Umbral dragon
From PathfinderWiki
| Umbral Dragon | |
|---|---|
Externally-hosted image | |
| (Creature) | |
| Type | Dragon (extraplanar) |
| CR | Varies by age |
| Environment | Any |
| Alignment | |
| Source: Bestiary 2, pg(s). 102 | |
Torn between the Material Plane and the Plane of Shadows, umbral dragons don't truly belong to either. As fearsome as any normal dragon, they posses a breath that scours the very life force of their opponents and just as terrifyingly posses the ability to devour incorporeal undead, tearing at the very essence of their undead souls. They are one example of the extraplanar true dragons known as primal dragons.
Contents |
Appearance
An umbral dragon resembles a lean, feral black dragon. Its body is a deep black, like the darkest of shadows. The shape is sleek and serpentine, but lacks the many fins that the black dragon uses for swimming. Its tail tapers to a point in a far more snake-like manner than the muscular, lizard-like tail of a black dragon. There are other subtle differences between the umbral and black dragon, particularly their faces, which are smooth and lacking the horny nodules that many black dragons gain later in life.[1] The horns of the umbral dragon sweep back behind its head, unlike the black dragon whose horn's sweep forward. The umbral dragon's eyes are very distinct pits of deep crimson.[2]
Habitat & Ecology
Umbral dragons reside on the Plane of Shadows that spawned them. When not on their native plane, umbral dragons tend to seek areas that mimic its darkened depths. These lairs include dark and overgrown forests, gloomy swamps, storm shrouded mountaintops and the lightless depth of the Darklands. On Golarion, their favorite places to live include the shadowed lands of Nidal, and the Midnight Mountains in the very depths of the vaults of Orv.[3]
Umbral dragons, like most dragons, are solitary predators, but unlike most dragons they have access to a unique source of prey, incorporeal undead. How much nutrition they actually draw from their ghostly prey is unknown, but it is known that they actively seek out undead to devour. They are even known to seek out haunted ruins to find their favorite food, adding to their fearsome reputation. Their ability to devour ethereal undead and their negative energy breath makes them popular mounts for powerful undead. Despite the risks, they have served as mounts for powerful vampires, liches and necromancers. Still, they are fickle creatures and more than one rider has found himself dropped from the sky or torn apart by their erstwhile mount.[3]
Abilities
| Rules elements should be stated in in-world terms and integrated into the body of the article. |
- Breath Weapon
- Umbral dragons can breath devastating cones of negative energy which strips the life from living creatures and heals those whose unlife is fueled by negative energy.
- Ghostbane
- The physical attacks of an umbral dragon can damage ghostly creatures as if they were normal creatures.
- Hide in Plain Sight
- As long as they are near some source of shadow, the umbral dragons can hide, slipping into the shadows.
- Rebuke Undead
- Older umbral dragons gain the ability to command undead.[2]
Known Umbral Dragons
- The shadowy trails of the Mendor Mountains between Molthune and Cheliax are the lair of the old umbral dragon Gandrohal. He feeds on the incorporeal undead which haunt this twilight world and the occasional living creature which loses its way.[4]
- In their ongoing battle against the undead, Nexian clerics of Pharasma were able to coax the young adult umbral dragon Ghostmaw to leave his home in the Shattered Range of southern Garund. Paying him ever-escalating sums, they send him into the Mana Wastes to hunt their many foes there.[5]
- In the Vale of Shadows the umbral dragon Kedretitas acts as the guardian of a Star Tower[6]
References
- ↑ Mike McArtor. (2009). Dragons Revisited, p. 5. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-165-7
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sean K Reynolds, & Greg A. Vaughan. (2008). Bestiary.Skeletons of Scarwall, p. 86. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-099-5
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sean K Reynolds, & Greg A. Vaughan. (2008). Bestiary.Skeletons of Scarwall, p. 88. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-099-5
- ↑ Greg A. Vaughan. (2008). Skeletons of Scarwall.Skeletons of Scarwall, p. 88-89. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-099-5
- ↑ Sean K Reynolds, & Greg A. Vaughan. (2008). Bestiary.Skeletons of Scarwall, p. 89. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-099-5
- ↑ Howard Andrew Jones. (2011). Plague of Shadows, p. 242-249. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-291-3
