Deadly Nadder (5e Creature)

Deadly Nadder

Large dragon, unaligned Armor Class 22 (natural armor) Hit Points 189 (18d10 + 90) Speed 40 ft., fly 100 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 19 (+4) 19 (+4) 20 (+5) 6 (-2) 20 (+5) 6 (-2) Saving Throws Dex +9, Con +10, Wis +10 Skills Perception +10, Stealth +9, Survival +10 Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 17 Languages understands Common and Draconic, but can't speak Challenge 16 (15,000 XP) Blind Spot. The nadder has disadvantage on any attack roll against a target 5 ft. in front of it. Keen Hearing and Smell. The nadder has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell. Tail Spike Regrowth. The nadder has twenty-four tail spikes. Used spikes regrow when the nadder finishes a long rest. ACTIONS Multiattack. The nadder makes three attacks: two with its bite and one with its tail or three with its tail spikes. The nadder may instead use only one tail spine attack with advantage. While flying, it can use its claws in place of two other attacks. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage. When flying, the nadder may attempt to grapple the target instead of dealing damage. Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: X (2d10 + 4) slashing damage plus X (7d6 + 6) poison damage and the target must succeed a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the nadder runs out of tail spikes, the slashing damage becomes bludgeoning damage and the attack no longer deals poison damage. Instead of dealing damage, the nadder may attempt to grapple the target. Tail Spike. Ranged Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, range 100/200 ft., one target. Hit: x (2d8 + 3) piercing damage plus X (4d6 + 6) poison damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed a DC 20 Constitution saving throw, or be stunned for 1 minute. Fire Breath (Recharges 5-6). The nadder exhales fire in a 15-ft by 5-ft line. Each creature in that area must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 56 (16d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Any nonmagical metal objects or structures hit by the nadder's fire breath act as if under affect by the heat metal spell for 1 minute, and creatures wearing any negate this if they succeed the Dexterity save. REACTIONS Unbridled Fury. In response to being hit by a melee attack, the nadder can make one melee weapon attack with advantage against the attacker.

A nadder in flight Source One of the most beautiful of the lesser draconic creatures, the deadly nadder is a creature that is to be admired. Avian in its posture and baring a wingspan of up to 42 feet, its head is adorned a curved nose horn, a crown of spikes, a beak-shaped overbite, and small but keen eyes, all be it with poor binocular vision. It's painted with vivid colors, while its wings are more molted, and the tail is lined with rows of venomous spines. Prickly Pretty. In addition to being the most beautiful, nadders are also known as being among the deadliest of lesser draconoids. One factor for this is their intelligence, which is so great some populations even use primitive tools. This is especially dangerous as nadders are also much faster and more agile than most other dragons, both on the ground and in the air. If this wasn't dangerous enough, nadders also have some of the hottest fire among draconic creatures. A deadly nadder's fire is composed primarily of magnesium, appearing as a torrent of concentrated sparks and burning at around 3100 °C, easily melting steel. However, despite these advantages as a weapon, nadders don't use it often in combat, most likely due to the blind spot right in front of them, created by their nose horn. Instead, nadders primarily rely on the venomous spines bristling their tails. They, along with the head spines, typically lay flat but upon alarm stand upright in a threatening manner, before the nadder launches the tail spines with devastating speed and accuracy. These spines are sharp enough to be made into spear tips and administer a powerful poison used to stun prey if they are not simply immobilized by the spike itself. However, when nadders fire their spines, they expose their underbellies, which are a vulnerable part of its body. Dragon Diva. Despite the many dangers involved, nadders are among the most commonly trained dragons in the world, partially due to numbers. As mad as it may sound, a good method to begin train a nadder is to approach it slowly, either from its blind spot to rub its chin or from behind to smooth its tail spikes down. This shows you mean it no harm and are not too dissimilar to it. A nadder's intelligence allows it to learn very easily and to make use of a wide variety of commands to be imprinted. Unfortunately, it knows that it is intelligent and this causes it to think highly of itself: a deadly nadder's vanity is comparable to and may even rival that of true dragons. They groom themselves constantly and are incredibly picky eaters, preferring poultry so much that they have become allergic to hoofed animals. This can be used as an advantage as well though, as all it requires is chicken to easily be bribed. For those who temper this beautiful beast, they will find it a powerful war mount and a loyal companion.

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