River Dragon [Chiang Lung]

Chiang lung look like enormous serpents, so long and even that it is hard to tell where body ends and tail begins. They are blue and green above with brilliant yellow bellies, and young adults and older grow multicolored beards. Wingless, they fly by means of a blue pearl set in the brain. They are often met in human shape, which they seem to like better than their own.

River dragons avoid fighting but defend their domains ferociously. They charge in with claws and bite, working toward a tail slap as soon as possible. Adults and older can tail slap, dealing the damage of two claws to as many foes as the dragon's age category; anyone in the sweep who fails a save vs. petrification is left stunned for 1d4+1 rounds.

Whenever it wears human shape, the dragon automatically bears a sword +5 so heavy that anyone else must succeed at a bend bars/lift gates roll just to wield it.

It is born able to breathe both air and water and to polymorph into any form 3/day. At will it can exhale storm clouds to bring rain wherever it likes, or lower the water level across a radius of one square mile per age level. Anyone touching a chiang lung can breathe and move underwater as if on dry land. Powers are cumulative with age: bless plus curse, usable once per round apiece (young); fate plus omen, likewise once per round (juvenile); remove curse, dispel evil and control weather, 1/day apiece (adult); and tsunami 1/day (great wyrm), used only when the celestial court commands it, since disobedience means death.

The celestial court of heaven places a river dragon over every river and lake. Each lives in a magical underwater palace, always huge and luxurious no matter how small the water. Anything carried out of the palace turns worthless at the surface unless the dragon gave it freely. Chiang lung sometimes play host to virtuous scholars, artists and learned folk aboard richly decorated boats, posing as rich nobles or officials.

Their daughters are often drawn to handsome mortal men, leading now and then to secret romances or marriages. These usually end in sorrow when the daughter goes home and never returns. Children of such unions are spirit-blooded folk.

They speak their own tongue, those of spirit dragons, fish and the celestial court, plus every human tongue.

A chiang lung can eat any mineral or gem and also enjoys fish and sheep. In its palace it is waited on by lesser nature spirits in human form and guarded by 1d6 spirit dragons, and 2d4 offspring live there 75% of the time. Away from home, 1d4 nature spirits attend it 75% of the time and a 40% chance of 1 or 2 spirit dragons.