chromatic dragons.pdf - Free

must prove to be a true champion before it reveals itsgreater powers.Unsatisfied (1–4)“While not everyone is cut out to be a hero, I must tryharder not to shame the Standard.”The Standard doesn’t feel that the bearer is cut outto use it, but it’s willing to give the bearer a bit longerto prove either way. That said, it’s going to do what itcan to push the bearer into greater heroics.Special: You and your allies still gain the Standard’s fireresistance and bonus to death saving throws. Beyondthese, however, the Standard allows you to use its powersonly against devils, tieflings, demons, evil dragons, andthe cultists of evil deities or other evil personages.Displeased (0 or Lower)“The Standard is at odds with me. It longs for a moreheroic bearer.”The bearer is not a hero, as far as the Standard isconcerned. It’s only a matter of time before it findsanother bearer.DRACONIC RITUALSDragons have long been associated with ancientknowledge, mystic secrets, and powers both potentand obscure. Some myths even attribute the originsof arcane magic to them, claiming that great wyrmsorcerers taught the first humanoids how to castspells in times so long past even the mightiest divinationsreveal little of them.Today, chromatic dragons express magical abilitythrough rituals. Those mystical rites presented in thePlayer’s Handbook appear in dragon hoards as scrollsor parts of ritual books, but many other rituals aremore commonly used by dragons than they are byhumanoids, and a few are unknown beyond the variousdraconic races.How common these new rituals are in your campaignis up to you. They might be available only indragon hoards or in the books of those who studydragons, or they might be as common as any of therituals in the Player’s Handbook.DRACONIC RITUALSSpecial: You and your allies still gain the artifact’s fireresistance and bonus to death saving throws. None of itsother powers function for you or your allies.Moving On“I can stand on my own now, even against the greatestevils. The Standard needs to leave now to help those whocannot.”The Standard is determined never to rest, never tostop, while there remains evil to be fought, or thereis any chance—however small—of gathering the dragonborninto a nation once more. When it feels it hasdone all it can with this bearer, it leaves.When the bearer next gains a level, the Standarddisappears, unraveling into the wind and blowingaway, only to re-form elsewhere. The Standardbestows permanent resist 5 fire on the bearer. Inaddition, it grants the bearer a warlord at-will powerof his or her choice, which the bearer gains in additionto his or her other at-will powers.Until it moves on, the Standard retains all thepowers and properties appropriate for its currentconcordance.RITUALS BY LEVELLvl Ritual Key Skill6 Easy Passage Arcana or Nature8 Aura Mask Arcana10 Disorienting Portal Arcana14 Sentinel Eye Arcana16 False Aura Arcana20 Chamber of Vulnerability Arcana26 Ward the True Name ArcanaAura MaskBefore your eyes, the wondrous object shimmers briefly andthen returns to an apparently mundane state. Though youknow the truth of its power and value, to others it appearsnormal in every way.Level: 8Component Cost: 10 gpCategory: Deception Market Price: 250 gpTime: 10 minutes Key Skill: ArcanaDuration: 24 hours (special)When performed upon a magic item, Aura Mask makesit appear nonmagical when someone tries to use anArcana check to detect magic. Your Arcana check resultSo, how are you going to determine if a particular dragon isa capable ritual caster or not? You should, as usual, decidebased on the needs of your campaign, but the easiest wayis to treat all dragons as though they have the Ritual Casterfeat. Ritual casting comes as naturally to dragons as usingtheir breath weapons. In addition to the skills noted forDRAGON RITUAL CASTERSeach dragon variety, assume that at each age category—young, adult, elder, and ancient—a dragon gains training inone additional skill for the purpose of ritual casting only.For instance, a young dragon can perform rituals that haveArcana as their key skill, while an elder dragon can selectArcana, Heal, and Religion.CHAPTER 2 | DM’s Guide to Dragons83