Elder Blood. Dragons are one of the oldest and most powerful races in the cosmos. Over countless millennia they have given rise to a number of degenerate subspecies, known collectively as draconids. While most draconids are savage and predatory, they are not mindless. Most are at least as intelligent as a dim-witted person, which makes them very dangerous. Their draconic heritage occasionally manifests as a breath weapon or the gift for sorcery (or both), meaning that any draconid could potentially be a spell caster. Civilized races have a love-hate relationship with draconids. Some learn to live in equilibrium with people, or even accept training as mounts. Others are rapacious monsters that raid settlements and devour livestock. All draconids are reptilian and reproduce by laying eggs. 

 

Nexus Entities. Dragons produce magical energy simply by existing. They do this passively, regardless of alignment or intentions. A true dragon becomes a veritable nexus of magical energy while hibernating, and some cultures have taboos against waking them. Draconids inherit a small portion of this legacy, generating arcane power that distributes evenly across the world like electricity across the surface of a soap bubble. This also means that a draconids body is a ready source of magical reagents for enchantment and alchemy. 

 

Adaptative. Much like true dragons, draconids adapt to their environment. This can cause different examples of the same creature to vary widely in appearance and abilities. When building a draconid, consider where the creature lives and what elemental forces exist nearby. This adaptation occurs naturally over a period of years, and can occur multiple times in a draconids lifetime. The creature's offspring share their mothers characteristics. 

 

Covetous. All draconids are greedy and proud. They have the impulse to collect things they perceive as valuable, but a draconids collection can vary greatly. Bones, plants, mineral formations, gold, jewels, and other objects can all be found in a draconids lair. They commonly share humanoid sensibilities when it comes to art, and see value in manufactured goods that took time and effort to produce. Seizing the product of another creature's time and energy expresses dominance, which reinforces the draconids ego. 

 

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Basilisk. A multi-legged serpent with a petrifying gaze and chameleon-like powers of camouflage. Basilisks are prone to hibernation, and enter torpor to survive in remote areas with little food. A basilisk can restore flesh petrified by its gaze through physical contact, and does so to devour chunks of the creatures it petrifies and shatters. Cantankerous and nearly impossible to domesticate, they value solitude when not hunting. 

 

Behir. A multi-legged serpent with large horns, a breath weapon, and the ability to move along walls and ceilings. Behirs are huge, and can unhinge their jaws to swallow medium or smaller prey whole. They are also capable of constricting opponents. Behirs have natural enmity with true dragons, and are powerful enough to threaten younger specimens.  

 

Drake. Every true dragon begins its life as a drake. Drakes vary in disposition, but most born in the wild are rapacious predators. All drakes have a handful of things in common; a breath weapon, magic resistance, modest intelligence, and the ability to fly. In dangerous environments drakes band together and form packs for mutual survival. As a drake gets older it grows larger and more intelligent. After two centuries of life, when the stars are right and food is plentiful, the creature will feel an urge to seclude itself and go into hibernation. When it emerges the drake has transformed into a true dragon. This transformation confers size, strength, magic, telepathy, a stronger breath weapon, and greater intelligence. When a drake becomes a true dragon it experiences a lucid dream in which it learns its new name. The creature then sets out to cultivate itself and build a lair. 

 

Dragon. Some scholars believe there to be dozens of dragon species, but this is false. Every true dragon is a unique creature with its own traits, abilities, and personality. When a drake grows to full dragonhood it takes on a unique form adapted to its environment. Pride, greed, and hunger naturally predispose most dragons to neutral or evil alignments, but a dragon that spends enough time around humanoid neighbors will develop sociable habits. Reclusive dragons that live far from civilization are typically neutral and develop aloof coldly alien minds. 

 

True dragons generate large amounts of magical energy simply by existing, and every dragon is a potent sorcerer. Dragons are instinctively aware of this fact, and consider it a divine imperative to reinforce creation with their presence. The telepathy of a true dragon allows it to communicate with any sentient creature, and when roused to anger the creature radiates a psychic aura of terror that can overwhelm lesser minds. 

 

As they get older, dragons tend to become reclusive and spend more time hibernating. True dragons typically have a natural lifespan of around 1000 years. Because dragons are intelligent and long lived, the average adult is extremely experienced by mortal standards. By the time a drake grows to dragonhood it has cultivated wisdom, restraint, and a firm grasp of tactics. Recklessly aggressive dragons that lack these traits simply do not live to adulthood. 

 

Hydra. A huge serpent with six or more heads that split from its central body. The heads cooperate perfectly in combat, but act as independent minds for magical purposes. Hydras are normally amphibious and possess powerful regenerative abilities. Some are poisonous or possess breath weapons. They are fairly stupid and rarely exhibit magical talent, but are ferocious and territorial hunters. In the depths of the ocean, all but the largest and deadliest monsters avoid hydras because their regenerative powers make them hard to kill. 

 

Naga. Nagas look like giant snakes with draconic features. They are among the most intelligent and magically powerful of all draconids, and each is a potent sorcerer with formidable powers of telepathy and mesmerism. The most notable property of every naga is immortality; if killed the creature will return to life after 1d6 days in a flash of divine power. If decapitated a naga will spontaneously regenerate a new body from its skull. All nagas believe themselves to be divine, and they are drawn to lair in temples and similar sites. Evil nagas compulsively use their powers of mesmerism to build cults dedicated to their own worship. 

 

Salamander. Salamanders are serpentine brutes with multiple legs, enormous jaws, a breath weapon, and the power to manipulate one elemental force. They are found in areas of extreme elemental power, usually fire or cold, and are known to be highly aggressive and territorial. Salamanders can feed on raw elemental energy as well as flesh, and those with the gift of sorcery learn spells exclusively affiliated with their element.  

 

Sea Serpent. Considered to be the largest of all draconids, sea serpents are dim witted predators that wander the ocean alone. They are naturally curious and take an interest in ships and seafaring races, watching them from a distance and eating the unwary. Sea Serpents are the only draconids, apart from drakes, that can mature into true dragons given enough time. Those that take an interest in ships commonly horde riches in their underwater lairs.  

Wyvern. Wyverns are winged draconids that live in family units and hunt in forests and hills. All wyverns are identifiable by a long tail ending in a poison stinger, and they are immune to poison. Some wyverns develop breath weapons, but very few develop sorcery. They are violent and dim-witted brutes that plague civilization more often than most draconids, devouring livestock and killing people before vanishing back into the wilds. One of the most dangerous qualities of the wyvern is its hawk-like long range night vision; the creature can see in darkness and accurately perceive things miles away at night.