Converting True Dragons
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Shade
Monster Junkie
Dragon, Mithril
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVE TIME: Any
DIET: Special
INTElliGENCE: Exceptional (15-16)
TREASURE: Special
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral
NO. APPEARING: 1 (2-3)
ARMOR CLASS: 0 (base)
MOVEMENT: 9, Fl 36 (B)
HIT DICE: 12 (base)
THAC0: 9
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 + special
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6/1-6/3-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Special
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Variable
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Variable
SIZE: G (40' base)
MORALE: Fanatic (17 base)
XP VALUE: Variable
Mithril dragons are graceful, slender creatures with long necks - which accounts for much of their relatively great body length - and comparatively small heads. They have tiny eyes, which are protected from the extreme sunlight by semi-reflectant silver corneas. Their scales are highly reflectant, presumably to minimize heat absorption. Their color, from hatching to old age, remains a fine burnished silver, similar to the metal which gives them their name.
Mithril dragons have all of the standard dragon characteristics as described in the Monstrous Compendium. Unlike other dragons, however, they seem to have no interest in treasure as such. Their sole goal in life seems to be to enjoy themselves by soaring in the great thermals that rise from the semi-molten surface of Radole. In personality, they seem more akin to the faerie dragon than to any other draconic species.
Combat: Mithril dragons never seek out combat, unless it looks as though an enemy is going to harm their eggs or their mates. Normally, they use their incredible speed and maneuverability to stay well out of harm's way. (They're not above taunting or teasing a prospective enemy, however.) If forced into combat, though, they are formidable opponents. They use their magic and innate abilities to maximum effect, and their breath weapon is absolutely lethal. Their favorite tactic is to swoop down on an enemy from out of the sun, make their most effective attack, then soar off again before the enemy can respond. A mithril dragon's greatest fear is of losing the ability to fly. For this reason, they are most likely to break off combat if they believe their opponent is able to strip them of this facility.
Age, Body Lgt., Tail Lgt., AC, Breath Weapon, Wizard Spells, MR, XP
1, 3'-6', 2'- 7', 3, 2d8+1, nil, nil, 1,400
2, 6'-14', 7'-16', 2, 4d8+2, nil, nil, 2,000
3, 14'-22', 16'-25', 1, 6d8+3, nil, 5%, 4,000
4, 22'-31', 25'-34', 0, 8d8+4, 1, 10%, 7,000
5, 31'-41', 34'-43', -1, lOd8+5, 2, 15%, 9,000
6, 41'-52', 43'-52', -2, 12d8+6, 3, 20%, 10,000
7, 52'-64', 52'-61', -3, 14d8+7, 3/1, 25%, 11,000
8, 64'-77', 61'-70', -4, 16d8+8, 3/2, 30%, 12,000
9, 77'-91', 70'-79', -5, 18d8+9, 3/2/1, 35%, 14,000
10, 91'-105', 79'-90', -6, 20d8+10, 3/3/1, 45%, 15,000
11, 105'-121', 90'-99', -7, 22d8+11, 3/3/2, 55%, 17,000
12, 121'-138', 99'-108', -8, 24d8+12, 3/3/3, 70%, 19,000
Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: A mithril dragon's breath weapon is a beam of blinding silver light, 100' long and 10' in diameter. This inflicts damage through a combination of heat and other forms of radiation. There is no known form of immunity that protects against this weapon. Targets receive a saving throw for half damage. Whether or not they succeed in this saving throw, targets must make a second save vs. breath weapon or be blinded for 1d6 hours. Mithril dragons cast their spells and use their magical abilities at 8th level, plus their combat modifier.
At birth, mithril dragons are immune to fire and heat. As they age, they gain the following additional powers: Very young: tongues, continuous duration; Young: forget three times per day; Juvenile: blink twice per day; Adult: conjure (fire) elemental once per day; Old: telekinesis three times per day; Very old: disintegrate once per day; Venerable: power word stun twice per day.
Habitat/Society: No one has ever seen an unwounded mithril dragon on the ground, and some sages believe that the creatures spend their entire lives soaring through the blistering air. If this is so, how they mate and produce offspring is a mystery. There are some who believe that mating takes place on the wing, and that the male carries the single egg on his back until it hatches. This theory is totally unsubstantiated, however.
Mithril dragons are usually solitary creatures, soaring alone in the fierce thermals. The dragons do sometimes gather into small groups, however, and play intricate games involving aerobatics and speed runs, combined with intricate wordplay and pun-making. The creatures have a well-developed sense of humor, and the best way to get on the good side of a mithril dragon is to tell it a joke it hasn't heard before.
Some mithril dragons have a mild curiosity about the inhabitants of the Ribbon on Radole. They never actually encroach on the temperate band - there are no thermals and updrafts to play in there, after all- but sometimes come close enough to watch the comings and goings of spelljamming vessels. The creatures have no knowledge of or interest in Darkside, and consider it a nasty place not worth visiting.
The dragons have no interest in treasure, and so collect none.
Ecology: Mithril dragons are the top of the food chain, feeding mainly on the great beetles, such as the steelback. Sometimes groups of younger mithril dragons will cooperate in frying a steelback with their breath weapons, then swooping down on the carcass and tearing off bitesized chunks until their hunger is satiated. The dragons eat surprisingly little for such massive creatures, giving some sages to think that the mithrils supplement their metabolic economy with solar energy they absorb through their skin.
Originally appeared in Practical Planetology (1991).
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVE TIME: Any
DIET: Special
INTElliGENCE: Exceptional (15-16)
TREASURE: Special
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral
NO. APPEARING: 1 (2-3)
ARMOR CLASS: 0 (base)
MOVEMENT: 9, Fl 36 (B)
HIT DICE: 12 (base)
THAC0: 9
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 + special
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6/1-6/3-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Special
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Variable
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Variable
SIZE: G (40' base)
MORALE: Fanatic (17 base)
XP VALUE: Variable
Mithril dragons are graceful, slender creatures with long necks - which accounts for much of their relatively great body length - and comparatively small heads. They have tiny eyes, which are protected from the extreme sunlight by semi-reflectant silver corneas. Their scales are highly reflectant, presumably to minimize heat absorption. Their color, from hatching to old age, remains a fine burnished silver, similar to the metal which gives them their name.
Mithril dragons have all of the standard dragon characteristics as described in the Monstrous Compendium. Unlike other dragons, however, they seem to have no interest in treasure as such. Their sole goal in life seems to be to enjoy themselves by soaring in the great thermals that rise from the semi-molten surface of Radole. In personality, they seem more akin to the faerie dragon than to any other draconic species.
Combat: Mithril dragons never seek out combat, unless it looks as though an enemy is going to harm their eggs or their mates. Normally, they use their incredible speed and maneuverability to stay well out of harm's way. (They're not above taunting or teasing a prospective enemy, however.) If forced into combat, though, they are formidable opponents. They use their magic and innate abilities to maximum effect, and their breath weapon is absolutely lethal. Their favorite tactic is to swoop down on an enemy from out of the sun, make their most effective attack, then soar off again before the enemy can respond. A mithril dragon's greatest fear is of losing the ability to fly. For this reason, they are most likely to break off combat if they believe their opponent is able to strip them of this facility.
Age, Body Lgt., Tail Lgt., AC, Breath Weapon, Wizard Spells, MR, XP
1, 3'-6', 2'- 7', 3, 2d8+1, nil, nil, 1,400
2, 6'-14', 7'-16', 2, 4d8+2, nil, nil, 2,000
3, 14'-22', 16'-25', 1, 6d8+3, nil, 5%, 4,000
4, 22'-31', 25'-34', 0, 8d8+4, 1, 10%, 7,000
5, 31'-41', 34'-43', -1, lOd8+5, 2, 15%, 9,000
6, 41'-52', 43'-52', -2, 12d8+6, 3, 20%, 10,000
7, 52'-64', 52'-61', -3, 14d8+7, 3/1, 25%, 11,000
8, 64'-77', 61'-70', -4, 16d8+8, 3/2, 30%, 12,000
9, 77'-91', 70'-79', -5, 18d8+9, 3/2/1, 35%, 14,000
10, 91'-105', 79'-90', -6, 20d8+10, 3/3/1, 45%, 15,000
11, 105'-121', 90'-99', -7, 22d8+11, 3/3/2, 55%, 17,000
12, 121'-138', 99'-108', -8, 24d8+12, 3/3/3, 70%, 19,000
Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: A mithril dragon's breath weapon is a beam of blinding silver light, 100' long and 10' in diameter. This inflicts damage through a combination of heat and other forms of radiation. There is no known form of immunity that protects against this weapon. Targets receive a saving throw for half damage. Whether or not they succeed in this saving throw, targets must make a second save vs. breath weapon or be blinded for 1d6 hours. Mithril dragons cast their spells and use their magical abilities at 8th level, plus their combat modifier.
At birth, mithril dragons are immune to fire and heat. As they age, they gain the following additional powers: Very young: tongues, continuous duration; Young: forget three times per day; Juvenile: blink twice per day; Adult: conjure (fire) elemental once per day; Old: telekinesis three times per day; Very old: disintegrate once per day; Venerable: power word stun twice per day.
Habitat/Society: No one has ever seen an unwounded mithril dragon on the ground, and some sages believe that the creatures spend their entire lives soaring through the blistering air. If this is so, how they mate and produce offspring is a mystery. There are some who believe that mating takes place on the wing, and that the male carries the single egg on his back until it hatches. This theory is totally unsubstantiated, however.
Mithril dragons are usually solitary creatures, soaring alone in the fierce thermals. The dragons do sometimes gather into small groups, however, and play intricate games involving aerobatics and speed runs, combined with intricate wordplay and pun-making. The creatures have a well-developed sense of humor, and the best way to get on the good side of a mithril dragon is to tell it a joke it hasn't heard before.
Some mithril dragons have a mild curiosity about the inhabitants of the Ribbon on Radole. They never actually encroach on the temperate band - there are no thermals and updrafts to play in there, after all- but sometimes come close enough to watch the comings and goings of spelljamming vessels. The creatures have no knowledge of or interest in Darkside, and consider it a nasty place not worth visiting.
The dragons have no interest in treasure, and so collect none.
Ecology: Mithril dragons are the top of the food chain, feeding mainly on the great beetles, such as the steelback. Sometimes groups of younger mithril dragons will cooperate in frying a steelback with their breath weapons, then swooping down on the carcass and tearing off bitesized chunks until their hunger is satiated. The dragons eat surprisingly little for such massive creatures, giving some sages to think that the mithrils supplement their metabolic economy with solar energy they absorb through their skin.
Originally appeared in Practical Planetology (1991).
RavinRay
Explorer
If you guys are willing, I can come up with a formula for the spell resistance that combines the lower values of the brass with the higher values of the gold (statistical regression—that's the nerd in me).
This one's even more strongly neutral aligned than the steel, because at least the steel can still be LG. Might favor Aasterinian or Hlal more than Bahamut.
This one's even more strongly neutral aligned than the steel, because at least the steel can still be LG. Might favor Aasterinian or Hlal more than Bahamut.
Shade
Monster Junkie
It's too bad these guys are chaotic, because I can't see calling mithril a rock.
RavinRay
Explorer
Ok, here's the brass SR:
- - - - 18 20 22 24 25 27 28 30
Here's a combined brass-gold SR with brass values for the younger age categories gradually giving way to the gold values for the older:
- - - - 18 20 23 25 27 29 31 33
And here's the gold SR:
- - - - 21 23 25 27 28 30 31 33
And yes, I did use an Excel spreadsheet to arrive at these values.
Oh, so you're thinking this could have been one of the chaotic rock dragons that are opposed to the lawful ferrous dragons. Yeah, coulda, though there are mono-mineralic rocks. And steel is after all an alloy of iron with carbon, so it could be an aberrant ferrous dragon/metallic dragon crossbreed that lost the metalsense ability.
- - - - 18 20 22 24 25 27 28 30
Here's a combined brass-gold SR with brass values for the younger age categories gradually giving way to the gold values for the older:
- - - - 18 20 23 25 27 29 31 33
And here's the gold SR:
- - - - 21 23 25 27 28 30 31 33
And yes, I did use an Excel spreadsheet to arrive at these values.
Oh, so you're thinking this could have been one of the chaotic rock dragons that are opposed to the lawful ferrous dragons. Yeah, coulda, though there are mono-mineralic rocks. And steel is after all an alloy of iron with carbon, so it could be an aberrant ferrous dragon/metallic dragon crossbreed that lost the metalsense ability.
Last edited:
Nice take on the steel dragon, though!- Status
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