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dragonborn, and the wings of soaring dragonsblotted out the sun. The numbers of dead wereappalling, and every effort at achieving peace onlylaid the foundation for the next battle. Both landsseemed doomed to perish.Fearing the end of his empire, Zebukiel did theunthinkable—he betrayed his kind. The fang dragontreated with the tiefling leaders, who claimed to wantpeace as badly as he did. The tieflings swore theywould lay down their weapons and draw up a lastingpeace if the Arkhosian “aggressors” were stopped.DC 30: Zebukiel knew he could not reason withhis peers, whom for decades he had tried to turnfrom their self-destructive path. So, under cover ofdarkness, he systematically murdered the Arkhosianleaders, dragon and dragonborn alike. Although hejustified each death as being necessary for peace, heslid deeper into madness as the casualties mountedand the war continued to rage. Concealing his awfuldeeds grew ever more difficult—too much bloodstained his claws.DC 35: When Zebukiel failed to kill a powerfuladamantine dragon that was injured fighting a pitfiend, his victim escaped and revealed his betrayal.Before the Arkhosians could deal with the traitor,the bulk of their armies perished in the earthquakethat swallowed Bael Turath and brought an end toboth nations. The death of his land gave Zebukiel thechance he needed to escape, but not before an exarchof Bahamut nearly killed him and laid the curse uponhim as he flew away.TacticsZebukiel plays the part of an old and woundeddragon, projecting an aura of sorrow that leads his victimsto believe him an imposing but harmless beast.He lures them close by shrinking back, then discardsthe ruse and attacks ferociously. He fights outof terror that his next foe will be the one to end hiscurse and visit unspeakable agony upon him.Zebukiel’s favorite tactic is to raise his spiked tailand snap his wings back to propel himself forwardwith a sudden lunge. The added speed lets him drivethe tines of his tail spikes through an opponent. Thenhe savages that foe while other threats are neutralizedby his petrifying attacks.Zebukiel is not as quick to use his breath weaponas are other dragons. He waits until his foes havebattered him almost to the point of being bloodied,hoping to exploit the psychic feedback triggered byhis bloodied doom.Encounter GroupsZebukiel is a loner by necessity. He shuns all others,especially dragons and dragonborn. He rarely stays inone place for long.ZEBUKIELSAM WOODZebukiel travels to the world’s farthest corners, alwaysstaying one-step ahead of his enemies, real or imagined.Though he’s always moving, always flying from haven tohaven, he does keep a few strongholds and settles intothese old lairs from time to time, but never in the sameorder. Having regular haunts is dangerous, but Zebukieluses them to store his treasures, baubles recovered fromArkhosian ruins and from creature’s he has slain, since hecannot carry them with him. So he tucks them away indark tunnels, sunken chambers, or vaults beneath ancientstructures long reclaimed by the wilderness.Even though he selects out-of-the-way locations forthese “safe houses,” Zebukiel is wise enough to keep themunder guard. Constructs form the bulk of his servants,since their loyalty can’t be compromised, but he has alsoarranged protection with a few other groups. Beneath anLAIRS OF THE GRAY WORMold mountain, a grimlock tribe worships the dragon as agod after he helped fight back grells bent on enslaving theUnderdark dwellers. A group of savage kobolds protectsan old temple deep in a jungle, using poisoned darts,traps, and fearsome creatures to secure the dragon’s lair.The gray dragon has even gained the service of a tieflingnecromancer. In exchange for allowing the dark mage touse the relics for his own research, Zebukiel can rely on anarmy of undead to keep him safe while he rests betweenjourneys.Each alliance is dangerous since any can betray him,just as he did his own kind. So, the dragon rarely maintainsthese relationships for long, letting them persist fora couple of years until he turns against his servants, wipingthem out root and branch before forging some new alliancesomewhere else.CHAPTER 4 | New Monsters249