Common Black Dragon

Common Black Dragon (Threat; CR 12)

Neutral Evil - Huge - Dragon

Lore:	Know (Arcana)
22		42
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

21

Perception:
31	+21
Passive	Active

Ambush:

10+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses

Movement Types:

Defense

AC

32

Man Def

31

Monster Health
867	433	22
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+14
Refl:	+14
Will:	+14

• Maneuver Defense Notes: +2

Strong Against:

• (Threat Role) Immunity (partial 5): Threats are immune to the first five conditions applied to them during an encounter. If a sixth condition is applied to a threat, it is resolved normally. A 'condition' is defined as any non-instantaneous harmful effect applied to the monster, other than damage, but is most commonly one of the defined Status Conditions (but it doesn't have to be). Statuses related to damage (such as injured, bloodied, staggered, dying, or dead) are not 'conditions', and cannot be negated or avoided with this ability.
• (Dragon 1) Immune (no effect): magical sleep (drowsy, sluggish, asleep), paralyzed, stunned
• (Dragon 2) Immune (no effect): sonic (energy, common)
• (Dragon 3) Immune (no effect): fear

Weak Against:

Offense

Size:	Huge
15 ft.		15 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+19

Man Off

+21

Action

3

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Black Dragon's Bite +19 (4d10+25/x2)
  as undefined damage type
• 1x Black Dragon's Claws +19 (4d6+9/x2)
  as undefined damage type

Full Attack (Melee):

• 1x Black Dragon's Bite +19 (4d10+25/x2)
  as undefined damage type
• 2x Black Dragon's Claws +19 (4d6+9/x2)
  as undefined damage type
• 1x Black Shadowy Wings +19 (4d10+25/x2)
  as undefined damage type
  attacks all enemies in a 2x2 space, roll to hit each foe, roll damage once
• 2x Black Dragon's Tail +19 (4d6+9/x2)
  as undefined damage type
  attacks all enemies in a 3x3 space, roll to hit each foe, roll damage once

Standard Attack (Ranged):

Full Attack (Ranged):

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

32

STR

21

DEX

21

CON

17

INT

15

WIS

16

CHA

Skills:

• Bailiwick (Spellcraft): 19
• Perception: 21
• Stealth: 23
• All other skills: 14 (no ranks)

Languages: Draconic, Fuligin, Common

Feats:

Special Abilities

Addling Roar (Ex)

As a standard action, the dragon may emit an ear-shattering howl of unimaginable power. This is a sonic-based attack that affects all creatures within 100 feet of the dragon's space. The dragon must have line of effect for this power to operate, but does not require line of sight. This power inflicts of sonic damage. Addling Roar allows a Fort save versus a DC of to take half damage.

Blackened Breath (Su)

As a standard action, the common black dragon may breathe a miasma of roiling black negative energy in a 30-foot cone. The breath weapon deals of negative energy damage and all enemies caught in it must make a Reflex save versus a DC of . Those who make their save take only half damage from the breath. Those who fail their save take full damage and are Dazzled for the rest of the encounter. If creatures with a Dazzled condition fail a second save against the Breath Weapon they become Baffled until the end of the encounter. Baffled creatures who fail a save against the Breath Weapon are Confused until the condition is broken with a Dispel Magic. The Caster Level of the Breath Weapon is the Challenge Rating (CR) of the dragon. In addition to the effects above, the dragon chooses a straight line of 6 squares within the area of effect that the breath weapon just covered. Those 6 squares are enveloped in a wall of True Darkness 30 feet high and 30 feet across and 5 feet wide. This wall blocks line of sight but not line of effect. Furthermore, the affected squares are completely dark, and any light sources inside their area are suppressed, providing no light, until they are moved outside the affected squares. Last, any creature which is completely inside the affected squares is treated as Blind until at least one of the creature's squares is outside the affected squares. This wall of darkness effect lasts until the end of the encounter. If multiple walls are created during an encounter, their areas may overlap, but stacking does not improve them in any way. Black Dragons (and Swarms of Darkness) can see through this darkness as though it were not there. It does not block line of sight for them.

Terrible Majesty (Su)

All enemy creatures who are within 100 feet of the dragon's space when it takes an attack action must make a Will save versus a DC of . This is a free action which requires line of sight, but does not require line of effect. Those who make this save receive the Nervous condition for one round and lose the use of Hover, Lesser Flight, or Greater Flight until the end of the encounter. Those who fail this save receive the Trembling condition until the end of the encounter and lose the use of all forms of movement from any source except Walk for the rest of the encounter. Note that once you have made this save once, succeed or fail, you are immune to that particular dragon's Terrible Majesty for the next 24 hours.

Create Pit (Su)

Once per round, as a swift action, the dragon may create an shadow-conjured pit in one square of a wall of darkness he has created with a breath weapon. If the dragon has created multiple walls of darkness, he may choose from any square affected by a wall of darkness effect. The pit is 5' wide, 5' long and 30' deep. Any creature who is standing in a square where a pit is created may make a Will save, DC , to disbelieve the illusion. If they fail, they fall into the pit, taking 3d6 points of falling damage. Climbing out of the pit requires a full round action if you make a DC Acrobatics, Escape Artisit, or Movement skill check. If they succeed on the save, they treat that square as normal for the rest of the encounter, though they must make additional saves for any other pits they may encounter. Creatures who move into a square containing a pit automatically fall into it (no save). Note that, because the walls block line of sight, characters will have no way of knowing where a pit is unless someone falls into one. Until someone 'finds' a pit, GMs are encouraged to record where the pits are in secret, rather than marking it on the board. The pits last until the end of the encounter, after which, the conjuration ends and any creature in the pit is restored to the level of the ground.

Swarm of Darkness (Su)

The first time the dragon is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, it is not killed. Instead, it immediately bursts into a black miasma of smoke, filling a 50 foot radius from the space in which it was 'slain'. Any creatures inside this radius must make a Fortitude save, DC , or take negative energy (save negates). This smoke roils and writhes until the start of the dragon's next turn, and during this time, the dragon's body is neither targetable nor visible. The dragon is immune to all damage and effects until the start of its next turn. At the start of the dragon's next turn, any lingering status conditions it is suffering from immediately end, and it coalesces into a Swarm of Darkness, except that it has half the hit points of the dragon (instead of those listed for a Swarm of Darkness; see link).

Unstoppable Killer (Ex; Threat Role) Auto Upon Death

The first time in an encounter that a Threat is reduced to zero or fewer hit points, it falls prone, apparently dead. But this is a ruse. When this occurs, the Threat becomes immune to all damage and effects. However, it may not perform any actions (such as attacks of opportunity) until this immunity expires. At the beginning of its next turn, any conditions the Threat is currently suffering under (such as Prone) are immediately cleared, and its hit points are set to half its normal maximum (433 hit points). Furthermore, all enemy creatures within 2 squares (10 feet) of the Threat are immediately Pushed up to 4 squares (20 feet) away from the Threat, and suffer 4d10+26 points of bludgeoning (physical, common) damage. Affected creatures may make a Fortitude save versus a DC of 22 to reduce this damage by half, and reduce the push to 2 squares (10 feet). After this attack is resolved, the Threat can slide up to 5 squares (25 feet) to a space adjacent to an enemy creature. All of this occurs as a free action at the start of its turn, and once it is resolved, the Threat's immunity to damage expires. It must perform this attack before any other actions during its turn, and the immunity expires at the beginning of its turn even if it chooses not to perform the attack. The Threat is killed for good the second time its hit points are reduced to zero or less.

Common Black Dragon

This creature possesses the Threat role, and therefore counts as 4 monsters for purposes of encounter size, XP award, and treasure.

Dragons are so different from every other creature that they have their own unique classification. They have four legs, although the front 'feet' are dexterous enough to serve quite well as hands. They also have two or more completely functional wings, and they are powerful and speedy fliers. They have a large and dexterous prehensile tail, and seeing a monster as big as a dragon hanging from a branch is a sight you will remember for the rest of your life, however long that might be.

Dragons are intelligent and terribly alien. What a dragon considers important is not what other races consider important. They are also frequently, but not always, intensely malign. Some rare dragons may be allies with lesser races (all races are lesser to a dragon, as they see it) or even genuine friends to others. Most dragons, even those traditionally considered "good," are vain and jealous things, consumed with petty grievances and cruel enough to punish every slight, no matter how small or imaginary.

Dragons will hunt at great distances. Due to their powerful and magically enhanced metabolisms, dragons need to eat far less than would seem 'natural' for a beast their size. Rather than a blessing, this is a terrible curse upon the world, because things as awful as dragons should be rare, and, as the word "common" might imply, they are not. Even worse, since dragons need far less food than is natural, they tend to be horrifically picky eaters, and have been known to kill an entire herd of cows to find the tastiest one, or rampage through an entire town looking for the prettiest maiden.

Dragons also have a tendency to 'play' with their food in most terrible ways. If you want to rescue that prettiest maiden, best to be quick about it. It is often speculated that dragons are deliberately wretched in their behavior, in order to force would-be dragon-slayers into action 'before they're ready', and so increase the dragon's long-term safety. Indeed, many dragons are far too intelligent and clever for their own good. There are hundreds of stories of adventurers taunting dragons into foolish actions, and it is true that, in a battle, it is hard for a dragon to take any 'lesser' race seriously. In a dragon's mind, the only creatures worthy of consideration, much less respect, are other dragons.

The world belongs to the dragons. The rest of us just live here.

Dragons tend to be categorized into loose species-groups based upon their physical appearance and traits. Most common among these are the white, black, blue, green, and red chromatic dragons, followed closely by the bronze, copper, silver, gold and platinum metallic dragons. Other species groups exist, such as the earth dragons (brown, gray, yellow, and ocher), the spirit dragons (force, prismatic, empyrean, and tellurian) the gem dragons (crystal, onyx, jade, sapphire, ruby and amber), the drifting dragons (cloud, mist, shadow, sand, and dust), and the tempered dragons (iron, steel, mithril and adamant), to name the most common. In addition there are many odd dragons which defy categorization, such as coiled dragons, nested dragons, radiant dragons, sea dragons, celestial dragons, star dragons, moon dragons, sun dragons, fairy dragons, and many, many more besides.

While the physical appearance of the dragon is the easiest means of distinguishing them from one another, a dragon's coloration isn't a drab monochrome. Black dragons, for example, are not actually jet black. While the majority of their body is black in color, they often have subtle brown or dark green stripes. In all cases, they are strongly associated with the powers of negative energy. While they prefer swamplands and other areas rife with decay, black dragons can be found nearly anywhere, as they're happy to bring death and decay to whatever new home they choose.

Black dragons are deceivers. They rely on magic, illusions and distraction to confuse and hamper their prey, before they drive it into death with smothering darkness and crippling fear. They delight in the chaos and fear they invoke in their prey, by forcing them to face the unknown while deprived of their most powerful abilities. Most creatures slain by a black dragon are never even aware that they are facing a dragon, as they are so taken in by its tricks and distractions. Those able to pierce the veil aren't much better off, of course. Despite its reliance on magic and sleight of hand, black dragons are also devastatingly powerful combatants.

Combat Tactics

Black dragons are tricksters and sadists. They love to toy with their prey. They rarely allow themselves to be seen before a fight starts, often ambushing the unsuspecting. Even though they are as proud and arrogant as any dragon, they enjoy the fear response of their prey, and the feeling of sudden unstoppable power from crushing their prey at their whim. They are deeply intelligent, and often scholars of arcane lore long forgotten by mortals, but it would take a very clever opponent to coax them into a discussion on it.

At the start of any encounter, the dragon will typically open with a breath weapon, creating a wall of darkness to conceal itself and cover at least one foe, and then use a swift action to make one of its targets fall into its conjured pit trap. It then will typically move adjacent to one or more creatures in a wall of darkness, knowing that it can attack them, while getting total cover against their attacks until they move.

It will use its action points to roar or breathe again, and usually it will spend these in the first and second rounds, rather than saving them.

While black dragons are competent flyers, they prefer to close and box their opponents in with walls of darkness, making themselves very hard to hit. If a party allows a black dragon to build a fortress of walls of darkness either around itself or around its victims, they're probably doomed. The dragon also knows that the walls will force the casters and squishier ranged attackers to move around for position, and will lay pits every round in likely squares, such as at corners, in doorways, at the corner of its henchmen, etc. To make this even worse, its Terrible Majesty power will strip all foes nearby of Flight, at a minimum, thus making it much more likely they will fall into the pits. Black Dragons love this, and have been lnown to waste timein combat working to drop more enemies for the sheer sadistic glee of it.

Black dragons may also have one or more swarms of darkness nearby, the partially vanquished shadows of other black dragons. These swarms of darkness are often mentally dominated by the dragon or simply cowed by its threats to completely destroy them. The dragon will use them to harry the more heavily armored foes, allowing the dragon more time to focus on the softer targets.

Once reduced to zero hit points, the dragon bursts and becomes a swarm of darkness itself, except that it has half the hit points of the dragon (instead of those listed for a Swarm of Darkness). It will continue to fight, both to defend its lair and its pride. It will typically recompose itself on top of as many foes as it can, and will summon any surviving henchmen to share is space so as to buff their damage. Not surprisingly, a Black Dragon is even more dangerous when it is close to defeat.

Out of Combat

Black Dragons live in dank, black, desolate places, often but not always swamps, fens, and marches. They Have dark, surprisingly comfortable lairs, as long as you don't mind the terrible damp and accompanying smells and vermin. Black Dragons tend to be capable spellcasters, and out of combat can be assumed to know most spells a creature of their CR could potentially use. Even better, they have vast troves of mystical knowledge, and many eveil creatures like having a black dragon nearby simply to ask it the occasional question, assuming the arrogant beast can be persuaded to speak to them.

Rewards

XP: 76,800 (Threat role included.)

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 64,375 gp. (Threat role and Dragon bonus included, which is 5 greater than normal for this CR.)

Weight: 480 lbs.     Volume: 19.2 cu. ft.

• Dragons have lots and lots of treature. You could even call it a hoard!

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	Nothing Found
6 - 10	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
11 - 14	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
15 - 17	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
18 - 20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1	5 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
2 - 5	5 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
6 - 10	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
11 - 14	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
15 - 17	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
18 - 20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1	5 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
2	5 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
3 - 6	5 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
7 - 10	5 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
11 - 14	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
15 - 17	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
18 - 20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)