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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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PFS StandardAncient Cloud Dragon

At heart, cloud dragons are wanderers, explorers, and travelers who enjoy nothing more than seeing new lands and meeting unusual creatures. Cloud dragons range in color from light blue to a pale, milky white and have thick, curling horns and rather short snouts. They keep lairs among the extreme altitudes of the highest mountain peaks but are away on their many journeys as often as they're at home. Cloud dragons spend long hours surveying the lands they fly over from great heights, but they are creatures of whim, making it hard to predict what will pique their curiosity and bring them winging down to converse or investigate something on the ground. Cloud dragons seldom perform acts of outright malice, but they are not often charitable either. A cloud dragon is as likely to simply pluck something they desire off the ground and fly away with it as they are to bargain fairly.

A cloud dragon's ever-changing interests never seem to stray toward the complicated schemes and long-term plans of other dragons. These rovers are creatures of the moment, and although they are as mentally gifted as other true dragons, their interests remain in the here and now. Yet the cloud dragon's penchant for living in the moment is not a personality flaw—they're more than capable of anticipating long-term results of their actions and won't make foolish choices simply to pursue a current interest. At the same time, cloud dragons have little interest in worrying about the future and are as confident in their ability to handle tomorrow's problems as they are today's.

Cloud dragon hoards tend to be well-guarded or well-hidden, as a natural result of their roving habits often taking them away from their lairs for extended periods. Their treasuries include a wide variety of items—they are driven to gather a broad range of prizes rather than collecting one type of item intensively. To a cloud dragon, a diversified hoard is a perfect hoard.

Recall Knowledge - Dragon (Arcana): DC 44
Recall Knowledge - Elemental (Arcana, Nature): DC 44
Unspecific Lore: DC 42
Specific Lore: DC 39

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Ancient Cloud DragonCreature 19

Legacy Content

Rare N Gargantuan Air Dragon Elemental 
Source Bestiary 2 pg. 90 2.0
Perception +15; darkvision, mist vision, scent (imprecise) 60 feet
Languages Auran, Common, Draconic, Jotun, Sylvan
Skills Acrobatics +16, Athletics +19, Deception +15, Diplomacy +15, Intimidation +17, Nature +13, Stealth +16, Survival +17
Str +9, Dex +5, Con +7, Int +5, Wis +7, Cha +7
Mist Vision Fog and mist don't impair a cloud dragon's vision; they ignore the concealed condition from fog and mist.
AC 25; Fort +17, Ref +13, Will +15; +1 status to all saves vs. magic
HP 355; Immunities electricity, paralyzed, sleep
Frightful Presence (aura, emotion, fear, mental) 90 feet, DC 40Deflecting Cloud [reaction] Trigger The dragon is the target of a ranged attack; Requirements The dragon is aware of the attack and has a free wing; Effect The cloud dragon flexes a wing and creates a billowing cloud of mist. The dragon is treated as if they were hidden for the purposes of resolving the triggering attack, so normally the attacker must succeed at a DC 11 flat check to target them. The dragon also gains a +4 circumstance bonus to AC against the triggering attack.
Speed 60 feet, fly 160 feet; cloud walk
Melee [one-action] jaws +17 [+12/+7] (electricity, magical, reach 20 feet, sonic), Damage 3d10+17 piercing plus 2d12 electricity, 4d6 sonic, and thundering biteMelee [one-action] claw +17 [+13/+9] (agile, magical, reach 15 feet), Damage 4d10+17 slashingMelee [one-action] tail +15 [+10/+5] (magical, reach 25 feet), Damage 4d12+17 bludgeoningMelee [one-action] horn +15 [+10/+5] (deadly d12, magical, reach 20 feet), Damage 3d12+17 piercingPrimal Innate Spells DC 23; 8th wind walk; 5th cloudkill; 4th gust of wind (at will), solid fog, wall of wind (at will)
Breath Weapon [two-actions] (electricity, evocation, primal) The dragon breathes a thundercloud that deals 20d6 electricity damage in a 60-foot cone (DC 22 basic Reflex save). This cloud remains in the area for 1d4 rounds, with the effects of obscuring mist. A creature that ends its turn inside of the cloud takes 10d6 electricity damage (DC 22 basic Reflex save). The cloud dragon can't use Breath Weapon again for 1d4 rounds.Cloud Form [one-action] (polymorph, primal, transmutation) The cloud dragon's body becomes vaporous and misty. They gain the effects of gaseous form, except their fly Speed remains unchanged. The cloud dragon can use this action again to return to physical form.Cloud Walk The cloud dragon can tread on clouds or fog as though on solid ground.Draconic Frenzy [two-actions] The dragon makes two claw Strikes and one horn Strike in any order.Draconic Momentum The dragon recharges their Breath Weapon whenever they score a critical hit with a Strike.Thundering Bite An ancient cloud dragon's jaws Strike creates a deafening clap of thunder when it damages a foe. A creature that takes damage from the dragon's jaws Strike must succeed at a DC 22 Fortitude save or be deafened for 1 minute (or permanently on a critical failure).

All Monsters in "Dragon, Cloud"

NameLevel
Adult Cloud Dragon14
Ancient Cloud Dragon19
Young Cloud Dragon10

Dragon, Cloud

Source Bestiary 2 pg. 88 2.0
At heart, cloud dragons are wanderers, explorers, and travelers who enjoy nothing more than seeing new lands and meeting unusual creatures. Cloud dragons range in color from light blue to a pale, milky white and have thick, curling horns and rather short snouts. They keep lairs among the extreme altitudes of the highest mountain peaks but are away on their many journeys as often as they're at home. Cloud dragons spend long hours surveying the lands they fly over from great heights, but they are creatures of whim, making it hard to predict what will pique their curiosity and bring them winging down to converse or investigate something on the ground. Cloud dragons seldom perform acts of outright malice, but they are not often charitable either. A cloud dragon is as likely to simply pluck something they desire off the ground and fly away with it as they are to bargain fairly.

A cloud dragon's ever-changing interests never seem to stray toward the complicated schemes and long-term plans of other dragons. These rovers are creatures of the moment, and although they are as mentally gifted as other true dragons, their interests remain in the here and now. Yet the cloud dragon's penchant for living in the moment is not a personality flaw—they're more than capable of anticipating long-term results of their actions and won't make foolish choices simply to pursue a current interest. At the same time, cloud dragons have little interest in worrying about the future and are as confident in their ability to handle tomorrow's problems as they are today's.

Cloud dragon hoards tend to be well-guarded or well-hidden, as a natural result of their roving habits often taking them away from their lairs for extended periods. Their treasuries include a wide variety of items—they are driven to gather a broad range of prizes rather than collecting one type of item intensively. To a cloud dragon, a diversified hoard is a perfect hoard.

Dragon, Primal

Related Groups Dragon, Brine, Dragon, Crystal, Dragon, Magma, 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.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Cloud Dragon Spellcasters

Cloud dragon spellcasters tend to cast the following spells.

Young

Primal Prepared Spells DC 29, attack +23; 4th freedom of movement, hallucinatory terrain, speak with plants; 3rd earthbind, haste, stinking cloud; 2nd animal messenger, faerie fire, speak with animals; 1st feather fall, negate aroma, shocking grasp; Cantrips (4th) dancing lights, detect magic, electric arc, prestidigitation, read aura

Adult

Primal Prepared Spells DC 34, attack +29; as young cloud dragon, plus 6th heal, slow, true seeing; 5th banishment, death ward, passwall; Cantrips (6th) dancing lights, detect magic, electric arc, prestidigitation, read aura

Ancient

Primal Prepared Spells DC 41, attack +36; as adult cloud dragon, plus 9th heal, storm of vengeance; 8th dispel magic, moment of renewal, punishing winds; 7th energy aegis, plane shift, unfettered pack; Cantrips (9th) dancing lights, detect magic, electric arc, prestidigitation, read aura

Sidebar - Related Creatures Zanembis

While most cloud dragons prefer solitude and avoid confrontations, Zanembis is an excellent example of how failed dragonslaying attempts can create problems. Previously content to dwell atop Angel Peak in the Mindspin Mountains, this cloud dragon has grown vengeful and violent in the wake of unexpected and unjustified attacks on his lair.