Rust Drake

Commonly believed to be a corrupted offspring of metallic dragons and wyverns, Rust Drakes dwell in ancient crumbling ruins using their natural intelligence to bully and enslave other evil creatures into their service.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Rust Drakes are draconic creatures with four limbs, two large rear claws and two wings, like a Wyvern. They have long prehensile tails and a large maw filled with jagged teeth.
The scales of a Rust Drake are reddish brown in color and replenish extremely quickly. This leads to the scales flaking off as the drake flies making a dusty cloud rain down from the drake as it moved. These scales are corrosive in nature, and lead to telltale scouring on stone and dead plant life near their lair.

Genetics and Reproduction

Like most drakes, Rust Drakes are incredibly fecund and are able to mate and product viable offspring with many different types of draconic or reptilian creatures. Once impregnated, a female Rust Drakes fly outside of their territory and lays 4 to 6 eggs. The female feels no parental instincts and abandons the eggs to their fate.
The Rust Drake young hatch in about 6 week and are the size of large dogs. They are able to fly within an hour, at which point the hatchlings will fight each other, with the largest driving the others away and claiming the site of its hatching as its lair. The others will leave to seek their own lairs.

Growth Rate & Stages

Rust Drakes will reach adult size, roughly 25 ft long, within 3 years of their hatching. At this point they are sexually mature and will seek out a suitable mate roughly every two years for the remainder of its life, an average of 50 years.

Ecology and Habitats

Rust Drakes prefer abandoned ruins for their lairs. Not only do these areas tend to have plentiful animal prey, but often will drawer evil monsters and humanoids for the Rust Drake to command. Rust Drakes use their natural cunning and draconic intelligence to form small kingdoms of semi-intelligent monsters to serve themselves. So long as they maintain a worshipful adoration, the Rust Drake will not prey upon these servant creatures unless absolutely necessary.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Rust Drakes are completely carnivorous. Their primary prey are large animals such as deer, elk, or large reptiles depending upon their habitat.
While Rust Drakes do not make a priority of hunting humans, they will take advantage of prey that comes to them, such as adventurers seeking to plunder the ruins they have claimed as their lair. The Rust Drakes will often bring the belongings of these adventurers back to their lair to use in their bedding, though unlike true dragons, Rust Drakes do not appear to have an appreciation of the value of these items.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Rust Drakes have large yellow eyes allowing them amazing eyesight in both bright light and darkness. Rust Drakes have relatively weak hearing, equal to that of a human, but exceptional sense of smell and taste. Rust Drakes have demonstrated the ability to identify individuals by smell alone at a distance of 60 ft, and can detect prey at many times that.

Lifespan

50 yeas

Average Height

25ft Long, with a 40 ft wingspan.

Average Weight

1500 lbs