Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Multiattack. The dragon can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (2d10 + 10) piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) necrotic damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d6 + 10) slashing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d8 + 10) bludgeoning damage.
Frightful Presence. Each creature of the dragon's choice that is within 120 feet of the dragon and aware of it must succeed on a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the dragon's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Necrotic Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales fire in a 90-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 24 Dexterity saving throw, taking 91 (26d6) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
The dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect. The dragon makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Tail Attack. The dragon makes a tail attack.
Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions). The dragon beats its wings. Each creature within 15 feet of the dragon must succeed on a DC 25 Dexterity saving throw or take 17 (2d6 + 10) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. The dragon can then fly up to half its flying speed.
Description
More than a powerful form of undead, a dracolich was a dragon who had voluntarily tied its soul to a phylactery, freeing itself from death. A type of lich, the creature's spirit could possess any dead reptilian body, usually their original form, and retained all the powers and abilities of the former body. That meant a dracolich had the supernatural fear aura, spells, and breath weapon it had in life, plus the terrible might of the undead. Over time, as it descended deeper into eons upon eons of undeath, a dracolich's breath weapon would become a horrible weapon of death, pulsing with necrotic energy as it washes over the dracolich's foes.
Lair and Lair Actions
A Dracolich’s Lair
Dracolich's usually create multiple lairs over the course of their unnatural lives. However, their true lair, that which houses their phylactery, is usually in some out of the way location, far away from prying eyes. High mountains or hills, dwelling in caverns under snow-capped peaks, or within the deep halls of abandoned mines and dwarven strongholds. Caves with volcanic or geothermal activity or other natural deterrents are the most prized locations for a dracolich, creating hazards that hinder intruders.
Throughout the lair complex, servants erect monuments to the dragon’s power, telling the grim story of its life, the enemies it has slain, and the nations it has conquered.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dragon takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the dragon can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Waves of death erupts from a point on the ground the dragon can see within 120 feet of it, creating a 20-foot-high, 5-foot-radius geyser. Each creature in the geyser’s area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
- A tremor shakes the lair in a 60-foot radius around the dragon. Each creature other than the dragon on the ground in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
- Poisonous gases form a cloud in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point the dragon can see within 120 feet of it. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is lightly obscured. It lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round. Each creature that starts its turn in the cloud must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its turn. While poisoned in this way, a creature is incapacitated.
Regional Effects
The region containing a legendary red dragon’s lair is warped by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- Small earthquakes are common within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair.
- Water sources within 1 mile of the lair are unusually brackish and tainted by the taste of death. Drinking from this water source makes small creatures ill, and humanoids slightly queasy.
- Rocky fissures within 1 mile of the dragon’s lair form portals to the lower planes, allowing the listless dead, such as specters and ghouls, into the world.
If the dragon dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.
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