#dracodile

[panrao]

Iva might have had something to do with this

[elemonsters]

Should consider a beast/wyrm, always fun

went insane and made the pseudo legendary for the region

Nibling / Dracodile / Grandile Wyrm/Beast with a movepool that hosts a lot of aero-type attacks, typically they are found in the Draken Chasm and the peaks of Spynel mountain

[thecreaturecodex]

Dracodile

Image © Steamforged Games

[The dracodile is an iconic Hordes monster, having had a number of very nice looking miniatures over the years. Despite its bipedal stance and huge claws, it's never had claw attacks before this particular stat block. The last paragraph of flavor text is all original; Iron Kingdoms is a setting where dragons are unique threats instead of species, but I thought it would be fun to talk about the interaction between dracodiles and real dragons if you're using them in another milieu. I used poison for the damage type of its breath weapon because that's what it is in 5e and I'm making a statement; if not using poison as a damage type in your games, feel free to swap it for acid.

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Dracodile CR 9 N Magical Beast This reptilian beast resembles a bipedal crocodile the size of an elephant. It has three clawed fingers on each arm, and rows of spines going down its back. As it moves, its enormous tail swings back and forth.

Dracodiles are giant ambush predators of swamps and rivers. It is fortunate that they are rather rare, as they are quick to anger, slow to calm and belligerent in defending their territories. These territories are enormous to support such a large beast with enough food, and dracodiles spend much of their time lazily patrolling these territories on the lookout for either meals or rivals. The only time dracodiles will tolerate each other’s company is in order to mate and rear offspring. Females allow males to stay in their territory after mating, and the pair trade off in guarding the eggs and patrolling. Once the eggs are hatched, the male takes the hatchlings into his mouth and goes for a long journey, dropping off one baby at a time scattered over a wide area in the hopes that they will be able to establish their own territory. The male then returns to his original territory, and often has to oust a rival monster that has taken it over, or die trying.

Dracodiles do not turn their snouts up at humanoid prey, but neither do they seek it out. Battles with dracodiles are just as likely to occur out of territorial aggression than hunger; boats and wagons are sometimes mistaken for rivals. Dracodiles open combat with a belch, spraying stored swamp gas and digestive juices in a deadly spray. Those not slain outright are often trapped in hallucinations and delirium for a few seconds, long enough for the dracodile to close the gap and enter melee. Dracodiles are literally fearless, and often fight until slain.

The one exception to a dracodile’s seemingly universal hostility is to true dragons. Dracodiles view true dragons, even ones smaller than themselves, with an awe bordering on reverence, and will let them pass through or even stay in their territories without trouble. Some young black and green dragons take advantage of this arrangement, establishing their lairs in dracodile territory and using the beast as a guardian. In such cases, the rumors and confusion over whether or not there’s actually a dragon in the area provide the dragon with an extra layer of security in addition to the physical threat of a thirty foot long predator.

Dracodile CR 9 XP 6,400 N Huge magical beast Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +10 Defense AC 22, touch 9, flat-footed 21 (-2 size, +1 Dex, +13 natural) hp 115 (11d10+55) Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +7 Immune fear Offense Speed 20 ft., swim 50 ft. Melee bite +15 (3d6+6 plus grab), 2 claws +15 (1d8+6), tail slap +13 (1d12+3 plus trip) Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks breath weapon (50 ft. cone, 11d6 poison, Fort DC 20, 1d4 rounds, 3/day), capsize, swallow whole (AC 16, 11 hp, 2d6+7 plus 2d6 poison) Statistics Str 22, Dex 12, Con 21, Int 3, Wis 15, Cha 10 Base Atk +11; CMB +20 (+24 grapple); CMD 31 Feats Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Multiattack, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Stealth) Skills Perception +10, Stealth +4 (+16 underwater), Swim +18; Racial Modifiers +12 Stealth underwater Languages Draconic (cannot speak) SQ hold breath Ecology Environment warm and temperate marshes Organization solitary or pair Treasure incidental Special Abilities Breath Weapon (Su) Any creature that takes damage from a dracodile’s breath weapon must succeed a DC 20 Will save or be confused for 1d4 rounds. The save DC is Constitution based.

[adurot]

Got the first side of my Dracodile’s additional scales sculpted on to try and get rid of the “oven mitt” effect they have due to them abruptly ending at the shoulders. Kind of a blended reference between a gator’s normal appearance and the rough look of the existing scales. Will see about getting his other side done tomorrow and possibly some other details then that I’d like to do that will add more colors when it’s painted.

[calocreek]

Finally finished painting this Dracodile from Privateer Press!  The theme of my gatormen army is that they’re radioactive sewer gators, hence the spastic colors.  He’s the biggest model I’ve painted yet and I’m glad to be done with him I’m glad to paint small stuff for a while! 

[adurot]

Got the head cloth/mask sculpted and the feathered armbands done. Really like how that mask turned out. May add bit more to the stitchings to try and make them a bit crisper. Didn’t get the ankle manacle I want to give him done as the plasticard I’ve got ended up not being large enough, will have to get more. Also got a wip prototype for the army’s basing. Need to add some grass to the cattails, and then I plan to fill the base with a clear resin and see how that takes. Experiment with sprinkling a patch of green flock on the surface while it’s still wet and hope it floats to make some duckweed.

[adurot]

The curse of sculpting symmetry! As is usual for me trying to sculpt something to match something I’ve already sculpted never works out quite as well. It’s not Bad, but it doesn’t quite line up with the first side so it looks kind of Wrong. Also the position of the arm made it harder to get down his side. Overall it’s all pretty acceptable still since you can’t really see both sides at the same time to so closely compare them. With the sides done I’ll work on the head tomorrow and get the extraneous doodads I’ve got in mind strung up on the arms and leg.

[adurot]

No, you big idiot, they’re over that way!