Sovereign Dragon (Ancient, Spellcaster)
CREATURE 20There were supposedly dragons of pure elemental earth, once. These were imperial dragons who, like their other elemental counterparts, came to the Universe, lived, and died, their bodies becoming part of the continent. As fire became lava, wood became forests, water the seas, lakes, and rivers, and metal the veins of precious minerals, so earth became the land, the stone, the mountains. By way of logic, if there exist such environments and entities today, then earth dragons must exist too. Or have existed, once upon a primeval time.
And yet among the imperial dragons today there are only sovereign dragons, who leave serpentine skeletons behind upon death in place of rock, stone, or land. The dragons' innate spellcasting, weakness to unheated iron, and other traits highly suggest that they're associated with elemental earth. The rest of their powers have little to no such association, instead centered on the mysteries of the metaphysical spirit and mind.
There's no clear explanation for why sovereign dragons are the way they are today. Some guess it might have been a deal to fulfill personal ambition, to go from those tasked with selecting rulers to becoming the rulers themselves. Others wonder if the lands of Tian Xia were corrupted in the past, and the earth dragons walked away from their elemental natures to save themselves. Perhaps they too became empyreal dragons, but then returned to the lands of mortals when no suitable ruler rose to the throne.
The dragon can automatically detect if a creature, effect, or item is sanctified, and whether it's holy or unholy.
90 feet. DC 40 Will
A creature that first enters the area must attempt a Will save.
Regardless of the result of the saving throw, the creature is temporarily immune to this monster's Frightful Presence for 1 minute.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected by the presence.
Success The creature is Frightened 1.
Failure The creature is Frightened 2.
Critical Failure The creature is Frightened 4.
The dragon takes on the appearance of any Small or Medium humanoid. This doesn't change its Speed or attack and damage bonuses with its Strikes, but might change the damage type its Strikes deal (typically to bludgeoning).
The monster changes its shape indefinitely. It can use this action again to return to its natural shape or adopt a new shape. Unless otherwise noted, a monster cannot use Change Shape to appear as a specific individual. Using Change Shape counts as creating a disguise for the Impersonate use of Deception. The monster's transformation automatically defeats Perception DCs to determine whether the creature is a member of the ancestry or creature type into which it transformed, and it gains a +4 status bonus to its Deception DC to prevent others from seeing through its disguise. Change Shape abilities specify what shapes the monster can adopt. The monster doesn't gain any special abilities of the new shape, only its physical form. For example, in each shape, it replaces its normal Speeds and Strikes, and might potentially change its senses or size. Any changes are listed in its stat block.
4d8+10 bludgeoning, DC 42 basic Fortitude
The monster deals the listed amount of damage to any number of creatures Grabbed or Restrained by it. Each of those creatures can attempt a basic Fortitude save with the listed DC. A creature that fails this save falls Unconscious, and a creature that succeeds is then temporarily immune to falling unconscious from Greater Constrict for 1 minute.
Effect: Inspire Envoy
The dragon unleashes a roar charged with psychic energy, dealing 21d6 mental damage in a 50-foot cone (DC 42 basic Will save). The dragon can't use Sovereign's Rebuke again for 1d4 rounds.