Difference between revisions of "Primeval Dragons (3.5e Monster)"

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Natural attacks function as normally for dragons, except as noted below.
 
Natural attacks function as normally for dragons, except as noted below.
  
'''Claw:''' While still secondary attacks, a primeval dragon’s claws deal the indicated damage plus the dragon’s entire Strength bonus. A primeval dragon cannot make claw attacks while in flight.  
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'''Claw:''' While still secondary attacks, a primeval dragon’s claws deal the indicated damage plus the dragon’s entire [[SRD:Strength|Strength]] bonus. A primeval dragon cannot make claw attacks while in flight.  
  
'''Wing:''' The primeval dragon can slam opponents with its wings when flying. When used while flying at speed, a primeval dragon’s wing attacks automatically Bull Rush the target at the indicated check modifier.
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'''Wing:''' The primeval dragon can slam opponents with its wings when flying. When used while flying at speed, a primeval dragon’s wing attacks automatically Bull Rush the target at the indicated check modifier. The dragon must choose between claw or wing strikes for each forelimb while making a grounded [[SRD:Full Attack|full attack]].  
  
 
'''Tail Sweep:''' [[SRD:Huge Size|Huge]] primeval dragons can also perform a tail sweep, at a radius of 20 feet.
 
'''Tail Sweep:''' [[SRD:Huge Size|Huge]] primeval dragons can also perform a tail sweep, at a radius of 20 feet.

Revision as of 13:21, 29 November 2011


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Author: Sulacu (talk)
Date Created: November 29, 2011
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Dragons have populated the material plane and the realms beyond for untold ages, long before even the most early of mortal races rose up from the primordial dregs and harnessed the power of language and script. Since the great majority of dragon lore predates contemporary civilization by millennia, most knowledge of these powerful creatures has never been written down, and subsequently forgotten or descended into obscurity. The most ancient and reclusive of dragons live out their untold millennia of life away from mortal eyes, or hibernate the ages away underground or at the peaks of the tallest mountains. Many great exemplars of dragonkind never even set foot on the material plane, dwelling on the far reaches of elemental, outer, or even more obscure planes where mortals, in their limited power and potential, never learn of their existence. And perhaps they should treasure their ignorance, for even the oldest and most powerful of chromatic and metallic dragons, that require an alliance of the greatest mortal heroes and villains of the time to slay, pale before the might of the Old Ones. These types of dragons that inhabited the world during ancient times, interwoven into the very tapestry of Creation itself, and heralding change, birth and death, creation and destruction on massive scales, are known only to the greatest of mortal minds as the primeval dragons.

While the chromatic and metallic dragons embody a theme and a shared moral stance, the category of primeval dragon is broad indeed, as is the range of their alignments. Primeval dragons are intertwined with the energies, elements and axioms of creation, whether it be earth, water, fire, air, energy, or such broad and undefinable concepts as life, death, time, magic, or aether, or any combination of these things. A complete list of these conceptual bases is impossible to give, and the primeval dragons are many and varied.

Some mortal scholars believe that primeval dragons may have been extensions of the Gods, tools to fit a particular purpose in the cycle of life and death. Others believe that the Old Ones – the original primeval dragons of their kind – carry a sliver of divine power themselves, that their progeny descended from. Known for a fact by these rare individuals however, is that the oldest and most powerful of these dragons possess demigod-levels of strength and power.

Primeval dragons are ‘semi-epic’ dragons. The first six age categories (wyrmling – adult) are considered non-epic, whereas the last six age categories (mature adult – great wyrm) are epic.

Physiology and Combat

Primeval dragons are surprisingly different from their contemporary kin, both physically and mentally. It is unknown exactly where and when primeval dragons evolved into the chromatic and metallic strains known today, but the Gods are theorized to have played a hand in it, since there never have been any findings of dragons in the intermediate stage of evolution between the two. It is also theorized that chromatic and metallic dragons may have resulted from cross-breeding between different species of primeval dragons, although nothing is known about how primeval dragons reproduce.

Primeval dragons are overall more robust and hardy than their modern kin, with segments of subdermal and interorganic cartilage and scale formations interwoven with the powerful muscular and skeletal structures, arrayed to protect vital organs from damage. Like modern dragons, primevals have immense lung capacity and possess a draconis fundamentum – the organ that regulates and provides energy for breath weapons and certain bodily functions. Where primeval dragons differ is that they have vital organ redundancy; many possess a second and third heart, smaller than the primary and framing the draconis fundamentum on either side. Depending on the species of primeval dragon, it may or may not have rudimentary gills to allow breathing underwater, or even additional organs that can process a substance other than air or water to breathe. Primeval dragons have much stronger bones and muscles than even chromatic and metallic dragons, but their physiology, and especially their bones, are also denser.

The greatest physical difference between primevals and contemporary dragon species is their number of limbs. While chromatic and metallic dragons possess four legs and two wings, primeval dragons only have rear legs, with their front legs fused within the ulna draconis of their wings. As such, when they are grounded and on all fours, their wings are spread across the ground. Their claws extend from the point where the ulna meets the metacarpis – the massively elongated primary digits that support their wings when unfurled. A primeval dragon’s front arms are solid and powerful, and braced by the alar onecranon for increased power and lift when taking flight. The scapula that supports the wing is much bigger than that of modern dragons, covering a larger portion of the ribcage and moving along the curve of the ribs while in flight. For much greater wing strength, the bone structure of the metacarpals and alar phalanges is denser and wider, and support structures fashioned of highly pliable yet strong cartilage deposits within the wings cross-connect adjacent metacarpals much like organic struts. As such, while their lack of forelegs prevents primeval dragons from leaping into flight or take a running start like a modern dragon, this much stronger wing structure allows primeval dragons the stupendous feat of taking vertical flight from their perch, or hovering in mid-air. Their much more powerful wings and tougher bodies allows them to attain much greater speeds in flight, and gives them the maneuverability to take with ease sudden turns that would stress a modern dragon’s wing bones to the point of breaking.

Natural Weapons

A primeval dragon has the same natural weapons as a modern dragon; a bite (primary), two claws, two wings, and a tail slap, including special attacks like crush and tail sweep. Their lack of independent front limbs means they cannot make claw and wing attacks with the same limb, allowing them less attacks on a full attack than chromatic or metallic dragons. To compensate, all of a primeval natural weapons are more powerful (see table below). A primeval dragon's space and reach is the same as that of regular dragons.

Natural attacks function as normally for dragons, except as noted below.

Claw: While still secondary attacks, a primeval dragon’s claws deal the indicated damage plus the dragon’s entire Strength bonus. A primeval dragon cannot make claw attacks while in flight.

Wing: The primeval dragon can slam opponents with its wings when flying. When used while flying at speed, a primeval dragon’s wing attacks automatically Bull Rush the target at the indicated check modifier. The dragon must choose between claw or wing strikes for each forelimb while making a grounded full attack.

Tail Sweep: Huge primeval dragons can also perform a tail sweep, at a radius of 20 feet.

Table: Primeval Dragon Attacks and Damage

Size 1 Bite 2 Claws 2 Wings 1 Tail Slap 1 Crush 1 Tail Sweep
Small 1d8 1d6
Medium 2d6 1d8 1d6
Large 2d8 2d6 1d8 2d6
Huge 4d6 2d8 2d6 2d8 6d8 4d8
Gargantuan 4d8 4d6 2d8 4d6 8d8 6d8
Colossal 6d8 4d8 4d6 4d8 12d8 8d8



Back to Main Page3.5e HomebrewMonsters

AuthorSulacu +
Identifier3.5e Monster +
Rated ByStryker +, Fluffykittens +, Undead Knave +, Eiji-kun +, Leziad +, Wildmage + and Cedric +
RatingRated 4 / 4 +
TitlePrimeval Dragons +