Space Drake

The space drake resembles the radiant dragon, but without wings. It has the same glittering pearl-like scales, and the same serpentine body, albeit on a smaller scale. The space drake has a dorsal fin which extends along its head and neck.

All common dragon attributes outlined in the Monstrous Compendium apply to space drakes as well. Modifications to the general description that apply specifically to fantasy space are listed below.

Combat: Physical attacks comprise a bite and a smash from the drake’s sinuous tail. If the tail smash hits, the drake can constrict the target, inflicting 1-10 points on each subsequent round (no ‘to hit’ roll required). The drake will maintain the constriction until the victim is dead, or until the space drake receives 10 or more points of damage in a single round from another character. When this happens. it decides that the other character is more dangerous, releases the constriction victim, and tries for a tail smash against the new target on the next round. While being constricted, a character’s attacks are at -3 and no spellcasting is possible. The space drake is so flexible that it can bite and tail-smash the same target on the same round.

In addition to its physical attacks, the space drake has a breath weapon similar to that of the radiant dragon: glowing pulses of force similar to magic missiles. It can breathe a single pulse that inflicts 6d6 points of damage, or up to six smaller pulses in the same round. (Thus they can breathe two pulses, each inflicting 3d6 points, or six, each inflicting ld6.) Each pulse can strike a separate target. These pulses are unerring, and will hit unless the victim makes a saving throw vs. breath weapon. If the victim fails its saving throw, it is struck for the appropriate amount of damage. If the victim makes its saving throw, it has dodged that pulse, which then evaporates. The space drake can use its breath weapon on physical objects (such as a ship) as well, inflicting 1 hull point of damage for every 10 hit points of damage its breath weapon causes. Other physical objects must save vs. spell to survive being hit by a pulse.

Space drakes also have some innate magical powers. They can use the following spell-like abilities twice per day, one per round, at the 10th level of ability: restore air, detect portal, light.

Despite their lack of wings, space drakes fly using a natural flight/spelljamming ability. In combat, space drakes prefer to be in flight; on ground, they are limited to bite and breath weapons.

Habitat/Society: Space drakes are totally spaceborne. Like radiant dragons, they are normally solitary and very territorial about their “turf,” which is often the space surrounding a hollowed-out asteroid or deserted dwarven citadel. When they are found in numbers, they are usually a family group, and make their lair in abandoned hulks, etc. In general, their society is an unintelligent echo of their brethren, the radiant dragon.

Ecology: Space drakes are omnivorous in the truest sense of the word: they will eat anything. This includes plant matter, rocks and space dust, although they do seem to prefer meat (and meat that’s still kicking, at that).

Although space drakes are capable of living in the phlogiston, they don’t seem to enjoy it, and are rarely found there.