Dragon, Gem, Obsidian
Obsidian Dragon
Though the least covetous of the gem dragons, obsidian dragons are by far the most vicious. Their vanity rivals even that of the red dragons (who are generally stronger than obsidian dragons of the same age, though obsidians are loath to acknowledge this).
An obsidian dragon's skin is black and smooth, with razor edges near the joints. Its ridges above the eyes are quite large and extend into long horns that curve out and up from its skull. Its form is muscular, though lithe, and its eyes are glossy black. As the dragon ages, its eyes steadily lose their features until they are no more than glowing black orbs.
As a wyrmling, an obsidian dragon's scales are gray, slightly translucent, and very rough, with sharp and abrupt edges. As the dragon ages, its scales darken and become more opaque, while simultaneously becoming more rounded and polished. Its scales begin to blend together when the dragon is juvenile, such that by the time the dragon becomes an adult, its scales form a nearly seamless coat of armor with a brilliant sheen like polished obsidian.
Explosive Tempers. Even the smallest provocation or insult could erupt the trembling volcano that is the temper of an obsidian dragon. Even holding a conversation with one is a fragile and dangerous game, as the dragon could easily misconstrue anything as an insult to its pride and explode into a torrent of flame and fury. If the dragon is in a particularly foul mood, it may do so for no reason at all.
Because of this, all sane intelligent creatures avoid obsidian dragons at all costs. Fortunately for such creatures, obsidian dragons enjoy their isolation and don't come looking for other creatures unless they are hunting.
Obsidian dragons also combine the cruelty of black dragons with the bestial viciousness of white dragons. The result is a truly terrifying display of needlessly violent power. When it brings down an opponent in battle, it makes a brutal show of tearing the creature apart to terrorize any remaining opposition (and to eliminate any chance of the creature being revived). However, if the creature is alone or the last of the dragon's opposition, the dragon cruelly toys with its prey before finishing it off. If the creature is intelligent, the dragon may opt to torture it and wait until it begs for death before obliging. In some cases, obsidian dragons have been known to plane shift with a single creature, and then allow the hostile environment of the Plane of Fire (or its personal demiplane) to burn the creature alive.
Personal Fiery Demiplanes. The psionic power of obsidian dragons revolves around the discipline of Metacreativity. Using this power, they can create and shape objects from nothing around them. The oldest obsidian dragons are so powerful that they can create their own personal demiplanes, where they can live indefinitely in blissful isolation (by creating food for themselves, of course).
When it creates a demiplane, it mimics the harsh landscape and environment of the Plane of Fire. These dragons love the heat, and especially love the occasional bath in flowing lava. In the rare case that one of these dragons chooses a lair on the Material Plane, it chooses an active volcano or a place far beneath the surface where magma flows.
Clever Combatants. Even when young, obsidian dragons have a knack for assessing their opponents and quickly deducing which ones are the most dangerous. In only a few seconds, a dragon can usually determine whether or not it can win the battle; if it doesn't think it can decisively win the battle, it retreats to formulate an ambush or to avoid foes that it believes would overpower it.
Obsidian dragons do not shy away from combat, but prefer to stay at a distance and soften their prey up with their breath weapon and psionic abilities before moving in for the kill.
Sadistic Tyrants. Though they love their isolation, obsidian dragons also love exerting dominion over lesser beings. They may keep servants and command them to do pointless and menial chores (like moving piles of rocks from one side of the lair to the other), just for the sake of dominance. They rule cruelly, and when they grow weary of their servants and once again desire isolation, they kill their servants in sadistic ways.
Resilient Treasures. Obsidian dragons prefer treasure that can withstand great heat and pressure, because of their preferred habitat. They especially covet magic items, because these items are usually immune to the heat of their lairs; such items are often kept at the bottom of molten pools of magma. Magma deters most visitors, and items within cannot be seen through the thick liquid. Occasionally the dragon may allow the pool preserving its hoard to cool and harden, trapping its hoard underneath a thick layer of obsidian. The dragon can exert its magic to once again liquify the pool, if it needs to access its hoard.
An Obsidian Dragon's Lair
On the Inner Planes, obsidian dragons prefer the Plane of Fire, specifically the Sea of Fire or the Fountains of Creation. On the Material Plane, an obsidian dragon chooses a place with flowing lava or magma, such as an active volcano or a system of volcanic caverns far underground. They rarely seek out other creatures, apart from other obsidian dragons to procreate, especially as adults because they enjoy their isolation.
Obsidian dragons frequently come into conflict with red dragons because they prefer the same territory. Because both are immune to fire, their battles come down to tactics and brute strength; the psionics of an obsidian dragon could potentially give it an edge, but red dragons always have plans for such situations.
If an obsidian dragon is old and powerful enough, it will create its own demiplane, where it builds its lair and lives in comfortable isolation. If the dragon has a demiplane, it rarely leaves, and only for matters of extreme importance.
Regional Effects
The region containing a legendary obsidian dragon's lair is warped by the dragon's magic, which creates one or more of the following effects.
* Magma geysers are common within 1 mile of the lair. Often, these can create dangerous lava flows that harden into beautiful obsidian formations.
* Rocky fissures within 1 mile of the dragon's lair form portals to the Elemental Plane of Fire, allowing creatures of elemental fire into the world to dwell nearby.
* Within its lair, the dragon can cool and harden a pool of magma into obsidian, or turn obsidian into magma. It takes 1d4 minutes for the change to complete.
If the dragon dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.
Gem Dragons
The mysterious gem dragons are not well-known on the Material Plane. This is because they spend most of their time on the Inner Planes, where they can more easily find desired nesting spots without having to worry about the intrusive humanoids of the Material Plane. They especially like living on the Elemental Planes, as it is easier for them to find food in such environments. Though most gem dragons prefer variety of some sort in their diets, they can survive indefinitely only on elemental matter.
Like other dragons, gem dragons are extremely covetous and gather all sorts of coins, gems, magic items, and other items into their hoard. They also age similarly to other true dragons, typically living for one or two thousand years before dieing of old age. As a gem dragon ages, it grows and becomes stronger. Each stage of a given gem dragon's life is represented by one of the twelve monster stat blocks in the following section.
However, unlike other dragons, gem dragons have developed unique psionic abilities. Each type of gem dragon manifests this power in a different way, though all are psionically powerful. The psionic abilities of gem dragons are represented by Dragon Feats, which are given in each dragon's section. If you desire to give a gem dragon psionic abilities without using the Dragon Feats optional rule, do it! All of the rules for their psionic powers are there.
Some gem dragons are not as physically strong as others that an adventurer would more commonly find. Instead, they tend to be more intelligent. Even at a young age, most gem dragons can determine the most powerful or dangerous foe and act accordingly.
In combat, a gem dragon uses its wings to stay out of melee range while blasting the opposition with its Breath Weapon. Whenever possible, it uses its psionic abilities before performing fly-by attacks with tooth and claw.
Because of their innate tie to the earth, all gem dragons are resistant to fire. Their skin takes on the colorful tones of the gems they are named after, and their scales are remarkably gem-like, with crystalline qualities.
As gem dragons have no tie to either Bahamut or Tiamat, they are usually neutral and tend to keep from picking sides in the old dragon conflict. Really, they try to keep from picking sides in any conflict.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
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