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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Despair Archdragon

Fear is one of the most powerful emotions, and despair dragons are masters of channeling those feelings of terror and hopelessness for their own benefit. As with other occult dragons, despair dragons are driven by an innate compulsion, in their case, the desire to strike terror in others. Despair dragons tend to settle near settlements, so they have a source of fear to draw from. The most common items in despair dragon hoards are scrolls, tomes, and relics that serve as research material. Through these, despair dragons learn of local folklore, urban legends, and more to better haunt their targets.

Recall Knowledge - Dragon (Arcana): DC 49
Unspecific Lore: DC 47
Specific Lore: DC 44

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Changes from being Elite are marked in red below.
NOTE: The +2 damage bonus to non-strike offensive abilities (+4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.

Elite Despair ArchdragonCreature 23

Rare Gargantuan Dragon Occult 
Source Draconic Codex pg. 58
Perception +40; greater darkvision, fearsense (precise) 60 feet, scent (imprecise) 60 feet
Languages Common, Draconic; telepathy 90 feet, truespeech
Skills Acrobatics +39, Athletics +41, Deception +40, Diplomacy +40, Intimidation +43, Occultism +37, Society +37, Stealth +41
Str +10, Dex +6, Con +5, Int +6, Wis +6, Cha +8
Fearsense (emotion, mental, occult) The dragon senses all creatures with the frightened condition at the listed range.
AC 49; Fort +36, Ref +38, Will +40; +2 status to all saves vs. occult
HP 445; Immunities fear, paralyzed, sleep
Frightful Presence (aura, emotion, fear, mental) 120 feet. DC 47Consume Fear [reaction] (occult) Trigger A creature within 60 feet loses the frightened condition; Effect The dragon feasts upon the fear that leaves the triggering creature's body, gaining 9d8 temporary Hit Points that last for 1 minute.Unbidden Thoughts [reaction] (fear, emotion, mental, occult) Trigger The dragon is critically hit with a weapon or unarmed attack; Effect The attacker's mind fills with visions of their worst fears that overwhelm their senses, and they must choose one of the following results: either the triggering attack becomes a normal Strike, or the critical hit is unaffected but the triggering creature becomes frightened 2.
Speed 60 feet, fly 180 feet
Melee [one-action] jaws +41 [+36/+31] (magical, reach 20 feet), Damage 4d12+2+22 piercingMelee [one-action] claw +41 [+37/+33] (agile, magical, reach 15 feet), Damage 4d10+2+22 slashingMelee [one-action] tail +39 [+34/+29] (magical, reach 25 feet), Damage 4d8+2+20 piercingOccult Innate Spells DC 47 (+4 dmg); 9th fear (at will), wave of despair; Constant (5th) truespeech
Shrieking Breath [two-actions] (occult, sonic) The dragon lets out a cacophonous sound made of every scream the dragon has drawn from a terrified enemy, dealing 23d6 sonic damage in a 30-foot cone (DC 47 basic Will save). Creatures who fail their Will save must spend the first action of their next turn doing nothing but screaming. The dragon can't use Shrieking Breath again for 1d4 rounds.Draconic Frenzy [two-actions] The dragon makes two claw Strikes and one tail Strike in any order.Draconic Momentum The dragon recharges their Shrieking Breath whenever they score a critical hit with a Strike.Inspire Dread [two-actions] (concentrate, emotion, fear, linguistic, mental, occult) The despair dragon telepathically communicates with a creature within 90 feet, listing their deep-seated fears. The creature takes 16d6 mental damage and must attempt a DC 47 Will save. Regardless of the result, the creature becomes temporarily immune to Inspire Dread for 24 hours.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature takes half damage and becomes frightened 1.
Failure The creature takes full damage and becomes frightened 2.
Critical Failure The creature takes double damage and becomes frightened 3.Look Behind You [free-action] (occult, teleportation) Trigger The dragon successfully Hides from a creature within 90 feet; Effect The dragon teleports to a space directly behind the target creature. The dragon immediately becomes detected unless their chosen position has cover or another means to remain hidden.Tongue Decoy (manipulate, occult) The despair dragon inflates several bladders at the end of their tongue to create the basic form of a creature. This process takes 1 minute to complete, during which the dragon is off-guard. If the dragon stops or is interrupted in this process, the bladders deflate, and the dragon must start over. Once the process is complete, the dragon can maintain the inflated bladders indefinitely, and can Dismiss to deflate the bladders and retract their tongue instantly.
The inflated tongue takes the basic form of an animal or humanoid, and can be inflated to be either Small or Medium. The form resembles the general silhouette of a creature, though closer inspection and success at a DC 32 Perception check can determine the true nature of the tongue. While inflated, the dragon can send their voice through the decoy, though keeping their tongue inflated makes it difficult to speak, causing the dragon to take a –4 circumstance penalty to any checks related to speaking, such as Deception checks to Lie.
The dragon's tongue can extend up to 90 feet from the dragon's body, and they can fully extend their tongue as part of the process to inflate the bladders. The dragon can move the inflated part of their tongue up to 15 feet at a time with an action, which has the concentrate, manipulate, and move traits. While extended, the inflated end of the tongue occupies space as a creature of the appropriate size, but the rest of the tongue doesn't impede or block movement in any way. The dragon's scent functions through cilia at the end of the tongue, but otherwise the dragon has no means of knowing what's near their tongue.
Attacking the tongue is the same as attacking the dragon, except that the tongue is always off-guard. If the tongue takes any damage, it immediately deflates and remains extended. The dragon is off-guard as long as their tongue is out, but the dragon can retract their tongue with 2 consecutive Interact actions. If the tongue takes damage, the dragon can't use their Tongue Decoy again for 1 day.

All Monsters in "Dragon, Despair"

NameLevel
Despair Archdragon22

Dragon, Despair

Source Monster Core 2 pg. 122
Fear is one of the most powerful emotions, and despair dragons are masters of channeling those feelings of terror and hopelessness for their own benefit. As with other occult dragons, despair dragons are driven by an innate compulsion, in their case, the desire to strike terror in others. Despair dragons tend to settle near settlements, so they have a source of fear to draw from. The most common items in despair dragon hoards are scrolls, tomes, and relics that serve as research material. Through these, despair dragons learn of local folklore, urban legends, and more to better haunt their targets.

Dragon

Related Groups Dragon, Adamantine, Dragon, Barrage, Dragon, Bog, Dragon, Brine, Dragon, Cinder, Dragon, Cloud, Dragon, Conspirator, Dragon, Coral, Dragon, Crystal, Dragon, Delight, 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, Requiem, 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.

No Icon Alternate Abilities

Despair dragons can develop different ways of using fear to their advantage. You can apply the following adjustments to a despair dragon of any age.

Despair dragons who specialize in whipping a populace into hysteria using urban legends and regional fears can shape this terror into a semi-physical form. To make a dragon with this ability, replace Unbidden Thoughts with the following.

Manifest Fear [two-actions] (auditory, concentrate, illusion, manipulate, mental, olfactory, visual) The despair dragon creates an illusory image of a creature referenced in local superstition. This functions as illusory creature, heightened to a rank equal to half the dragon’s level. The damage die of the illusory creature’s Strikes increases to d6s against creatures with the frightened condition. Some despair dragons can implant false memories in the minds of others. To make a dragon with this ability, replace Draconic Momentum with the following.

Cursed Memories (aura, mental, misfortune, occult) 90 feet. Creatures near a despair dragon can't trust their own minds. When any creature in the aura attempts a skill check to Recall Knowledge, they must roll twice and take the lower result.

The best place to sow fear is from the shadows. To make a dragon with this ability, replace Draconic Frenzy with the following.

Lights Out [two-actions] (darkness, occult) The despair dragon belches an impenetrable darkness that encompasses a 30-foot emanation. Light does not enter the area and any non-magical light sources, such as a torch or lantern, do not emanate any light while inside the area, even if their light radius would extend beyond the darkness. This also suppresses magical light of a spell rank equal to half the dragon's level or lower. Light can't pass through, so all creatures in the area except for the dragon can't see outside.