Malcurion Dragon (3.5e Monster)
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Malcurion Dragon
| Type: | Dragon |
|---|---|
| Environment: | Outer space, the far realm, and strongly positive energy aligned planes. |
| Organization: | Solitary |
| Challenge Rating: | Wyrmling ; very young ; young ; juvenile ; young adult ; adult ; mature adult ; old ; very old ; ancient ; wyrm ; great wyrm |
| Treasure: | Triple standard |
| Alignment: | Usually neutral |
| Advancement: | Wyrmling 7-9 HD HD; very young 11-13 HD HD; young 15-17 HD HD; juvenile 19-21 HD HD; young adult 23-25 HD HD; adult 27-29 HD HD; mature adult 31-33 HD HD; old 35-37 HD HD; very old 39-41 HD HD; ancient 43-45 HD HD; wyrm 47-49 HD HD; great wyrm 51+ HD HD |
| Level Adjustment: | — |
| Age | Size | Hit Dice (hp) | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha | Base Attack/ Grapple |
Attack | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Breath Weapon (DC) | Frightful Presence DC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyrmling | M | 6d12+24 (36 sp, 63 hp) | 18 | 13 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 22 | +6/+10 | +19 | +9 | +6 | +6 | 4d8 (17) | 19 |
| Very young | L | 10d12+60 (70 sp, 125 hp) | 20 | 13 | 22 | 15 | 15 | 25 | +10/+19 | +14 | +13 | +8 | +8 | 8d8 (21) | 22 |
| Young | L | 14d12+98 (126 sp, 189 hp) | 23 | 15 | 24 | 18 | 18 | 29 | +14/+24 | +19 | +16 | +11 | +13 | 12d8 (24) | 26 |
| Juvenile | L | 18d12+144 (198 sp, 261 hp) | 25 | 17 | 26 | 21 | 21 | 32 | +18/+29 | +24 | +19 | +14 | +16 | 16d8 (27) | 30 |
| Young adult | L | 22d12+198 (286 sp, 341 hp) | 28 | 19 | 28 | 24 | 24 | 36 | +22/+35 | +30 | +22 | +17 | +20 | 20d8 (30) | 34 |
| Adult | L | 26d12+260 (364 sp, 429 hp) | 30 | 21 | 30 | 27 | 27 | 39 | +26/+40 | +35 | +25 | +20 | +23 | 24d8 (33) | 37 |
| Mature adult | H | 30d12+360 (480 sp, 555 hp) | 33 | 21 | 34 | 30 | 30 | 43 | +30/+49 | +39 | +29 | +22 | +27 | 28d8 (37) | 41 |
| Old | H | 34d12+442 (612 sp, 663 hp) | 35 | 23 | 36 | 33 | 33 | 46 | +34/+54 | +44 | +32 | +25 | +30 | 32d8 (40) | 45 |
| Very old | H | 38d12+532 (760 sp, 779 hp) | 38 | 25 | 38 | 36 | 36 | 50 | +38/+60 | +50 | +35 | +28 | +34 | 36d8 (43) | 49 |
| Ancient | H | 42d12+630 (882 sp, 903 hp) | 40 | 27 | 40 | 39 | 39 | 53 | +42/+65 | +55 | +38 | +31 | +37 | 40d8 (46) | 52 |
| Wyrm | H | 46d12+736 (1,058 sp, 1,035 hp) | 43 | 29 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 57 | +46/+70 | +60 | +41 | +34 | +41 | 44d8 (49) | 56 |
| Great wyrm | G | 50d12+900 (1,250 sp, 1,225 hp) | 45 | 29 | 46 | 45 | 45 | 60 | +50/+79 | +63 | +45 | +36 | +44 | 48d8 (53) | 60 |
| Age | Speed | Initiative | AC | Special Abilities | Caster Level | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyrmling | 30 ft., fly 200 ft. (good) | +1 | 22 (+1 Dex, +5 natural, +6 deflection), touch 17, flat-footed 21 |
Spells, anima shield, enhanced magic, radiation aura, regeneration 10, space-capable, | 5th | 18 |
| Very young | 40 ft., fly 250 ft. (good) | +1 | 24 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +7 natural, +7 deflection), touch 17, flat-footed 23 |
regeneration 20 | 8th | 21 |
| Young | 40 ft., fly 250 ft. (good) | +2 | 29 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +9 natural, +9 deflection), touch 20, flat-footed 27 |
regeneration 30 | 11th | 24 |
| Juvenile | 40 ft., fly 250 ft. (good) | +3 | 34 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +11 natural, +11 deflection), touch 23, flat-footed 31 |
regeneration 40 | 14th | 27 |
| Young adult | 40 ft., fly 300 ft. (good) | +4 | 39 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +13 natural, +13 deflection), touch 26, flat-footed 35 |
regeneration 50 | 17th | 30 |
| Adult | 40 ft., fly 300 ft. (good) | +5 | 43 (-1 size, +5 Dex, +15 natural, +14 deflection), touch 28, flat-footed 38 |
regeneration 60 | 20th | 33 |
| Mature adult | 40 ft., fly 300 ft. (average) | +5 | 46 (-2 size, +5 Dex, +17 natural, +16 deflection), touch 29, flat-footed 41 |
regeneration 70 | 23rd | 36 |
| Old | 40 ft., fly 300 ft. (average) | +6 | 51 (-2 size, +6 Dex, +19 natural, +18 deflection), touch 32, flat-footed 45 |
regeneration 80 | 26th | 39 |
| Very old | 40 ft., fly 350 ft. (average) | +7 | 56 (-2 size, +7 Dex, +21 natural, +20 deflection), touch 35, flat-footed 49 |
regeneration 90 | 29th | 42 |
| Ancient | 40 ft., fly 350 ft. (average) | +8 | 60 (-2 size, +8 Dex, +23 natural, +21 deflection), touch 37, flat-footed 52 |
regeneration 100 | 32nd | 45 |
| Wyrm | 40 ft., fly 350 ft. (average) | +9 | 65 (-2 size, +9 Dex, +25 natural, +23 deflection), touch 40, flat-footed 56 |
regeneration 110 | 35th | 48 |
| Great wyrm | 40 ft., fly 350 ft. (average) | +9 | 67 (-4 size, +9 Dex, +27 natural, +25 deflection), touch 42, flat-footed 58 |
regeneration 120 | 38th | 51 |
Within planes too far within the outer rim of the multiverse or too unformed to sustain mortal life dwell beings of terrible power. Before men and even Gods tamed its power, before the concept of its life-giving and destructive force was even understood, ancient dragons that lived beyond the stars harnassed the power of the atom.
Amongst all of the primeval dragons known to man, the malcurion dragons are often considered to be the most fundamentally terrifying. Wielding powers that few mortal civilizations can comprehend, malcurion dragons are seen as advents of widespread disaster. The truth about these beasts is however far more nuanced; their exile from the material plane is self-imposed, and they make their lairs in places where few mortals are capable of treading. The far realm, the reaches of outer space, these are the places where malcurion dragons can sustain themselves, absorbing the intense radiation of vast celestial bodies. While their mentality makes them nearly impossible to predict, on the whole malcurion dragons prefer noninterference over violence.
Malcurion dragons have an immense amount of vital force that lets them recover from almost anything with no limit, and a robust body that resists many conventional forms of damage. Physically, their bodies are fairly small, but their internal organs are laced with a renewing source of high density fissionable materials that maintains the nuclear reactions that sustain their unnaturally long life. Conversely, their wingspan is very large, in order to allow them to maintain altitude within areas of gravitation.
Because of their natures, malcurion dragons are highly reclusive, and most of them dislike being sought out. However, many millennia of roaming the dark, faraway places of the multiverse have garnered them a large collection of esoteric knowledge that few other creatures could hope to possess. To a malcurion dragon, experience is a hoard far more valuable than any pile of mere material riches. As such, even the most reclusive, jaded misanthropes amongst the species will likely forego baring their fangs if sufficiently appeased with new experience, whether in the form of knowledge, stories, learned discourse or various media. Travelers of the far realm however should be wary, as the morality of these dragons is often as alien as their home, unclassifiable by any means other than 'above Good or Evil', to the point that the reason behind any kindness or atrocity they commit in pursuit of some greater scheme can only be guessed at.
Combat
A malcurion dragon’s natural weapons and any weapons it wields are treated as magic (wyrmling – adult) or epic (mature adult – great wyrm) for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Furthermore, due to their alien morality, a malcurion dragon automatically emulates any alignment in its attacks or spells, in the form of bypassing DR/alignment or adding Alignment-based descriptors whenever it is favourable to them.
Aside from possessing the natural weapons, abilities and traits innate to all true dragons, malcurion dragons have the following unique qualities.
Breath Weapon: (Ex): A malcurion dragon's breath weapon is a concentrated gamma ray burst that bathes everything it hits in radioactive fire. Any living creature that takes damage from the burst is afflicted on the microscopic level by the intense gamma radiation, and takes Constitution damage as per Table: Malcurion Dragon Radiation Effects.
Even when the malcurion dragon's shield is up, any 5-foot square targeted by the dragon's gamma ray breath remains acutely radioactive for 1d4+1 rounds. Any creature starting their turn within an afflicted square must make an immediate Fortitude save or be affected as per the dragon's radiation aura.
Anima Shield (Ex): A malcurion dragon's internal physiology is a nigh-infinite wellspring of hazardous energies. The only thing that keeps it from being a walking calamity is the shield they project throughout the outer shell of their bodies. A malcurion's anima shield compresses and contains the vast amounts of radiation inside of its body.
The anima shield is a shield with strength and hardness equal to the dragon's Charisma bonus, and a Very Slow (1 hit point/HD per hour) recharge rate. The anima shield also bestows the dragon a deflection bonus to Armor Class that turns away attacks in the same way it contains its own radiation.
Once the anima shield reaches 0 hit points, the malcurion dragon's radiation aura spills out and becomes active until the shield regains at least 1 hit point.
Enhanced Magic (Su): Within the confines of a malcurion dragon's body, magics with the Light descriptor are empowered and maximized, without requiring a higher level spell slot. Spell-like abilities based on spells with those descriptors are also enhanced.
Radiation Aura (Ex): Upon depletion of its anima shield, a malcurion dragon's radiation will pour out unstoppably, bathing everything in its vicinity in lethal gamma radiation. Creatures within the afflicted area cannot avoid taking Constitution drain as per Table: Malcurion Dragon Radiation Effects. The only thing that can be done is mitigate the drain as much as possible.
When the radiation aura is active, every living creature nearby takes Constitution drain as per Table: Malcurion Dragon Constitution Drain every round or less. See Radiation Sickness below.
Regeneration (Ex): A malcurion dragon can recover almost limitlessly from any kind of damage it takes. The only thing that can bypass a malcurion dragon's regeneration is a sufficient amount of depleted darklight being forcibly inserted into its heart. This retards the nuclear reation that sustains it and eventually brings it to death. Even then, the malcurion dragon has an effective damage reduction/- versus lethal damage equal to ten times its age category that cannot be overcome by any means except pure brute force.
Space Capable (Ex): A malcurion dragon is capable of living within the void of space as easily as a mortal lives on the material plane. It standardly has the Astroadaptation feat. The dragon does not need to breathe, and its sustenance is radiation, which it absorbs simply by bathing in a sufficiently powerful source of it.
Radiation Sickness
| Age | Radiation Aura Severity1 |
Breath Weapon Con Drain2 |
Age | Radiation Aura Severity1 |
Breath Weapon Con Drain2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyrmling | 5 | 1d4 | Mature Adult | 8 | 1d10+3 | |
| Very Young | 5 | 1d4+1 | Old | 8 | 1d10+4 | |
| Young | 6 | 1d6+1 | Very Old | 9 | 2d6+4 | |
| Juvenile | 6 | 1d6+2 | Ancient | 9 | 2d6+5 | |
| Young Adult | 7 | 1d8+2 | Wyrm | 10 | 2d8+5 | |
| Adult | 7 | 1d8+3 | Great Wyrm | 10 | 2d8+6 | |
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Radiation sickness is a phenomenon that occurs after taking Constitution drain as the result of exposure to either the malcurion's breath weapon or its radiation aura. To prevent contracting radiation sickness or mitigate its severity, creatures can guard themselves with layers of protection. For every layer of radiation protection, the extent of exposure is reduced, as per the below method. Severity of exposure is a measure of what kind of dose a character has been exposed to.
| Severity | Con Drain/Time | Severity | Con Drain/Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1/day | 6 | 1d2/round | |
| 2 | 1/hour | 7 | 1d3/round | |
| 3 | 1/10 minutes | 8 | 1d4/round | |
| 4 | 1/minute | 9 | 1d6/round | |
| 5 | 1/round | 10 | 1d8/round |
- Every layer of protection reduces the effective age category of the dragon by 1, resulting in less Constitution drain (see table).
- Once the effective age category is reduced to 1 (wyrmling), any further layers of protection increase the time until the creature takes Constitution drain again. From 1 minute, to 10 minutes, to 1 hour, to 1 day. If the radiation shielding is strong enough to reduce the amount of drain to below 'every day', the creature counts as not exposed.
A creature with radiation sickness will continue to take Constitution drain as though five layers reduced from the highest severity of exposure it has suffered, down to a minimum of 1 point of Constitution every day.
Protecting against Radiation
The following effects confer one or more layers of radiation protection:
- 5 Layers: The Astroadaptation feat, immunity to radiation from another source, or 1 inch of refined or mineral proteum.
- 2 Layers: 1 inch (or armor) of orichalcum
- 1 Layer: 200 feet of air, 15 feet of water, 3 feet of dirt, 1 foot of rock, 4 inches of iron or steel, 1 inch of lead or similarly dense mundane element.
Treatment
The effects of a malcurion dragon's radiation are so intense that only a restoration or stronger spell can stop the radiation sickness. It will turn all the Constitution drain suffered up till that point into SRD:Constitution damage instead, which can then be naturally recovered with magic, or naturally at a rate of 1 point per hour. If the dragon's age category is 'Young Adult' or higher, it instead requires greater restoration or similarly powerful spells, and if it is 'Very Old' or higher, it requires complete restoration. A miracle
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