Sage Dragon (Ancient, Spellcaster)
CREATURE 18A shining, rune-inscribed scale is all that most people, even adventurers, see of a sage dragon during their lifetimes. Even then, only those familiar with dragon lore will likely recognize the scale as anything other than an elaborate spell scroll. Collectors and scholars of esoteric lore, sage dragons become increasingly reclusive as they age, and, even in their youths, they're prone to work through trusted intermediaries. For those able to locate and gain the trust of such a creature, even the youngest sage dragons are fonts of difficult-to-find knowledge and rare magical techniques. The oldest sage dragons are living combinations of gargantuan libraries and endless grimoires, accumulating the secrets of the Universe, and beyond, in their isolated lairs.
Organized and methodical, with an insatiable curiosity and eidetic memory, sage dragons are the devout researchers of the dragon world. The intellectual pursuits of sage dragons demand extended periods of quiet study, one of the reasons that such dragons live in isolated, hidden locations. Young dragons tend to specialize in a particular area of research. As they age, these research interests also broaden, with an expert in a particular river expanding into topics such as the water cycle, ecology, or the Plane of Water. Sage dragons interested in religious topics often worship Nethys or a god dedicated to knowledge, such as Gruhastha, Qi Zhong, or Ydajisk. Dragons who seek grim rituals or cryptic knowledge might join the church of Abraxas or worship Norgorber in his aspect of the Reaper of Reputation.
90 feet, DC 40 Will.
Overlapping fields near the dragon make spellcasting unpredictable. A creature that enters or begins its turn in the area must attempt a Will save. Regardless of the result of the saving throw, the creature is temporarily immune to this dragon's eldritch interference for 1 minute.
Critical Success For 1 round, when the creature Casts a Spell that either deals damage or restores Hit Points, they gain a status bonus to the spell's damage or healing equal to the spell's rank.
Effect: Eldritch Interference (Critical Success)
Success The creature is unaffected.
Failure For 1 round, when the creature Casts a Spell that either deals damage or restores Hit Points, they take a status penalty to the spell's damage or healing equal to the spell's rank.
Effect: Eldritch Interference (Failure)
Critical Failure As failure, but the effect lasts 1 minute.
Effect: Eldritch Interference (Critical Failure)
The dragon can activate scrolls and wands of any tradition as if the spells they contain were occult spells.
The dragon exclaims hidden truths that only they have been able to understand, dealing 19d6 mental damage in a 30-foot cone (DC 40 basic Will save). On a critical failure, creatures are also Stunned 1. The dragon can't use Overwhelming Proclamation again for 1d4 rounds.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature is Frightened 1.
Failure The creature is Frightened 2.
Critical Failure The creature is Confused for 1 round and Frightened 3.
The first time each encounter a dragon hits and deals damage to a creature with their jaws Strike, they receive information about the creature as if the dragon had succeeded at a check to Recall Knowledge about that creature.