Dragons are creatures of immense and primal power, and nowhere is this fact more evident than in the existence of rare varieties that scholars who are aware of them have dubbed "advanced dragons." Advanced dragons are rare species of dragon that do not breed, and therefore are not born as they are, but rather undergo a deliberate process of mutation and alteration from original forms to become something new.
Advanced dragons can start as any normal dragon race, but at some point in their long lives they decide to transform themselves permanently into different creatures. When a dragon decides to become Advanced, it must meet certain prerequisites, and acquire an item of special significance to the advanced race the dragon wishes to transform into. The dragon must then gain enough XP to go up a level, but instead of gaining the level the character performs a ritual of transformation to begin the process of conversion to the advanced race. The ritual takes 24 hours to perform, and as part of it, the dragon eats the special item (destroying it forever) and spends 1000 XP times its present level- for instance, a 12th-level dragon spends 12000 XP. After this, the character gains the first stage of the transformation (see below) and is irrevocably on the path to becoming an advanced dragon. Should a dragon which is already Advanced choose to become a different Advanced race, it may do so, but completely loses the features of its old Advanced race if it completes the new ritual of transformation successfully. It should also be noted that some Advanced races require powerful patron entities in order to complete the rituals, and such patrons tend to take a dim view of their sponsored Advanced dragons giving up the gifts of their kind for a new race.
Each advanced dragon type passes through three stages of transformation during which it loses some of the features and powers of its former race, and gains those of the advanced dragon type in their place. Certain features of the dragon's original race never change, and increase according to the dragon's original species as it gains age categories- therefore, every advanced dragon notes what its original type was along with its current (advanced) race; for instance, a dragon is never simply a Shadow Dragon, but can be a Shadow [Black] Dragon or a Shadow [Ruby] Dragon. The features kept from the original dragon race include its size, ability score changes from age categories, racial attack modifier, racial save modifier, racial bonus hit dice, spell/power resistance, and the effective spellcasting and manifesting levels it gains from advancing age categories. Regarding the last point, though, any special access to spells or powers granted by race (such as allowing Cleric spells or spells from specific Domains to be learned as Sorcerer spells), is lost with the original dragon species when the character begins transforming. Many advanced dragon types offer special access of their own, and in this case the character gains the special access wherever the spell/power levels match up. For instance, a dragon of a species that only manifests psionic powers (such as a Sapphire dragon) that becomes a Cloud Dragon (which gains access to spells of the Air Domain), may learn those spells as psionic powers of the same level. Likewise, a dragon of a spellcasting-only species (e.g. Bronze) which becomes a Jacinth Dragon (and gains access to Kineticist powers as a result) may learn powers on the Kineticist list as Sorcerer spells of the same level.
The three stages of transformation are named differently for each advanced dragon type, and are noted in the listings below. Despite this, the transformation always follows a predictable pattern regardless of which actual advanced type the dragon is becoming. The first stage, attained after the character performs the ritual of transformation, grants the dragon the speed and movement modes, and any special abilities noted in the "Bonus Attacks" line, of the advanced race. At the same time, the character loses the speed and movement modes and any bonus attacks it had as a member of its old race, though if the Advanced race has a Speed notation of "As base type" then the character continues to use the speed modes and movement rates of its old species. In conjunction with these powers, the dragon's appearance changes to more closely resemble the advanced species. After gaining its next level, the dragon attains the second stage of its transformation, and gains the natural armor bonus and modification to its Frightful Presence aura (at the same time, losing whatever natural armor bonus or modification its former race granted it). Finally, after gaining the second level after performing the ritual, the dragon loses its old breath weapon and all spell-like or psi-like abilities granted by its former type, and gains those of the advanced type in their place. At the third stage, the transformation is complete, and the character is its new (advanced) type. Thereafter, when it gains a new age category, the dragon gains the movement changes and special powers noted for its advanced race instead of its original race, but continues to advance its spellcasting or manifesting level, change size, and gain ability score modifiers according to its original species.
| Axiomatic Prerequisites |
- Alignment: Lawful Neutral.
- Lair: The character must have established a permanent lair on one of three Outer Planes: Mechanus, Arcadia, or Acheron. The character must live on the chosen plane and not leave it for a period of at least one Taeran year, and the ritual of transformation itself must be carried out in the lair.
- Ritual Item: The heart of an Outsider with the Chaotic subtype, personally ripped from the corpse by the prospective Axiomatic dragon. The creature the heart came from must have had at least as many hit dice as the dragon did when the Outsider was killed.
- Special: The character must find and gain the approval of a patron entity, who is an Outsider with the Lawful subtype and more hit dice than the dragon has at the time of the ritual. Typically, the dragon must prove his or her devotion to the patron (via a quest or something similar) before the entity will act its part in the ritual of transformation.
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| Axiomatic Traits |
- Overview: Axiomatic dragons have made the choice to dedicate themselves entirely to the abstract and absolute forces of Law and Order in the Multiverse, and act as paramount guardians of that ideal. They give up their ties to their birth plane, and become more like Lawful Outsiders in appearance and temperament.
- First Stage Name and Appearance: Geometric Dragon. At this stage, the character loses any limbs (and abilities dependent on them) beyond the normal two forelegs, two backlegs, and two wings for a dragon, and the scales take on a fading, burnished sheen. The character's horns and ridges begin to lose distinctive/individualized characteristics such as bone patterns or scars, and instead become angular, more perfectly flat (or rounded) versions of their old shapes. Finally, the dragon loses any alignment subtype(s) it had previously, and gains the Lawful subtype.
- Second Stage Name and Appearance: Idealized Dragon. The dragon's scales fade to a perfect, undifferentiated gray, and the scales lose their individualized texture to become completely smooth and fit perfectly with each other. From a distance, it is difficult to tell that the dragon has scales at all. Also, at this stage the dragon's left and right sides begin to lose any distinct features they once had, such as horns of different size or direction of curvature, and become near-mirror images of one another. The character's eyes become pupilless, though he or she is still able to see normally.
- Third Stage Name and Appearance: Axiomatic/Perfect Dragon. At this stage, the character's scales are a mirrorlike gray, and the his or her body becomes perfectly symmetrical with no blemishes or imperfections visible anywhere. The dragon's eyes are monolithic pools of slightly luminous color; the eye color always matches the color of the character's original (birth race) scales, though such features as the translucent quality gem dragons have, or the reflective quality metallic dragons have, are lost.
- Natural Armor: +3.
- Frightful Presence DC: +3.
- Breath Weapon Type/Die (DC): Line of Lawful energy/2d10 (+3). Creatures make Will saves to avoid the breath weapon's full effects, instead of Reflex. Lawful-aligned creatures are not harmed by this breath weapon at all, and do not need to make saving throws against it. Neutral (with respect to Law and Chaos) creatures take half damage for a failed save, and one-quarter damage for a successful one. Chaotic creatures take full damage on a failed save, half on success as normal, but furthermore must make a second Will save against the same DC if the initial save fails, or become Dazed for 1 round per age category of the dragon.
- Bonus Attacks: Axiomatic dragons, as creatures of ultimate Law, may Smite Chaos once/day per age category. The dragon must make a normal melee attack with a natural weapon to use this ability, and it has no effect if used on a nonchaotic opponent (but in such a case the ability is still used up for that day). When used, the dragon's natural weapons flash with an aura of intense golden energy, and the dragon adds his or her CHA bonus to the attack roll. If the attack hits, it deals 1 extra point of damage per Dragon level the character has, in addition to whatever other bonus damage the character would get.
- Age Categories:
| Age |
Speed |
Special |
| Wyrmling |
As base type |
Detect Chaos at will. Also, the character has access to the Law Domain, and may learn those spells as Sorcerer spells if it has spellcasting ability (or as Wilder powers of the same level if it does not). The character radiates a continual aura of Law that duplicates the effect of a Zone of Truth spell within a radius of 10 feet per age category around the dragon (save DC equals 12 + the dragon's CHA modifier). |
| Very Young |
As base type |
|
| Young |
As base type |
|
| Juvenile |
As base type |
Magic Circle Against Chaos 1/day per age category |
| Young Adult |
As base type |
|
| Adult |
As base type |
Order's Wrath 3/day |
| Mature Adult |
As base type |
|
| Old |
As base type |
Forbiddance 1/day |
| Very Old |
As base type |
|
| Ancient |
As base type |
Summon Monster VII (Lawful creatures only) 3/day |
| Wyrm |
As base type |
|
| Great Wyrm |
As base type |
Shield of Law 1/day |
| Honored Wyrm |
As base type |
Dictum 3/day |
| Elder Wyrm |
As base type |
Soul Bind 1/day |
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| Brown Prerequisites |
- Feats: Diehard, Toughness.
- Lair: The character must have a permanent lair underground, never touched by natural sunlight.
- Ritual Item: A brown diamond, worth no less than 5000 gp, taken from either the Elemental Plane of Earth or the Elemental Plane of Minerals/Crystals.
- Skills: 5 ranks of Escape Artist.
- Special: The character must not fly, or even be out of contact with natural earth or stone, for no less than one Taeran year. The required contact can, however, be done by simply keeping a small quantity of natural earth or stone (at least one pound) against the dragon's skin/scales via a closely worn pouch (for example) during the required time.
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| Brown Traits |
- Overview: Brown dragons are creatures of elemental Earth. They give up their wings to live lives forever in contact with their chosen element, but acquire some of the special toughness and unyielding strength of Earth Elementals in exchange.
- First Stage Name and Appearance: Wingless Dragon. At this stage, the character retains most of the appearance of his or her former species, but (as the name implies) loses the majestic wings which every dragon is born with. The character's horns and ridges become gray in color and rougher in texture, resembling natural stone more than the bone growths they actually are. Finally, the dragon loses any elemental subtype(s) it had previously, and gains the Earth subtype.
- Second Stage Name and Appearance: Dun Dragon. The dragon's scales fade from their original color, and begin to shed, replacing themselves gradually with newly grown light brown scales. The character's teeth and claws become stony in color and texture just as the horns and bone ridges did when he or she became Wingless. The dragon's eyes become a gemlike yellow color.
- Third Stage Name and Appearance: Brown/Earth Dragon. At this stage, the character's original scales have entirely fallen away, leaving rough-textured coverings in various shades of brown. The scales resemble nothing so much as hardened soil or dirt, and allow the character to easily blend in with the ground under most circumstances.
- Natural Armor: +7.
- Frightful Presence DC: +1.
- Breath Weapon Type/Die (DC): Cone-shaped spray of rocks and rock shards/1d12 (+2). The breath weapon actually deals damage like a weapon (approximately equal Slashing, Piercing, and Bludgeoning due to the varying shapes of the rocks in the spray), and is therefore not subject to any form of energy resistance. The breath weapon penetrates damage reduction as if it were a weapon with an enhancement bonus equal to one-half the dragon's age category, rounded down; thus, a Brown Dragon of Wyrm or lower can bypass DR as a Magic weapon, while one of Great Wyrm or higher age can bypass Epic DR.
- Bonus Attacks: Brown dragons gain the ability of Earth Mastery as Earth Elementals do. The dragon gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls if both it and its foe are touching the ground. Unlike Earth Elementals, however, a Brown Dragon does not take a penalty when attacking creatures that are airborne or waterborne.
- Age Categories:
| Age |
Speed |
Special |
| Wyrmling |
20 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Climb 20 ft. |
The dragon has a racial bonus on Jump checks equal to his or her Dragon level (this replaces any racial bonus the character's previous dragon race granted him or her). Also, the character has access to the Earth, Magma, and Mud Domains, and may learn those spells as Sorcerer spells if it has spellcasting ability (or as Wilder powers of the same level if it does not). |
| Very Young |
30 ft., Burrow 30 ft., Climb 30 ft. |
|
| Young |
30 ft., Burrow 30 ft., Climb 30 ft. |
|
| Juvenile |
30 ft., Burrow 30 ft., Climb 30 ft. |
Stomp 3/day |
| Young Adult |
30 ft., Burrow 30 ft., Climb 30 ft. |
|
| Adult |
40 ft., Burrow 40 ft., Climb 40 ft. |
Move Earth 3/day |
| Mature Adult |
40 ft., Burrow 40 ft., Climb 40 ft. |
|
| Old |
40 ft., Burrow 40 ft., Climb 40 ft. |
Meld Into Stone 1/day per age category |
| Very Old |
40 ft., Burrow 40 ft., Climb 40 ft. |
|
| Ancient |
60 ft., Burrow 60 ft., Climb 60 ft. |
Stone Tell 3/day |
| Wyrm |
60 ft., Burrow 60 ft., Climb 60 ft. |
|
| Great Wyrm |
60 ft., Burrow 60 ft., Climb 60 ft. |
Stone Shape 1/day per age category |
| Honored Wyrm |
60 ft., Burrow 60 ft., Climb 60 ft. |
Earthquake 3/day |
| Elder Wyrm |
80 ft., Burrow 80 ft., Climb 80 ft. |
Imprisonment 1/day |
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| Celestial Prerequisites |
- Alignment: Neutral Good.
- Lair: The character must have established a permanent lair on one of three Outer Planes: Elysium, the Twin Paradises, or the Beastlands. The character must live on the chosen plane and not leave it for a period of at least one Taeran year, and the ritual of transformation itself must be carried out in the lair.
- Ritual Item: The heart of an Outsider with the Evil subtype, personally ripped from the corpse by the prospective Celestial dragon. The creature the heart came from must have had at least as many hit dice as the dragon did when the Outsider was killed.
- Special: The character must find and gain the approval of a patron entity, who is an Outsider with the Good subtype and more hit dice than the dragon has at the time of the ritual. Typically, the dragon must prove his or her devotion to the patron (via a quest or something similar) before the entity will act its part in the ritual of transformation.
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| Celestial Traits |
- Overview: Celestial dragons have made the choice to dedicate themselves entirely to the forces of ultimate Good in the Multiverse, and act as paramount guardians of that ideal. They give up their ties to their birth plane, and become more like Good Outsiders in appearance and temperament.
- First Stage Name and Appearance: Exalted Dragon. At this stage, the character loses any limbs (and abilities dependent on them) beyond the normal two forelegs, two backlegs, and two wings for a dragon, and the scales take on a brighter, almost luminous or florescent look. The character's horns and ridges become shiny, and even reflective from the correct viewing angles. The dragon's eyes become a deep gold color. Finally, the dragon loses any alignment subtype(s) it had previously, and gains the Good subtype.
- Second Stage Name and Appearance: Radiant Dragon. The dragon's scales actually light up, shining forth with a sunlike radiance. The character's eyes become pupilless, though he or she is still able to see normally. The character's horns and ridges become mirrorlike in finish, reflecting all around them, and a crown of horns grows behind the face, forming (in conjunction with the glowing scales) a ring of light around the dragon's head.
- Third Stage Name and Appearance: Celestial/Holy Dragon. In the final stage of transformation, the character's scales become a brilliant yellow-white in color, and the crown of horns acquires flaps of skin between them so as to make the head resemble a stylized sun-portrait. The character's eyes shine forth brilliantly with even greater light, and are visible against the glare of its face even from a great distance.
- Natural Armor: +5.
- Frightful Presence DC: +1.
- Breath Weapon Type/Die (DC): Emanation of Good energy/2d8 (+3). Creatures make Will saves to avoid the breath weapon's full effects, instead of Reflex. Good-aligned creatures are not harmed by this breath weapon at all, and do not need to make saving throws against it. Neutral (with respect to Good and Evil) creatures take half damage for a failed save, and one-quarter damage for a successful one. Evil creatures take full damage on a failed save, half on success as normal, but furthermore must make a second Will save against the same DC if the initial save fails, or become Blinded for 1 round per age category of the dragon.
- Bonus Attacks: Celestial dragons, as creatures of ultimate Good, may Smite Evil once/day per age category. The dragon must make a normal melee attack with a natural weapon to use this ability, and it has no effect if used on a nonevil opponent (but in such a case the ability is still used up for that day). When used, the dragon's natural weapons flash with an aura of intense green energy, and the dragon adds his or her CHA bonus to the attack roll. If the attack hits, it deals 1 extra point of damage per Dragon level the character has, in addition to whatever other bonus damage the character would get.
- Age Categories:
| Age |
Speed |
Special |
| Wyrmling |
As base type |
Detect Evil at will. Also, the character has access to the Good Domain, and may learn those spells as Sorcerer spells if it has spellcasting ability (or as Wilder powers of the same level if it does not). The character shines with light equivalent to Daylight at all times, and can dispel any Darkness effect that a Daylight spell could whenever the dragon wishes. Evil creatures or undead which are harmed by sunlight are harmed by this aura as though it were actual, natural sunlight. |
| Very Young |
As base type |
|
| Young |
As base type |
|
| Juvenile |
As base type |
Magic Circle Against Evil 1/day per age category |
| Young Adult |
As base type |
|
| Adult |
As base type |
Holy Smite 3/day |
| Mature Adult |
As base type |
|
| Old |
As base type |
Resurrection 1/day |
| Very Old |
As base type |
|
| Ancient |
As base type |
Summon Monster VII (Good creatures only) 3/day |
| Wyrm |
As base type |
|
| Great Wyrm |
As base type |
Holy Aura 1/day |
| Honored Wyrm |
As base type |
Holy Word 3/day |
| Elder Wyrm |
As base type |
Prismatic Sphere 1/day |
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| Cinder Prerequisites |
- Feats: Dodge, Improved Feint.
- Lair: The character must have a permanent lair within 1 mile of a volcano, or other natural source of great heat.
- Ritual Item: A ruby, worth no less than 5000 gp, taken from the Elemental Plane of Fire.
- Skills: 5 ranks of Tumble.
- Special: The character must spend at least one Taeran year living and travelling on the Elemental Plane of Fire, and/or one of the other Elemental Planes that is coterminous with it (other than Wood). The character must not leave those planes for any reason during that year, but is not required to stay on those planes after the year is done.
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| Cinder Traits |
- Overview: Cinder dragons are creatures of elemental Fire. They burn eternally, and must take care not to gather flammable items in their hoards (or be especially careful to never touch such items directly), but those dragons who become Cinder Dragons consider the loss well worth it for acquiring some of the destructive potential enjoyed by Fire Elementals.
- First Stage Name and Appearance: Soot Dragon. The first stage of transformation sees the dragon retain most of the appearance of his or her former species, but (as the name implies) the character acquires a permanent (and continually replenished by natural secretions) coating of soot on his or her scales. The dragon's eyes become a brilliant orange, and reflect light in much the same way a cat's eyes do. Finally, the character loses any elemental subtype(s) it had previously, and gains the Fire subtype.
- Second Stage Name and Appearance: Burning Dragon. The dragon's scales chrink slightly and darken more from the previous stage, and the body begins secreting a naturally volatile substance that begins to burn immediately upon exposure to air. The character is therefore surrounded continuously by flickering orange-red flames which give off light equivalent to torchlight, and only extinguish when he or she is in an airless environment (such as a Vacuum-Dominant plane, or underwater), or upon his or her death. The dragon's eyes begin to actually glow, flickering with inner flames just as the body burns with outer ones.
- Third Stage Name and Appearance: Cinder/Fire Dragon. At the final stage, the character's scales become a dusky, metallic gray-black color, but the continually burning flames from the secretions begun at the Burning Dragon stage give the character the general appearance of a dragon-shaped sculpture of charcoal or encrusted cinders. The dragon's eyes become pupilless and burn even brighter than before, being only slightly less bright than oil lanterns, though neither of these changes affects the character's sight in any way.
- Natural Armor: +3.
- Frightful Presence DC: +5.
- Breath Weapon Type/Die (DC): Burst of Fire/1d12 (+2). Creatures make Fortitude saves to avoid the breath weapon's full effects, instead of Reflex.
- Bonus Attacks: Cinder dragons can set things on fire by touch, much like Fire Elementals can. The dragon's natural weapons all deal bonus Fire damage equal to the normal Claw damage for a dragon of the same size (e.g. a Tiny Cinder Dragon would deal 1d3 points of Fire damage in addition to whatever other damage the natural weapon would deal). Any target hit by one of the dragon's natural weapons must also make a Reflex save (DC equals that for the dragon's breath weapon) or catch on fire, the flame burning for 1d4 rounds. A burning creature can take a move action to put out the flame. Also, creatures hitting the dragon with natural weapons or unarmed attacks also take Fire damage as if hit by the dragon's natural attack, and must save or catch on fire, as described above.
- Age Categories:
| Age |
Speed |
Special |
| Wyrmling |
60 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Average) |
The dragon loses any energy immunities it previously had and gains Immunity to Fire. Also, the character has access to the Fire, Magma, and Smoke Domains, and may learn those spells as Sorcerer spells if it has spellcasting ability (or as Wilder powers of the same level if it does not). |
| Very Young |
60 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Average) |
|
| Young |
70 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Poor) |
|
| Juvenile |
70 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Poor) |
Faerie Fire 3/day |
| Young Adult |
70 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Poor) |
|
| Adult |
70 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Poor) |
Wall of Fire 3/day |
| Mature Adult |
70 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Poor) |
|
| Old |
70 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Poor) |
Heat Metal 1/day per age category |
| Very Old |
80 ft., Fly 250 ft. (Clumsy) |
|
| Ancient |
80 ft., Fly 250 ft. (Clumsy) |
Fire Storm 1/day |
| Wyrm |
80 ft., Fly 250 ft. (Clumsy) |
|
| Great Wyrm |
80 ft., Fly 250 ft. (Clumsy) |
Incendiary Cloud 1/day |
| Honored Wyrm |
80 ft., Fly 250 ft. (Clumsy) |
Groundmelt 3/day |
| Elder Wyrm |
80 ft., Fly 250 ft. (Clumsy) |
Spontaneous Combustion 1/day |
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| Cloud/Mist Prerequisites |
- Feats: Fly, Mobility.
- Lair: The character must have a permanent lair on the summit of a tall mountain, far above most natural clouds.
- Ritual Items: A clear, flawless quartz crystal, worth no less than 1000 gp, and one gallon of rainwater taken from either the Elemental Plane of Air or the Elemental Plane of Lightning.
- Skills: 5 ranks of Jump.
- Special: The character must not touch natural earth or stone for one Taeran year, and must remain entirely airborne for a total of at least four months during that year (though this time may be divided up as the character sees fit so long as it totals at least four months). Historically, most would-be Cloud Dragons find this most easily accomplished by living on the Elemental Plane of Air, or one of its coterminous Elemental Planes other than Cold/Ice, for the year.
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| Cloud/Mist Traits |
- Overview: Cloud dragons are creatures of elemental Air. They give up their legs to live lives forever in contact with their chosen element, but acquire some of the special power of Air Elementals as a result.
- First Stage Name and Appearance: Legless Dragon. At this stage, the character retains most of the appearance of his or her former species, but (as the name implies) loses the legs which every dragon is born with, and with them the ability to make Claw attacks or move along the ground by any means other than flopping or slithering. The character's horns and ridges become white in color and longer and more flexible, resembling whiskers or cartilage more than the bone growths they actually are. Finally, the dragon loses any elemental subtype(s) it had previously, and gains the Air subtype.
- Second Stage Name and Appearance: Fade Dragon. The dragon's scales fade from their original color, and become slightly translucent. The character's teeth become stark white in color, and grow to around double their original length. The dragon's eyes become brilliant cerulean blue, like the vault of the sky itself.
- Third Stage Name and Appearance: Cloud/Mist Dragon. At this stage, the character's original scales fall away, and are replaced by tiny pearlescent scales similar to those of a snake in texture. The scales, and indeed the dragon's entire body, are slightly translucent and mostly white in color, allowing the character to easily blend in with natural clouds and fog. The dragon's color shifts with his or her mood, shimmering with gold highlights (as if from a sunrise or sunset) when happy, and turning dark gray (like a thunderhead) when angry.
- Natural Armor: -1.
- Frightful Presence DC: +1.
- Breath Weapon Type/Die (DC): Cone of strong wind/1d3 (+2). The breath weapon deals damage via windburn, and produces tornado-strength winds within its area.
- Bonus Attacks: Cloud dragons gain the ability of Air Mastery as Air Elementals do. Airborne creatures take a -1 penalty on attacks and damage rolls against the dragon.
- Age Categories:
| Age |
Speed |
Special |
| Wyrmling |
Fly 200 ft. (Average), Swim 40 ft. |
The dragon may assume Gaseous Form at will as a standard action, which works identically to the Gaseous Form spell except as noted below. While gaseous, the character has a Fly speed of 60 feet (Perfect) and is unaffected by wind of any sort. The character cannot physically attack or use his or her breath weapon in this form, but is free to use spells, psionics, or spell-like abilities normally. Also, the character has access to the Air, Ice, and Smoke Domains, and may learn those spells as Sorcerer spells if it has spellcasting ability (or as Wilder powers of the same level if it does not). |
| Very Young |
Fly 200 ft. (Average), Swim 40 ft. |
|
| Young |
Fly 250 ft. (Good), Swim 50 ft. |
|
| Juvenile |
Fly 250 ft. (Good), Swim 50 ft. |
Control Winds 1/day, Fog Cloud at will |
| Young Adult |
Fly 250 ft. (Good), Swim 50 ft. |
|
| Adult |
Fly 250 ft. (Good), Swim 50 ft. |
Wind Walk 3/day |
| Mature Adult |
Fly 250 ft. (Good), Swim 50 ft. |
|
| Old |
Fly 300 ft. (Perfect), Swim 60 ft. |
Call Lightning 1/day per age category |
| Very Old |
Fly 300 ft. (Perfect), Swim 60 ft. |
|
| Ancient |
Fly 300 ft. (Perfect), Swim 60 ft. |
Wind Wall 1/day per age category |
| Wyrm |
Fly 300 ft. (Perfect), Swim 60 ft. |
|
| Great Wyrm |
Fly 300 ft. (Perfect), Swim 60 ft. |
Control Weather 3/day |
| Honored Wyrm |
Fly 350 ft. (Perfect), Swim 70 ft. |
Ice Storm 3/day, Stinking Cloud 3/day |
| Elder Wyrm |
Fly 350 ft. (Perfect), Swim 70 ft. |
Storm of Vengeance 1/day |
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| Darkheart Prerequisites |
- Alignment: Neutral Evil.
- Lair: The character must have established a permanent lair on one of three Outer Planes: Hades, Gehenna, or Carceri. The character must live on the chosen plane and not leave it for a period of at least one Taeran year, and the ritual of transformation itself must be carried out in the lair.
- Ritual Item: The heart of an Outsider with the Good subtype, personally ripped from the corpse by the prospective Darkheart dragon. The creature the heart came from must have had at least as many hit dice as the dragon did when the Outsider was killed.
- Special: The character must find and gain the approval of a patron entity, who is an Outsider with the Evil subtype and more hit dice than the dragon has at the time of the ritual. Typically, the dragon must prove his or her devotion to the patron (via a quest or something similar) before the entity will act its part in the ritual of transformation.
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| Darkheart Traits |
- Overview: Darkheart dragons have dedicated themselves, body and soul, to the foul and rapacious powers of ultimate Evil in the Multiverse, and act as paramount guardians of that ideal. They give up their ties to their birth plane, and become more like Evil Outsiders in appearance and temperament.
- First Stage Name and Appearance: Debased/Corrupted Dragon. At this stage, the character loses any limbs (and abilities dependent on them) beyond the normal two forelegs, two backlegs, and two wings for a dragon, and the scales take on a tarnished, dirty look as if the character were continually covered in soot. The dragon's horns and ridges become jagged and barbed, taking on a semi-decayed appearance (though they do not actually weaken in any way). Finally, the dragon loses any alignment subtype(s) it had previously, and gains the Evil subtype.
- Second Stage Name and Appearance: Vile Dragon. The dragon's scales fade to a sooty black, and acquire a rotten/decayed look much like the horns and ridges did at the previous stage of transformation, though (as with the horns) this does not make them significantly weaker. The dragon's eyes become empty pools of total darkness, essentially all pupil, though he or she is still able to see normally (e.g. the character does not suffer penalties in bright light). Finally, the dragon's horns, teeth and claws become red, as though continually bloody.
- Third Stage Name and Appearance: Darkheart/Unholy Dragon. The last stage of the transformation sees the character's scales lose all hints of their former color, becoming mottled and decayed-looking black and gray. The dragon's eyes are solid black, and never show any glint or shine no matter how much light is nearby. Finally, the dragon's teeth, horns, and claws darken to a vile maroon in color, and the character's skin flaps (such as wings) acquire permanent holes and a tattered appearance, though this does not diminish their usefulness for mobility or any other purpose.
- Natural Armor: +1.
- Frightful Presence DC: +5.
- Breath Weapon Type/Die (DC): Burst of Evil energy/2d8 (+3). Creatures make Fortitude saves to avoid the breath weapon's full effects, instead of Reflex. Evil-aligned creatures are not harmed by this breath weapon at all, and do not need to make saving throws against it. Neutral (with respect to Good and Evil) creatures take half damage for a failed save, and one-quarter damage for a successful one. Good creatures take full damage on a failed save, half on success as normal, but furthermore must make a second Fortitude save against the same DC if the initial save fails, or become Sickened for 1 round per age category of the dragon.
- Bonus Attacks: Darkheart dragons, as creatures of ultimate Evil, may Smite Good once/day per age category. The dragon must make a normal melee attack with a natural weapon to use this ability, and it has no effect if used on a nongood opponent (but in such a case the ability is still used up for that day). When used, the dragon's natural weapons flash with an aura of intense red energy, and the dragon adds his or her CHA bonus to the attack roll. If the attack hits, it deals 1 extra point of damage per Dragon level the character has, in addition to whatever other bonus damage the character would get.
- Age Categories:
| Age |
Speed |
Special |
| Wyrmling |
As base type |
Detect Good at will. Also, the character has access to the Evil Domain, and may learn those spells as Sorcerer spells if it has spellcasting ability (or as Wilder powers of the same level if it does not). The Darkheart dragon can Rebuke Undead as an Evil Cleric with level equal to the dragon's hit dice at will, with no limit to the number of uses per day allowed, and can see in magical darkness normally. |
| Very Young |
As base type |
|
| Young |
As base type |
|
| Juvenile |
As base type |
Magic Circle Against Good 1/day per age category |
| Young Adult |
As base type |
|
| Adult |
As base type |
Unholy Blight 3/day |
| Mature Adult |
As base type |
|
| Old |
As base type |
Either Create Greater Undead or Create Undead (dragon chooses which one to use at the time of use) 1/day |
| Very Old |
As base type |
|
| Ancient |
As base type |
Summon Monster VII (Evil creatures only) 3/day |
| Wyrm |
As base type |
|
| Great Wyrm |
As base type |
Unholy Aura 1/day |
| Honored Wyrm |
As base type |
Blasphemy 3/day |
| Elder Wyrm |
As base type |
Implosion 1/day |
|
|
|
| Deep Prerequisites |
- Alignment: Any nongood, nonlawful.
- Feats: Persuasive, Track.
- Lair: The character must have a permanent lair in the deep Underdark, never touched by natural sunlight and no more than 75 vertical miles from the Gravity Interface between Taera and Arite.
- Ritual Item: A chunk of adamantine ore, or rock containing at least one gem worth 1000 gp or more, weighing at least 5 pounds. The chunk of rock or ore must have been gathered from the deep Underdark, no more than 50 vertical miles from the Gravity Interface between Taera and Arite.
- Skills: 5 ranks of Disguise, and 5 ranks of Survival. Also, the character must speak Undercommon, and at least four other languages (besides Draconic) which are commonly spoken by Underdark races. The list of acceptable languages includes Aboleth, Dark Dwarvish, Dark Elvish, Dark Illithid, Dark Orcish, Duergar, Gnomish, Goblin, High Dwarvish, High Illithid, Kobold, Kuo-Toan, Lizardfolk, Lumin, Minotaur, Myconid, Orcish, the Silent Tongue, and Terran.
- Special: The character must spend at least one Taeran year in the Underdark, untouched by natural sunlight.
|
| Deep Traits |
- Overview: Deep dragons are hunters of the deep Underdark. They stalk their prey with great cunning and patience; a Deep dragon sometimes spends years tracking a single individual before finally making his or her move. Because they can shapechange, they are rarely recognized for what they are even in those areas of the world where they most often appear. Though they always have permanent lairs somewhere in the lightless caverns of the deep underworld, Deep dragons are great explorers, and often know of tunnels and routes that nobody else does. Some even venture to the surface world (either Taera or Arite), though normally only in pursuit of stolen treasure, revenge on enemies, or especially desirable magic to steal. Though they can eat virtually anything, like most dragons, something about the transformation gives them a distinct taste for "seafood" such as Aboleths, Kuo-Toa, and cave fish and clams.
- First Stage Name and Appearance: Maroon Dragon. In the first stage of this transformation, the character retains most of the appearance of his or her former species, but his or her scales turn a deep purple-red maroon color. The character's horns and ridges begin to shrink, and the dragon typically acquires an oddly smooth look as a result.
- Second Stage Name and Appearance: Serpentine Dragon. Any bony horns or ridges on the character's body begin to shed, leaving open holes which gradually heal over with scales in their place. The character's teeth and claws become slightly longer and harder, though this makes little to no difference in combat; also, the dragon's neck, tail, and limbs become thinner and more sinuous- more snakelike. Also at this stage, the character's speech patterns (when speaking Draconic) tend to acquire a noticeable lisp or hiss, with strong accents on "th" or "s" sounds.
- Third Stage Name and Appearance: Deep Dragon. The final stage of tranformation completes what began before. The dragon's scales darken from maroon to nearly black, and any holes or gaps left in the character's body by lost horns or ridges heal over and vanish into a smooth, serpentine whole now. By this stage the dragon can assume the alternate forms that the new race grants him or her (assuming, of course, the character is old enough), and is truly a Deep dragon in all ways.
- Natural Armor: +3.
- Frightful Presence DC: +4.
- Breath Weapon Type/Die (DC): Line of extremely corrosive, dark-green liquid (deals Disruption damage)/2d8 (+2).
- Special Ability Note: As they age, Deep dragons gain the ability to assume two types of alternate forms (noted in the table below as the "Legless" and "Humanoid" forms). The Legless form is a snakelike shape wherein the dragon loses his or her legs, worsening the character's AC by -6 due to lost mobility (the character's speed in this form is 30 ft., Fly 10 ft. (Poor), Swim 30 ft.) and forcing the dragon to work without Claw attacks. The dragon can Constrict opponents in Legless form, however, which deals damage one die-step greater than a Bite attack from an identically-sized dragon (thus, Small deals 1d8 damage, Medium 2d6, Large 2d8, etc.). If the Constrict attack hits an opponent, the dragon can start a Grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity, and if he or she wins the check then the character can deal Constrict damage to victims automatically in subsequent rounds (with each successful Grapple check made). The "Humanoid" form, by contrast, allows the dragon to assume the shape of any Small, Medium, or Large creature (though the dragon cannot assume a form larger than his or her natural size) of the Aberration, Elemental, Humanoid, Monstrous Humanoid, or Plant type that commonly forms civilized groupings in the Underdark. Thus, the Deep dragon could become a Crystalloid, Luminous, Psylon, Black Aboleth, Myconid, Drow Elf, or other such creature, but could not assume the form of an Aarakocra, Avariel, Haali, Fire Elemental, or Delver. The Humanoid shape's only purpose is to allow the dragon to enter and blend in with city life for a time, typically while tracking choice prey.
- Age Categories:
| Age |
Speed |
Special |
| Wyrmling |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 100 ft. (Average), Swim 30 ft. |
Detect Magic at will, True Seeing at will, Immune to Charm effects, Cold and Fire Resistance 10 |
| Very Young |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Average), Swim 30 ft. |
Legless form 3/day |
| Young |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 30 ft. |
Humanoid form 3/day |
| Juvenile |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 30 ft. |
Each form 4/day |
| Young Adult |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 30 ft. |
|
| Adult |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 30 ft. |
Freedom of Movement at will |
| Mature Adult |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 30 ft. |
|
| Old |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 30 ft. |
Transmute Rock to Mud 3/day |
| Very Old |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 30 ft. |
|
| Ancient |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Poor), Swim 30 ft. |
Passwall 3/day |
| Wyrm |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Clumsy), Swim 30 ft. |
|
| Great Wyrm |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Clumsy), Swim 30 ft. |
Stone Shape 3/day |
| Honored Wyrm |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Clumsy), Swim 30 ft. |
Discern Location 1/day |
| Elder Wyrm |
40 ft., Burrow 20 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Clumsy), Swim 30 ft. |
Polymorph Any Object 1/day |
|
|
|
| Pearl Prerequisites |
- Feats: Endurance, Improved Overrun.
- Lair: The character must have a permanent lair deep in the Underwave, at least half a mile under the surface at the lowest of tides.
- Ritual Items: A huge, flawless pearl, worth no less than 5000 gp, and a fish taken from the Elemental Plane of Water.
- Skills: 5 ranks of Swim.
- Special: The character must not breathe air for one Taeran year, and must remain entirely underwater for a total of at least fifteen months during that year (though this time may be divided up as the character sees fit so long as it totals at least fifteen months). Typically, most would-be Pearl Dragons simply cut themselves off from any and all land-based dealings during the year, and thus have no reason to go outside the water at all.
|
| Pearl Traits |
- Overview: Pearl dragons are creatures of elemental Water. They give up life on land to live forever in the deepest depths of their chosen element, but acquire some of the special power of Water Elementals as a result.
- First Stage Name and Appearance: Aquatic Dragon. At this stage, the character retains most of the appearance of his or her former species, but loses the legs which every dragon is born with, and with them the ability to make Claw attacks. In place of legs, the character has large fins similar to those on a whale, except for their reptilian/draconic appearance. The character's horns and ridges shrink, becoming gray-blue in color and more flexible, resembling skin nodules or cartilage more than the bone growths they actually are. Finally, the dragon loses any elemental subtype(s) it had previously, and gains the Water subtype.
- Second Stage Name and Appearance: Fin Dragon. The dragon's scales fade from their original color, acquiring an iridescent sheen like mother-of-pearl. The large fins that the legs and claws became at the last stage shrink a bit into the body, and many more fins grow between them, all becoming connected by skin flaps. The general effect of this growth is that the character begins to resemble an enormous water-snake with several body-length or near-body-length fin structures to aid in maneuvering underwater. The character's eyes become a green-blue color, like the depths of the sea, though individual Fin Dragons often differ from one another in the precise shade of green-blue their eyes take on.
- Third Stage Name and Appearance: Pearl Dragon. At this stage, the character's original scales fall away, and are replaced by tiny pearlescent scales similar to those of a snake in texture. The scales are entirely iridescent and mostly base-white in appearance, with the barest hint of the character's original scale color still visible. The character's teeth and visible horns also become pearlescent at this stage, losing their former color in the process. The elaborate fins grown in the last stage now become even longer and are joined by even more fin-ridges grown out of the body that join with the wings. The large fins which are now all that is left of the character's legs are entirely subsumed in the long and graceful fin structures- impossible to pick out from the whole.
- Natural Armor: +3.
- Frightful Presence DC: +2.
- Breath Weapon Type/Die (DC): Cone of scalding steam/2d4 (+2). The breath weapon deals Fire damage.
- Bonus Attacks: Pearl Dragons gain the ability of Water Mastery as Water Elementals do. A Pearl Dragon gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls if both it and its opponent are touching water. Unlike Water Elementals, however, a Pearl Dragon does not take a penalty when attacking opponents which are touching the ground.
- Age Categories:
| Age |
Speed |
Special |
| Wyrmling |
10 ft., Fly 100 ft. (Average), Swim 100 ft. |
The dragon has gills, and may breathe water and air with equal ease without resorting to magic or psionic powers. Also, the character has access to the Water, Ice, and Mud Domains, and may learn those spells as Sorcerer spells if it has spellcasting ability (or as Wilder powers of the same level if it does not). |
| Very Young |
10 ft., Fly 100 ft. (Average), Swim 100 ft. |
|
| Young |
20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 150 ft. |
|
| Juvenile |
20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 150 ft. |
Grease 3/day |
| Young Adult |
20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 150 ft. |
|
| Adult |
20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 150 ft. |
Control Water 3/day |
| Mature Adult |
20 ft., Fly 150 ft. (Poor), Swim 150 ft. |
|
| Old |
30 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Clumsy), Swim 200 ft. |
Blur 1/day per age category |
| Very Old |
30 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Clumsy), Swim 200 ft. |
|
| Ancient |
30 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Clumsy), Swim 200 ft. |
Acid Fog 3/day |
| Wyrm |
30 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Clumsy), Swim 200 ft. |
|
| Great Wyrm |
30 ft., Fly 200 ft. (Clumsy), Swim 200 ft. |
Otiluke's Freezing Sphere 3/day |
| Honored Wyrm |
40 ft., Fly 250 ft. (Clumsy), Swim 250 ft. |
Wall of Ice 3/day |
| Elder Wyrm |
40 ft., Fly 250 ft. (Clumsy), Swim 250 ft. |
Tsunami 1/day |
|
|
|
| Protean Prerequisites |
- Alignment: Chaotic Neutral.
- Lair: The character must have established a permanent lair on one of three Outer Planes: Limbo, Ysgard, or Pandemonium. The character must live on the chosen plane and not leave it for a period of at least one Taeran year, and the ritual of transformation itself must be carried out in the lair.
- Ritual Item: The heart of an Outsider with the Lawful subtype, personally ripped from the corpse by the prospective Protean dragon. The creature the heart came from must have had at least as many hit dice as the dragon did when the Outsider was killed.
- Special: The character must find and gain the approval of a patron entity, who is an Outsider with the Chaotic subtype and more hit dice than the dragon has at the time of the ritual. Typically, the dragon must prove his or her devotion to the patron (via a quest or something similar) before the entity will act its part in the ritual of transformation.
|
| Protean Traits |
- Overview: Protean dragons have dedicated themselves to the primal forces of Impermanence and Chaos in the Multiverse, and act as paramount guardians of that ideal. They give up their ties to their birth plane, and become more like Chaotic Outsiders in appearance and temperament.
- First Stage Name and Appearance: Speckled Dragon. At this stage, the character gains two extra legs (unless he or she already had two extra limbs- the dragon ends up with six legs regardless), and many of the dragon's scales change color to match those of other dragon species. The character's horns and ridges become larger and more pronounced, though this has no actual game effect. Finally, the dragon loses any alignment subtype(s) it had previously, and gains the Chaotic subtype.
- Second Stage Name and Appearance: Tatterdemalion/Patchwork Dragon. The dragon acquires entire patches of different color in his or her scale pattern, and each limb (leg or wing) changes to resemble one from a different basic dragon race (such as Red, Gold, etc.). All of these color changes are accompanied by appropriate changes to form (i.e. changes to match the race denoted by scale color) such as placement and appearance of horns, talons, etc. The character's eyes become two different colors, and one side usually has a noticeably larger or smaller pupil than the other (though this has no significant effect on the character's sight).
- Third Stage Name and Appearance: Protean/Anarchic Dragon. At this stage, the character's scales are a speckled panopoly of all colors, with no two Protean Dragons in the Multiverse having precisely the same pattern. The dragon's body is noticeably asymmetrical, with limbs of different sizes, claws of different shapes (even on the same limb), and horns and ridges appearing all over his or her form in various (apparently random) places, though none of these alterations to the norm have any significant game effects. The dragon's eyes are nearly always two different colors, and change color and pupil size every time the dragon blinks or closes his or her eyes. As with the body changes, the changing pupil size makes no difference to the character's vision.
- Natural Armor: +3.
- Frightful Presence DC: +3.
- Breath Weapon Type/Die (DC): Cone of Chaotic energy/2d6 (+3). Creatures make Fortitude saves to avoid the breath weapon's full effects, instead of Reflex. Chaotic-aligned creatures are not harmed by this breath weapon at all, and do not need to make saving throws against it. Neutral (with respect to Law and Chaos) creatures take half damage for a failed save, and one-quarter damage for a successful one. Lawful creatures take full damage on a failed save, half on success as normal, but furthermore must make a second Fortitude save against the same DC if the initial save fails, or become Slowed for 1 round per age category of the dragon.
- Bonus Attacks: Protean dragons, as creatures of ultimate Chaos, may Smite Law once/day per age category. The dragon must make a normal melee attack with a natural weapon to use this ability, and it has no effect if used on a nonlawful opponent (but in such a case the ability is still used up for that day). When used, the dragon's natural weapons flash with an aura of intense blue energy, and the dragon adds his or her CHA bonus to the attack roll. If the attack hits, it deals 1 extra point of damage per Dragon level the character has, in addition to whatever other bonus damage the character would get. In addition to this attack, the character gains two extra legs, and may use them to make extra Claw attacks.
- Age Categories:
| Age |
Speed |
Special |
| Wyrmling |
As base type |
Detect Law at will. Also, the character has access to the Chaos Domain, and may learn those spells as Sorcerer spells if it has spellcasting ability (or as Wilder powers of the same level if it does not). The dragon can Alter Self at will to appear as any type of dragon, though he or she is never able to completely match a different dragon race's appearance- at least one body part, as well as the character's color-shifting eyes, always stays markedly different from whatever form is assumed. |
| Very Young |
As base type |
|
| Young |
As base type |
|
| Juvenile |
As base type |
Magic Circle Against Law 1/day per age category |
| Young Adult |
As base type |
|
| Adult |
As base type |
Chaos Hammer 3/day |
| Mature Adult |
As base type |
|
| Old |
As base type |
Polymorph Any Object 1/day |
| Very Old |
As base type |
|
| Ancient |
As base type |
Summon Monster VII (Chaotic creatures only) 3/day |
| Wyrm |
As base type |
|
| Great Wyrm |
As base type |
Cloak of Chaos 1/day |
| Honored Wyrm |
As base type |
Word of Chaos 3/day |
| Elder Wyrm |
As base type |
Storm of Vengeance 1/day |
|