Common Dragonet

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Those who reject the notion that Tiamat originally spawned evil dragonkind usually regard the common dragonet as the ancestral species of all dragon - good, evil, Oriental, and so on. The common dragonet once roamed the skies in vast flocks (they were truly common then), but hunters and more aggressive creatures have made them scarce. The female of the species is dull green in color, whereas the male is reddish brown, frequently with orange patches. Common dragonets have the same body form as regular dragons: a long neck and tail, two wings, four legs, and a serpentine body.
==Combat==
Common dragonets are fairly aggressive but rarely attack creatures larger than man size. However, they fight fiercely if they or their nests are threatened. Their preferred mode of attack is to spit a corrosive and flammable salivaan evolutionary prelude to the better-known breath weapons. They may spit in combat for two rounds in a row, then once every four rounds thereafter for a total of 5-8 attacks each per day. Only one victim at a time may be so attacked.
To determine the effectiveness of a common dragonet's spitting attack, make a to-hit roll for it as for a normal attack (out to a 30' range). Note whether or not the attack roll would have hit the victim if the victim had not been using a shield by checking against the shield-using and shieldless armor-class values of the victim. If the shield deflected the attack, the shield must then make a saving throw vs. acid or else be destroyed (magical bonuses apply). If no shield deflects an attack that hits a victim, the victim's armor and equipment must save vs. acid or be destroyed (magical bonuses apply); the victim himself takes 2-20 hp damage. The victim must make a saving throw vs. dragon breath to avoid permanent blindness from the attack. The saliva is also flammable, and any character who is carrying a flame source and is struck by the saliva has a 50% chance of having the flame ignite the saliva, which explodes for 1-8 hp damage to all within a 5' radius of the flame.
The saliva may be neutralized by using either a scroll of protection from acid or protection from dragon breath. Use of a great helm offers a +4 on saving throws to prevent blindness. Equipment carried in a container must save vs. acid only if the container itself fails its saving throw (at which point it falls apart).
==Habitat/Society==
Common dragonets seem to be at ease in many sorts of temperate environments, including hills, swamps, forests, and plains. They live to be 200 years at most, reproducing by laying eggs. Egg laying occurs once every decade for female dragonets, with 2-5 eggs being laid. Few of these eggs hatch, however (see "Ecology"). A group of dragonets will fiercely defend their lairs and will aid other dragonets, but they are not capable of elaborate planning.
==Ecology==
The hide of the common dragonet can be made into corrosionresistant leather armor. This leather is difficult to work, so the leatherworker must make a proficiency check with a -3 modifier. The hides of two common dragonets must be used to make enough armor for a adult human (the hide from one is enough for a being of 4' height or less). This armor gives the wearer a +4 saving throw vs. all acidic attacks, and it can be dyed in any color or pattern.
It is possible but difficult to gather the common dragonet's saliva. The amount of saliva from one spitting attack is enough to fill four half-pint vials. A direct hit from one of these vials does 1-6 hp acidic damage; the application of flame will cause an explosion for 1-4 hp damage to all within a 3' radius.
Common dragonets are no longer common, as their eggs are preyed upon so heavily by assorted creatures of the wild. The parents are easily distracted from their nests to chase off intruders, leaving the nests open to birds, rodents, and other assorted beasts.
Category:Creatures
Category:Dragon Magazine Creatures