General Rules: Monsters - Dragon, Shadow

Dragon, Shadow (from Monsters of Færûn)
Dragon (Shadow)

Special Attacks: Breath Weapon, Create Shadows, Crush, Frightful Presence, Spells, Spell-Like Abilities, Tail-Sweep

Special Qualities: Immunities, SR, Blindsight, Keen Senses, Shadow Blend

Skills: Shadow dragons have 6 skill points per Hit Die, plus bonus points equal to their Intelligence modifier x Hit Dice and purchase the following skills at 1 rank per skill point: Listen, Spot, and Search. The remaining skill points are generally spent on Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, and Knowledge (any)(all skills taken individually) at a cost of 1 skill point per rank. Dragons cannot purchase skills that are exclusive to a class.

Feats: Shadow dragons have one feat plus an additional feat per 4 hit dice. Dragons favor Cleave, Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Skill Augmentation (Listen and Spot), Weapon Focus, and any metamagic feat that is available and useful to sorcerers. They can also choose from the following feats: Flyby Attack, Hover, Quicken Spell-Like Ability, Snatch, and Wingover.

Environment: Underground

Organization: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: Solitary or clutch (2 - 5); adult, mature adult, old, very old, ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: Solitary, pair, or family (1 -2 and 2 - 5 offspring)

Challenge Rating: Wrymling 2; very young 3; young 5; juvenile 7; young adult 10; adult 12; mature adult 15; old 17; very old 18; ancient 20; wyrm 21; great wyrm 23

Treasure: Double standard
Alignment: Always neutral evil

Advancement: Wyrmling 5 - 6 HD (Tiny); very young 8 - 9 HD (Small); young 11 - 12 HD (Small); juvenile 14 - 15 HD (Medium); young adult 17 - 18 HD (Medium); adult 20 - 21 HD (Large); mature adult 23 - 24 HD (Large); old 26 - 27 HD (Huge); very old 29 - 30 HD (Huge); ancient 32 - 33 HD (Huge); wyrm 35 - 36 HD (Gargantuan); great wyrm 38+ HD (Gargantuan)

Shadow dragons are sly and devious creatures with ties to the Realm of Shadows descended from the dragon sire Œmbar. They are most often found where ties to the Realm of Shadows is strongest.

Shadow dragons have translucent scales and dark bodies, giving them an indistinct appearance - from a distance, they seem to be nothing but a foreboding mass of shadows.

Combat
A dragon attacks with its powerful claws and bite, and can also use a breath weapon and special physical attacks, depending on its size. It prefers to fight on the wing, staying out of reach until it has worn down the enemy with ranged attacks. Older, more intelligent dragons are adept at sizing up the opposition and eliminating the most dangerous foes first (or avoiding them while picking off weaker enemies).

Shadow dragons prefer to attack from hiding, employing their shadow blend ability. They use illusion spells to confuse and misdirect their foes.

Shadow Dragons by Age

Age	Size	Hit Dice (hp)	Initiative	Speed	Armor Class	Touch	Flat-Footed
Wyrmling	T	4d12+4 (30)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (average)	19 (+2 size, +7 natural)	12	19
Very Young	S	7d12+7 (52)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (average)	21 (+1 size, +10 natural)	11	21
Young	S	10d12+10 (75)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (average)	24 (+1 size, +13 natural)	11	24
Juvenile	M	13d12+26 (110)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (poor)	26 (+16 natural)	10	26
Young Adult	M	16d12+32 (136)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (poor)	29 (+18 natural)	10	29
Adult	L	19d12+57 (180)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (poor)	31 (-1 size, +22 natural)	9	31
Mature Adult	L	22d12+88 (231)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (poor)	34 (-1 size, +25 natural)	9	34
Old	H	25d12+125 (287)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (poor)	36 (-2 size, +28 natural)	8	36
Very Old	H	28d12+140 (322)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (poor)	39 (-2 size, +31 natural)	8	39
Ancient	H	31d12+186 (387)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (poor)	42 (-2 size, +34 natural)	8	42
Wyrm	G	34d12+238 (459)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (clumsy)	43 (-4 size, +37 natural)	6	43
Great Wyrm	G	37d12+296 (536)	+0	80 feet; fly 150 feet (clumsy)	46 (-4 size, +40 natural)	6	46

Age	BAB/Grapple	Bite	2 Claws	2 Wings	Tail Slap	Crush	Tail Sweep
Wyrmling	+4/-4	+6 (1d4)	+1 (1d3)	-	-	-	-
Very Young	+7/+4	+11 (1d6+1)	+6 (1d4)	-	-	-	-
Young	+10/+7	+14 (1d6+1)	+9 (1d4)	-	-	-	-
Juvenile	+13/+15	+18 (1d8+2)	+13 (1d6+1)	+13 (1d4+1)	-	-	-
Young Adult	+16/+19	+21 (1d8+3)	+16 (1d6+1)	+16 (1d4+1)	-	-	-
Adult	+19/+27	+26 (2d6+4)	+21 (1d8+2)	+21 (1d6+2)	+21 (1d8+6)	-	-
Mature Adult	+22/+32	+29 (2d6+6)	+24 (1d8+3)	+24 (1d6+3)	+24 (1d8+9)	-	-
Old	+25/+41	+33 (2d8+8)	+28 (2d6+4)	+28 (1d8+4)	+27 (2d6+12)	DC 29 (2d8+12)	-
Very Old	+28/+45	+37 (2d8+9)	+32 (2d6+4)	+32 (1d8+4)	+32 (2d6+13)	DC 32 (2d8+13)	-
Ancient	+31/+49	+41 (2d8+10)	+36 (2d6+5)	+36 (1d8+5)	+36 (2d6+15)	DC 34 (2d8+15)	-
Wyrm	+34/+57	+43 (4d6+11)	+38 (2d8+5)	+38 (2d6+5)	+38 (2d8+16)	DC 37 (4d6+16)	DC 37 (2d6+16)
Great Wyrm	+37/+61	+47 (4d6+12)	+42 (2d8+6)	+42 (2d6+6)	+42 (2d8+18)	DC 39 (4d6+18)	DC 39 (2d6+18)

Age	Space/Reach	Fortitude	Reflex	Will	Breath Weapon (DC)	Fear DC	SR	Caster Level
Wyrmling	2½ feet by 2½ feet/5 feet	+6	+5	+6	1, 15-foot cone (14)	-	12	-
Very Young	5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet	+7	+6	+7	1, 20-foot cone (16)	-	13	-
Young	5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet	+10	+8	+10	1, 20-foot cone (18)	-	15	-
Juvenile	5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet	+11	+9	+11	2, 30-foot cone (20)	-	17	1st
Young Adult	5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet	+14	+11	+14	2, 30-foot cone (22)	22	20	3rd
Adult	5 feet by 10 feet/10 feet	+16	+12	+15	3, 40-foot cone (24)	24	22	5th
Mature Adult	5 feet by 10 feet/10 feet	+19	+14	+18	4, 40-foot cone (26)	26	25	7th
Old	10 feet by 20 feet/10 feet	+21	+15	+19	5, 50-foot cone (29)	29	27	9th
Very Old	10 feet by 20 feet/10 feet	+23	+17	+22	5, 50-foot cone (32)	32	28	11th
Ancient	10 feet by 20 feet/10 feet	+25	+18	+23	6, 50-foot cone (34)	34	30	13th
Wyrm	20 feet by 40 feet/15 feet	+28	+20	+26	7, 60-foot cone (37)	37	31	15th
Great Wyrm	20 feet by 40 feet/15 feet	+30	+22	+28	8, 60-foot cone (39)	39	33	17th

Age	Strength	Intelligence	Wisdom	Dexterity	Constitution	Charisma	Special Abilities
Wrymling	11	14	14	10	13	15	Energy Drain Immunity
Very Young	13	16	16	10	13	17	Shadow Blend
Young	13	16	16	10	13	17	-
Juvenile	15	18	18	10	15	19	Mirror Image
Young Adult	17	18	18	10	15	19	Damage Reduction 5/+1
Adult	19	20	20	10	17	21	Dimension Door
Mature Adult	23	20	20	10	19	21	Damage Reduction 10/+1
Old	27	24	24	10	21	25	Nondetection
Very Old	29	26	26	10	21	27	Damage Reduction 15/+1
Ancient	31	28	28	10	23	29	Shadow Walk
Wyrm	33	30	30	10	25	31	Damage Reduction 20/+3
Great Wyrm	35	32	32	10	27	33	Create Shadows

Blindsight (Ex): A shadow dragon can ascertain creatures by nonvisual means (mostly hearing and scent, but also by noticing vibration and other environmental clues) with a range of 30 feet x the dragon's age category.

Breath Weapon (Su): The shadow dragon's breath weapon is a cone of billowing, smoky shadows with an energy drain effect. Creatures within the cone gain the number of negative levels shown on the accompanying table; the saving throw to remove the negative level is shown on the table as well. A successful Reflex save (against the same DC) reduces the number of negative levels by half (rounded down). Using a breath weapon is a standard action. Once a dragon breathes, it can't breathe again until 1d4 rounds later. A blast from a breath weapon always starts at the dragon's mouth and extends in a direction of the dragon's choice.

Create Shadows (Su): Three times per day, a great wyrm shadow dragon can conjure a mass of leaping shadows with a radius of 100 yards and a duration of 1 hour (this is a creation effect). All normal and magical light sources are negated within this radius. All characters and creatures gain a +4 bonus on Hide checks within the shadows, and can hide even if directly observed. Shadow dragons and other creatures with ties to the Plane of Shadow gain total concealment within the shadows (50% miss chance), thought they can move and attack normally. Their attacks gain a +2 bonus and deny their opponents any Dexterity bonus to Armor Class because they are considered invisible.

Crush: A jumping or flying shadow dragon of at least Huge size can land on opponents as a standard action, using its whole body to crush them. Crush attacks are only effective against opponents three or more size categories smaller than the dragon (though it can attempt normal overrun or grapple attacks against larger opponents). A crush attack affects as many creatures as can fit under the dragon's body. Creatures in the affected area must attempt a Reflex save or be pinned, automatically taking bludgeoning damage during the next round unless the dragon moves off them. If the dragon chooses to maintain the pin, treat it as a normal grapple attacks. Pinned opponents take crush damage each round if they don't escape.

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 or charges. Creatures within a radius of 30 feet x the dragon's age category are subject to the effect if they have fewer Hit Dice than the dragon. A potentially affected creature that succeeds at a Will save remain immune to the dragon's frightful presence for one day. On a failure, creatures with 4 or fewer Hit Dice become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more Hit Dice become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Dragons ignore the frightful presence of other dragons.

Immunities (Ex): Shadow dragons are immune to sleep and paralysis effects. Deep dragons are also immune to energy drain effects.

Keen Senses (Ex): A dragon sees four times as well as a human in low-light conditions, and twice as well in normal light. It also has darkvision with a range of 100 feet x the dragon's age category.

Shadow Blend (Su): During any conditions other than full daylight, a shadow dragon can disappear into the shadows, giving it nine-tenths concealment. Artificial illumination, even a light or continual flame spell, does not negate this ability. A daylight spell, however, will.

Spell Resistance (Ex): As dragons age, they become more resistant to spells and spell-like abilities as listed on the table above.

Tail Sweep: A dragon of at least Gargantuan size can sweep with its tail as a standard action. The sweep affects a half-circle with a diameter of 30 feet, centered on the dragon's rear. Creatures within the swept area are affected if they are four or more sizes smaller than the dragon. The sweep automatically deals the listed damage. Affected creatures can attempt Reflex saves to take half damage.

Spell-Like Abilities: Three times per day - mirror image, nondetection; twice per day - dimension door; once per day - shadow walk.

Spells: A shadow dragon knows and casts arcane spells as a sorcerer of the level indicated on the table above, gaining bonus spells for a high Charisma score. Shadow dragons can also cast cleric spells and those from the Chaos, Evil, Shadow, and Trickery domains as arcane spells.

Skills: Shadow dragons that can cast spells have the Spellcraft skill for free at 1 rank per Hit Die. Shadow dragons have the Jump skill for free at 1 rank per Hit Die.

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