Dragon, Indigo
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Temperate, sub-tropical, and sub-arctic lakes and rivers |
| Frequency | Very rare |
| Organization | Solitary or clan |
| Activity Cycle | Any |
| Diet | Special |
| Intelligence | Exceptional (15-16) |
| Treasure | Special |
| Alignment | Lawful evil |
| No. of Appearing | 1 (2-5) |
| Armor Class | -2 (base) |
| Move | 6, Fl 30 (C), Sw 14 |
| Hit Dice | 14 (base) |
| THAC0 | 7 (base) |
| No. of Attacks | 3 + special |
| Damage/Attack | 1-10/1-10/4-32 (4d8) |
| Special Attacks | Special |
| Special Defenses | Variable |
| Magic Resistance | Variable |
| Size | G (36' base) |
| Moral | Fanatic (17-18) |
| XP Value | Variable |
Description
| Age | Body Length | Tail Length | AC | Breath Weapon | Spells Wizard/Priest | MR | Treasure Type | XP Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2-6 | 1-5 | 1 | 1d8+1d10 | Nil | Nil | Nil | 3,000 |
| 2 | 6-18 | 5-12 | 0 | 2d8+2d10 | Nil | Nil | Nil | 4,000 |
| 3 | 18-28 | 12-24 | -1 | 3d8+3d10 | Nil | Nil | Nil | 5,000 |
| 4 | 28-42 | 24-32 | -2 | 4d8+4d10 | 1 | Nil | H, Z, T | 7,000 |
| 5 | 42-60 | 32-42 | -3 | 5d8+5d10 | 2 | 25% | H, Z, T | 9,000 |
| 6 | 60-74 | 42-50 | -4 | 6d8+6d10 | 2 1 | 30% | H, Z, T | 11,000 |
| 7 | 74-84 | 50-60 | -5 | 7d8+7d10 | 2 2 | 35% | H, Z, Tx2 | 13,000 |
| 8 | 84-92 | 60-68 | -6 | 8d8+8d10 | 2 2 1 | 40% | H, Z, Tx2 | 15,000 |
| 9 | 92-102 | 68-74 | -7 | 9d8+9d10 | 2 2 1 / 1 | 45% | H, Z, Tx3 | 16,000 |
| 10 | 102-110 | 74-80 | -8 | 10d8+10d10 | 2 2 2 / 1 | 50% | H, Z, Tx3 | 18,000 |
| 11 | 110-120 | 80-86 | -9 | 11d8+11d10 | 2 2 2 1 / 2 | 55% | H, Zx2, Tx3 | 19,000 |
| 12 | 120-130 | 86-92 | -10 | 12d8+12d10 | 2 2 2 1 1 / 2 | 60% | H, Zx2, Tx3 | 20,000 |
The indigo dragon is a species of dragon that has adapted to life in the water: their bodies are smaller and more slender than most other dragons, and their hind feet are webbed to allow for greater maneuverability when swimming. They are able to breathe underwater, which enables them to stay submerged for extended periods of time.
At birth, the scales of an indigo dragon are a pale blue; as they age, the scales become brighter and richer, until they reach a deep indigo color when the mature adult stage is reached. This coloration enables indigo dragons to remain virtually unseen in the depths of lakes and larger rivers.
Indigo dragons speak their own tongue, a tongue common to all evil dragons, and 16% of hatchling indigo dragons have an ability to communicate with any intelligent creature. The chance to possess this ability increases 5% per age category of the dragon.
Combat
During combat, indigo dragons prefer to remain in the water; they will take to the air only if they require greater mobility, and will rarely, if ever, fight on land. An indigo dragon is a fearsome foe when encountered in its native environment; its swimming ability gives it great mobilty in the water. An indigo will attack most creatures with claw and bite, but will not hesitate to use breath attacks and/or special abilities against more dangerous foes. Great indigo wyrms will use their summon water elemental ability if greatly threatened. Indigo dragons' most prized magical possessions are those that summon and/or control water-based creatures; these will also be used in combat, if the situation warrants.
When attacking boats and ships, an indigo dragon will attack from beneath the waterline, and attempt to capsize the craft (if small enough) or puncture or weaken the hull. If this fails, they will surface and use a breath attack on the crew before closing to fight with claw and bite.
Breath Weapon: The breath weapon of an indigo dragon is a cloud of super-heated steam measuring 60' long, 50' wide, and 30' high. Anyone caught inside this cloud is scalded by the steam for the indicated amount of damage; a successful saving throw vs. breath weapon reduces the damage by one half. The heat of the steam is sufficient to melt most metals (including armor); if the initial save is failed, all possessions must save vs. magical fire or melt into uselessness. This weapon is as effective underwater as it is in the open air. An indigo dragon casts its spells and uses its magical abilities at 8th level, plus the combat modifier.
At birth, indigo dragons are immune to all types of heat; in addition, they may employ water breathing at will. As they age, they gain the following additional powers:
| Age | Special Ability |
|---|---|
| Very young | Wall of fog (three times per day) |
| Juvenile | Fog cloud (three times per day) |
| Adult | Water walk (twice per day) |
| Very old | Part water (once per day) |
| Great wyrm | Summon water elemental (once per week) |
Habitat
Indigo dragons can be found swimming in freshwater lakes and rivers in any climate except topical and arctic. They spend little time on dry land, as they are quite clumbsy out of the water; indigo dragons are master swimmers however, and love to spend long hours swimming about their territory. Indigo dragons are playful and good-natured, at least as far as evil dragons are concerned. However, if threatened, they will not hesitate to fight.
Indigo dragons are good parents, and will protect their young to the death if necessary; offspring are rarely forced to leave the lair - they will strike out on their own only when they are ready.
Due to their relatively good demeanor, indigo dragons go rouge more so than most other types of dragons; most will become lawful neutral in alignment, while some make the jump to lawful good. These rogues live in isolation, for they are persecuted by evil dragons who consider them traitors, and by good dragons who do not know of their reformation.
The lair of an indigo dragon is always underwater, usually in a large cave or shipwreck. The lair itself is usually dry, but will sometimes be completely filled with water, as is the case with most shipwreck lairs. Although indigo dragons will sometimes venture into salt water, they much prefer freshwater locations; their lairs will always be in an area of freshwater.
An indigo dragon's greatest enemy is the bronze dragon, with whom they often come into contact. In close combat, an indigo will usually get the best of the bronze, but if the battle is fought at a distance, the indigo will be more hard pressed due to the longer range and superior spell casting abilities of the bronze. If the indigo cannot safely come within range of its own breath weapon, it will use its superior swimming speed to escape.
Ecology
Although indigo dragons can eat nearly anything, they prefer to consume the fish and other aquatic animals they find all around them. Their diet consists of everything from small fish to mammals such as otters.