Avenging Dragon (Creature, dragon)

Dragon (Good)

**Environment:** any land

**Organization:** Solitary

**Challenge Rating:** Wyrmling 6; very young 8; young 10; juvenile 12; young adult 15; adult 18; mature adult 21; old 23; very old 24; ancient 26; wyrm 27; great wyrm 29

**Treasure:** Triple Standard

**Alignment:** Always LG

Occasionally when in need of a champion, Bahamut will fill an unborn metallic dragon with an extra surge of life-force. This results in a dragon of fearsome power, but also extremely dedicated to its purpose: the extermination of evil. Many of these dragons die young, their crusading nature leading them into battles they cannot win.

Avenger dragons often seem cold, emotionless, and uncaring to others that encounter them. They are driven by their righteous fury against evil and will often pursue battle to any length even if other beings would find it hopeless. An example is an avenging dragon on one world whose inhabiting parent had been slain, and reanimated, by a demi-lich. For the next one-thousand and sixty years the dragon’s entire existence was dedicated to undermining the demilich and its forces until it finally destroyed the lich while posing as a paladin in a group of adventurers.

When an avenger dragon has decided that an evil is grave enough for it to face, it will relentless harry and harass that threat until either the threat is completely annihilated (and an avenging dragon will verify this by pursuing it through the means of allied mages, priests, and even going as far as to pester the gods in their domains to ensure that it is dead and in such a way that they cannot be revived), or the avenger dragon is itself destroyed.

Avenger dragons appear mighty and regal, looking almost like whatever species they would have been had they not been transfigured except in two regards. They are larger, though, than they would have been, the second life force bolstering their body and their growth. Their scales also take a shining, almost white coloration, like those of Bahamut’s own.

**Special Abilities**:

**Breath Weapon (Su)**: An avenger dragon has two breath weapons. The first is a cone of holy fire dealing 50% sacred damage and 50% fire damage as listed above (Reflex for half). The second is a cone of sleep inducing gas and any creature affected must make a Will save or be affected as by the *Sleep* spell for 1d6+age category rounds.

**Divine Grace (Su)**: An avenging dragon gains a deflection bonus to AC and a bonus to all saves equal to its Charisma modifier.

**Smite Evil (Su)**: As a free action, once a day plus once per day per age category an avenger dragon chooses one target within sight to smite.. If this target is evil, the avenger dragon adds her Cha bonus (if any) to her attack rolls and adds twice her age category to all damage rolls made against the target of her smite. If the target of smite evil is an outsider with the evil subtype, an evil-aligned dragon, or an undead creature, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 4 points of damage per age category of the avenger dragon. Regardless of the target, smite evil attacks automatically bypass any DR the creature might possess.

In addition, while smite evil is in effect, the avenger dragon gains a deflection bonus equal to her Charisma modifier (if any) to her AC against attacks made by the target of the smite. If the avenger dragon targets a creature that is not evil, the smite is wasted with no effect.

The smite evil effect remains until the target of the smite is dead or the next time the avenger dragon rests and regains her uses of this ability.

**Alternate Form (Su)** An avenger dragon can assume any humanoid or monstrous humanoid form of medium or small size as a standard action three times per day. This ability functions as a polymorph spell cast on itself at its caster level, except that the dragon does not regain hit points for changing form and can only assume the form of an humanoid or monstrous humanoid. The dragon can remain in its humanoid or monstrous humanoid form until it chooses to assume a new one or return to its natural form.

**Evil Ward (Su)**: An adult or older avenger dragon radiates a ward against evil in an area out to 30-ft away from the dragon. This functions as a double strength *Magic Circle against Evil*; in addition evil creatures upon entering the area must make a Fortitude save (same DC as frightful presence) or be nauseated for 1 round; no creature needs to save against the Evil Ward of an avenger dragon more than once per day.

**Awaken Inner Power (Su)**: 1/day as a swift action an old or older avenger dragon may awaken the inner power of itself and any other good aligned creatures within 60-ft. This grants them a +4 Sacred bonus to all ability scores and a +2 sacred bonus to all attacks, saves, and to CL for 5 rounds. After this effect ends any creature affected by it is exhausted.

**Inescapable Vengeance (Su)**: Any creature struck by a great wyrm avenger dragon’s weapons is affected as if by Dimensional Anchor for 12 rounds.

**Spells**: An avenger dragon casts spells as an oracle of the listed level. She may select her spells from the cleric/oracle, inquisitor or paladin spell list.

**Spell-like Abilities**: An avenger dragon’s CL for its spell like abilities is twice its age category or it’s Oracle CL whichever is higher. At-will: *Detect Evil*; 3/day: *Holy Smite*, *Holy Word*.