Despair Archdragon
Level 22Attacks
Abilities
The dragon senses all creatures with the frightened condition at the listed range.
Trigger A creature within 60 feet loses the frightened condition
Effect The dragon feasts upon the fear that leaves the triggering creature's body, gaining 9d8 temporary Hit Points that last for 1 minute.
120 feet. DC 45 will
Trigger The dragon is critically hit with a weapon or unarmed attack
Effect The attacker's mind fills with visions of their worst fears that overwhelm their senses, and they must choose one of the following results: either the triggering attack becomes a normal success, or the critical hit is unaffected but the triggering creature becomes Frightened 2.
The dragon makes two claw Strikes and one tail Strike in any order.
The dragon recharges their Shrieking Breath whenever they score a critical hit with a Strike.
The despair dragon telepathically communicates with a creature within 90 feet, listing their deep-seated fears. The creature takes 16d6 mental damage and must attempt a DC 45 will save. Regardless of the result, the creature becomes temporarily immune to Inspire Dread for 24 hours.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature takes half damage and becomes Frightened 1.
Failure The creature takes full damage and becomes Frightened 2.
Critical Failure The creature
Trigger The dragon successfully Hides from a creature within 90 feet
Effect The dragon teleports to a space directly behind the target creature. The dragon immediately becomes detected unless their chosen position has cover or another means to remain Hidden.
The dragon lets out a cacophonous sound made of every scream the dragon has drawn from a terrified enemy, dealing 23d6 sonic damage in a 30-foot cone (DC 45 will save). Creatures who fail their Will save must spend the first action of their next turn doing nothing but screaming. The dragon can't use Shrieking Breath again for .
The despair dragon inflates several bladders at the end of its tongue to create the basic form of a creature. This process takes 1 minute to complete, during which the dragon is Off-Guard. If the dragon stops or is interrupted in this process, the bladders deflate, and the dragon must start over. Once the process is complete, the dragon can maintain the inflated bladders indefinitely, and can Dismiss to deflate the bladders and retract its tongue instantly.
The inflated tongue takes the basic
Fear is one of the most powerful emotions, and despair dragons are masters of channeling those feelings of terror and hopelessness for their own benefit. As with other occult dragons, despair dragons are driven by an innate compulsion, in their case, the desire to strike terror in others. Despair dragons tend to settle near settlements, so they have a source of fear to draw from. The most common items in despair dragon hoards are scrolls, tomes, and relics that serve as research material. Through these, despair dragons learn of local folklore, urban legends, and more to better haunt their targets.