The Dragon
The Dragon
“A war broke out in Heaven; Michael and his angels fought against he Dragon.
The Dragon and his angels fought back.”
-Revelation 12:7
Once upon a time, before God spoke the cosmos into existence, there was a celestial named Lucifer. Lucifer was one of the Seraphim; a supremely powerful and intelligent species of celestial that is often described as having serpentine bodies and six wings. Like most Seraphim, Lucifer did not concern himself with the affairs of the Material Plane, but instead confined himself to the Upper Planes where he was known among the celestials to be the most beautiful, most intelligent, and most powerful of God’s creations.
Let There Be Light. Lucifer’s lofty position among the Heavenly Host earned him titles like “Morning Star” and “Light Bringer,” and so it somewhat ironic that his fall began with the words, “let there be light.” When God spoke the Material Plane into existence, and created Adam and Eve as the pinnacle of this new creation, Lucifer realized something was wrong. When Lucifer looked at these “humans,” he saw little more than the pile of dust they had been created from; he saw playthings to be manipulated and thrown away at the end of the day. However, there was something different about the way God looked at them; there was something different in the way God said that they were “very good.”
Non Servium. Heaven is an interesting place, and in some ways the creatures that live there are manifestations of their own virtues. Lucifer was the most powerful and most beautiful because he possessed the strongest will, but for all his power, there was something that these lowly humans had that he did not: faith. Faith can be casually defined as “belief without proof.” Since celestials (including Lucifer) abide in the presence of God and have absolute proof of the existence of God and knowledge of a divine plan, it is impossible for them to truly possess faith the way that a human can. As a result, even the lowliest of humans will one day enter eternal life with power and glory surpassing the highest of celestials. This was a reality that Lucifer was not prepared to accept. It was with full knowledge of the consequences of his actions when Lucifer spoke the words “I will not serve.”
The Enemy. It was a lowly Archangel named Michael who was first to object to Lucifer’s words, and in an instant, a war had broken out in Heaven. Lucifer and the other celestials that had rebelled against God’s plan were cast out of Heaven, and Lucifer took a new name for himself: “Satan,” a Hebrew word meaning “the enemy.” This new identity consumed him, and he
Satan and Violence
Satan is easily the most powerful being in the created universe, and so the question may rightly arise: “if Satan is so powerful, why doesn’t he just kill everyone?” Remember that Satan’s goal is to maintain his status. If a human is slain and enters Heaven, it becomes glorified in ways that Satan finds repulsive. His mission, then, is not to kill humans, but quite the opposite. Satan wishes for all humans to live a long and healthy life filled with distractions and opportunities to sin. His goal is to slowly lead humans to their own damnation and, thus, prevent God’s precious creations from being united in Heaven for eternity.
For this reason, many of the actions Satan will take (and even most of his “Dark Bargains”) seem utterly selfless and therefore all the more tempting. Satan will only enter combat as a last resort; however, if this happens, be prepared for the foundations of the cosmos to be rent asunder by the power he wields.
become something else entirely. All of the celestials that fell became corrupted - their physical forms becoming manifestations of their vices, rather than their virtue -and a new creature type was born: the fiend. Satan was preeminent among them, and wholly dedicated to the corruption of the human race.
“The Dragon made war on those who
keep the commandments of God.”
-Revelation 12:17
The Dragon. Satan’s power is vast, and he has the ability to take on many different forms, but perhaps the most recognizable of these forms is that of a gargantuan seven-headed serpent known as simply “The Dragon.” The Dragon is a perversion of his celestial form; while some of his serpentine features are preserved, there is no more beauty in them. While The Dragon is a formidable - some say unbeatable - opponent, it rarely appears in the flesh. The Dragon is the architect of the sinister plan, preferring to gift its power to those who carry out its work on the other planes of existence.
“They worshiped The Dragon, for he had given his power to the Beast.”
-Revelation 13:4
Dark Bargains. By far the most powerful ability wielded by The Dragon is its ability to offer a creature a “Dark Bargain.” These bargains offer a monumental choice to a creature, with seemingly very little downside. The Dragon does not offer any form of payment for the bargains offered, and bargains made with creatures in the Veil usually involve returning the creature to its mortal life on the Material Plane, often with certain other desirable benefits thrown in. Such a deal may seem too good to be true, but refer to the sidebar above titled “Satan and Violence” for further insight into The Dragon’s motivations for offering such a bargain in the first place.
Multiple Heads and Movement
If you are planning to run a combat with the Dragon using a standard grid battle map, treat each of the Dragon’s seven heads as a “Huge” creature. On the Dragon’s turn, the “central” head can use the Dragon’s full movement speed, with the other heads moving with it, maintaining positions within 50 feet of the central head. The heads are treated as separate creatures for the purpose of tracking positions and distance, but the Dragon is otherwise mechanically treated as a single creature. This approach is a more accurate representation of The Dragon’s true size, and might make it easier to track conditions (such as stun) which affect only one head at a time.
Dark Bargains
Choosing a Dark Bargain. Satan is not omniscient, but he is incredibly knowledgeable about human wants and desires, and has likely been watching the player characters for their entire lives (and afterlives) up until this point. As such, any Dark Bargain offered by The Dragon is going to be specially crafted for that character. Although these options are laid out in a table, they should not be chosen randomly; a Dark Bargain should be specially crafted to be as tempting as possible to a player character. This should not be an easy choice; it should be a choice between doing the right thing, or getting the one thing you’ve always wanted.
What is Possible? The GM has great latitude in determining what is possible to offer in a Dark Bargain. For mechanical purposes, assume that The Dragon can offer one use of the wish spell, per character. Use the tables at right for examples of Dark Bargains, and refer to the player character’s Eternal Traits (marked in “The Story Tracker” on page 248) for inspiration. A Dark Bargain should always be a fulfillment of a character’s deepest desire, and something they never knew was even possible.
Combat Mechanics The Dragon can offer a Dark Bargain as a Legendary Action option. Once the bargain has been offered, the player character can choose to accept the bargain as a free action. It is up to the GM whether this decision must be made immediately, or whether the character can wait to make the decision until the beginning of their next turn. If a Dark Bargain is accepted, the character immediately vanishes from the battlefield and the terms of the Bargain are fulfilled. Accepting a Dark Bargain signals the end of that character’s journey. See “Ending the Story” on page 138 for how to end a character’s story this way. If a character rejects a Dark Bargain, combat continues as normal. A Dark Bargain is only valid if a character willingly and truthfully accepts it. Make sure to clarify that a player character is telling the truth if they accept a bargain, since The Dragon is automatically aware of lies.
Am I Selling My Soul?
Popular Culture has invented the concept of “selling your soul” because it makes for an interesting plot device in stories. In reality, Satan’s goal is much more despicable. He does not want to trick or trap his victims into being sent to hell, he wants to put them in a position where they welcome hell with open arms. This does not come from a one-time decision to “sell” a soul or accept a bargain; this comes from a lifetime of choosing to do what is easy or what is attractive, rather than choosing to do what is right.
You may notice that the majority of these Bargains offer the player character a chance to return to life, and mostly for “good” reasons. This is because Satan can tell that the character is on the brink of salvation, and by returning them to life, he is giving himself an extra few decades to offer them temptations and lead them away from God once again. If a player character accepts a Dark Bargain, they are not guaranteeing their damnation, but it does represent a lack of trust in God’s plan. For more information on how to end a character’s story with a Dark Bargain, see “Ending the Story” on page 165.
| d12 | Dark Bargains |
|---|---|
| 1 | Person. You fight for eternity, and yet what is Heaven without your [Bond]? If you wish it, I can return you to life right now. You can see your [Bond] again, live a full life, and wait to enter Heaven once you can do so together? |
| 2 | Pride. Aren’t you tired of following orders from a God that won’t even speak to you in person? I may fight for your destruction, but at least I do so face-to-face. Say the word and I will return you to life on the Material Plane, in an era of your choosing, this time with riches and power. |
| 3 | Revenge. You fight with anger, but your anger is not with me. I am not the one who caused you pain in life. Doesn’t it bother you that you are dead and the one who wronged you still walks the earth? Say the word, and I will return you to the mortal plane, where you will find your enemy kneeling at your feet. |
| 4 | Failure. You can keep lying to your friends, but you can’t lie to yourself. You and I know the truth; you’re a failure. No amount of success here today can atone for what you couldn’t do in life. What would you give for a second chance? What would you say if I could rewind time, and return you to that moment, to try again? |
| 5 | Desire. What is your goal here? You are serving at the whims of a God who doesn’t even understand you. God says that you are loved, but if that’s true, then why doesn’t God ever give you what you want? I know what you want; what you want is [desire]. I can give you that, just say the word. |
| 6 | Integrity. I can see that you are above corruption. Above bribery. I can see that you are exceptionally skilled at [talent] and that nothing I can say will tempt you away from God’s path. But let me ask you this: what happens when you are gone? Isn’t it better that you remain behind? Think how many souls you could save if you were given more time on earth. Heaven can wait; the world still needs you... don’t you think? |
| 7 | Lost Love. They say that love is the most important force in the universe - that it holds the universe together. They say God is love. How can you possibly hope to enter Heaven without experiencing what true love feels like even once? You had your chance of course, but you failed... just like you always do. What would you say if you had one more chance at that moment? What would you say to another life with [bond]? |
| 8 | Protection. After all you’ve done; it wasn’t enough. Your [bond] is in danger at this moment, and you aren’t there to protect them... but you could be... |
| 9 | Combat. Do you think the war ends here? Even now my hordes descend on the gates of Heaven, and your attempts to bind me will be in vain. Say the word and I will send you where you can put your skills to real use. |
| 10 | Repentance. You can keep trying, but you’ll never be worthy of Heaven, not someone with your list of sins. But you can change that, you know. Just say the word, and I can return you to life, before you did any of those things. You keep saying that you would do things differently: why don’t you prove it? |
| 11 | Readiness. Do you know what happens if you defeat me? It ends. It ALL ends. No more wandering; no more searching; no more wonder. Doesn’t Heaven sound boring? You and I can change that... just say the word. |
| 12 | Reward. Why are you here? Doesn’t it make you wonder? You were always taught that when you died you went to Heaven or Hell. No one ever said anything about running errands for a God that can’t be bothered to leave the luxury of a heavenly throne. If God cared about you, you’d be in Heaven right now. If Azrael cared about you, he would have told you the truth from the beginning. None of them love you. You are an experiment gone wrong, just like me. Join me, and together we will break the |
system and show them all what we are truly capable of.
The Dragon
Gargantuan Fiend, Lawful Evil
Armor Class: 20 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 666 (31d20 + 341)
Speed: 60 ft., fly 120 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 (+10) | 10 (+0) | 32 (+11) | 30 (+10) | 26 (+8) | 30 (+10) |
Saving Throws: Str +19, Wis +17, Cha +19
Skills: Deception +28, Insight +18, Perception +18, Religion +28
Damage Resistances: cold, lightning.
Damage Immunities: fire, necrotic, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks.
Condition Immunities: blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, poisoned, prone.
Senses: Truesight 240 ft., passive perception 27
Languages: All spoken languages
Challenge: 30 (155,000) Proficiency: +9
Features
Legendary Resistance (6/Day): If the Dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Limited Magical Immunity: Unless it wishes to be affected, The Dragon is immune to spells of 6th level or lower. It has advantage on saving throws against all other spells and magical effects.
Magic Weapons: The Dragon’s weapon attacks are magical.
Multiple Heads: The Dragon has 7 heads. If The Dragon fails a saving throw against an effect that would render it incapacitated, paralyzed, petrified, stunned, unconscious, or put it to sleep, only one of its heads is affected by this condition. The Dragon has a number of Attacks, Reactions, and Legendary Actions equal to its number of active heads.
Preeminent Suppression: All creatures of the Dragon’s choice within 240 feet of it are unable to use features or abilities that contain the word “legendary,” including their Legendary Resistances and Legendary Actions, if they have any.
Sinful Immortality: If the Dragon is reduced to 0 hit points or dies, its essence returns to Hell where it is returned to physical form with full hit points at the start of its next turn. A Wish spell or Divine Intervention can delay this ability for 24 hours. If a Holy Nail is driven into The Dragon’s heart after it is reduced to 0 hit points, but before the start of its next turn, its essence is unable to regain its physical form, and its consciousness is bound in the depths of hell for eternity.
Truth Sense: The Dragon knows if it hears a lie.
Actions
Multiattack: The Dragon uses its Call of the Unworthy. It then makes a number of Bite attacks equal to its number of active heads (maximum of 7).
Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +19 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d6 + 10) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage.
Breath Weapon (Recharge 5-6): Each of the Dragon’s active heads exhales a torrent of unholy water, each in a 120-foot-line that is 10 feet wide. Each creature in one of these lines must succeed on a DC 24 Dexterity saving throw or take 11 (2d10) bludgeoning damage plus 35 (10d6) necrotic damage and be pushed 20 feet in the path of the line. On a successful saving throw a creature takes half of this damage and is pushed only 10 feet. A creature in the area of more than one torrent of unholy water is affected only once.
Call of the Unworthy: A hauntingly beautiful melody emanates from the Dragon. Each creature of the Dragon’s choice within 120 feet that can hear this melody becomes Frightened as it calls to mind memories of past sins and feelings of deep despair. A creature Frightened in this way must succeed on a DC 25 Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of its turns or take 14 (4d6) psychic damage as it slowly begins to realize that it is unworthy of love, and can never be redeemed. If the saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the Call of the Unworthy for the next 24 hours.
Legendary Actions
The Dragon can take a number of Legendary actions equal to its number of active heads (maximum of 7), choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The Dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Unholy Insight: The Dragon locks eyes with a creature that it can see within 60 feet, instantly learning that creature’s greatest fears and desires (page 248). If the creature can also see the Dragon, it becomes Marked, and does not receive the benefits of its next Long Rest.
Dispel Magic (Costs 2 Actions): The Dragon casts dispel magic at 6th level, using Charisma as its spellcasting ability.
Tail Sweep (Costs 2 Actions): The Dragon sweeps tail through the space of a 60-foot-cone. Each creature in this space must succeed on a DC 25 Strength saving throw or take 17 (2d6 + 10) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. A creature that succeeds on the saving throw takes half as much damage and is not knocked prone.
Dark Bargain (Costs 3 Actions): The Dragon telepathically offers a bargain to a creature that has been Marked by its Unholy Insight (See “Dark Bargains” on the next page). The target may use its reaction to accept the bargain, if it so chooses. If the target accepts the bargain, 1d2 of the Dragon’s heads become stunned for 1 minute, and the target immediately vanishes from reality, finding itself returned to life and the terms of the bargain fulfilled, as though by the wish spell.
Rend Reality (Costs 4 Actions): The Dragon utters a secret phrase that is a perversion of the Word of God spoken on the first day of creation. The Dragon may choose one of the following effects, which immediately takes effect:
- The flow of time is altered. All creatures become 1d12 years
older or younger (chosen at random), and all creatures (including the Dragon) must reroll initiative. A creature whose age falls below 0 or above its lineage’s average life expectancy is killed instantly.
- The Dragon speaks the name of location (such as a city,
mountain range, or forest) no larger than a 1-mile-cube that is beloved or sacred to a creature within 240 feet. This location is magically teleported into the sky above the dragon, where it is destroyed before the target’s eyes. All creatures must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success as rubble from the destroyed location comes raining down from the sky. The creature to whom this location was beloved or sacred takes an additional 7 (2d6) psychic damage.
- Each creature with fewer than 100 hit points within 240 feet is
subjected to one of the following effects, based on its creature type. Celestials, fey, and fiends are forced back to their plane of origin (Nephilim are immune to this effect); elementals, constructs, and undead are destroyed.
- Creation begins to unravel for all planets and stars within a
5-lightyear-radius. All sources of bright light become dim light, and sources of dim light are extinguished. Beasts and Plants with fewer than 50 hit points are killed instantly.
Azrael's Guide to the Apocalypse, printed pages 197, 198, 199, 200.