Pendragon (3.5e Monster)

= Pendragon =

''The lake mists obscure the sight of a shiny black shadow under its placid surface, a shadow which slips from the waters as if it were liquid itself. A dragon, long and sineous, appears before you, its small scales glossy black and shiny, and iron spikes and studs arranged over its form. Its tail ends in what looks like a barbed stinger with a subtly split tip that drips black liquid.''

Pendragons (dracos masi), also known as word wyrms, ladies of the lake, or ink dragons, are a curious breed of dragon which resides in rivers and lakes and whose body constantly produces a powerful ink-like dye, which is responsible for their rich deep black coloration. Wyrmlings appear to nearly be made out of liquid, so fine are their scales and so glossy their skin. As the pendragon ages, its color becomes more matte, resembling dried black ink, and its scales more pronounced, though softer skin between scales always seems to still run fresh. Their eyes are glowing pale blue spheres, which fade into pale white orbs resembling the moon as they age. Their bodies are sleek and serpentine, with fleshy wings best suited for aquatic movement, and a flattened eel-like tail. It has small iron horns close together, like a gazelle, and iron spurs down its body at major joints which seep the black ichor it produces. They give off an odor of faint chemicals and dye, and in fact their ichor is highly prized as an exotic form of ink.

While they often live out in the midst of nature, pendragons have a love for the written word and civilization in general. Obsessed with books, they often assume human guise with change shape to enter towns and purchase entire libraries for reading. Many are avid writers as well, and few commoners realize that some of their favorite authors may secretly be pendragons. With their ability to produce a natural potent ink, a pendragon only needs paper and the creativity to scribe a story of their own. Pendragons keep their lairs in underground caves within bodies of water, burrowing out dry spaces to store their treasure, and they are in constant search of means to waterproof their easily water-damaged books. Pendragon wyrmlings have a similar scale appearance and make a pitch black ichor resembling that of an eraser dragon. The rumor is that the two dragons are related, yet the two species have an unexplained rivalry, perhaps stemming from the eraser dragon's desire to "fix" a pendragon's books by erasing its contents.

Pendragons are sometimes called ladies of the lake, as more than one pendragon still in human disguise has been seen emerging or living within such bodies of water, their secret treasures in hand. The name seems to come from a story of a king who obtained a magical sword from such a creature.

Combat
Pendragons oft avoid combat when possible, but prefer to do so under cover of water where they can hide at a moment's notice. The pendragon sets traps via its symbol spells or explosive runes, then blinds the foes to prevent them from fighting effectively. It uses hit and run tactics, never letting its position become obvious when possible, and is spell-heavy in its tactics. Control is far more important than raw damage. Against creatures without a Con score, a pendragon avoids combat unless his spell selection is tailored to combat such opponents (and often, it is).


 * Breath Weapon (Su): A pendragon has two types of breath weapons, a line of potent short-lasting poison and a cone of ink. The line of poison deals the listed damage above, with a Fortitude save for half damage. It deals no damage to creatures immune to poison. The other breath is a cone of ink, which blinds the target and coats them in black ink for 2 rounds per age catagory or until washed off as a full-round action and a source of water. A Reflex save negates the blinding, but still coats creatures (which may reveal invisible creatures). If underwater, a pendragon can release the ink breath in a sphere around itself in a radius equal to half its cone's effect, and the effects hangs in the water for 2 rounds per age category.


 * Change Shape (Su): A young pendragon can transform itself into any small or medium humanoid creature as if using polymorph 3/day. The transformation lasts for 24 hours or until dismissed. Typically, pendragons transform themselves for jaunts into urban areas without being noticed.


 * Chemical Aura (Su): A juvenile pendragon can alter the chemicals in its surroundings to become especially potent. Any creature within 30 ft. of the pendragon loses any poison resistance it has. If it is immune to poison, it loses its immunity, but has a +4 bonus against saves against poison. Creatures without constitution scores such as undead and constructs are unaffected by this aura.


 * Echolocation (Ex): Pendragons are often found in lakes, and obscure themselves in their own ink. They have learned to see without sight, at least underwater. When underwater, a pendragon has blindsight out to 5 ft. per HD it possesses. It does not gain blindsight outside of a liquid medium.


 * Hide In Plain Sight (Ex): A pendragon can hide even when observed whenever it is in a body of water, seeming to dissolve itself at a moment's notice.


 * Lexicon Mastery (Su): Very young pendragons are capable of defeating magic based on written words. They are immune to the effects of any Symbol spells (such as symbol of pain), as well as any spells dependent on written glyphs and text, such as the effect of explosive runes.


 * Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 3/day— Explosive Runes (adult and older), Symbol of Sleep (old and older); 1/day— Symbol of Death (great wyrm), Symbol of Stunning (ancient and older)


 * Skills: Bluff, Craft, Diplomacy, Decipher Script, Sense Motive, and Speak Language are considered class skills for pendragons.