Common Black Dragon
Common Black Dragon (CR 12)
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 their prey. They delight in the chaos and fear they invoke in their prey, by forcing them to face the unknown. 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.
GENERAL
CR 12 (Threat Role) Hit Dice 17
XP 76,800 (includes Threat Role)
NE Huge Dragon
Init +5; Senses Blindsense 60 ft., Perception +23
DEFENSE
AC 32, touch 22, flat-footed 27 (+7 armor, +5 dex, +5 natural, +5 deflection)
hp 750 (includes Threat Role)
Fort +15, Ref +15, Will +15 (dragon bonuses included)
Aura: Terrible Majesty (see below)
SR: -
Special Defenses: -
Immunities: magical sleep, paralysis, negative energy, sonic. Sight-based illusions. Immunities to first five instances of all status conditions (Threat Role).
Weaknesses: -
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft., Fly 120 ft. (good)
Space / Reach: 15 ft. / 5 ft.
Single Melee
- Dragon's Bite +20 (2d8+13/x2)
- 2x Dragon's Claws +20 (2d6+4/x2)
Full Melee
- Dragon's Bite +20 (2d8+13/x2)
- 2x Dragon's Claws +20 (2d6+4/x2)
- 2x Dragon's Wings +20 (2d6+4/x2) 2x2 area of effect
- Dragon's Tail +20 (2d8+13/x2) 3x3 area of effect
Ranged none, but see Breath Weapon, Addling Roar
Special Attacks Breath Weapon, Addling Roar, Terrible Majesty, Create Pit, Swarm of Darkness
Action Points 2 (Includes Threat Role)
STATISTICS
Str 32, Dex 21, Con 21, Int 17, Wis 15, Cha 16
Base Atk +12; CMB +19; Maneuver Defense: 28
Feats -
Skills Stealth +23, Spellcraft +19
Languages Common, Draconic, Fuligin
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 12d6 of sonic damage. Addling Roar allows a Fort save versus a DC of 21 to take half damage.
- Breath Weapon (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 12d6 of negative energy damage and all enemies caught in it must make a Reflex save versus a DC of 21. 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 21. 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. Those who fail this save receive the Trembling condition 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 (Sp)
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 21, 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 DC 15 climb check, with additional penalties for climbing faster than 1/4 speed (see Climb for details). 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, 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 (Ex)
The first time the dragon is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, it is not killed. Instead, it immediately bursts in 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 21, or take 3d6 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 below).
TREASURE
sell value of approximately 40,000 gp (Threat Role and Dragon Bonus included, which is 5x greater than normal for this CR)
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, and then use a minor action to make one of its targets fall into its conjured pit trap. It 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 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 around itself, they're probably doomed. They also know that the walls will force the casters and squishier ranged attackers to move around for position.
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 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.