Horned Dragon (Young, Spellcaster)
Level 8Attacks
Abilities
90 feet. DC 24 will
Trigger A creature within reach of the dragon's tail uses a move action or leaves a square during a move action it's using
Effect The dragon makes a tail Strike at the creature with a –2 penalty. If the Strike hits, the dragon disrupts the creature's action.
The horned dragon ignores any difficult terrain caused by plants, such as bushes, vines, and undergrowth. Even plants manipulated by magic don't impede their progress.
Requirements The dragon doesn't have a creature impaled on their horn
Effect The dragon attempts to gore a foe. They Stride, then attempt a horn Strike. On a hit, the target becomes impaled on the dragon's horn. The creature is Grabbed while on the horn (and can attempt to Escape as normal). The dragon doesn't need to use additional actions to keep the impaled creature grabbed. If the dragon moves, they bring the grabbed creature along with them.
The dragon breathes a toxic cloud that deals 9d6 poison damage in a 40-foot area (DC 25 fortitude save).
They can't use Poison Breath again for .
The magic that flows through primal dragons can manifest more animalistic or bestial features in a given type of dragon. Notably among these are the massive paired horns of the horned dragon. While their bulky frames, natural coloration, and prominent ridged scales are all remarkable in their own way, it's the horns that are most obvious and striking at first glance. Horned dragons use their horns to impale their prey in a quick and brutal display of their might. They are generally contemplative and have a fixation on knowledge and self-discipline, traits belied by their bestial appearance. As a result, horned dragons are generally more open to speaking with outsiders.
Dragons come in myriad forms, with many having magical abilities or connections to magic. Some dragons draw greater power from magic than others, allowing them to manifest abilities or alter their physiques with prolonged exposure to magic. These dragons become more powerful as they age and strengthen their connections with their magical origins. Scholars debate the classification of these dragons, with some preferring the name magical dragons and others using traditional dragons due to their connection to specific magical traditions. Regardless of their names, these dragons share a number of characteristics: their ability to tap into magical energies, intensified might and cunning as they grow older, and an inclination to hoard vast amounts of treasure and wealth.
Draconic Spellcasters
Each dragon features a sidebar on spellcasting dragons of that type. To make a dragon spellcaster, remove the dragon's Draconic Frenzy and Draconic Momentum abilities, and give them the spells outlined in their sidebar. You can swap out any number of these with other spells, provided you keep the same number of spells for each rank. You might also want to increase the dragon's Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier by 1 or 2 to reflect their mastery of magic.