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.
