FREQUENCY:  Very rare
NO. APPEARING:  1-4
ARMOR CLASS:  5
MOVE:  9?/24? (MC: A)
HIT DICE:  See Table 4
% IN LAIR:  25%
TREASURE TYPE:  S, Z
NO. OF ATTACKS:  2 claws and  either 1
head butt or 1 bite
DAMAGE/ATTACK:  See  Table 4
SPECIAL ATTACKS:  Breath weapon, up to
major spell use
SPECIAL DEFENSES:  Invisibility, fire resistance, magic resistance, high intelligence, up to major spell use
MAGIC RESISTANCE:  See  Table 4
INTELLIGENCE:  Average to high
ALIGNMENT:  Chaotic neutral, chaotic evil
SIZE:  S (1-3?  long)
PSIONIC ABILITY:  Nil
CHANCE OF:
    Speaking:  90%
    Magic use:  80%
    Sleeping:  30%
LEVEL/XP VALUE:  Up to V/400 + 5 per hit
    point (maximum age and abilities)

Demon drakes appear to be miniature
red dragons with sharp, devilish horns on
the tops of their heads and fixed, evil
grins. Females have orange underbellies;
males are red all over.

Demon drakes usually live near or in
volcanic vents, but they can also be found
in caverns and many barren-landscapes.
Small groups of demon drakes often associate with salamanders and lair nearby.
Quicklings are known to form alliances
with demon drakes and ride them into
b a t t l e .

Demon drakes are naturally resistant to
f i r e s ,   a s   p e r   rings of fire resistance. They
can also use  improved invisibility on themselves twice per day, being able to attack
and cast spells without turning visible

The demon drake has two forms of
cone-shaped fiery breath weapons. The
cone shape of the major attack form is ¼?
in diameter at the drake?s mouth, and it
spreads out until it is 3? wide at its far end.
The cone of flame is 8? long; see Table 4
for damage statistics, which are based on
age (half damage is take if the victim
makes a saving throw vs. breath weapons).
This attack form may be made only four
times per day. Demon drakes may also
breath a lesser amount of fire an unlimited number of times per day. This minor
breath weapon is only 4? long and 2?
across at the far end. Demon drakes are
immune to other demon drakes? breath
weapons.

Demon drakes are not really vicious in
nature, but they defend their lairs with
great single-mindedness. In such cases,
they attack as if they had two additional
hit dice, and their breath weapons do an
additional 1-4 hp damage. Like the faerie
dragons, demon drakes are infamous for
their practical jokes and go out of their
ways to plan and execute them. However,
their practical jokes go beyond what might
be considered funny or safe, sometimes
resulting in real harm to the victims.

Demon drakes able to use spells will
employ illusionist spells, but as they grow
older, they gain a small selection of wizard
and cleric spells. Unlike their cousins,
their spells are not selected only on the
basis of their mischief potential. Spellcasting demon drakes gain spells at the
same rate that illusionists do, each hit die
equaling a level. One in 24 magic-using
demon drakes is a lair shaman and gains
both cleric and illusionist spells at the
same time, like a multiclassed character.
Spell-casting demon drakes also gain one
first-level wizard spell at old, very old, and
ancient ages each. All demon drakes (even
those that do not normally use spells) gain
a first-level cleric spell at ancient age,
including lair shamans, who have that
spell in addition to their others. Most
spells are taught by the elders of the
demon drake group, except for the cleric
spells, which appear to be gained from an
unknown source.

Demon drakes also have unique spells
that the elders of their race pass on to
deserving youths who manage to prepare
and execute what are referred to as
?grandmaster? practical jokes. These practical jokes must be fairly subtle and affect
at least a small community of creatures or
a single creature whose innate power is
such that the joke deserves merit. Creating
an illusion of human women bathing in
cool water, tempting a hunter to wade into
lava, is a basic practical joke not worthy of
grandmaster status. If the ?women? were
actually female goblins, encountered on
multiple occasions by an elite patrol, the
joke might be worth consideration.
Demon drakes sometimes kidnap and
ransom elven, half-elven, halfling, human,
brownie, leprechaun, pixie, quickling, and
sprite maidens. During their time of capture, these maids are treated like princesses by the entire tribe. The ransom
demand might be a minor quest to benefit
the tribe or the payment of some valuable
item the tribe desires. However, depending
upon their infatuation with their new
?princess,? the demon drakes might gift
her with treasures worth double the ransom they demand. It is an honor to be
kidnapped by demon drakes?at least, in
the eyes of the kidnappers. They allow the
maid to leave after six months even if no
ransom is paid. It is considered an insult if
they return the maiden prematurely.

Demon drake clans are located near
some source of sulfur, hence their preoccupation with lairing in or near volcanic
vents. They must consume a few ounces
of sulfur every week, or their fiery breath
weakens. After several weeks without
sulfur, the damage from their breath is
reduced by half (round fractions down).

Demon drakes speak a variant of the
faerie-dragon language as well as their
alignment tongue. Most also speak salamander, quickling, elven, leprechaun, or
pixie. They have 120’ infravision and
excellent night sight.

The following are three unique demon
drake spells. A young-adult demon drake
has usually earned at least one unique
first-level spell, while an old demon drake
might have all three spells that follow, as
well as others the DM might create.

Pretty--Oops! (Illusion/Alteration)
Level: 1
Range: 0
Duration: Special
Components: V, S, M
CT: 1 round
ST: Negates
Area of Effect: 1/2 cubic foot

E x p l a n a t i o n / D e s c r i p t i o n :   This spell may
be cast upon small living creatures or
small inanimate objects. If cast upon a
living creature, the creature is allowed a
saving throw vs. paralysis, or it is paralyzed for 5-8 hours. Each hour after the
fourth hour, the creature is entitled to
another saving throw. If the saving throw
succeeds, the creature immediately recovers. If still paralyzed at the end of eight
hours, the creature automatically recovers. A piece of wool, bird down, or similar
item is required for casting the spell.

When the spell is cast, the demon drake
concentrates on the illusory form it
wishes the object or victim to take. The
form should be of the same approximate
shape and size of the object or creature
upon which the spell is cast. A poisonous
snake might be transformed into a
bejewelled dagger, a hornet's nest into a sealed
container, and a cockatrice into a sleeping
lap dog.

Should a creature or object with
pretty—oops! be touched or take damage,
it automatically transforms into its original
form. Detect illusion spells reveal this
magical disguise for what it is..

Slither--Hiss! (Illusion/Evocation)
Level: 2
Range: 30"
Duration: 24 hours
Components: V, S, M
ST: Negates
Area of Effect: 10' diameter sphere

E x p l a n a t i o n / D e s c r i p t i o n :   Demon drakes
use this spell to guard their caverns from
intruders. The spell is closely related to
magic mouth but with a twist. The material component of this spell is a lizard skin
or snake skin. The spell is able to discern
between different creatures as does the
magic mouth spell, and can be programmed to activate against a specific type
of intruder.

When the spell is activated by an intruding creature, a rustling, slithering sound is
heard, seeming to come from farther
inside the cave or in the direction the
intruder is traveling. This sound is discernible whether the intruder is noisy or
quiet. The sound is obviously that of something large and serpentine. Each intruding
creature is allowed a saving throw vs.
spells; those that fail to save become
uneasy and catch glimpses of something
huge and foreboding in most every
shadow and crevice. These victims each
fall prey to a spook spell 1-4 rounds later,
if they remain within the spell’s area of
effect.

Pretty--Boom! (Illusion/Evocation/Alteration)
Level: 3
Range: 0
Duration: 24 hours
Components: V, S, M
CT: 1 round
ST: 1/2

E x p l a n a t i o n / D e s c r i p t i o n :   The material
component for this spell is a gem of at
least 1 gp value. When cast, the gem
takes on the appearance of a gem of
10-100 times its real value. This
enchantment lasts exactly 24 hours.
At the end of this time, the gem
explodes with great force, doing
3-12 hp damage to anyone within
5’. Those within 10’ are allowed a
saving throw vs. wands; if successful, they take half damage. The
explosion is based upon force, not
fire. The burst produces shrapnel-like shards capable of turning a
backpack, bag, or pouch into shreds
while still doing damage to the bearer
of the item. If the gem explodes in a bag
of holding or portable hole, the item is
destroyed, but the bearer of the bag or
hole takes no damage.

The caster of the spell may dispel this
spell before it explodes simply by speaking
a command word within 10’ of the gem.
Only the caster can so deactivate the
pretty—-boom! gem, even if another spellcaster knows the command word. Dispel
magic works normally against this spell.

Alternately, the demon drake may
choose not to have the gem explode.
Instead, the gem might evaporate into a
stinking cloud, as per the wizard spell, or
might explode with a great noise but doing
only 1 hp damage and creating a 20’-
diameter cloud of sulfurous smoke lasting
one turn.

Table 4
Demon Drakes' Statistics

Demon drake age	Magic resistance	Hit dice	Length	Claw damage	Butt damage *	Breath damage (major)	Breath damage (minor)
Very young	12%	1/2	1'	-	1	1-4	1
Young	18%	1	1'6"	1	1-2	1-4	1
Sub-adult	24%	1+3	2'	1	1-3	1-6	1-2
Young adult	30%	2	2'3"	1	1-4	1-6	1-3
Adult	36%	2+3	2'6"	1	1-4	1-8	1-4
Old	42%	3	2'9"	1-2	1-6	2-8	1-4
Very old	48%	4	3'	1-2	1-6	1-10	1-6
Ancient	54%	5	3'3"	1-3	2-8	1-10	1-6

 

Crystal Drake	Demon Drake	-	Faerie Drake	Shadow Drake
Dragon	Dragon 146	-	Find Familiar	Monster Manual III