Deino (3.5e Monster)



You encounter a small dragon with a rather... interesting'' hairstyle. It doesn't seem to be able to see you (or anything, for that matter), but as soon as you make a sound, it stumbles clumsily in your direction, bonking its head against several cave walls on its way.''

Deino is a rather comical-looking dragon with a bad temper. Unfortunately for it, its utter lack of vision tends to repeatedly screw it over in the enclosed areas it hunts in. This doesn't help its comical image.

Combat
Deino may be clumsy, but it's also strong. If you allow it to hit you, you're going to feel it.

Deino isn't quite "alien", but its biology is rather robust and bizarre. It is considered a Xenotheric creature, and it qualifies to take Xenotheric feats (in fact, it already has one).

 : Deino is severely lacking in terms of accuracy, but makes up for this with raw power. It has a &minus;3 penalty to all attack rolls and a +3 bonus to damage rolls. This is in addition to any bonuses or penalties it may take due to Power Attack.

 : Deino has no eyes, which means that it's blind. As such, it tends to rely on its other senses, mainly hearing and smell, to figure out where it and its prey are. (Unlike many naturally blind creatures, Deino has no blindsense, which is probably why it's so clumsy. Don't be surprised if its attack ends up nowhere near its target.)


 *  (Sp): This is a flame strike from below rather than from above. Instead of divine energy, half of the damage is a [Ground] effect. (Actually, the whole move is a [Ground] effect, not a [Fire] effect, even though half of the damage is fire damage.) Deino's caster level is equal to its Hit Dice. Save DC is Charisma-based. Deino may use earth power once per day for every 4 Hit Die it possesses (minimum once per day). (Unfortunately for Deino, its lack of vision means that it's prone to missing wildly.)
 *  (Sp): Deino may generate a ripple of nightmares as a standard action once every 1d4 rounds. This ripple creates 3 10-foot-radius bursts within Medium range of Deino. Any creature caught within one of these bursts takes 1d10+Int negative energy damage and is immobilized for 1 round; a Fortitude save is allowed to halve the damage and negate the immobilization (the DC is Intelligence-based). This is a [Dark] effect. (Unfortunately for Deino, its lack of vision means that it's prone to missing wildly.)
 *  (Ex): Deino has its headbutt attack right away, but the headbutt does not have the flinch effect until Deino has at least 6 HD. When making its headbutt attack, Deino may elect to add 4d12 damage to the attack. If it does, it takes 2d12 backlash damage. This is a [Rock] effect.
 *  (Su): Deino's bite attack inflicts an additional 1d4 fire damage, and a failure by 5 or more on the Fortitude save causes the target to become burned. This is a [Fire] effect.
 *  (Su): Deino's bite attack inflicts an additional 1d4 electric damage, and a failure of 5 or more on the Fortitude save causes the target to become numbed. This is an [Electric] effect.
 *  (Su): Deino's bite attack inflicts an additional 1d4 cold damage, and a failure of 5 or more on the Fortitude save causes the target to become frozen, as the freeze spell, until it manages to break free with a DC 12 Strength check. This is an [Ice] effect.

If an ability does not allow a save and deals damage, it takes half damage. It also gains a +4 bonus on saves against against mind-affecting spells.

 (Ex): If Deino spends a Swift action focusing, and does not move more than 5' in the round, its next bite attack threatens a critical on a natural 17-20. If Improved Critical is taken, this becomes 15-20.

 (Ex): Deino's bite is laced with dark energy. If its bite connects, the target must succeed on a DC 14 Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round. This is a [Dark] effect.

Advancement
At 6 HD, Deino learns  : Deino has a headbutt attack as a secondary natural weapon, which does 1d8+Str damage (plus an additional +3 due to Hustle) and is capable of causing the target to flinch just like the bite attack. This is a [Normal] effect.

At 7 HD, Deino learns  : Deino gains a breath weapon, usable once every 1d4 rounds, which deals 1d6 damage per HD Deino has. The breath weapon takes the form of a 50-foot line. Creatures caught in the path of the attack can halve the damage with a Reflex save (save DC is Constitution-based). A creature that fails its save by 5 or more is paralyzed for 5 rounds. This is a [Dragon] effect.

At 8 HD, Deino learns  : Deino can now bite hard enough to smash bones. Deino's bite attack deals damage as though it was one size category larger, and a creature that fails the Fortitude save loses 1 point of natural armor and 1 point of damage reduction for 1 minute. Another successful Crunch reduces the target's natural armor and damage reduction by a further 1 (to a maximum penalty of &minus;6) and refreshes the duration. This is a [Dark] effect.

Deino may spend bio-energy when using Crunch to increase its save DC by 1 per bio-energy charge spent, or drain bio-energy charges to increase the save DC by 2 per bio-energy charge drained. As Deino's Bite and its elemental fang (Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, or Ice Fang) share the same save DC as Crunch, spending bio-energy in this fashion increases their save DCs as well.

At 10 HD, Deino learns  : At will, Deino may use a standard action to launch a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 60 feet that does 1d12 points of damage. This is a [Dragon] effect. Deino adds its Charisma modifier to the damage roll.

At 12 HD, Deino learns  : As a swift action, Deino can get itself hyped up for battle. It gains a +1 bonus to damage rolls and save DCs for 1 minute.

At 13 HD, Deino learns  : Deino gains additional power when charging, and can slam its body into foes in a most devastating manner. When charging, if it hits, the foe takes an additional 1d6 points of damage per hit die and is knocked prone if they fail a Balance check (the DC is equal to the damage dealt). If the foe is knocked prone, Deino can continue the charge to another foe as long as it has movement left. This is a [Dragon] effect.

At 15 HD, Deino learns  : Deino gains an alternate breath weapon that takes the form of a 40-foot cone of intense sound. This cone does 1d4 damage per HD Deino has (the damage can be halved with a Reflex save, save DC is Constitution-based). A creature that fails its save by 5 or more is deafened for the rest of the encounter. This is a [Normal] effect.

Oddly enough, Hyper Voice is completely useless on creatures with "soundproof" qualities, such as Electrode, Exploud, and Mr. Mime.

At 20 HD, Deino learns  : When Deino enters an Outrage, which takes a full-round action, everything within 30 feet takes 1d4 damage per hit die. This leaves a smoking crater in the ground. The following round, it automatically uses the ability again, this time hitting for 1d6 damage per hit die out to 60 feet. Finally, on the third round, it deals 1d8 damage per hit die out to 90 feet, then becomes exhausted for one minute. This cannot be used while Fatigued or Exhausted. This is a [Dragon] effect.