Converting True Dragons
Cleon
Legend
Let me check...
Nope, I'm not seeing either Azure or Lapis on my lists of monsters or Echohawk's index.
Of the two, I definitely favour Azure, since it's an actual colour of blue, while Lapis literally means "stone".
For the stats we should obviously take the SRD Blue Dragon and tweak it from there.
Cleon
Legend
Mystaran Sapphire Dragon Working Draft
Mystaran Sapphire Dragon
Dragon (Air)
Environment: Temperate deserts
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, pair, or family (1-2 and 2-5 offspring)
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 3; very young 4; young 6; juvenile 8; young adult 11; adult 14; mature adult 16; old 18; very old 19; ancient 21; wyrm 23; great wyrm 25
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always lawful good
Advancement: Wyrmling 7–8 HD; very young 10–11 HD; young 13–14 HD; juvenile 16–17 HD; young adult 19–20 HD; adult 22–23 HD; mature adult 25–26 HD; old 28–29 HD; very old 31–32 HD; ancient 34–35 HD; wyrm 37–38 HD; great wyrm 40+ HD
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +4; very young +4; young +5; others —
Mystaran Sapphire Dragons by Age
Mystaran Sapphire Dragon Abilities by Age
*Can also cast cleric spells and those from the Air, Knowledge, and Law domains as arcane spells.
Mystaran sapphire dragons, or azure dragons as they are sometimes called, are close relatives of the blue dragon. They are benevolent creatures, very different in temperament to the voracious and arrogant blue dragons. These dragons are not the same as the psionic sapphire dragon.
A Mystaran sapphire dragon appears very much like a blue dragon. Like blue dragons, their scales range in color from bright turquoise to dark navy, though Mystaran sapphire dragons tend towards the lighter hues.
An expert eye can distinguish a Mystaran sapphire dragon from a blue by a curious shimmering quality in the light reflecting from an azure's scales. A DC 20 Spot or Knowledge (arcana) check is required to notice the difference..
Combat
Like blue dragons, Mystaran sapphire dragons attack by burrowing under the sand to set an ambush or by attacking while in flight. Older Mystaran sapphire dragons use their spell-like abilities, particularly scrying and analyze dweomer, to divine their opponents' weaknesses, often long in advance of combat.
Mystaran sapphire dragons are wise enough to withdraw from a battle they are losing, but if they're defending a good enough cause they may continue to fight even when badly wounded.
Breath Weapon (Su): A Mystaran sapphire dragon has two breath weapons: a line of lightning or a line of vaporizing energy that does untyped damage. Any creature or object within the area of effect can attempt Reflex saves to take half damage. If a creature struck by the first (vaporizing) breath weapon fails this save they must also attempt a Fortitude save or contract a supernatural curse carried by the breath weapon, as follows.
Sapphire Curse: Objects and creatures affected by this curse turn into vapor as if they were affected by the gaseous form spell. This vaporous condition lasts for 1 minute per age category of the dragon. Normally, the vaporous creature or object returns to solid form at the end of this duration, but if the vaporizing breath weapon did enough damage to destroy the creature or object it will dissipate into gas and a few puffs of dust when the duration expires. The traces of dust are enough to restore a dissipated victim with a resurrection spell.
The sapphire curse can be neutralized by a dispel magic, remove curse, or break enchantment effect that succeeds at a caster level check against a DC equal to the dragon's spell resistance (minimum DC 15). A vaporized victim can also be restored by any effect that can transform a gaseous object into a solid one, such as the polymorph any object spell or a vampire's gaseous form ability.
Create/Destroy Water (Sp): A Mystaran sapphire dragon of any age can use this ability three times per day. It works like the create water spell, except that the dragon can decide to destroy water instead of creating it, which automatically spoils unattended liquids containing water. Magic items (such as potions) and items in a creature’s possession must succeed on a Will save (DC equal to that of the dragon’s frightful presence) or be ruined. This ability is the equivalent of a 1st-level spell.
Sound Imitation (Ex): A juvenile or older Mystaran sapphire dragon can mimic any voice or sound it has heard, anytime it likes. Listeners must succeed on a Will save (DC equal to that of the dragon’s frightful presence) to detect the ruse.
Other Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day—ventriloquism (adult or older), 1/day—scrying (old or older), analyze dweomer (ancient or older), true seeing (great wyrm).
Skills: Bluff, Hide, and Spellcraft are considered class skills for Mystaran sapphire dragons.
In Mystaran
The peoples of Mystara consider this dragon one of the "gemstone dragons", a family that includes the Mystaran amber dragon, Mystaran crystalline dragon, Mystaran jade dragon, Mystaran onyx dragon, Mystaran ruby dragon and Mystaran sapphire dragon. Despite being called "gemstone" dragons, these dragons are quite separate from the family of psionic-powered neutral "gem" dragons, despite many of the latter being named after the same precious stones.
Originally appeared in the D&D Master Set (1985) as the Sapphire Gemstone Dragon.
Mystaran Sapphire Dragon
Dragon (Air)
Environment: Temperate deserts
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, pair, or family (1-2 and 2-5 offspring)
Challenge Ratings: Wyrmling 3; very young 4; young 6; juvenile 8; young adult 11; adult 14; mature adult 16; old 18; very old 19; ancient 21; wyrm 23; great wyrm 25
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always lawful good
Advancement: Wyrmling 7–8 HD; very young 10–11 HD; young 13–14 HD; juvenile 16–17 HD; young adult 19–20 HD; adult 22–23 HD; mature adult 25–26 HD; old 28–29 HD; very old 31–32 HD; ancient 34–35 HD; wyrm 37–38 HD; great wyrm 40+ HD
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +4; very young +4; young +5; others —
Mystaran Sapphire Dragons by Age
| Age | Size | Hit Dice (hp) | Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha | Base Attack/ Grapple | Attack | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Breath Weapon (DC) | Frightful Presence DC |
| Wyrmling | S | 6d12+6 (45) | 13 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 10 | +6/+3 | +8 | +6 | +5 | +5 | 2d8 (14) | — |
| Very young | M | 9d12+18 (76) | 15 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 10 | +9/+11 | +11 | +8 | +6 | +6 | 4d8 (16) | — |
| Young | M | 12d12+24 (102) | 17 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 12 | +12/+15 | +15 | +10 | +8 | +9 | 6d8 (18) | — |
| Juvenile | L | 15d12+45 (142) | 19 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 14 | +15/+23 | +18 | +12 | +9 | +11 | 8d8 (20) | — |
| Young adult | L | 18d12+72 (189) | 23 | 10 | 19 | 14 | 15 | 14 | +18/+28 | +23 | +15 | +11 | +13 | 10d8 (23) | 21 |
| Adult | H | 21d12+105 (241) | 27 | 10 | 21 | 16 | 17 | 16 | +21/+37 | +27 | +17 | +12 | +15 | 12d8 (25) | 23 |
| Mature adult | H | 24d12+120 (276) | 29 | 10 | 21 | 16 | 17 | 16 | +24/+41 | +31 | +19 | +14 | +17 | 14d8 (27) | 25 |
| Old | H | 27d12+162 (337) | 31 | 10 | 23 | 18 | 19 | 18 | +27/+45 | +35 | +21 | +15 | +19 | 16d8 (29) | 27 |
| Very old | H | 30d12+180 (375) | 33 | 10 | 23 | 18 | 19 | 18 | +30/+49 | +39 | +23 | +17 | +21 | 18d8 (31) | 29 |
| Ancient | G | 33d12+231 (445) | 35 | 10 | 25 | 20 | 21 | 20 | +33/+57 | +41 | +25 | +18 | +23 | 20d8 (33) | 31 |
| Wyrm | G | 36d12+288 (522) | 37 | 10 | 27 | 20 | 21 | 20 | +36/+61 | +45 | +28 | +20 | +25 | 22d8 (36) | 33 |
| Great wyrm | G | 39d12+312 (565) | 39 | 10 | 27 | 22 | 23 | 22 | +41/+65 | +49 | +29 | +21 | +27 | 24d8 (37) | 35 |
| Age | Speed | Initiative | AC | Special Abilities | Caster Level | SR |
| Wyrmling | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 100 ft. (average) | +0 | 16 (+1 size, +5 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 17 | immunity to electricity, create/destroy water | — | — |
| Very young | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) | +0 | 18 (+8 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 19 | — | — | |
| Young | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) | +0 | 21 (+11 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 22 | — | — | |
| Juvenile | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) | +0 | 23 (–1 size, +14 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 25 | Sound imitation | 1st | — |
| Young adult | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) | +0 | 26 (–1 size, +17 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 27 | DR 5/magic | 3rd | 19 |
| Adult | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) | +0 | 28 (–2 size, +20 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 30 | ventriloquism | 5th | 21 |
| Mature adult | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) | +0 | 31 (–2 size, +23 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 33 | DR 10/magic | 7th | 22 |
| Old | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) | +0 | 34 (–2 size, +26 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 34 | hallucinatory terrain | 9th | 24 |
| Very old | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor) | +0 | 37 (–2 size, +29 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 37 | DR 15/magic | 11th | 25 |
| Ancient | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy) | +0 | 38 (–4 size, +32 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 40 | veil | 13th | 27 |
| Wyrm | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy) | +0 | 41 (–4 size, +35 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 39 | DR 20/magic | 15th | 29 |
| Great wyrm | 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy) | +0 | 44 (–4 size, +38 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 42 | mirage arcana | 17th | 31 |
Mystaran sapphire dragons, or azure dragons as they are sometimes called, are close relatives of the blue dragon. They are benevolent creatures, very different in temperament to the voracious and arrogant blue dragons. These dragons are not the same as the psionic sapphire dragon.
A Mystaran sapphire dragon appears very much like a blue dragon. Like blue dragons, their scales range in color from bright turquoise to dark navy, though Mystaran sapphire dragons tend towards the lighter hues.
An expert eye can distinguish a Mystaran sapphire dragon from a blue by a curious shimmering quality in the light reflecting from an azure's scales. A DC 20 Spot or Knowledge (arcana) check is required to notice the difference..
Combat
Like blue dragons, Mystaran sapphire dragons attack by burrowing under the sand to set an ambush or by attacking while in flight. Older Mystaran sapphire dragons use their spell-like abilities, particularly scrying and analyze dweomer, to divine their opponents' weaknesses, often long in advance of combat.
Mystaran sapphire dragons are wise enough to withdraw from a battle they are losing, but if they're defending a good enough cause they may continue to fight even when badly wounded.
Breath Weapon (Su): A Mystaran sapphire dragon has two breath weapons: a line of lightning or a line of vaporizing energy that does untyped damage. Any creature or object within the area of effect can attempt Reflex saves to take half damage. If a creature struck by the first (vaporizing) breath weapon fails this save they must also attempt a Fortitude save or contract a supernatural curse carried by the breath weapon, as follows.
Sapphire Curse: Objects and creatures affected by this curse turn into vapor as if they were affected by the gaseous form spell. This vaporous condition lasts for 1 minute per age category of the dragon. Normally, the vaporous creature or object returns to solid form at the end of this duration, but if the vaporizing breath weapon did enough damage to destroy the creature or object it will dissipate into gas and a few puffs of dust when the duration expires. The traces of dust are enough to restore a dissipated victim with a resurrection spell.
The sapphire curse can be neutralized by a dispel magic, remove curse, or break enchantment effect that succeeds at a caster level check against a DC equal to the dragon's spell resistance (minimum DC 15). A vaporized victim can also be restored by any effect that can transform a gaseous object into a solid one, such as the polymorph any object spell or a vampire's gaseous form ability.
Create/Destroy Water (Sp): A Mystaran sapphire dragon of any age can use this ability three times per day. It works like the create water spell, except that the dragon can decide to destroy water instead of creating it, which automatically spoils unattended liquids containing water. Magic items (such as potions) and items in a creature’s possession must succeed on a Will save (DC equal to that of the dragon’s frightful presence) or be ruined. This ability is the equivalent of a 1st-level spell.
Sound Imitation (Ex): A juvenile or older Mystaran sapphire dragon can mimic any voice or sound it has heard, anytime it likes. Listeners must succeed on a Will save (DC equal to that of the dragon’s frightful presence) to detect the ruse.
Other Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day—ventriloquism (adult or older), 1/day—scrying (old or older), analyze dweomer (ancient or older), true seeing (great wyrm).
Skills: Bluff, Hide, and Spellcraft are considered class skills for Mystaran sapphire dragons.
In Mystaran
The peoples of Mystara consider this dragon one of the "gemstone dragons", a family that includes the Mystaran amber dragon, Mystaran crystalline dragon, Mystaran jade dragon, Mystaran onyx dragon, Mystaran ruby dragon and Mystaran sapphire dragon. Despite being called "gemstone" dragons, these dragons are quite separate from the family of psionic-powered neutral "gem" dragons, despite many of the latter being named after the same precious stones.
Originally appeared in the D&D Master Set (1985) as the Sapphire Gemstone Dragon.
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Cleon
Legend
Mystaran Sapphire Dragon Original Stats
Dragon, Gemstone (Sapphire)
Unless otherwise noted, the gemstone dragons are similar to the standard dragons, including the details of preferred terrain, attacks, size, age, treasure, etc. For XP value, add an asterisk for every two spell levels available to the dragon.
At 120' or greater range, each of the "gemstone" dragons appears identical to that of the corresponding normal color (i.e., crystal to white, onyx to black, jade to green, sapphire to blue, ruby to red, amber to gold). At closer ranges (within 30'), the shimmering color differences can be easily distinguished by the trained eye.
The new breath weapons are summarized for each dragon.
Sapphire (vaporize): A victim who fails the saving throw takes full damage, and he and all items carried are turned into gaseous form for one turn per Hit Die of the dragon. Vaporized creatures and items are invisible and unable to make any noise or affect any solid item. The victim can move at up to a 60' (20') rate by concentrating. A dispel magic effect can restore the victim and items to normal form; treat the level of magic as equal to the dragon's Hit Dice. Vaporized creatures are immune to most attacks (such as lightning, fire, etc.).
Originally from Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991).
The statblocks for these dragons are identical to the BECMI versions of the Blue Dragon - here's the AC10 - Bestiary of Dragons and Giants version of them:
The BECMI Sapphire Dragon first appeared in the D&D Master Set (1985) as the "Dragon, Sapphire", which is essentially the same as the Rules Cyclopedia version.
In closing, the 2E AD&D Mystara Monstrous Compendium (1994) has a table with:
Mystaran Dragons Table
That's pretty much the entirety of the AD&D information on this dragon. There's nothing about its "vaporize" breath.
Dragon, Gemstone (Sapphire)
| Dragon | Alignment | Similar to | Breaths |
| Sapphire | Lawful | Blue | Lightning or Vaporize |
| Gemstone Dragon | Breath Weapon | Breath Shape | Chance of Talking* | Chance of Being Asleep |
| Sapphire | Lightning or Vaporize | Line Line | 40% | 20% |
At 120' or greater range, each of the "gemstone" dragons appears identical to that of the corresponding normal color (i.e., crystal to white, onyx to black, jade to green, sapphire to blue, ruby to red, amber to gold). At closer ranges (within 30'), the shimmering color differences can be easily distinguished by the trained eye.
The new breath weapons are summarized for each dragon.
Sapphire (vaporize): A victim who fails the saving throw takes full damage, and he and all items carried are turned into gaseous form for one turn per Hit Die of the dragon. Vaporized creatures and items are invisible and unable to make any noise or affect any solid item. The victim can move at up to a 60' (20') rate by concentrating. A dispel magic effect can restore the victim and items to normal form; treat the level of magic as equal to the dragon's Hit Dice. Vaporized creatures are immune to most attacks (such as lightning, fire, etc.).
Originally from Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991).
The statblocks for these dragons are identical to the BECMI versions of the Blue Dragon - here's the AC10 - Bestiary of Dragons and Giants version of them:
| Blue & Sapphire | Small | Large | Huge |
| Armor Class: Hit Dice: Move: Flying: Attacks: Breath Size: | 0 9** 90′(30′) 240′(80′) 3 100′×5′ | -2 13 + 3*** 120′(40′) 300′(100′) Up to 6 150′×5′ | -4 18**** 150′(50′) 360′(120′) Up to 6 200′×5′ |
| Damage: # Appearing: Save As: Morale: Treasure Type: Alignment: XP Value: XP with spells: | 2-7/2-7/3-30 1-4(1-4) Fighter: 9 9 H N.(& L.) 2,300 3,000 | (see chart) 1-3(1-3) Fighter: 27 10 H×2, I N.(& L.) 4,500 5,500 | (see chart) 1-2(1-2) Fighter: 36 11 H×3, 1×2 N.(& L.) 7,525 8,875 |
| DAMAGES: Types & Sizes of Dragons | Bite or Crush | Claws Kicks, Wings, and Tail | Breath | |
| Blue & Sapphire | Small Large Huge | 3d10 3d10 + 4 3d10 + 8 | 1d6 + 1 each 1d8 + 2 each 1d10 + 3 each | Up to 72 hp Up to 107 hp Up to 144 hp |
| Types of Dragons | Usual Habitat where found | Breath Weapon and Shape | Chance Talking | Chance Asleep |
| Blue & Sapphire | Desert, plain | Lightning (line) & vaporization | 40% | 20% |
The BECMI Sapphire Dragon first appeared in the D&D Master Set (1985) as the "Dragon, Sapphire", which is essentially the same as the Rules Cyclopedia version.
In closing, the 2E AD&D Mystara Monstrous Compendium (1994) has a table with:
Mystaran Dragons Table
| Dragon | Hit Dice* | Alignment** Good/Neutral/Evil |
| Lawful Dragons | ||
| Sapphire | 13 | 5%/90%/5% |
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freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
I guess we should do the vaporization breath first. The "curse" part seems pretty straightforward in this case --- make a save or else you're forced into gaseous form for some (age-category-dependent) length of time. It seems like the biggest question is what type of damage we might want to give that breath weapon. Untyped?
Cleon
Legend
I favour untyped.
I'm also wondering whether the attack might permanently vaporize the target if the damage is enough to destroy it... Maybe leaving a bit of residue suitable for resurrection behind, à la disintegrate?
Cleon
Legend
Well, that's not really in the original, but I like it!
Okay, here's a first stab at a write-up:
Breath Weapon (Su): An azure dragon has two breath weapons: a line of lightning or a line of vaporizing energy that does untyped damage. Any creature or object within the area of effect can attempt Reflex saves to take half damage. If a creature struck by the first (vaporizing) breath weapon fails this save they must also attempt a Fortitude save or contract a supernatural curse carried by the breath weapon, as follows.
Sapphire Curse: Objects and creatures affected by this curse turn into vapor as if they were affected by the gaseous form spell. This vaporous condition lasts for 1 minute [?] per age category of the dragon. Normally, the vaporous creature or object returns to solid form at the end of this duration, but if the vaporizing breath weapon did enough damage to destroy the creature or object it will dissipate into gas and a few puffs of dust when the duration expires. The traces of dust are enough to restore a dissipated victim with a resurrection spell. The sapphire curse can be neutralized by a remove curse spell or any effect that can transform a gaseous object into a solid one, such as the polymorph any object spell or a vampire's gaseous form ability.
The original BECMI version turned the victims invisible as well as vaporous. If we want to keep that trait we'd need to modify the first sentence along these lines:
Sapphire Curse: Objects and creatures affected by this curse turn into invisible vapor, as if they were simultaneously affected by the gaseous form and improved invisibility
Yes, I noticed it was quite around here and assumed you had a lot on your plate.
freyar
Extradimensional Explorer
I don't really mind one way or the other about invisibility.
I think I'd change the working "did enough damage to destroy the creature..." to "did enough damage to kill or destroy the creature... ," but I generally like it! Should there be a caster level check to neutralize the curse?
I think I'd change the working "did enough damage to destroy the creature..." to "did enough damage to kill or destroy the creature... ," but I generally like it! Should there be a caster level check to neutralize the curse?
