Combat Abilities

SWIMMING

All true dragons can swim, though only a few kinds can be considered truly aquatic. Aquatic dragons have long, flat tails and webbing between their toes or in their shoulder joints.

A swimming dragon usually moves like a big reptile. It folds its wings tightly against its body and throws its legs back, creating a streamlined shape. It moves its body left to right in a sinuous motion, and its tail lashes from side to side, providing propulsion. The truly aquatic dragons sometimes employ their wings as big fins in the manner of a ray or an aquatic bird.

The frill along a dragon’s back helps it stay on course when swimming underwater, and also keeps the dragon from rolling over.

A swimming dragon steers with its head, tail, and feet.

A dragon swimming at the surface often holds its head and neck out of the water, which allows it to scan the surface while most of its body remains submerged. A dragon also occasionally swims with just the upper half of its head out of the water. This restricts the dragon’s field of vision somewhat, but makes it practically undetectable.

Most dragons are obliged to hold their breath when submerged. However, the truly aquatic types can breathe underwater as easily as they take in water and extract oxygen from it. The dragon inhales water through its nose, and the water floods the lungs and is exhaled through the nose. The dragon handles the process as easily at it breathes air.

BURROWING

Any dragon can gouge out holes in the ground with its claws, but some dragons can also worm their way through sand or loose earth, moving as quickly as a human can move at a brisk walk.

Burrowing dragons tend to have shorter, thicker necks than other dragons, stubbier legs, and wedgeshaped heads. When burrowing, the dragon pushes with its head and uses its front feet to claw away material. The back legs kick the loosened material back past the dragon’s body. The tunnel the dragon makes when burrowing usually collapses behind it.

“Battle is a dragon’s natural element; it is made for combat. It has teeth like spears, claws like scimitars, wings like hammers, and a tail like a battering ram. Lesser beings cower in its presence, and its breath fells armies.”

—Munwithurix, red dragon The vanity of dragons is legendary. Indeed, they have much to boast about, including a fearsome array of natural weaponry and a host of more subtle abilities that make them all but invincible in combat.

BREATH WEAPONS

The most infamous weapon in a dragon’s formidable arsenal is its devastating breath. The chromatic dragons can produce blasts of elemental energy; the type of energy varies with the kind of dragon. The metallic dragons can produce elemental breath weapons, too, but they also produce a second type of breath that is nonlethal but potent in its own way.

No matter what form its breath weapon takes, a dragon generates it from deep inside its lungs, using energy generated from an organ near its heart called the draconis fundamentum (page 8). Fortunately for dragon hunters, a dragon cannot produce breath weapon effects continuously. Each breath depletes the dragon’s inner reserves of energy, and it usually requires at least a few seconds to produce another breath.

To use its breath weapon, the dragon first draws a very deep inhalation. If sufficient energy is available, the dragon immediately expels the weapon in a violent exhalation. If not, the dragon must wait until more energy builds up. The effect is not unlike a blacksmith fanning a fire that is slightly too small. A puff of air from the bellows produces intense heat, but burns up all the fire’s fuel, forcing the smith to add more fuel before fanning the flame again. A dragon seems to remain aware of the state of its inner energy and never tries to use its breath weapon too soon. Dragons, however, do not seem to have much control over how quickly their inner energy replenishes itself.

A dragon can discharge its breath weapon with little or no forewarning. Some dragons are adept at convincing timorous foes that a breath could come at any moment.

FRIGHTFUL PRESENCE

The mere appearance of a dragon can send pack animals fleeing in terror and shake the resolve of the most stalwart soldier. Usually, a dragon must be of at least young adult age to have this power.

Though some commentators speak of dragons inspiring supernatural fear, a dragon’s frightful presence has no magical component. Dragons are simply very good at striking fear in the hearts of foes, and they can do so whenever they take any action that is the least bit aggressive.

IMMUNITIES AND DEFENSES

Though most forms of attack have at least a slim chance of working against a dragon, some attacks prove useless.

Every true dragon is immune to at least one type of elemental energy (acid, cold, electricity, or fire), usually the same type of energy as the dragon uses for its breath weapon. This immunity stems from the dragon’s elemental nature. The same power that allows it to belch forth a blast of energy also keeps that energy from harming the dragon.

True dragons have superb internal temperature regulation and seldom suffer from the effects of excessive heat or cold.

In addition, all draconic creatures are not subject to effects that put them to sleep or induce paralysis; such creatures possess an unstoppable vitality.

True dragons also develop a supernatural resistance to physical blows, which can prevent nonmagical weapons from harming them at all. Bards’ tales about marauding dragons enduring hails of arrows from defending archers without suffering so much as a scratch are all too true.

Thanks to their innately magical nature, true dragons also develop the power to shrug off the effects of spells. Older dragons ignore spell assaults from all but the most powerful magical practitioners.

MAGICAL ABILITIES

All dragons develop innate magical abilities as they age. Among these is the ability to cast arcane spells.

A dragon’s innate magical abilities tend to reflect the character and attitudes of its species. For example, black

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RULES: BREATH WEAPONS

A dragon’s breath weapon is a supernatural ability. It does not work in antimagic areas. Using a breath weapon is a standard action. As noted in the Monster Manual, when a dragon uses a breath weapon, it must wait 1d4 rounds before it can breathe again. In this case, a round lasts until the dragon’s next turn begins (see The Combat Round, page 138 of the Player’s Handbook). For example, if a dragon breathes in the first round of combat, and the die roll for when the breath weapon can next be used is a 1, the dragon can breathe again in round 2. If the die roll is a 4, the dragon could not breathe again until round 5.

If a dragon has more than one type of breath weapon, it still can breathe only once every 1d4 rounds. The Recover Breath feat (see page 73) can shorten the time a dragon has to wait between uses of its breath weapon.

The size, shape, and effect of a breath weapon depends on the kind of dragon and its size and age, as given in the Monster Manual.

RULES: FRIGHTFUL PRESENCE

A dragon’s frightful presence is an extraordinary ability. It works even in antimagic areas.

Frightful presence is a mind-affecting fear ability that takes effect whenever a dragon attacks, charges, or merely flies overhead. A dragon can inspire fear by flying overhead at an altitude low enough to place foes with the radius of the effect, which is 30 feet × the dragon’s age category (usually at least 150 feet, since most dragons gain this ability at the young adult stage). A dragon’s frightful presence also takes effect whenever the dragon charges or attacks in any way (with natural weapons, spells, or a breath weapon).

Using frightful presence is part of whatever action triggers it. A dragon does not have to take a separate action to use the power; however, a dragon can suppress its frightful presence ability as a free action.

A creature must be able to see the dragon for its frightful presence ability to take effect. If the dragon is invisible or has total concealment, the ability does not work. Once the ability takes effect, however, the consequences persist for the full duration, even if the dragon later passes from sight. Creatures within the ability’s radius are not affected if they have more Hit Dice than the dragon, or if they are dragons themselves.

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 frightful presence for 24 hours. (This temporary immunity occurs only on a successful save. If a creature doesn’t have to make a save because it cannot see the dragon, it is not immune and must make a save when it does see the dragon.) On a failure, creatures with 4 or fewer HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds, and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds.

As an extraordinary ability, frightful presence remains effective even when the dragon assumes a different form. Bronze, gold, and silver dragons, which have the ability to assume an alternate form, usually suppress their frightful presence ability when using assumed forms, to avoid compromising their disguises. If they wish to avoid fighting, however, they can use their frightful presence ability if they are challenged when in their assumed forms.

RULES: DRAGON IMMUNITIES

Every kind of true dragon has immunity to at least one type of energy, as noted in the Monster Manual.

A true dragon ignores the detrimental effects of extreme heat (110°F to 140°F) and of extreme cold (0°F to –40°F). A true dragon in these conditions does not have to make a Fortitude save every 10 minutes to avoid taking nonlethal damage.

All creatures of the dragon type are immune to magic sleep and paralysis effects, also as noted in the Monster Manual.

True dragons develop damage reduction as they age, as noted in the Monster Manual. Damage reduction is a supernatural ability and is ineffective in an antimagic field.

True dragons also develop spell resistance as they age, as noted in the Monster Manual.

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dragons prefer damp and dismal swamps, and they also have the ability to create magical darkness. Copper dragons live in rocky hills and have the ability to shape stone. Often a dragon’s innate abilities have little direct impact on combat, but the dragon can use them to defend its lair or to prepare for battle.

A dragon’s spells tend to reflect its own personality. Each dragon develops a unique personal repertoire of spells (though many dragons choose similar spells for their sheer utility). No scholar has determined how dragons accomplish this, and it seems that dragons themselves don’t know how they do it. Dragons simply have an inborn talent for arcane magic. They develop rudimentary spellcasting powers as they approach adulthood. Humanoid sorcerers, who often claim their magical powers stem from a dragon ancestor, usually do not develop any magical aptitude until after puberty. Some scholars take this as a sign that no connection at all exists between sorcerers and dragons. Other scholars dismiss the disparity as an inevitable result of the vast differences between draconic and humanoid life cycles.

In any case, dragons exhibit a talent that sorcerers lack: They can cast most of their spells without the physical props other spellcasters find necessary. NATURAL ARMOR AND WEAPONRY

A dragon’s panoply of overlapping scales backed by layers of hide and muscle and supported by a strong, resilient skeleton offers considerable protection from attack. Even a Tiny dragon is typically as well armored as a human wearing chainmail. A big dragon’s scaly hide provides four or five times more protection than the best suit of plate armor can offer.

A dragon’s primary weapon in physical combat is its bite. A dragon can bite at creatures a fair distance way, thanks to its long neck.

A dragon’s claws are not as fearsome as its bite, and a dragon on the move often does not use its claws, but anyone fighting a dragon should be wary of them nevertheless.

A dragon of roughly human size or larger can strike effectively with the alar limbs at the forward edges of its wings. Though the alar limbs have vestigial claws, the wing is a bludgeoning weapon. A dragon usually keeps the “fingers” supporting the wing closed to avoid damaging the wing, much like a human clenches his fist when delivering a punch. A dragon’s wings may span hundreds of feet when they are fully extended, but it uses only a fairly small portion of the wing as a weapon.

A dragon of larger than human size can use its tail

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RULES: MAGICAL ABILITIES

As noted in the Monster Manual, creatures with innate spellcasting abilities, such as dragons, do not require material components to cast their spells. If a spell has a focus, however, a dragon or other innate spellcaster must have the focus on its person. Dragons can use the Embed Spell Focus feat to satisfy this requirement.

Except for not needing consumable material components, dragons cast their spells in the same way other arcane spellcasters do. They are subject to arcane spell failure if they wear armor. (Their own natural armor does not impose an arcane spell failure chance.) They must provide any verbal and somatic components the spell has, and they must pay any XP cost the spell entails. A dragon typically has a cushion of 100 to 600 XP times its spellcaster level. It can use these XP in spellcasting without risking the loss of a level.

Also as noted in the Monster Manual, a dragon’s caster level for its spell-like abilities is equal to its age category or its sorcerer caster level, whichever is higher.

Although dragons cast spells as sorcerers, they are not members of the sorcerer class and receive none of that class’s benefits (except for spellcasting). A dragon gains bonus spells each day for a high Charisma score. A dragon that becomes a member of the sorcerer class adds any actual sorcerer levels it has to its effective sorcerer level to determine its spellcasting ability, but uses its actual sorcerer level and character level to determine its other class abilities. For example, an old silver dragon casts spells as an 11th-level sorcerer. If the dragon becomes a 1st-level sorcerer, it casts spells as a 12th-level sorcerer, but its familiar (if it has one) has the abilities of a familiar with a 1st-level master.

As noted in the Monster Manual, most of a dragon’s spelllike abilities function as the spells of the same name cast at a level equal to the dragon’s sorcerer level or its age category, whichever is higher.

A dragon with the alternate form racial ability is proficient with all simple weapons. Other kinds of dragons have no weapon proficiencies unless they actually have levels in a character class or they use feats to become proficient.

RULES: DRAGONS AND MAGIC ITEMS

Being both very smart and very wealthy, dragons often employ magic items.

A younger dragon without any spellcasting ability—even if it has one or more spell-like abilities—cannot use spell completion items or spell trigger items.

An older dragon casts spells as a sorcerer and is an arcane spellcaster; it cannot cast a divine spell from a scroll unless it has levels in a divine spellcasting class.

Because a dragon can cast spells as a sorcerer, it can use any spell trigger item that produc es the effect of a sorcerer/wizard spell. If the dragon also can cast cleric spells as arcane spells, it can use any spell trigger item that produc es the effect of a spell from the cleric spell list or a spell from a domain to which the dragon has access.

A dragon usually lacks weapon proficiencies and fully prehensile appendages, so it cannot employ weapons. If a dragon assumes a form with prehensile appendages, it can wield weapons while in that form, but it remains nonproficient unless it has lvels in a class or a feat that makes it proficient (as noted

earlier, a dragon with the alternate form racial ability is proficient with all simple weapons). Any dragon is capable of using potions. In most circumstances, a dragon doesn’t even bother opening a potion container; it simply swallows it or chews it up. Because a dragon can eat just about anything, this doesn’t cause any problems for the dragon, nor does it change the effect of the potion in any way. Because magic items that must be worn will fit users of any size, a dragon can use any magic item a humanoid character can. A dragon can use a headband, hat, or helmet normally. In some cases, an item of this kind can be specially made for a dragon in the form of a crown, diadem, or skullcap. For example, a dragon’s helm of telepathy may be in the form of a skullcap of telepathy. Goggles and lenses made for dragons usually come in the form of cusps that fit over the dragon’s eyes, or lenses the dragon places directly on its eyes, much like modern contact lenses. A humanoid character can use any special dragon item of this kind without difficulty. A dragon can wear a cloak, cape, or mantle on its back, usually between the wings. Items of this sort can come in the form of a frill stud or spine cap instead. A humanoid character can use a frill stud or spine cap by affixing it to a cloak, cape, or mantle. A dragon wears amulets, brooches, medallions, necklaces, and periapts around its neck, just as a humanoid does. A dragon is not proficient with any kind of armor and usually does not bother wearing armor. In any case, armor crafted for a humanoid does not fit a dragon’s body. Armor created for a dragon resembles barding and will not fit a humanoid, but will fit a quadruped of the same size as the dragon. A dragon can wear a robe over its shoulders and upper chest. In some cases, a item of this kind can be specially made for a dragon in the form of a collar or epaulette. A humanoid can wear such an item without difficulty. A dragon can wear a vest, vestment, or shirt draped around its wings and lower chest. In some cases, a item of this kind can be specially made for a dragon in the form of a pectoral stud or a belly stud. A humanoid can wear a magical dragon pectoral stud as though it were a vest. It can wear a belly stud in its navel. A dragon can fit bracers or bracelets over its lower forelimbs. A dragon can wear gloves or gauntlets on its forefeet. Specially made dragon gauntlets usually have no fingers, just holes for the dragon’s claws. A humanoid can wear magical dragon gauntlets without difficulty. A dragon can wear rings on its front claws. A dragon can wear a belt around its midsection. Sometimes, items of this kind take the form of bands the dragon wears on its hips. A humanoid can wear such items without difficulty. A dragon can wear boots on its hind feet. Specially made dragon boots usually resemble a dragon’s gauntlets, but are shaped for the hind foot. These magic items also fit humanoid feet. None of these items interferes with a dragon’s movement, including flight. pqqqqrs