Welcome again to another Frightful Fridays! Thanks to Paris Crenshaw for his awesome armored cricket last week, while I took the time to work a little bit ahead on my April plans. I'm back this week with a new kaida, the leaf kaida. I believe this would be a perfect familiar for an arborling, who would naturally be able to bond with one of these dragons.
I hope you like the third kaida in the series, and I promise a few more in later Frightful Fridays! installments. Have a great weekend!
What at first appears to be a couple of leaves attached to a tree’s stem reveals itself to be a little dragon with deciduous leaves as wings.
Leaf Kaida CR 1
XP 400
NG Tiny dragon
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +12
Defense
AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 size)
hp 13 (2d12)
Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +5
Immune magic paralysis and sleep, dragon traits, plant traits
Offense
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft., fly 30 ft. (good)
Melee bite +3 (1d3–1 plus poison), 2 claws +3 (1d2–1)
Special Attacks breath weapon (30-ft. cone, 2d6 slashing damage, Reflex half DC 11, usable every1d6 rounds), poison
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd; concentration +4)
1/day—goodberry
Statistics
Str 8, Dex 16, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 19
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 12 (16 vs. trip)
Feats Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Climb +11, Diplomacy +6, Fly +15, Heal +8, Knowledge (geography) +7, Knowledge (nature) +7, Perception +12, Sense Motive +9, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +16 (+32 in forested areas), Survival +8; Racial Modifiers +16 Stealth in forested areas
Languages Common, Draconic, Sylvan
Ecology
Environment any forest
Organization solitary, pair, or pile (3–12)
Treasure incidental
Special Abilities
Poison (Ex) bite; save Fort DC 12; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d2 Dex; cure 1 save.
Unlike other kaida, the leaf kaida protects the forest domains it calls home. When at rest, this dragon is nearly indistinguishable from a couple of leaves attached to a tree, and it can even go so far as to mimic the stunning colors seen during autumn. This camouflaging process is not fast enough to provide the dragon any real benefit, though. A leaf kaida measures roughly 2 feet in length, and it has a relatively short wingspan at 6 inches. In keeping with its leafy nature, the creature weighs less than a pound.
A leaf kaida chooses a tree to bond with—a process that takes a full 24 hours to complete. It lives with the bonded tree in a symbiotic fashion, providing protection to the tree, while its host provides nourishment to the kaida. The kaida stays with the tree throughout the year, even during winter whereupon the dragon’s leafy features seem to shrivel and brown. As long as the kaida stays with its tree it stays healthy; on the rare occasions the creature must depart from its tree (during mating season, for example), it can remain separated for a week, after which it sickens and eventually dies. Typically, if something prevents the kaida from returning, it attempts to find another plant with which it can bond. Through its continual bonding and re-bonding actions, a leaf kaida can live for over 200 years. A fairly robust and long-lived tree can host dozens of leaf kaidas; treants and dryads are especially fond of the dragons, who, in turn, appreciate the other creatures sharing their homes (or bodies, in the treants’ case).
A spellcaster can choose a leaf kaida as a familiar. The spellcaster must be at least caster level 6th, be able to cast 1st-level druid spells, have the Improved Familiar feat, and provide a Small, or larger, plant with which the leaf kaida can bond. As a familiar, the leaf kaida can stay away from its bonded plant for one month at a time, but afterwards it must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC equal to 10 plus 1 for each day away from its plant) or perish.
