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Converting True Dragons
- Thread starter Shade
- Start date
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Shade
Monster Junkie
Aquatic Dragon
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-2
ARMOR CLASS: 1 (3 on land)
MOVE: 9"//24"
HIT DICE: 9-11
% IN LAIR: 15%
TREASURE TYPE: H, S, T
NO. OF ATTACKS: 4 claws, 1 bite, and 1 tail strike
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4/1-4/1-4/1-4/1-12/2-16
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Breath weapon, spell use, high intelligence, six attacks per round
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Acute senses, savingthrow
bonuses
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: High
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (70' long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
CHANCE OF:
Speaking: 95%
Magic Use: 10%
Sleeping: 25%
LEVEL/XP VALUE: 9-10 HD: VIII/2,900 + 14 per hit point; 11 HD: IX/5,800 + 16 per hit point
The aquatic dragon is a water-breathing relative of the terrestrial dragons, more closely related to them than to the dragon turtle or Oriental lung wang (sea dragon). It is fully as deadly as its winged cousins, although it cannot fly. This sea-green creature lives in all depths of the ocean, immune to changes in water pressure from some inborn magical ability. Although it cannot breathe air, it can take great draughts of water in its lungs to enable it to "hold its breath" out of the water for 10 rounds at a time, though it cannot then bite. The creature is thus able to raid surface vessels and coastal communities. The aquatic dragon, unlike most others, bears its young alive. Aquatic dragons live equally well in fresh or salt water.
The aquatic dragon is amazingly maneuverable for such a large beast. In this environment, it moves above or below a large enemy or a party of small foes, striking out at once with its jaws, all four clawed feet, and its spike-tipped tail. Even deadlier is the creature's breath weapon. Three times per day, the aquatic dragon can exhale a concentrated cloud of heavy particles which, after being in contact with the water for one segment, undergo a mysterious chemical reaction. Anything within the cloud (a cone 15' by 60') is affected as if it had undergone a lightning bolt attack for 4-40 hp damage. Aquatic dragons often use this attack on the underside of a major ship or warship; the ship's bottom is thus blasted away, and the vessel sinks in 1-4 rounds unless the wood saves vs. lightning. This attack has no effect in the air.
Almost all aquatic dragons are capable of speaking, being intelligent; very few of them use magic, however, because of the difficulty in acquiring spell books and scrolls underwater. A spell-using dragon of this type often has as its lair a cavern with a chamber filled with air to preserve books and papers. Magical items of interest to aquatic dragons are those which enable their users to go without breathing or which are normally regarded by airbreathers as cursed, because they fill the lungs of the user with water. These items enable an aquatic dragon to conduct extended plundering and hunting forays on the land of coastal areas. As for spells, the dragon gains a 1st-level magic-user spell the first two stages of its life, a 2ndlevel spell for each of the next two, a 3rdlevel spell for each of the two after that, and one 4th-level spell for each of the last two life stages.
The entrances of aquatic dragon lairs are tangled in seaweed, one strand of which is often tied to the beast's tail when it is asleep, thus awakening the dragon with its movement when someone tries to enter. Consequently, it is difficult at best to catch an aquatic dragon napping. Additionally, these dragons are immune to the effects of strangle weed, as their neck muscles and pressure-resistant bodies are so strong, so they often use this plant in their lairs as well.
Aquatic dragons gain +2 to their saving throws vs. water-based attacks, +1 to their saving throws vs. fire-based attacks, and have a -2 penalty to their saving throws vs. electrical attacks. These same values also apply to their chances to be struck in combat by creatures using these powers (such as elementals) and to the number of hit points taken per hit die of damage from such effects. Thus, an attack by a lightning quasi elemental would do +2 hp/HD damage and have a +2 bonus to hit.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #134 (1988).
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-2
ARMOR CLASS: 1 (3 on land)
MOVE: 9"//24"
HIT DICE: 9-11
% IN LAIR: 15%
TREASURE TYPE: H, S, T
NO. OF ATTACKS: 4 claws, 1 bite, and 1 tail strike
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4/1-4/1-4/1-4/1-12/2-16
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Breath weapon, spell use, high intelligence, six attacks per round
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Acute senses, savingthrow
bonuses
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: High
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: L (70' long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
CHANCE OF:
Speaking: 95%
Magic Use: 10%
Sleeping: 25%
LEVEL/XP VALUE: 9-10 HD: VIII/2,900 + 14 per hit point; 11 HD: IX/5,800 + 16 per hit point
The aquatic dragon is a water-breathing relative of the terrestrial dragons, more closely related to them than to the dragon turtle or Oriental lung wang (sea dragon). It is fully as deadly as its winged cousins, although it cannot fly. This sea-green creature lives in all depths of the ocean, immune to changes in water pressure from some inborn magical ability. Although it cannot breathe air, it can take great draughts of water in its lungs to enable it to "hold its breath" out of the water for 10 rounds at a time, though it cannot then bite. The creature is thus able to raid surface vessels and coastal communities. The aquatic dragon, unlike most others, bears its young alive. Aquatic dragons live equally well in fresh or salt water.
The aquatic dragon is amazingly maneuverable for such a large beast. In this environment, it moves above or below a large enemy or a party of small foes, striking out at once with its jaws, all four clawed feet, and its spike-tipped tail. Even deadlier is the creature's breath weapon. Three times per day, the aquatic dragon can exhale a concentrated cloud of heavy particles which, after being in contact with the water for one segment, undergo a mysterious chemical reaction. Anything within the cloud (a cone 15' by 60') is affected as if it had undergone a lightning bolt attack for 4-40 hp damage. Aquatic dragons often use this attack on the underside of a major ship or warship; the ship's bottom is thus blasted away, and the vessel sinks in 1-4 rounds unless the wood saves vs. lightning. This attack has no effect in the air.
Almost all aquatic dragons are capable of speaking, being intelligent; very few of them use magic, however, because of the difficulty in acquiring spell books and scrolls underwater. A spell-using dragon of this type often has as its lair a cavern with a chamber filled with air to preserve books and papers. Magical items of interest to aquatic dragons are those which enable their users to go without breathing or which are normally regarded by airbreathers as cursed, because they fill the lungs of the user with water. These items enable an aquatic dragon to conduct extended plundering and hunting forays on the land of coastal areas. As for spells, the dragon gains a 1st-level magic-user spell the first two stages of its life, a 2ndlevel spell for each of the next two, a 3rdlevel spell for each of the two after that, and one 4th-level spell for each of the last two life stages.
The entrances of aquatic dragon lairs are tangled in seaweed, one strand of which is often tied to the beast's tail when it is asleep, thus awakening the dragon with its movement when someone tries to enter. Consequently, it is difficult at best to catch an aquatic dragon napping. Additionally, these dragons are immune to the effects of strangle weed, as their neck muscles and pressure-resistant bodies are so strong, so they often use this plant in their lairs as well.
Aquatic dragons gain +2 to their saving throws vs. water-based attacks, +1 to their saving throws vs. fire-based attacks, and have a -2 penalty to their saving throws vs. electrical attacks. These same values also apply to their chances to be struck in combat by creatures using these powers (such as elementals) and to the number of hit points taken per hit die of damage from such effects. Thus, an attack by a lightning quasi elemental would do +2 hp/HD damage and have a +2 bonus to hit.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #134 (1988).
RavinRay
Explorer
You betcha! 
Incidentally, the Bestiary of Krynn has an identically-named but unrelated dragon which looks like an enormous version of the real-world sea dragon (related to the seahorse, which in turn inspired both the giant seahorse and the hippocampus, the latter of which is both the generic name of the seahorse and the name of the seahorse-shaped part of the human brain that is the seat of primal desires—wait a minute, am I carrying this too far?
). It did not appear in the game until after this aquatic dragon, I believe.
Incidentally, the Bestiary of Krynn has an identically-named but unrelated dragon which looks like an enormous version of the real-world sea dragon (related to the seahorse, which in turn inspired both the giant seahorse and the hippocampus, the latter of which is both the generic name of the seahorse and the name of the seahorse-shaped part of the human brain that is the seat of primal desires—wait a minute, am I carrying this too far?
). It did not appear in the game until after this aquatic dragon, I believe.- Status
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