
49-52

AC
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-8

BreathWeapon
2d6+2
3d6+3
4d6+4
5d6+5
6d6+6
7d6+7
8d6+8
9d6+9
10d6+10
lld6+11
12d6+12
13d6+13

Priest Spells
1
2
2 1
3 1
3 2
3 2 1
3 3 1
3 3 2
3 3 2 1
3 3 3 1
3 3 3 2
3 3 3 2 1

MR
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
55%
60%
65%
70%
75%


Source: FMA-1, Fires of Zatal

 

[Shade]

This one should be fun since it's so different.

Very young: water breathing three times a day.
Young: obscurement twice a day.
Juvenile: solid fog twice a day.
Adult: call lightning twice a day.
Mature adult: transmute water to dust twice a day.
Old: weather summoning twice a day.
Very old: transmute rock to mud once a day.
Venerable: control weather once a day.

Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day--water breathing (very young and older); 2/day--call lightning (adult and older), obscuring mist (young and older), solid fog (juvenile and older); 1/day--control weather (ancient or older), transmute rock to mud (very old or older).

Transmute water to dust and weather summoning don't exist in 3E. We can consider making them unique spell-like abilities or just dropping them (since it has no shortage of SLAs).

 

[RavinRay]

This dragon is too weird for me, I'm kinda stumped at this point. Oh well...

Caster level: from 1st to 15th (juvenile to great wyrm)?
Weather summoning overlaps with control weather, IMO, so I don't think we need it.
Serpent head poison: initial damage Con damage, secondary damage is...?
Flight: good to average perhaps, and its a (Su) like for lung dragons.
Size: it seems to start off as Tiny (it can reach 8 ft. as a wyrmling, but its elongated body means it isn't really bulky) and reaches Huge at great wyrm age.
Ageing: reminds me of the rattelyr dragon.

Thematically it's somewhat like the chiang lung with its weather abilities and physiognomy (though it's the pan lung and not chiang lung that can constrict).

 

[Gothenem]

It's certainly an interesting one. We can look to Sandstorm for an idea for Transmute Water to dust (a dessication-like effect possibly) But written as a unique spell-like ability. But yeah, let's just drop.

Give it access to cleric spells but not Sorcerer ones? Cast spells as a sorcerer but can only select from the Cleric list (and possibly the Air and Water domains)??

 

[Shade]

Tlalocoatls fly using natural magical ability and are more maneuverable than most other dragons.

Borrowing and modifying from lung dragons, as suggested...

Fly (Su): Though wingless, tlalocoatls can fly magically. The dragon can cease or resume flight as a free action.

They prefer to use spells and special abilities before melee. In melee, they may bite once per head, constrict, snatch (using a mouth), or plummet, but may not use other special dragon attack forms. The fanged snake head bites for 3d6 points of damage and injects poison, against which victims must make a saving throw or die. The jaguar head does 3d8 points of damage. A constriction attack causes 2d4 points of damage per round until the victim or the dragon is slain. A tlalocoatl can constrict one victim for each 8' of body length.

How does this look?

Constrict (Ex): I'll get back to this one...

Multiple Heads (Ex): Each of a rain dragon's two heads can take a standard action each round. Thus, it may make two bite attacks, use two breath weapons, or any combination of the two each round. It adds its Strength modifier to damage for its snake head, and 1-1/2 times its Strength modifier to damage with its jaguar head. Tlalocoatls can attack with both their heads at no penalty, even if they move or charge during the round.

Poison (Ex): The bite attack from a rain dragon's serpent head delivers a deadly poison. Initial damage and secondary damage are the same. Wyrmling to juvenile rain dragons' poison deals 1d4 points of Constitution damage, young adult to old deal 2d4 points of Constitution damage, and ancient or older deal 3d4 points of Constitution damage. Save DC equals breath weapon save DC.

Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: A tlalocoatl has two breath weapons, each usable once every three rounds. The jaguar head breathes a cloud of water vapor 90' long, 30' wide, and 30' high. The cloud may be scalding steam, doing damage as indicated above, or cool fog which does no damage. Either form lasts for 1d4 + 4 rounds, obscuring vision as does normal darkness. The serpent head breathes a cone of ice crystals 75' long, 5' wide at the mouth, and 25' wide at the base. Damage indicated is caused half by cold and half by abrasion. If used together, the breath weapons cause normal damage, then cause rain, making as much water as a create water cast by the dragon. The rain continues for one round per four gallons of water. Creatures take 1d4 points of drowning damage for each round they stay within the storm, which has the same dimensions as the original vapor cloud.

Breath Weapon (Su): A tlalocoatl's serpent head has one type of breath weapon, a cone of ice crystals that deals half cold damage and half slashing damage. A tlalocoatl's jaguar head has two types of breath weapons, a cone of scalding steam and a cone of cool fog. The scalding steam deals fire damage, while the cool fog does no damage. Both breath weapons function as a fog cloud spell for 1d4+4 rounds thereafter.

Each head may use its breath weapon only once every 1d4 rounds, but both heads may deliver their breath weapons in the same round. If used together in the same round, the breath weapons create rain in addition to their normal effects. This rain lasts for 1 round per age category and extends to a two-mile radius centered on the dragon.

 

[RavinRay]

Breath Weapon (Su): A tlalocoatl's serpent head has one type of breath weapon, a cone of ice crystals that deals half cold damage and half slashing damage. A tlalocoatl's jaguar head has two types of breath weapons, a cone of scalding steam and a cone of cool fog. The scalding steam deals fire damage, while the cool fog does no damage. Both breath weapons function as a fog cloud spell for 1d4+4 rounds thereafter.

Each head may use its breath weapon only once every 1d4 rounds, but both heads may deliver their breath weapons in the same round. If used together in the same round, the breath weapons create rain in addition to their normal effects. This rain lasts for 1 round per age category and extends to a two-mile radius centered on the dragon.

Shouldn't the jaguar head's cool fog breath weapon work like obscuring mist (fog cloud is too strong, I suppose)? Does the rain effect work with either jaguar head breath weapon, or just one of them? The two-mile radius effect again reminds me of the chiang lung's similar ability. I'd like to see these two go head-to-head!