Draconomicon: Dungeons & Dragons Accessory 0786928840, 9780786928842

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DRACONOMICON™ Andy Collins, Skip Williams, James Wyatt D

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Andy Collins D E S I G N

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Michele Carter, Dale Donovan, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, Charles Ryan M A N A G I N G

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Kim Mohan D & D

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M A N A G E R

Ed Stark D I R E C T O R

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Todd Lockwood

Ed Stark, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel E

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Dawn Murin

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A R T I S T S

Wayne England, Emily Fiegenschuh, Lars Grant-West, Rebecca Guay-Mitchell, David Hudnut, Jeremy Jarvis, Ginger Kubic, John & Laura Lakey, Todd Lockwood, David Martin, Dennis CrabappleMcClain, Matt Mitchell, Mark Nelson, Steve Prescott, Vinod Rams, Richard Sardinha, Ron Spencer, Stephen Tappin, Joel Thomas, Ben Thompson, Sam Wood

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Bill Slavicsek

G R A P H I C

D E S I G N E R S

Dawn Murin, Mari Kolkowski VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLISHING C

Mary Kirchoff

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Todd Gamble P R O J E C T

M A N A G E R GRAPHIC PRODUCTION SPECIALISTS

Martin Durham

Erin Dorries, Angelika Lokotz P R O D U C T I O N

M A N A G E R

ORIGINAL INTERIOR DESIGN

Chas DeLong

Sean Glenn

This d20™ System game utilizes mechanics developed for the new Dungeons & Dragons® game by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison. This WIZARDS OF THE COAST® product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. To learn more about the Open Gaming License and the d20 System License, please visit www.wizards.com/d20. Playtesters: Greg Collins, Jesse Decker, Viet Nguyen, Marc Russell, Dennis Worrell Valuable advice provided by Todd Lockwood and Sam Wood (Dragon Anatomy and Motion), Monica Shellman and Michael S. Webster (Dragon Names) Resources for this product (and the authors of those works) include Atlas of Animal Anatomy (W. Ellenburg and H. Deittrich), Book of Eldritch Might (Monte Cook/Malhavoc Press), Book of Vile Darkness (Monte Cook), Bulfinch’s Mythology (Thomas Bulfinch), Transformations of Myth Through Time (Joseph Campbell), “Class Acts: Dragonkith,” Dragon Magazine #284 (Monte Cook), Council of Wyrms (Bill Slavicsek), Defenders of the Faith (Rich Redman and James Wyatt), AD&D® 2nd Edition Draconomicon (Nigel Findley, Christopher Kubasik, Carl Sargent, John Terra, and William Tracy), “Dragontongue: A Draconic Language Primer,” Dragon Magazine #284 (Owen K. C. Stephens), Forgotten Realms® Campaign Setting (Ed Greenwood, Sean K Reynolds, Skip Williams, and Rob Heinsoo), The Golden Bough (James George Frazer), AD&D 1st Edition Monster Manual (Gary Gygax), Monsters of Faerun (James Wyatt and Rob Heinsoo), AD&D 2nd Edition Monstrous Manual, Oriental Adventures (James Wyatt), Savage Species (Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, David Eckelberry, and Rich Redman), Tome and Blood (Bruce Cordell and Skip Williams). U.S., CANADA, ASIA, PACIFIC, & LATIN AMERICA Wizards of the Coast, Inc. P.O. Box 707 Renton WA 98057-0707 Questions? 1-800-324-6496

EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS Wizards of the Coast, Belgium T Hofveld 6d 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden Belgium

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Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, AD&D, Draconomicon, Dungeon Master, d20, d20 System, Forgotten Realms, Wizards of the Coast, Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, Monster Manual, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the U.S.A. and other countries. Distributed to the hobby, toy, and comic trade in the United States and Canada by regional distributors. Distributed in the United States to the book trade by Holtzbrinck Publishing. Distributed in Canada to the book trade by Fenn Ltd. Distributed worldwide by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., and regional distributors. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental. Printed in the U.S.A. ©2003 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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Advanced Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Sample Advanced Dragon . . . . . . . . 100

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 3: The Player’s Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Fighting a Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Forewarned Is Forearmed . . . . . . . . 101 Limit the Battlefield . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 The Element of Surprise . . . . . . . . . 102 Spread Out, Concentrate Attacks . . 102 Don’t Stay Too Long. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Feats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 New Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Cleric Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Spell Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Dragonhide Armor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Dragoncraft Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Magic Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Rings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Rods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Staffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Wondrous Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Minor Artifact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Prestige Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Dracolyte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Dragonkith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Dragonrider. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Dragonslayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Dragonsong Lyrist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Dragonstalker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Hoardstealer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Initiate of the Draconic Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Platinum Knight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Talon of Tiamat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Dragons in the Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Dragons’ Advantages and Disadvantages. . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Dragons as Mounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Dragons as Cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Dragons as Special Mounts . . . . . . . 139 Dragons as Familiars . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Dragons as Player Characters. . . . . . . . 141

Chapter 1: All About Dragons . . . . . . . . . 5 The Dragon’s Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Dragon Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Dragon Life Cycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Dragon Senses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Other Modes of Movement . . . . . . . . . . 19 Combat Abilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Dragon Weaknesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Outlook and Psychology. . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Dragon Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Language. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Dragons by Kind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Dragon Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Black Dragons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Blue Dragons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Brass Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Bronze Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Copper Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Gold Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Green Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Red Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Silver Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 White Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Chapter 2: A DM’s Guide to Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Dragons in the Campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Running a Dragon Encounter . . . . . . . . 59 The Mechanics of Melee . . . . . . . . . . 59 Fighting on the Wing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Using a Breath Weapon . . . . . . . . . . . 62 To Breathe or Not to Breathe? . . . . . . 63 Using Special Attack Forms . . . . . . . 64 Dragons as Spellcasters. . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Dragon Feats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Feat Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Dragon Spells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Spell Descriptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Dragon Magic Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Lair Wards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Dragon Prestige Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Bloodscaled Fury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Disciple of Ashardalon . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Dispassionate Watcher of Chronepsis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Dragon Ascendant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Elemental Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Hidecarved Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Sacred Warder of Bahamut . . . . . . . . 96 Unholy Ravager of Tiamat . . . . . . . . . 97

Chapter 4: New Monsters. . . . . . . . . . . 145 Abyssal Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Monsters by Type (and Subtype) . . . . 146 Dracolich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Draconic Creature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Dragonkin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Dragonnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Elemental Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Air Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Earth Drake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Fire Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Ice Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Magma Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Ooze Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Smoke Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Water Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Faerie Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Fang Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Felldrake, Spiked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Ghostly Dragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Golem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Dragonbone Golem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Drakestone Golem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Ironwyrm Golem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Half-Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Hoard Scarab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Landwyrm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Desert Landwyrm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Forest Landwyrm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Hill Landwyrm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Jungle Landwyrm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Mountain Landwyrm . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Plains Landwyrm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 Swamp Landwyrm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Tundra Landwyrm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Underdark Landwyrm . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Planar Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Battle Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Chaos Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Ethereal Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Howling Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Oceanus Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Pyroclastic Dragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 Radiant Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Rust Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 Styx Dragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Tarterian Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Shadow Dragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Skeletal Dragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Squamous Spewer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Storm Drake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Vampiric Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Zombie Dragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Chapter 5: Sample Dragons. . . . . . . . . 199 Customizing the Dragons. . . . . . . . . . . 199 Sample Black Dragons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Sample Blue Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Sample Brass Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Sample Bronze Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Sample Copper Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 Sample Gold Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Sample Green Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Sample Red Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 Sample Silver Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 Sample White Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 Appendix 1: The Dragon’s Hoard . . . . 277 Appendix 2: Index of Dragons . . . . . . 286

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INTRODUCTION

Introduction The dragon reared, roaring, clawing at air And belching fire, and began to lunge down Upon Dydd, but the druid slashed into Ashardalon’s heart, her scimitar cut And the lifeblood began to spill. Then Dydd Was slain, her heart wrested from her breast by The dragon’s grasping jaws, swallowed, consumed To sustain Ashardalon’s ebbing life For a time. . . . —The Lay of Dydd More than any other creature, dragons are a symbol of all that is the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game. From the savage white to the majestic gold, dragons represent the greatest perils adventurers face at any point in their careers, as well as the greatest rewards they may hope to claim. From the tiny wyrmling at the bottom of an adventurer’s very first dungeon to the colossal great wyrm he meets at the height of his career, dragons are the ultimate climactic encounter: a brutal and memorable fight that will pay off in riches from the dragon’s hoard. Dragons are creatures of myth, often described as the first sentient race to appear on a world, with life spans that stretch over hundreds of years. They symbolize the world itself and embody its history, and the oldest dragons are repositories of vast knowledge and ancient secrets. This aspect of dragons makes them much more than just a challenging combat encounter: They are sages and oracles, fonts of wisdom and prophets of things to come. Their very appearance can be an omen of good or ill fortune. Perhaps most important, dragons are a reminder that the action of the D&D game takes place in a world of fantasy, wonder, and magic, a world far from mundane in every way. Any attempt to describe them as little more than glorified lizards with wings and breath weapons is a disservice, not only to dragons, but to the fantasy universe of D&D and the wealth of legends, myths, and heroic stories that place dragons in such an iconic position that they had to be a part of the very name of the game. Dragons are, by their very nature, epic forces in the world. Their

actions, their schemes, even their dreams are felt throughout the world. From a wyrmling raiding herds of sheep to the mighty Ashardalon feasting on preincarnate souls, dragons do things that matter, whether on a small local scale or in the cosmic big picture. They are the embodiment of fantasy itself. That, in a nutshell, is the reason for this book. Dragons are such a central part of the game that a rules reference of this nature is an essential addition to any campaign, enhancing the excitement of draconic encounters for players and Dungeon Masters alike. A DM will find information here on the powers and tactics of dragons, as well as a wealth of new feats, spells, magic items, and prestige classes designed to make dragon encounters more interesting, challenging, and unusual. In case the dragons already described in the Monster Manual and other books are not enough, this book also presents a variety of new dragonrelated monsters of all types to include in the game. Players, meanwhile, can unearth dragonslaying tactics and take advantage of new feats and spells, magic items, and prestige classes to make their characters the ultimate dragon slayers, dragon riders, or even dragon servants. Draconomicon is not just about the rules, tactics, and ecology of dragons, however. The illustrations in this book are intended to inspire a fresh sense of wonder and awe at the creatures that make up such an important part of the D&D game. Dragons are rapacious, arrogant, and deadly—but they are also majestic, awesome, and magnificent. A renewed sense of the grandeur of dragons might not have as concrete or noticeable an impact on your game as all the new rules you will find in this book, but its influence will surely be felt around your gaming table. Let this book inspire you. Whether you use it to build new draconic adversaries and exciting dragon lairs stocked with legendary treasure, or to build a character who rides a silver dragon into battle against the servants of Tiamat, you are sure to find not just the rules you want, but the wonder you need to make your game more fun. Dragons are creatures of legend, and with this book you can be a part of that legend. Retell it, relive it, reshape it in your character’s or your campaign’s image. Draconomicon will show you how.

pqqqqrs THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF DRAGONS In the D&D game, the term “dragon” encompasses a number of different creatures, some of which bear little resemblance to the great flying creatures with breath weapons that we commonly think of as dragons. For the most part, this book concerns itself with the ten varieties of true dragon described in the Monster Manual— the five chromatic dragons (black, blue, green, red, white) and the five metallic dragons (brass, bronze, copper, gold, silver). True dragons are those creatures that become more powerful as they grow older. A number of other true dragons are described in Chapter 4 of this book. In addition, Appendix 2: Index of Dragons provides

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a complete list of all true dragons that have been presented in official sources. Other creatures of the dragon type that do not advance through age categories are referred to as lesser dragons (which should not be taken to mean that they are necessarily less formidable than true dragons). The three kinds of lesser dragon described in the Monster Manual are the dragon turtle, the pseudodragon, and the wyvern. Chapter 4 of this book contains a number of descriptions of other lesser dragons, and Appendix 2 lists every lesser dragon that has been described in a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS rulebook or accessory.

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Illus. by L. Grant-West

wealth of material, from bard’s tales and ponderous tomes alike, has been recorded about dragons. Unfortunately for adventurers planning to confront a dragon, most of that information is wrong. The opening chapter of this book presents the truth about dragons—their types, habits, physiology, and worldview.

THE DRAGON’S BODY “How can one imagine anything more magnificent than . . . a dragon, the paragon of creation?” —Bheilorveilthion, red wyrm “Nothing but a bunch of vain, glorified flying reptiles, if you ask me!” —Hatredymaes, androsphinx At first glance, a true dragon resembles a reptile. It has a muscular body, a long, thick neck, a horned or frilled head with a toothy mouth, and a sinuous tail. The creature walks on four powerful legs with clawed feet, and it flies using its vast, batlike wings. Heavy scales cover a dragon from the tip of its tail to end of its snout. As you’ll see from the details to come, however, that first glance doesn’t begin to tell the whole story about the nature of dragons.

EXTERNAL ANATOMY Despite its scales and wings, a dragon’s body has features that seem more feline than reptilian. Refer to the illustrations on the next few pages as you read on. Like a cat’s eye, a dragon’s eye has a comparatively large iris with a vertical pupil. This arrangement allows the pupil to open extremely wide and admit much more light than a human eye can. The sclera, or “white,” of a dragon’s eye is often yellow, gold, green, orange, red, or silver, with an iris of a darker, contrasting color. To a casual observer, a dragon’s pupils always look like vertical slits. If one were to look very closely into a dragon’s eye, however, one could see a second iris and pupil within the first. The dragon can shift and rotate this inner aperture up to 90 degrees, so that the inner pupil can overlay the outer one or lie at a right angle to it. This ocular structure gives a dragon extremely accurate depth perception and focusing ability no matter how much or how little light is available. A dragon’s eye is protected by a leathery outer eyelid and three smooth inner eyelids, or nictitating membranes. The innermost membrane is crystal clear and serves to protect the eye from damage while the dragon flies,

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ALL ABOUT DRAGONS Illus. by T. Lockwood

CHAPTER 1:

fights, swims, or burrows with its eyes open. The other two eyelids mainly serve to keep the inner membrane and the surface of the eye clean. They are thicker than the innermost membrane and less clear. A dragon can use these inner lids to protect its eyes from sudden flashes of bright light. A dragon’s eyes glow in the dark, but the dragon can hide the glow by closing one or more of its inner eyelids; doing this does not affect its vision. A dragon’s ears often prove indistinguishable from the frills that frame its head, especially when the dragon is at rest. The ears of an an active dragon, however, constantly twitch and swivel as the dragon tracks sounds. Not all dragons have external ears; burrowing and aquatic dragons usually have simple ear holes protected by an overhanging fringe. A dragon’s mouth features powerful jaws, a forked tongue, and

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sharp teeth. The exact number and size of a dragon’s teeth depend on the dragon’s age, habitat, and diet; however, a dragon’s array of teeth usually includes four well-developed fangs (two upper, two lower) that curve slightly inward and have cutting edges on both the inner and outer surfaces. A dragon uses its fangs to impale and kill prey, and they serve as the dragon’s primary weapons. Immediately in front of the fangs in each jaw lie the dragon’s incisors, which are oval in cross-section and have serrated edges at the top. When a dragon bites down on large prey, these teeth cut out a semicircle of flesh. Behind the fangs in each jaw, a dragon has a row of peglike molars that help it grip prey. A dragon is not well equipped for chewing, and it typically tears prey into chunks small enough to gulp down. A dragon can create a sawing motion with its incisors by wiggling its lower jaw and shaking its head from side to side, allowing the incisors to quickly shear through flesh and bone. Many dragons learn to seize prey and literally shake it to

death. Other dragons have mastered the technique of grabbing prey and swallowing it whole. Some dragon hunters boast that they can hold a dragon’s mouth closed, preventing the creature from biting. It is true that a dragon applies more force when closing its jaws than it does when opening them; however, holding a dragon’s mouth closed still requires prodigious strength. Even if an foe were to succeed in clamping its jaws shut, the dragon is likely to throw off the opponent with one flick of its head, claw its attacker to ribbons, or both. The spines, frills, and other projections that adorn a dragon’s head make the creature look fearsome, and that is their main function. A dragon’s horn is a keratinous projection growing directly from the dragon’s skull. A dragon with horns that point backward can use the horns for grooming, and they also help protect the dragon’s upper neck in combat. Horns projecting from the sides of a dragon’s head help protect the head. A dragon’s spines are keratinous, but softer and more flexible than its horns. The spines are imbedded in the dragon’s skin and anchored to the skeleton by ligaments. Most spines are located along the dragon’s back and tail. Unlike horns, spines are mobile, with a range of motion that varies with the kind of dragon and the spines’ location on the dragon’s body. The spines along a dragon’s back, for example, can only be raised or lowered, whereas the spines supporting a dragon’s ears can be moved many different ways. The frills on a dragon’s back and tail help keep the dragon stable when flying or swimming. To a scholar who knows something about the natural world, a dragon’s powerful legs are decidedly nonreptilian, despite their scaly coverings. A dragon’s legs are positioned more or less directly under its body, in the manner of mammals. (Most reptiles’ legs tend to splay out to the sides, offering much less support and mobility than a dragon or mammal enjoys.) A dragon’s four feet resemble those of a great bird. Each foot has three or four clawed toes facing forward (the number varies, even among dragons of the same kind), plus an additional toe, also with a claw, set farther back on the foot and facing slightly inward toward the dragon’s body, like a human’s thumb. Although a dragon’s front feet are not truly prehensile, a dragon can grasp objects with its front feet, provided they are not too small. This grip is not precise enough for tool use, writing, or wielding a weapon, but a dragon can hold and carry objects. A dragon also is capable of wielding magical devices, such as wands, and can complete somatic

CHAPTER 1:

new scale on a dragon’s massive body seldom leaves the dragon particularly vulnerable to attack. A dragon’s long, muscular tail serves mainly as a rudder in flight. A dragon also uses its tail for propulsion when swimming, and as a weapon. A dragon’s wings consist of a membrane of scaleless hide stretched over a framework of strong but lightweight bones. Immensely powerful muscles in the dragon’s chest provide power for flight. Most dragons have wings that resemble bat wings, with a relatively short supporting alar limb, ending in a vestigial claw that juts forward. Most of the wing area comes from a membrane stretched over elongated “fingers” of bone (the alar phalanges; see Skeleton, below), which stretch far beyond the alar limb. Some kinds of dragons have wings that run the lengths of their bodies, something like the “wings” of manta rays. This sort of wing also has an alar limb with phalanges supporting the forward third of the wing, but the remainder of the wing is supported by modified frill spines that have only a limited range of motion and muscular control.

ALL ABOUT DRAGONS

components required for the spells it can cast (see Spellcasting, below). Some dragons are adroit enough to seize prey in their front claws and carry it aloft. A dragon can use the “thumbs” on its rear feet to grasp as well, but the grip is less precise than that of the front feet. A dragon’s skin resembles crocodile hide—tough, leathery. and thick. Unlike a crocodile, however, a dragon has hundreds of hard, durable scales covering its body. A dragon’s scales are keratinous, like its spines. Unlike the spines, however, a dragon’s scales are not attached to its skeleton, and the dragon cannot make them move. The scales are much harder and less flexible than the spines, with a resistance to blows that exceeds that of steel. A dragon’s largest scales are attached to its hide along one edge and overlap their neighbors like shingles on a roof or the articulated plates in a suit of armor. These scales cover the dragon’s neck, underbelly, toes, and tail. As the dragon moves its body, the scales tend to shift as the skin and muscle under them moves, and the scales’ free ends sometimes rise up slightly. This phenomenon has led some observers to mistakenly conclude that a dragon can raise and lower its scales in the same manner as a bird fluffing its feathers. The majority of a dragon’s scales are smaller and attached to the skin near their centers. These scales interlock with neighboring scales, giving the surface of the body a pebbly texture. The scales are large enough to form a continuous layer of natural armor over the body even when it stretches or bulges to its greatest extent. When the body relaxes or contracts, the skin under the scales tends to fold and wrinkle, though the interlocking scales ➊ give the body a fairly ➋ smooth look. A dragon’s scales grow throughout its lifetime, albeit very slowly. Unlike most other scaled crea➍ tures, a dragon neither sheds its skin nor sheds individual scales. Instead, its individual scales grow larger, and it also grows new scales as its body gets bigger. Over the years, a scale may weather and crack near the edges, but its slow growth usually proves sufficient to replace any portion that breaks off. Dragons occasionally lose scales, especially if they become badly damaged. Old scales often litter the floors of long-occupied dragon lairs. When a dragon loses a scale, it usually grows a new one in its place. The new scale tends to be smaller than its neighbors and usually thinner and weaker as well. This phenomenon is what gives rise to bards’ tales about chinks in a dragon’s armor. These tales are true as far as they go, but one

Inside the Dragon’s Eye Most scholars remain unaware of how complex and unusual a dragon’s eye really is. In addition to its four layers of eyelids and its double pupil, a dragon’s eye also has a double lens. The outer lens (1) is much the same as any other creature’s in form and function. The inner lens (2), however, is a mass of transparent muscle fibers that can polarize incoming light. The inner lens also serves to magnify what the dragon sees, and helps account for the dragon’s superior longdistance vision. A dragon’s ret➌ inas (3) are packed with receptors for both color and black-and-white vision. Behind the retina lies the tapetum lucidum (4), a reflective layer that helps the dragon see in dim light. A dragon literally sees light twice, once when it strikes the retina and again when it is reflected back. It is the tapetum lucidum that makes a dragon’s eyes seem to glow in the dark.

INTERNAL ANATOMY As you’ll see from the following section, a dragon’s resemblance to a reptile is literally only skin deep. Refer to the accompanying illustrations as you read on. Skeleton Although complete dragon skeletons are hard to come by, most scholars agree that a little more than 500 bones comprise a dragon’s skeleton, compared to slightly more than

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200 bones in a human skeleton. The bones in a dragon’s wings and spine account for most of the difference. Dragon bones are immensely strong, yet exceptionally light. In cross-section they look hollow, with thick walls made up of concentric circles of small chambers staggered like brickwork. Layers of sturdy connective tissue and blood vessels run between the layers. ➍ The accompanying diagram shows a dragon skeleton in detail. Significant parts of the skeleton are briefly discussed below. The keel, or sternum (1), serves as an anchor for the dragon’s flight muscles. The scapula draconis (2) supports the wing. The metacarpis draconis (3) and alar phalanges (4) in each wing support most of the wing’s flight surface. In ➌ some dragons, the ulna draconic (5) has an extension called the ➌ alar olecranon (6) that lends extra support to the wing. The thirteenth cervical vertebra (7) marks the base of a dragon’s neck. Every true dragon, no matter how large or small, has exactly 13 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, 7 lumbar vertebrae, and 36 caudal vertebrae. ➐ ➋ Major Internal Organs The insides of a dragon have several noteworthy features, all of which contribute to the dragon’s unique capabilities. ➊ A dragon’s eyes (1) are slightly larger than they appear from the outside. The bulk of the eye remains buried inside the skull, with only a small portion of the whole exposed when a dragon opens its eyes. The eye’s extra size helps improve the dragon’s ability to see at a distance. The eye’s spherical shape allows the dragon to move the eye through a wide arc, helping to expand its field of vision. A dragon’s brain (2) is exceptionally large, even for such a big creature, and it continues to grow as the dragon grows. It has highly developed sensory centers with specialized lobes that connect directly to the eyes, ears, and nasal passages. The brain also has large areas dedicated to memory and reasoning. The larynx (3) contains numerous well-developed vocal folds that give a dragon tremendous control over the tone and pitch of its voice. A dragon’s voice can be as shrill as a crow’s or as deep as a giant’s. Some scholars, noting that the

Draconic language (see page 28) contains many harsh sounds and sibilants, conclude that a dragon’s vocal capacity is limited, but this is not so. Dragons speak a strident language because it suits them to do so. The trachea (4) connects the larynx to the lungs. It is the dragon’s conduit for respiration and also for its breath weapon. A dragon’s vast lungs (5) fill much of its chest cavity. The lung structure resembles that of an avian, which can extract oxygen both on inhalation and exhalation. In addition to being the organs for respiration, a dragon’s breath weapon is generated ➍ in its lungs from secretions produced by the draconis fundamentum (see below). A dragon’s mighty heart (6) has four chambers, just like a mammal’s heart. The draconis ➍ fundamentum (7) is a gland possessed ➍ only by true dragons. Attached to the heart, it is the center of ele➌ mental activity inside the dragon’s body. All blood flowing from the heart passes ➌ through this organ before going to the body. The draconis fundamentum charges the lungs with power for a dragon’s breath weapon and also plays a major ➎ role in the dragon’s highly efficient metabolism, which con➏ verts the vast majority of whatever the creature consumes into usable energy. Blood vessels, nerves, and ducts run directly from the draconis fundamentum to the dragon’s flight muscles, charging them with enormous energy, and also to the lungs and the gizzard. A dragon digests its food through a combination of powerful muscular action and elemental force. The interior of the gizzard (8) is lined with bony plates that grind up chunks of food, and the entire organ is charged with the same elemental energy that the dragon uses for its breath weapon. Musculature Intact dragon carcasses are even more rare than intact dragon skeletons, making any catalog of a dragon’s muscles unreliable at best. Given the number of bones in a dragon skeleton, however, a dragon’s muscles must number in the thousands. Overall, a dragon’s musculature resembles that of a great cat, but with much larger muscles in the chest, neck, and tail. The illustration on page 10 identifies the major muscle groups in a dragon’s body.

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ALL ABOUT DRAGONS

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DRAGON PHYSIOLOGY “Dragons are scaly, they lay eggs, and they are utterly lacking in any mammalian characteristics. The notion that they are warmblooded is silly.” —Aloysius Egon Greegier, armchair dragon scholar “Just like a humanoid to quote three facts, get one of them wrong, and then draw an unrelated conclusion from the lot.” —Kacdaninymila, young adult gold dragon, upon reading Greegier’s statement

Scholars disagree on some key aspects of dragon life, but dragons themselves have few doubts.

Illus. by M. Nelson

Of most interest to scholars are the muscles involved in flight. These muscles can exert tremendous force and consume equally tremendous amounts of energy (which the draconis fundamentum supplies). The flight muscles are located in the chest and in the wings themselves. The alar pectoral (1) is the main flight muscle and is used on the wing’s downstroke. The alar lattisimus dorsai (2) draws the wing up and back. The alar deltoid (3) and alar cleidomastoid (4) draw the wings up and forward. The muscles of the wings serve mainly to control the wing’s shape, which in turn helps the dragon maneuver in the air. The alar tricep (5) and alar bicep (6) fold and unfold the wings. The alar carpi ulnaris (7) and alar carpi radialus (8) allow the wings to warp and twist.

METABOLISM Laypeople, and some scholars, are fond of the terms “coldblooded” and “warm-blooded” to describe ectothermic and endothermic creatures, respectively. An ectothermic creature lacks the ability to produce its own heat and must depend on its environment for warmth. Most ectothermic creatures seldom actually have cold blood, because they are able to find environmental heat to warm their bodies. An endothermic creature doesn’t necessarily have warm blood. What it has is a body temperature that remains more or less steady no matter how hot or cold its surroundings become. All true dragons are endothermic. Given their elemental nature, they could hardly be otherwise. A dragon’s body temperature depends on its kind and sometimes on its age. Dragons that use fire have the highest body temperatures, and dragons that use cold have the lowest. Acid- and electricityusing dragons have body temperatures that fall between the two extremes, with acid-users tending to have cooler bodies than electricity-users. Fire-using dragons literally become hotter with age. Likewise, cold-using dragons become colder as they age. Acid- and electricity-using dragons have about

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the same body temperature throughout their lives, with younger and smaller dragons having slightly higher temperatures than older and larger ones. Unlike most endothermic creatures, dragons have no obvious way to shed excess body heat. They do not sweat, nor do they pant. Instead, the draconis fundamentum extracts heat from the bloodstream and stores the energy. In a sense, then, a dragon can be considered ectothermic (because it can use environmental heat). However, when a dragon is deprived of an external heat source, its metabolism and activity level do not change. Unlike a truly ectothermic creature, a dragon can generate its own body heat and is not slowed or forced into hibernation by exposure to cold.

out as humble eggs and progress through twelve distinct life stages, each marked by new developments in the dragon’s body, mind, or behavior.

EGGS

Illus. by T. Lockwood

DIET Dragons are carnivores and top predators, though in practice they are omnivorous and eat almost ➌ anything if necessary. A dragon can literally eat rock or dirt and survive. Some dragons, particularly the metal➍ lic ones, subsist primarily on inorganic ➊ fare. Such dining habits, however, are cultural in origin. Unfortunately for a dragon’s neighbors, the difference between how much a dragon must eat and how much it is able to eat is vast. Most dragons can easily consume half their own weight in meat every day, and many gladly do so if sufficient prey is available. Even after habitual gorging, a dragon seldom gets fat. Instead, it converts its food into elemental energy and stores it for later use. Much of this stored energy is expended on breath weapons and on the numerous growth spurts (see below) that a dragon experiences throughout its life.

➎ ➋

Dragon eggs vary in size depending on the kind of dragon. They are generally the same color as the dragon that laid them and the have the same energy immunities as the dragon that laid them (for example, black dragon eggs are black or dark gray and impervious to acid). A dragon egg has an elongated ovoid shape and a hard, stony shell. A female dragon can produce eggs beginning at her young adult stage and remains fertile though the very old stage. Males are capable of fertilizing eggs beginning at the young adult stage and remain fertile through the wyrm stage. The eggs are fertilized inside the female’s body and are ready ➑ for laying about a quarter of the ➐ way through the incubation ➏ period, as shown on the table below. The numbers given on the table are approximate; actual periods can vary by as much as 10 days either way. Laying Dragon Eggs Dragon eggs are laid in clutches of two to five as often as once a year. Ovulation begins with mating, and a female dragon can produce eggs much less often, if she wishes, simply by not

pqs RULES: DRAGON EGGS Although it contains a living embryo, treat a dragon egg as an inanimate object with the following statistics.

Dragon Egg Game Statistics

DRAGON LIFE CYCLE “From the tiny egg the great wyrm grows.” —Kobold proverb

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Barring some misfortune, a dr