Legends say that Ahi and Rahab are twins—that the steel
dragon and the gray dragon emerged from the same egg, but
somehow grew up as total opposites. They apparently are indeed from the same hatch, and they are both known to be very
powerful (some say that if they were to fight each other, neither
would live), but the truth of their origin is lost in antiquity. This
may be just as well, for these two dragons are not known for
their hospitality and are said to not look kindly on trespassers.
 

Dragon

Monsters

Dragons

Best of Dragon, Vol. III

Dragon 62

Steel Dragon (Draco Ferrosus Carbo)

FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: -2
MOVEMENT: 9"/48"
HIT DICE: 12 (96 hit points)
% IN LAIR: 85%
TREASURE TYPE: H, S, T
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6/1-6/3-24
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Genius
ALIGNMENT: Lawful good
SIZE: L (60" long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
    Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
CHANCE OF:
    Speaking: 100%
    Magic Use: 100%
    Sleeping: 15%

Ahi, the steel dragon, is a loner. He
lives high in the uppermost atmosphere
of the Prime Material Plane in a castle
that circles the earth on the west wind.
Although he is lawful good, Ahi will not
hesitate to properly deal with trespassers
and other intruders into his home. At
regular intervals, the steel dragon visits
the earth to feed and gather small treasures from any evil characters he finds.
The steel dragon can attach with the
usual claw/claw/bite routine of other
dragons or with one of three breath weapons: a cloud (2"x2"x3") of poison
vapor that causes 2-12 points of damage
and unconsciousness for 2-4 rounds; a
cloud (same size) of scalding water vapor that causes 6-36 points of damage
and blinds for two rounds; or a cone of
vapor 6: long (base diameter 2") that
causes affected creatures to assume
gaseous form for 5-10 rounds.

Ahi can cast any magic-user spell of
first through sixth level, but can employ
only two spells per day. The steel dragon
can make himself gaseous at will and will
do so in order to get behind an opponent. In addition to this, Ahi's appearance to characters and other creatures is
as a shifting, cloudy dragon-shaped
mass of vapor. Because of this appearance, any opponent attacking the steel
dragon with a weapon will always miss
on his or her first attempt to hit.