Common White Dragon

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Common White Dragon (CR 11)

Common White Dragons are the least of all dragons. But do not take comfort from that. Being the 'least' dragon still makes the Common White Dragon...A DRAGON. There are no small or weak dragons. There are no young or immature dragons, with thin scales and undeveloped breath weapons. EVERY dragon is a terrible, destructive force, and if you think a 'Common' White Dragon is anything less than a deadly threat to your life, then you are sadly mistaken.

It's just that every other dragon is even worse.

Dragons are so different from every other creature that they have their own unique classification. They have four legs, although the front 'feet' are dexterous enough to serve quite well as hands. They also have two or more completely functional wings, and they are powerful and speedy fliers. They have a large and dexterous prehensile tail, and seeing a monster as big as a dragon hanging from a branch is a sight you will remember for the rest of your life, however long that might be.

Dragons are intelligent and terribly alien. What a dragon considers important is not what other races consider important. They are also frequently, but not always, intensely malign. Some rare dragons may be allies with lesser races (all races are lesser to a dragon, as they see it) or even genuine friends to others. Most dragons, even those traditionally considered "good," are vain and jealous things, consumed with petty grievances and cruel enough to punish every slight, no matter how small or imaginary.

Dragons will hunt at great distances. Due to their powerful and magically enhanced metabolisms, dragons need to eat far less than would seem 'natural' for a beast their size. Rather than a blessing, this is a terrible curse upon the world, because things as awful as dragons should be rare, and, as the name "common white" might imply, they are not. Even worse, since dragons need far less food than is natural, they tend to be horrifically picky eaters, and have been known to kill an entire herd of cows to find the tastiest one, or rampage through an entire town looking for the prettiest maiden.

Dragons also have a tendency to 'play' with their food in most terrible ways. If you want to rescue that prettiest maiden, best to be quick about it. It is often speculated that dragons are deliberately wretched in their behavior, in order to force would-be dragon-slayers into action 'before they're ready', and so increase the dragon's long-term safety. Indeed, many dragons are far too intelligent and clever for their own good. There are hundreds of stories of adventurers taunting dragons into foolish actions, and it is true that, in a battle, it is hard for a dragon to take any 'lesser' race seriously. In a dragon's mind, the only creatures worthy of consideration, much less respect, are other dragons.

The world belongs to the dragons. The rest of us just live here.

Dragons tend to be categorized into loose species-groups based upon their physical appearance and traits. Most common among these are the white, black, blue, green, red chromatic dragons, followed closely by the bronze, copper, silver, gold and platinum metallic dragons. Other species groups exist, such as the earth dragons (brown, gray, yellow, and ocher), the spirit dragons (force, prismatic, empyrean, and tellurian) the gem dragons (crystal, onyx, jade, sapphire, ruby and amber), the drifting dragons (cloud, mist, shadow, sand, and dust), and the tempered dragons (iron, steel, mithril and adamant), to name the most common. In addition there are many odd dragons which defy categorization, such as coiled dragons, nested dragons, radiant dragons, sea dragons, celestial dragons, star dragons, moon dragons, sun dragons, fairy dragons, and many, many more besides.

While the physical appearance of the dragon is the easiest means of distinguishing them from one another, a dragon's coloration isn't a drab monochrome. White dragons, for example, are not actually snowy white. Instead, they are more 'lizard colored' with white to icy highlights. But in all cases, they are strongly associated with the powers of cold. Even in hot deserts or sweltering, festering swamps, a white dragon's lair will exude an unworldly chill, and the inside will be rimed with frost.

White dragons, like all dragons, love their lairs and seek to 'decorate' them with things they enjoy. In many instances, these decorations form a great horde of treasure, which the dragon knows as well as an obsessive collector knows his rarest, most precious things.

GENERAL

CR 11 (Threat Role) Hit Dice 16

XP 51,200 (Threat Role included)

CE, Huge, Dragon

Init +10; Senses low-light 240 feet, Perception +22

DEFENSE

AC 31, touch 19, flat-footed 26 (+7 armor, +5 dex, +5 natural, +4 deflection)

hp 687 (Threat Role included)

Fort +14, Ref +14, Will +14 (Dragon bonuses included)

Aura: Terrible Majesty (see below)

SR: -

Special Defenses: -

Immunities: magical sleep, paralysis, cold, sonic. Immunities to first five instances of all status conditions.

Weaknesses: -

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft., Fly 120 ft. (good)

Space / Reach: 15 ft. / 5 ft.

Single Melee Dragon's Bite +16 (2d8/x2), 2x Dragon's Claws +16 (2d6/x2),

Full Melee

• Dragon's Bite +16 (2d8/x2)
• 2x Dragon's Claws +16 (2d6/x2)
• 2x Dragon's Wings +16 (2d6/x2) 2x2 Area of Effect
• Dragon's Tail +16 (2d8/x2) 3x3 Area of Effect

Ranged None, but see Breath Weapon, Addling Roar

Special Attacks Breath Weapon, Addling Roar, Terrible Majesty, Whiteout

Action Points 2 (Threat Role included)

STATISTICS

Str 30, Dex 18, Con 20, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 16

Base Atk +11; CMB +17; CMD 27

Feats -

Skills Knowledge, Local 22, Sense Motive 16, Bluff 16, Perception 22

Languages Common, Draconic, 1 other language

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Addling Roar

As a standard action, the dragon may emit an ear-shattering howl of unimaginable power. This is a sonic-based attack that affects all creatures within 100 feet of the dragon's space. The dragon must have line of effect for this power to operate, but does not require line of sight. This power inflicts 11d6 of sonic damage. Addling Roar allows a Fort save versus a DC of 20 to take half damage.

Breath Weapon

As a standard action, the dragon may emit a vast and deadly gust of bitter cold. The Breath Weapon affects a 30 foot cone.

This breath weapon does 11d6 of cold damage, and all enemies caught in it must make a Reflex save versus a DC of 20. Those who make their save take only half damage from the breath. Those who fail their save take full damage and are Torpid for the rest of the encounter. If creatures with a Torpid condition fail a second save against the Breath Weapon they become Entangled until the end of the encounter. Entangled creatures who fail a save against the Breath Weapon are Petrified until the condition is broken with a Dispel Magic. The Caster Level of the Breath Weapon is the Challenge Rating (CR) of the dragon.

In addition to the effects above, all surfaces struck by the breath weapon become Icy. Icy squares are difficult terrain, and any creature struck by the Dragon's Bite or Dragon's Claw attacks while they are on Icy terrain must make a reflex save against a DC of 20 or be knocked Prone. Creatures that are standing on Icy terrain when they are struck by a Dragon's Wing or Dragon's Tail attack may be Pushed 2 squares if the dragon wishes.

A White Dragon ignores the movement penalty of Icy terrain.

Terrible Majesty

All enemy creatures who are within 100 feet of the dragon's space when it takes an attack action must make a Will save versus a DC of 20. This is a free action which requires line of sight, but does not require line of effect. Those who make this save receive the Nervous condition for one round. Those who fail this save receive the Trembling condition for the rest of the encounter. Note that once you have made this save once, succeed or fail, you are immune to that particular dragon's Terrible Majesty for the next 24 hours.

Whiteout

The first time a white dragon is reduced to zero hitpoints, it is not killed. Instead, it collapses to the ground and as a triggered immediate action its form erupts into a silent gust of still, freezing cold that fills all spaces within 50 feet of its space. This freezing cold cloud blocks sight and hearing beyond five feet (lending total concealment to all creatures inside it that are not adjacent to an enemy). All enemy creatures who begin their turn within the area of effect of Whiteout take 3d6 of cold damage unless they make a Fort save versus a DC of 20.

Whiteout persists from the time the white dragon reaches zero hit points until the next time its initiative comes up as the combat continues. When its initiative comes up again, the White Dragon is reset to half its maximum hit point total, all conditions are cleared, and it is placed anywhere within the area of effect of the Whiteout, as a free action. As soon as the dragon is placed back on the field of play, the Whiteout effect ends immediately.

TREASURE

sell value of approximately 32,500 gp (Threat Role and Dragon Bonus included, which is 5x greater than normal for this CR)

COMBAT TACTICS

White Dragons are canny and dangerous opponents. They are perfectly willing to talk a while before fighting, and will happily duel players verbally with their Sense Motive and Bluff checks, but make no mistake: No matter how godlike the player characters roll, or how charming their words, the dragon is fully contemptuous of them as lesser beings, and this WILL end in blood. Unless the GM likes it better the other way, that is.

After the talking is done, White Dragons will generally let their allies (if any) get in the way of the players and will close in. They will usually use an action point to use their Breath Weapon as early as possible, seeking to place their enemies on Icy terrain for the buff it gives their melee attacks. They will then use melee attacks, triggering their Terrible Majesty fear aura to debuff their foes early. Dragons are very aware of their Wing and Tail attacks that have area of effects. These attacks roll one to-hit versus all foes they can reach, and then roll one damage roll that is applied to all struck foes.

Once combat begins in earnest, they will fight aggressively, breathing and using full attacks as much as possible. If they are taking heavy damage, they will fly up a few feet and use their second action point to emit an Addling Roar, damaging all their enemies they possibly can.

Once they are 'killed' the first time, they will use Whiteout and re-emerge onto the battlefield as close to the 'soft and squishy' enemies as they can. They will use full attacks and Addling Roar as much as possible.

White Dragons are far too egotistical and mean to seriously consider running from mere adventurers.

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Snowy Dragonborn (CR 11)

The Snowy Dragonborn are the Henchmen for the White Dragons. They may be used as standalone monsters, although the presence of a Dragon improves them greatly.

Where the Dragonborn come from is a mystery. Are they young dragons? Are they degenerate humanoids, corrupted by dragon magics to the draconian ideal? Are they a slave or servant race which lives in secret enclaves?

No one knows. All that is known for sure is, more often than not, where there are dragons, there will be dragonborn.

GENERAL

CR 11 Hit Dice 16

XP 12,800

NE, Medium, Monstrous Humanoid

Init +5; Senses low-light, Perception +17

DEFENSE

AC 31, touch 19, flat-footed 26 (+7 armor, +5 dex, +5 natural, +4 deflection)

hp 229

Fort +14, Ref +11, Will +11

Aura: -

SR: -

Special Defenses: ER20/sonic

Immunities: Dragontouched: Cold, Immune to White Dragon Whiteout effects, Immune to Icy terrain

Weaknesses: -

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., fly 120 ft. (good)

Space / Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft.

Single Melee +2 Heavy Mace +18 (2d8+3/19-20x2)

Full Melee 3x +2 Heavy Mace +18 (2d8+3/19-20x2)

Ranged Careen +16 (2d8+1/x2), range increment 30 feet, +Deceptive (first attack vs Flatfooted AC)

Special Attacks None

Action Points 0

STATISTICS

Str 20, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 16

Base Atk +11; CMB +17; CMD 27

Feats Precise Shot (EFFECT: No penalty for ranged attacks into melee),

Skills Knowledge, Local 16, Stealth 16

Languages Common, Draconic

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Dragontouched

White Dragonborn are immune to cold, the effects of Icy terrain, and the White Dragon's Whiteout power.

TREASURE

sell value of approximately 6,500 gp. Note that the sale value of their +2 Heavy Mace is 4000 gold, so they will typically have only 2500 gold worth of other treasure.

COMBAT TACTICS

Snowy Dragonborn live to serve their dragon. They will use stealth to move to the rear of any enemies and provide flanks to the dragon. They will attack without mercy, and use their lives to block attacks upon the dragon if necessary. They will use their Careens at range, combining their fire on a single victim and using the Deceptive property of the weapons to attack against flatfooted AC for the first attack.

This means they will spread their attacks, but that's fine in their minds, as any attacks they draw away from the dragon are a good thing.

When the Dragon is dropped to zero hit points the first time, snowy dragonborn are immune to the concealment effects and damage of the Whiteout. As a result they will attack with their careens at range as much as possible until the dragon reforms.

Snowy Dragonborn attack without fear and fight to the death without hesitation.