Astral Dragon

'Astral dragon' is a broad label for an old golden lineage that every dragon of one world can claim as its forebears. Immortal and wholly neutral, they personify draconic balance.

Two of the first dragons the gods ever made were an astral pair, Calavar and Imreth, charged with bearing a race for the gods to adopt. Chosen hatchlings were taken and remade in the image of their adoptive gods, giving rise to the original reds, blacks, silvers, golds and the rest. The pair stayed neutral, and the gods promised in exchange to leave them be. Eventually, tired of the endless strife between good and evil dragons, they asked to be released from that world. The gods agreed, moving them to a separate plane within the Abyss, and there they bred new neutral offspring.

Alone, an astral dragon is a drab yellow, five-foot creature with slim, humanlike hands, huge black eyes and scales covered in fine blond fur. It does not progress through age categories; apart from a slightly weaker hatchling (AC 4, HD 2), its statistics barely change until it mates.

A matched couple asks the gods of neutrality to bless their union. If they consent, the gods forge a 100-foot golden chain that loops around both necks, joining the mates eternally. Each grows to 50 feet, gains a permanent golden aura, and rises to godlike intellect and power, and from then on the two act as one in everything. The listed statistics describe the pair as a unit. Only a wish or similar power can break the chain; if the mates are then kept 100 yards apart for 30 days, both revert to their weaker selves.

They speak their own tongue plus those of good and evil dragons, and all can converse with any intelligent creature.

Single astral dragons cannot use tail slap, wing buffet, kick or snatch attacks, radiate no fear, and have dragon senses only at the very young level. They fight feebly with claws and teeth and always try to escape. Instantly regaining all lost hit points makes them virtually immortal, but power word, kill, wish or comparable magic can destroy them.

A mated pair attacks together and can use all those special attacks along with bite and claws, yet prefers spells that scare enemies off. Together they have the powers of a 35th-level cleric, great wyrm senses, a 50-foot fear aura (saves at -4) and +12 to attack and damage rolls. They too heal instantly and fall only to wish, power word, kill or the like.

The gods built them huge black crystal keeps, which they seldom leave; they never willingly quit the Abyss. Couples must ask the gods' leave to produce offspring, rarely granted to limit their numbers, and at five years old a youngster is sent out to survive alone. Treasure means nothing to them.

They take only liquids, any kind will do, and mercury sustains them as well as water. Nothing hunts them.