Happy Saturday to you Frightful Fridays! readers out there. Today marks the return of one of my indulgences, the kaida. Continuing on with the theme of class-synergistic kaida, the lead version is a great match for martial characters given its natural ability to improve weapons and armor. Hopefully, there's a multiclassing spellcaster who would like to have one of these dragons as his or her familiar.
The extras for today's monster apply directly to the monster. The two new feats are only available to lead kaidas, but they should give GMs some flexibility in designing the creatures. Additionally, paranoid PCs might benefit from the kaida's new-found ability to thwart divination and eventually wreak havoc on nearby spellcasters.
Flash will be here tomorrow with a new shield, and I'll be back on Monday with the halfway-point monster for the A-Z challenge. Have a great weekend!
This small blue-grey dragon alights with a thud, its weight obviously belying its size. It radiates heat that is not harmful, but it is also not pleasant.
Lead Kaida CR 3
XP 800
LN Small dragon
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +10
Defense
AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 15 (+1 size, +4 natural)
hp 34 (4d12+8)
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +7
DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune fire, magic paralysis and sleep, dragon traits
Offense
Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)
Melee bite +6 (1d6+1), 2 claws +6 x2 (1d4+1)
Special Attacks breath weapon (DC 14)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +5)
3/day—magic weapon
1/day—crafter’s fortune, lead blades (attuned weapon only)
Statistics
Str 13, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 12
Base Atk +4; CMB +4 (+6 bull rush); CMD 14 (16 vs. bull rush, 18 vs. trip)
Feats Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack
Skills Appraise +13, Craft (armor) +13, Craft (weapons) +13, Diplomacy +8, Fly +9, Intimidate +8, Perception +10, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +4; Racial Modifiers +4 Appraise, +4 Craft (armor), +4 Craft (weapons)
Languages Common, Draconic, Ignan
SQ attune to armor or weapon
Ecology
Environment any urban (usually a blacksmith’s workspace)
Organization solitary, pair, or forge (3–6)
Treasure double (weapons or armor)
Special Abilities
Attune to Armor or Weapon (Su) A lead kaida can bond with metal armor or a metal weapon. When it does, the bonded item displays the dragon in rampant pose. A lead kaida enhances a weapon depending on the weapon’s unattuned state: an ordinary weapon becomes masterwork, a masterwork weapon gains a +1 enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls, and a magical weapon gains the ability to bypass 10 points of hardness. Armor is enhanced as follows: ordinary armor becomes masterwork, masterwork armor grants a +1 enhancement bonus to AC, and magical armor grants the wearer DR 2/–. A lead kaida can only attune to one item at a time, and the attunement process takes 1 day.
Breath Weapon (Ex) A lead kaida can breathe fire in a 20-foot cone every 2d4 rounds. Its fiery breath deals 2d6 damage to every creature in the cone (Reflex DC 14 save for half), and any creature who fails the Reflex save is also slowed for 1d4 rounds.
One of the largest and by far the heaviest of all kaida, a lead kaida appreciates and protects forged items. A blacksmith considers it a favorable sign when a lead kaida graces her forge with its presence. The dragon measures 4 feet from snout to tail tip, and it has a 7-foot wide wingspan that manages to hold its 250 pounds aloft.
A lead kaida is a ponderous dragon of few words and devotes its time and energy to crafting arms and armor or helping a companion in melee combat. While the kaida prefers to bond with a well-crafted weapon or suit of armor and aid its comrade by bolstering the bonded item, it realizes its value in combat and will gladly leave its home to dole out punishment to its companion’s foes. All a lead kaida asks for in return is whatever slag is left behind from the forging of a weapon or armor; it can subsist on 50 pounds of such material a week.
A spellcaster can choose a lead kaida as a familiar. The spellcaster must be at least caster level 6th, have the Improved Familiar feat, have 1 level in a class with full-BAB progression, and provide a weapon or piece of armor of at least masterwork quality with which the kaida can bond.
--------------------
Disrupt Divination
You can use your lead-laced blood to foil divination spells.
Prerequisites: Lead kaida advanced to at least 6 Hit Dice or one that has forgone Improved Bull Rush.
Benefit: In a 30-foot radius centered on you, divination spells fail to penetrate through the radius, unless the caster succeeds at a caster level check (DC equal to 12 + half your Hit Dice + Con modifier; this includes a +2 racial bonus).
Arcane Disrupter
Your body generates a field that is anathema to arcane spellcasters.
Prerequisites: Disrupt Divination, lead kaida advanced to at least 6 Hit Dice.
Benefit: Any arcane spellcaster within 10 feet of you must succeed at a concentration check (DC 15 + double the spell’s level) to successfully cast a spell. Failing this check causes the spellcaster to lose the spell. If you have been taken as a familiar, this ability does not affect your master's spellcasting.
