Red Dragon

Red Dragons come from a distant land unknown to Cerberan scholarship. They are intelligent magical creatures whose bodies convert mana into stable Psychic power. Even a young Red Dragon speaks, reasons, negotiates, and understands complex plans.

The Red Dragon is the largest and physically strongest of the two dragon species documented by Cerberus. Its immense wings also make it faster in flight than the more elusive White Dragon. Red Dragons value strength, honor, pride, and direct violence. They do not retreat from a worthy opponent, and they remember both courage and humiliation. Ferothar the Fierce, who burned the capital while controlled by Cauchemar's beholders, is the best-known Great Wyrm of the species.

A Red Dragon becomes available with Summon or Polymorph Level 6. The three profiles represent recognized stages of growth: a Young Dragon at Level 6, a Wyrm at Level 8, and a Great Wyrm at Level 10.

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Red Dragon (Polymorph & Summon Template)

Choose a known profile whose listed level is no higher than the level of Summon or Polymorph actually cast. Generate its body from the locked Spell DC; see Magical Creature Templates. The template adds no bonus or penalty to any Save.

Natural Breath DC. A natural dragon calculates the DC of its Breath Weapon from Constitution. A dragon created by Summon or a creature transformed by Polymorph instead uses the controlling spell's locked Spell DC.

Like every dragon, a Red Dragon is immune to sleep, but not to other mental magic.

Combat Profile

Characteristic	Level 6	Level 8	Level 10
Age	Young Dragon	Wyrm	Great Wyrm
Size	Huge	Gargantuan	Colossal
STR multiplier	×2.00	×3.00	×4.50
DEX multiplier	×1.10	×1.25	×1.75
HP per STR	48	96	192
Attacks	9	12	15
Spell Actions	3	3	4
General Actions	5	6	7
Dedicated Dodges	1	1	1
Fly Speed per tick	175 ft	250 ft	350 ft
Reach	15 ft	25 ft	40 ft
DR	32	64	128
Fire Resistance	50%	75%	Immune

The Red Dragon uses the standard Ground Speed generated by DEX. Its Attacks create the widest part of its Action Board. Its wings and quadrupedal anatomy prevent it from manipulating tools like a humanoid, but its claws can seize, carry, and grapple creatures or objects its size permits.

Physical Attacks

Attack	Level 6	Level 8	Level 10
Bite	3d10 + higher of STR or DEX	4d10 + higher of STR or DEX	5d10 + higher of STR or DEX
Claw	3d6 + higher of STR or DEX	4d6 + higher of STR or DEX	5d6 + higher of STR or DEX
Wing Strike	3d6 + higher of STR or DEX	4d6 + higher of STR or DEX	5d6 + higher of STR or DEX
Tail Sweep	3d8 + higher of STR or DEX	4d8 + higher of STR or DEX	5d8 + higher of STR or DEX

Claw. The dragon can replace the damage with a grapple attempt under the normal grapple rules.

Wing Strike. A wing can cleave creatures on the same side of the dragon under the normal cleave rules. Its impact may also push a creature when size, position, and the GM's prescribed chance allow it.

Tail Sweep. Once per round, the dragon can replace one attack with a sweep through a chosen arc behind it. Resolve the primary target normally, then apply the normal cleave rules to every other eligible target within Reach.

Aerial Dive. The Red Dragon possesses Aerial Dive. After a full-speed straight approach through the air, its first physical attack deals double damage once per round.

Fire Breath

The dragon replaces all its Attacks for the tick with a cone of fire. It cannot make another attack during that tick, but its remaining Attack tokens can still be used during other ticks of the round. The breath deals slightly more damage than a Fireball of the nearest lower odd spell level, and direct damage allows no Save. It creates no separate burning condition; its power lies in immediate damage and an area that doubles with every age.

The dragon can channel the breath through several consecutive ticks. Every tick deals the breath's full damage and again replaces all Attacks for that tick: channeling for two ticks deals twice the listed damage in total, three ticks deals three times the damage, and four ticks deals four times the damage. The dragon may stop before reaching the maximum. One continuous channel counts as a single use, and a new one cannot begin while the previous breath continues.

Characteristic	Level 6	Level 8	Level 10
Fire damage per CL	5d12	10d12	20d12
Cone	60 ft	120 ft	240 ft
A new breath may begin	Once every 3 rounds	Once every 2 rounds	Once per round
Maximum channel	2 ticks	3 ticks	4 ticks

Psychic Racial Spells

Racial spells require neither speech nor gesture. The list is cumulative: a higher-level column retains every spell introduced earlier, and spells with scaling versions improve to the level shown.

Racial spell	Level 6 Dragon	Level 8 Dragon	Level 10 Dragon
Haste	6	6	10
Immolation	6	8	10
Fire Grip	6	8	8
Death Sentence	6	6	6
Costly Defense	—	7	10
Gravity Crush	—	7	7
Sound Assault	—	—	10
Mind Blast	—	—	10
Time Stop	—	—	9

A summoned Red Dragon uses the innate spell-slot reserve granted by Summon. It can cast any version of a racial spell that it knows and can pay for. A Great Wyrm created through Summon Level 10 therefore begins with four slots at every level from 1 to 9, but no Level 10 slot. The caster must give it a Level 10 slot while creating it if the dragon is to begin with one of its own. Spell Conduit can provide further slots after its creation. The dragon's Fire Breath is a racial ability and spends no spell slot.

A creature using Polymorph receives the knowledge of these spells but no free uses and no second reserve. Every casting spends one of the transformed creature's real spell slots of the appropriate level. The racial spell is Psychic regardless of the mana color converted from that reserve.

Mind

A summoned Red Dragon has the intelligence, judgment, language, instincts, and magical knowledge of its species, but begins with the fresh consciousness described by Summon. Its pride affects how it interprets danger and worthy opposition, but loyalty still binds it to its master.

A caster using Polymorph retains their own mind. The form imposes no pride, honor, rage, or compulsion and grants no dragon memories or personal experience.