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Crystal Dragon

by Jamie Baty

RC 171
Dragon (Cold)
Environment: Cold mountains
Organisation: 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 2; very young 3; young 4; juvenile 6; young adult 8; adult 10; mature adult 12; old 15; very old 17; ancient 18; wyrm 19; great wyrm 21
Treasure: Triple standard
Alignment: Always Lawful, Usually Neutral
Advancement: Wyrmling 4-5 HD; very young 7-8 HD; young 10-11 HD; juvenile 13-14 HD; young adult 16-17 HD; adult 19-20 HD; mature adult 22-23 HD; old 25-26 HD; very old 28-29 HD; ancient 31-32 HD; wyrm 34-35 HD; great wyrm 37+ HD
Level Adjustment: Wyrmling +2; very young +3; young +3; juvenile +5; others

Crystal Dragons by Age

Age S Hit Dice (hp) Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha Base Attack/ Grapple Attack Fort Ref Will BW (DC) FP DC
Wyrmling T 3d12+3 (22) 11 10 13 6 11 6 +3/-5 +5 +4 +3 +3 1d6 + crystal (12)  
Very young S 6d12+6 (45) 13 10 13 6 11 6

+6/+3

+8 +6 +5 +5 2d6 + crystal (14)  
Young M 9d12+18 (76) 15 10 15 6 11 6 +9/+11 +11 +8 +6 +6 3d6 + crystal (16)  
Juvenile M 12d12+24 (102) 17 10 15 8 11 8 +12/+15 +15

+10 +8 +8 4d6 + crystal (18)  
Young adult L 15d12+45 (142) 19 10 17 8 11 10 +15/+23 +18 +12 +9 +9 5d6 + crystal (20) 17
Adult L 18d12+72 (189) 23 10 19 10 11 12 +18/+28 +23 +15 +11 +11 6d6 + crystal (23) 20
Mature adult H 21d12+105 (241) 27 10

21 12 13 12 +21/+37

+27 +17 +12 +13 7d6 + crystal (25) 21
Old H 24d12+120 (276) 29 10 21 12 13 12 +24/+41 +31 +19 +14 +15 8d6 + crystal (27) 23
Very old H 27d12+162 (337) 31 10 23 14 15 14 +27/+45 +35 +21 +15 +17 9d6 + crystal (29) 25
Ancient H 30d12+180 (375) 33 10 23 14 15 14 +30/+49 +39 +23 +17 +19 10d6 + crystal (31) 27
Wyrm G 33d12+231 (445) 35 10 25 14 15 16 +33/+57 +41 +25 +18 +20 11d6 + crystal (33) 29
Great wyrm G 36d12+288 (522) 37 10 27 18 19 18 +36/+61 +45 +28 +20 +24 12d6 + crystal (36) 32

Crystal Dragon Abilities by Age

Age Speed Initiative AC Special Abilities Caster Level SR
Wyrmling 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 150 ft. (average), swim 60 ft. +0 14 (+2 size, +2 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 14 Icewalking, immunity to cold, vulnerability to fire    
Very young 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 150 ft. (average), swim 60 ft. +0 16 (+1 size, +5 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 16      
Young 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 200 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. +0 18 (+8 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 18      
Juvenile 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 200 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. +0 21 (+11 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 21 Glitterdust    
Young adult 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 200 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. +0 23 (-1 size, +14 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 23 DR 5/magic   16
Adult 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 200 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. +0 26 (-1 size, +17 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 26 Control Winds 1st 18
Mature adult 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 200 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. +0 28 (-2 size, +20 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 28 DR 10/magic 3rd 20
Old 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 200 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. +0 31 (-2 size, +23 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 31 Freezing fog 5th 21
Very old 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 200 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. +0 34 (-2 size, +26 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 34 DR 15/magic 7th 23
Ancient 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 200 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. +0 37 (-2 size, +29 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 37 Ice storm 9th 24
Wyrm 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 250 ft. (clumsy), swim 60 ft. +0 38 (-4 size, +32 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 38 DR 20/magic 11th 25
Great wyrm 60 ft., burrow 30 ft., fly 250 ft. (clumsy), swim 60 ft. +0 41 (-4 size, +35 natural), touch 6, flat-footed 41 Prismatic Spray 13th 27

Note: Please reference the SRD entry on true dragons for related information, including ages, damage, breath weapon ranges, and special abilities common to all true dragons.
From a distance, crystal dragons look very similar to white dragons. Within 30ft however, their differences are apparent- the shimmering of the faceted scales is easily discernible.
As a gemstone dragon, the crystal dragon maintains a strong dislike for the chromatic and metallic dragons of Mystara. They have a particular hatred for white dragons, in spite of (or perhaps because of) their many similarities.

Combat
Crystal dragons will quietly watch any intruders in its territory to see if they are a threat or merely clueless/ harmless/stupid. As long as the latter pass through quickly and without incident, the crystal dragon will usually leave them alone. They rarely bother to converse with adventurers, ignoring them at first, and proceeding to heavier handed tactics if they do not take the hint. When they find it necessary to fight, crystal dragons prefer sudden assaults, swooping down from aloft or bursting from beneath water, snow, or ice. They loose their breath weapon, and then try to knock out a single opponent with a follow-up attack.

Breath Weapon (Su): A crystal dragon has one type of breath weapon, a cone of crystallising cold. Creatures hit by the crystallising cold must make a second Fortitude save or all carried items are turned to crystal. Crystal weapons and armour have 1/2 the hardness and hitpoints of the original item. Other items have a hardness of 2 and 5 hp. Every time a crystal weapon strikes a foe or a character in crystal armour takes damage from a weapon, roll the 1d6- on a roll of 1 the weapon or armour shatters. A stone to flesh spell will return up to 100 cubic feet of crystal items to normal.

Icewalking (Ex): This ability works like the spider climb spell, but the surfaces the dragon climbs must be icy. It is always in effect.

Freezing Fog (Sp): An old or older crystal dragon can use this ability three times per day. It is similar to a solid fog spell but also causes a rime of slippery ice to form on any surface the fog touches, creating the effect of a grease spell. The dragon is immune to the grease effect because of its icewalking ability. This ability is the equivalent of a 5th-level spell.

Other Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day glitterdust (juvenile or older), control winds (adult or older), ice storm (ancient or older); 1/day Prismatic spray (great wyrm).

Skills: Hide, Move Silently, and Swim are considered class skills for crystal dragons.