TEXT: Reviewer: Steven Marsh
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  STEVE JACKSON GAMES
  Stock #37-0346 
  Version 1.0 – September 2018
  ®
  GURPS System Design z STEVE JACKSON
  GURPS Line Editor z SEAN PUNCH
  GURPS Project Manager z STEVEN MARSH
  Executive Editor z MIRANDA HORNER
  Production Artist and Indexer z NIKOLA VRTIS
  GURPS FAQ Maintainer z VICKY “MOLOKH” KOLENKO
  Chief Executive Officer z PHILIP REED
  Chief Creative Officer z SAM MITSCHKE
  Chief Operating Officer z SUSAN BUENO
  Director of Sales z ROSS JEPSON
  Page Design z PHIL REED and JUSTIN DE WITT
   Art Direction and Prepress Checker z NIKOLA VRTIS
  TM
  Written by SEAN PUNCH
  Illustrated by  
  ALEX FERNANDEZ
  
  IntroductIon  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 3
  Publication History  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .3
  About the Author  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .3
  Reading Dragon Stats  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .3
  1 . Yer BasIc dragons  .  .  . 4
  Small Dragon  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .4
  Medium Dragon .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .4
  Large Dragon  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .5
  Even Bigger?  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .6
  Gargantuan Dragon  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .6
  2 . dragon’s Breath .  .  .  .  . 7
  Clouds .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .7
   
  Acid  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .7
   
  Frost .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .7
   
  Intrinsic Defenses  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .7
   
  Incendiary  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .8
   
  Poison (Gas)  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .8
   
  Clouding the Issue  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .8
   
   Less-Lethal Clouds  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .8
   
   More-Lethal Clouds  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .8
   
  Poison (Mist) .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .8
   
  Spark  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .8
   
  Steam .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .8
   
  Vacuum  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .8
  Cones  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .9
   
  Cold  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .9
   
  Disintegration  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .9
   
  Cones of Power  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .10
   
   Adjusting Damage  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .10
   
   Affecting More Targets  .  .  .  .  .10
   
   Say Hello to  
   My Little Friends  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .10
   
  Fire .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .10
   
  Heat  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .10
   
  Ice  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .10
   
  Lightning  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .10
   
  Mana  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .10
   
  Sonic  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .10
  3 . dIstInguIshIng  
  Your dragon  .  .  .  .  .  . 11
  Keen Senses  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .11
  Formidable Defenses  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .11
   
  Damage Reduction  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .11
   
  Specialized Resistance  
   and Immunity  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .11
  Everything Else  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .11
  Deadlier Weapons  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .12
   
  Even Stronger!  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .12
   
  Bad Breath  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .12
   
  The Exception Proves  
   the Rule  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .12
   
  Venom  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .13
  Dragon Magic .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .13
  Dragon Temperament  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .13
  Cool Abilities  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .13
  4 . dragons In actIon .  .  . 15
  Tactics .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .15
  Size  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .15
  How Many Weapons?  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .16
  Flight .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .16
  Weaknesses .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .16
  Encounter Design  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .17
  The Parry Problem  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .17
  appendIx: not Your 
  average dragons .  .  . 18
  Brother Jonas .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .18
  Ssythoxx the Venomous  .  .  .  .  .  .  .19
  Thrice  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .19
  The Annihilator  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .20
  Index .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 22
   
  Contents 
  2
  Contents
  But it is one thing to read about dragons and 
  another to meet them.
  – Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea
  About GURPS
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  Rules and statistics in this book are specifically for the 
  GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition. Page references that 
  begin with B refer to that book, not this one .
  
  Boss monsters, like dragons, are meant to challenge the 
  entire party all on their own. They can be superlative in 
  every category!
  – GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 2: Dungeons
  Dragons feature so prominently in myth, legend, lit-
  erature, and games that they don’t need an introduction. 
  While not necessarily the ultimate combatants – the source 
  material is full of victorious dragon-slayers, too – they’re 
  challenging opponents with a legitimate claim to the epi-
  thet “king of the monsters,” at least among flesh-and-blood 
  creatures (all bets are off if you include beings from other 
  dimensions and Things From Beyond Time And Space). 
  Yet GURPS Dungeon Fantasy has had no “official” stats 
  for them . . . until now.
  What does need an introduction is GURPS Dungeon 
  Fantasy Monsters 4: Dragons. This isn’t a cyclopedia 
  of mythical dragons from myriad cultures; for that, get 
  GURPS Dragons. Rather, it’s a guide to the great wyrms 
  found in fantasy settings where rogues, warriors, and 
  wizards hack and slash their way to wealth and power. 
  Challenging delvers takes a special kind of dragon – as vio-
  lent and varied as the adventurers themselves – and that is 
  the focus of this work.
  PubliCAtion History
  This is the first edition of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 
  Monsters 4: Dragons. It starts with the dragon stats found 
  in the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, adapts them 
  to GURPS Dungeon Fantasy, and adds new abilities and 
  options. No text comes from GURPS Dragons, despite the 
  similarity in subject matter.
  About tHe AutHor
  Sean Punch set out to become a particle physicist in 
  1985 and ended up as GURPS Line Editor in 1995. In that 
  capacity, he has written, edited, or contributed to some 150 
  GURPS releases, revised the game into its fourth edition 
  (2004), and been a regular contributor to Pyramid maga-
  zine. From 2008, he has served as the lead creator of the 
  GURPS Dungeon Fantasy series, which led to his design 
  of the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, released in 
  2017. Sean has been a gamer since 1979, but devotes most 
  of his spare time to Argentine tango (and occasionally 
  tending bar). He lives in Montréal, Québec.
   
  introduCtion 
  3
  introduCtion
  reAding drAgon stAts
  The dragons in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 
  4: Dragons use the stats format established on p. 21 of 
  GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 2: Dungeons and in earlier 
  GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters volumes. Character- 
  point values are absent because this isn’t a handbook of 
  Allies or Alternate Forms, and because building compli-
  cated abilities using advantages would fill space better 
  used to describe monsters.
  ST, DX, IQ, HT, HP, Will, Per, FP, Speed, and Move: Basic 
  attributes and secondary characteristics mean exactly 
  what they do for heroes and every other creature in 
  GURPS. Dragons often have impressively high scores, but 
  need no special exceptions.
  SM: Affects all rolls to hit the dragon. Dragon magic 
  permits a dragon to pay the energy cost for an SM 0 sub-
  ject when casting spells on itself; other casters multiply 
  costs for Regular spells by (1 + SM), as usual. The stats 
  already reflect further effects, such as increased reach.
  Dodge and Parry: Active defenses are prefigured from 
  Basic Speed and combat skills.
  DR: Total DR from natural and supernatural sources. 
  Dragons could in theory wear heavy, costly armor, but in 
  practice almost never do. Many are spellcasters with lots 
  of energy, though, and can cast the Armor spell at no extra 
  cost . . .
  Attacks: Listed by attack name. For bites, claws, and 
  other strikes – and for breath attacks – the number in 
  parentheses is effective skill. Damage scores are final, and 
  already consider bonuses for Brawling skill, natural weap-
  ons (Claws, Striker, Teeth, etc.), and so on.
  Traits: Advantages or disadvantages important in dun-
  geon fantasy. For brevity’s sake, DR and attacks aren’t 
  listed a second time, and “color” traits don’t appear at all. 
  Dragons vary widely, and the GM is free to add abilities, 
  additional Languages, and minor color as the encounter 
  requires.
  Skills: Minimum skills for a dragon of this type. Drag-
  ons live forever and can learn any skill at any level; the GM 
  is welcome to add anything the scenario calls for.
  Class: Dragons are Mundane – they are living and free-
  willed, and have vital areas. Despite their extensive magical 
  powers, they aren’t considered “magical” or “extradimen-
  sional” creatures for the purposes of being repelled, sum-
  moned, banished, etc. They’re too intelligent to manipulate 
  with Animal spells; use Mind Control, at the usual energy 
  multiplier for SM. They can be as good or as evil as any-
  body else, but unlike demons, evil ones aren’t intrinsically 
  “truly evil,” where that influences what affects them.
  Notes: Anything else of importance – including excep-
  tions to listed stats or these guidelines.
  One dragon put down,  
  one bag of gold.
  – Bowen,  
  in DragonHeart (1996)
  
   
  yer bAsiC drAgons 
  4
  Physical descriptions of dragons in myth and legend differ 
  from one saga to the next, and from culture to culture, but 
  the “classic” GURPS Dungeon Fantasy monster resembles 
  a winged lizard with an arsenal of natural weapons: fangs, 
  a spiny frill (“horns”), four clawed feet, and powerful wings 
  and tail. All such creatures 
  exhale something harm-
  ful. And thick scales and 
  an equally tough mem-
  brane over the eyes offer a 
  respectable defense.
  But though the dragons 
  delvers most often encoun-
  ter share the same general 
  shape, they vary widely in 
  every other respect!
  Dragons can have any of several breath weapons, with 
  acid, cold, poison, and other noxious effects being as likely 
  as flame; see Chapter 2. They exhibit a bewildering variety of 
  special abilities, which are discussed in Chapter 3. Last but 
  certainly not least, they come in a range of sizes, which is 
  what this chapter is organized around. To prepare a dragon 
  encounter, choose a size below and then use the later chapters 
  to customize.
  At each step, bear in mind that dragons never die of old 
  age and never stop growing. A youth in a line of colossi might 
  outsize an elder of a smaller subspecies – but within a lineage, 
  older dragons are always larger, boasting higher ST, HP, DR, 
  SM, and damage. And with age comes wisdom; dragon IQ 
  increases over time.
  Dragons are otherwise as unpredictable as adventur-
  ers – be creative! Breath weapons and special abilities aren’t 
  tied to size, age, or bloodline. Parents, siblings, and offspring 
  could be almost nothing alike.
  Small Dragon
  A young member of a bloodline that grows large, or a 
  mature member of a lesser lineage. Small relative to dragons, 
  but still huge from a delver’s viewpoint!
  ST: 25 
  HP: 25 
  Speed: 6.75
  DX: 12 
  Will: 12 
  Move: 6 (Air Move 13)
  IQ: 12 
  Per: 14
  HT: 15 
  FP: 15 
  SM: +3
  Dodge: 9 
  Parry: 10 
  DR: 3
  Bite (14): 2d+3 cutting. Reach C, 1.
  Breath (14): Choose a breath weapon from Chapter 2. This 
  is usually a 2-yard-radius area effect that inflicts standard 
  damage for its type or a standard 1-yard-wide ¥ 10-yard-
  long cone that inflicts 2d+2 damage. Costs 2 FP per use, 
  with no recharge time or limit on uses/day. See 
  Area and Spreading Attacks (pp. B413-414) to 
  handle this in combat. All breath weapons inflict 
  Large-Area Injury (p. B400).
  Front Claw (14): 2d+3 cutting. Reach C-2.
  Hind Claw (12): 2d+4 cutting. Reach C-2.
  Horns (14): 2d+3 cutting. Treat as weapon, not as 
  body part, both to attack and parry! Reach C, 1.
  Tail (12): 2d+4 crushing or double that for knock-
  back only (no damage). Reach C-3.
  Wing (14): 2d+3 crushing or double that for knockback only 
  (no damage). Reach C-3.
  Traits: Bad Grip 2; Extra Attack 1; Extra Legs (Four Legs); 
  Flight (Winged); High Pain Threshold; Horizontal; Immu-
  nity to Disease; Loner (12); Nictitating Membrane 3; Night 
  Vision 9; Penetrating Voice; Peripheral Vision; Tempera-
  ture Tolerance 6 (5°F to 150°F); Unfazeable.
  Skills: Brawling-14; Diplomacy-12; Fast-Talk-12; Innate 
  Attack (Breath)-14; Tactics-12.
  Class: Mundane.
  Notes: Can attack twice, using each natural weapon just once; 
  see How Many Weapons? (p. 16). See Chapter 3 for possi-
  ble special abilities. Dragon body parts are valuable. Roll 
  against Survival to remove scales, horns, etc.; success sal-
  vages parts worth $1d¥2,000, weighing 3 lbs. per $100 of 
  value (the GM may require PCs who desire dragonhide 
  armor to bring back at least the weight of such armor). 
  Success at Thaumatology allows a Surgery roll to extract 
  magical organs worth another $1d¥2,000 but weighing just 
  0.3 lb. per $100 of value.
  Medium Dragon
  A “typical” dragon, if there is such a thing – a boss monster 
  that could wipe out ill-prepared adventurers.
  ST: 35 
  HP: 35 
  Speed: 7.25
  DX: 14 
  Will: 14 
  Move: 6 (Air Move 14)
  IQ: 14 
  Per: 16
  HT: 15 
  FP: 15 
  SM: +4
  Dodge: 10 
  Parry: 11 
  DR: 6
  CHAPter one
  yer bAsiC 
  drAgons
  A necessary monster.
  – Jorge Luis Borges,  
  The Book of 
  Imaginary Beings
  
   
  yer bAsiC drAgons 
  5
  Bite (16): 4d+2 impaling. Reach C, 1.
  Breath (16): Choose a breath weapon from Chapter 2. This 
  is usually a 3-yard-radius area effect that inflicts standard 
  damage for its type or a standard 1-yard-wide ¥ 10-yard-
  long cone that inflicts 4d-1 damage. Costs 2 FP per use, 
  with no recharge time or limit on uses/day. See Area and 
  Spreading Attacks (pp. B413-414) to handle this in combat. 
  All breath weapons inflict Large-Area Injury (p. B400).
  Front Claw (16): 4d+2 cutting or impaling. Reach C-3.
  Hind Claw (14): 4d+3 cutting or impaling. Reach C-3.
  Horns (16): 4d+2 cutting. Treat as weapon, not as body part, 
  both to attack and parry! Reach C, 1.
  Tail (14): 4d+3 crushing or double that for knockback only. 
  Reach C-4.
  Wing (16): 4d+2 crushing or double that for knockback only. 
  Reach C-4.
  Traits: Bad Grip 2; Enhanced Move 0.5 (Air Speed 21); Extra 
  Attack 2; Extra Legs (Four Legs); Flight (Winged); High 
  Pain Threshold; Horizontal; Immunity to Disease; Loner 
  (12); Nictitating Membrane 6; Night Vision 9; Penetrating 
  Voice; Peripheral Vision; Temperature Tolerance 6 (5°F to 
  150°F); Unfazeable.
  Skills: Brawling-16; Diplomacy-14; Fast-Talk-14; Innate 
  Attack (Breath)-16; Tactics-14.
  Class: Mundane.
  Notes: Can attack three times, using use each natural weapon 
  just once; see How Many Weapons? (p. 16). See Chapter 3 
  for possible special abilities. Double the value of body parts 
  relative to a small dragon (p. 4).
  Large Dragon
  An epic monster! Delvers would have to be powerful, well-
  equipped, and well-organized to stand a chance.
  ST: 50 
  HP: 50 
  Speed: 7.25
  DX: 14 
  Will: 16 
  Move: 6 (Air Move 14)
  IQ: 16 
  Per: 18
  HT: 15 
  FP: 15 
  SM: +5
  Dodge: 10 
  Parry: 11 
  DR: 9
  Bite (16): 5d+6 impaling. Reach C, 1.
  Breath (16): Choose a breath weapon from Chapter 2. This 
  is usually a 4-yard-radius area effect that inflicts standard 
  damage for its type or a standard 1-yard-wide ¥ 10-yard-
  long cone that inflicts 5d+2 damage. Costs 2 FP per use, 
  with no recharge time or limit on uses/day. See Area and 
  Spreading Attacks (pp. B413-414) to handle this in combat. 
  All breath weapons inflict Large-Area Injury (p. B400).
  
   
  yer bAsiC drAgons 
  6
  Front Claw (16): 5d+6 cutting or impaling. Reach C-5.
  Hind Claw (14): 5d+7 cutting or impaling. Reach C-5.
  Horns (16): 5d+6 cutting. Treat as weapon, not as body 
  part, both to attack and parry! Reach C, 1.
  Tail (14): 5d+7 crushing or double that for knockback 
  only. Reach C-6.
  Wing (16): 5d+6 crushing or double that for knockback 
  only. Reach C-6.
  Traits: Bad Grip 2; Enhanced Move 0.5 (Air Speed 
  21); Extra Attack 3; Extra Legs (Four Legs); Flight 
  (Winged); High Pain Threshold; Horizontal; Immu-
  nity to Disease; Loner (12); Nictitating Membrane 9; 
  Night Vision 9; Penetrating Voice; Peripheral Vision; 
  Temperature Tolerance 6 (5°F to 150°F); Unfazeable.
  Skills: Brawling-16; Diplomacy-16; 
  Fast-Talk-16; 
  Innate 
  Attack 
  (Breath)-16; Tactics-16.
  Class: Mundane.
  Notes: Can attack four times, 
  using each natural weapon just 
  once; see How Many Weapons? 
  (p. 16). See Chapter 3 for possi-
  ble special abilities. Quadruple 
  the value of body parts relative 
  to a small dragon (p. 4).
  Gargantuan Dragon
  A near-godlike monster, perhaps actually wor-
  shiped as a god – or feared as a demon lord – by 
  the locals. Even ridiculously overpowered delv-
  ers might want to negotiate (or use guile) rather 
  than stand and fight.
  ST: 75 
  HP: 75 
  Speed: 7.25
  DX: 14 
  Will: 18 
  Move: 6
  IQ: 18 
  Per: 20 
   (Air Move 14)
  HT: 15 
  FP: 15 
  SM: +6
  Dodge: 10 
  Parry: 11 
  DR: 12
  Bite (16): 8d+9 impaling. Reach C, 1.
  Breath (16): Choose a breath weapon from 
  Chapter 2. This is usually a 5-yard-radius area 
  effect that inflicts standard damage for its type 
  or a standard 1-yard-wide ¥ 10-yard-long cone 
  that inflicts 8d+2 damage. Costs 2 FP per use, 
  with no recharge time or limit on uses/day. 
  See Area and Spreading Attacks (pp. B413-414) 
  to handle this in combat. All breath weapons 
  inflict Large-Area Injury (p. B400).
  Front Claw (16): 8d+9 cutting or impaling. 
  Reach C-7.
  Hind Claw (14): 8d+10 cutting or impaling. 
  Reach C-7.
  Horns (16): 8d+9 cutting. Treat as weapon, not 
  as body part, both to attack and parry! Reach 
  C, 1.
  Tail (14): 8d+10 crushing or double that for 
  knockback only. Reach C-8.
  Wing (16): 8d+9 crushing or double that for 
  knockback only. Reach C-8.
  Traits: Bad Grip 2; Enhanced Move 0.5 (Air 
  Speed 21); Extra Attack 4; Extra Legs (Four 
  Legs); Flight (Winged); High Pain Threshold; 
  Horizontal; Immunity to Disease; Loner (12); 
  Nictitating Membrane 12; Night Vision 9; Pen-
  etrating Voice; Peripheral Vision; Tempera-
  ture Tolerance 6 (5°F to 150°F); Unfazeable.
  Skills: Brawling-16; Diplomacy-18; Fast-Talk-18; 
  Innate Attack (Breath)-16; Tactics-18.
  Class: Mundane.
  Notes: Can attack five times, using each natural 
  weapon just once; see How Many Weapons? 
  (p. 16). See Chapter 3 for possible special abil-
  ities. Eight times the value of body parts rela-
  tive to a small dragon (p. 4).
  even bigger?
  There’s no limit to dragon size, but anything bigger than a gar-
  gantuan dragon (below) is unlikely to escape the violence of the 
  worst of monsters: Civilization. Even orcs and elves might cooperate 
  to slay it! Yet dragons famously sleep for eons, dungeons are deep, 
  and delvers may be Civilization’s agents. For the GM who wants 
  “super-gargantuans”:
  SM: +7 or more!
  ST and HP: Add +5 to SM, find the sum in the “Size” column 
  of the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. B550), and use half “Linear 
  Measurement”; e.g., SM +7 gives ST/HP 100, while SM +8 gives  
  ST/HP 150.
  IQ: If size reflects old age, IQ can be up to 6 + (2¥SM); e.g., SM +7 
  implies maximum IQ 20, while SM +8 makes that IQ 22. Will, and 
  IQ-based skills, won’t be lower than IQ; Per is at least IQ+2.
  DR: This is 3¥(SM - 2); e.g., SM +7 gives DR 15, while SM +8 gives 
  DR 18. Nictitating Membrane level equals DR.
  Physical Attacks: Bite, front claw, horn, and wing attacks do 
  thrust-1 damage, +1 per die for Brawling; e.g., SM +7 does 11d+10, 
  while SM +8 inflicts 16d+15. Hind claw and tail attacks do +1 dam-
  age relative to this.
  Reach: A fixed C, 1 for bites and horns. For all claws, the range 
  is C to the size of the bonus for SM under Size Modifier and Reach 
  (p. B402); e.g., SM +7 gives reach C-10, while SM +8 gives reach 
  C-15. Tail and wing attacks get +1 to maximum reach relative  
  to this.
  Breath: Area-effect breath weapons have standard damage but 
  a radius of (SM - 1) yards, while cones have standard size but do 
  thrust damage; e.g., SM +7 means a 6-yard-radius cloud or an 11d 
  cone, while SM +8 means a 7-yard-radius cloud or a 16d cone.
  Extra Attack: Level equals (SM - 2); e.g., SM +7 means Extra 
  Attack 5 (six attacks), while SM +8 means Extra Attack 6 (seven 
  attacks).
  Body-Parts Value: Find SM in “Size” on the Size and Speed/Range 
  Table, divide the “Linear Measurement” value by 7, square the 
  result, drop fractions, and read this as a multiplier relative to a 
  small dragon; e.g., SM +7 gives 18¥ value, while SM +8 gives 51¥.
  DX, HT, FP, Speed, Move, active defenses, damage types, and 
  DX- and HT-based skill levels are as for a gargantuan dragon. Bigger 
  dragons usually have more or better special abilities from Chapter 
  3, however.
  There 
  is no limit 
  to the age, 
  intelligence, 
  or size of 
  dragons.
  
   
  drAgon’s breAtH 
  7
  While dragons traditionally breathe flame, there’s no short-
  age of tavern tales telling of wyrms that exhale other harmful 
  effects. Most dragons have just one such weapon, but there 
  are exceptions. Being able to blast enemies with multiple sub-
  stances is well within the realm of special dragon abilities, and 
  downright common among dragons with Extra Head, who 
  often breathe different stuff from each mouth.
  What keeps dragons from destroying the world with their 
  breath weapons is the effort required: Each use costs 2 FP. The 
  GM may reduce or eliminate this as a special dragon ability, 
  but that will make the dragon much more powerful. A com-
  promise might be to give dragons Energy Reserve (Breath) for 
  their breath, or to let dragons with Energy Reserve (Magical) 
  spend that.
  Dragon’s breath comes in two basic forms: clouds and cones. 
  In all cases, it inflicts Large-Area Injury (p. B400) – although 
  some substances don’t interact with DR at all, making  
  this moot.
  Clouds
  Some breath weapons are roughly circular clouds that 
  appear directly in front of the dragon’s head. Handle them as 
  Area-Effect Attacks (p. B413) with a radius equal to the drag-
  on’s (SM - 1) in yards – i.e., radius is two yards for a 
  small dragon (SM +3), three yards for a medium 
  dragon (SM +4), four yards for a large dragon (SM 
  +5), five yards for a gargantuan dragon (SM +6).
  If height matters, treat the cloud as a cylinder 
  with height equal to twice radius if, as is common 
  when fighting foes who can’t fly, it’s breathed at the 
  ground. If the dragon exhales the stuff in the air, 
  read radius as describing a sphere. For instance, a 
  four-yard cloud forms a cylinder four yards in radius 
  and eight yards high if bounced off a floor, but a 
  four-yard-radius sphere if puffed at a flying foe.
  Cloud damage doesn’t normally increase with a 
  dragon’s SM. It remains fixed while the area of effect 
  gets bigger, letting the dragon do the same damage 
  to more foes. The GM is free to make exceptions; see Clouding 
  the Issue (p. 8).
  In all cases, the effect persists for one second and then dis-
  sipates. Nobody is affected more than once by a given cloud. 
  But if the dragon breathes again, that’s a new cloud – apply 
  the effects another time!
  Acid
  Everyone within an acid cloud is considered immersed 
  in acid for one second, taking 1d-1 corrosion damage. As 
  this is large-area injury (p. B400), all armor risks losing DR 
  (Corrosion, p. B379) and the face is considered immersed, 
  requiring a HT roll to avoid eye damage (Acid, p. B428).
  Even if the GM is fond of increasing damage for clouds in 
  general, the special effects can make that overpowered here! 
  In any case, Essential Acid (GURPS Magic, p. 192) or alkahest 
  (Magic, p. 220) is as strong as acid can be, limiting damage to 
  2d-1 corrosion.
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s DR vs. acid.
  Frost
  A swirling cloud of ice motes. Everyone caught within it 
  takes 2d-2 burning damage as large-area injury (p. B400). 
  This is due to extreme cold, and won’t set fires – but roll vs. 
  HT at -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage or be paralyzed 
  (encased in ice) for (20 - HT) minutes, minimum 1 minute, 
  unless thawed with magic before then.
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s DR vs. cold/ice and 
  shift the dragon’s temperature comfort zone to -25°F to 120°F.
  Intrinsic Defenses
  A dragon is perforce resistant or immune to the stuff it 
  exhales – after all, the effect emanates from its mouth, right in 
  front of its snout and eyes, and is liable to engulf it in close quar-
  ters! To reflect this, each breath weapon comes with DR or other 
  protective traits against that substance. The GM who invents 
  new kinds of dragon’s breath should complement each with pro-
  tection of this kind. All such “intrinsic defenses” are cumulative 
  with the dragon’s baseline stats and – in the case of multiple 
  breath weapons – each other.
  CHAPter two
  drAgon’s 
  breAtH
  Out of his mouth go burning 
  lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
  – Job 41:19
  
   
  drAgon’s breAtH 
  8
  Incendiary
  A swirling cloud of flames and fiery embers, similar to 
  the Fire Cloud spell (GURPS Magic, p. 75). Everyone caught 
  within it takes 2d-2 burning damage as large-area injury 
  (p. B400). Enough damage can set fires (Making Things 
  Burn, p. B433).
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s DR vs. heat/fire.
  Poison (Gas)
  Everyone within the cloud is exposed to respiratory poison. 
  Those who breathe must roll vs. HT. Success means 1d HP 
  of injury; failure means 2d HP of injury. Anyone who loses 
  1/2 or more of their HP this way is coughing (-3 to DX, -1 to 
  IQ, and cannot use Stealth) until injury is healed above that 
  threshold. This gas doesn’t affect those with Doesn’t Breathe 
  or Immunity to Poison. Resistant to Poison grants its bonus to 
  the HT roll. DR has no effect!
  Intrinsic Defense: Dragon gains Immunity to Poison.
  Poison (Mist)
  Everyone within the cloud is exposed to contact poison 
  and must roll vs. HT. Success means 1d HP of injury; failure 
  means 2d HP of injury. This mist cannot injure those with 
  Immunity to Poison or Sealed. Resistant to Poison grants its 
  bonus to the HT roll. Doesn’t Breathe and Filter 
  Lungs (and holding one’s breath) are ineffec-
  tive, and DR has no effect!
  Intrinsic Defense: Dragon gains Immunity 
  to Poison.
  Spark
  This resembles a miniature thundercloud, 
  crackling with lightning, like a Spark Cloud 
  spell (GURPS Magic, p. 196). Everyone within 
  takes 2d-2 burning damage as large-area injury 
  (p. B400) – and wearing any metal armor any-
  where means having DR 1 against it, if that 
  would be worse. This cannot set fires, but any-
  one wounded must make a HT roll at -1 per 2 
  HP suffered or be stunned, rolling against HT 
  each turn thereafter to recover.
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s DR 
  vs. electricity.
  Steam
  Everyone within the steam takes 2d-2 burn-
  ing damage as large-area injury (p. B400). 
  This cannot set fires but will extinguish ordi-
  nary fires: candles, lanterns, torches, flaming 
  arrows, etc. The steam is at high pressure; 
  double the damage roll and assess knockback 
  (p. B378) for that much crushing damage, 
  away from the dragon. For instance, some-
  one who suffered 6 points of burning would 
  take knockback for a 12-point crushing attack, 
  meaning that at ST 14 or less, they’d be pushed 
  away and possibly fall.
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s 
  DR vs. heat- (but not fire-) and water-based 
  attacks.
  Vacuum
  The dragon sucks all the air out of the 
  area – while not strictly a cloud, dust, smoke, 
  and other particles will give the impression 
  of one. Air rushes back in with a sharp clap, 
  and everyone within the area takes 1d-2 HP 
  of injury (minimum 1 HP); DR has no effect. 
  Clouding tHe issue
  Whereas cone-type breath weapons are usually narrow, letting the 
  GM show more – or less! – mercy to individual delvers, clouds often 
  affect the whole party. Making these less or more deadly offers a way to 
  fine-tune dragon encounters to specific groups of heroes.
  Less-Lethal Clouds
  Reducing injury is trivial: Cut a frost, incendiary, spark, or steam 
  cloud to 1d-1 damage; have acid count as a splash (1d-3) instead of 
  immersion; make poison (either sort) do just 1d, still halved if the HT 
  roll succeeds, or leave it at 2d but let a successful HT roll avoid all 
  harm; or have vacuum stun and deafen, but not injure.
  Another option is breath weapons that produce the effects of inhaled 
  potions from p. 29 of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers:
  Magebane: Wizards who breathe this can’t cast spells for one hour. 
  (Intrinsic Defense: Dragon gains levels of Magic Resistance (Improved) 
  equal to its DR.)
  Sleep: Living beings who breathe this must roll HT-4 or sleep for 
  (16 - HT) hours. (Intrinsic Defense: Dragon gains Doesn’t Sleep.)
  Weakness: Living beings who breathe this have -3 to ST (cumula-
  tive to -12) for 1d minutes. (Intrinsic Defense: Dragon gains Immunity 
  to ST Reduction.)
  Magebane and weakness normally offer no resistance roll, though 
  victims with Magic Resistance get a HT + MR roll. Just as standard 
  poison breath inflicts half the injury of a death potion, however, the 
  GM might tone down less-lethal gases, allowing all targets to resist any 
  of these effects with a HT roll, still adjusted for any Magic Resistance.
  These breath weapons are less-lethal only in the sense that they 
  don’t injure. If the dragon promptly eats sleeping victims – or renders 
  a wizard-heavy group unable to cast spells or an all-warrior squad too 
  weak to overcome its DR – the overall results can be deadly!
  More-Lethal Clouds
  Conversely, the GM might up the ante for distinctively daunting 
  dragons. As noted already, it’s inconsistent to have acid go beyond 2d-1 
  or vacuum exceed even 1d-2. But frost, incendiary, spark, and steam 
  clouds can be as damaging as desired, although higher than the drag-
  on’s thrust damage – as for a cone – should be rare. Poison can inflict 
  greater injury, be harder to resist, or both; the suggested upper limit is 
  bladeblack (Adventurers, p. 28), which does 6d HP of injury on a failed 
  HT-5 roll.
  
   
  drAgon’s breAtH 
  9
  They must also roll against HT-3 or be stunned and deafened. 
  Roll against HT-3 every turn to recover from stun, and against 
  HT every hour to recover from deafness. Protected Hearing 
  gives +5 to these HT rolls.
  The above effects are the limit for vacuum. Once there’s 
  nothing left, you can’t have less – and anyway, harm is due to 
  the air rushing in, and limited by ambient air pressure. Even 
  if the GM is fond of increasing damage for clouds, that doesn’t 
  make sense here.
  Intrinsic Defenses: Dragon gains Protected Hearing and 
  double DR vs. air-based attacks.
  Cones
  Other breath weapons are (relatively) 
  narrow cones that travel in a straight line 
  from the dragon’s mouth. They use Cone 
  Attacks (p. B413) in combat. The standard 
  cone is 10 yards long by one yard wide – but 
  as cones start one yard wide, its shape on a 
  battle map is a 1¥10 row of hexes.
  Such a cone is too tight to affect many 
  targets, but it does enjoy better odds of a hit. The dragon tar-
  gets the hex directly in front of its head, at +4, and the cone 
  extends out from there. This is far easier than making a ranged 
  attack on a target 10 yards away (-4 to hit).
  While a one-yard-wide cone means even a one-hex figure 
  is big enough to completely screen someone from the dragon, 
  that isn’t the same as say-
  ing it can hit only one victim. 
  Everybody in the hex where the 
  cone “stops” is affected for full 
  damage. Moreover, if the cone 
  passes between two figures, 
  impinging on both of their 
  hexes, both may be hit for full 
  damage, even if nobody behind 
  them will be.
  As well, if nearer targets 
  dive for cover, leaving their 
  hexes empty, they no longer 
  count as cover for those behind 
  them. A tough front-line fighter 
  who opts to dodge rather than 
  take damage (you can’t block 
  or parry a cone) may put a 
  squishy friend in harm’s way!
  Standard 
  cones 
  inflict 
  large-area 
  thrust 
  damage 
  for the dragon that breathed 
  them – i.e., 2d+2 for a small 
  dragon (ST 25), 4d-1 for a 
  medium dragon (ST 35), 5d+2 
  for a large dragon (ST 50), 
  8d+2 for a gargantuan dragon 
  (ST 75). Damage type and spe-
  cial effects depend on the sub-
  stance breathed.
  The GM is welcome to make 
  exceptions to everything above; 
  see Cones of Power (p. 10).
  Cold
  A blast of extremely cold vapor. Damage type is burning, 
  but due to extreme cold – it can’t set fires. Despite causing 
  large-area injury, the effect isn’t large enough to engulf a vic-
  tim and freeze them in place. It will blow out any ordinary fire 
  (candle, lantern, torch, etc.).
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s DR vs. cold/ice and 
  shift the dragon’s temperature comfort zone to -25°F to 120°F.
  Disintegration
  A rare and feared effect that causes corrosion damage. As 
  this is large-area injury (p. B400), all armor risks losing DR 
  (Corrosion, p. B379).
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s DR vs. corrosion.
  Ice formed when it breathed. Warmth 
  fled. Fires guttered and went out.
  – George R.R. Martin,  
  The Ice Dragon
  
   
  drAgon’s breAtH 
  10
  Fire
  The classic attack: A stream of burning fuel! Dam-
  age type is burning, and this can set fires (Making 
  Things Burn, p. B433).
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s DR vs.  
  heat/fire.
  Heat
  A blast of extremely hot vapor, like steam. Damage 
  type is burning. This cannot set fires, but it’s wet and 
  forceful enough to extinguish any ordinary fire (can-
  dle, lantern, torch, etc.).
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s DR vs. heat- 
  (but not fire-) and water-based attacks.
  Ice
  A high-speed column of razor-sharp hail. Damage 
  type is cutting.
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s DR vs. cold/
  ice and shift the dragon’s temperature comfort zone 
  to -25°F to 120°F.
  Lightning
  A huge lightning bolt, far broader than most light-
  ning-based spells. Damage type is burning – and 
  wearing any metal armor anywhere means having 
  DR 1 against it, if that would be worse for the vic-
  tim. This cannot set fires, but anyone wounded must 
  make a HT roll at -1 per 2 HP suffered or be stunned, 
  rolling against HT each turn thereafter to recover.
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s DR vs. 
  electricity.
  Mana
  A beam of pure energy, similar to the Magical Bolt 
  power-up (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 11: Power-
  Ups, p. 37). Inflicts injury (direct HP loss) instead 
  of damage. DR has no effect, and only completely 
  inanimate targets are unaffected. Another rare and 
  dreaded attack!
  Intrinsic Defense: Double the dragon’s DR vs. 
  damaging magic that’s affected by DR – and even 
  against damaging magic that usually bypasses DR, 
  its normal (not doubled) DR applies!
  Sonic
  A devastating roar with effects similar to a Con-
  cussion spell (GURPS Magic, p. 26). Damage type 
  is crushing, and anyone hit must also roll against 
  HT-3 or be stunned. Roll against HT-3 every turn 
  to recover from stun. Protected Hearing gives +5 to 
  these HT rolls.
  Intrinsic 
  Defenses: 
  Dragon 
  gains 
  Protected 
  Hearing and double DR vs. sound-based attacks.
  Cones of Power
  Like clouds, cones can be tailored to the situation.
  Adjusting Damage
  While the dragon’s thrust damage is standard for a cone, 
  this can be scaled as needed in either direction. Suggested 
  limits are thrust damage for the next-biggest and -smallest 
  dragons. When toning down a small dragon, go with 1d+1 (as 
  for ST 15); when beefing up a gargantuan one, use 11d (as for 
  ST 100).
  Affecting More Targets
  In some fantasy, dragons can blast lots of people! This blurs 
  the distinction between clouds and cones, but it also encourages 
  delvers to respect dragons more. Options include:
  All-Out Attack (Cone): A dragon can spray around its cone 
  using an All-Out Attack, gaping its maw for an entire turn and 
  moving its head predictably. This uses up just one attack but 
  means no other attacks that turn can be bites with that head. 
  Multiply terminal cone width by 2, 3, 4, or 5, as the dragon 
  wishes – applying Cone Attacks (p. B413) as for a cone of that 
  size – but against anyone hit, divide damage rolled by the same 
  amount. To avoid math, use this table:
   Dragon 
  Damage by Cone Width
   Size 
  2 yards 
  3 yards 
  4 yards 
  5 yards
   Small 
  1d+1 
  1d 
  1d-1 
  1d-2
   Medium 
  1d+3 
  1d+1 
  1d 
  1d-1
   Large 
  2d+3 
  1d+3 
  1d+1 
  1d
   Gargantuan 
  4d+1 
  2d+3 
  2d+1 
  1d+3
  Extra Effort: Alternatively, the dragon can breathe a larger 
  full-powered cone without an All-Out Attack, but this costs +1 FP 
  per yard of terminal width added to the basic one yard. Maxi-
  mum width is five yards, costing +4 FP (6 FP total).
  Bigger Cones: Some dragons may exhale larger full-pow-
  ered cones with no downsides – no All-Out Attack, no extra FP 
  cost. This should be rare!
  Say Hello to My Little Friends
  Particularly disgusting dragons – swamp-dwellers, carri-
  on-eaters, etc. – may vomit forth vermin. Handle such breath 
  weapons as cones, except that instead of doing direct dam-
  age, they deposit an insect swarm (treat as bees, p. B461), 
  a slime (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 2: Icky Goo, 
  pp. 15-16), or a spore cloud (Icky Goo, pp. 17-18). Targets hit 
  by the cone suffer these organisms’ attack immediately; if 
  nobody is hit, the critters appear 10 yards from the dragon, 
  in the hex where the cone terminates. On later turns, treat 
  them as just another combatant, friendly to the dragon and 
  hostile to its foes.
  Intrinsic Defenses: Dragon gains Immunity to attacks from 
  the creatures it spews.
  
   
  distinguisHing your drAgon 
  11
  A dragon’s size and breath weapon are the first things the 
  heroes are likely to notice. Yet if those are the only features 
  that set dragons apart from one another, the players will 
  start to treat all dragons as “huge creatures that fly, do lots of 
  damage, and breathe crud” – and the delvers will devise stock 
  countermeasures that reduce even a super-gargantuan dragon 
  to just another monster. That might be clever, and worth 
  rewarding the first time, but the campaign loses a little some-
  thing if it always works.
  What makes a dragon memorable – and if it’s hostile, 
  scary – are its other tricks. The most famous of these fall into 
  a few categories.
  Keen senses
  One of the most celebrated draconic qualities is percep-
  tiveness – invisibility and halfling stealth helped Bilbo deal 
  with Smaug, but they weren’t enough! All dragons have  
  Night Vision 9 and Peripheral Vision. They also have a 
  Perception equal to IQ+2 at least, and any amount of that, 
  Acute Hearing, or Acute Taste and Smell is possible.
  Some dragons have special senses, too. The best-known 
  of these are Danger Sense, Discriminatory Smell, and/or 
  See Invisible for detecting thieving delvers; Dark Vision 
  instead of Night Vision if they live underground rather 
  than, say, on a mountaintop; and Telescopic Vision for 
  use on the wing. And Discriminatory Taste seems fitting 
  for a creature that eats everyone.
  Beyond that, a dragon might have some form of Detect. 
  This is usually specialized to gold, magic items, or other 
  valuables. An old, wise dragon may be attuned to all life, all 
  supernatural phenomena, or something equally broad. If 
  the delvers or their gear qualify, the dragon will be expect-
  ing them.
  formidAble defenses
  All dragons have scales that provide Damage Resistance, 
  and an equally thick-but-transparent Nictitating Membrane. 
  The GM can easily justify +1 to +3 to both DR and Nictitating 
  Membrane by the rationale that allows martial artists to take 
  DR 1-2 skin as a Chi ability (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 1: 
  Adventurers, p. 22), barbarians to acquire the same as a  
  power-up (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 11: Power-Ups, p. 18), 
  or individual dragon-blooded to add DR 1-3 (Power-Ups, 
  p. 40): “This one is tough.” At +3 DR, the dragon is as armored 
  as one the next size up.
  Dragons also have defensive advantages that protect 
  against damage sources similar to their breath weapons. This 
  is usually higher DR, but sometimes a form of Immunity.
  And there are further options . . .
  Damage Reduction
  Although general Damage Reduction (GURPS Dungeon 
  Fantasy Monsters 1, p. 35) primarily suits rubbery and 
  amorphous entities, and Things that exist partially outside 
  the material world, narrower forms make sense for dragons. 
  The most likely varieties affect damage from sources similar 
  to the dragon’s breath weapon; e.g., a fire-breathing dragon 
  might have Damage Reduction (Fire) and divide fire injury 
  after DR by 2, 3, or even 4. Magic-using dragons may have 
  Damage Reduction (Magic) instead or as well.
  Specialized Resistance and Immunity
  Dragons already enjoy Immunity to Disease plus any 
  Immunity that goes with their breath weapons. But even a 
  non-poison-breather might have Resistant to Poison (+3) 
  or (+8), or full Immunity to Poison, because it’s just that 
  tough. Exceptional dragons may have Resistant to Metabolic 
  Hazards (+3) or (+8).
  Everything Else
  An individual dragon can have any trait alongside the 
  stats in Chapter 1 and the options here and in Chapter 
  2. That includes higher attributes (but DX rarely exceeds 
  15, and HT 16+ makes a nigh-unkillable opponent even 
  less killable), advantages not discussed here, and the full 
  range of skills. Removing standard abilities and add-
  ing disadvantages are also possibilities, though usually 
  as part of a trade-off; e.g., a serpentine dragon without 
  Extra Legs and Flight (Winged), and that has No Fine 
  Manipulators instead of Bad Grip, might also boast snaky 
  capabilities such as Constriction Attack, Double-Jointed, 
  and a venomous bite.
  CHAPter tHree
  distinguisHing 
  your drAgon
  
   
  distinguisHing your drAgon 
  12
  Supernatural resistance is also widespread. Magic Resis-
  tance is especially common, with the Improved enhancement 
  if the dragon casts spells; the level typically equals DR (mean-
  ing MR 3, 6, 9, or 12 for – respectively – small, medium, large, 
  or gargantuan dragons). A dragon might instead or as well 
  possess Immunity to magic resembling its breath weapon, 
  preventing spells of that type from being cast on it (this won’t 
  affect jets, missiles, and other physical attacks conjured by 
  magic, but a dragon has DR and possibly Damage Reduction 
  vs. those); e.g., a cold-breather may have Immunity to Cold 
  Spells, making Flesh to Ice, Frostbite, and Icy Touch ineffec-
  tive, though Ice Dagger, Ice Sphere, etc. would merely encoun-
  ter elevated DR.
  Lastly, while all dragons are Unfazeable, most can be 
  influenced by anyone who can contend with high Will. But 
  many elder dragons are above the words of puny mortals, and 
  possess Indomitable. Others merely have extreme Will, with 
  levels up to IQ + SM being impressive but hardly rare (that’s 
  Will 15, 18, 21, or 24 for – respectively – small, medium, large, 
  or gargantuan dragons).
  deAdlier weAPons
  Even small dragons deliver respectable damage, yet some 
  wyrms punch above their weight – much like delvers with 
  power-ups, optimized abilities, and magical weapons. Three 
  possibilities are particularly common.
  Even Stronger!
  Strength tracks size as illustrated in Chapter 1, but those 
  values are “racial averages.” Individual ST can vary from 
  just above that of next-smallest size to just below that of the 
  next-largest: ST 16-34 if small, ST 26-49 if medium, ST 36-74 
  if large, or ST 51-99 if gargantuan. In all cases, Hit Points 
  equal ST.
  In addition, dragons are ferocious, and candidates for 
  Striking ST. Levels as high as 20% of ST, dropping fractions, 
  are likely. Even “average” small, medium, large, or gargan-
  tuan dragons might have up to Striking ST 5, 7, 10, or 15, 
  respectively.
  In both cases, the dragon’s thrust damage increases, 
  affecting the damage of physical attacks as explained in Even 
  Bigger? (p. 6). This may or may not boost breath-weapon 
  damage as described there – some brute dragons are strong 
  to compensate for anemic breath weapons, while others are 
  nastier across the board. Higher ST might be linked to the 
  absence of Dragon Magic (p. 13), too . . . but don’t bet on it.
  Bad Breath
  A disturbing number of dragons are unusually capable 
  with their breath. See Chapter 2 for the full gamut of possibil-
  ities, but keep “DELVE” in mind:
  D
  imensions: Clouds can have larger-than-expected radi-
  uses; while (SM - 1) yards is standard, a dragon might 
  have “outsized” breath that’s SM or (SM + 1) yards in radius. 
  Cones can expand to two to five yards wide instead of the usual 
  one yard; see Affecting More Targets (p. 10).
  E
  fficiency: The 2 FP per use for breath weapons assumes 
  it takes something out of a dragon to belch forth matter 
  or energy. But just as high-skill spellcasters pay less energy 
  for spells, some dragons might get more efficient with their 
  breath, paying 1 FP or even no FP. Or perhaps they can also 
  draw on an Energy Reserve – the one used for Dragon Magic 
  (p. 12) or a special one for their breath – which is typically 
  equal to ST in size.
  L
  ethality: Higher damage is the most obvious possibility; see 
  More-Lethal Clouds (p. 8) and Adjusting Damage (p. 10).
  V
  ariability: A dragon might have more than one breath 
  weapon! Most common are a cloud and a cone, related 
  in effect: an acid cloud with a cone of disintegration, a frost 
  cloud with a cone of cold or ice, an incendiary cloud with a 
  cone of fire, a poison cloud with a “cone” of slime (Say Hello to 
  My Little Friends, p. 10), a steam cloud with a cone of heat, or 
  a spark cloud with a cone of lightning. Other dragons can kill 
  using a lethal cone or subdue with one of the options in Less-
  Lethal Clouds (p. 8); such combinations are less predictable. 
  But anything is possible – especially for dragons with Extra 
  Head. The GM could even roll randomly for each attack (e.g., 
  “1d: 1-2 is cold, 3-4 is fire, 5-6 is lightning”).
  tHe exCePtion Proves tHe rule
  As this supplement strives to make clear, dragons 
  are infinitely variable. Yet expressing every conceivable 
  quality as a by-the-book GURPS trait isn’t always easy 
  or even possible.
  To start with, the GM can apply any optional rule 
  described in these pages to some but not all dragons – or 
  to some but not all attacks of one specific dragon. Exam-
  ples are reduced FP cost for breath weapons (p. 7), extra 
  effort to broaden a cone (p. 10), and body parts equivalent 
  to weapons for parries (p. 17).
  And because making dragons individually unforget-
  table means having them be collectively unpredictable, 
  the GM is encouraged to go further! A wyrm might be 
  famed for razor-sharp claws, effectively fine or very fine 
  blades that justify +1 or +2 damage – or for a long tail, 
  granting extraordinary reach. A swashbuckling dragon 
  that swirls its wings like a cloak may enjoy a Defense 
  Bonus and a Block score, and use its horns with Rapier 
  instead of Brawling to reap the benefits of Fencing Weap-
  ons (p. B208). Dragon Magic (p. 13) is especially fertile 
  ground; it’s already hands-free and insensitive to the drag-
  on’s SM, so other exceptions seem likely; e.g., modified 
  prerequisites or access to spells that are off-limits to delv-
  ers. And so on.
  Such exceptions become special abilities in their 
  own right – and as they’re for monsters, they don’t need 
  “builds” or point costs. For examples of how to play fast 
  and loose like this, see the dragons on pp. 18-21.
  
   
  distinguisHing your drAgon 
  13
  E
  xceptions: Stats aren’t everything. Players are 
  liable to expect arctic-dwelling and snow-white 
  dragons to exhale cold, frost, or ice – especially if a 
  tavern tale (or another RPG) says so – so why not 
  mix it up and have such a monster breath fire, heat, 
  or steam? It needs to stay warm, after all! Or maybe 
  dragon’s breath evolves over time; e.g., a storied 
  poison-breather might learn to ignite the gas and 
  become a fire-breather (or be capable of both), or a 
  certain type of dragon could breathe cold in winter 
  and fire in summer (or vice versa).
  Venom
  Dragons in folklore are venomous at least as 
  often as they breathe flame. This means the drag-
  on’s bite – or less often, another cutting or impaling 
  attack – inflicts from 1d to 4d toxic or fatigue dam-
  age as a follow-up.
  A HT roll to resist is usual, with success meaning 
  anything from half damage to none at all. Smaller 
  dragons need stronger venom to compensate for 
  lower ST, but larger ones inject more, so damage is 
  independent of size and thus of the dragon’s other 
  attacks. The HT roll tends to vary, though: HT or 
  HT-1 if gargantuan, HT-1 or HT-2 if large, HT-2  
  or HT-3 if medium, HT-4 or HT-5 if small.
  Venom is more common for poison- or slime- 
  breathing dragons, but it isn’t limited to such crea-
  tures. And a rare few wyrms produce exotic venoms 
  that inflict unusual damage types, notably burning 
  (for hot, cold, or electrical breath weapons) or cor-
  rosion (for acid or disintegration breath).
  drAgon mAgiC
  Dragons are far more likely than humans or 
  members of most other races (save for elves and 
  faerie folk) to work magic.
  Most dragon spellcasters are wizards, with a 
  Magery level between 1 and (IQ - 10): 1-2 if small, 
  1-4 if medium, 1-6 if large, and an impressive 1-8 
  if gargantuan. There are also draconic clerics who 
  represent the gods of dragons, or the sun-devouring 
  and world-encircling serpent deities of mortals; these have 
  Power Investiture at similar levels. A few dragons – espe-
  cially venomous, poison- and slime-spewing swamp-dwell-
  ers – are forces of Nature with Power Investiture (Druidic).
  Spells vary as much as they do for delvers. Dragons are 
  often “themed” around their breath: fire-breathers learn 
  Fire spells or the spells of fire gods, lightning-shooters cast 
  Weather spells or the spells of storm gods, and so on. But just 
  as many are scholars who study what’s useful, almost always 
  including protection against wannabe dragon-slayers (Armor, 
  Shield, Missile Shield, Reverse Missiles, etc.).
  Most spells are at IQ + Magery level, with a few favorites 
  at higher levels. High skill reduces casting time and energy 
  cost as usual – and regardless of level, dragon magic is always 
  cast “hands free.” At skill 15+, even muting the dragon can’t 
  prevent casting.
  Another special feature of such magic is that the dragon 
  can cast on itself as if it were SM 0, regardless of actual  
  size. This doesn’t extend to casting on other dragons or 
  high-SM creatures.
  Finally, spellcasting dragons often have an Energy 
  Reserve of a type appropriate to their magic (Magical, Holy, 
  or Druidic). The typical upper limit, if there is such a thing, 
  is ST – that is, 25 if small, 35 if medium, 50 if large, or 75 if 
  gargantuan. Elder dragons sometimes possess energy out of 
  proportion to their size; some are purported to be able to 
  cast the Resurrection spell (300 energy) singlehanded!
  Cool Abilities
  Then there’s all the other stuff dragons do in fantasy and 
  folklore. Any legitimate “best of” list would have to include:
  Alternate Form (Humanoid): Many old, wise, and 
  (especially) spellcasting dragons can take humanoid form. 
  They do so away from witnesses; delvers are most likely to 
  encounter such a dragon as a humanoid, possibly in town.  
  drAgon temPerAment
  Dragons in general vary at least as much as heroes in person-
  ality. They aren’t to the last avaricious, voracious, and evil. Most 
  are indifferent to humanoid life except when such beings annoy 
  them (for instance, when glory-hounds try to kill them); a few are 
  actually good, if standoffish.
  Thus, their only universal mental traits are Loner and 
  Unfazeable, which the GM can interpret as “Stay out of my way” 
  and “I don’t care about your silly mortal society.” Of course, any-
  thing that eats herds of cattle to survive will soon upset people, 
  but that doesn’t equate to Bloodlust or Uncontrollable Appetite; 
  dragons are merely as hungry as expected for their size (though 
  that can make Gluttony terrifying where in a humanoid it would 
  seem buffoonish). At worst, their mindset makes Callous more 
  common if they avoid civilization, or suggests Selfish and fre-
  quently Stubbornness if they reluctantly negotiate with it (add 
  Bully if the “negotiations” are really intimidation).
  Dragons that cross paths with delvers are another matter! They 
  tend to dwell in dungeons because they value the same thing that 
  draws adventurers there: loot. These dragons often have Greed 
  (commonly with Miserliness, as they tend to hoard). Fighting 
  off treasure-hunters and other monsters can leave them with a 
  nasty case of Bad Temper or Bloodlust, often Paranoia, and all 
  too often Intolerance of all non-dragon life. Most fire-breathers 
  develop Pyromania to go with these traits (actually, they’re prone 
  to it in general).
  Despite their considerable clout, dragons rarely suffer from 
  Impulsiveness, On the Edge, Overconfidence, or similar flaws. 
  They have the long view that comes with immortality, and even 
  stupid ones are smarter than most people. If a situation calls for 
  cunning – even stealth – they’ll plot, strategize, and then act when 
  they have the upper hand. This combination of power and wis-
  dom is one reason why they’re terrifying opponents.
  The GM can add whatever fits the encounter. A swamp-dwelling 
  dragon who casts druidic spells may have Sense of Duty (Nature). 
  A sky-darkening colossus worshiped by villagers might suffer 
  from Megalomania. And a bored quest-giver who shapeshifts into 
  human form could be driven by Xenophilia – or Trickster.
  
   
  distinguisHing your drAgon 
  14
  This trick deprives the dragon of its greatest physical gifts 
  (ST, HP, DR, wings, breath, etc.), but not its high DX, IQ, 
  HT, Will, and Per, nor Unfazeable or individual mental 
  abilities, nor any magical powers (like Magery and Energy 
  Reserve). While this may seem to make the dragon danger-
  ously vulnerable, it can resume its natural form instantly if 
  wounded – and often, reversion regenerates the injury that 
  triggered it, even returning the dragon to life if slain (treat 
  as Extra Life).
  Amphibious, Doesn’t Breathe (Gills), and Pressure 
  Support: These three traits just about always occur together 
  when they occur at all. They are common for intelligent  
  “sea serpents.”
  Compartmentalized Mind: The most adept spellcasting 
  dragons have a level of this trait, allowing them to take a 
  Concentrate maneuver to cast a spell while they make their 
  usual number of physical attacks or take a Move maneuver to 
  cruise at the full airspeed allowed by Enhanced Move.
  Extra Attack: Some dragons can use most or all of their 
  natural weapons at once, making them capable of facing 
  entire adventuring parties in straight-up melee combat. These 
  have higher-than-usual levels of Extra Attack. The upper limit 
  is typically Extra Attack 8, allowing nine attacks – horns, tail, 
  two wings, four claws, and bite or breath – but . . .
  Extra Head: Dragons with multiple heads are common. 
  Each head also comes with a level of Extra Attack (giving an 
  additional bite, horn, or breath attack per turn) and its own 
  breath weapon. Compartmentalized Mind isn’t guaranteed 
  alongside all this, but it’s a likely adjunct.
  Flight: All dragons can fly, but some lose the Winged modi-
  fier and simply levitate. This ability might be magical, psionic, 
  or something else. Dragons like this lack wing attacks but can 
  go airborne even in the close quarters of dungeons.
  Terror: Huge dragons often cause fear on sight; some 
  large, most gargantuan, and nearly all super-gargantuan 
  dragons possess this trait, with a Fright Check penalty equal 
  to (5 - SM): 0 if large, -1 if gargantuan, and so on. The +5 
  for “heat of battle” (p. B360) doesn’t apply in most cases – if 
  a dragon swoops down out of nowhere or delvers kick in a 
  door and see a dragon, roll the Fright Check without the 
  bonus. This can paralyze an entire party with fear before 
  combat begins!
  Universal Digestion (Matter Eater): The ability to eat 
  just about anything that can fit in the dragon’s mouth is 
  widespread. Dragons who have it often lack treasure hoards, 
  as they eat victims complete with their gear. Some further 
  possess Tunneling and can explode out of the ground or 
  through walls to surprise delvers.
  
   
  drAgons in ACtion 
  15
  Even the youngest, most gullible dragon enjoys IQ, Will, 
  Diplomacy, and Fast-Talk at 12; the great wyrms that qual-
  ify as boss monsters are cannier. When a dragon negotiates 
  with adventurers (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 2: Dungeons, 
  p. 10) or offers them a quest (Dungeons, p. 4), have it behave 
  like any crafty NPC, speaking eloquently to convince the delv-
  ers that a course of action would be prudent or profitable 
  (which it will be . . . for the dragon). Its respectable IQ and 
  Will mean Trickery (Dungeons, p. 10) is unlikely to be 
  successful – and owing to Unfazeable, Intimidation 
  (Dungeons, p. 12) never works.
  Delvers often meet dragons in battle, however. 
  Then it’s the GM’s job to present a credible threat.  
  A dragon is only a big sack of Hit Points waiting to have 
  its eyes poked out if the GM plays it that way . . .
  tACtiCs
  A dragon’s intelligence extends to combat: Dragons 
  are born tacticians, with Tactics at skill 12+, and their 
  small-t tactics should reflect this. All seek to exploit 
  every benefit and avoid every drawback discussed in 
  Size (below), Flight (p. 16), Weaknesses (pp. 16-17), 
  Encounter Design (p. 17), and The Parry Problem (p. 17).
  However tough the dragon, it won’t willingly stay put 
  and go toe-to-toe with a horde of opponents unless defending 
  its young. Especially if it has space to fly – but even if it must 
  scurry – it will exploit Retreat (p. B377) when defending and 
  Step (p. B368) after attacking, and take periodic Move maneu-
  vers, to open a gap and lure fleet-footed and overconfident 
  heroes into ill-advised one-on-one exchanges.
  A dragon usually saves its breath weapon for situations 
  where it can exploit Area and Spreading Attacks (pp. B413-
  414) to target the largest concentration of victims. One that 
  breathes a cloud will use it on tight formations, or when 
  surrounded. One that exhales a cone will target enemy col-
  umns, creating a situation where frantic dodging and drop-
  ping (p. B377) sees several opponents end up prone – ideally 
  exposing a vulnerable back-line fighter.
  Dragons use their special abilities to the utmost. One that 
  breathes a cloud to which it’s immune will surround itself in 
  the stuff and force opponents to fight there. One with sleep-
  ing-gas breath, or Terror, will savage slumbering or stunned 
  victims. One with Dark Vision will snuff out torches. One 
  that knows defensive spells will cast them if its keen senses 
  detect delvers nearby. One with Compartmentalized Mind 
  will cast spells while taking gap-opening Move maneuvers. 
  And so on.
  Lastly, while dragons are sometimes portrayed as “noble” 
  or “honorable,” that’s only when fighting dragonkind – or 
  maybe a mortal king. Scummy delvers are beneath honor. 
  Against them, dragons fight dirty, making diving surprise 
  attacks from above, trampling downed foes, singling out war-
  riors who foolishly All-Out Attack, and the like.
  size
  A dragon’s size is an advantage in itself when fighting on 
  the ground, as sometimes occurs in the dungeon. Dragons are 
  sleek, meaning they’re just one hex wide on a battle map, but 
  long. In terms of Multi-Hex Figures (p. B392): SM +3 (a small 
  dragon) is 6-7 hexes long, SM +4 (medium) is 8-10 hexes long, 
  SM +5 (large) is 11-15 hexes long, and SM +6 (gargantuan) is 
  16-20 hexes long.
  Such outsized figures can easily sweep through many 
  lesser ones during the course of ordinary movement. Consult 
  Slam and Overrun (p. B392) for rules, the most significant of 
  which is this: Smaller figures that get in the way of movement 
  suffer incidental slams that don’t count as attacks – such 
  slams are “free”!
  Even against a small (SM +3) dragon, a SM 0 or +1 adven-
  turer knocked down by a slam (or lying down for any reason!) 
  is likely to face Trampling (p. B404). This isn’t merely free but 
  also automatic: no attack or defense rolls. While “only” at 
  half ST, that’s 1d-1, 1d+2, 2d+2, or 4d crushing for – respec-
  tively – a small, medium, large, or gargantuan dragon.
  CHAPter four
  drAgons  
  in ACtion
  Noble dragons don’t have 
  friends. The nearest they can 
  get to the idea is an enemy 
  who is still alive.
  – Terry Pratchett,  
  Guards! Guards!
  
   
  drAgons in ACtion 
  16
  A dragon’s size also puts its head – and hence its eyes, 
  every swashbuckler’s favorite target – out of easy reach of 
  melee weapons. After any turn on which the dragon doesn’t 
  lower its head to bite, assume that its head towers half its 
  length (see above), rounded up, above floor level: three or 
  four yards at SM +3, four or five at SM +4, six to eight at 
  SM +5 (large), eight to 10 at SM +6. A delver on the ground 
  needs a weapon of reach two yards less than this to target 
  any part of the head: reach 1 or 2 if small, 2 or 3 if medium, 
  4 to 6 if large, 6 to 8 if gargantuan.
  Also don’t forget that a dragon’s size makes Regular 
  spells expensive except when it casts on itself. Combatants 
  casting such offensive magic pay 4¥ (small), 5¥ (medium), 
  6¥ (large), or 7¥ (gargantuan) the energy. See Regular Spells 
  (p. B239).
  fligHt
  Most dragons can – and, if they have the space, will – fly. 
  Why face puny groundlings on their own terms?
  A dragon that deigns to hover low enough to make melee 
  attacks almost always uses its longer-reach attacks, forcing 
  foes to engage it at the same reach. A small dragon with 
  reach 2-3 is in range of many common melee weapons – but 
  a medium one with reach 3-4 is menaced only by polearms 
  and long spears, a large one with reach 5-6 necessitates 
  pikes, and a gargantuan one with reach 7-8 simply doesn’t 
  have to worry. In all cases, Combat at Different Levels 
  (pp. B402-403) applies, meaning among other things that 
  the dragon gets +1 to +3 to defend, depending on relative 
  height, while victims defend at -1 to -3.
  Ranged combat is a better bet for adventurers facing  
  airborne dragons (or who want to attack the head of a 
  grounded one), but warriors on the ground have to shoot 
  upward. This adds to effective range, as explained in Firing 
  Upward and Downward (p. B551). Ranged attackers should be 
  wary of spellcasting dragons, who all too often know Missile 
  Shield – or worse, Reverse Missiles. And speaking of magic, 
  magic-wielders will find Regular spells challenging to cast on 
  high-flying dragons, as they’re at -1 per yard (see p. B239).
  Dragons that breathe cones are extra-nasty. They can fly 
  10 yards overhead and blast the ground while staying out of 
  reach of melee weapons and at an effective 20 yards (-6 to hit) 
  for ranged weapons. And they will, too!
  The GM should push Flying Combat (p. B398) to the limit. 
  In particular, dragons on the wing can retreat upward, which 
  adds +1 over and above the normal retreating bonus. This is 
  cumulative with any bonus to defenses for relative height.
  weAKnesses
  A dragon has no weaknesses the GM doesn’t add. Standard 
  disadvantages like Bad Grip and Horizontal are inconvenient 
  for the dragon but not exploitable in the same way as traits 
  such as Divine Curse, Dread, Fragile, Revulsion, Susceptible, 
  Uncontrollable Appetite, Vulnerability, or Weakness. Dragons 
  have only the “normal” flaws of living beings, namely the need 
  to eat, drink, and breathe, plus vital areas – and even then, 
  while the skull is obvious, the vitals require a Physiology roll 
  to locate.
  How mAny weAPons?
  A typical dragon has 10 natural weapons:
  • one bite
  • one set* of horns
  • one breath weapon†
  • one tail
  • two sets* of front claws
  • two sets* of hind claws
  • two wings
  * Treat each “set” of horns or claws as a unit, 
  regardless of how many pointy bits it includes.
  † Dragons with several breath weapons may use 
  only one per head per turn.
  Extra Head adds a bite, a set of horns, and a breath 
  weapon per head; e.g., Extra Head 2 gives 16 natural 
  weapons.
  No dragon can attack with all these weapons just 
  because it has them! It may attack once, plus once 
  per level of Extra Attack, plus any additional attacks 
  from Rapid Strike or All-Out Attack (Double). It can 
  use any combination of weapons for these attacks, but 
  it can use each weapon only once per turn.
  
   
  drAgons in ACtion 
  17
  Which doesn’t mean that delvers who roll poorly against 
  skills like Current Affairs or Research won’t believe there are 
  flaws to exploit; see Tavern Tales and Moldy Books (GURPS 
  Dungeon Fantasy 2: Dungeons, p. 17). Many a hero has 
  wrongly assumed that a fire dragon is vulnerable to cold, a 
  magic-using dragon can’t survive without mana, and so on. 
  Dragons love to spread such rumors (all know Fast-Talk at 
  12+). Don’t make “It has no weaknesses” a free lunch.
  enCounter design
  Not everything that makes a dragon deadly (or a pushover, 
  come to that) is inherent in the abilities in Chapters 1-3 or the 
  way dragons fight as discussed up to this point. Some things 
  boil down to the GM’s planning.
  Most crucial is battlefield area. Flight (Winged) gives 
  dragons vast wingspans: 12-14 yards if small, 16-20 yards if 
  medium, 22-30 yards if large, or 32-40 yards if gargantuan. 
  To fly, they need at least this much open space on every side; 
  see Flight (p. B56). This makes size a trade-off: Giving 
  a dragon maximum length for its SM helps on the 
  ground (ensuring more incidental slams and keeping 
  its head out of reach; see Size, pp. 15-16), but at the 
  cost of limiting where it can fly.
  Overhead clearance is related. Even if the area is 
  immense, allowing flight, a dragon who can’t fly high 
  won’t be able to murder delvers with impunity by stay-
  ing out of reach of their melee weapons while giving 
  large penalties to Regular spells and ranged attacks. A 
  really low ceiling may prevent the dragon from retreat-
  ing upward and gaining a useful bonus.
  Dragons being intelligent, it seems unlikely they 
  would lair anywhere they couldn’t fly freely – or at 
  least fly out of, taking the fight to the great outdoors. 
  Contriving to put them in confined quarters greatly 
  reduces their effectiveness: A small dragon becomes 
  oversized fodder, while bigger ones won’t seem very 
  boss-like; either is anticlimactic. It might suit some 
  adventures if, say, an evil wizard keeps a dragon 
  chained or caged – but in that case, why not have the 
  dragon cut a deal?
  Thus, the best battlefields for dragons are either the 
  wilderness or really huge caves, not dungeons made up 
  of little rooms and corridors.
  Encounter distance is also important. Dragons 
  that have to close a huge gap while the scout riddles 
  them with arrows won’t do well. Play up a dragon’s 
  keen senses (p. 11) to have it detect the adventurers first, par-
  ticularly if it has something like Danger Sense or Telescopic 
  Vision, or Information spells. Then have it approach from a 
  blind angle – say, rising into sight when the heroes are mere 
  steps from a sheer drop, erupting from beneath the surface of 
  a lake, or just flying down from behind if the party isn’t being 
  clever about watching its back.
  Finally, time is of the essence – don’t let the players rush 
  the encounter! Combat time starts when the GM says it does. 
  Dragons with Terror get to cause a Fright Check before any-
  body gets +5 for the “heat of battle”; talking dragons with 
  Compartmentalized Mind enjoy the time they need to secretly 
  cast spells while apparently negotiating.
  Once combat does start, take the time to play the dragon 
  right. It has multiple attacks and isn’t fodder. Carefully resolve 
  its movement and any resulting slams, and then match attacks 
  to suitable targets. It’s a dragon, not an orc or even a troll, and 
  should enjoy the same amount of “spotlight time” as the entire 
  adventuring party!
  tHe PArry Problem
  One problem dragons face is that aside from their  
  horns – which have short reach but are made of tough 
  stuff – their non-breath attacks put limbs, tail, or the face 
  in danger of being parried. Which can hurt. See Parrying 
  Unarmed Attacks (p. B376).
  At a minimum, the GM should make sure dragons don’t need-
  lessly risk being chopped up. They’ll use horns and breath – and 
  if they can, spells – rather than expose important body parts to 
  weapons. Exception: Gargantuan and larger dragons may take 
  the gamble; DR 12+ is good protection, and per Parrying Heavy 
  Weapons (p. B376), their attacks weigh an effective 7.5 lbs. or 
  more, which can snap many common weapons.
  If this doesn’t suit the GM’s vision of how dragons (or one 
  particular dragon) should fight, simply extend the note on 
  horns to other attack modes – perhaps all of them. Little jus-
  tification is needed to say that a dragon’s claws are long, hard 
  scythes, or that its tail ends in a massive spiked ball. Wings 
  might not be exempt, but pinions mighty enough to keep a 
  dragon airborne could justify an effective weight equal to full 
  ST, in which case adventurers won’t want to parry them! The 
  bite should probably stay vulnerable, though, in keeping with 
  dragon mythology.
  My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, 
  my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt,  
  my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!
  – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
  
   
  not your AverAge drAgons 
  18
  Here are several examples of dragons more interesting 
  than “Dragon, Medium, Fire-Breathing.” Use them as-is or as 
  inspiration for encounters of your own. For a couple of oth-
  ers, see GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Adventure 2: Tomb of the 
  Dragon King.
  brotHer JonAs
  Brother Jonas is typically encountered as a jolly human 
  monk, but this is a deception within a deception. First, the 
  “kindly cleric” guise conceals a personality that, while not evil, 
  is that of a trickster. Second, Jonas isn’t human.
  In his natural form, Jonas is a large dragon, though not 
  a physically impressive one: He’s weak for his size, and mal-
  adroit at managing his attacks. His breath weapon doesn’t 
  inflict damage; it’s a cloud of sleeping gas. His true gifts lie 
  (and oh, do they lie!) in the realm of the mind.
  Jonas is wiser – cannier, at any rate – than his size and 
  years might suggest. At some point he entered a monastery 
  in human guise and trained as a bona fide cleric of a god 
  worshiped by mortals . . . specifically, a trickster god, who 
  was delighted to win the adoration of a dragon and positively 
  tickled at the idea of infiltrating such a creature into human 
  society. While Jonas’ level of Power Investiture is unremark-
  able, the keen wits, Compartmentalized Mind, and Energy 
  Reserve of a talented draconic adept make him a formidable 
  spellcaster.
  Most amusing (for Jonas, anyway) is his ability to detect 
  not life, but intelligence. He doesn’t get precise coordinates 
  that are useful in combat, though if he makes his Per roll, he’ll 
  certainly be aware of someone sneaking around nearby. But 
  far more important for a trickster, he can – on a successful IQ 
  roll – know who in a crowd possesses the best and worst IQ, 
  Will, and Per. He gleefully abuses this knowledge, influencing 
  the weak-minded to manipulate their associates.
  When adventurers come across Jonas, he’ll try to win their 
  confidence by posing as a helpful cleric – especially if he can 
  single out an easy mark. Then he’ll send them on ill-advised 
  quests for his amusement. If things turn violent, he’ll turn 
  into a dragon. If he’s injured before he can do so, he’ll revert 
  instantly and automatically, regenerating fully. In his natural 
  form, he’ll try to send his aggressors to sleep and then eat 
  them, exploiting magic in the process. If he can’t win, he’ll fly 
  off and get revenge by spreading rumors of evildoing delvers 
  who waylay priests.
  ST: 45 
  HP: 45 
  Speed: 7.25
  DX: 14 
  Will: 17 
  Move: 6 (Air Move 14)
  IQ: 17 
  Per: 19
  HT: 15 
  FP: 15 
  SM: +5
  Dodge: 10 
  Parry: 11 
  DR: 9
  Bite (16): 5d+4 impaling. Reach C, 1.
  Front Claw (16): 5d+4 cutting or impaling. Reach C-5.
  Hind Claw (14): 5d+5 cutting or impaling. Reach C-5.
  Horns (16): 5d+4 cutting. Treat as weapon, not as body part, 
  both to attack and parry! Reach C, 1.
  Sleep Breath (16): Sleeping gas with a 4-yard-radius area of 
  effect. Living beings who breathe it must roll HT-4 (plus 
  any Magic Resistance) or sleep for (16 - HT) hours. Costs 2 
  FP per use, with no recharge time or limit on uses/day; this 
  must come from FP.
  Tail (14): 5d+5 crushing or double that for knockback only. 
  Reach C-6.
  Wing (16): 5d+4 crushing or double that for knockback only. 
  Reach C-6.
  Traits: Alternate Form (Humanoid; Regenerative); Bad Grip 
  2; Clerical Investment; Compartmentalized Mind 1; Detect 
  (Intelligence; Analyzing); Doesn’t Sleep; Energy Reserve 45 
  (Holy); Enhanced Move 0.5 (Air Speed 21); Extra Attack 
  2; Extra Legs (Four Legs); Flight (Winged); High Pain 
  Threshold; Horizontal; Immunity to Disease; Nictitating 
  Membrane 9; Night Vision 9; Penetrating Voice; Peripheral 
  Vision; Power Investiture 3; Temperature Tolerance 6 (5°F 
  to 150°F); Trickster (12); Unfazeable.
  Skills: Acting-16; Brawling-16; Carousing-15; Diagnosis-15; 
  Diplomacy-17; Esoteric Medicine (Holy)-18; Exorcism-16; 
  Fast-Talk-17; First Aid-17; Gambling-16; Hidden Lore 
  (Spirits)-16; Innate Attack (Breath)-16; Meditation-15; 
  Occultism-16; Panhandling-17; Public Speaking-16; Reli-
  gious Ritual-15; Research-16; Streetwise-16; Surgery-15; 
  Tactics-17; Teaching-16; Theology-15; Writing-16.
  APPendix
  not your 
  AverAge 
  drAgons
  
   
  not your AverAge drAgons 
  19
  Class: Mundane.
  Notes: Can attack three times, using each natural weapon 
  just once, and concentrate on magic. Clerical spells (from 
  the messenger/rogue priest list on pp. 22-23 of GURPS 
  Dungeon Fantasy 7: Clerics, all at skill 20) are Armor, 
  Awaken, Climbing, Freedom, Haste, Jump, Light Tread, 
  Lighten Burden, Mage-Stealth, Magic Resistance, Might, 
  Minor Healing, Persuasion, Quick March, Recover Energy, 
  Shield, Silence, Silver Tongue, Spasm, and Vigor. Quadru-
  ple body-parts value relative to a small dragon (p. 4).
  ssytHoxx tHe venomous
  Ssythoxx (pronounced “sigh tox”) is undeniably a small 
  dragon – mostly because she lives in a swamp, where she 
  subsists on giant flies and slime-water. Such a diet does 
  not a gargantuan dragon make. But this unglamorous exis-
  tence keeps her out of the eyes of adventurers. Indeed, every-
  body avoids the Marsh of Malady, unless – like her – they’re 
  immune to disease.
  It would be a fatal error to assume that Ssythoxx is weak, 
  however. Her hard life has made her strong for her size, and as 
  tough as a larger dragon. As well, she has two breath weapons 
  that suit a denizen of a foul swamp: poison and slime. The 
  former is remarkably deadly, while the latter comes closer to 
  vomiting and costs just 1 FP. And the venom she exhales is 
  present in her bite, where it’s even more virulent.
  Ssythoxx is also well-adapted to her boggy home. Although 
  she cannot dive to great depths, she’s as agile in water as she 
  is on land, and has gills that let her survive even in putrid goo. 
  Victims she drags into the swamp learn this as they drown.
  As important as these physical qualities are her mental 
  ones. She’s wise for her years, and as tough in mind as in 
  body. She also wields druidic magic – a gift from the Swamp 
  Spirits, for protecting their slimy haunt – and possesses a 
  deep Energy Reserve she can use to power her spells or poison 
  breath (but not slime breath; that fatigue is physical, equiv-
  alent to a missed meal). Her zeal to preserve Nature doesn’t 
  extend to all life; she treats visitors with cold indifference at 
  best, hatred if they defile the Marsh.
  Ssythoxx will remain hidden – aided by her magic –  
  unless the heroes do something Nature wouldn’t approve 
  of. Then she’ll ambush the transgressors by emerging from 
  the fetid water, poisoning as many as she can, and dragging 
  somebody to their doom in her venomous maw. If actively 
  sought – or detected and not attacked – she might negotiate, 
  offering aid escaping the Marsh or finding a dungeon within 
  it in return for a concession that protects it, such as assas-
  sinating other, less-respectful travelers (ones too tough for 
  a dragon . . .).
  ST: 34 
  HP: 34 
  Speed: 6.75
  DX: 12 
  Will: 16 
  Move: 6 (Ground/Water)/
  IQ: 13 
  Per: 15 
     13 (Air)
  HT: 15 
  FP: 15 
  SM: +3
  Dodge: 9 
  Parry: 10 
  DR: 6
  Bite (14): 3d+4 cutting + follow-up 3d+2 toxic (HT-4 for half 
  damage). Reach C, 1.
  Front Claw (14): 3d+4 cutting. Reach C-2.
  Hind Claw (12): 3d+5 cutting. Reach C-2.
  Horns (14): 3d+4 cutting. Treat as weapon, not as 
  body part, both to attack and parry! Reach C, 1.
  Poison Mist (14): Contact poison with a 2-yard- 
  radius area of effect. Inflicts 3d+2 HP of injury, 
  halved on a successful HT roll. Costs 2 FP per use, 
  with no recharge time or limit on uses/day; this 
  can come from FP or Energy Reserve.
  Slime Breath (14): A 1-yard-wide ¥ 10-yard-
  long cone. Deposits a lethal slime; see GURPS  
  Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 2: Icky Goo, 
  pp. 15-16. Costs 1 FP per use, with no recharge 
  time or limit on uses/day; this must come from FP.
  Tail (12): 3d+5 crushing or double that for knockback only 
  (no damage). Reach C-3.
  Wing (14): 3d+4 crushing or double that for knockback only 
  (no damage). Reach C-3.
  Traits: Amphibious; Bad Grip 2; Callous; Doesn’t Breathe 
  (Gills); Energy Reserve 34 (Druidic); Extra Attack 1; Extra 
  Legs (Four Legs); Flight (Winged); High Pain Threshold; 
  Horizontal; Immunity to Disease; Immunity to Poison; 
  Immunity to Slime; Loner (12); Nictitating Membrane 
  6; Night Vision 9; Penetrating Voice; Peripheral Vision; 
  Power Investiture 3 (Druidic); Pressure Support 1; Sense 
  of Duty (Nature); Temperature Tolerance 6 (5°F to 150°F); 
  Unfazeable.
  Skills: Area Knowledge (Marsh of Malady)-13; Brawling-14; 
  Camouflage-13; 
  Diplomacy-13; 
  Fast-Talk-13; 
  Innate 
  Attack (Breath)-14; Stealth-12; Survival (Swampland)-15; 
  Tactics-13; Tracking-15.
  Class: Mundane.
  Notes: Can attack twice, using each natural weapon just once. 
  Druidic spells (all at skill 16) are Animate Plant, Conceal, 
  Extinguish Fire, Forest Warning, Hide Path, Light Tread, 
  Mystic Mist, No-Smell, Plant Sense, Plant Vision, Recover 
  Energy, Sense Life, Tangle Growth, Walk Through Plants, 
  and Water Vision. Standard body-parts value for a small 
  dragon (p. 4).
  tHriCe
  Thrice’s name comes from the fact that he has three heads, 
  causing the first victim he ever ate to exclaim, “This creature 
  is thrice the menace of any normal wyrm!” His birth name in 
  Old Draconic translates as “Great Fanged Southerner,” which 
  he finds long and boring.
  Thrice is mid-sized, but his extra heads – and the fact 
  that they’re overdeveloped, making their bite (and only that) 
  nastier than usual – render him more intimidating. All three 
  heads breathe cones: The leftmost breathes fire; the middle 
  one, cold; and the one on the right, lightning.
  Recovering relics from thieving 
  nobles is risky but hardly dragon-
  slaying – and the temple pays 
  handsomely!
  – Brother Jonas
  
   
  not your AverAge drAgons 
  20
  Working out with multiple breath weapons has paid off. 
  Not only is Thrice a crack shot, but he can widen his cones: 
  A one-yard cone costs the usual 2 FP; two-yard, 3 FP; three-
  yard, 4 FP; four-yard, 5 FP; and five-yard (his maximum), 
  6 FP. He has also built up an Energy Reserve and become 
  extremely resistant to most energy attacks (Damage Reduc-
  tion, extra DR, and spell immunity). And having more than 
  fire to play with has left him less of a pyromaniac than many 
  fire-breathers.
  All those extra eyes, ears, noses, and mouths mean Thrice 
  is exceptionally alert, even for a dragon: Per 20! His over-mus-
  cled heads can’t twist enough for 360° Vision, but it’s nigh 
  impossible to hide anywhere but directly behind him, where 
  he’s still likely to hear you. Sneaking up on him and living 
  to tell the tale is a challenge to coup-counters and tricksters 
  everywhere.
  Having three mouths to feed and a huge Energy Reserve to 
  replenish has a downside: Thrice is always ravenous. This can 
  be bad news for delvers . . . or create opportunities for bribery 
  (and in theory poisoning, but with Smell 20 and HT 15, 
  good luck with that).
  Thrice is not gifted in magic. In fact, he’s magic-re-
  sistant. This mostly works to his advantage, as he meets 
  few friendly casters who can manage five times the usual 
  energy cost to assist him. Resistance rises to full immu-
  nity where the stuff of his breath weapons is concerned.
  Thrice won’t necessarily attack adventurers. He 
  knows he’s a “glass cannon,” with firepower out of 
  proportion to his resistance to swords and arrows. He  
  values what most dragons do: treasure, food (heaps of 
  it), and becoming more powerful. But if forced to fight, he’ll 
  cut loose with a storm of full-width cones from a safe altitude.
  ST: 35 
  HP: 35 
  Speed: 7.25
  DX: 14 
  Will: 14 
  Move: 6 (Air Move 14)
  IQ: 14 
  Per: 20
  HT: 15 
  FP: 15 
  SM: +4
  Dodge: 10 
  Parry: 11 
  DR: 6
  Bite (16): 4d+5 impaling. Reach C, 1.
  Cold Breath (18): A 1- to 5-yard-wide ¥ 10-yard-long cone 
  inflicting 4d-1 burning. Cannot set fires, but will extinguish 
  ordinary fire. Costs 2-6 FP per use, with no recharge time or 
  limit on uses/day; this can come from FP or Energy Reserve.
  Fire Breath (18): A 1- to 5-yard-wide ¥ 10-yard-long cone 
  inflicting 4d-1 burning. May set fires. Costs 2 FP per use, 
  with no recharge time or limit on uses/day. Costs 2-6 FP 
  per use, with no recharge time or limit on uses/day; this 
  can come from FP or Energy Reserve.
  Front Claw (16): 4d+2 cutting or impaling. Reach C-3.
  Hind Claw (14): 4d+3 cutting or impaling. Reach C-3.
  Horns (16): 4d+2 cutting. Treat as weapon, not as body part, 
  both to attack and parry! Reach C, 1.
  Lightning Breath (18): A 1- to 5-yard-wide ¥ 10-yard-long 
  cone inflicting 4d-1 burning. Metal armor gets DR 1. Can-
  not set fires, but anyone wounded must roll vs. HT at -1 per 
  2 HP suffered or be stunned; roll against HT each turn to 
  recover. Costs 2-6 FP per use, with no recharge time or limit 
  on uses/day; this can come from FP or Energy Reserve.
  Tail (14): 4d+3 crushing or double that for knockback only. 
  Reach C-4.
  Wing (16): 4d+2 crushing or double that for knockback only. 
  Reach C-4.
  Traits: Bad Grip 2; Damage Reduction 3 (Cold/Ice, Electricity, 
  and Heat/Fire); DR 6 (Limited, Cold/Ice, Electricity, and 
  Heat/Fire); Energy Reserve 35 (Breath); Enhanced Move 
  0.5 (Air Speed 21); Extra Attack 4; Extra Head 2; Extra 
  Legs (Four Legs); Flight (Winged); Gluttony (9); High Pain 
  Threshold; Horizontal; Immunity to Cold Spells; Immu-
  nity to Disease; Immunity to Electrical Spells; Immunity 
  to Fire Spells; Loner (12); Magic Resistance 6; Nictitating 
  Membrane 6; Night Vision 9; Penetrating Voice; Peripheral 
  Vision; Pyromania (15); Striking ST 7 (Bite only); Tem-
  perature Tolerance 8 (-25°F to 150°F); Unfazeable.
  Skills: Brawling-16; Diplomacy-14; Fast-Talk-14; Innate 
  Attack (Breath)-18; Intimidation-14; Tactics-14.
  Class: Mundane.
  Notes: Can attack five times, using use each natural weapon 
  just once. Double body-parts value relative to a small 
  dragon (p. 4).
  tHe AnniHilAtor
  This most ancient of super-gargantuan dragons has been 
  known by countless names, among them Eater of Souls, 
  Sky-Darkener, and That Which Comes In The Night. By any 
  moniker, it (nobody knows whether “he” or “she” pertains, as 
  nobody who has asked has lived) is always feared and often 
  worshiped. The mountainfolk who currently kowtow to it call 
  it “the Annihilator.”
  The epithet is deserved: This dragon’s breath annihilates 
  living targets. There are no (known) defenses against it besides 
  “don’t get hit,” and ordinary folk are disintegrated in one shot, 
  though heroes sometimes need two or three. This cone is big, 
  too, and powered by the Annihilator’s almost inexhaustible 
  magical energy supply.
  To target its beam of un-life, the Annihilator uses a sense for 
  life. It detects living things around it (at Per 22), and can fight 
  against them regardless of light level or other obscuration.
  Both of these abilities are magical, and the Annihilator is 
  certainly that. It is a wizard of unimaginable power, both in 
  terms of Magery and Energy Reserve (which it can also use 
  for its breath), and knows many spells – including some mor-
  tal wizards cannot cast – at ungodly levels. It can work magic 
  regardless of whatever else it might be doing. At the same 
  time, it’s extremely resistant to magic, with no effect on its 
  own castings.
  The dragon is also impressive in mundane terms. It has 
  vast size and strength, a nigh-impenetrable hide, and several 
  near-indestructible natural weapons. Its mind is so alien as to 
  be no more affected by mortals’ words than by their magic. 
  Merely seeing it paralyzes most viewers with fear.
  Would I like a warm 
  lunch or a cold one? Yes!
  – Thrice
  
   
  not your AverAge drAgons 
  21
  The Annihilator considers itself a god. Maybe it is. It 
  demands to be propitiated (by worship and sacrifice) or else 
  it cleanses the defiant mortal from the planet – each mortal 
  may choose at first encounter.
  Against all but ludicrously overpowered and over-equipped 
  heroes, the Annihilator is a plot device, not a fair encoun-
  ter – not even close. If the delvers are near-demigods who 
  mock dragons, however, the Annihilator lets them pick on 
  somebody their own size. And probably lose, unless they have 
  an artifact that specifically protects against it.
  ST: 100 
  HP: 100 
  Speed: 7.25
  DX: 14 
  Will: 20 
  Move: 6 (Air Move 14)
  IQ: 20 
  Per: 22
  HT: 15 
  FP: 15 
  SM: +7
  Dodge: 10 
  Parry: 11 
  DR: 18
  Bite (16): 11d+10 impaling. Reach C, 1.
  Front Claw (16): 11d+10 cutting or  
  impaling. Treat as weapon, not as 
  body part. Reach C-10.
  Hind Claw (14): 11d+11 cutting or 
  impaling. Treat as weapon, not as 
  body part. Reach C-10.
  Horns (16): 11d+10 cutting. Treat as 
  weapon, not as body part, both to 
  attack and parry! Reach C, 1.
  Mana Breath (16): A 2-yard-wide ¥ 
  10-yard-long cone inflicting 11d 
  HP of injury. DR has no effect; only 
  completely inanimate targets are 
  unaffected. Targets killed by this 
  are gone – nothing remains to res-
  urrect, though gear is intact. Costs 
  2 FP per use, with no recharge time 
  or limit on uses/day; this can come 
  from FP or Energy Reserve.
  Tail (14): 11d+11 crushing or double 
  that for knockback only. Treat as 
  weapon, not as body part. Reach 
  C-11.
  Wing (16): 11d+10 crushing or dou-
  ble that for knockback only. Reach 
  C-11.
  Traits: Bad Grip 2; Bloodlust (12); 
  Compartmentalized Mind 1; Detect 
  (Life; Precise); DR 18 (Limited, 
  Magic); Energy Reserve 100 (Magi-
  cal); Enhanced Move 0.5 (Air Speed 
  21); Extra Attack 5; Extra Legs 
  (Four Legs); Flight (Winged); High 
  Pain Threshold; Horizontal; Immu-
  nity to Disease; Indomitable; Loner 
  (12); Magery 10; Magic Resistance 
  18 (Improved); Megalomania; Nic-
  titating Membrane 18; Night Vision 
  9; Penetrating Voice; Peripheral 
  Vision; Selfish (12); Temperature 
  Tolerance 6 (5°F to 150°F); Terror 
  (-2 to Fright Check); Unfazeable.
  Skills: Brawling-16; Fast-Talk-20; Innate Attack (Breath)-16; 
  Intimidation-20; Religious Ritual-20; Tactics-20; Theol-
  ogy-20.
  Class: Mundane.
  Notes: Can attack six times, using each natural weapon just 
  once, and concentrate on magic. Wizardly spells (all at skill 
  30) are Analyze Magic, Armor, Aura, Command, Continual 
  Light, Counterspell, Darkness, Death Vision, Detect Magic, 
  Dispel Magic, Foolishness, Forgetfulness, Glue, Great 
  Healing, Haste, Identify Spell, Lend Energy, Lend Vitality, 
  Light, Major Healing, Mind-Reading, Mind-Search, Minor 
  Healing, Missile Shield, Recover Energy, Reverse Missiles, 
  Sense Emotion, Sense Foes, Sense Spirit, Shield, Skull-
  Spirit, Soul Jar, Sound, Steal Energy, Steal Vitality, Sum-
  mon Spirit, Thunderclap, and Truthsayer. Many of these 
  are unavailable to mortal wizards – notably the Healing 
  spells, which the Annihilator uses on itself. 18 times body-
  parts value relative to a small dragon (p. 4).
  
   
  Index 
  22
  Acid cloud, 7 .
  Advantages, adjusting damage, 12-13; 
  adjusting defenses, 11-12; adjusting 
  senses, 11; exceptions, 12; magic, 13; 
  other common, 13-14; Unfazeable, 12,  
  13, 15; see also Breath Weapons .
  Adventures, encounter design, 17 .
  All-Out Attack (Cone) maneuver, 10 .
  Alternate Form advantage, 13-14 .
  Amphibious advantage, 14 .
  Annihilator, 20-21 .
  Body-parts value, 4, 6 .
  Breath weapons, 7-10; FP cost, 7, 12; 
  intrinsic defense, 7; variable, 12;  
  see also Cloud Weapons, Cone Weapons .
  Brother Jonas, 18-19 .
  Class, 3 .
  Cloud weapons, 7-9; adjusting, 8, 12-13;  
  FP cost, 7, 12; general effects, 7; less-
  lethal, 8; more-lethal, 8; size, 7; see also 
  Breath Weapons .
  Cold cone, 9 .
  Combat, adventurer range, 16; encounter 
  design, 17; Extra Attack, 6, 14, 16; 
  flight and, 16; free slams, 15; number 
  of attacks, 16; number of weapons, 16; 
  parrying, 17; size and, 15-16; tactics, 15; 
  see also Advantages, Breath Weapons .
  Compartmentalized Mind advantage, 14, 
  15, 17 .
  Cone weapons, 9-10; adjusting damage, 10; 
  adjusting effects, 10, 12-13; affecting more 
  targets, 10; flight and, 16; FP cost, 7, 12; 
  general effects, 9; size, 9; see also Breath 
  Weapons .
  Damage, adjusting breath weapons, 8, 10, 
  12; adjusting thrust, 12 .
  Damage Reduction advantage, 11 .
  Defenses, adjusting, 11-12; intrinsic, 7 .
  Disadvantages, adjusting, 13 .
  Disintegration cone, 9 .
  Doesn’t Breathe advantage, 14 .
  Dragons, adjusting disadvantages, 13; 
  adjusting senses, 11; adjusting traits, 
  11-14; basic, 4-6; body-parts value, 4, 6; 
  class, 3; example, 18-21; gargantuan, 6; 
  general trait notes, 3; large, 5; medium, 4; 
  reading stats, 3; small, 4; temperament, 
  13; trait effects of larger size, 6; trait 
  exceptions, 12; weaknesses, 16-17; 
  see also Advantages, Breath Weapons, 
  Combat, Defenses, Extra Heads, Flight, 
  Magic, Size, Weapons .
  Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, 3 .
  Encounter design, 17 .
  Extra Attack advantage, 6, 14, 16 .
  Extra heads, 14, 16; example dragon, 19-20; 
  variable breath weapons, 12 .
  Fire cone, 10 .
  Flight, combat and, 16; encounter design, 17; 
  lacking, 11; spell attacks, 16; wingless, 14 .
  Frost cloud, 7 .
  GURPS, 3; Dragons, 3; Dungeon Fantasy, 
  3, 4; Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers, 
  8, 11; Dungeon Fantasy 2: Dungeons, 
  3, 15, 17; Dungeon Fantasy 7: 
  Clerics, 19; Dungeon Fantasy 11: 
  Power-Ups, 10, 11; Dungeon Fantasy 
  Adventure 2: Tomb of the Dragon 
  King, 18; Dungeon Fantasy Monsters, 
  3; Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 1, 11; 
  Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 2: Icky 
  Goo, 10, 19; Magic, 7, 8, 10 .
  Heat cone, 10 .
  Ice cone, 10 .
  Immunity advantage, 11-12 .
  Incendiary cloud, 8 .
  Influence resistance, 12 .
  Lightning cone, 10 .
  Magebane cloud, 8 .
  Magic, 13; cloud weapon, 8; cone weapon, 
  10; Damage Reduction, 11; organs, 4; 
  Resistance, 12; size and, 3, 13, 16; spells 
  cast on, 3, 13, 16; Strength and, 12 .
  Mana cone, 10 .
  Parrying, problem, 17 .
  Poison cloud, gas, 8; mist, 8 .
  Pressure Support advantage, 14 .
  Resistance traits, 11-12 .
  Sample dragons, 18-21 .
  Senses, adjusting, 11 .
  Size, 3, 4, 6; age and, 4; breath weapons  
  and, 7, 9; combat and, 3, 15-16; effects  
  of larger, 6; magic and, 3, 13, 16 .
  Size Modifier (SM), see Size .
  Slams, free, 15 .
  Sleep cloud, 8 .
  Sonic cone, 10 .
  Spark cloud, 8 .
  Ssythoxx the Venomous, 19 .
  Steam cloud, 8 .
  Strength (ST) attribute, adjusting, 12 .
  Striking ST advantage, 12 .
  Tactics, 15 .
  Temperament disadvantages, 13 .
  Terror advantage, 14, 17 .
  Thrice, 19-20 .
  Unfazeable advantage, 12, 13, 15 .
  Universal Digestion advantage, 14 .
  Vacuum cloud, 8-9 .
  Venom cone, 13 .
  Vermin cone, 10 .
  Weakness cloud, 8 .
  Weaknesses, 16-17 .
  Weapons, number of natural, 16;  
  typical natural, 16; see also Combat, 
  Breath Weapons .
  Index
  Sleeping on a dragon’s hoard with greedy, dragonish 
  thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself.
  – C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  
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