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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Dragon, Requiem

Source Monster Core 2 pg. 126
Requiem dragons are stewards of the River of Souls and the process through which souls reach their final destination in the afterlife. The safe journey of a soul is of utmost importance to a requiem dragon, and some will follow individual souls from their first entry into the river through to their judgment in the Boneyard and eventually to their ultimate resting place. Most requiem dragons tie themselves to specific planes and shepherd any souls bound to that plane, leading to dragons linked to places like Heaven or Hell, though these dragons never swear true allegiance to these planes. Requiem dragons fill their lairs along the River of Souls—patchworks of somber architecture rescued from other planes—with invaluable records and mementos of great accomplishments.

Members

Adult Requiem Dragon (Creature 15), Ancient Requiem Dragon (Creature 20), Requiem Archdragon (Creature 24), Young Requiem Dragon (Creature 11)

No Icon Alternate Abilities

A requiem dragon’s control over souls manifests in various ways. You can apply the following adjustments to a requiem dragon of any age.

Some requiem dragons are spiteful enough to try to bring a living creature along with them when they die. To create a dragon with this ability, replace Withhold Death with the following.

Die Together [reaction] (divine, incapacitation, void) Trigger The dragon dies; Effect The dragon tethers their soul to the soul of a living creature within 60 feet, pulling it along into death. The target must attempt a Fortitude save.
Critical Success The target is unaffected.
Success The target takes void damage equal to half the damage dealt by the dragon’s Dooming Breath.
Failure The target takes void damage equal to the damage dealt by the dragon’s Dooming Breath.
Critical Failure The target drops to 0 Hit Points and becomes dying 1, or increases its dying condition by 1 if it’s already dying. While the target is dying, the dragon remains at 1 Hit Point and dies instantly if the target loses the dying condition.

Requiem dragons who specialize in fighting against and alongside armies can let out a mighty roar that frightens their enemies and bolsters their allies. To create a dragon with this ability, replace Draconic Frenzy with the following.

Soul Roar [one-action] (auditory, emotion, fear, mental, spirit) Frequency once per round; Effect The dragon lets out a mighty roar that rouses their allies and rattles the souls of their enemies. Each ally in a 120-foot emanation gains temporary Hit Points equal to the dragon’s level that last for 1 minute, while each enemy within that area must attempt a Will save.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected and is immune to Soul Roar for 1 minute.
Success The creature is frightened 1.
Failure The creature is frightened 2 and doomed 1. If the target is already doomed, the doomed value increases by 1 (to a maximum of doomed 4).
Critical Failure The creature gains the fleeing condition for 1 round, is frightened 4, and is doomed 1. If the target is already doomed, the doomed value increases by 1 (to a maximum of doomed 4).

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Requiem Dragon Spellcasters

Requiem dragon spellcasters tend to cast the following spells.

Young Requiem Dragon

Divine Prepared Spells DC 30, attack +22; 4th ghostly tragedy, talking corpse, vital beacon; 3rd protection, ring of truth, safe passage; 2nd see the unseen, share life, thoughtful gift; 1st protection, sanctuary, spirit link; Cantrips (4th) guidance, haunting hymn, message, sigil, stabilize

Adult Requiem Dragon

Divine Prepared Spells DC 36, attack +28; As young requiem dragon, plus 6th field of life, raise dead, vital beacon; 5th banishment, breath of life, invoke spirits; Cantrips (6th) guidance, haunting hymn, message, sigil, stabilize

Ancient Requiem Dragon

Divine Prepared Spells DC 42, attack +34; As adult requiem dragon, plus 9th foresight, raise dead, seize soul; 8th field of life, safe passage, spirit song; 7th interplanar teleport, planar seal, regenerate; Cantrips (9th) guidance, haunting hymn , message, sigil, stabilizeo

Requiem Archdragon

Divine Prepared Spells DC 48, attack +40; As ancient requiem dragon plus 10th raise dead, revival; 9th breath of life; Cantrips (10th) guidance, haunting hymn, message, sigil, stabilize

Sidebar - Related Creatures Roum

The requiem dragon Roum, a cleric of Brigh, tasked herself with escorting the souls of inventors down the River of Souls. She records their final ideas in a vast library she calls the Hall of Lost Invention. She keeps this lair secreted away in a cavern in the Brazen Peaks. From here, she can spy on the works of local inventors. Roum will occasionally petition for the resurrection of unfortunate inventors who lost their lives to their own risky but promising creations—magical or mundane—if their idea intrigues her.

Dragon

Related Groups Dragon, Adamantine, Dragon, Barrage, Dragon, Bog, Dragon, Brine, Dragon, Cinder, Dragon, Cloud, Dragon, Conspirator, Dragon, Coral, Dragon, Crystal, Dragon, Delight, Dragon, Despair, Dragon, Diabolic, Dragon, Empyreal, Dragon, Executor, Dragon, Forest, Dragon, Fortune, Dragon, Horned, Dragon, Magma, Dragon, Mirage, Dragon, Mocking, Dragon, Oath, Dragon, Omen, Dragon, Phase, Dragon, Resurrection, Dragon, Rime, Dragon, Rune, Dragon, Sage, Dragon, Sea, Dragon, Sky, Dragon, Sovereign, Dragon, Stormcrown, Dragon, Time, Dragon, Umbral, Dragon, Underworld, Dragon, Vizier, Dragon, Vorpal, Dragon, Wailing, Dragon, Whisper, Dragon, Wish, Dragonet, Wyrmwraith
Dragons come in myriad forms, with many having magical abilities or connections to magic. Some dragons draw greater power from magic than others, allowing them to manifest abilities or alter their physiques with prolonged exposure to magic. These dragons become more powerful as they age and strengthen their connections with their magical origins. Scholars debate the classification of these dragons, with some preferring the name magical dragons and others using traditional dragons due to their connection to specific magical traditions. Regardless of their names, these dragons share a number of characteristics: their ability to tap into magical energies, intensified might and cunning as they grow older, and an inclination to hoard vast amounts of treasure and wealth.

Draconic Spellcasters

Each dragon features a sidebar on spellcasting dragons of that type. To make a dragon spellcaster, remove the dragon's Draconic Frenzy and Draconic Momentum abilities, and give them the spells outlined in their sidebar. You can swap out any number of these with other spells, provided you keep the same number of spells for each rank. You might also want to increase the dragon's Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier by 1 or 2 to reflect their mastery of magic.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Draconic Groupings

The broader grouping of dragons is generally sorted into more granular categories, the first of which is based on the four magical traditions. Each dragon falls into one of these large categories, and dragons in a given category share a number of common traits.

Arcane Dragons: These dragons seem to have greater control over magic and their innate abilities. Many arcane dragons have mastery over a certain subset of magic, such as illusions or teleportation. Other arcane dragons have the ability to tap into or manipulate raw magical energies, regardless of their origins. Their bodies tend to be more slender than other dragons due to their reliance on magic for hunting. Their scales generally come in perfect patterns or very organized shapes.

Divine Dragons: While the name might suggest dragons directly related to deific entities, divine dragons instead derive their power from planes other than the mortal Universe. Similar to how a god grants power to a cleric, these dragons receive magical abilities and other influences from another plane. As such, divine dragons are among the most varied of dragons. These dragons generally take on an appearance similar to other native creatures of their influential planes, making it difficult for them to hide their planar connections.

Occult Dragons: At times alien and off-putting and other times alluring and mysterious, occult dragons derive their powers from the inexplicable and unknown. These dragons use magic that seems to exist within the crevices and shadows between other forms of magic. Whether it's due to this strange magical influence or something else, occult dragons are most likely to directly interact with other creatures. While generally sporting similar builds to other dragons, occult dragons make greater use of their wings as supplementary appendages, leaving their forward limbs free to use for other things. Their scales and plating generally feature strange shapes and patterns that are rarely seen in the natural world.

Primal Dragons: While all dragons are fierce and terrifying in their own way, primal dragons seem to embody the most bestial traits among dragons. These dragons derive their power from the magic of the natural world. While primal dragons aren't directly bound to serve nature, many of them choose to act as keepers of their habitats. Primal dragons are generally larger than other dragons and fall back on their instincts more often, making them particularly dangerous when threatened. Their scales typically have less elaborate shapes than other dragons, or will sometimes resemble natural terrain. Some dragons even grow natural features like small plants on their bodies.

Draconic Families: In addition to these classifications, dragons are sometimes grouped into families. These include the enigmatic esoteric dragons, the regal imperial dragons, the space-faring outer dragons, and the mighty skymetal dragons. Draconic families are sometimes made up of dragons with obvious physiological similarities, while other families seem to be made up of dragons of similar color, habitat, behavior, or other traits that make for vague connections. Often, families include dragons of varied magical traditions. As such, the members of a given family are sometimes the subject of debate and scholarly arguments.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Dragon Gods

The legends say that within the chaos at the birth of the existence were born two dragons, Apsu and Sarshallatu. Together, they had seven children. Each of these children represents and holds dominion over a different fundamental truth. Yluma, Turvu, Garhaazh, and Brixori each have a connection to arcane, divine, primal, and occult magic respectively. Gaasham is a dragon of creation, while Dahak is a dragon of destruction, though some have come to associate benevolence and wickedness respectively with these dragons. Finally, Otilaz is connected to death, the inevitable fate of most creatures, draconic or otherwise. More information on these gods is found in Pathfinder Lost Omens Draconic Codex.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Great Dragons

While other draconic creatures like drakes and linnorms exist, the magical connection of the dragons in these pages has earned them a distinct place among draconic classifications. While terms like high dragons, magical dragons, primordial dragons, source dragons, traditional dragons, and others have been used by scholars throughout time to classify these dragons, the most common term is great dragons. Most commoners are aware of the term great dragon, but less are aware of specific nuances between great dragons and their draconic cousins. As such, the term great dragon can often get thrown around whenever a somewhat draconic creature larger than a human makes an appearance.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Shape-Changing Dragons

Though it's uncommon, some dragons can take humanoid forms. They gain the following ability:

Change Shape [one-action] (concentrate, polymorph); The dragon takes on the appearance of any Small or Medium humanoid. This doesn't change their Speed or attack and damage bonuses with their Strikes but might change the damage type their Strikes deal (typically to bludgeoning).