dragon-magic-oef

CHAPTER 4
DRACONIC
BEASTS
Illus. by A. Swekel
REDSPAWN BERSERKER
A dragonlike humanoid the size of an ogre flexes red-scaled muscles
as it roars a wordless challenge.
Redspawn Berserker CR 8
Always CE Large monstrous humanoid
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Listen +2, Spot +2
Languages Draconic
AC 20, touch 9, flat-footed 20
(–1 size, +2 armor, +1 shield, +8 natural)
hp 105 (10 HD)
Immune fear, fire, paralysis, sleep
Fort +11, Ref +7, Will +8
Weakness vulnerability to cold
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares)
Melee morningstar +15/+10 (2d6+5) and
bite +10 (1d8+2)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Atk +10; Grp +19
Atk Options berserk attacks +2d6, Cleave, Power Attack
Abilities Str 21, Dex 10, Con 23, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 7
Feats Cleave, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Power
Attack
Skills Balance +5, Jump +12, Listen +2, Spot +2, Tumble +18
Possessions morningstar, leather armor, light bone shield
Vulnerability to Cold (Ex) A redspawn berserker takes 1-1/2 ×
normal damage from cold attacks.
Berserk Attacks (Ex) A redspawn berserker can’t help but be
enraged at the last person who dealt it damage. It deals
2d6 extra points of damage with its melee attacks when it
hits the foe who last damaged it with a melee attack in
the previous round. If no enemy damaged the redspawn
berserker with a melee attack since before its last turn,
this extra damage doesn’t apply.
ECOLOGY
To increase the size and power of her forces more swiftly,
Tiamat causes red dragons and half-dragons of red descent to
bear redspawn berserker children. A single egg can hold three
or four young. Newborn redspawn berserkers have a voracious
appetite, and with sufficient food, they grow to adult size in
just a year, regardless of their size at birth or the size of their
mother. Their hunting impacts the local ecology significantly
unless a stock of living beings is provided for them.
Environment: Redspawn berserkers live in whatever
landscape they were born into, usually the fiery peaks that
red dragons often inhabit.
Typical Physical Characteristics: Redspawn berserkers
stand 9 to 10 feet tall and weigh 650 to 700 pounds. They lack
gender and have no means to procreate.
SOCIETY
Newborn redspawn berserkers mature quickly, ensuring
that they don’t impose too long upon their often fickle and
wrathful mothers. Full grown berserkers are exiled from their
homes, but they usually remain close by, acting as guards
and scouts. When Tiamat has something more specific in
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Tiamat created her spawn for many purposes, and redspawn
berserkers exist purely to destroy. Brutish and fearless, they
thunder swiftly across the battlefield to come to grips with
foes and rend them to pieces.
STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
A redspawn berserker charges into melee to bring itself
close to as many foes as possible. It focuses its attacks on
whatever foe last wounded it, crushing and slashing
the enemy with its morningstar and bite attacks.
SAMPLE ENCOUNTER
Despite their innately chaotic natures, redspawn
berserkers unfailingly behave as Tiamat or her representative
demands.
Air Assault (EL 13): Tiamat has set two redspawn
berserkers and two juvenile red dragons
to destroy or delay the player characters. The
dragons carry the berserkers into battle,
dropping them from their claws to land
amid the enemy. As the berserkers occupy
the PCs in melee, the dragons breathe fire
on the battle.