Spoiler: What is this thing that comes each night?
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Snowscale is a little baby dragon - specifically, a white dragon wyrmling. Three hit dice, two points of level adjust, and only CR 2 to boot. If you can work out what Wizards were thinking when they decided that, you're a better man than I am, Gunga Din.
So, anyway, a wyrmling white dragon as a playable race should look something like this:
Wyrmling white dragon characters possess the following racial traits:
+2 Con, -4 Int, -4 Cha
Tiny size. +2 bonus on attack rolls, +2 bonus to armour class, +8 bonus on hide checks, -8 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits one quarter those of medium characters.
Space/Reach: 2.5 ft/0 ft
A wyrmling white dragon's base land speed is 60 feet. It can burrow at a speed of 30 feet, fly at a speed of 150 feet (average) and swim at a speed of 60 feet.
Dragon Qualities: A wyrmling white dragon has those qualities associated with those of its kind, such as natural weapons, a breath weapon, immunities, blind sense, and keen senses. They are also immune to cold, vulnerable to fire, and capable of walking on ice as though under the effect of the Spider Climb spell.
Racial Hit Dice: A wyrmling white dragon begins with 3 levels of dragon, which provide 3d12 hit dice, a base attack bonus of +3, and base saving throw bonuses of +3 For, +3 Ref, and +3 Will.
Racial Skills: A wyrmling white dragon's dragon levels give it 6*(6+int modifier, minimum 1). Concentration, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge, Move silently, Listen, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Swim and Use Magic Device are always considered class skills for it.
Racial Feats: A wyrmling white dragon's dragon levels give it two feats, and it gets an additional bonus feat for being a dragon.
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: A wyrmling white dragon is only proficient with its natural weapons. If it has some ability to assume humanoid form, it becomes proficient with all simple weapons for the duration of the effect.
+2 Natural Armour bonus.
Automatic languages: Draconic.
Bonus Languages: Not specified.*
Favoured Class: Not specified.*
Level Adjustment: +2
*These might be specified somewhere, but not in a book I own. In any case, it doesn't matter; she won't have bonus languages and is only taking one class.
Right. And this monstrosity only adds 2 to my CR. Ayup.
Okay, and, by the way, we're also a psion. Psion 18. Yeah, psychic dragon time!
Spoiler: What is past is prologue
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Jane looked at the assembled people sitting around the table. They were learning fast; they were almost ready to start the game proper. She looked at her notes and saw that the next encounter was with the dragon. Jim looked excited, and Rory a bit warier. Joe was making eyes at Alice across the table, which he at least consigned to when they were out of combat. It was time to pick up the pace.
James the Bold entered the cavern true to his name, while the druid Riordieth slunk behind him. Joseph the bard took a wink at their sorceress before following in, and Alicia ignored his advances before flying into the cavern. The dragon they faced was not called Snowscale. It was, in fact, Snowscale's father, Blizzarion, for white dragons are not known for the originality of their naming conventions. The adult dragon looked positively offended that the four should be entering the cave, and a mighty battle ensued.
"Okay, that just killed him. He collapses to the ground, narrowly missing Ror... I mean, Riordieth, and slams into the wall. Even if he were only unconscious, that fall just killed him."
"Woo!"
"Okay, so I guess you're all gonna start carting that treasure back to town?"
"Yup."
"Yeah."
"Sure."
"Yep. I've got two Floating Disks left."
"Okay, so you use those to cart the treasure back. All that's left in the room at the end is a round gemstone, too heavy for the disks to load."
"Detect magi..."
"Not magical."
"Appraise?"
"I'll tell you for free that it doesn't look valuable. It's not even shiny."
"Huh. Jim, can you carry it?"
"Nope, my armour's too heavy. I'm almost over the limit anyway. Maybe if we shift our stuff around?"
"Guys, we've got enough money to last our characters forever. Let's just shift, and then we can make new characters and get to the real game."
"My friends, we have acquired enough money to enjoy a wealthy retirement. I believe it is simpler to move. Perhaps, one day, our children will find out the mystery behind this stone."
With that, the party left the cave, leaving nothing but an extremely odd-looking, dull gemstone that just happened not to be an actual gemstone. And one day, Rebekah, Daughter of Riordieth, would find out exactly how true her father's words had been.
While I should hope that the story above speaks for itself, I will explain it as follows: The players, new to D&D, are given relatively high-level characters to show them how their abilities work. The characters are pre-gens, so the DM can give them spell cards (or give the fighter feat cards) in advance to make it easy for them. They have some kind of adventure, which culminates in fighting the adult white dragon, Blizzarion. Now, Blizzarion plays fair, not flying for most of the battle or using any stupidly powerful spells. He's not very imaginative when it comes to fighting things. Then, they retire their successful premades, make their own characters, and go forth into the world once more, not realising the mistake their parents made.
If Jonathan, Riordieth, Joseph or Alicia had taken the egg, then it would have hatched after they returned home, its contents still having borne witness even before her hatching to her father's death. If they try to smash it, it resists such attempts and the DM advises the players to just leave the damned thing alone.
Spoiler: 'Tis best to weigh the enemy more mighty than he seems.
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Snowscale's base ability scores are STR 12 DEX 13 CON 14 INT 10 WIS 15, CHA 11. Being a wyrmling white dragon immediately changes this to STR 12 DEX 13 CON 16 INT 6 WIS 15 CHA 7. The bonuses she gets for every 4 levels are all wisdom bonuses, to a total of WIS 20.
The saves given on the table are the base save bonuses. The skills are all skill ranks rather than bonuses.
Apart from bonus feats, there aren't any class features, ever. Embrace the madness.
Challenge Rating |
Class |
Base Attack Bonus |
Fort Save |
Ref Save |
Will Save |
Skills |
Feats |
Class Features |
1st |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
To be, or not to be? That is the question. |
2nd |
Dragon 3 |
+3 |
+3 |
+3 |
+3 |
Concentration 6, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Spot 6 |
Hover, Improved Initiative, Stealthy |
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer |
3rd |
Dragon 3/Psion 1 |
+3 |
+3 |
+3 |
+5 |
Concentration 6, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Spot 6, Psicraft 4 |
Practiced Manifester (CP) |
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous fortunes, |
4th |
Dragon 3/Psion 2 |
+4 |
+3 |
+3 |
+6 |
Concentration 7, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Spot 7, Psicraft 4 |
- |
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles, |
5th |
Dragon 3/Psion 3 |
+4 |
+4 |
+4 |
+6 |
Concentration 8, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Spot 8, Psicraft 4 |
Overchannel |
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep |
6th |
Dragon 3/Psion 4 |
+5 |
+4 |
+4 |
+7 |
Concentration 9, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Spot 9, Psicraft 4 |
- |
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end |
7th |
Dragon 3/Psion 5 |
+5 |
+4 |
+4 |
+7 |
Concentration 10, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Spot 10, Psicraft 4 |
Psionic Meditation |
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks |
8th |
Dragon 3/Psion 6 |
+6 |
+5 |
+5 |
+8 |
Concentration 11, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Spot 11, Psicraft 4 |
Twin Power |
That Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation |
9th |
Dragon 3/Psion 7 |
+6 |
+5 |
+5 |
+8 |
Concentration 12, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Spot 12, Psicraft 4 |
- |
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep, |
10th |
Dragon 3/Psion 8 |
+7 |
+5 |
+5 |
+9 |
Concentration 13, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Spot 13, Psicraft 4 |
- |
To sleep, perchance to Dream; aye, there's the rub, |
11th |
Dragon 3/Psion 9 |
+7 |
+6 |
+6 |
+9 |
Concentration 14, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Spot 14, Psicraft 4 |
Quicken Power |
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come, |
12th |
Dragon 3/Psion 10 |
+8 |
+6 |
+6 |
+10 |
Concentration 15, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Spot 15, Psicraft 4 |
Psionic Talent |
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, |
13th |
Dragon 3/Psion 11 |
+8 |
+6 |
+6 |
+10 |
Concentration 16, Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Spot 16, Psicraft 4 |
- |
Must give us pause. There's the respect |
14th |
Dragon 3/Psion 12 |
+9 |
+7 |
+7 |
+11 |
Concentration 17, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Spot 17, Psicraft 4 |
Psionic Talent |
That makes Calamity of so long life: |
15th |
Dragon 3/Psion 13 |
+9 |
+7 |
+7 |
+11 |
Concentration 18, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Spot 18, Psicraft 4 |
- |
For who would bear the Whips and Scorns of time, |
16th |
Dragon 3/Psion 14 |
+10 |
+7 |
+7 |
+12 |
Concentration 19, Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Spot 19, Psicraft 4 |
- |
The Oppressor's wrong, the proud man's Contumely, |
17th |
Dragon 3/Psion 15 |
+10 |
+8 |
+8 |
+12 |
Concentration 20, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Spot 20, Psicraft 4 |
Psionic Talent, Psionic Talent |
The pangs of despised Love, the Law’s delay, |
18th |
Dragon 3/Psion 16 |
+11 |
+8 |
+8 |
+13 |
Concentration 21, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Spot 21, Psicraft 4 |
- |
The insolence of Office, and the Spurns |
19th |
Dragon 3/Psion 17 |
+11 |
+8 |
+8 |
+13 |
Concentration 22, Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Spot 22, Psicraft 4 |
- |
That patient merit of the unworthy takes, |
20th |
Dragon 3/Psion 18 |
+12 |
+9 |
+9 |
+14 |
Concentration 23, Hide 23, Move Silently 23, Spot 23, Psicraft 4 |
Psionic Talent |
When he himself might his Quietus make. |
Spoiler: In my mind's eye
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Snowscale is a Seer, so she has access to clairsentience discipline powers. The thirty-three powers that she learns, in order, are Precognition, Control Light, Know Direction and Location, Energy Ray, Far Hand, Cloud Mind, Ego Whip, Clairvoyant Sense, Energy Stun, Time Hop, Fate Link, Energy Wall, Body Adjustment, Death Urge, Psionic Dimension Door, Psionic Divination, Psionic Freedom of Movement, Second Chance, Shatter Mind Blank, Catapsi, Psionic True Seeing, Fuse Flesh, Mass Cloud Mind, Remote View Trap, Insanity, Divert Teleport, Personal Mind Blank, Hypercognition, Recall Death, True Metabolism, Microcosm, Assimilate, Psionic Etherealness.
So, to recap, this is a dragon who can basically kill you by beating up your force of personality (Ego whip), who always knows where she is, can make you forget she ever existed, is functionally omniscient, can drive you insane, can't be affected by illusions or enchantments, can make you kill yourself, and has a cool "Shadow in the warp" style ability (Go look at the power Catapsi and the tyranid Shadow in the Warp ability from 40K and tell me they're not the same). Also, she can make your flesh fuse together in pretty horrific ways. And she can take down your mind blank.
Snowscale may look cute, but she makes a living out of being utterly terrifying. At CR 20, she can manifest at ML 21 (24 with Overchannel), meaning that she can do things such as dropping a creature with anything under 170 hitpoints into a Microcosm, as well as add stupidly high DCs to Death Urge. The fact that she can use the combo of standard: Twin Death Urge, move: Regain psionic focus, swift: quickened Death Urge to use it on the same creature three times, just to make sure it fails its save, is just an added bonus.
Spoiler: Where we lay our scene
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We do not lay our scene in fair Verona. Don't be silly.
White dragons like snowy, icy climes. They also, apparently, like snowy, icy climbs, if their pseudo-spider-walk ability is to be believed. To this effect, the campaign is set in some kind of frozen northlands. The cave where Blizzarion (You did read the prologue, right?) lived and Snowscale was born is located not far from the village where the heroes who fought Blizzarion returned to their teenaged children and regaled them with tales of adventure. Within the year, these children became adventurers of their own.
Spoiler: So wise so young
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At CR 5, Snowscale already has the PCs marked for death. Knowing that the old PCs are too strong for her, she goes after their children. She attacks charisma-based casters with ego whips, using them to knock her foes unconscious by dealing them charisma damage - a feat which should only take 2-3 castings per person, 4 for a sorcerer or bard (who is anyway rendered near-useless by the second casting). Fly spells only just being on the table, it is at liberty to sit back and attack from a distance. To neutralise wizards quickly, she might Overchannel fire energy rays (which the wizard would not expect from such cold regions, and which anyway deal more damage than normal), which might easily deal more damage each than the wizard has hit points. Fighters get the Ego Whip treatment. Come on, it's your fault for dumping charisma.
If she needs to escape, she shoots off 600 feet away as a full action. Or burrows into the ground. Or dives into the nearest lake. Figure it out.
Of course, if she just wants to creep the PCs out, she can alter the lighting, drop things on them out of nowhere, and erase all memory of herself from whoever she likes.
Spoiler: The Winter of our Discontent
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From CR 10, Snowscale can spam Death Urge like it's going out of fashion. Or, y'know, bigger Ego Whips. In fact, a fully-augmented Ego Whip followed by a Quickened one augmented as much as that one can be is pretty much going to knock out the average person. The Dimension Door is helpful for getting out. The energy abilities allow her to fight, and Time Hop/Fate Link are mostly for messing with people (Imagine the party fighter just disappearing for no good reason, or the wilder wincing in pain every time someone punches the favoured soul). Or to help her fight. Whatever works.
At about this level, Snowscale will go and murder the original characters' parents in horrific ways. Riordieth is found dead after having deliberately leapt from a window onto a spiked fence. James' body is scorched beyond recognition. Joseph and Alicia are found with the exact same injuries, inflicted by the former being knocked out and having his throat cut. The latter bears no sign of actually having been hit with anything, despite her injuries.
Of course, this can be adapted for there being different parent characters.
Spoiler: I like not fair terms and a villain's mind
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Honestly, she just doesn't like fair terms.
By CR 15, Snowscale's 7th-level powers are online, specifically Insanity. That's always fun, leaving someone permanently confused. Especially if you use Mass Cloud Mind to make their allies forget why they're insane. She can also break people's mind blanks, which is big.
Spoiler: Some rise by sin, and others by virtue fall
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By the time that the climactic battle is due, Snowscale is more than ready for it. Her ego whips, dealing 7d4 charisma damage, will knock out most people, and they can be twinned to deal 5d4 damage, plus another 5d4, instead, averaging 25 CHA damage. Yeah. Plus another 5d4 as a swift, if she wants.
Snowscale can drop people into microcosms, make them disappear from the time stream, fuse their flesh together, make them kill themselves (including by remembering that they were supposed to be dead)... she's also able to get out fast; she can drop a standard-action power, quicken a psychic etherealness, and dimension door out as a move action (so long as she starts focused).
I've no idea how the PCs are supposed to kill the damned thing, but they can have fun trying.
Spoiler: If perchance I have offended
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There's not much to say about questionable rules, but I'd note that it's possible that the true dragons' class skills are only meant to apply to their dragon hit dice, not all their levels. It does not, however, actually say that, and I don't know the intention. If you don't like it, you can take them cross-class.
Also, I'm iffy on whether I can take an epic feat at 21st level because I can't remember how monster HD work, but if I can, I could take Epic Psionic Focus to be able to drop spells with two metapsionics on at once, or just Improved Manifestation which gets me more power points.
No, I've no idea where Shakespeare comes into it either.