Sand Dragon

 

Wyrmling (0-5 yrs) Size/Type: Tiny Dragon (earth) Hit Dice: 3d12 (19) Initiative: +0 Speed: 30 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 80 ft. (average)  Armor Class: 16 (+2 size, +4 natural) touch 12, flat-footed 16 Base Attack/Grapple: +3/-5 Attack: Bite +5 (1d4) or claws +0 (1d3) Full Attack: Bite +5 (1d4) and claws +0 (1d3) Space/Reach: 2½ ft./0 ft. (5 ft. with bite) Special Attacks: Breath weapon Special Qualities: Immunity to fire, immunity to sleep and paralysis, tremorsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision Saves: Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +2 Abilities: Str 10, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10 Skills: Hide +6, Listen +6, Move Silently +6, Sense Motive +6, Spot +6, Survival +6 Feats: Track, Endurance Languages: Draconic Breath Weapon: 15' flaywind cone, 1d4, Ref DC 11 halves	Very Young (6-15 yrs) Size/Type: Small Dragon (earth) Hit Dice: 6d12+6 (45) Initiative: +0 Speed: 30 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 120 ft. (poor)  Armor Class: 18 (+1 size, +7 natural) touch 11, flat-footed 18 Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+3 Attack: Bite +8 (1d6+1) or claws +3 (1d4) Full Attack: Bite +8 (1d6+1) and claws +3 (1d4) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Breath weapon Special Qualities: Immunity to fire, immunity to sleep and paralysis, tremorsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision Saves: Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +4 Abilities: Str 12, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10 Skills: Hide +11, Listen +10, Move Silently +11, Sense Motive +10, Spot +10, Survival +10 Feats: Track, Endurance, Stealthy Languages: Draconic Breath Weapon: 20' flaywind cone, 2d4, Ref DC 14 halves	Young (16-25 yrs) Size/Type: Medium Dragon (earth) Hit Dice: 9d12+9 (67) Initiative: Speed: 30 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 120 ft. (poor)  Armor Class: 20 (+10 natural) touch 10, flat-footed 20 Base Attack/Grapple: Attack: Bite +11 (1d8+2) or claws +9 (1d6+1) or wings +9 (1d4+1) Full Attack: Bite +11 (1d8+2) and claws +9 (1d6+1) and wings +9 (1d4+1) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Breath weapon Special Qualities: Immunity to fire, immunity to sleep and paralysis, tremorsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision Saves: Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +7 Abilities: Str 14, Dex 11, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 12 Skills: Hide +14, Intimidate +13, Listen +14, Move Silently +14, Sense Motive +14, Spot +14, Survival +14 Feats: Track, Endurance, Stealthy, Multiattack Languages: Draconic, Common Breath Weapon: 30' flaywind cone, 4d4, Ref DC 15 halves
Juvenile (26-50 yrs) Size/Type: Medium Dragon (earth) Hit Dice: 12d12+24 (102) Initiative: +0 Speed: 30 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 120 ft. (poor)  Armor Class: 23 (+13 natural) touch 10, flat-footed 23 Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+15 Attack: Bite +15 (1d8+3) or claws +13 (1d6+1) or wings +13 (1d4+1) Full Attack: Bite +15 (1d8+3) and claws +13 (1d6+1) and wings +13 (1d4+1) Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Special Attacks: Breath weapon, SLAs Special Qualities: Immunity to fire, immunity to sleep and paralysis, tremorsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision Saves: Fort +12, Ref +7, Will +10 Abilities: Str 16, Dex 11, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 14 Skills: Hide +17, Intimidate +17, Listen +18, Move Silently +17, Sense Motive +18, Spot +18, Survival +15, Knowledge (any one) +4 Feats: Track, Endurance, Stealthy, Multiattack, Power Attack Languages: Draconic, Common Breath Weapon: 30' flaywind cone, 6d4, Ref DC 18 halves SLAs: At will: Hoboob (DC 15) (caster level 4)	Young Adult (51-100 yrs) Size/Type: Large Dragon (earth) Hit Dice: 15d12+45 (142) Initiative: +0 Speed: 30 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 120 ft. (poor)  Armor Class: 25 (-1 size, +16 natural) touch 9, flat-footed 25 Base Attack/Grapple: +15/+24 Attack: Bite +19 (2d6+5) or claws +17 (1d8+2) or wings +17 (1d6+2) or tail +17 (1d8+7) Full Attack: Bite +19 (2d6+5) and claws +17 (1d8+2) and wings +17 (1d6+2) and tail +17 (1d8+7) Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with bite) Special Attacks: Breath weapon, SLAs, spells, frightful presence Special Qualities: Immunity to fire, immunity to sleep and paralysis, tremorsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision, DR 5/magic, SR 18 Saves: Fort +16, Ref +9, Will +12 Abilities: Str 20, Dex 11, Con 17, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 14 Skills: Concentration +20, Hide +20, Intimidate +20, Listen +21, Move Silently +20, Sense Motive +20, Spot +21, Survival +15, Knowledge (any one) +9 Feats: Track, Endurance, Stealthy, Multiattack, Power Attack, Improved Overrun Languages: Draconic, Common, any one Breath Weapon: 40' flaywind cone, 8d4, Ref DC 23 halves. Frightful presence: 150-ft. radius, HD 14 or fewer, Will DC 19 negates. SLAs: At will: Hoboob (DC 15) (caster level 5) Spells per day: 5, 3 Spells Known:     0: Flare, Ghost Sound, Message, Open/Close     1: Locate Water, Silent Image Spell DC: 12 + level	Adult (101-200 yrs) Size/Type: Large Dragon (earth) Hit Dice: 18d12+72 (189) Initiative: +0 Speed: 30 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 120 ft. (poor)  Armor Class: 28 (-1 size, +19 natural) touch 9, flat-footed 28 Base Attack/Grapple: +18/+29 Attack: Bite +24 (2d6+7) or claws +22 (1d8+3) or wings +22 (1d6+3) or tail +22 (1d8+10) Full Attack: Bite +24 (2d6+7) and claws +22 (1d8+3) and wings +22 (1d6+3) and tail +22 (1d8+10) Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with bite) Special Attacks: Breath weapon, SLAs, spells, frightful presence Special Qualities: Immunity to fire, immunity to sleep and paralysis, tremorsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision, DR 5/magic, SR 20 Saves: Fort +22, Ref +12, Will +16 Abilities: Str 24, Dex 11, Con 19, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 16 Skills: Concentration +24, Hide +23, Intimidate +24, Listen +25, Move Silently +23, Sense Motive +21, Spot +25, Survival +16, Knowledge (any one) +15 Feats: Track, Endurance, Stealthy, Multiattack, Power Attack, Improved Overrun, Flyby Attack Languages: Draconic, Common, any one Breath Weapon: 40' flaywind cone, 10d4, Ref DC 23 halves. Frightful presence: 180-ft. radius, HD 17 or fewer, Will DC 22 negates. SLAs: At will: Hoboob (DC 16); 3/day Dispel water (DC 17) (caster level 6) Spells per day: 6, 5 Spells Known:     0: Flare, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Message, Open/Close     1: Locate Water, Silent Image, Ventriloquism Spell DC: 13 + level

Environment: Warm deserts
Organization: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: solitary or clutch (3-6); adult, mature adult, old, very old, ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: solitary, pair, or family 1-2 and 3-6 offspring)
Challenge Rating: Wyrmling 2; very young 3; young 5; juvenile 7; young adult 9; adult 12; mature adult 14; old 16; very old 18; ancient 21; wyrm 24; great wyrm 27
Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always chaotic neutral

This dragon's head is a mass of thick, short horns in irregular rings around its snout, jaws, and neck, giving its entire head a distinct appearance reminiscent of a lamprey. Its large scales are a dark gray-brown, and a crest of broad, short spines runs from its head to the tip of its tail. A membranous frill runs between these spines down the length of the dragon's body, allowing it to undulate through the air rather than flop like other dragons. The dragon smells of dust and dirt. Sand dragons are violent, irritable, and cunning creatures, given to raiding farms for cattle, but leaving the farmers alive as a sign of "mercy" (never mind that the dragon has just devoured the farmer's livelihood). Not exactly evil, but definitely not good, sand dragons are motivated only by what is good for their own survival. In fact, they have a difficult time understand­ing why any living creature would think any other way.

Sand dragons lay their eggs deep within the sand of the desert, which is partly responsible for their name. As the eggs hatch, the hatchling dragons claw their way up to the surface, giving the impression that the dragons spring spontaneously from the sand. Even at that age, sand dragons have fully developed horns and claws, enabling them to burrow just as easily as their parents. Sand dragon wings are actually not wings at all, but thin membranes of a similar consistency and material to regular dragon wings. These membranes stretch between a double row of spikes that run the length of a sand dragon's back, from the base of its skull to the tip of its tail. These spines can collapse flat along a sand dragon's back when it burrows, protecting the fragile membranes from damage. A sand dragon can also lie flat on a sandy surface and flutter its wings to cover itself with sand, much as a stingray flutters its "wings" to conceal itself on the ocean floor.

In fact, sand dragons make their lairs under the sands, and only emerge to hunt or mate. As a result, sand dragons smell of freshly turned dirt and dust —not a particularly unpleasant smell, but a distinctive one. Due to their burrowing ability, sand dragons have little difficulty Sand dragons lair in the deep waste disguising their lairs; only their nostrils lie exposed (allowing them to breathe). When sand dragons travel underground—their primary means of sneaking up on prey—they simply hold their breath. Sand dragons are most fond of lizards and rodents, though the older they get, the larger the prey. Young adult and adult sand dragons eat goats and jackals, mature adult and older sand dragons go after cattle, camels, crocodiles, and even giant banded lizards (see page 164).

Sand dragons acquire a good deal of treasure, though they have no real use for it aside from bait for prey. They generally bury it in the sand under their lairs, and lie waiting for the sound of shovels digging toward them.

COMBAT

Sand dragons hunt by flying high above the ground, looking for herds of cattle or other concentrations of prey, then wait for nightfall to land and burrow up underneath their targets. Using their tremorsense to determine when an animal is in position, the sand dragon then bursts forth, snatches up the startled prey in its mouth or claws, and flies off to devour it in privacy. Alternatively, a sand dragon might locate a trade route and bury itself in the sand along the side of the road, waiting for a caravan to pass. Sand dragons rarely attack from the sky; there are simply too few clouds to provide the kind of concealment a sand dragon prefers.

Breath Weapon (Su)

Using a breath weapon is a standard action. Once a dragon breathes, it can’t breathe again until 1d4 rounds later. If a dragon has more than one type of breath weapon, it still can breathe only once every 1d4 rounds. A blast from a breath weapon always starts at any intersection adjacent to the dragon and extends in a direction of the dragon’s choice, with an area as noted on the table below. If the breath weapon deals damage, creatures caught in the area can attempt Reflex saves to take half damage; the DC depends on the dragon’s age and variety, and is given in each individual entry. The save DC against a breath weapon is 10 + ½ dragon’s HD + dragon’s Con modifier.

Frightful Presence (Ex)

A young adult or older dragon can unsettle foes with its mere presence. The ability takes effect automatically whenever the dragon attacks, charges, or flies overhead. Creatures within a radius of 30 feet × the dragon’s age category are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than the dragon. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save (DC 10 + ½ dragon’s HD + dragon’s Cha modifier) remains immune to that dragon’s frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Dragons ignore the frightful presence of other dragons.

Spells

A dragon knows and casts arcane spells as a sorcerer of the level indicated in its variety description, gaining bonus spells for a high Charisma score. Some dragons can also cast spells from the cleric list or cleric domain lists as arcane spells.

Spell-Like Abilities

A dragon’s spell-like abilities depend on its age and variety. It gains the abilities indicated for its age plus all previous ones. Its age category or its sorcerer caster level, whichever is higher, is the caster level for these abilities. The save DC is 10 + dragon’s Cha modifier + spell level.

Haboob

Conjuration (Creation) [Air, Earth]
Spell Level 3
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft. level)
Effect: Abrasive dust spreads in 20-ft. radius, 20 ft. high
Duration: 1 min./level
Saving Throw: None or Reflex half; see text
Spell Resistance: No

A thick haze of swirling dust and sand swirls out from the point you designate. The effect obscures all sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. A creature within 5 feet has concealment. Creatures farther away have total concealment. Unprotected, nonmagical flames are automatically extinguished, and there is a 50% chance that protected flames will be snuffed.

In addition to obscuring sight, the swirling dust abrades any creature within it or attempting to move through it. Any creature passing through the haze takes 1d4 points of damage per two caster levels (maxi-mum 5d4), with no save allowed. If you conjure haboob so that it appears where creatures are located, each creature takes damage as if passing through the haze. Such creatures take half damage with a successful Reflex save, but if these creatures do not leave the affected area at their next opportunity, they take full damage from the abrading sands (no save) as if they had voluntarily entered the area. Any creature that remains within the affected area for more than 1 round likewise takes damage automatically (no save).

A moderate wind (11+ mph) disperses the dust in 8 rounds; a strong wind (21+ mph) disperses it in 4 rounds. This spell does not function underwater.

Dispel Water

Abjuration
Spell Level 5
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target or Area: See text
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: See text
Spell Resistance: See text

You call on the power of the waste to counter and dismiss water creatures, spells, and effects. However, dispel water cannot counter an instantaneous spell or effect.

You choose to use dispel water in one of three ways: to dry up a body of water, to counter a water-based spell or effect, or to dismiss an extraplanar creature of the water subtype.

Dry Up Water: This effect instantly destroys 200 cubic feet of water per level. Remaining water rushes in to fill the void. Cast in a large body of water, such as an ocean, the destruction of 1,000 or more cubic feet of water produces a strong current that pulls boats and creatures down. Creatures caught in the current must make a DC 20 Swim check to avoid going under. A creature that fails the Swim check is pulled down to a depth of 10 feet per caster level and must hold its breath or begin to drown (see page 304 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). The current might capsize vessels: The chance is 95% for a craft shorter than 20 feet long, 50% for one from 20 to 60 feet long, and 20% for one over 60 feet long.

Counterspell: Used in this way, dispel water targets a spellcaster and is cast as a counterspell (see page 170 of the Player’s Handbook). It only counters spells and spell-like abilities that have the water descriptor, or appear on the Water domain spell list, or clearly involve water (such as create food and water, sleet storm, and wall of ice). To successfully counter the other spell, you must make a dispel check (1d20 + your caster level, maximum +20) against a DC equal to 11 + the spell’s caster level.

Dismiss Water Creature: Cast in this way, dispel water targets a single extraplanar creature of the water subtype within range. The creature can negate the effect with a successful Will save (and its spell resistance, if any, applies). If it fails to save or resist the spell, the creature is forced back to its home plane.

Damage Reduction

Young adult and older dragons have damage reduction. Their natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Immunities (Ex)

All dragons have immunity to sleep and paralysis effects. Each variety of dragon has immunity to one or two additional forms of attack no matter what its age, as given in its description.

Spell Resistance (Ex)

As dragons age, they become more resistant to spells and spell-like abilities, as indicated in the variety descriptions.

Keen Senses (Ex)

A dragon sees four times as well as a human in shadowy illumination and twice as well in normal light. It also has darkvision out to 120 feet.