MM 3.5 addendum - Pithril Dragon

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Okay, a discussion over in Sorcerous Sundries has piqued my creative streak - and I've taken all the discussion in Pink Dragon Disciples of the World Unite! and distilled it into the following (a side topic that co-habits the thread is trying to link our munificent host Tal into all this 'pinkness' (see the discussion for more detail), so I dunno what my monster entry will do to that...

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PITHRIL DRAGON

Dragon (Ooze}
Environment: Wyrmling - Prime Material; any civilized; very young and older - Ethereal Plane
Organization: Wyrmling and very young: solitary or clutch (2-5); young and older: solitary or pair
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 4; very young 6; young 8; juvenile 11; young adult 13; adult 15; mature adult 18; old 20; very old 21; ancient 23; wyrm 24; great wyrm 26
Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always chaotic good
Advancement: Wyrmling 6-7 HD; very young 9-10 HD; young 12-13 HD; juvelile 15-16 HD; young adult 18-19 HD; adult 21-22 HD; mature adult 24-25 HD; old 27-28 HD; very old 30-31 HD; ancient 33-34 HD; wyrm 36-37 HD; great wyrm 39+ HD
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +4, very young +5; others -

This dragon defies description; it's just so cute! Mere mundane words cannot adequately express their flawless attractiveness. *sigh* What? Oh - well, if I have to...lessee; body of shimmering, rosy, metallic scales; huge, expressive eyes like milky opals. One of my favourite features are the two horns at the crown of the head; they curl like ram's horns, and project out to the sides - they're just so eye-catching. I suppose you'd say that a pithril is a little less defined in its musclature than other true dragons, not that that lessens their perfect comliness. No; I just can't tell you - you have to see it for yourself; c'mon I know were we might see a clutch of hatchlings of an evening...

The pithril dragon is extremely rare; spending the bulk of its life on planes other than the prime material, and thus out of the scrutiny of the majority of scholars. Its actions and motives are rather inscrutable, being such recluses. Indeed, the information contained here was only possible due to a dint of considerable effort and expense, exhaustive research, and even regular communing with the author's deity.

The closest thing to a 'consensus' on these creatures' behaviour seems to indicate a prankish streak akin to the copper dragon, although the aforementioned research has revealed that the 'pranks' of a pithril are much more subtle, and typically take a long time to come to fruition. Given a draconic lifespan, this timeframe makes sense, and apparently enhances the appeal to the dragon that the 'victim' is not even aware of the circumstances.

The life cycle of the pithril is somewhat different than most true dragons; despite living its life in the Etheral plane, a pithril dragon must lay its eggs and keep its hoard somewhere on the prime material. For reasons yet to be divined, it chooses to do so in urban areas, further, the clutches are invariably in the vicinity of drinking establishments. Hoards are naturally kept in the most isolated locations; with no particular geographical type preferred.

From direct experience, a pithril dragon does not have the usual frightful presence one would expect; instead it is surrounded by an intoxicating aura of cuteness - only by excessive control of one's will has the author been able to determine that a sweet, honey mead-like aroma heralds the presence of a pithril. This may explain the locating of newborn wrymlings to mundane folks' watering holes; the inebriating scent of the pithrils blends with the general odor of a tavern, and sightings of the little dragonlets would be dismissed as intemperate hallucinations.

As young, pithril dragons subsist on inorganic material - typically refuse and discarded items by tipsy bar patrons making their way home. Indeed, the prediliction of losing possessions 'the night before' may be in indication of a clutch of pithril wyrmlings 'rolling a drunk' for something tasty!

Once they reach somewhat more mature status, the dragon's inherent planar abilites make themselves known - much like salmon following a barely-rememebered path to its spawning grounds, a pithril dragon will seek to expore other realms and just plane shift itself into the Ethereal. They still eat discarded (or 'misplaced') inorganic objects by returning occasionally to the prime material, however they live their lives in the ether; only returning approximately once a tenday or so to one's hoard to augment same with any gleanings it has, or to lay eggs in a firm, stable location.

Due to their familarity with the ethereal environment, pithril dragons are a lot more nimble in movement than most of their kin, and much more dextrous than their form would suggest - the pithril keeps the 'babyish' form of a wyrmling (enlarged head, diminutive wings, huge, appealing eyes that just radiate innocence...er!) but merely increases in size. Combining these infantile proportions with its inherent glamour and captivating abilities, result in a form that a rational mind would consider contradictory - a giant, 'cute' dragon. However it will be revealed that rationality and logic are very difficult things to hold onto in the presence of a pithril...

Combat
This is still a very uncertain thing, the author has only a few instances of direct, first-person observation of a pithril even fighting to show for considerable research.

A pithril apparently is averse to killing. Period. They are masters of illusion, and it is very difficult to trace even their presence. Typically they will avoid conflict, or if inclined to assist, will only do so while remaining undetected. Non-lethal means - particularly with regards to its breath weapon - are utilised whenever possible.

The only instance of the dragon's more 'lethal' breath was in an instance where yours truly had tracked down a venerable pithril dragon, and was inquiring as to its background, habits, behaviour, and so forth. After about a week of 'pestering', the wyrm finally responded to my questions. It did so tersely, and in the least helpful, yet not overtly false, manner possible.

After another two months of grilling as the dragon went about its business, I had stuck upon a course of action that now appears unwise (from the advantage of hindsight) - I turned my interrogation into a hostile manner, in the hopes of provoking my host to actions that I had incurred in the past. This, combined with the extended annoyance of my presence, as well as my preparations against the expected magical attacks I had previously experienced, apparently did all too good a job of inciting this pithril dragon.

The usual modus operandi of turning oneself invisible and casting immobilizing and incapacitating spells upon me were met with resistant enchantments I had prepared for this eventuality, and a pair of eyes of true seeing allowed me to surpass the drake's defenses of stealth as I persisted in my aggravating inquisition.

Then, pressed to more severe actions to defend its peace, the dragon breathed on me, but not the expected cone of candyfloss (q.v.) - to which I had prepared for by coating myself with the contents of a vial of salve of slipperiness - but a jet of...well, meat. A finely ground indeterminate amalgam of cooked meat. Its consistency was somewhat firmer than a paste, and not caustic or the like, but had a considerable mass to it, the impact crushing the air from my lungs.

Due to the fact that we were currently floating in the gravity-less realm of the ether, getting struck with a stream of probably a hundredweight of this meat further definitively ended my encounter with the wyrm. After an interminable time, I regained consciousness, still drifting through the plane, surrounded by a 'flotilla of flotsam' - namely the product of the pithril wyrm's breath attack upon me. The amount of time I had spent passing through the ether senseless appeared to be considerable, as my lips and gorge were parched, and my stomach rumbling. My waterskin slaked my thirst, but I had neither rations, nor any sustaining prayers or spells in recollection. Closer examination of the meat the dragon struck me with revealed it to be nourishing - if a little rich - and not exactly distasteful.

So it is that through fortune (and a considerable number of precautions) that I have been able to investigate the abilities and behaviour of the rare, obscure pithril dragon and bring this information forth.

Breath Weapon (Su): The pithril dragon has, like other metallic dragons, two breath weapons at it disposal. The first is a line of 'spam' (a term coined from the resemblance of the meat to the colloquial 'chaff' that subsumes the knowledgable 'wheat' imparted on these fora) that does standard bludgeoning damage to anyone in its path - a Reflex save does halve the damage but not the subsidiary effect: anyone struck with the spam line must either be moved 5' out of the line of 'fire' or be knocked prone. The second - used much more often - is a cone of 'candyfloss'; sticky, intertwining strands of...well, sugar that will entangle anyone in the area akin to a web spell. Like the spell, a Reflex save will prevent full immobilization, and Strength/Escape Artist checks are required to 'break free' or move within the area of effect.

Unlike a web, the candyfloss is not flammable - it will melt in contact with considerable heat (a fire shield of the appropriate type would allow the bearer to pass through the floss unimpeded). Universal solvent will act in a similar manner to fire or great heat. A salve of slipperiness will permit the wearer to move freely through the area of entanglement...for 1d6 minutes before it is absorbed by the sponge-like properties of the candyfloss.

A pithril dragon does not have frightful presence; instead, it is imbued upon birth with:
Aura of Cuteness (Ex): Any pithril dragon can pacify potential foes with its mere presence. The ability takes effect automatically whenever the dragon 'does something cute' - essentially at will. Creatures within a radius of 30 feet x the dragon's age category are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than the dragon.

A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 dragon's HD + dragon's Cha modifier) remains immune to that dragon's aura of cuteness for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become charmed for 4d6 minutes and those with 5 or more HD become subject to a suggestion of "You don't want any harm to come to this cute, cuddly thing" for 4d6 rounds. True dragons ignore the aura of cuteness of pithril dragons and pithrils ignore each others'.

Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day - planar shift (very young or older), 3/day - fog cloud (adult or older), 2/day - greater invisibilty (old or older)

Skills: Hide, Move Silently and Tumble are considered class skills for pithril dragons.

***The pithril dragon follows the 'Copper Dragon by Age' and 'Copper Dragon Abilities by Age' tables with the following exceptions:
- 'Speed' has an additional movement mode - ethereal; starting at very young {80 ft. (good)} and changing to {120 ft. (average)} at young, and {160 ft. (poor)} at wyrm.
- A pithril dragon's Charisma starts at 14 for wyrmling and increases by two for each 2 age categories thereafter.
- The 'Frightful Presence DC' column is replaced with 'Aura of Cuteness DC' with entries starting from wyrmling: 14, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36
- The 'Immunity to acid' ability at wyrmling is replaced with 'Immunity to charm', spider climb is removed, and and the spell-like abilites are as above.***

Example:
Young Pithril Dragon: CR 8; Medium dragon (ooze); HD 11d12+22; hp 93; Init +0; Spd 40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor), etheral 120 ft. (average); AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 20; Base Atk +11; Grp +13; Atk +13 melee (1d8+2, bite); Full Atk +13 melee (1d8+2, bite), +11 melee (1d6+1, 2 claws), +11 melee (1d4+1, 2 wings); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA breath weapon, spells; SQ darkvision 120 ft., immunity to charm, sleep and paralysis, low-light vision, aura of cuteness, plane shift; AL CG; SV Fort +9, Ref +7, Will +9; Str 15, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 16.

 

And I thought I had too much time on my hands.

 

In Newfoundland, we don't get sun so we hafta make our own fun.

 

Great AE

 

Should have given us credit for this too (by names lol) XD... but it was really well written, and funny too. lol

 

This is just hilarious.

 

I'm deffinately incorporating a Pithral Dragon in my next D&D game. To hell with what the DM says, I want a Pithral Dragon

And, if the DM don't agree I'll just use mine aura of cuteness on him!

 

Great!. Very well written.

 

Aye, this was a collective effort by all in the PDD thread - I merely arranged and edited it some. I wouldn't even think of submitting it for SP without at least co-author credits.

But mostly I put it out here a) to see how my perception of this creature matches what everyone else is thinking of, and b) for a little free proofing/'beta' testing - anyone think of anything that could be improved; this isn't set in stone or anything - easily altered or adjusted at this stage.

Hmmm...I've only been here a few months, so this makes me wonder: does SP have a mascot?

 

Yeah, it's that weird little goblin thingy; check out the merchandise.

EDIT: Judging by the "Ooh, shiny ones!" quote on the mousepad, I think it's supposed to be Cespenar.

[ September 15, 2005, 07:03: Message edited by: Felinoid ]