Dragons & Wyrms

22 Mar, 2024

These are the most common draconic entities found in Antibor. Disclaimer: I came up with the names first and then did my best with the watercolors.

Dragons

Exist in more dimensions then just three, extruding serpentine bodies into our triplicate manifold where, when, and how they please. Extremely rare. Horrifyingly wise.

Wyrms

Large, vaguely reptilian monsters that can spew destruction from their mouths. Are they degenerated dragons bound to our dimension by greed and lust? Descendants of an older race of Archons? Powerful cacogens from a distant star?

Wyrms are statted as dragons in OD&D except where specified.

Mauve Wyrms (Guivres)

Mid-sized, snaky and winged, with coiling tails, sad gold eyes, and drooping whiskers. Found along the coast, where they hunt giant octopi and whales. In their lairs they accumulate barnacle-encrusted artefacts found in the gullets of their prey. Breathes iridescent bubbles (1/round) that move at a speed of 3" (10') and inexorably chase one randomly selected attacker. Upon contact, the bubbles explode dealing concussive damage (as a typical breath attack) to anyone within 10'. 6-8 HD.

Burgundy Wyrms (Ingwhis)

Wingless, stocky, capricious. They live underground, almost never surfacing. They like hoarding gold and eating people because sometimes simplicity is best.

Found in dungeons and caverns, breathes fire. 11-15 HD.

Calico Wyrms

Combine any three types, use the mean HD, and roll for which breath attack on a d3 each round.

Indigo Wyrms (Azidahaks)

Possessing a noble aspect & refined manners, the Indigo wyrm is known for kidnapping the alluring, genteel, & marriageable out of a sense of propriety, knowingly goading local Armigers to doing battle. Breathes great blasts of crimson flame that do not actually do damage -- but the polite thing is pretend they do, anyways. The secret to 'defeating' an indigo worm is to carefully obey all the following rules:

• At least one 'person of consequence' (nobly born or self-made) must be the 'primary challenger'.
• Armigers and fighting-types MUST approach on horseback flying the colors of their house or similar affiliation.
• Stealthy types may attempt to burgle one (1) treasure or sack of coins from the Wyrm's hoard.
• Thaumaturges & magical types may supply fighting types with potions, enchanted weapons, and sage wisdom, but nothing more.
• Fighting types must tilt at the wyrm, lance in hand, for exactly three good bouts, falling back each time when blasted with the wyrm's dazzling exhalations, but not before.
• At least one companion or henchman of the 'person of consequence' must 'die'.
• If the above conditions are met, the wyrm will expose a golden scale on its underbelly, to which the 'person of consequence' may deliver a ceremonial blow. After a dramatic feigned death, the challenger may retrieve the kidnapped party and depart.
• If any of the above conditions are violated, the wyrm will immediately attempt to devour all challengers.

Found in mountains and mist-shrouded pine forests. 20-30 HD.

Transparent Wyrms (Balaru)

Nightmarish, sickly creatures in whom one can observe translucent roiling innards and a metallic skeleton. They can project irradiative blasts from their mouths, dealing damage as a standard breath weapon (but use save vs. wands/emanations since it's a beam). Those surviving such a blast must roll a save vs. poison/blights to avoid mutating within the next week. Hunts mastodons for food & often attracts a coterie of mutated servants. Aldebarati nomads sometimes pay them in treasure & mastodon meat to sterilize patches of xenoformed ecology. Found in the steppes and tundra. 9-12 HD.

Burbling Wyrms (Yaberuocks)

Their long-toothed mouths spew forth an onslaught of trivialities, banalities, falsehoods, gossip, drivel, doggerel, & vulgarity, dealing psychic damage. Found in swamps, sewers and other nasty places, but occasionally known to invade courtrooms, academies, and marketplaces to disastrous effects. They get very offended when you point out that 'burbling' isn't a color. 5-8 HD, breath weapon requires save vs. spells/ensorcelment or else you lose your turn arguing over trivialities.

Fuligin Wyrms (Peluda)

Living shadows, darker than the night sky, many-winged. They lurk where they please, often disturbingly close to human habitations. They breathe darkness in great roiling crowds (say, 1d4x50' in diameter) and navigate by some uncanny sixth sense. They hoard secrets. Some say they feed on fear. 11-13 HD.

#antibor #bestiary