Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Amphibious Lava Breather. The Dragon can breathe air, water, and lava, and suffers no negative effects from swimming through lava.
Advanced Telepathy. The dragon can perceive the content of any telepathic communication used within 300 feet of it, and it can’t be surprised by creatures with any form of telepathy.
Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The dragon’s innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 20, +13 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:
At will: Mind Sliver, Detect Thoughts, Sleep, Tashas Mind Whip, Command.
3/day each: Dispel Magic at 5th level, Counterspell at 5th level, Mind Spike at 5th level.
1/day each: Feeblemind, Dominate Monster, Plane shift (self only) Gate.
Steely Mind. The dragon is able to maintain concentration on two spells at once, has advantage on saving throws against mental spell effects, and has advantage on Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration. Each spell being concentrated on rolled is separately to maintain concentration.
Multiattack. The dragon can use its Frightful Presence. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Psychic Barrage Multiattack. The dragon casts two spells, one of which can be replaced with Shatter the Arcane.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (2d10 + 10) force damage plus 14 (4d6) fire damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d6 + 10) slashing damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (2d8 + 10) thunder 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.
Fire 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) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Lava Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales lava in a 120-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 24 Dexterity saving throw, taking 36 (6d10) fire damage and being coated in sticky burning lava, while coated in this way a target takes an additional 12 (3d8) fire damage at the start of their turn on a failed save, on a successful save, the target takes half damage and is not coated in lava.
While coated in this way, a creature must spend an action to rid itself of the lava, ending the effects another creature can also spend its action to clear the lava, taking 4 (1d8) fire damage in the process.
Superheated form (once per day): The dragon can spend an action to begin emitting an unbearable heat from its body for one minute. If a creature moves within 15 feet of the dragon, or starts its turn there, it takes 1d10 fire damage and must succeed on a DC18 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion. While in this form, damage taken from the Fire Breath attack cannot be reduced in any way, bypassing immunity and resistance as if they did not exist. This effect ends early if the dragon takes 75 or more unmodified cold damage in a single round.
Shatter the Arcane (Recharge 6): The dragon unleashes an immense psychic wave, disrupting magic within an 80ft radius, magical effects and spells of 3rd level or below are dispelled, each other creature within range concentrating on a spell of 4th level or higher must make a DC16 concentration check to maintain the spell. Creatures who fail concentration saves while concentrating on a spell of 4th level or higher suffers 8 (4d4) psychic damage.
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 with advantage to attempt to locate a creature hiding and/or invisible within 300ft.
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
Intelligent, vindictive, cruel. The obsidian dragon is powerful, covets power and its goals, and knows it.... and is not afraid to let any lesser creature know its place with displays of its keen intellect or cruel intuition.The obsidian dragon will go out of its way to cultivate this image, tormenting the land and the creatures that live in it, or even simply forcing entire settlements onto their knees in agony as it threatens to rend their minds apart... or worse, an entire village begins suffering horrific, bloody, fiery nightmares. If an Obsidian gets a chance to lord over someone, they will never allow them to forget that fact.
Death on dark wings. The obsidian dragon's scales are glossy and smooth, looking like carved glass that becomes serrated spikes at each of the dragon's joints. A young obsidian dragon's scales are dull and smoke grey, with multiple scales speckled in black and white spots. As the dragon grows older, their scales become far more smooth and darken to a reflective pitch black much like the cooled volcanic glass from which its name is taken, with small veins and patches of dull, glowing color seen beneath their scales. Their blood begins to glow a fiery scarlet, or even violet or blue, and takes on extraordinarily potent properties that have use in arcane magic. Upon reaching an ancient age, however, the Obsidian Dragon's blood seems to glow like molten metal, and its primary horns take on an almost fiendish definition. Their eyes typically match the glow beneath their glossy black hides, and are known to flash white or red when they are angry or focusing their psionic wrath. An ancient Obsidian's very scales and teeth can be used to fashion mighty weapons and armour, and its blood can be used as a potent flux for the creation of powerful weapons. That is, of course, if one can get past their agonizing powers of mind bending psionics, let alone their fiery breath.
Lair and Lair Actions
An Obsidian Dragon’s Lair
An Obsidian dragon often will live in or around an active volcano, often preferring the ease it provides in creating just the perfect environment for their combustive tendencies. However, a low mountain, a dead volcano, a crag, a mine or even an abandoned castle will do for its purposes, turning it into a hellish landscape and torturing the earthand the creatures around it with their psionic and elemental abilities to make it more towards their liking.
Their attitudes make them natural enemies of many gem dragons who live in the same territory, as well as most chromatic and metallic dragons. They are willing to tolerate a black dragon's presence, however, if mainly to take advantage of the black's natural fear and loathing and to terrify and bully them into submission for its own amusement.
It is, ironically, the Copper dragons of the Metallics that Obsidians find most problematic and typically try to avoid, as the dragon's abilities to exhort amusement and laughter can play havoc on all by the most ancient Obsidian Dragon's abilities to focus on their psionics. It is difficult to properly mentally dominate your peers and subjects if one is both fighting a copper dragon and giggling like a school girl at the same time.
The exception were the great wyrms, who used their genesis power to make their own demiplanes.
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:
- A large wave of white psionic flame rolls through the dragon's lair. The dragon creates a 100ft long, 20ft wide wave of flames within its sight, forcing all creatures within it to make a DC 16 dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature is dealt 16 12 (3d10) fire damage and ignited. An ignited creature takes 1d10 fire damage at the beginning of their turn, and can end the ignition on themselves or another creature as an action, bonus action or by moving through water. On a successful save a creature takes half damage, and is not ignited.
- 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 16 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
- Three jets of toxic gas rip through the earth the earth. Each creature within 10 feet and/or up to 30 feet above the gas must make a DC 16 constitution saving throw. On a failed save a creature is poisoned for up to one minute. A poisoned creature may not take the dash action, but may attempt to repeat the saving throw at the end of their turn to attempt to ward off the toxin.
Regional Effects
The region containing an Obsidian dragon’s lair is warped by the dragon’s magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- Within ten miles of the dragon's lair, there is a constant breeze of ash and the faint smell of metal flux in the air. Visibility is reduced by half, and all perception checks for sound and sight at a distance greater than 200 feet are at disadvantage. All plant life twists and takes an ashy pall to its leaves, and all wildlife is unnaturally aggressive.
- Whenever a creature that can understand a language sleeps or enters a state of trance or reverie within 6 miles of the dragon’s lair, the dragon can establish telepathic contact with that creature and converse with it in its dreams. The creature remembers its conversation with the dragon upon waking.
- Within a mile of the dragon's lair, the land is ripped open and a hellish red glow comes from the rending wounds in the earth. Much of the land is seared by glossy rock, with lava flows and geysers and other signs of volcanic activity being made manifest along with the earth's constant unrest. Waterfalls of lava are not an uncommon sight. Only after the dragon has been dead for up to anywhere to 2d12 months to 1d4 years will it stop. A dormant volcano laired by an obsidian, however, will remain active for 1d20 years afterwards, even if it had been long dead before the obsidian dragon made it their lair.
- Within the lair itself, the dragon's more malevolent followers, such as cowed goblinoids, orcs or humanoids, act as its forces. The dragon will often use them as servants and bodyguards, though these servants will also flee if enough of a dangerous enough threat appears to them. Sometimes, the obsidian may even employ the services of fiends or even an indentured or enslaved Chromatic dragon. One particularly cruel practice even among evil dragons that Obsidians are known to perform is to kidnap a chromatic wyrmling and essentially either keep it as a slave or, to twist the knife even further in the parent's heart, raise the wyrmling as their own.
However, an obsidian dragon is not above dominating any creature of any persuasion and forcing it into service of its person against its will. The dragon will not hesitate to use its mental fortitude to strong-arm creatures such as devils and demons to work alongside one another if it feels it can get away with it. This can potentially be taken advantage of, but adventurers should be wary of making any dealing with any denizen of the lower planes.
If the dragon dies, most of these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days. Summoned fiends are sent back to their native planes, and a battle might potentially break out between any followers and any dragon that might have been a slave to the Obsidian.
Comments