Great wyrms are distant relatives of
dragons and dragonkind, a dying
breed that
has become more rare with each passing
year. Wingless, six-legged intelligent reptiles,
great wyrms lair far from civilized
areas.
These gray-green beasts are so rarely
seen that encountering one is considered a
lucky (or unlucky) omen. Great wyrms are
so old that some are said to remember the
early days of their world, and a few kingdoms
protect and defend their wyrms for
the information they possess (though the
wyrms charge steep prices for such knowledge).
Great wyrms speak their own tongue
and no other, though they apparently understand
many languages and will answer
questions put to them in a variety of dialects
and tongues.
Malign, crafty, and indirect in speech and
thought, some great wyrms are also senile,
and a few are said to be insane. No new
wyrms have been born for centuries, and it
is generally believed that these monsters are
aware that their species is headed for extinction.
Certainly the wyrms say little about
this, and tend to eat those who are bold
enough to ask them about it.
A great wyrm is capable of breathing out
a cloud of poisonous gas four times a day;
such a cloud is 60 yards long, 30 yards wide
and 26 yards high, and all who are caught
within it must save vs. breath weapon or
suffer the poison?s effects. Victims who
breathe the fumes will be immediately
incapacitated by choking and nausea, collapsing
at once without defending themselves
or attacking in any way. The victims
will then die in 1-4 rounds. Saving against
the breath weapon will reduce the victim to
half of his former hit points (round fractions
up) and will leave him choking and gasping;
he will, however, be able to attack at -2 ?to
hit? odds, and can defend himself, though
without armor class bonuses for dexterity.
These latter effects will last 4-16 rounds.
In addition, great wyrms are able to
regenerate their wounds to a limited extent.
While they cannot rebond severed limbs,
they can heal wounds at a rate of 1 hp every
two rounds. Although this does not greatly
affect combat, it allows the wyrm to recover
quickly from serious injuries if given a
chance to rest. Wounds caused by fire cannot
be rehealed, though those caused by
acid can be healed normally.
Great wyrms pass through the same life
stages that dragons do, but no wyrms younger
than ?old? are known to exist. They
also come in the same size categories, and
can detect hidden or invisible creatures
within a 1? range per age level. They live
about ten times as long as regular dragons,
so an old wyrm is probably between 1000
and 2000 years old.
All wyrms possess the fear aura of
dragons, but regardless of their age, the
wyrms have the aura effect operate without
bonuses to the victims? saving throws.
Great wyrms, because of their innate egotism
and strength of will, cannot ever be
subdued; attacking one in this manner is a
grave mistake. Wyrms cannot cast magic.
Because great wyrms are so old, each one
has at least one especially vulnerable spot
upon its body. The dragon?s scaly hide will
have been damaged by disease, combat, or
by general wear and tear at these points,
and nervous ganglia tend to gather there.
During physical combat, a person striking
at a great wyrm with a sharp-edged weapon
(including arrows and hurled hand axes and
daggers) has a 1% chance of accidentally
hitting such a vulnerable spot. The blow
will strike the dragon as if against AC 4,
and the blow will do double damage to the
wyrm. The wyrm will immediately retreat if
struck in such a spot, and will attempt to
find safety and recover from the wound.
Magical attacks, even magic missiles, will
not affect the wyrm in this way. If a vulnerable
spot is located and recognized, attackers
may strike at the spot further unless the
wyrm covers the spot or moves it out of
reach of weapons.
| Dragon magazine | MM3 | - | Dragon #94 | 1st Edition AD&D |