Dragon, Planar, Void
Void Dragon
* Void Dragon (image)
A dragon seemingly formed of the night sky has bright white stars for eyes. Lesser stars twinkle in the firmament of the dragon's body.
Children of the Stars. Void dragons drift through the empty spaces beyond the boundaries of the mortal world, wanderers between the stars. They are aloof, mingling only with the otherworldly beings that live above and beyond the earth, including the incarnate forms of the stars themselves. When lesser creatures visit void dragons, the dragons themselves barely notice.
Witnesses to the Void. Void dragons are intensely knowledgeable creatures, but they have seen too much, lingering at the edge of the void itself. Gazing into the yawning nothing outside has taken a toll. The void dragons carry a piece of that nothing with them, and it slowly devours their being. They are all unhinged, and their madness is contagious. It flows out of them to break the minds of lesser beings when the dragons fly into a rage and lash out.
Voracious Scholars. Despite their removed existence and strange quirks, void dragons still hoard treasure. Gems that glitter like the stars of their home are particularly prized. Their crowning piece, however, is knowledge. Void dragons jealously hoard scraps of forbidden and forgotten lore of any kind and spend most of their time at home poring over these treasures. Woe to any who disturbs this collection, for nothing ignites their latent madness like a violation of their hoard.
VOID DRAGONS IN MIDGARD
Void dragons are the eldest children of Veles the World Serpent, and worshipped as divine by his followers. Some stories claim they were the first to teach magic to the elves.
A Void Dragon's Lair
The true lair of a void dragon exists deep in the freezing, airless void between stars. Hidden away in caves on silently drifting asteroids or shimmering atop the ruins of a Star Citadel, the void dragon's lair rests in the great void of space.
When a void dragon claims a home elsewhere, it forges a connection to its true lair. It prefers towering mountain peaks, valleys, or ruins at high elevation with a clear view of the sky. It can reach through space from this lair to reach its treasure hoard hidden in the void. That connection has repercussions, of course, and the most powerful void dragons leave their mark on the world around them when they roost. Intrusions from beyond and a thirst for proscribed knowledge are common near their lairs.
If fought in its lair, its Challenge increases by 1, to 15 for an adult (13,000 XP) and 25 for an ancient void dragon (75,000 XP).
REGIONAL EFFECTS
The region containing a legendary void dragon's lair is warped by the dragon's magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:
* Secrets have a way of coming to light within 6 miles of the lair. Clues are inadvertently discovered, slips of the tongue hint at a hidden truth, and creatures become morbidly curious for forbidden knowledge.
* Light is muted within 6 miles of the lair. Nonmagical illumination, including sunlight, can't create bright light in this area.
* Visitations from otherworldly beings occur and disembodied voices whisper in the night within 6 miles of the dragon's lair. Celestials, fey, and fiends of CR 2 or lower can slip into the world in this area.
If the dragon dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.
COLLAPSING STAR
An ancient void dragon can be more deadly than CR 24 implies, thanks to the Collapsing Star ability. If characters defeat one and kill it, they may be obliterated by 165 hp cosmic blast damage-enough to kill characters outright, if they take the full brunt. Characters have three chances to reduce it with successful saving throws, and by the time they're strong enough to defeat an ancient void dragon, some likely have resistance or immunity to one or more of the damage types involved. So even if they're completely unprepared for the collapsing star effect, some of the heroes will likely survive.
The key to facing an ancient void dragon is information. NPCs and legends should encourage characters to research this creature before battling one. Once they know the terrible risk of killing one, they can prepare a plan for it-and what might be a tragic "gotcha" deathtrap becomes a challenging puzzle instead.
VOID DRAGONS IN MIDGARD
Void dragons are the eldest children of Veles the World Serpent, and worshipped as divine by his followers. Some stories claim they were the first to teach magic to the elves.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
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