Onyx / Deep Jungle Dragon

As you may have noticed, dear readers, we're back! After a creatively-draining couple months or rehearsals for my friend's student production of Steve Martin's "Wasp", I am once again free to pour my energy into bringing you drop-in elements for your d20 games. So without further ado, may I present the latest in our series of new True Dragons, the Onyx, or Deep Jungle Dragon!

-Adam

Onxy dragons, sometimes called Deep Jungle Dragons, hatch with glistening black scales flecked with tiny bright green and gray spots. As they mature their low, long bodies become very physically powerful. Their scales develop long thin spines and change to a lusterless matte black with vague splotches of gray and green. This coloration allows them to blend in with their jungle homes superbly.

Reclusive, secretive and unpredictable, Onyx dragons are very territorial. They can be very dangerous to any creatures they feel are invading their shaded jungles. Onyx dragons will stalk new arrivals and passers-through and observe them before deciding whether to let them pass or to eat them.

Type: Dragon (Fire)
Environment: Jungle and Plane of Shadow
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 Rating: 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: Chaotic Neutral with Good tendencies
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 —


Combat
Once they decide to attack, onyx dragons will lay in ambush and attempt to split up, exhaust and frighten off groups of combatants.

Spell-Like Abilities
3/day - blur (very young or older); 3/day—invisibility (juvenile or older); 1/day—shadow conjuration (adult or older), shadow walk (old or older), hallucinatory terrain (ancient or older); greater shadow conjuration (great wyrm).

Breath weapon: a line of burning steam (heat damage, reflex save for half damage) or a steamy cone of fatigue (fort save or become fatigued).

Skills: hide, move silently, and sense motive are considered class skills for onyx dragons. In addition, onyx dragons receive a +8 racial bonus to hide checks when in shadowy or heavily foliaged areas.

Onyx Dragon Abilities by Age

Age	Speed	Initiative	AC	Special Abilities	Caster Level1	SR
Can also cast cleric spells and those from the Chaos, Luck and Plant domains as arcane spells.
Wyrmling	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 100 ft. (average)	+1	17 (+1 dex, +1 size, +5 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 16	Immunity to fire	—	—
Very young	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+1	19 (+8 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 18	Blur	—	—
Young	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+1	22 (+11 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 21		—	—
Juvenile	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+1	24 (-1 size, +14 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 23	Invisibility	1st	—
Young adult	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+1	27 (-1 size, +17 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 26	DR 5/magic	3rd	19
Adult	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+1	29 (-2 size, +20 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 28	Shadow Conjuration	5th	21
Mature adult	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+1	32 (-2 size, +23 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 31	DR 10/magic	7th	22
Old	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+1	35 (-2 size, +26 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 34	Shadow Walk	9th	24
Very old	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)	+1	38 (-2 size, +29 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 37	DR 15/magic	11th	25
Ancient	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy)	+1	39 (-4 size, +32 natural), touch 7, flat-footed 38	Hallucinatory Terrain	13th	27
Wyrm	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy)	+1	42 (-4 size, +35 natural), touch 7, flat-footed 41	DR 20/magic	15th	29
Great wyrm	40 ft., burrow 20 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy)	+1	45 (-4 size, +38 natural), touch 7, flat-footed 44	Greater Shadow Conjuration	17th	31

Onyx 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	12	13	10	11	10	+6/+3	+8	+6	+5	+5	2d6 (14)	—
Very young	M	9d12+18 (76)	15	12	15	10	11	10	+9/+11	+11	+8	+6	+6	4d6 (16)	—
Young	M	12d12+24 (102)	17	12	15	12	13	12	+12/+15	+15	+10	+8	+9	6d6 (18)	—
Juvenile	L	15d12+45 (142)	19	12	17	14	15	14	+15/+23	+18	+12	+9	+11	8d6 (20)	—
Young adult	L	18d12+72 (189)	23	12	19	14	15	14	+18/+28	+23	+15	+11	+13	10d6 (23)	21
Adult	H	21d12+105 (241)	27	12	21	16	17	16	+21/+37	+27	+17	+12	+15	12d6 (25)	23
Mature adult	H	24d12+120 (276)	29	12	21	16	17	16	+24/+41	+31	+19	+14	+17	14d6 (27)	25
Old	H	27d12+162 (337)	31	12	23	18	19	18	+27/+45	+35	+21	+15	+19	16d6 (29)	27
Very old	H	30d12+180 (375)	33	12	23	18	19	18	+30/+49	+39	+23	+17	+21	18d6 (31)	29
Ancient	G	33d12+231 (445)	35	12	25	20	21	20	+33/+57	+41	+25	+18	+23	20d6 (33)	31
Wyrm	G	36d12+288 (522)	37	12	27	20	21	20	+36/+61	+45	+28	+20	+25	22d6 (36)	33
Great wyrm	G	39d12+312 (565)	39	10	27	22	23	22	+39/+65	+49	+29	+21	+27	24d6 (37)	35