Creature Catalog true dragon conversions

[Shade]

Moonstone Dragon
Dragon (Extraplanar)
Environment: Ethereal Plane, Plane of Faerie, or Region of Dreams
Organization: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: solitary or clutch (2–5); adult, mature adult, old, very old, ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: solitary
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 2; very young 3; young 5; juvenile 8; young adult 10; adult 11; mature adult 12; old 14; very old 16; ancient 18; wyrm 19; great wyrm 20
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: Wyrmling 4-5 HD (Tiny); very young 7-8 HD (Small); young 10-11 HD (Medium); juvenile 13-14 HD (Large); young adult 16-17 HD (Large); adult 19-20 HD (Large); mature adult 22-23 (Huge); old 25-26 HD (Huge); very old 28-29 HD (Huge); ancient 31-32 HD (Huge); wyrm 34-35 HD (Gargantuan); great wyrm 37+ HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +2; very young +4; young +4; juvenile +5

Moonstone Dragons by Age 
Age 		Size 	Hit Dice (hp) 		Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha BaseAtk/Grp Attack Fort Ref Will Breath Weapon (DC) Frightful Presence DC 
Wyrmling  	T 	3d12+3 (22) 		 11  10  13  10  9  12	 +3/–5		+5  +4  +3  +2		1d8 (12) 	— 
Very young 	S 	6d12+6 (45) 		 13  10  13  12  11  14	 +6/+3		+8  +6  +5  +5		2d8 (14) 	— 
Young 		M 	9d12+18 (76)     	 15  10  15  12  11  14	 +9/+11		+11 +8  +6  +6 		3d8 (16) 	— 
Juvenile 	L 	12d12+36 (114) 		 19  10  17  14  13  16	+12/+20 	+15 +11 +7  +10 	4d8 (19) 	— 
Young adult 	L 	15d12+60 (157) 		 21  10  19  14  13  16	+15/+24 	+19 +13 +8  +11 	5d8 (21) 	20 
Adult 		L 	18d12+72 (189)		 23  10  19  16  15  18	+18/+28 	+23 +15 +10 +14		6d8 (23) 	23 
Mature adult 	H 	21d12+105 (241)		 27  10  21  16  15  18	+21/+37 	+27 +17 +11 +15		7d8 (25) 	24 
Old 		H 	24d12+120 (276)		 29  10  21  18  17  20	+24/+41 	+31 +19 +14 +17		8d8 (27) 	27 
Very old 	H 	27d12+162 (337)		 31  10  23  18  17  20	+27/+45 	+35 +21 +15 +18		9d8 (29) 	28 
Ancient 	H 	30d12+180 (375)		 33  10  23  20  19  22	+30/+49 	+39 +23 +17 +21		10d8 (31) 	31 
Wyrm 		G 	33d12+231 (445)		 35  10  25  20  19  22	+33/+57 	+41 +25 +18 +22		11d8 (33) 	32 
Great wyrm 	G 	36d12+288 (522)		 37  10  27  22  21  24	+36/+61 	+45 +28 +20 +22		12d8 (36) 	35 


Moonstone Dragon Abilities by Age 
Age 		Speed 				Init 	AC 							Special Abilities 					Caster Level* 		SR 
Wyrmling 	40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average)	+0 	16 (+2 size, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 16 	Elemental weakness, light vulnerability, planar travel		— 		— 
Very young 	40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average) 	+0 	17 (+1 size, +7 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 17   	—	 							— 		— 			 
Young 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+0 	20 (+10 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 20   		—								1st		— 
Juvenile 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	23 (+13 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 23 		Tasha's hideous laughter 					3rd		—		 
Young adult 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	25 (–1 size, +16 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 25 	Awesome presence, DR 5/magic 					5th		18
Adult 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	28 (–1 size, +19 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 28 	Deep slumber, dream						7th		20
Mature 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	30 (–2 size, +22 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 30 	DR 10/magic 							9th		22
Old 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	33 (–2 size, +25 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 33 	False vision 							11th		24
Very old 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	36 (–2 size, +28 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 36 	DR 15/magic 							13th		25
Ancient 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	39 (–2 size, +31 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 39 	Otto's irresistable dance 					15th		27
Wyrm 		40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy) 	+0 	40 (–4 size, +34 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 40 	DR 20/magic 							17th		28
Great wyrm 	40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy) 	+0 	43 (–4 size, +37 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 43 	Temporal stasis 						19th		30

*Can also cast cleric spells and those from the Healing and Knowledge domains as arcane spells.

The dragon's pale silver scales shimmer with faint blue hue in the moonlight. Its pupil-less eyes are completely white. Its sleek body tapers off into a long tail ending in a finlike appendage. Its snout is long and thin, and fanlike crests sweep back from behind its eyes and from its forearms. Tiny motes of moonlight dance about it, and the faint smell of morning dew on ancient trees accompanies its presence.

A wyrmling moonstone dragon's scales are bright silver with a strong bluish tint visible in the light of the moon. As the dragon ages, its scales grow paler and the bluish tint becomes less visible. Upon becoming a great wyrm, the scales of a moonstone dragon are pale silver, and only a hint of blue can be seen in moonlight.

Moonstone dragons care little for the affairs of humanoids, lairing in the most remote forests when on the Material Plane. They spend most of their time on the Ethereal Plane, the Region of Dreams, or the Plane of Faerie.

Combat

If forced into battle, a moonstone dragon relies on its breath weapon and enchantment and illusion spells to deter would-be adversaries.

Awesome Presence (Su): Moonstone dragons do not have a fear aura as do most other dragons. Instead, creatures with HD less than the dragon caught in the aura that fail their Will saves are fascinated while the dragon is present. After the dragon departs, they lose all memory of the encounter.

Breath Weapon (Su): The breath weapon of a moonstone dragon is a cone of billowing motes of light. All magical effects within the cone are dispelled or suppressed as by greater dispel magic at the dragon's caster level, except for magic effects needed for the immediate survival of the targeted creature (for example, water breathing for an air-breathing creature underwater). In addition, all creatures within the cone must succeed on a Fortitude save or sleep for 1 hour.

Dream (Su): As the spell, except that a moonstone dragon can only send itself to the recipient's dream at will as a standard action.

Elemental Weakness (Ex): Moonstone dragons suffer a -1 penalty to saving throws against elemental effects (such as spells with the air, earth, fire, or water descriptor).

Light Vulnerability (Ex): A moonstone dragon suffers 1d6 points of damage per round of exposure to daylight, whether natural or caused by spells such as daylight. It is treated as an undead for the purpose of the sunburst spell. A moonstone dragon reduced to 0 HP is automatically banished to the Ethereal Plane (as the dismissal spell).

Planar Travel (Su): A moonstone dragon can plane shift between the Ethereal Plane and the Material Plane or the Plane of Faerie (if it exists in your cosmology) as a standard action, though it takes care to avoid places exposed to direct sunlight.

Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day—deep slumber (adult or older), Tasha's hideous laughter (juvenile or older), false vision (old or older); 1/day—Otto's irresistable dance (ancient or older), temporal stasis (great wyrm).

Skills: Appraise, Bluff, and Spellcraft are considered class skills for moonstone dragons.

Originally appeared in MCA4.

 

[Shade]

Jade Dragon

Jade Dragon
Dragon (Air)
Environment: Inner Planes, temperate forests
Organization: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: solitary or clutch (2–5); adult, mature adult, old, very old,ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: solitary, pair, or family (1–2 plus 2–5 offspring)
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 3; very young 5; young 7; juvenile 9; young adult 12; adult 15; mature adult 17; old 19; very old 20; ancient 22; wyrm 23; great wyrm 25
Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: Wyrmling 7-8 HD (Tiny); very young 10-11 HD (Small); young 13-14 HD (Small); juvenile 16-17 HD (Medium); young adult 19-20 HD (Medium); adult 22-23 HD (Large); mature adult 25-26 HD (Large); old 28-29 HD (Large); very old 31-32 HD (Large); ancient 34-35 HD (Huge); wyrm 37-38 HD (Huge); great wyrm 40+ HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +4; very young +4; young +6; others —

Jade Dragons by Age 
Age 		Size 	Hit Dice (hp) 		Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha BaseAtk/Grp Attack Fort Ref Will Breath Weapon (DC) Frightful Presence DC 
Wyrmling  	T 	6d12+6 (45) 		 13  10  13  15  15  14	 +6/-1		+9 +6  +5  +7		2d6 (14) 	— 
Very young 	S 	9d12+18 (76) 		 15  10  15  15  15  14	 +9/+7		+12 +8 +6  +8		4d6 (16) 	— 
Young 		S 	12d12+24 (102)     	 17  10  15  17  17  16	 +12/+11	+16 +10 +8  +11 	6d6 (18) 	— 
Juvenile 	M 	15d12+45 (142) 		 19  10  17  19  19  18	+15/+19 	+19 +12 +9 +13 		8d6 (20) 	— 
Young adult 	M 	18d12+72 (189) 	 	23  10  19  19  19  18	+18/+24 	+24 +15 +11 +15 	10d6 (23) 	20 
Adult 		L 	21d12+105 (241)		 27  10  21  21  21  20	+21/+33 	+28 +17 +12 +17		12d6 (25) 	22 
Mature adult 	L 	24d12+120 (276)		 29  10  21  21  21  20	+24/+37 	+32 +19 +14 +19		14d6 (27) 	23 
Old 		L 	27d12+162 (337)		 31  10  23  23  23  22	+27/+41 	+36 +21 +15 +21		16d6 (29) 	25 
Very old 	L 	30d12+180 (375)		 31  10  23  23  23  22	+30/+45 	+40 +23 +17 +23		18d6 (31) 	26 
Ancient 	H 	33d12+231 (445)		 35  10  25  25  25  24	+33/+53 	+43 +25 +18 +25		20d6 (33) 	28 
Wyrm 		H 	36d12+288 (522)		 37  10  27  27  27  26	+36/+57 	+47 +28 +20 +28		22d6 (36) 	29 
Great wyrm 	H 	39d12+312 (565)		 39  10  27  27  27  26	+39/+62 	+51 +29 +21 +29		24d6 (37) 	31 


Jade Dragon Abilities by Age 
Age 		Speed 				Init 	AC 							Special Abilities 		Caster Level* 	SR 
Wyrmling 	40 ft., fly 80 ft. (good)	+0 	16 (+2 size, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 16 	Immunity to sonic, plane shift 	— 		— 
Very young 	40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average) 	+0 	18 (+1 size, +7 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 18   	Blink	 			— 		— 			 
Young 		40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average)	+0 	21 (+1 size, +10 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 21   	—				1st		— 
Juvenile 	40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average) 	+0 	23 (+13 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 23 		Detect thoughts			3rd		—		 
Young adult 	40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average) 	+0 	26 (+16 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 26 		Beguile, DR 5/magic 		5th		18
Adult 		40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average) 	+0 	28 (–1 size, +19 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 28 	Shatter				7th		20
Mature 		40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average) 	+0 	31 (–1 size, +22 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 31 	DR 10/magic 			9th		21
Old 		40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average) 	+0 	34 (–1 size, +25 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 34 	Sculpt sound			11th		23
Very old 	40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average) 	+0 	37 (–1 size, +28 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 37 	DR 15/magic 			13th		24
Ancient 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	39 (–2 size, +31 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 39 	Song of discord			15th		26
Wyrm 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	42 (–2 size, +34 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 42 	DR 20/magic			17th		27
Great wyrm 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	45 (–2 size, +37 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 45 	Demand				19th		29

*Can also cast cleric spells and those from the Plant and Trickery domains as arcane spells.

This dragon is long and sinuous, with slender arms and legs. A pair of horns sweep back behind its eyes, almost laying flat on its back. Black hair surrounds its mouth and gives the appearance of a beard and mustache, while longer black hair flows from the base of its neck down to its shoulders. Its pearlescent eyes are topped by more black hair resembling eyebrows. The dragon smells of cinnamon and ginger, and its scales swirl with multiple shades of green.

The jade dragon resembles both gem dragons and lung dragons, but is wholly neither. It most closely resembles the emerald dragon.

The scales of a wyrmling emerald dragon are a single shade of green. As it ages, its scales harden and take on additional shades of green, which are randomly swirled throughout its hide. Like an emerald dragon, a jade dragon's pupils fade as it ages, becoming featureless, glowing green orbs as great wyrms.

Jade dragons are extremely reclusive, making their lairs in the most remote, dense forests. They prize rare woods and gems, especially jade, above other treasures, and will barter for these items with other bits of their hoards.

Although jade dragons are inhospitable to interlopers within their lairs, they never eat humanoids, subsisting only on vegetation and animals.

Combat

Jade dragons prefer to rely on their breath weapons and magical abilities before resorting to melee combat. If possible, they avoid combat altogether with their beguiling riddlespeak.

Beguile (Su): A jade dragon often speaks in riddles. When it speaks for one full round, all creatures within 10 feet per age category must succeed on a Will save or become enthralled (as the spell). Beguile is a sonic, mind-affecting, language-dependent charm effect. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same jade dragon's beguile ability for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Blink (Sp): A very young or older jade dragon can use this ability as the spell once per day for each two age categories it is, thus an adult jade dragon can use the ability three times per day. This is as the spell cast by a sorcerer of the dragon’s age category or its caster level whichever is higher. The range is personal.

Breath Weapon (Su): The jade dragon's breath weapon is a powerful cone of sonic energy. Anyone in the cone of the breath who does not make a successful Reflex save versus damage must also make a Fortitude save (at the same DC) or be deafened for 3 rounds per age category of the dragon and rendered unconscious for 1 round per age category of the dragon.

Other Spell-Like Abilities: At will--detect thoughts (juvenile or older), plane shift (wyrmling); 3/day--sculpt sound (old or older), shatter (adult or older), song of discord (ancient or older); 1/day--demand (great wyrm).

Telepathy (Su): A jade dragon has telepathy to a range of 10 feet x age category.

Skills: Appraise, Bluff, and Survival are considered class skills for jade dragons.

Jade Dragons and Oriental Adventures

If you are using Oriental Adventures in your campaign, jade dragons are considered lung dragons.

They cast spells from the Wood shaman domain rather than the Plant domain.


Originally appeared in Monstrous Compendium Annual 1.

 

[Shade]

Stone Dragon
Dragon (Earth)
Environment: Any mountains or other rocky areas
Organization: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: solitary or clutch (2–5); adult, mature adult, old, very old, ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: solitary
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 3; very young 5; young 7; juvenile 9; young adult 11; adult 14; mature adult 16; old 19; very old 20; ancient 22; wyrm 23; great wyrm 25
Treasure: Standard coins; quadruple goods (gems); standard items
Alignment: Usually lawful neutral
Advancement: Wyrmling 6–7 HD; very young 9–10 HD; young 12–13 HD; juvenile 15–16 HD; young adult 18–19 HD; adult 21–22 HD; mature adult 24–25 HD; old 27–28 HD; very old 30–31 HD; ancient 33–34 HD; wyrm 36–37 HD; great wyrm 39+ HD
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +2; very young +3; young +4; juvenile +4; others —

Stone Dragons by Age 
Age 		Size 	Hit Dice (hp) 		Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha BaseAtk/Grp Attack Fort Ref Will Breath Weapon (DC) Frightful Presence DC 
Wyrmling  	T 	5d12+5 (37) 		 11  10  13  10  11  10	 +5/–1		+8  +7  +5  +4		2d6 (13) 	— 
Very young 	S 	8d12+8 (60) 		 13  10  13  10  11  10	 +8/+5		+10  +7  +6  +6		4d6 (15) 	— 
Young 		M 	11d12+22 (93)     	 15  10  15  12  13  12	 +11/+13	+13 +9  +7  +8 		6d6 (17) 	— 
Juvenile 	M 	14d12+28 (119) 		 17  10  15  14  15  14	+14/+17 	+17 +11 +9  +11 	8d6 (19) 	— 
Young adult 	L 	17d12+51 (161) 		 19  10  17  14  15  14	+17/+25 	+20 +13 +10  +12 	10d6 (21) 	20 
Adult 		L 	20d12+80 (210)		 23  10  19  16  17  16	+20/+30 	+25 +16 +12 +15		12d6 (24) 	23 
Mature adult 	H 	23d12+115 (264)		 27  10  21  16  17  16	+23/+39 	+29 +18 +13 +16		14d6 (26) 	24 
Old 		H 	26d12+130 (299)		 29  10  21  18  19  18	+26/+43 	+33 +20 +15 +19		16d6 (28) 	27 
Very old 	H 	29d12+174 (362)		 31  10  23  18  19  18	+29/+47 	+37 +22 +16 +20		18d6 (30) 	28 
Ancient 	H 	32d12+192 (400)		 33  10  23  20  21  20	+32/+51 	+41 +24 +28 +23		20d6 (32) 	31 
Wyrm 		G 	35d12+245 (472)		 35  10  25  20  21  20	+35/+59 	+43 +26 +19 +24		22d6 (34) 	32 
Great wyrm 	G 	38d12+304 (551)		 37  10  27  22  23  22	+38/+63 	+47 +29 +21 +27		24d6 (37) 	35 


Stone Dragon Abilities by Age 
Age 		Speed 				Init 	AC 							Special Abilities 					Caster Level* 		SR 
Wyrmling 	40 ft., burrow 40 ft.	+0 	16 (+2 size, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 16 	Cold tolerance, earth mettle, 						— 		— 
													Jump +5, tunneling, vulnerability to acid and fire
Very young 	40 ft., burrow 40 ft. 	+0 	18 (+1 size, +7 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 17   	—	 								— 		— 			 
Young 		40 ft., burrow 40 ft.	+0 	20 (+10 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 20   		Allies, Jump +10							—		— 
Juvenile 	40 ft., burrow 40 ft. 	+0 	23 (+13 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 23 		Shatter									—		—		 
Young adult 	40 ft., burrow 40 ft. 	+0 	25 (–1 size, +16 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 25 	DR 5/bludgeoning and magic, Jump +15, passwall, stone shape, weaponbreaker	—	19
Adult 		40 ft., burrow 40 ft. 	+0 	28 (–1 size, +19 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 28 	Transmute rock to mud							—		21
Mature adult 	40 ft., burrow 40 ft. 	+0 	30 (–2 size, +22 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 30 	DR 10/bludgeoning and magic, Jump +20, stone shape 2/day, wall of stone	—		23
Old 		40 ft., burrow 40 ft. 	+0 	33 (–2 size, +25 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 33 	Statue, summon huge earth elemental					—		25
Very old 	40 ft., burrow 40 ft. 	+0 	36 (–2 size, +28 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 36 	DR 15/bludgeoning and magic, Jump +25					—		26
Ancient 	40 ft., burrow 40 ft. 	+0 	39 (–2 size, +31 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 39 	Stone tell, summon huge earth elemental					—		28
Wyrm 		40 ft., burrow 40 ft. 	+0 	40 (–4 size, +34 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 40 	DR 20/bludgeoning and magic, Jump +30					—		29
Great wyrm 	40 ft., burrow 40 ft. 	+0 	43 (–4 size, +37 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 43 	Earthquake 								—		31

The rough gray hide of this wingless dragon resembles a cluster of rocks. Its neck is long and thick, lacking any crest or fins. Its long tail looks like a line of overlapping stones. Its head its more serpentine than draconic, and its deep set eyes are dull gray. It is accompanied by the smell of chalk striking slate.

Stone dragons are loners, preferring to live away from other creatures. However, they are just as likely to be friendly and helpful to interlopers as they are to be hostile. They are quite fond of gems, and are eager to trade for them, sometimes paying up to double the appraised value. As such, their hoards consist mostly of gems, although they also collect gemlike items such as ioun stones.

Stone dragons lair in deserted, rocky environs. A typical stone dragon lair is a cave with multiple exits. These lairs are often artistically sculpted, and are frequently dotted with statues of petrified interlopers.

Stone dragons feed almost entirely on rocks, although they consider gems a delicacy.

Combat

Stone dragons are not always hostile, even to intruders. Should combat break out, a stone dragon generally opens with its breath weapons and spits stones, followed by its spell-like abilities before resorting to melee.

Allies (Sp): This functions as the spell charm monster, except that it only works on rock-based creatures or creatures with the earth subtype. The stone dragon may use this ability 3 times per day.

Breath Weapon (Su): A stone dragon has two types of breath weapon, a cone of slow gas and a cone of petrification gas. Creatures within the cone of slow gas must succeed on a Fortitude save or be slowed for 1d6 rounds plus 1 round per age category of the dragon. Creatures within the cone of petrification gas must succeed on a Fortitude save or turn to stone permanently.

Cold Tolerance (Ex): A stone dragon recieves a racial bonus on saving throws against cold spells and attacks equal to its age category.

Earth Mettle (Ex): If a stone dragon makes a successful save against spells or effects with the earth descriptor, or against attacks from creatures with the Earth subtype, and that attack normally deals half damage on a successful save, the dragon instead takes no damage.

Spit Stones (Ex): Three times per day, a stone dragon may expel 1d6+4 rocks as a standard action. The stone dragon must make a ranged attack roll for each stone, and may aim them all at the same target or mix them among multiple targets. The rocks have a range increment of 20 feet and each deals 1d6+1 per age category points of bludgeoning damage.

Stone Shape (Sp): A young adult stone dragon may use stone shape as a spell-like ability once per day. Upon reaching mature adult, the stone dragon may use stone shape 2/day.

Summon Huge Earth Elemental (Sp): Once per day, an old stone dragon can cast summon nature's ally VI to summon one Huge earth elemental, 1d3 Large earth elementals, or 1d4+1 earth elementals of smaller size.

Summon Greater Earth Elemental (Sp): Once per day, an ancient stone dragon can cast summon nature's ally VII to summon one greater earth elemental, 1d3 Huge earth elementals, or 1d4+1 earth elementals of smaller size.

Tunneling (Ex): A stone dragon can burrow through solid stone at a speed of 5 feet, leaving behind an intact tunnel.

Weaponbreaker (Su): Any piercing or slashing weapon that strikes a young adult or older stone dragon takes damage equivalent to the dragon's damage reduction.

Skills: Appraise, Hide, and Survival are considered class skills for stone dragons. A stone dragon has a +8 racial bonus on Hide checks made in rocky environments. A wyrmling stone dragon has a +5 racial bonus on Jump checks. This bonus increases by +5 at every other age category thereafter.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #134 (1988).

 

[Shade]

Obsidian Dragon

Obsidian Dragon
Dragon (Cold)
Environment: Cold mountains
Organization: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: solitary or clutch (2–5); adult, mature adult, old, very old, ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: solitary, pair, or family (1–2 and 2–5 offspring)
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 4; very young 5; young 7; juvenile 10; young adult 13; adult 15; mature adult 18; old 20; very old 21; ancient 23; wyrm 24; great wyrm 26
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always lawful, often good
Advancement: Wyrmling 8–9 HD; very young 11–12 HD; young 14–15 HD; juvenile 17–18 HD; young adult 20–21 HD; adult 23–24 HD; mature adult 26–27 HD; old 29–30 HD; very old 32–33 HD; ancient 35–36 HD; wyrm 38–39 HD; great wyrm 41+ HD
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +4; very young +4; young +5; others —

Obsidian Dragons by Age 
Age 		Size 	Hit Dice (hp) 		Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha BaseAtk/Grp Attack Fort Ref Will Breath Weapon (DC) Frightful Presence DC 
Wyrmling  	M 	7d12+14 (59) 		 17  10  15  14  15  14	 +7/+10		+10 +7  +5  +7		2d10 (15) 	— 
Very young 	L 	10d12+30 (65) 		 21  10  17  14  15  14	 +10/+19	+14 +10 +7  +9		4d10 (18) 	— 
Young 		L 	13d12+39 (123)     	 25  10  17  16  17  16	 +13/+24	+19 +11 +8  +11 	6d10 (19) 	— 
Juvenile 	L 	16d12+64 (168) 		 29  10  19  18  19  18	+16/+29 	+24 +14 +10 +14 	8d10 (22) 	— 
Young adult 	H 	19d12+95 (218) 	 	31  10  21  18  19  18	+19/+37 	+27 +16 +11 +15 	10d10 (24) 	23 
Adult 		H 	22d12+110 (253)		 33  10  21  20  21  20	+22/+41 	+31 +18 +13 +18		12d10 (26) 	26 
Mature adult 	H 	25d12+150 (312)		 33  10  23  20  21  20	+25/+44 	+34 +20 +14 +19		14d10 (28) 	27 
Old 		G 	28d12+196 (378)		 35  10  25  22  23  22	+28/+52 	+36 +23 +16 +22		16d10 (31) 	30 
Very old 	G 	31d12+248 (449)		 37  10  27  24  25  24	+31/+56 	+40 +25 +17 +24		18d10 (33) 	32 
Ancient 	G 	34d12+306 (527)		 39  10  29  26  27  26	+34/+60 	+44 +28 +19 +27		20d10 (36) 	35 
Wyrm 		G 	37d12+370 (610)		 41  10  31  28  29  28	+37/+64 	+48 +30 +20 +29		22d10 (38) 	37 
Great wyrm 	C 	40d12+400 (660)		 45  10  31  30  31  30	+40/+73 	+49 +33 +22 +32		24d10 (40) 	40 


Obsidian Dragon Abilities by Age 
Age 		Speed 				Init 	AC 							Special Abilities 					Caster Level* 		SR 
Wyrmling 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+0 	16 (+6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 16 		Alternate form, immunity to cold, 				— 		— 
														powerful bite, vulnerability to electricity and fire
Very young 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	18 (-1 size, +9 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 18   	—	 							— 		— 			 
Young 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+0 	21 (-1 size, +12 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 21   	—								1st		— 
Juvenile 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	24 (-1 size, +15 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 24 	—								3rd		—		 
Young adult 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	26 (–2 size, +18 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 26 	DR 5/magic 							5th		21
Adult 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	29 (–2 size, +21 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 29 	—								7th		23
Mature 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	32 (–2 size, +24 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 32 	DR 10/magic 							9th		25
Old 		40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy) 	+0 	33 (–4 size, +27 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 33 	—								11th		27
Very old 	40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy) 	+0 	36 (–4 size, +30 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 36 	DR 15/magic							13th		28
Ancient 	40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy) 	+0 	39 (–4 size, +33 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 39 	—								15th		30
Wyrm 		40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy) 	+0 	42 (–4 size, +36 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 42 	DR 20/magic 							17th		31
Great wyrm 	40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy) 	+0 	41 (–8 size, +39 natural), touch 2, flat-footed 41 	—								19th		33

The scales of this regal and statuesque dragon black with silver highlights. A smooth, shiny plate forms the dragon's face. It has a frill that rises high over its head and continues down the neck and back to the tip of the tail. Long spines with dark tips support the frill. It has two smooth, shiny horns, and wings that are wide and sleek. The dragon has the scent of fresh snow.

Obsidian dragons, also known as black ice dragons (for they are rumored to have originated in the Land of the Black Ice on Oerth), are similar to silver dragons in appearance and power. Not to be confused with the obsidian gem dragons or those native to Mystara, these lawful dragons are not affiliated with any of the common groupings of dragons.

An obsidian wyrmling’s scales are black with silver highlights. As the dragon approaches adulthood, its scales darken until the individual scales are scarcely visible.

From a distance, these dragons look as if they had been sculpted from black metal. As an obsidian dragon ages, its pupils fade until in the oldest the eyes resemble orbs of mercury.

To date, obsidian dragons have only been found in the northern reaches of the continent of Oerik. They make their lairs in cold mountaintops.

All silver dragons are lawful, with most tending toward good, but a small number are evil. Using their alternate forms, obsidian dragons often walk among humanoid settlements and may even form friendships and alliances with humanoids. Like silver dragons, obsidian dragons have a taste for human food and can live on such fare indefinitely.

Combat

Obsidian dragons prefer swift aerial assaults, opening with their breath weapons. They try to catch as many opponents in webs of black ice, then focus attacks on those who avoid entrapment.

Alternate Form (Su): An obsidian dragon can assume any animal or humanoid form of Medium size or smaller as a standard action three times per day. The dragon can remain in its animal or humanoid form until it chooses to assume a new one or return to its natural form.

Breath Weapon (Su): An obsidian dragon has two types of breath weapon. The first is a cone of acidic frost that deals half cold and half acid damage. The other is a web of black ice 10 feet in diameter that may be shot up to 60 ft away. Creatures in the target space of the web that fail a Reflex save against the breath weapon are entangled for 1d4 rounds per age category of the dragon. An entangled victim must then make a second Reflex save against the breath weapon DC to keep their face free; on a failure, the victim begins to suffocate.

An entangled creature can make an opposed strength check against the breath weapons DC to break free as a standard action. In addition, the web of black ice is destroyed (AC 16, 3 hp/age category, hardness equal to half the dragon's age category [minimum 1]), but 1/4 of the damage done in an attack against the black ice web instead is spread evenly among the entangled creatures. Creatures that are immune to cold must still make a save against the breath weapon to avoid getting entangled.

Powerful Bite (Ex): All obsidian dragons gain Improved Natural Attack (bite) as a bonus feat.

Skills: Bluff, Disguise, and Jump are considered class skills for obsidian dragons.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #146 (1989).

 

[Shade]

Electrum Dragon

Electrum Dragon
Dragon (Earth)
Environment: Any mountains
Organization: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: solitary or clutch (2–5); adult, mature adult, old, very old, ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: solitary, pair, or family (1–2 and 2–5 offspring)
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 2; very young 3; young 4; juvenile 6; young adult 8; adult 10; mature adult 12; old 15; very old 17; ancient 18; wyrm 19; great wyrm 21
Treasure: Half coins; triple goods; triple items
Alignment: Always neutral good
Advancement: Wyrmling 4–5 HD; very young 7–8 HD; young 10–11 HD; juvenile 13–14 HD; young adult 16–17 HD; adult 19–20 HD; mature adult 22–23 HD; old 25–26 HD; very old 28–29 HD; ancient 31–32 HD; wyrm 34–35 HD; great wyrm 37+ HD
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +2; very young +3; young +3; juvenile +5; others —

Electrum Dragons by Age 
Age 		Size 	Hit Dice (hp) 		Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha BaseAtk/Grp Attack Fort Ref Will Breath Weapon (DC) Frightful Presence DC 
Wyrmling  	T 	3d12+3 (22) 		 11  10  13  14  15  14	 +3/-5		+5 +4  +3  +5		1d6+1 (12) 	— 
Very young 	S 	6d12+6 (45) 		 13  10  13  14  15  14	 +6/+3		+8 +6 +5  +7		1d6+2 (14) 	— 
Young 		M 	9d12+18 (76)     	 15  10  15  16  17  16	 +9/+11		+11 +8 +6  +9 		1d6+3 (16) 	— 
Juvenile 	L 	12d12+24 (102) 		 17  10  15  18  19  18	+12/+19		+14 +10 +8 +12 		1d6+4 (18) 	— 
Young adult 	L 	15d12+45 (142) 	 	19  10  17  18  19  18	+15/+23 	+18 +12 +9 +13 		1d6+5 (20) 	21 
Adult 		H 	18d12+72 (189)		 23  10  19  20  21  20	+18/+32 	+22 +15 +11 +16		1d6+6 (23) 	24 
Mature adult 	H 	21d12+105 (241)		 27  10  21  20  21  20	+21/+37 	+27 +17 +12 +17		1d6+7 (25) 	25 
Old 		H 	24d12+120 (276)		 29  10  21  22  23  22	+24/+41 	+31 +19 +14 +20		1d6+8 (27) 	28 
Very old 	H 	27d12+162 (337)		 31  10  23  24  25  24	+27/+45 	+35 +21 +15 +22		1d6+9 (29) 	30 
Ancient 	H 	30d12+180 (375)		 33  10  23  26  27  26	+30/+50 	+39 +23 +17 +25		1d6+10 (31) 	33 
Wyrm 		H 	33d12+231 (445)		 35  10  25  28  29  28	+33/+53 	+43 +25 +18 +27		1d6+11 (33) 	35 
Great wyrm 	H 	36d12+288 (522)		 37  10  27  30  31  30	+36/+57 	+47 +28 +20 +30		1d6+12 (36) 	38 


Electrum Dragon Abilities by Age 
Age 		Speed 				Init 	AC 							Special Abilities 					Caster Level* 		SR 
Wyrmling 	40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average)	+0 	14 (+2 size, +2 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 14 	Detect magic, read magic					— 		— 
Very young 	40 ft., fly 100 ft. (average) 	+0 	16 (+1 size, +5 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 16   	—	 							— 		— 			 
Young 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+0 	18 (+8 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 18   		Identify							1st		— 
Juvenile 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	20 (-1 size, +11 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 20 	Locate object							3rd		—		 
Young adult 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	23 (–1 size, +14 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 23 	DR 5/magic 							5th		21
Adult 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	25 (–2 size, +17 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 25 	Dispel magic							7th		23
Mature 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	28 (–2 size, +20 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 28 	DR 10/magic 							9th		25
Old 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	31 (–2 size, +23 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 31 	Telekinesis							11th		27
Very old 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	34 (–2 size, +26 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 34 	DR 15/magic							13th		28
Ancient 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	37 (–2 size, +29 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 37 	—								15th		30
Wyrm 		40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	40 (–2 size, +32 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 40 	DR 20/magic, project image					17th		31
Great wyrm 	40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) 	+0 	43 (–2 size, +35 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 43 	Heal								19th		33

*Can also cast cleric spells and those from the Artifice, Knowledge, and Magic domains as arcane spells.

The dragon sits on its rear legs, nearly still in apparent quiet contemplation. A pair of nearly straight horns sweep back from behind its eyes. Sparse, coarse hairs dot its head and back, and a long, scraggly beard hangs from its chin. Its tail is long and smooth, and curls at the end. The scent of old parchment accompanies the dragon.

Electrum dragons are peaceful and philosophical. They enjoy watching other creatures and seeking out beauty in the world. They spend much of their time practicing magic, which they consider an art form capable of creating much beauty.

Electrum dragons get along well with other races, enjoying philosophical discussions and the exchange of objects of beauty. As they are often experimenting with magic, electrum dragons occasionally develop new spells which they willingly trade with their friends. They are often regarded as sages, and some primitive races worship them as deities.

An electrum wyrmling’s scales are yellowish-white with silver and gold highlights. As the dragon approaches adulthood, its color gradually lightens to pale yellow and eventually almost white at the oldest age categories.

Electrum dragons prefer lairs within secluded mountain peaks or abandoned ruins. They hoard objects of beauty, so their troves often contain far less coins than other dragons.

Electrum dragons subsist on lichens, bushes, and tender young leaves, as well as the flesh of birds, fish, and other creatures. They consider the flesh of both griffons and wyverns to be a delicacy.

Combat

Although normally peaceful, electrum dragons are alert, deliberate combatants when necessary. An electrum dragon generally opens battle with its breath weapon, seeking to weaken and confuse its adversaries. It then mixes its spells with fly-by attacks to maximum effect.

Breath Weapon (Su): An electrum dragon has one type of breath weapon, a cone of confusing enfeebling gas. Creatures within a cone of confusing enfeebling gas must succeed on Reflex save or become confused (as the confusion spell). Additionally, creatures caught in the cone take a penalty to Strength equal to 1d6 + the dragon's age category (Reflex half). Both effects have a duration equal to the dragon's age category.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will—detect magic (wyrmling or older), identify (young & older), read magic (wyrmling or older); 3/day—dispel magic (adult or older); 2/day—telekinesis (old or older); 1/day—heal (great wyrm), locate object (juvenile or older), project image (wyrm or older).

Skills: Appraise, Jump, and Spellcraft are considered class skills for electrum dragons.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #74 (1983).

 

[Shade]

Night Dragon

Night Dragon
Dragon
Environment: Any underground or ruins
Organization: Solitary, pair, or family (1–4 and 1–4 offspring)
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 3; very young 4; young 5; juvenile 7; young adult 10; adult 12; mature adult 15; old 17; very old 18; ancient 20; wyrm 21; great wyrm 23
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: Wyrmling 6–7 HD; very young 9–10 HD; young 12–13 HD; juvenile 15–16 HD; young adult 18–19 HD; adult 21–22 HD; mature adult 24–25 HD; old 27–28 HD; very old 30–31 HD; ancient 33–34 HD; wyrm 36–37 HD; great wyrm 39+ HD
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +5; very young +5; young +5; juvenile +6; others —

Night Dragons by Age 
Age 		Size 	Hit Dice (hp) 		Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha BaseAtk/Grp Attack Fort Ref Will Breath Weapon (DC) Frightful Presence DC 
Wyrmling  	T 	5d12+5 (37) 		 11  10  13  10  11  10	 +5/–1		+8  +7  +5  +4		1d8 (13) 	— 
Very young 	S 	8d12+8 (60) 		 13  10  13  10  11  10	 +8/+5		+10  +7  +6  +6		2d8 (15) 	— 
Young 		M 	11d12+22 (93)     	 15  10  15  12  13  12	 +11/+13	+13 +9  +7  +8 		3d8 (17) 	— 
Juvenile 	M 	14d12+28 (119) 		 17  10  15  14  15  14	+14/+17 	+17 +11 +9  +11 	4d8 (19) 	— 
Young adult 	L 	17d12+51 (161) 		 19  10  17  14  15  14	+17/+25 	+20 +13 +10  +12 	5d8 (21) 	20 
Adult 		L 	20d12+80 (210)		 23  10  19  16  17  16	+20/+30 	+25 +16 +12 +15		6d8 (24) 	23 
Mature adult 	H 	23d12+115 (264)		 27  10  21  16  17  16	+23/+39 	+29 +18 +13 +16		7d8 (26) 	24 
Old 		H 	26d12+130 (299)		 29  10  21  18  19  18	+26/+43 	+33 +20 +15 +19		8d8 (28) 	27 
Very old 	H 	29d12+174 (362)		 31  10  23  18  19  18	+29/+47 	+37 +22 +16 +20		9d8 (30) 	28 
Ancient 	H 	32d12+192 (400)		 33  10  23  20  21  20	+32/+51 	+41 +24 +28 +23		10d8 (32) 	31 
Wyrm 		G 	35d12+245 (472)		 35  10  25  20  21  20	+35/+59 	+43 +26 +19 +24		11d8 (34) 	32 
Great wyrm 	G 	38d12+304 (551)		 37  10  27  22  23  22	+38/+63 	+47 +29 +21 +27		12d8 (37) 	35 


Night Dragon Abilities by Age 
Age 		Speed 			Init 	AC 							Special Abilities 			Caster Level* 		SR 
Wyrmling 	70 ft.			+0 	16 (+2 size, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 16 	Cooperative breath weapon, greater darkvision, light sensitivity, pack tactics	— 		— 													
Very young 	70 ft. 			+0 	18 (+1 size, +7 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 17   	Shadow blend	 				— 		— 			 
Young 		70 ft.			+0 	20 (+10 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 20   		-						—		— 
Juvenile 	70 ft. 			+0 	23 (+13 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 23 		-						—		—		 
Young adult 	70 ft. 			+0 	25 (–1 size, +16 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 25 	DR 5/magic					—		19
Adult 		70 ft. 			+0 	28 (–1 size, +19 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 28 	-						—		21
Mature adult 	70 ft. 			+0 	30 (–2 size, +22 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 30 	DR 10/magic					—		23
Old 		70 ft. 			+0 	33 (–2 size, +25 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 33 	-						—		25
Very old 	70 ft. 			+0 	36 (–2 size, +28 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 36 	DR 15/magic					—		26
Ancient 	70 ft. 			+0 	39 (–2 size, +31 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 39 	-						—		28
Wyrm 		70 ft. 			+0 	40 (–4 size, +34 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 40 	DR 20/magic					—		29
Great wyrm 	70 ft. 			+0 	43 (–4 size, +37 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 43 	- 						—		31

The night-black scales of this dragon are streaked with gray. Its face is rounded, with an oversized maw filled with fangs. A single crest arises between its pupilless eyes. Its stunted wings and bulky body suggest that the beast is not suited for flight.

Night dragons belong to a breed of creatures known as landragons. Of some relation to true dragons, landragons also separate into distinct breeds and gain great power and size as they age. They use the same age categories as true dragons. Landragons are bulkier than true dragons, with shorter, thicker tails. They lack the ability to fly and are generally less intelligent than most true dragons. Landragons do not cast spells.

Night dragons are nocturnal. They make their lairs underground or within dark ruins, where they sleep during daylight. At dusk, they emerge to hunt, preying on anything they can catch.

The scales of a wyrmling night dragon are jet-black. As it ages, grey streaks begin to appear and grow more prominent over time.

Combat

Unlike most dragons, night dragons prefer to hunt in packs, and have become quite efficient in coordinated tactics. Even the youngest members of the pack can combine their breath weapons with others of their kind to greater effect.

Breath Weapon (Su): A night dragon has one breath weapon, a line of extremely bright light. In addition to hit point damage, any creature damaged by the breath weapon is blinded for two days. At the end of two days, the victim may make a Fortitude save (DC equal to that of the breath weapon) to regain sight; the blindness is permanent on a failure. Magic may restore the victim's sight at any time.

Cooperative Breath Weapon (Su): If three or more night dragons use their breath weapons simultaneously in such a way that their breath weapon lines intersect at a single point, the breath weapons instead form a spherical region centered at the point of intersection with radius equal to half the length of the breath weapon of the eldest night dragon participating. Creatures within this area take damage as from the sum of the dragons' breath weapons (Ref save for half at the DC of the eldest night dragon's DC). The group breath weapon does not cause blindness.

Greater Darkvision (Ex): A night dragon has darkvision to a range of 240 feet.

Light Sensitivity (Ex): Night dragons are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell. Night dragons are immune to the effects of their own breath weapon, though.

Pack Tactics (Ex): When two or more night dragons flank an opponent, they receive double the normal bonus on attack rolls (+4), and can flank creatures that cannot normally be flanked (due to greater uncanny dodge, all-around vision, etc.) Additionally, a night dragon flanking an opponent deals an additonal +1d6 points of damage for each night dragon within 30 feet.

Shadow Blend (Su): In any condition of illumination other than full daylight, a very young or older night dragon can disappear into the shadows, giving it total concealment. Artificial illumination, even a light or continual flame spell, does not negate this ability. A daylight spell, however, does.

Skills: Bluff, Hide, and Move Silently are considered class skills for night dragons.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #74 (1983).

 

[Shade]

Scintillating Dragon

Scintillating Dragon
Dragon (Light)
Environment: Any land
Organization: Solitary or family (2-6)
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 3; very young 4; young 6; juvenile 8; young adult 11; adult 14; mature adult 16; old 18; very old 19; ancient 21; wyrm 23; great wyrm 25
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: Wyrmling 9–10 HD; very young 12–13 HD; young 15–16 HD; juvenile 18–19 HD; young adult 21–22 HD; adult 24–25 HD; mature adult 27–28 HD; old 30–31 HD; very old 33–34 HD; ancient 36–37 HD; wyrm 39–40 HD; great wyrm 42+ HD
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +4; very young +4; young +5; others —

Scintillating Dragons by Age 
Age 		Size 	Hit Dice (hp) 		Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha BaseAtk/Grp Attack Fort Ref Will Breath Weapon (DC) Frightful Presence DC 
Wyrmling  	M 	8d12+16 (68) 		 17  10  15  6  11  6	 +8/+11		+11 +8  +6  +6		1d6 (16) 	— 
Very young 	L 	11d12+33 (104) 		 21  10  17  6  11  6	 +11/+20	+16 +10 +7  +10		2d6 (18) 	— 
Young 		L 	14d12+42 (133)     	 25  10  17  6  11  6	 +14/+25	+21 +12 +9  +10 	3d6 (20) 	— 
Juvenile 	L 	17d12+68 (178) 		 29  10  19  8  11  8	+17/+30 	+26 +14 +10 +10 	4d6 (22) 	— 
Young adult 	H 	20d12+100 (230) 	 31  10  21  8  11  10	+20/+38 	+30 +17 +12 +12 	5d6 (25) 	22 
Adult 		H 	23d12+115 (264)		 33  10  21  10  11  12	+23/+42 	+34 +18 +13 +13		6d6 (26) 	24 
Mature adult 	H 	26d12+156 (325)		 35  10  23  12  13  12	+26/+46 	+36 +21 +15 +16		7d6 (29) 	27 
Old 		G 	29d12+203 (391)		 39  10  25  12  13  12	+29/+55 	+39 +23 +16 +18		8d6 (31) 	29 
Very old 	G 	32d12+256 (464)		 41  10  27  14  15  14	+32/+59 	+43 +26 +18 +20		9d6 (34) 	32 
Ancient 	G 	35d12+315 (542)		 43  10  29  14  15  14	+35/+63 	+47 +28 +19 +21		10d6 (36) 	34 
Wyrm 		G 	38d12+380 (627)		 45  10  31  14  15  16	+38/+71 	+47 +31 +21 +23		11d6 (39) 	36 
Great wyrm 	C 	41d12+451 (717)		 47  10  33  18  19  18	+41/+75 	+51 +33 +22 +26		12d6 (40) 	38 


Scintillating Dragon Abilities by Age 
Age 		Speed 			Init 	AC 							Special Abilities 			Caster Level* 		SR 
Wyrmling 	60 ft.			+0 	14 (+4 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14 		-						— 		— 													
Very young 	60 ft. 			+0 	16 (-1 size, +7 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 16   	-						— 		— 			 
Young 		60 ft.			+0 	19 (-1 size, +10 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 19   	-						—		— 
Juvenile 	60 ft. 			+0 	22 (-1 size, +13 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 22 	-						—		—		 
Young adult 	60 ft. 			+0 	24 (–2 size, +16 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 24 	DR 5/magic, scintillating scales		—		19
Adult 		60 ft. 			+0 	27 (–2 size, +19 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 27 	-						—		21
Mature adult 	60 ft. 			+0 	30 (–2 size, +22 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 30 	DR 10/magic					—		23
Old 		60 ft. 			+0 	31 (–4 size, +25 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 31 	-						—		25
Very old 	60 ft. 			+0 	34 (–4 size, +28 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 34 	DR 15/magic					—		26
Ancient 	60 ft. 			+0 	37 (–4 size, +31 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 37 	-						—		28
Wyrm 		60 ft. 			+0 	40 (–4 size, +34 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 40 	DR 20/magic					—		29
Great wyrm 	60 ft. 			+0 	39 (–8 size, +37 natural), touch 2, flat-footed 39 	- 						—		31

This dragon has a muscular build, with a serpentine neck and a short, thick tail. Its body is covered in luminescent, iridescent scales. Rainbow-hued colors seem to ripple across the surface of the scales in an almost hypnotic manner.

Scintillating dragons (Drogas radiatas) belong to a breed of creatures known as landragons. Of some relation to true dragons, landragons also separate into distinct breeds and gain great power and size as they age. They use the same age categories as true dragons. Landragons are bulkier than true dragons, with shorter, thicker tails. They lack the ability to fly and are generally less intelligent than most true dragons. Landragons do not cast spells.

Scintillating dragons are cruel, confident predators that can be found in nearly any land. Within their territories, these landragons view all other creatures as prey. They find humanoids to be a good source of protein, but also consider them a threat to their domains. They will attack humanoids without provocation, and if food grows scare, have been known to attack humanoid settlements. With nearly insatiable appetites, this happens more often than one might think.

Wyrmling scintillating dragons usually remain with their mother for protection, and she will ferociously defend her young.

Combat

A scintillating dragon is a confident combatant, assuming that most adversaries will succumb to its frightful presence or scintillating scales. It is offended when creatures attempt to gang up on it, and will direct its breath weapon toward clustered opponents.

Breath Weapon (Su): A scintillating dragon has a single breath weapon, a line that does untyped damage. In addition, a victim that takes hit point damage from the breath weapon takes additional damage on the following two days. One and two days after being damaged by the scintillating dragon's breath weapon, the victim must make a Fortitude save or take 1d3 points of Str damage and 1 point of Con drain per age category of the dragon. Ability damage and drain caused by separate uses of the breath weapon stack.

Scintillating Scales (Su): The scales of a scintillating dragon glow softly on their own, which acts to fascinate all creatures. When any creature first comes within range of a scintillating dragon's frightful presence ability, it must also make a Will save or become fascinated by the dragon. If the creature fails the Will save by 5 or more, it becomes panicked by the dragon. A successful save indicates that the creature is immune to that scintillating dragon's scintillating scales for 1 minute. The save DC is Charisma-based.

The fascination effect lasts until the creature has been unable to see the scintillating dragon for one full round. Otherwise, a potential threat allows a new Will save and an obvious threat automatically breaks the fascination. Another character may also break the fascination by using a standard action.

Skills: Appraise, Jump, and Survival are considered class skills for scintillating dragons.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #74 (1983).

 

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Arack
Dragon
Environment: Any land
Organization: Solitary or pack (2-4)
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 1/2; very young 1; young 2; juvenile 2; young adult 3; adult 4; mature adult 4; old 5; very old 6; ancient 7; wyrm 8; great wyrm 9
Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: —
Level Adjustment: —

Aracks by Age 
Age 		Size 	Hit Dice (hp) 		Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha BaseAtk/Grp Attack Fort Ref Will Breath Weapon (DC) Frightful Presence DC 
Wyrmling  	S 	1d12+1 (7) 		 13  12  13  2  11  6	 +1/-2		+3 +3  +3  +2		Special (11) 	— 
Very young 	S 	2d12+4 (17) 		 14  13  14  2  11  6	 +2/+0		+5 +5 +4  +3		Special (13) 	— 
Young 		M 	3d12+9 (28)     	 17  14  17  3  11  6	 +3/+6		+6 +6 +5 +3 		Special (14) 	— 
Juvenile 	M 	4d12+16 (42) 		 18  15  18  3  11  8	+4/+8 		+8 +8 +6 +4 		Special (16) 	— 
Young adult 	L 	5d12+25 (57) 	 	 21  16  21  4  11  10	+5/+14 		+9 +9 +7 +4 		Special (17) 	12 
Adult 		L 	6d12+36 (75)		 22  17  22  4  11  12	+6/+16 		+11 +11 +8 +5		Special (19) 	14 
Mature adult 	L 	7d12+42 (87)		 23  18  23  5  13  12	+7/+17 		+12 +11 +9 +6		Special (19) 	14 
Old 		L 	8d12+56 (108)		 24  19  24  5  13  12	+8/+19 		+14 +13 +10 +7		Special (21) 	15 
Very old 	L 	9d12+63 (121)		 25  20  25  6  15  14	+9/+20 		+15 +13 +11 +8		Special (21) 	16 
Ancient 	H 	10d12+90 (155)		 28  21  28  6  15  14	+10/+27		+17 +16 +12 +9		Special (24) 	17 
Wyrm 		H 	11d12+99 (170)		 29  22  29  7  15  16	+11/+28		+18 +16 +13 +9		Special (24) 	18 
Great wyrm 	H 	12d12+120 (198)	 	 30  23  30  7  19  18	+12/+30 	+20 +18 +14 +12		Special (26) 	20 


Arack Abilities by Age 
Age 		Speed 			Init 	AC 								Special Abilities 				Caster Level	SR 
Wyrmling 	40 ft., climb 20 ft.	+1 	13 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +1 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 12 	Intimidating display, uncanny dodge		— 		— 													
Very young 	40 ft., climb 20 ft. 	+1 	14 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +2 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 13   	Breath weapon (dispel magic), wing spears	— 		— 			 
Young 		40 ft., climb 20 ft.	+2 	15 (+2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 13   		-						—		— 
Juvenile 	40 ft., climb 20 ft. 	+2 	16 (+2 Dex, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 14 		-						—		—		 
Young adult 	40 ft., climb 20 ft. 	+3 	19 (–1 size, +3 Dex, +7 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 16 	DR 5/magic					—		—
Adult 		40 ft., climb 20 ft. 	+3 	20 (–1 size, +3 Dex, +8 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 17 	Improved uncanny dodge				—		—
Mature adult 	40 ft., climb 20 ft. 	+4 	22 (–1 size, +4 Dex, +9 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 18 	DR 10/magic					—		—
Old 		40 ft., climb 20 ft. 	+4 	23 (–1 size, +4 Dex, +10 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 19 	Breath weapon (greater dispel magic)		—		—
Very old 	40 ft., climb 20 ft. 	+5 	25 (–1 size, +5 Dex, +11 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 20 	DR 15/magic					—		—
Ancient 	40 ft., climb 20 ft. 	+5 	28 (–2 size, +5 Dex, +15 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 23 	-						—		—
Wyrm 		40 ft., climb 20 ft. 	+6 	30 (–2 size, +6 Dex, +16 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 24 	DR 20/magic					—		—
Great wyrm 	40 ft., climb 20 ft. 	+6 	31 (–2 size, +6 Dex, +17 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 25 	Breath weapon (antimagic field)			—		—

Although clearly draconic, this creature is smaller than most dragons. Its scales are blue-greyy, with a deep red underbelly and matching crest on the neck, head, and membranous ligatures of the wings. Its malformed wings end int three slender digits of unequal length, the longest sporting a long, spearlike nail.

Aracks (Drogas amagia) belong to a breed of creatures known as landragons. Of some relation to true dragons, landragons also separate into distinct breeds and gain great power and size as they age. They use the same age categories as true dragons. Landragons are bulkier than true dragons, with shorter, thicker tails. They lack the ability to fly and are generally less intelligent than most true dragons. Landragons do not cast spells.

Aracks are territorial hunters, preying on creatures smaller than themselves. They are generally found in rocky areas, on the outskirts of civilization. Although they generally try to scare off humanoids with an intimidating display, they are a threat to livestock and a bane to those who employ magic, thanks to their magic-deadening breath weapons.

Aracks age much more rapidly than other true dragons, gaining an age category every decade. The eldest great wyrms rarely live beyond 150 years.

Combat

When hunting, aracks use pack tactics to bring down prey. An arack generally unleashes its breath weapon first at a target, then steps into it and savages the prey with its bite and wing spears. If surrounded, it sweeps its tail to knock opponents prone. If threatened when sated, an arack typically tries to drive off foes with an intimidating display. If cornered or charged by an enemy, an arack immediately employs its breath weapon.

Breath Weapon (Su): An arack has one type of breath weapon, a spread of choking, magic-inhibiting gas that persists for 1 minute. Creatures within the cloud must make Fortitude saves or begin to suffocate (see Suffocation in the DMG). Additionally, the spread functions as an area dispel magic effect (caster level equals twice arack's Hit Dice). Upon reaching the old age category, an arack's breath weapon functions as greater dispel magic, and at great wyrm is treated as an antimagic field.

The breath weapon fills a spread centered on the arack's head and is 10 feet for a Small arack, 15 feet for a Medium arack, 20 feet for a Large arack, and 25 feet for a Huge arack. The spread is nearly invisible; a Spot check with a DC equal to the arack's breath weapon DC is needed to determine the boundaries of the spread.

Initimidating Display (Ex): As a move action, an arack can expand its crest and wings, making it appear larger to enemies. At the same time, it trumpets its namesake call. These actions combine in an unsettling display, granting the arack a bonus on Intimidate checks equal to its age category.

Tripping Tail Sweep (Ex): Aracks gain a tail sweep far earlier than most dragons, and can knock opponents prone with such a maneuver. An arack can sweep with its tail as a standard action. The sweep affects a half-circle with a radius equal to its reach, extending from an intersection on the edge of the arack's space in any direction. Creatures within the swept area are affected if they are one or more size categories smaller than the arack. An arack's tail sweep deals no damage, but affected creatures must make Reflex saves (DC 10 + 1/2 arack's Hit Dice + arack's Str modifier) or be knocked prone.

Wing Spears (Su): Aracks lack the wing buffet attacks of true dragons, instead gaining wing spears. Wing spears deal damage as wing buffets for a dragon of one size category larger, deal piercing rather than bludgeoning damage, and do triple damage on a successful critical hit.

Skills: Climb, Jump, and Tumble are considered class skills for aracks.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #74 (1983).

 

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Aquatic Dragon

Aquatic Dragon
Dragon (Aquatic)
Environment: Any aquatic
Organization: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: solitary or clutch (2–5); adult, mature adult, old, very old, ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: solitary, pair, or family (1–2 and 2–5 offspring)
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 4; very young 5; young 7; juvenile 10; young adult 13; adult 15; mature adult 18; old 20; very old 21; ancient 23; wyrm 24; great wyrm 26
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: Wyrmling 8–9 HD; very young 11–12 HD; young 14–15 HD; juvenile 17–18 HD; young adult 20–21 HD; adult 23–24 HD; mature adult 26–27 HD; old 29–30 HD; very old 32–33 HD; ancient 35–36 HD; wyrm 38–39 HD; great wyrm 41+ HD
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +4; very young +4; young +5; others —

Aquatic Dragons by Age 
Age 		Size 	Hit Dice (hp) 		Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha BaseAtk/Grp Attack Fort Ref Will Breath Weapon (DC) Frightful Presence DC 
Wyrmling  	M 	7d12+14 (59) 		 17  10  15  12  13  12	 +7/+10		+10 +7  +5  +6		2d10 (15) 	— 
Very young 	L 	10d12+30 (65) 		 21  10  17  12  13  12	 +10/+19	+14 +10 +7  +8		4d10 (18) 	— 
Young 		L 	13d12+39 (123)     	 25  10  17  14  15  14	 +13/+24	+19 +11 +8  +10 	6d10 (19) 	— 
Juvenile 	L 	16d12+64 (168) 		 29  10  19  14  15  14	+16/+29 	+24 +14 +10 +12 	8d10 (22) 	— 
Young adult 	H 	19d12+95 (218) 	 	31  10  21  16  17  16	+19/+37 	+27 +16 +11 +14 	10d10 (24) 	22 
Adult 		H 	22d12+110 (253)		 33  10  21  16  17  16	+22/+41 	+31 +18 +13 +16		12d10 (26) 	24 
Mature adult 	H 	25d12+150 (312)		 33  10  23  18  19  18	+25/+44 	+34 +20 +14 +18		14d10 (28) 	26 
Old 		G 	28d12+196 (378)		 35  10  25  18  19  18	+28/+52 	+36 +23 +16 +20		16d10 (31) 	28 
Very old 	G 	31d12+248 (449)		 37  10  27  20  21  20	+31/+56 	+40 +25 +17 +22		18d10 (33) 	30 
Ancient 	G 	34d12+306 (527)		 39  10  29  20  21  20	+34/+60 	+44 +28 +19 +24		20d10 (36) 	32 
Wyrm 		C 	37d12+370 (610)		 41  10  31  22  23  22	+37/+64 	+48 +30 +20 +26		22d10 (38) 	34 
Great wyrm 	C 	40d12+400 (660)		 45  10  31  22  23  22	+40/+73 	+49 +33 +22 +28		24d10 (40) 	36 


Aquatic Dragon Abilities by Age 
Age 		Speed 				Init 	AC 							Special Abilities 					Caster Level* 	SR 
Wyrmling 	40 ft., swim 150 ft.	+0 	14 (+4 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 14 		Hold breath, immunity to strangulation, immunity to water,			— 		—
													resistance to cold 5 and fire 5, vulnerability to electricity 
Very young 	40 ft., swim 150 ft. 	+0 	16 (-1 size, +7 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 16   	—	 							— 		— 			 
Young 		40 ft., swim 150 ft.	+0 	19 (-1 size, +10 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 19   	—								1st		— 
Juvenile 	40 ft., swim 150 ft. 	+0 	22 (-1 size, +13 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 22 	Resistance to cold 10 and fire 10				3rd		—		 
Young adult 	40 ft., swim 150 ft. 	+0 	24 (–2 size, +16 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 24 	DR 5/magic 							5th		21
Adult 		40 ft., swim 150 ft. 	+0 	27 (–2 size, +19 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 27 	—								7th		23
Mature 		40 ft., swim 150 ft. 	+0 	30 (–2 size, +22 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 30 	DR 10/magic, Resistance to cold 15 and fire 15 			9th		25
Old 		40 ft., swim 200 ft. 	+0 	31 (–4 size, +25 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 31 	—								11th		27
Very old 	40 ft., swim 200 ft. 	+0 	34 (–4 size, +28 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 34 	DR 15/magic							13th		28
Ancient 	40 ft., swim 200 ft. 	+0 	37 (–4 size, +31 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 37 	Resistance to cold 20 and fire 20				15th		30
Wyrm 		40 ft., swim 200 ft. 	+0 	36 (–8 size, +34 natural), touch 2, flat-footed 36 	DR 20/magic 							17th		31
Great wyrm 	40 ft., swim 200 ft. 	+0 	39 (–8 size, +37 natural), touch 2, flat-footed 39 	—								19th		33

This dragon's body is long and slender. A small crest runs the length of its back, and two smaller crests adorn its neck and tail. Its four webbed feet are tipped with sharp claws, and its tail sports four spikes, two on each side. A pair of frills sweep back behind its eyes, while a second pair hand down from where its jaws meet. A strong briny scent accompanies the creature.

Although they share territory with many lung dragons and superficially resemble a few, aquatic dragons are most closely related to dragon turtles. Aquatic dragons prowl the depths of large saltwater and freshwater seas and oceans, feeding on anything smaller than themselves. Since they are capable of retaining great draughts of water in their lungs, aquatic dragons can effectively "hold their breath" and make raids on surface communities.

Aquatic dragons make their lairs in deep underwater caverns. Such lairs often have at least one chamber filled with air, in which the dragon stores scrolls and other magic items that are vulnerable to water. The entrance to an aquatic dragon's lair is generally tangled in seaweed, and the dragon often ties at least one strand to itself when it sleeps to detect a disturbance. Because they are immune to strangulation, aquatic dragons often make their lairs near patches of strangleweed for additional defense.

An aquatic dragon's scales vary in color from seafoam green to azure. As the dragon ages, its scales darken, to a deep green or blue at great wyrm.

Combat

Aquatic dragons are highly maneuverable in water, and use this to great effect. They utilize their breath weapon strategically, often using it to blow the hulls out of seagoing vessels.

An aquatic dragon lacks wing buffet attacks, but gains two additional claw attacks upon reaching Medium size. Due to the spikes, its tail slap attack deals half piercing damage.

Breath Weapon (Su): An aquatic dragon has one type of breath weapon, a cone of adhesive particles that stick to everything in the area. One round after the use of the breath weapon, the particles undergo a reaction with the surrounding water and deal electricity damage to anything they touch, including equipment. A successful Reflex save at the time the breath weapon is used halves the damage (by reducing the number of particles that stick to a character and his or her equipment). This breath weapon does not function out of the water. An aquatic dragon is immune to the effects of its own breath weapon, as its scales naturally inhibit the particles from energizing.

Hold Breath (Ex): An aquatic dragon can hold great draughts of water in its lungs. It may do so for a number of rounds equal to 8 times its Constitution score. If out of water at that time, it risks drowning. While holding its breath, an aquatic dragon may not use its bite attack or breath weapon.

Immunity to Strangulation (Ex): Due to a combination of powerful neck musculature and its inherent resistance to water pressure, an aquatic dragon cannot be strangled. This renders it immune to garrotte attacks, the constriction attack of chokers, and other attacks that target the neck and deal damage based upon cutting off breathing.

Immunity to Water (Ex): An aquatic dragon is immune to the detrimental effects of spells with the water descriptor.

Water Pressure Tolerance (Su): Aquatic dragons are able to survive in the deepest oceans due to innate magic, and thus take no damage from water pressure at any depths (see Water Dangers in the Dungeon Master's Guide).

Skills: Survival, Swim, and Tumble are considered class skills for aquatic dragons.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #134 (1988).

 

[Shade]

Brine Dragon

Brine Dragon
Dragon (Aquatic)
Environment: Any aquatic
Organization: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: solitary or clutch (2–5); adult, mature adult, old, very old, ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: solitary, pair, or family (1–2 and 2–5 offspring)
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 3; very young 4; young 5; juvenile 7; young adult 9; adult 11; mature adult 14; old 16; very old 18; ancient 19; wyrm 20; great wyrm 22
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always chaotic neutral
Advancement: Wyrmling 5–6 HD; very young 8–9 HD; young 11–12 HD; juvenile 14–15 HD; young adult 17–18 HD; adult 20–21 HD; mature adult 23–24 HD; old 26–27 HD; very old 29–30 HD; ancient 32–33 HD; wyrm 35–36 HD; great wyrm 38+ HD
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +3; very young +3; young +3; juvenile +4; others —

Brine Dragons by Age 
Age 		Size 	Hit Dice (hp) 		Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha BaseAtk/Grp Attack Fort Ref Will Breath Weapon (DC) Frightful Presence DC 
Wyrmling  	T 	4d12+4 (30) 		 11  10  13  6  11  6	 +4/–4		+6  +5  +4  +4		1d4 (13) 	— 
Very young 	S 	7d12+7 (52) 		 13  10  13  6  11  6	 +7/+4		+9  +6  +5  +5		2d4 (14) 	— 
Young 		M 	10d12+20 (85)     	 15  10  15  6  11  6	 +10/+12	+12 +9  +7  +7 		3d4 (17) 	— 
Juvenile 	M 	13d12+26 (110) 		 17  10  15  8  11  8	+13/+16 	+16 +10 +8  +8 		4d4 (18) 	— 
Young adult 	L 	16d12+48 (152) 		 19  10  17  8  11  10	+16/+24 	+19 +13 +10  +10 	5d4 (21) 	18 
Adult 		L 	19d12+76 (199)		 23  10  19  10  11  12	+19/+29 	+24 +15 +11 +11		6d4 (23) 	20 
Mature adult 	H 	22d12+110 (253)		 27  10  21  12  13  12	+22/+38 	+28 +18 +13 +14		7d4 (26) 	22 
Old 		H 	25d12+125 (287)		 29  10  21  12  13  12	+25/+42 	+32 +19 +14 +15		8d4 (27) 	23 
Very old 	H 	28d12+168 (350)		 31  10  23  14  15  14	+28/+46 	+36 +22 +16 +18		9d4 (30) 	26 
Ancient 	H 	31d12+186 (387)		 33  10  23  14  15  14	+31/+50 	+40 +23 +17 +20		10d4 (31) 	27 
Wyrm 		G 	34d12+238 (459)		 35  10  25  14  15  16	+34/+58 	+42 +26 +19 +21		11d4 (34) 	30 
Great wyrm 	G 	37d12+296 (536)		 37  10  27  18  19  18	+37/+62 	+46 +28 +20 +24		12d4 (36) 	32 


Brine Dragon Abilities by Age 
Age 		Speed 			Init 	AC 							Special Abilities 				Caster Level 		SR 
Wyrmling 	Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	15 (+2 size, +3 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 15 	Immunity to acid and poison, powerful bite,	— 			— 
													tremorsense 
Very young 	Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	17 (+1 size, +6 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 17   	—  						— 			— 			 
Young 		Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	19 (+9 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 19   		— 						— 			— 
Juvenile 	Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	22 (+12 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 22 		Bleeding wounds					— 			—		 
Young adult 	Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	24 (–1 size, +15 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 24 	DR 5/magic					— 			17
Adult 		Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	27 (–1 size, +18 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 27 	Augmented critical, [I]Melf's acid arrow[/I]		— 			18
Mature 		Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	29 (–2 size, +21 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 29 	DR 10/magic					— 			21
Old 		Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	32 (–2 size, +24 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 32 	[I]Stinking cloud[/I]					— 			22
Very old 	Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	35 (–2 size, +27 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 35 	DR 15/magic					— 			23
Ancient 	Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	38 (–2 size, +30 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 38 	[I]Fear[/I]						— 			25
Wyrm 		Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	39 (–4 size, +33 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 39 	DR 20/magic					— 			26
Great wyrm 	Swim 60 ft.	 	+0 	41 (–4 size, +36 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 42 	[I]Cloudkill[/I]					— 			28

This creature has the body of a plesiosaur, and the head of a dragon. Its mottled hide is ridged and craggy, with irregular scales dotted with huge clumps of discolored sea salt. Its jaws are filled with oversized teeth, giving the appearance of an enormous grin. A nearly overwhelming scent of salt accompanies the creature.

Brine dragons are fully aquatic creatures, only surfacing if easy prey is spotted. These undersea predators are graceful swimmers, moving swiftly without so much as a ripple in their wake.

Brine dragons crave salt, swallowing huge amounts of it while absorbing more through their hides as they swim. They supplement this diet with anything they can catch, even eating marine undead if the opportunity presents itself. Brine dragons despise black dragons, and will attack them on sight.

A brine dragon makes its lair in large coral beds or rock formations, shaping it with its breath weapon and using its spittle as mortar. The territory of a brine dragon varies from day to day, from as little as 300 feet to up to 10 miles.

Combat

Extremely unpredictable, brine dragons may attack without provocation, or might ignore an obvious act of aggression directed toward them. In battle, they prefer to inflict grievous wounds with their oversized teeth. Against aerial creatures or those outside its reach on shore, it employs its breath weapon liberally.

Because a brine dragon has no claws or wings, its full attack action functions differently than most dragons. It never gains claw or wing buffet attacks, but it does possess a powerful bite (see below).

Augmented Critical (Ex): An adult or older brine dragon's bite threatens a critical hit on a natural attack roll of 18–20, dealing triple damage on a successful critical hit.

Bleeding Wounds (Ex): A wound from a juvenile or older brine dragon's bite attack continues to bleed after the injury was inflicted. Each wound bleeds for 1 point of damage per round thereafter. Multiple bite wounds result in cumulative bleeding loss (two wounds deal 2 points of damage per round, and so on). The bleeding can be stopped only by a successful DC 15 Heal check or the application of any cure spell or other healing spell (heal, mass heal, and so on).

Breath Weapon (Su): A brine dragon has one type of breath weapon, a cone of acid. Its breath weapon is equally effective above and below the water's surface.

Powerful Bite (Ex): All brine dragons gain Improved Natural Attack (bite) as a bonus feat.

Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day--cloudkill (great wyrm), fear (ancient or older), Melf's acid arrow (adult and older), stinking cloud (adult and older).

Tremorsense (Ex): Brine dragons have tremorsense to a range of 10 feet x age category.

Skills: Move Silently, Survival, and Swim are considered class skills for brine dragons.

A brine dragon has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform a special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

A brine dragon gains a +8 racial bonus on Move Silently checks while in water. It suffers no penalties on Move Silently checks when moving at greater speeds (normally, a creature takes a -5 penalty when moving at greater than half speed and a -20 penalty when running or charging).

Originally appeared in Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two (1995).