Vampire Lily Dragon
BLOOD OF VAMPIRES, BLOOD OF DRAGONS
The vampire lily dragons are said to be the creation of the legendary dragon necromancer Arumathara. After the death of her beloved companion, the vampire Dracuncul, fury blazed within Arumathara. She hunted down Dracuncul’s slayer, the paladin known as the Knight of Lilies. Although crushing the knight between her jaws was delicious revenge, it did little to ease Arumathara’s grief after losing her companion of over 500 years. The necromancer dragon returned to her lair, determined to channel her sorrow into a memorial for her lost friend.
Dracuncul had given her a vial of his blood long ago. Arumathara combined it with her own and dripped the mixture onto a white lily as she channeled the magic of life and death. Lilies were the holy symbol of the paladin who had killed Dracuncul, so Arumathara wanted to corrupt them. As each petal soaked up the blood, they transformed into the first vampire lily dragons.
In their first breaths, the wyrmlings snapped at Arumathara. She was pleased with the bloodthirstiness of her creations—a fitting tribute to her cherished vampire friend.
PHYSIOLOGY
Vampire lily dragons are large quadrupeds with stocky bodies. T hey mature to their full size of about 10 feet long, nose to tail, in just ten years, though few wyrmlings survive to adulthood. However, few creatures can threaten a full-grown vampire lily dragon. Barring death in combat, they can live up to 850 years.
Vampire lily dragons have smooth flesh in shades of purple and light green and sport a frill of dark purple petals and black spines that run along their backs. When their frill is flat and the f lower on their tail is closed, they are relaxed. If the spines are raised and the flower is open, they are in an aggressive mood. The black spines on their bodies also carry a potent toxin. Roughly half of their full length is made up of a muscular tail, tipped with a ruffled, deep purple bloom surrounding two black spikes called spadices. T he dragons have long black tongues that rest within their crushingly powerful reptilian jaws.
Vampire lily dragons remain active even in the coldest months, thanks to their ability to regulate their body temperature. They do not sleep like other dragons—as they rest, their mind remains fully alert to danger or potential prey.
Another unique and most immediately noticeable feature of vampire lily dragons is their smell. This powerful odor is similar to rotting meat. They can exhale a stench so strong it renders creatures unconscious. Clouds of flies are drawn to the putrid scent, and the buzzing of insects is a telltale sign that a vampire lily dragon lurks nearby.
HABITAT
Vampire lily dragons can adapt to many habitats. They do not lair in any place for long, preferring to wander between terrains. They are as comfortable in sunny meadows as they are in shady swamps. As they are typically confident of their superiority, vampire lilies will even enter humanoid settlements if the mood takes them. A vampire lily dragon’s wanderings can bring it into conflict with other floral dragons. While they do not claim territories, these aggressive dragons are known to attack other floral dragons and push them out of their lairs for spite or fun.
BEHAVIOR
Vampire lily dragons are obligate carnivores that delight in eating carrion. With their keen sense of smell, they can detect rotting meat and blood over great distances. They use their strength to bully other predators away from kills.
These dragons are also powerful hunters in their own right. Vampire lily dragons’ muscular legs allow them to run and swim surprisingly fast. They can use their long tails to pin down prey and sting it with their sharp spadices. Once a dragon has incapacitated its victim, it devours the creature quickly in a few quick snaps of its powerful jaws.
Although vampire lilies have a reputation as vicious predators, they are also highly intelligent and capable of complex thought. Whether a humanoid can survive an audience with a vampire lily dragon depends largely on the dragon’s mood. While it remains amused or intrigued by a humanoid, a vampire lily will continue to converse politely. However, at any time, these capricious dragons may choose to attack if they become insulted, irritated, or bored.
Some daring humanoids may overcome a dragon’s foul odor and unpredictable disposition to cultivate a meaningful, decades-long relationship with a vampire lily. However, even the most cherished humanoid companions can become a snack to a capricious vampire lily dragon in a flash of its petal-teeth.
Vampire lily dragons do not mate with each other directly— encounters between two vampire lily dragons typically end in the death of at least one dragon. Instead, like many plants, they rely on insects such as flies and vespons for fertilization. All vampire lily dragons are capable of producing offspring. They lay around twenty leathery eggs in a clutch, but the first to hatch typically eats its siblings before fleeing its parent’s vicinity. Incidents of cannibalism among vampire lily dragons are common, with adults even preying on their own wyrmlings.
Among the most aggressive of all floral dragons, vampire lilies frequently hunt their smaller cousins. They are immune to the toxins of the clematis and larkspur dragons. Thanks to their natural resistance to wisteria dragons’ sleep-inducing magic, there are tales of vampire lilies holding their own even against these larger dragons.
FGFD
Vampire Lily Dragon CR: 14
STR
22 +6
DEX
14 +2
CON
21 +5
INT
18 +4
WIS
18 +4
CHA
16 +3
Deception +8, Insight +9, Perception +9, Stealth +7
darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 19
Aggressive. As a bonus action, the dragon can move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see.
Keen Smell. The dragon has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Poison Spines. A creature that touches the dragon or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or take 16 (3d10) poison damage and become poisoned until the end of its next turn.
Unsleeping. The dragon can’t be surprised, does not need to sleep, and magic can’t put it to sleep.
Actions
Multiattack. The dragon makes three attacks: two with its bite and one with its tail.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d6 + 6) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) poison damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 15 (2d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 10 (3d6) poison damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 19). Until this grapple ends, the creature is restrained, and the dragon can’t grapple another target.
Stench Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales foul gas in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature is knocked unconscious for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself with a successful save. The effect ends if the creature takes damage.
Bonus Actions
Aggressive. As a bonus action, the dragon can move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see.
Usual Tactics
Rabid Plants. Summons 3 Lily elementals with 1hp, 15’ movement, that do 1d20 of blunt damage. Looks like 3 glowing portals on the ground that can be disrupted.
Plant Growth. Starts bouncing on the bog and will move earth within 10’ of itself. Any characters caught in this wave take 1d12 force damage and needs to pass a DC 14 DEX save to not fall prone from the newly erupted lily bushes.
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