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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

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Dragon, Magma

Source Bestiary 2 pg. 93 2.0
Magma dragons have a reputation among other dragons for being unpredictable and brash. Their temperament and tendency for violent outbursts ensure that the typical magma dragon lives a solitary life, with hatchlings often bickering or fighting to establish dominance among themselves before they leave the nest. A magma dragon always has a reason for their outbursts and can always justify their sudden turns in mood, yet they rarely feel the need to do so.

Magma dragons build lairs within volcanically active mountains or deep underground amid vast lakes of bubbling magma. As with all true dragons, magma dragons keep hoards of treasure, but the nature of their searing lairs limits the type of valuables they collect to metals, gems, and items capable of resisting the heat of a volcano's core.

Members

Adult Magma Dragon (Creature 13), Ancient Magma Dragon (Creature 18), Young Magma Dragon (Creature 9)

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Magma Dragon Spellcasters

Magma dragon spellcasters tend to cast the following spells.

Young

Primal Prepared Spells DC 28, attack +20; 4th stoneskin, wall of fire; 3rd haste, slow, stinking cloud; 2nd glitterdust, obscuring mist, restore senses; 1st air bubble, grease, pass without trace; Cantrips (4th) detect magic, prestidigitation, produce flame, read aura, tanglefoot

Adult

Primal Prepared Spells DC 33, attack +25; as young magma dragon, plus 6th fire seeds, true seeing; 5th cloudkill, elemental form, flame strike; 4th hallucinatory terrain; Cantrips (6th) detect magic, prestidigitation, produce flame, read aura, tanglefoot

Ancient

Primal Prepared Spells DC 42, attack +34; as adult magma dragon, plus 8th earthquake, horrid wilting, power word stun; 7th fiery body, plane shift, volcanic eruption; 6th flesh to stone; Cantrips (8th) detect magic, prestidigitation, produce flame, read aura, tanglefoot

Sidebar - Related Creatures Moschabbatt

The ancient magma dragon Moschabbatt dwells in a vast chamber hidden within Droskar's Crag, the largest volcano in the Inner Sea region. Rumor holds that the dragon counts at least one legendary dwarven artifact among the priceless treasures of his vast hoard.

Dragon, Primal

Related Groups Dragon, Brine, Dragon, Cloud, Dragon, Crystal, Dragon, Umbral
The strange and otherworldly primal dragons hail from realities adjacent to the Material Plane—the four Elemental Planes and the Shadow Plane. These true dragons have natures and powers that exemplify their plane of origin and an affinity for primal magic, unlike chromatic and metallic dragons, who favor arcane or divine magic. Although they come from distant planes, primal dragons can be found on the Material Plane in regions touched by or reminiscent of their home plane. Although such encounters are rare, adventurers and travelers have sometimes found a brine dragon dwelling near a salty inland sea, for example, or a crystal dragon living in massive natural caverns deep in the Darklands. Unlike chromatic and metallic dragons, primal dragons tend not to develop shape-changing powers, and they are less interested in infiltrating settlements or influencing others from the shadows.

Primal Dragon Spellcasters

Each type of primal dragon features a note in the margins on spellcasting dragons of that type. To make a primal dragon spellcaster, remove the dragon’s Draconic Frenzy and Draconic Momentum abilities and give it the spells outlined in its sidebar. You can swap out any number of these with other primal spells, provided you keep the same number of spells for each level. You might also want to increase the dragon’s Wisdom or Charisma modifier by 1 or 2 to reflect their mastery of magic.

Primal Dragons of Golarion

Golarion is not home to many primal dragons. Yet primal dragons do still come to Golarion now and then, whether to escape persecution in their home plane, build new lairs, torment and brutalize weaker creatures, or seek knowledge and resources that are scarce or unavailable at home.

Brine dragons can be found along Golarion’s coastlines but are often frustrated by piracy and other lawless elements. They tend to avoid heavily populated coastal areas like the Shackles and instead choose remote islands in the oceans as their homes, where they can rule small communities of their own curation. Cloud dragons are even more isolated, and lacking any interest in politics, they prefer to dwell in large mountain ranges like the Kodars or the Barrier Wall. Crystal dragons’ vanity compels them to seek places that complement their natural beauty, such as gem-studded caverns in the Darklands. Of all the primal dragons, cantankerous magma dragons may be the ones most often found dwelling on Golarion, where they are drawn to volcanic ranges like the Five Kings Mountains. Umbral dragons hail not from an Elemental Plane but the Shadow Plane, and they can be encountered anywhere the borders to that plane grow thin, particularly in the sinister nation of Nidal.