Yellow Dragon

Dragon (Air, Water)

Environment: Temperate aquatic and coastal

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: Wyrmling 2; very young 3; young 4; juvenile 6; young adult 7; adult 10; mature adult 12; old 15; very old 17; ancient 18; wyrm 19; great wyrm 21

Treasure: Triple standard

Alignment: Always chaotic evil

Advancement: See table

Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +2; very young +3; young +3; juvenile +4; others —

The dragon’s long, serpentine body is covered with yellow scales flecked with white. Despite its lack of wings, it moves through the air with speed and agility that belies its great size. Its narrow head has two beady, glittering emerald eyes, while a forked tongue projects from its fanged jaws. A small green frill runs from between its eyes to the end of its tail.

The vicious, temperamental yellow dragon is perhaps the strangest of the three lost dragons. While its appearance has more in common with a great serpent, its status as a true dragon is without doubt. Unlike other dragons, the yellow dragon relies on speed and supreme agility to defeat its foes. While by far the physically weakest of the dragons, it is the fastest flier and the most agile of them all. Other dragons could easily tear it to pieces, if they could get their claws and fangs on its lithe, fast body. In truth, few dragons or mortal warriors have the skill and patience needed to land a telling blow against these beasts.

Yellow dragons inhabit lakes, coastal areas, and swamps. They prefer to keep their lairs beneath the waves or in caves hidden beneath the shifting dunes. Their ability to fly, swim, and burrow allows them to evade most pursuers and attack their foes from a variety of hiding places. In some cases, yellow dragons that lair near sahuagin settlements strike an alliance with the sea devils. In a few cases, yellow dragons conquer such potential allies and force them into service.

Combat

Yellow dragons rely on their speed and agility to defeat their enemies. They make full use of feats such as Flyby Attack to strike their enemies while avoiding any potential counterattack. Yellow dragons tend to fleet into the waves or beneath the ground if faced with superior foes.

If possible, a yellow dragon swoops past its enemies and blasts them repeatedly with its breath weapon. After slowly crippling and immobilizing its foes, it lays into them with its claws and fangs at its leisure.

Because they lack wings, yellow dragons cannot make wing buffet attacks.

            Breath Weapon (Su): The yellow dragon's breath weapon is a cone of salt that binds to creatures caught in the area of effect. A Reflex save allows a creature to avoid becoming covered in salt.

Creatures caught in the breath weapon and encrusted in the yellow dragon's salt blast suffer effects based on the number of saves they have failed against the effect. Each time a character is stuck by the breath weapon, he faces increasingly crippling effects in addition to the damage.

A creature takes a -2 penalty on attacks, AC, Reflex saves, and Strength-, Dexterity-, and Constitution-based skill checks per failed save against the breath weapon.

A creature takes a -10 penalty on speed per failed save. A creature reduced to speed 0 cannot move. Flying creatures crash to the ground.

The effects of the yellow dragon's breath weapon fade after 10 minutes. All of the effects disappear at once as the salt crumbles away. In addition, a gallon of water (or water-based liquid) can wash away the salt. Multiple attacks require an equal number of gallons of water.

            Air Mastery (Ex): So long as the yellow dragon remains airborne, it games a +2 bonus on attacks. While soaring through the sky, it draws on the strength of one of its native elements.

Flight (Su): A yellow dragon is capable of flight due to its strong link to elemental air. It maneuvers without wings, and if forced to land due to the loss of this ability it gains the benefits of feather fall as cast by a 20th-level sorcerer.

            Water Breathing (Ex): An yellow dragon can breathe water as easily as air. It can use its spells, breath weapon, and other abilities underwater without restriction.

            Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day--obscuring mist (very young or older), control water (young adult or older); control winds (mature adult or older); 1/day--control weather (ancient or older), whirlwind (great wyrm or older).