Nickel Dragon [Ferrous]

Hatchlings are charcoal gray, turning metallic gray as adults; white then creeps in until a great wyrm is pure, bright metallic white. Nickels speak their own and the common ferrous tongue, and 5% of hatchlings can communicate telepathically with any creature within 60 feet, a chance that grows 5% per age category.

A nickel dragon wins by being impossible to predict. It usually breathes first, then closes with claws and bite, trying to keep one breath in reserve for a getaway, but nothing about it is certain. Its ferocity makes even veteran adventurers reluctant to face one twice.

Its breath is an acidic vapor cloud 30 feet long, 20 wide and 20 high (save vs. breath weapon for half). Spells and powers work at 6th level plus combat modifier. Nickels breathe water and are immune to all acid from hatching, and gain more abilities with age.

Their homes are always marshes or swamps, ideally coastal ones, where they hunt the native creatures and seldom meet people, though on a whim they may raid distant villages for loot or the joy of watching smaller beings flee. A shallow cave usually holds the treasure and eggs while the dragon sleeps wherever nearby suits it at the moment.

As parents they are just as fickle: a nickel may fly off to hunt for its young and then devour the meal itself, so their numbers keep shrinking. Only matters touching the clan and its hierarchy bring out any consistency; everything else stays chaotic.

Nickels eat nearly anything but love giant swamp lizards. Black dragons often share their marshes, and the two fight bloody duels, since neither breath harms the other.