Despair Dragon (Young)
Level 9Attacks
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 4d8 temporary Hit Points that last for 1 minute.
60 feet. DC 28 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 dragon lets out a cacophonous sound made of every scream the dragon has drawn from a terrified enemy, dealing 8d6 sonic damage in a 30-foot cone (DC 28 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 .
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.