Death Dragon (Creature, dragon)

Dragon (Evil)

**Environment**: Any land

**Organization**: Wyrmling, very young, young, juvenile, and young adult: solitary, or clutch (2–5); adult, mature adult, old, very old, ancient, wyrm, or great wyrm: solitary.

**Challenge Ratings**: Wyrmling 4; very young 5; young 6; juvenile

8; young adult 10; adult 12; mature adult 15; old 17; very old 19; ancient 20; wyrm 21; great wyrm 23

**Treasure**: Triple Standard

**Alignment**: Always Neutral Evil

Death dragons made a pact with Falazure the draconic god of death. Ages ago they were black dragons struck by a magical plague. It turned their own magical nature against them and one by one they died. They beseeched the gods for aid, and Falazure answered. Swear their souls to him, and he would bless them with an ability to resist the daemonic plague. The dragons accepted and swore fealty to the dread dragon and thus they became death dragons.

Death dragons are hateful creatures, trapped in a state of perpetual suffering. The pact their ancestors made with Falazure left them unable to feel happiness, joy, or love. These dragons, only able to feel negative emotions and those only barely, now live in secluded and forgotten reaches waiting only to cause others to feel their pain and suffering.

Young death dragons are rarer than the older drakes, as the race slowly dies out from mutual loathing keeping elders too far apart to find mates. Even when they are born, a death dragon parent rarely cares to see, much less be bothered providing for, their own young abandoning the eggs to whatever fate fickle chance would have await them. Some of these young dragons will band together out of mutual preservation, but never do they feel camaraderie and many times by adulthood these groups will fall apart due to actual violent, and death causing, in-fighting.

Death dragons look at birth like black dragons, but as they age changes appear. Their scales quickly lose all luster, and their eyes become a deep, burning red. Their bodies become lank, and gaunt, taking on a look of malnourishment to the point that their bones become visible shapes through their bodies. Scales hang loosely from their bones, and only pure malevolence seems to animate them.

Death dragons never have an attitude towards a creature better than “indifferent”.

**Special Abilities (Su)**

**Breath Weapon (Su)**: A death dragon’s breath weapon is a cone of brownish gray gas with the gritty feel of crypt dust. Creatures within the cone gain the number of negative levels indicated on the above table; the saving throw to remove the negative level is given on the table as well. A successful Reflex save (against the same DC) reduces the number of negative levels by half (round down).

**Rebuke Undead (Su)**: A death dragon rebukes and commands undead as a cleric twice its age category.

**Aura of *Desecration* (Su)**: A very young or older death dragon exudes a 60-ft aura that mimics the effects of the *Desecrate* spell as if cast on an unholy altar. Despite being supernatural this aura can be dispelled (it’s effective CL is the death dragon’s age category or CL whichever is greater), but automatically reactivates 24 hours later.

**Touch of the Reanimator (Sp)**: A young or older death dragon may reanimate a corpse at-will as if with the spell *Animate Dead* as an action that takes 1 full round and has a touch range (so only 1 corpse at a time). It may still only control 4 times its caster level (which is either its age category or dread necromancer CL whichever is higher) worth of undead animated by this ability. Unlike *animate dead* this ability can be used to re-animate skeletons and zombies with more than 20-HD (although only if the death dragon has a CL of 11 or higher). This is the equivalent of a 4th level spell of the necromancy school.

**Mastery of Undead (Su)**: A juvenile or older death dragon adds the listed number to its effective cleric level for turning, as well as its attack and damage rolls against undead, and all saving throws to resist spells and effect of undead.

**Reanimating Breath (Su)**: Any creature killed by an adult or older death dragon’s breath weapon instantly reanimate as wights. They are not under the death dragon’s control but begin with an initial attitude of friendly towards it.

**Legions of the Dead (Su)**: A mature adult or older death dragon may control 4+ its Charisma modifier HD worth of undead per caster level with the *Animate Dead* spell when it casts it. In addition undead created by a mature adult or older death dragon have +2 hp per hit die and +4 Str.

**Life Draining Bite (Su)**: Any creature hit by an old or older death dragon gains a negative level. 24 hours they must make a Fortitude save (same DC as Breath Weapon) or it becomes a permanent level loss. A creature killed by this ability reanimates as a wraith 1d4 rounds later.

**Life Draining Claws (Su)**: Any creature hit by a great wyrm death dragon’s claw attack must make a Fort save (same DC as breath weapon) or gain a negative level. If they failed 24 hours later they must repeat the save or the level loss becomes permanent. Any creature killed by this ability reanimates as a wraith 1d4 rounds later.

**Spells**: Death dragons cast spells as a dread necromancer of the listed level.

**Spell-like Abilities**: 1/day: *Create Undead* (ancient or older), *Awaken Undead* (great wyrm).