Dragon, Gloom Ancient (CR 18)

Huge Dragon (Extraplanar)
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Initiative: +0; Senses: blindsense 60 ft., darkvision120 ft., low-light vision, and keen senses
Languages: Draconic


AC: 40 (-2 size, +32 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 40
Hit Dice: 31d12+186 (387 hp); DR: 15/holy
Fort +23, Ref +17, Will +22
Speed: 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 200 ft. (poor)
Space: 20 ft./10 ft.
Base Attack +31; Grapple +50
Attack: 1 bite +40, 2 claws +35, 2 wings +35, 1 tail slap +35
Damage: 1 bite 2d6+11, 2 claws 1d8+5, 2 wings 1d6, 1 tail slap 1d8
Special Attacks/Actions: Breath weapon 1d6+10(31)
Abilities: Str 33, Dex 10, Con 23, Int 26, Wis 21, Cha 30
Special Qualities: Aura of gloom, eternal consumption, wasting bite, Deep slumber, Hold monster, Hold person, mass, Frightful Presence DC35, SR 35
Feats: #Feats: 11
Skills: Skill points: 254
Advancement: 32-33 HD
Climate/Terrain: The Gray Waste of Hades
Organization: Solitary (1 dragon, any age), clutch (1d4+1 wyrmlings, very young, young, juvenile, or young adults), family (pair of mature adults and 1d4+1 offspring)
Treasure/Possessions: Triple Standard

Source: Dragon #344

Aura of Gloom (Su): A green-gray mist constantly roils around a gloom dragon. The mist emanates from the dragon at a distance of 5 feet per age category. Any living creature who ends its turn inside the mist must succeed at a Will save (DC equal to the dragon's breath weapon DC) or become shaken for 1 round per age category. Leaving the mist does not remove the shaken effect before the end of its duration. This is a fear effect.

Breath Weapon (Su): The gloom dragon has one type of breath weapon, a cone of apathy gas. Creatures caught in the cone must succeed at Will saves or succumb to a deep and lasting apathy for 1d6 rounds plus 1 round per age category of the dragon. Apathetic creatures are helpless, take no actions, and do not defend themselves. Damage dealt to an apathetic creature gives it another save (at the same DC) to shake off the apathy.

Eternal Consumption (Su): Whenever a gloom dragon eats a dead creature no larger than two size categories smaller than itself a new tombstone plate grows on the gloom dragon's back. This requires 10 rounds for a creature two size categories smaller than the gloom dragon -4 rounds per size category smaller than that (minimum 1 round). The tombstone plate records the consumed creature's name (if any), date and place of birth, and date and place of death. Only a carefully worded wish or miracle, followed by a resurrection, can restore a consumed creature to life- and only then after the gloom dragon is slain.

Wasting Bite (Su): In addition to taking the normal bite damage, any creature hit by a gloom dragon's bite attack must succeed on a Fortitude save or contract gray wasting (DC 20 + Constitution modifier). Gray wasting has an incubation of 1 day and deals 1d4 points of Charisma drain. Gloom dragons are immune to the gray wasting disease.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 3/day - deep slumber, mass hold person; 1/day - hold monster.

Extraplanar Subtype

A subtype applied to any creature when it is on a plane other than its native plane. A creature that travels the planes can gain or lose this subtype as it goes from plane to plane. This book assumes that encounters with creatures take place on the Material Plane, and every creature whose native plane is not the Material Plane has the extraplanar subtype (but would not have when on its home plane). An extraplanar creatures usually has a home plane mentioned in its description. These home planes are taken from the Great Wheel cosmology of the D&D game (see Chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). If your campaign uses a different cosmology, you will need to assign different home planes to extraplanar creatures.

Creatures not labeled as extraplanar are natives of the Material Plane, and they gain the extraplanar subtype if they leave the Material Plane. No creature has the extraplanar subtype when it is on a transitive plane; the transitive planes in the D&D cosmology are the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane, and the Plane of Shadow.