Midgard Linnorm

Sages believe, and fervently hope, that only one Midgard linnorm exists: the lone offspring of the Midgard Serpent, Loki's monstrous child, and perhaps as deathless as its parent. It is a vast wingless serpent sheathed in opal-bright scales of blue, green and silver. Its head stretches 50 feet across and 100 feet long, its jaws set with two ranks of pale blue fangs. The round emerald eyes have neither lids nor pupils and reflect whatever looks into them. A crest of coarse midnight-blue hair crowns the head and runs partway down the immense neck, lightening into a blue ruff that follows the spine to the barbed tail tip. Its hind legs look absurdly stubby for its bulk, while the longer forelegs bear razor claws.

It speaks every Norse dragon language and can communicate telepathically with any other intelligent creature.

Malicious as it is, the Midgard thinks fighting beneath it and prefers to manipulate others from afar with magic, staying in control without getting close. Guards do its fighting. A real threat gets its breath and spells, and claws, bite and tail slap come out only when unavoidable.

It has three breaths and may breathe on alternate rounds without limit; all victims save at -3. A 200-foot jet of boiling water, 10 feet wide, deals 20d20+12 damage (half on a save) and hurls victims back 100 feet; creatures of 4 HD or less drown unless they breathe water, those of 5-7 HD drown only on a failed save, and anything above 7 HD cannot be drowned by it. A dust cloud 200 feet long, 80 wide and 60 deep deals 16d20+12 (half on a save), and those who fail suffer as from dust of sneezing and choking. A cone of wind 200 feet long, 20 feet wide at the mouth and 50 at the base deals 12d20+12 (half on a save) and blows victims back 200 feet.

Its tail can wrap a foe and squeeze for 20 points per round; breaking free takes a bend bars roll at half the usual chance.

At will it can use ESP, telepathy, water breathing, create water and protection from fire. Once per day each it can use teleport without error, charm monster, solid fog, power word stun, wizard eye, veil, hypnotic pattern, raise water, detect invisibility, whispering wind, death fog, shape change, improved invisibility, wall of fog, charm person, airy water, telekinesis and power word blind. Everything works at 14th level.

The Midgard lives on the ocean floor and has no use for company. Its lair is an immense, lightless undersea cavern watched over by four venerable sea linnorms, each with the most hit points possible. Wealth is stored in the deepest chambers, but it throws away coins and gems, keeping mostly magic, which it carries whenever it leaves home. Souvenirs of its surface trips lie everywhere: ships' prows, statues taken from villages, huge shields and other trinkets. It regards the whole sea floor as its realm and swiftly destroys anything that claims territory nearby.

It needs little food, feeding just once in 40 or 50 years, when it gulps down vast quantities of sea foam along with whatever drifts upon it. Nothing is known to prey on it, though it has many enemies among humans and demihumans, and every other linnorm defers to it.