Khisanth the Ancient
Explorer
The drakainai are a powerful group of unusual dragons or dragon-like beings, so ancient and primal in form and nature that they fall outside the normal dragon classifications. They are chthonic beings, strongly associated with elemental earth in its most primal forms; it is believed that they are related to the primordials of earth. Many consider them to have been made by those beings, but their distant origins are so obscure that they may in fact be cousins rather than creations of the primordials. Most of the drakainai were slain or imprisoned in the Dawn War, but some of the numerous lesser ones escaped imprisonment, and the bonds of the most powerful may be weakening...
Drakainai are greatly variable in size and shape: almost the only constant is a generally serpentine form. Most have some human features, or can take on a form with human or semihuman aspect; some may possess wings, fins, poisoned stingers, multiple snake heads, clawed limbs, or all of the above. The most potent may have ever-shifting hybrid forms which can induce madness in viewers.
The greatest of the currently alive or active Drakaina is probably Ceto, an immensely potent being which is worshipped as a goddess on several mortal worlds. One of the most primordial-like of the Drakaina, Ceto nevertheless stood aloof from the war, and thus escaped death or imprisonment (aided by the fact that she would be a nearly insurmountable foe for anything but a pantheon head or an alliance of powerful martial gods). Kampe is also of nigh-immeasurable power, but her true self was bound at the end of the Dawn War, leaving only lesser reflections of her being to watch over certain prisons of fallen primordials and the greatest abominations.
Drakaina Adept
A drakaina adept is a comparatively small and humanoid drakaina, merely 15 to 20 feet long; it resembles a humanoid female above the waist (though with scaled talons for hands, large fangs in the mouth, and obvious serpent eyes) and a huge python below. Drakaina adepts are generally adorned with the accoutrements of sorcery, for all wield powerful magic of the earth - blasting telluric currents and lethal venom.
While potent and rare by mortal standards, these are nonetheless the least of the breed and the most likely to have escaped divine imprisonment. The mortal world may contain perhaps a half-dozen drakaina adepts at most, though more likely dwell in the Elemental Chaos. In the mortal world, drakaina adepts - isolated from others of their kind due to their rarity - tend to become rulers of reptilian races, or perhaps of savage or evil tribes of humanoids. In the Elemental Chaos, drakaina adepts may be rulers of small elemental kingdoms or advisors or servitors to greater planar lords.
Drakaina Adept
Level 21 Elite Artillery
Large elemental magical beast (dragon, earth) XP: 6400
HP: 306; Bloodied: 153 Initiative: +18
AC: 35; Fortitude: 32; Reflex: 37; Will: 36 Senses Perception +19, darkvision
Immune poison Resist cold 10, necrotic 10
Saving Throws +2
Speed 8, swim 8
Telluric Ray (Standard; at-will; basic attack) * lightning
Range 25; +28 vs. AC; 3d6+8 lightning damage, and target's lightning resist, if any, is reduced by 5 (save ends).
Poison Bolt (Standard; at-will) * poison
Range 25; +26 vs. Fortitude; 3d6+8 poison damage and 10 ongoing poison damage (save ends).
Telluric Fury (Standard; recharge 6) * lightning
Blast 10; +26 vs. Reflex; 4d12+7 lightning damage and target's lightning resist, if any, is reduced by 10 (save ends)
Poison Storm (Standard; encounter) * poison
Range 30, burst 5; +26 vs. Fortitude; 4d10+7 poison damage and 15 ongoing poison damage (save ends)
Chthonic Revival (Automatic reaction; when first bloodied)
The drakaina adept regains 60 hit points; its telluric fury and poison storm powers recharge.
Current Rider (Move; recharge 4 5 6) * teleport
The drakaina adept shifts 12 spaces and gains lightning resist 20 until its next turn.
Venom Shield (Automatic reaction; when the drakaina adept takes 50 or more damage from a single attack)
Close Burst 5; +26 vs. Fortitude; 2d6+7 poison damage
Action Points 1
Str 15 (+12) Dex 27 (+18) Wis 19 (+14)
Con 21 (+15) Int 26 (+18) Cha 25 (+17)
Skills Arcana +23
Alignment Chaotic evil
Languages Deep Speech, Draconic, Primordial
---
OK, so an 'ordinary' or weak drakaina is Elite Level 21. I figure that they, being generally singular and powerful, are all either Elite or Solo (or super-solo, I guess).
I figure that the more powerful Drakainai should go well up into the divine statuses. Ceto and Kampe might be on the Sidereal borderline... it's tempting to make them Entities - though I'm not sure what that concept would translate to in 4e terms... I'm tempted to suggest that Kampe's Avatar should be about Tiamat's equal (Level 35 Solo, right?) so her Aspects can still be Epic Tier Solos, Abomination-level and thus suited to guard Abomination prisons.
Ophion, a sort of alternate-to-Uranus pre-Kronos ruling primordial deity is probably the primordial 'template' of all the Greek-myth Dragons and serpents. He'd be distinctly Sidereal ... First One probably .... possibly an alternate version of Thought or Time - the latter if we tie him in with Phanes* (who seems to have serpent associations too, though things get philosophical/mystical pretty fast in all these alternate Greek cosmogonies). Alternately he could be an Old One 'subordinate' to one of these, probably Time.
*The Greek primordial deity Phanes, not the 'phane' Abominations in the 3e ELH and the 4e MM.
Drakainai are greatly variable in size and shape: almost the only constant is a generally serpentine form. Most have some human features, or can take on a form with human or semihuman aspect; some may possess wings, fins, poisoned stingers, multiple snake heads, clawed limbs, or all of the above. The most potent may have ever-shifting hybrid forms which can induce madness in viewers.
The greatest of the currently alive or active Drakaina is probably Ceto, an immensely potent being which is worshipped as a goddess on several mortal worlds. One of the most primordial-like of the Drakaina, Ceto nevertheless stood aloof from the war, and thus escaped death or imprisonment (aided by the fact that she would be a nearly insurmountable foe for anything but a pantheon head or an alliance of powerful martial gods). Kampe is also of nigh-immeasurable power, but her true self was bound at the end of the Dawn War, leaving only lesser reflections of her being to watch over certain prisons of fallen primordials and the greatest abominations.
Drakaina Adept
A drakaina adept is a comparatively small and humanoid drakaina, merely 15 to 20 feet long; it resembles a humanoid female above the waist (though with scaled talons for hands, large fangs in the mouth, and obvious serpent eyes) and a huge python below. Drakaina adepts are generally adorned with the accoutrements of sorcery, for all wield powerful magic of the earth - blasting telluric currents and lethal venom.
While potent and rare by mortal standards, these are nonetheless the least of the breed and the most likely to have escaped divine imprisonment. The mortal world may contain perhaps a half-dozen drakaina adepts at most, though more likely dwell in the Elemental Chaos. In the mortal world, drakaina adepts - isolated from others of their kind due to their rarity - tend to become rulers of reptilian races, or perhaps of savage or evil tribes of humanoids. In the Elemental Chaos, drakaina adepts may be rulers of small elemental kingdoms or advisors or servitors to greater planar lords.
Drakaina Adept
Level 21 Elite Artillery
Large elemental magical beast (dragon, earth) XP: 6400
HP: 306; Bloodied: 153 Initiative: +18
AC: 35; Fortitude: 32; Reflex: 37; Will: 36 Senses Perception +19, darkvision
Immune poison Resist cold 10, necrotic 10
Saving Throws +2
Speed 8, swim 8
Telluric Ray (Standard; at-will; basic attack) * lightning
Range 25; +28 vs. AC; 3d6+8 lightning damage, and target's lightning resist, if any, is reduced by 5 (save ends).
Poison Bolt (Standard; at-will) * poison
Range 25; +26 vs. Fortitude; 3d6+8 poison damage and 10 ongoing poison damage (save ends).
Telluric Fury (Standard; recharge 6) * lightning
Blast 10; +26 vs. Reflex; 4d12+7 lightning damage and target's lightning resist, if any, is reduced by 10 (save ends)
Poison Storm (Standard; encounter) * poison
Range 30, burst 5; +26 vs. Fortitude; 4d10+7 poison damage and 15 ongoing poison damage (save ends)
Chthonic Revival (Automatic reaction; when first bloodied)
The drakaina adept regains 60 hit points; its telluric fury and poison storm powers recharge.
Current Rider (Move; recharge 4 5 6) * teleport
The drakaina adept shifts 12 spaces and gains lightning resist 20 until its next turn.
Venom Shield (Automatic reaction; when the drakaina adept takes 50 or more damage from a single attack)
Close Burst 5; +26 vs. Fortitude; 2d6+7 poison damage
Action Points 1
Str 15 (+12) Dex 27 (+18) Wis 19 (+14)
Con 21 (+15) Int 26 (+18) Cha 25 (+17)
Skills Arcana +23
Alignment Chaotic evil
Languages Deep Speech, Draconic, Primordial
---
OK, so an 'ordinary' or weak drakaina is Elite Level 21. I figure that they, being generally singular and powerful, are all either Elite or Solo (or super-solo, I guess).
I figure that the more powerful Drakainai should go well up into the divine statuses. Ceto and Kampe might be on the Sidereal borderline... it's tempting to make them Entities - though I'm not sure what that concept would translate to in 4e terms... I'm tempted to suggest that Kampe's Avatar should be about Tiamat's equal (Level 35 Solo, right?) so her Aspects can still be Epic Tier Solos, Abomination-level and thus suited to guard Abomination prisons.
Ophion, a sort of alternate-to-Uranus pre-Kronos ruling primordial deity is probably the primordial 'template' of all the Greek-myth Dragons and serpents. He'd be distinctly Sidereal ... First One probably .... possibly an alternate version of Thought or Time - the latter if we tie him in with Phanes* (who seems to have serpent associations too, though things get philosophical/mystical pretty fast in all these alternate Greek cosmogonies). Alternately he could be an Old One 'subordinate' to one of these, probably Time.
*The Greek primordial deity Phanes, not the 'phane' Abominations in the 3e ELH and the 4e MM.
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