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Documentation Area

Document Path: /doc/monsters/dragon

Name:
	Dragon  (Magical Creature)

Stats:
	No. Appearing  : 1
	Climate/Terrain: Any
	Frequency      : Rare
	Organization   : Solitary or clan
	Activity Cycle : Any
	Diet           : Special

Description:
	Dragons are an ancient, winged reptilian race. They are known and
	feared for their size, physical prowess, and magical abilities. The
	oldest dragons are among the most powerful creatures in the world. Most
	dragons are identified by the color of their scales.

	There are many known subspecies of dragons, several of which fall into
	three broad categories: chromatic, gem, and metallic dragons. Chromatic
	dragons include black, blue, green, red, and white dragons, all are
	extremely evil and are feared by most. The metallic dragons are the
	brass, bronze, copper, gold, and silver dragons; these are noble and
	good, highly respected by wise people.

	The gem dragons are the amethyst, crystal, emerald, sapphire, and topaz
	dragons; they are neutral with respect to good and evil, and are very
	charismatic and suave, masters of persuasion who delight in riddles.
	Though generally smaller and slower than other dragons, gem dragons are
	often wiser and more intelligent, and have other powers to compensate,
	like psionics.

	All subspecies of dragons have 12 age categories, and gain more abili-
	ties and greater power as they age. Dragons range in size from several
	feet upon hatching to more than 100 feet, after thay have attained the
	status of a great wyrm. The exact size varies according to age and sub-
	species. A dragon's wingspan is about equal to its body length, 15-20%
	of a dragon's body length is neck.

	  Age category          Age (in years)
	  1  Hatchling          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 Venerable          801-1000
	  11 Wyrm               1001-1200
	  12 Great Wyrm         1200+

	Some dragons are able to communicate telepathically with any intelli-
	gent creature. The percentage chance for a dragon to speak is based on
	its intelligence and age category.

Combat:
	A dragon's armour class improves as it gets older and the creatures
	becomes tougher. Old dragons or older dragons are immune to normal mis-
	siles; their gem-encrusted hides deflect arrows and other small projec-
	tiles. Large missiles (from catapults, giants, etc.) and magical mis-
	siles affect them normally. Young adult and older dragons radiate a
	personal aura that makes them partially resistant to harmful magic. A
	dragon's resistance to magic increases as it ages.

	All dragons have excellend senses of sight, smell, and hearing. Their
	enhanced senses enable them to detect all invisible object and crea-
	tures (including creatures or items hidden in darkness or fog) within
	a raduis equal to 10 feet times their age category. All dragons possess
	a natural clairaudience ability with respect to their lairs; the range
	is 20 feet per age category. The dragon must concentrate on a specific
	section within its lair or surrounding area to hear what is going on.

	Despite their large size, dragons are graceful and competent fliers.
	This is due partially to their powerful wings, and partially to the
	dragon's innate magic. Dragons can climb at half speed and dive at
	double speed.

	A dragon can change direction quickly by executing a wingover maneuver.
	A dragon cannot gain altitude during the round it executes a wingover,
	but it may dive. The maneuver enables the dragon to make a turn of 120
	to 240 degrees of its speed or size. Diving dragons can strike with
	their claws. Dragons diving on land-bound opponents can also strike
	with both wings, but then must land immediately after attacking.

	When engaging other flying opponents, dragons can either claw or bite,
	but not both. An airborne dragon must glide to cast spells (but innate
	abilities can be used any time). A gliding dragon loses 1000 feet of
	altitude per round, and its forward speed is equal to one half its
	flight speed on the round before it begain gliding.

	Dragons can inspire panic or fear. The mere sight of a young adult or
	older dragons causes creatures small creatures (as well as all noncar-
	nivorous, non-aggressive creatures with fewer hit points than the dra-
	gon) to automatically flee in panic for 4-24 rounds. Gem dragons are
	not as inherently fearsome as other dragons, though.

	Dragon hit points vary between subspecies and are modified based on age
	category. The older a dragon gets, the more hit points it has.
	All dragons have a claw/claw/bite attack form and a breath weapon. The
	latter can be used once every three rounds. Dragons also employ several
	other attack forms, like snatch, plummet, kick, wing buffet, tail slap
	and stall. Dragons frequently divide their attacks between oppnents,
	using the more dangerous attacks, such as bite, against the foes they
	perceive to be the toughest. A dragon's preferred attacks are usually,
	in order, breath weapon, magical abilities (or spells), and physical
	attacks. Magical abilites (but not spells) can be used in addition to
	any attacks, except the breath weapon.

	Dragons learn spells haphazardly over the years. The dragon can cast
	each spell once per day, unless random determination indicates the same
	spell more than once, in which case the dragon can cast it more than
	once a day. Dragons do not use spell books or pray to deities; they
	simply sleep, concentrate when they awaken, and remember their spells.
	Dragon spells have only a verbal component; the spells have a casting
	time of 1 round, regardless of level. Dragons cannot physically attack,
	use their breath weapon, use their magical abilities or fly (except to
	glide) while casting a spell.

Habitat/Society:
	When a young adult dragon leaves its parents in search of its own lair,
	it spends a few years moving from place to place to find a cave or ca-
	vern which best suits its personality. In most cases, the dragons
	search for increasingly larger caves which can easily accomodate them
	as they grow. Usually by the time a dragon has reached the mature adult
	stage, it has selected a large lair it  plans to keep for the remainder
	of its life. A dragon at this stage has gathered a considerable amount
	of treasure and its loath to move it to a different location.

	The location and character of dragon lairs vary based on each subspe-
	cies. However, one thing remains constant: any dragon considers its
	lair and neighbouring areas its domains. A creature which violates or
	threatens the lair is threatening the dragon and will be dealt with
	harshly. Some good dragons may be more lenient than other subspecies
	in this matter. All dragons keep their treasure hidden deep within
	their lairs, and some dragons create hazardous conditions within their
	lain to keep unwary creatures from reaching the treasure.

	Although all subspecies of dragons are believed to have come from the
	same roots tens of thousands of yeards ago, the present subspecies keep
	to themselves, working together only under extreme circumstances, such
	as a powerful mutual threat. Good dragons never work with evil dragons,
	however, though a few natural dragon specimens have been known to as-
	sociate with evil or good dragons. Gold dragons occasionally associate
	freely with silver dragons, and emerald dragons are sometimes found
	with sapphire dragons.

	When evil dragons of different species encounter each other, they usu-
	ally fight to protect their territores. While good dragons of different
	subspecies are more tolerant of each other, they are also very terri-
	torial. They usually try to work out differences in a peaceful manner.
	Gem dragons often settle inter-species disputes with riddling contests.

	Generally, when multiple dragons are encountered they are a mated pair
	and young. Mated dragons are always young adults, adults, or mature
	adults; young dragons found with their parents are of the young adult
	stage or younger.

	During the early part of a dragon's young adult stage it leaves its
	parents, greed driving it on to start a lair of its own. Sometimes,
	although rarely, juvenile dragons leave their parents to start their
	own lives. As a pair of mated dragons age beyond the mature adult
	stage, they spilt up, independence and the lust for treasure driving
	them apart. Older dragons of either sex sometimes raise young, buy only
	on their own - the other parent leaves when the eggs are laid.

	Dragons, especially older ones, are generally solitary due to the ne-
	cesity and preference. They distance themselves from civilization,
	which they consider to be a pretty and foolish mortal invention.

Ecology:
	Dragons are fearsome predators, but scavenge when necessary and can eat
	almost anything if they are hungry enough. A dragon's metabolism ope-
	rates like a highly efficient furnace, making use of 95% of all the
	food the dragon eats. A dragon can also metabolize inorganic material,
	and some dragons have developed a taste for such fare.

	All dragon lairs are far from mortal civilization, and they are diffi-
	cult to find because the dragons take careful measures to cloak their
	coming and going. There is usually little, if any, wildlife around the
	lairs because neighbouring creatures fear the dragons, and most dragons
	eat the few creatures that are foolish enough to remain.

	Although dragons' goals and ideals vary among subspecies, all dragons
	are coverous. They like to hoard wealth, collecting mounds of coins and
	gathering as many gems, jewels, and magical items as possible. They
	find treasure pleasing to look at, and they bask in the radiance of the
	magical items. For a dragon, there is never enough treasure. Those with
	large hoards are loath to leave them for long, venturing out of their
	lairs only to patrol the immediate areas or to get food. Dragons like
	to make beds of their treausre, shaping nooks and mounds to fit their
	bodies. By the time they mature to the great wyrm stage, hundreds of
	gems and coins are imbedded in their hides.

	Dragon skin is prized by armourers with the skill to turn it into
	shields and armour, valuable because of its appearance and the protec-
	tion it affords. Dragon armour is supple and non-bulky, weighing only
	25 pounds. The scales of gem dragons take on properties of actual gems;
	they are faceted and reflect light. They are slightly more brittle than
	those of other dragons, so armour made from them requires repair more
	often.

	Dragon armour affords no extra protection, such as resistance to fire
	or cold, although the armour can be enchanted to provide such protec-
	tion. A dragon's resistance to certain elements is based on its total
	makeup, not just its skin. Plain dragon armour is expensive to make,
	costing 1000-10000 gold pieces, based on the workmanship and protection
	the armour affords. Dragon skin armour can be enchanted, just as other
	forms of armour can.

	Dragon shields also offer no additional protection. They are made of
	streteched hide over a wooden frame. Such shields weigh 3 pounds (if
	small) or 8 pounds (if large) and cost 20-120 or 30-180 gold pieces.