Lesser Sun Drake [Dark Sun]

Overhead, a sun drake looks almost circular, its broad curved wings spanning nearly 40 feet like those of a phoenix. The slender body runs about 35 feet, with another 20 feet of tail. Its hind legs are strong, its forelegs long, all four ending in vicious claws, and its mouth is short and wide. Its color moves from red through orange to yellow as it ages, and when it passes before the sun its wings flare with a reddish light like a burning sunset.

A sun drake may use any combination of its attacks each round to suit the foe. Its bite is the worst, at 5d8, and if the roll beats its THAC0 by 4 or more the victim is swallowed. Creatures up to 5 feet tall can still fight physically from inside; larger ones can use only psionics. In flight it strikes with all four claws, on the ground with its forelegs only, each claw dealing 2d6+6. Its tail swats for 4d4 damage instead of stunning the way other lesser drakes' tails do.

Psionic sciences: mass domination, mind link and ultrablast. Devotions: cannibalize, contact, domination, ego whip, gird, mind thrust, prolong, psionic crush, psionic drain and repugnance, plus the innate lesser drake devotions.

Sun drakes roost among the tallest peaks in their range, using the lair only at night and riding thermals all day. They are immune to every heat-based attack, the merciless sun included. They need little sleep, and when they do rest they keep life detection running, sustained with gird.

Though solitary, a sun drake tolerates beings from the elemental planes of air or fire, each drake favoring one of the two, but it mercilessly hunts the elemental drake of its matching plane.

Each keeps a collection of treasures matching its own current hide color, so the hoard changes as the drake ages. It can sometimes be talked into swapping an old piece for one closer to its present shade.

Sun drakes pair for life yet meet only once a year. Mates share an effortless psionic bond through which either can call the other for help. At the annual mating flight the female travels to the male's lair, then returns home to lay her eggs and brood them. Hatchlings remain with her for a year, learning how to survive.