Dragon, Kodragon

The kodragon is an extremely rare species of dragon that exists only in the plane of the Astral Dragon. It is a furry dragon about the size of a small house cat.

At first glance the kodragon appears to be a large bat, but only for a moment. It is shaped like a dragon, with four spindly legs, a long sinuous neck, etc. However it has a fine gray fur instead of scales. It has bare, leathery wings, like those of a bat. Its face has a blunt snout and large, luminous black eyes. Its tail is furred all the way down to the tip, where it is bare and pointed. The fore claws of a kodragon have opposable thumbs, like those of a human.

Kodragons speak in light, hissing voices; they speak human languages fluently. Their voices sound like those of children.

These miniature dragons have a delicate, musky odor, completely different from any mammal.

Combat: These small creatures avoid combat whenever possible. If cornered or angered, they can fight with their two front claws and a bite. Their strategy is to stay aloft and attack the backsides and hard-to-defend parts of their enemies. They can dart from front to back, between the legs, and under the arms of an opponent. This makes them very tough to hit. When executing such aerial maneuvers, they get a -2 bonus to their Armor Class and a +2 penalty to their attack rolls.

They have two magical breath weapons. Both form ten-foot-diameter clouds One breath weapon is a shrinking gas; the other cancels the effects of any kodragon's shrinking gas (it does not work to cancel other means of shrinking). The shrinking gas reduces its victims to 5% of their original size. A successful saving throw vs. breath weapon means that the victim leapt out of the way in time.

Kodragons can teleport without error once per round. This can be used in combat, but they don't like to do that. They would prefer to fly instead. However, this is their primary defense. These small dragons teleport out of harm's way if there is any serious danger. The plane shift ability is used to travel in a more leisurely fashion, but it can also be used to escape a bad situation.

Habitat/Society: The natural home of kodragons is the plane of the Astral Dragon. This plane is one of the layers of the Abyss that has been converted to absolute neutrality by the gods of Krynn. It is physically similar to the world of Krynn. One quirk is that creatures can swim through the air simply by willing it.

Kodragons are lovers of art and knowledge. They do not use tools or weapons, except for a special tablet and stylus that they use to record histories and make other records. There is no unified culture of kodragons. Each wanders as he sees fit and records those things he feels are important. There are great shared repositories of these clay tablets. Older kodragons whose wanderlust has faded maintain these secret libraries.

Kodragons do not lay eggs but rather give live birth to their children. Like marsupials, they have a pouch on their stomachs where the infants are kept and raised in safety. When not being used for child rearing, this pouch holds their tablets and styluses. It operates as a bag of holding, and therefore can hold much more than its size would indicate. Child rearing is done by the female. The father visits only occasionally, spending most of his time on other tasks.

By nature these diminutive dragons are inquisitive and talkative. They are always poking around, sometimes so much that they get into trouble. Their keen verbal skills and meticulous record keeping have made them ideal emissaries for the Astral Dragon.

Ecology: There are no natural predators for the kodragon. Catching one is so difficult, and the resulting meal so meager, that a species would die out before surviving off of them. A gland in their neck can be used to make potions of shrinking.

Kodragons can drink any liquid to sustain themselves. Anything from water or wine to hemlock or mercury can sustain them. They need to consume their own body weight in fluids each day.