Living Breath Weapon: Difference between revisions
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| Description | One of the many tricks that blue dragons have up their proverbial sleeves is the ability to imbue their own breath weapons with some semblance of life. This is accomplished by summoning an air elemental and binding it into the breath weapon as a vessel. Living breath weapons are orbs of electricity that flit around the battlefield, serving the whims of the blue dragon that created them. Given their appearance, they are sometimes confused for a [[Will-O-Wisp]], though they are far nastier. | | Description | One of the many tricks that blue dragons have up their proverbial sleeves is the ability to imbue their own breath weapons with some semblance of life. This is accomplished by summoning an air elemental and binding it into the breath weapon as a vessel. Living breath weapons are orbs of electricity that flit around the battlefield, serving the whims of the blue dragon that created them. Given their appearance, they are sometimes confused for a [[Will-O-Wisp]], though they are far nastier. | ||
Outside of combat, blue dragons can use living breath weapons as scouts, seeing through them with a variant of clairvoyance. This requires concentration, and since living breath weapons are brilliant balls of crackling electricity, it's not exactly subtle. However, a blue dragon can use this to look over great distances without ever leaving the relative comfort of its lair, and can even project their voice through the breath weapon when it desires. It is not entirely clear if there is a range limit to this effect, though there are documented cases of a dragon challenging the heroes of a town over 20 miles distant from its location using a living breath weapon as its mouthpiece. | |||
Living breath weapons are insubstantial, making them very difficult to harm, and they are highly mobile. Furthermore, since they are composed entirely of electricity, they can be used by a blue dragon as destinations of the dragon's Ride the Lightning ability. It should be noted that living breath weapons can share the space of any corporeal creature without either party being subject to the squeezing rules. | |||
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| Ability-1-Description = Once per encounter as a full round action, the living breath weapon can instantly arc to three separate locations within 100 feet of its starting point. At each of these three locations, the living breath weapon creates a 2x2 square (ten foot square) zone of crackling lightning. It may make a [[melee touch attack]] against any creature inside of each space, at {{Touch-Attack}}, dealing {{Special-Standard-Dmg}} points of {{dmg|lightning}} damage. It may overlap the areas of effect, but it may not attack any creature more than once. After the attacks are resolved, the living breath weapon returns to the space it began the round in. | | Ability-1-Description = Once per encounter as a full round action, the living breath weapon can instantly arc to three separate locations within 100 feet of its starting point. At each of these three locations, the living breath weapon creates a 2x2 square (ten foot square) zone of crackling lightning. It may make a [[melee touch attack]] against any creature inside of each space, at {{Touch-Attack}}, dealing {{Special-Standard-Dmg}} points of {{dmg|lightning}} damage. It may overlap the areas of effect, but it may not attack any creature more than once. After the attacks are resolved, the living breath weapon returns to the space it began the round in. This attack is not truly movement, and does not provoke attacks of opportunity, although the breath weapon technically moves to each location for an instant, allowing it to act on information it could perceive from those locations. | ||
Hit or miss, all spaces affected by Discharge continue to crackle with electricity for the remainder of the encounter, and for each affected square that a creature enters, it deals {{Special-Swift-Dmg}} points of additional {{dmg|lightning}} damage. The living breath weapon may place the three affected 10' x 10' areas anywhere within range, but if any areas overlap, the affected creatures only suffer the damage once when entering an affected square. | |||
Note that blue dragons can use this lingering electricity as a destination point for their Ride the Lightning ability. | |||
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| Ability-2-Description = Living Breath Weapons are [[Incorporeal]], meaning that they do not have a physical body. Incorporeal creatures are immune to all non-magical attack forms. Incorporeal creatures take half damage (50%) from magic weapons, spells, spell-like effects, and supernatural effects. Incorporeal creatures take full damage from other incorporeal creatures and effects, as well as all {{dmg|force}} effects. | | Ability-2-Description = Living Breath Weapons are [[Incorporeal]], meaning that they do not have a physical body. Incorporeal creatures are immune to all non-magical attack forms. Incorporeal creatures take half damage (50%) from magic weapons, spells, spell-like effects, and supernatural effects. Incorporeal creatures take full damage from other incorporeal creatures and effects, as well as all {{dmg|force}} effects. | ||
In addition, the living breath weapon can occupy the same space as corporeal creatures without inflicting a squeeze penalty on itself or the creature it is sharing a space with. The living breath weapon cannot be grappled except by other incorporeal creatures, nor can it initiate a grapple. Living breath weapons can pass through or hide inside objects, but if they make an attack, they must emerge from the object to do so, and gain no cover bonuses after attacking. | |||
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| CombatTactics = Living breath weapons can fly, pass through objects and creatures unimpeded, and take only half damage from nearly all attacks. Blue dragons often use them as scouts, despite the living breath weapon's complete inability to hide when not totally inside an object. Note that living breath weapons have no means of seeing through solid objects so they make terrible spies in this regard. That said, they can be used to deliver messages from the dragon when desired, and are also quite capable combatants in their own right. | | CombatTactics = Living breath weapons can fly, pass through objects and creatures unimpeded, and take only half damage from nearly all attacks. Blue dragons often use them as scouts, despite the living breath weapon's complete inability to hide when not totally inside an object. Note that living breath weapons have no means of seeing through solid objects so they make terrible spies in this regard. That said, they can be used to deliver messages from the dragon when desired, and are also quite capable combatants in their own right. | ||
Living breath weapons will rarely engage in a fight unless the blue dragon is nearby. If attacked while away from their master, they will flee at the first opportunity. | |||
In combat, they will use discharge as soon as possible, in order to set up some battlefield control, deal some damage, and give the blue dragon more options for its Ride the Lightning ability. After that, it will move to engage with the most heavily armored opponents it can find. | |||
Living breath weapons are only about as smart as dogs, and will attack single-mindedly once they engage, though their master can order them to change tactics, using simple commands, if necessary. | |||