Dragons have always been the iconic monster of the classic fantasy game, and we lavished a bit of extra attention on them.
In the Adventurer Conqueror King System, dragons are deeply connected to the elemental powers of the world. Due to their connection to the elements, dragons come to reflect the terrain and climate of their habitats over time. For instance, dragons that dwell in glaciers or frigid tundra will develop an ivory, pearl or snow-white hide and freezing breath weapon, while dragons who dwell in holy lands will develop bronze, silver, electrum, or gold hides, and breath fire. The former are commonly called white dragons, the latter metallic dragons.
As dragons age, they gain in size and develop powers that lesser dragons lack. The combination of age and terrain makes each dragon unique. Here are two mighty dragons from the Auran Empire* built using the ACKS rules.
- Aisoth: Very Old Green Dragon (olive green hide) AC 10, HD10, hp60, #AT 3, Dmg 1d8/1d8/4d8, Save Fighter 16, Morale +2 Breath Weapon: 40' x 4'0 cloud of poison vapor (10d6 damage, -2 attack throws for one round due to billowing vapors) Spells: charm person, detect magic, read magic / detect invisibile, invisible, mirror image / dispel magic, haste / hallucinatory terrain, polymorph self Horrific Stench: Characters within 20' of the dragon must save v. Poison or be nauseated (-3 to attack throws and damge rolls for 1d4+4 rounds) Poisonous Blood: Any opponent hitting the dragon in melee must save v. Poison to avoid being splashed with venomous blood; failure results in death
- Orm: Venerable Red Dragon (charcoal hide) AC 12, HD12, hp 80, #AT 3, Dmg 1d10/1d10/5d8, Save Fighter 20, Morale +3 Breath Weapon: 90' x 30' cone of fire (12d6 damage, ignites combustible materials) Spells: Detect magic, magic missile, read magic / detect invisible, invisible, mirror image / dispel magic, fireball, haste / hallucinatory terrain, massmorph, polymorph self / contact higher plane, telekinesis Decapitating Bite: On a natural attack throw of 19-20, the target must save v. Death or be decapitated; even on a successful save, the target takes quadruple damage Fire Aura: The dragon is surrounded by an aura of fire that does 1d4 damage per round to opponents w/i 5' Invulnerable: The dragon cannot be harmed by non-magical weapons Tail Lash: The dragon makes one additional melee attack each round for 1d10 damage
*The Auran Empire is akin to the Greyhawk of ACKS…it’s an implied or default setting that you can use or ignore at your whim.