The known varieties of true dragons (as opposed to other creatures that have the dragon type) fall into two broad categories: chromatic and metallic. The
chromatic dragons are black, blue, green, red, and white; they are all evil and extremely fierce. The
metallic dragons are brass, bronze, copper, gold, and silver; they are all good, usually noble, and highly respected by the wise.
All true dragons gain more abilities and greater power as they
age. (Other creatures that have the dragon type do not.) They range in length from several feet upon hatching to more than 100 feet after attaining the
status of great wyrm. The size of a particular dragon varies according to
age and variety.
A dragon's metabolism operates like a highly efficient furnace and can metabolize even inorganic material. Some dragons have developed a taste for such fare.
Although goals and ideals vary among varieties, all dragons are covetous. They like to hoard wealth, collecting mounds of
coins and gathering as many gems, jewels, and magic items as possible. Those with large hoards are loath to leave them for long, venturing out of their lairs only to patrol the immediate area or to get food. For dragons, there is no such thing as enough treasure. It's pleasing to look at, and they bask in its radiance. Dragons like to make beds of their hoards, shaping nooks and mounds to fit their bodies. By the time a dragon matures to the
age of great wyrm, hundreds of gems and
coins may be imbedded in its
hide.
All dragons speak Draconic.
A dragon attacks with its powerful claws and
bite, and can also use a
breath weapon and special physical attacks, depending on its size. It prefers to fight on the
wing, staying out of reach until it has worn down the enemy with ranged attacks. Older, more intelligent dragons are
adept at sizing up the opposition and eliminating the most dangerous foes first (or avoiding them while picking off weaker enemies).
The table below provides space and reach statistics for dragons of various sizes, plus the natural weapons a dragon of a certain size can employ and the
damage those attacks deal.
Bite: Bite attacks deal the indicated
damage plus the dragon's Strength bonus. A dragon also can use its
bite to
snatch opponents if it has the
Snatch feat.
Claw: Claw attacks deal the indicated
damage plus 1/2 the dragon's Strength bonus (round down). The dragon also can use its claws to
snatch opponents if it has the
Snatch feat.
Claw attacks are secondary attacks, requiring a -5 penalty on the
attack roll. (Many dragons choose the
Multiattack feat to lessen this penalty to -2).
Wing: The dragon can slam opponents with its wings, even when flying.
Wing attacks deal the indicated
damage plus 1/2 the dragon's Strength bonus (round down) and are treated as secondary attacks.
Tail Slap: The dragon can slap one opponent each round with its tail. A
tail slap deals the indicated
damage plus 1-1/2 times the dragon's Strength bonus (round down) and is treated as a secondary attack.
Crush (Ex): This
special attack allows a flying or jumping dragon of at least Huge size to land on opponents as a
standard action, using its whole body to
crush them.
Crush attacks are effective only against opponents three or more size categories smaller than the dragon (though it can attempt normal
overrun or
grapple attacks against larger opponents).
A
crush attack affects as many creatures as can fit under the dragon's body. Creatures in the affected area must succeed on a Reflex save (DC equal to that of the dragon's
breath weapon) or be pinned, automatically taking bludgeoning
damage during the next round unless the dragon moves off them. If the dragon chooses to maintain the pin, treat it as a normal
grapple attack. Pinned opponents take
damage from the
crush each round if they don't escape.
A
crush attack deals the indicated
damage plus 1-1/2 times the dragon's Strength bonus (round down).
Tail Sweep (Ex): This
special attack allows a dragon of at least Gargantuan size to sweep with its tail as a
standard action. The
sweep affects a half-circle with a radius of 30 feet (or 40 feet for a Colossal dragon), extending from an intersection on the edge of the dragon's space in any direction. Creatures within the swept area are affected if they are four or more size categories smaller than the dragon. A
tail sweep automatically deals the indicated
damage plus 1-1/2 times the dragon's Strength bonus (round down). Affected creatures can attempt Reflex saves to take half
damage (DC equal to that of the dragon's
breath weapon).
Breath Weapon (Su): Using a
breath weapon is a
standard action. Once a dragon breathes, it can't breathe again until 1d4 rounds later. If a dragon has more than one type of
breath weapon, it still can breathe only once every 1d4 rounds. A blast from a
breath weapon always starts at any intersection adjacent to the dragon and extends in a direction of the dragon's choice, with an area as noted on the table below. If the
breath weapon deals
damage, creatures caught in the area can attempt Reflex saves to take half
damage; the DC depends on the dragon's
age and variety, and is given in each individual entry. Saves against nondamaging
breath weapons use the same DC; the kind of
saving throw is noted in the variety descriptions. The save DC against a
breath weapon is 10 + 1/2 dragon's HD + dragon's Con modifier.
Breath weapons come in two basic shapes, line and cone, whose areas vary with the dragon's size.
Dragon Breath Weapons
|
Dragon Size
|
Line* (Length)
|
Cone** (Length)
|
Tiny |
30 ft.
|
15 ft.
|
Small |
40 ft.
|
20 ft.
|
Medium |
60 ft.
|
30 ft.
|
Large |
80 ft.
|
40 ft.
|
Huge |
100 ft.
|
50 ft.
|
Gargantuan |
120 ft.
|
60 ft.
|
Colossal |
140 ft.
|
70 ft.
|
*A line is always 5 feet high and 5 feet wide. |
**A cone is as high and wide as its length. |
Frightful Presence (Ex): A young adult or older dragon can unsettle foes with its mere presence.
The ability takes effect automatically whenever the dragon attacks, charges, or flies overhead. Creatures within a radius of 30 feet x the dragon's
age category are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than the dragon. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 dragon's HD + dragon's Cha modifier) remains immune to that dragon's
frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Dragons ignore the
frightful presence of other dragons.
Spells: A dragon knows and casts
arcane spells as a
sorcerer of the level indicated in its variety description, gaining bonus spells for a high Charisma score. Some dragons can also cast spells from the
cleric list or
cleric domain lists as
arcane spells.
Immunities (Ex): All dragons have
immunity to
sleep and
paralysis effects. Each variety of dragon has
immunity to one or two additional forms of attack no matter what its
age, as given in its description.
Blindsense (Ex): Dragons can pinpoint creatures within a distance of 60 feet. Opponents the dragon can't actually see still have total
concealment against the dragon.
Keen Senses (Ex): A dragon sees four times as well a
human in shadowy illumination and twice as well in normal
light. It also has
darkvision out to 120 feet.
Skills: All dragons have skill points equal to (6 + Int modifier, minimum 1) x (Hit
Dice + 3). Most dragons purchase the following
skills at the maximum ranks possible:
Listen,
Search, and
Spot. The remaining skill points are generally spent on
Concentration,
Diplomacy,
Escape Artist,
Intimidate,
Knowledge (any),
Sense Motive, and
Use Magic Device at a cost of 1 skill point per rank. All these
skills are considered class
skills for dragons. (Each dragon has other class
skills as well, as noted in the variety descriptions.)
Feats: All dragons have one feat, plus additional
feats based on Hit
Dice just like any other creature. Dragons favor
Alertness,
Blind-Fight,
Cleave,
Flyby Attack,
Hover,
Improved Initiative,
Improved Sunder,
Power Attack,
Snatch,
Weapon Focus (
claw or
bite),
Wingover, and any
metamagic feat that is available and useful to sorcerers.
Dragon Age Categories
|
Category
|
Age (Years)
|
1 Wyrmling |
0-5 |
2 Very young |
6-15 |
3 Young |
16-25 |
4 Juvenile |
26-50 |
5 Young adult |
51-100 |
6 Adult |
101-200 |
7 Mature adult |
201-400 |
8 Old |
401-600 |
9 Very old |
601-800 |
10 Ancient |
801-1,000 |
11 Wyrm |
1,001-1,200 |
12 Great wyrm |
1,201 or more |
Dragon Space/Reach, Attacks, and Damage
|
Size
|
Space/Reach*
|
1 Bite
|
2 Claws
|
2 Wings
|
1 Tail Slap
|
1Crush
|
1 Tail Sweep
|
Tiny |
2-1/2 ft./0 ft. (5 ft. with bite) |
1d4
|
1d3
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Small |
5 ft./5 ft. |
1d6
|
1d4
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Medium |
5 ft./5 ft. |
1d8
|
1d6
|
1d4
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Large |
10 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with bite) |
2d6
|
1d8
|
1d6
|
1d8
|
-
|
-
|
Huge |
15 ft./10 ft. (15 ft. with bite) |
2d8
|
2d6
|
1d8
|
2d6
|
2d8
|
-
|
Gargantuan |
20 ft./15 ft. (20 ft. with bite) |
4d6
|
2d8
|
2d6
|
2d8
|
4d6
|
2d6
|
Colossal |
30 ft./20 ft. (30 ft. with bite) |
4d8
|
4d6
|
2d8
|
4d6
|
4d8
|
2d8
|
*A dragon's bite attack has reach as if the creature were one size category larger. All other attacks are made with the standard reach for the dragon's size. |
Chromatic and
metallic dragons are exceedingly strong flyers and can
cover vast distances quickly. A dragon's overland flying
speed is a function of its tactical
fly speed, as shown on the table below.
Dragon Overland Flying Speeds
|
|
----- Dragon's Fly Speed -----
|
|
100 feet
|
150 feet
|
200 feet
|
250 feet
|
One Hour
|
|
|
|
|
Normal |
15 miles
|
20 miles
|
30 miles
|
40 miles
|
Hustle |
24 miles
|
40 miles
|
60 miles
|
80 miles
|
One Day
|
|
|
|
|
Normal |
120 miles
|
160 miles
|
240 miles
|
320 miles
|
Dragons do not tire as quickly as other creatures when moving overland on the ground. If a dragon attempts a hustle or a forced march, check for
nonlethal damage once every 2 hours instead of every hour.
Armorsmiths can work with the hides of dragons to produce armor or shields of masterwork quality.