Dragon Shadow
Swarm of Darkness (CR 12)
| Neutral Evil - Huge - Swarm |
|---|
| Lore: | K. (Dungeoneer) | ||
| 27 | 44 | ||
| Basic DC | Full DC | ||
| Initiative |
19 |
| Perception: | |
| 29 | +19 |
| Passive | Active |
| Ambush: |
| 10+ |
| on a d20 |
Senses:
Movement Types:
Defense
| AC |
32 |
| Man Def |
|
31 |
| Monster Health | ||
| 289 | 144 | 22 |
| Hit Points | Bloodied | Hit Dice |
| Saving Throws | |
| Fort: | +14 |
| Refl: | +9 |
| Will: | +9 |
Strong Against:
- (Swarm 1) Hardened (½ damage): slashing (physical, common), piercing (physical, common)
- (Swarm 2) Immune (no effect): Critical Hits and Flanking
- (Swarm 3) Immune (no effect): any attack that targets Maneuver Defense
- (Swarm 4) Immune (no effect): any spell that targets a specific number of creatures, except mind-affecting spells (if this creature has an Int score).
- Immune (no effect):Sonic energy damage
- Immune (no effect):Negative energy damage
Offense
| Size: | Huge | ||
| 15 ft. | 15 ft. | ||
| Space | Reach | ||
| To-Hit |
+19 
|
| Man Off |
+19
|
| Action |
| 0 |
| Points |
Standard Attack (Melee):
- 1x Darkswarm +19 (3d8+9/19-20 x2)
as undefined damage type
negative energy damage, plus Madness (see below)
Full Attack (Melee):
- 1x Darkswarm +19 (0/19-20 x2)
as undefined damage type
negative energy damage, plus Madness (see below)
Standard Attack (Ranged):
Full Attack (Ranged):
Siege Damage: Not siege capable
Statistics
| 1 |
| STR |
| 20 |
| DEX |
| 10 |
| CON |
| 17 |
| INT |
| 15 |
| WIS |
| 16 |
| CHA |
Skills:
- Perception: 19
- Stealth: 23
- All other skills: 14 (no ranks)
Languages: Draconic, Fuligin, Common
Special Abilities
| Madness (Su) |
|
This ability replaces the normal "Distraction" ability that other swarms get. Instead, Swarms of Darkness fill the minds of those they envelop with a dizzying array of sounds, images and sensations, making it difficult to discern reality from illusion. This is a mind-affecting illusion effect, though even creatures normally immune to such effects will become dazzled while in the same square as a Swarm of Darkness.
|
| Art of Darkness (Su) |
|
If subjected to a negative energy attack from a Dragon, they are not harmed by the negative energy (they are immune), but until the end of their next turn they gain a negative energy bonus to their swarm attack damage equal to the CR of the dragon which subjected them to negative energy. Negative energy from any other source does nothing. |
Swarm of Darkness
Swarms of Darkness are the Henchmen for Black Dragons, but they may be encountered on their own as well. Regardless of how you meet them, they are potent and dangerous foes.
- Swarms of Darkness are the partially vanquished shadow-forms of black dragons. These miasmic terrors will eventually re-form into their corporeal bodies, becoming full black dragons again, given 10 or 15 years to recover from whatever event pushed them to this state.
- Frequently, swarms of darkness will be found in the company of a black dragon. These are typically the siblings or other nearby rival black dragons that the surviving black dragon has beaten nearly to death, and now keeps around as testaments to its power and mercy. The dragon will sometimes use rituals to mentally enslave the swarms of darkness, binding them into service even after they reform into full dragons. Other times, the dragon will simply kill the reformed dragons as soon as they re-form.
- Swarms of darkness are powerful adversaries, even without a dragon's assistance. They are clouds of negative energy with a powerful intelligence driving them. While they have many of the characteristics of a swarm, they are also still dragons (kind of).
Combat Tactics
Swarms of Darkness need to be in the same space, engulfing a target, to do anything to that target. They also gain no particular benefit from a full attack action, so they will move every round if they need to. They are intelligent and cruel, but also arrogant and overconfident, so they will not run away from a fight. They will, however, make use of their environment, triggering any lair defenses they might have, or manipulating prey into chasing it to a better locale to fight.
- If there is a black dragon about, the swarms of darkness will target the most heavily armored characters and ignore the unarmored types. If there is no dragon about, they will spread their attacks out, maximizing their madness effect, but trying to keep everyone enveloped.
- Note that multiple swarms can move into, stop and occupy spaces that other swarms occupy. However, no more than two swarms can inflict damage or effects on a single target.
Out of Combat
Swarms of Darkness are the remains of Black Dragons, and if they manage to slip away from the control of a Black Dragin, they are always working to get back to that exalted Draconic state. No one knows exactly what condenses a Swarm back into a Dragon, but they are always striving toward that goal.
Rewards
XP: 19,200
Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 12,875 gp.
- Weight: 120 lbs. Volume: 4.8 cu. ft.
Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.
| Table 1: Remnant(s) Found | |
|---|---|
| 1 - 10 | Nothing Found |
| 11 - 14 | 1 Languid Remnant (tier 1) |
| 15 - 17 | 1 Pale Remnant (tier 2) |
| 18 - 19 | 1 Bright Remnant (tier 3) |
| 20 | Roll on Table 2 |
| ### | Nothing to see here! |
| ### | Or here. Move along. |
| Table 2: Remnant(s) Found | |
|---|---|
| 1 - 5 | 3 Languid Remnants (tier 1) |
| 6 - 10 | 3 Pale Remnants (tier 2) |
| 11 - 14 | 1 Intense Remnant (tier 4) |
| 15 - 17 | 1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5) |
| 18 - 19 | 1 Vital Remnant (tier 6) |
| 20 | Roll on Table 3 |
| ### | Or here. Move along. |
| Table 3: Remnant(s) Found | |
|---|---|
| 1 - 5 | 3 Bright Remnants (tier 3) |
| 6 - 8 | 3 Intense Remnants (tier 4) |
| 9 - 11 | 3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5) |
| 12 - 14 | 3 Vital Remnants (tier 6) |
| 15 - 17 | 1 Prime Remnant (tier 7) |
| 18 - 19 | 1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8) |
| 20 | 1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9) |