Wailing Dragon (Young, Spellcaster)
Level 6Attacks
Abilities
A wailing dragon can use its hearing as a precise sense at the listed range.
Trigger A foe within 90 feet uses an auditory or sonic effect
Effect The young wailing dragon releases a burst of noise, attempting to drown out the triggering sound. It makes a counteract check against the effect (counteract rank 3, counteract modifier ).
90 feet. A creature who enters or begins their turn in the area must attempt a DC 21 fortitude save. Regardless of the result of the saving throw, the creature is temporarily immune to this dragon's subsonic drone for 1 minute.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature is Sickened 1.
Failure The creature is Sickened 2.
Critical Failure The creature is Sickened 3.
Requirements The dragon is Hidden or undetected
Effect The dragon's wail draws in unsuspecting opponents. Anyone that can hear the Eerie Call must attempt a DC 24 will save or become Fascinated by the sound. A fascinated creature must spend at least 1 action Seeking the dragon each turn, and the dragon can Sustain this affect for up to 1 minute
The dragon can imitate any sound or voice that it has heard. This has the effect of 2nd-rank Ventriloquism (DC 24) but is a nonmagical effect.
The dragon unleashes a thunderous call that deals 7d6 sonic damage in a 30-foot cone (DC 24 fortitude save). On a critical failure, a creature is also Deafened for 1 minute. The dragon can't use Resounding Roar again for .
Canny, patient, and creative, wailing dragons are adepts of sound and psychology. With both their physiology and innate connection to arcane magic allowing them to produce and shape sound waves, these reclusive creatures are heard much more often than seen. Named for their tendency to use uncanny keening vocalizations to communicate across long distances and startle prey, wailing dragons haunt locations that create interesting or useful echoes, such as canyons or caverns. Though ruthless predators when needed, most wailing dragons devote their energy toward investigating the effects sound has on the environment and the bodies and minds of creatures.
Minstrels, divas, and tunesmiths seek out these creatures during their mating season, when two dragons sing courtship ballads full of intricate harmonies. While this might be the performance of a lifetime, it's a dangerous concert, as incautious audience members frequently become meals for the nuptial couple. (The famous Chelaxian composer, Gretezi Valtros, disappeared on such an expedition in 4275 ar, after he set out to teach a wailing dragon High Azlanti and "instruct it in the decorous art of opera.") Most creatures also find the close-range subsonic vibrations emitted by wailing dragons extremely uncomfortable, reinforcing the idea that it's best to observe them from a distance.