Great Dragon

Great dragons are the cleverest and most wicked of the dragon races and among the biggest reptiles that ever lived. They are rare but can turn up in almost any land or climate. They may be silver-gray, ruby red, emerald green or obsidian in color, and their thick scaly hides often bristle with spikes, horns and barbs. A full-grown one may be sixty feet long, with wings spanning nearly a hundred.

Most practice magic, knowing spells of enchantment and illusion. They are ferocious hoarders, above all of magic items and scrolls, which the spell-using ones can read; even those without magic collect such things so no one else can have them. Their greed makes them reluctant to leave a lair unguarded, so most live in caves, tunnels or abandoned dungeons, sometimes rigged with traps and deadfalls, and the oldest may keep wyverns or firedrakes as guards.

Every great dragon starts as a wingless larva, the wyrmm, and takes its adult form only after a long hibernation. A new adult is about forty feet long and grows roughly a foot every 25 years, reaching its full size at around 500 years old, all the while gaining power, knowledge and spell skill as it ages. Claims that they never stop growing are only speculation.

In battle their gaze alone makes men shake with fear. Besides talons, jaws and a whip-like tail, they can breathe fire or smoke three times a day, and an angry one can flatten a small village or topple a stone tower in minutes. Yet few will fight to the death: most flee when badly hurt, and some even bargain for their lives.

Each breath weapon, fire or vision-blocking smoke, can be used three times a day and fills a circle 40 feet in radius. Anyone meeting its gaze must save vs WILL or stand frozen with fear for 1-4 minutes. By the appendix 65% of great dragons cast Enchantment spells, generally at about half their own level.