Lindworm

A lindworm is a defective offspring of an evil dragon, whether red, white, green, blue or black, perhaps through a divine curse or just nature's way of keeping dragon numbers down. It walks on two legs like a wyvern but has no wings and no stinger. A typical dragon's head tops its long neck, while the body is shaped like a giant scaly bird. Coloring and other features follow its parents'.

It bites for 1-8, lashes its tail for 1-12 and rakes with one claw for 1-6, since it must keep a foot on the ground. It cannot cast spells but inherits its parents' breath weapon at half the usual size, dealing 5d8 (save vs. breath weapon for half), three times a day. It is immune to attacks resembling its breath, so a red dragon's spawn ignores fire and heat, and its Armor Class equals its parent's base value.

About one dragon egg in 100 yields a lindworm, and the parents quickly drive it away. Usually (80%) it is alone; otherwise it is one of twins. Exiled from its kind, it grows vicious, selfish and spiteful toward the world. Twins are fiercely loyal, each the other's only companion, and if one is hurt or slain the other fights to the death at Morale 20. Lindworms speak only their parents' tongue and rarely bother talking before attacking. Apart from twins they despise one another and have no society.

With no parents to teach it and no wings or forelimbs to make draconic instinct useful, a lindworm learns hunting by trial and error. Its methods all boil down to ambush: lurking in thickets or behind boulders, lying submerged in dark water, or buried under snow or sand as its homeland allows. It eats whatever it can catch and is nearly always hungry, which sours its mood further. It has no love of treasure but often leaves loot from earlier kills as bait for smart prey.

For all its danger it rarely stays the top predator for long. Unrelated dragons kill lindworms on sight without bothering to eat them, other powerful monsters hunt them, and adventurers thin them out regularly. Wizards have found no use for their remains.