Albino Wyrm [Dragon-kin]

Gaunt and stringy, with red eyes, blotchy white scales and brownish claws, the albino wyrm is probably descended from dragons trapped long ago in the lightless caves far below the surface. Scarce prey shrank them into small, flightless stalkers of the deep underworld's lowest reaches, with filmy wings spanning only 3 to 8 feet. If they are fallen dragons, they have fallen far: despite real intelligence, most are barely sane and can scarcely string a thought together.

Its claws are feeble, good mainly for digging, but its bite is powerful. The prehensile tail can snatch up a smaller creature behind the wyrm and squeeze it for 1d8 a round, and the victim's armor must save vs. normal blow each round or be ruined. Its remorhaz-like wings serve only for courtship and threat displays, with no use in combat or flight.

Its jaws have grown as its wings withered. A bite roll 4 or more above what it needs, or a natural 20, swallows the target whole. Inside, the victim fights at -4, cannot use large or bludgeoning weapons, and if it needs air passes out in 1-4 rounds.

A telltale rattling hiss comes right before its freezing breath, which deals damage by age and shatters any object that fails an item save vs. cold. No albino wyrm has been known to cast spells or show innate magic.

They age through the same categories as dragons, but few live past young adult (category 5). Hunting outranks hoarding, so they keep only what they can carry, though they can use magic items and may wear jewelry on wingtips, claws or tail. Some drow houses are said to use them as guards, but their hunting drive makes them hard to tame or train.

Always hungry and almost never asleep (perhaps 5% of the time), albino wyrms are nearly always met on the move. They have few natural enemies, but deep dragons loathe them as vermin, and in their frequent clashes the deep dragons almost always win.