Crimson Dragons CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Subtropical and temperate hills and montains FREQUENCY: Very rare ORGANIZATION: Solitary or clan ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any DIET: Special INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional (15-16) ALIGNMENT: Neutral (5% lawful or chaotic) ARMOR CLASS: -1 (base) SIZE: G (42' base)
Crimson dragons are closely related to red dragons; they are nearly identical in appearance to reds, although they are smaller in size. Aside from the brighter red scales and some minor facial differences, the only appreciable difference is the black throat and belly of the crimson dragon. At ranges of 120' or greater, crimson dragons appear identical to red dragons; at closer distances, the differences are easier to distinguish (a successful Int check results in the observation of the brighter scales and/or the black belly. In any case, the differences are obvious at 60' or less. Unlike most dragons, the scales of a crimson dragon change little in color throughout their lives; they stay a bright crimson red from birth to old age.
While crimson dragons resemble red dragons in appearance, their temperment and outlook on life are quite different. They are far less vain and greedy than the red; while they still hoard treasure, it is not the crimson's main goal in life. Crimson dragons rarely take sides in conflicts between good and evil, only doing so to maintain the balance of neutrality, which is their main concern. Most (90% crimson dragons are stricly neutral in alignment; of the remaining 10% half are neutral with lawful tendancies, and the other half are neutral with chaotic leanings.
Crimson dragons speak their own language, a language common to all neutral dragons, and 16% of hatchling crimson dragons have an ability to communicate with any intelligent creature. The chance to possess this ability increases 5% per age category of the dragon.
COMBAT: Crimson dragons prefer to close with their opponents, engaging them with every attack mode available; if possible, combat will commence with a screaming plummet from the sky above in order to gain surprise. The attack will then continue with claw, bite, wing buffet, tail slap, etc. Spells, breath weapon attacks, and special abilities will not normally be employed; instead they will saved for truly dangerous encounters. Crimson dragons are not above retreating if obviously out-classed.
BREATH WEAPON: The breath weapon of a crimson dragon is a cloud of noxious vapors measuring 50' in all dimensions. Anyone caught in this cloud must make a saving throw vs. breath weapon or fall unconscious for 1d6 rounds; those who succeed must make a second saving throw vs. poison or suffer nausea (-2 on all "to hit" rolls) for 1d4 rounds. On the round following the breath attack, the cloud bursts into flames, inflicting the damage listed on the table above to all still in the area of effect (victims may save vs. breath weapon for 1/2 damage.) Strong winds or a gust of wind spell will move the cloud, but no amount of wind short of hurricane-force will disperse it. Any fire (such as torches carried by victims) will set the cloud ablaze immediately and any damage caused (such as from a ** fireball **) will be cumulative with the breath weapon damage. A favorite tactic of the crimson dragon is to cast a ** fireball ** spell into the cloud the following round, causing tremendous damage.
AGE SPECIAL ABILITY Juvenile ** Flaming sphere ** (three times per day) Adult ** Wall of Fire ** (twice per day) Old ** Telekinesis ** (twice per day) Venerable ** Reverse gravity ** (once per day) Wrym ** Incendiary cloud ** (twice per week)
HABITAT: Like red dragons, crimsons can be found in hilly or mountainous terrain, but unlike their cousins, dislike the tropics. Their lairs are usually in large caves in high hills or mountain peaks.
Crimson dragons are usually loners; they associate with other crimson dragons only when mating, and keep company with other creatures even less frequently. This is due mainly to the fact they are often mistaken for red dragons and are therefore mistrusted by most other creatures.
These cases of mistaken identity are the most common cause of unwarranted attacks against crimson dragons, and is also the main reason behind their neutral alignment - they don't trust others, and rarely form alliances; they spend most of their efforts furthering the goals of neutrality.
ECOLOGY: Crimson dragons prefer to eat meat, but can eat nearly anything. When hunting, they rarely will kill an intelligent creature for food, except in extreme circumstances.
A crimson dragon's worst enemy is the red dragon, who think their cousins are inferior and give them a bad reputation. Combat between the two types are relatively common, and, assuming the combatants are of roughly the same age, these fights are usually quite evenly matched.
BODY TAIL
AGE LENGTH LENGTH AC
1 5-15 3-10 2
2 15-26 10-16 1
3 26-36 16-24 0
4 36-46 24-38 -1
5 46-62 38-50 -2
6 62-74 50-66 -3
7 74-84 66-78 -4
8 84-98 78-90 -5
9 98-120 90-112 -6
10 120-140 112-120 -7
11 140-158 120-130 -8
12 158-166 130-142 -9