RACE:               Crimson Dragon
CLIMATE/TERRAIN:    Subtropical and temperate hills and montains
FREQUENCY:          Very rare
ORGANIZATION:       Solitary or clan
ACTIVITY CYCLE:     Any
DIET:               Special
INTELLIGENCE:       Exceptional (15-16)
TREASURE:           Special
ALIGNMENT:          Neutral (5% lawful or chaotic)

NO. OF APPEARING:   1 (2-5)
ARMOR CLASS:        -1 (base)
MOVE:               12, Fl 36 (C), Jp 3
HIT DICE:           12 (base)
THAC0:              9 (base)
NO. OF ATTACKS:     3 + special
DAMAGE/ATTACK:      2-12/2-12/3-30 (3d10)
SPECIAL ATTACKS:    Special
SPECIAL DEFENSES:   Variable
MAGIC RESISTANCE:   Variable
SIZE:               G (42' base)
MORAL:              Fanatic (17-18)
XP VALUE:           Variable

Crimson dragons are closely related to red 
dragons; they are nearly identical in appearance 
to reds, although they are smaller in size.  
Aside from the brighter red scales and some 
minor facial differences, the only appreciable 
difference is the black throat and belly of 
the crimson dragon. At ranges of 120' or 
greater, crimson dragons appear identical to 
red dragons; at closer distances, the 
differences are easier to distinguish (a 
successful Int check results in the observation
of the brighter scales and/or the black belly.  
In any case, the differences are obvious at 60' 
or less. Unlike most dragons, the scales of a 
crimson dragon change little in color throughout
their lives; they stay a bright crimson red from 
birth to old age.

While crimson dragons resemble red dragons 
in appearance, their temperment and outlook 
on life are quite different. They are far 
less vain and greedy than the red; while 
they still hoard treasure, it is not the 
crimson's main goal in life. Crimson dragons 
rarely take sides in conflicts between good 
and evil, only doing so to maintain the 
balance of neutrality, which is their main 
concern. Most (90% crimson dragons are stricly 
neutral in alignment; of the remaining 10% 
half are neutral with lawful tendancies, and 
the other half are neutral with chaotic 
leanings.

Crimson dragons speak their own language, 
a language common to all neutral dragons, 
and 16% of hatchling crimson dragons have 
an ability to communicate with any 
intelligent creature. The chance to possess 
this ability increases 5% per age category 
of the dragon.

COMBAT: Crimson dragons prefer to close 
with their opponents, engaging them with 
every attack mode available; if possible, 
combat will commence with a screaming 
plummet from the sky above in order to 
gain surprise. The attack will then continue 
with claw, bite, wing buffet, tail slap, etc.
Spells, breath weapon attacks, and special 
abilities will not normally be employed; 
instead they will saved for truly dangerous 
encounters. Crimson dragons are not above 
retreating if obviously out-classed.

BREATH WEAPON: The breath weapon of a crimson 
dragon is a cloud of noxious vapors measuring 
50' in all dimensions. Anyone caught in this 
cloud must make a saving throw vs. breath 
weapon or fall unconscious for 1d6 rounds; 
those who succeed must make a second saving 
throw vs. poison or suffer nausea (-2 on all 
"to hit" rolls) for 1d4 rounds. On the round 
following the breath attack, the cloud bursts 
into flames, inflicting the damage listed on 
the table above to all still in the area of 
effect (victims may save vs. breath weapon 
for 1/2 damage.) Strong winds or a gust of 
wind spell will move the cloud, but no amount 
of wind short of hurricane-force will 
disperse it. Any fire (such as torches 
carried by victims) will set the cloud ablaze 
immediately and any damage caused (such as 
from a ** fireball **) will be cumulative with 
the breath weapon damage. A favorite tactic 
of the crimson dragon is to cast a ** fireball 
** spell into the cloud the following round, 
causing tremendous damage.

Crimson dragons are born immune to fire. As 
they age, they gain the following additional 
powers:

AGE            SPECIAL ABILITY
Juvenile       ** Flaming sphere ** (three times per day)
Adult          ** Wall of Fire ** (twice per day)
Old            ** Telekinesis ** (twice per day)
Venerable      ** Reverse gravity ** (once per day)
Wyrm           ** Incendiary cloud ** (twice per week)

Crimson dragons cast spells and use their 
special abilities at 8th level, plus their
combat modifier.

HABITAT: Like red dragons, crimsons can be
found in hilly or mountainous terrain, but
unlike their cousins, dislike the tropics.
Their lairs are usually in large caves in 
high hills or mountain peaks.

Crimson dragons are usually loners; they 
associate with other crimson dragons only 
when mating, and keep company with other 
creatures even less frequently. This is 
due mainly to the fact they are often 
mistaken for red dragons and are therefore 
mistrusted by most other creatures.

These cases of mistaken identity are the 
most common cause of unwarranted attacks 
against crimson dragons, and is also the 
main reason behind their neutral alignment 
- they don't trust others, and rarely form 
alliances; they spend most of their efforts 
furthering the goals of neutrality.

ECOLOGY: Crimson dragons prefer to eat 
meat, but can eat nearly anything. When 
hunting, they rarely will kill an 
intelligent creature for food, except in 
extreme circumstances.

A crimson dragon's worst enemy is the
red dragon, who think their cousins are 
inferior and give them a bad reputation.  
Combat between the two types are 
relatively common, and, assuming the 
combatants are of roughly the same age, 
these fights are usually quite evenly 
matched.

Allan J. Mikkola (allanm@vulcan.med.ge.com)