Bookwyrm, Young

Family: Dragons

Medium dragon, lawful neutral

Armor Class 15 (natural armor
Hit Points 150 (20d8 + 60
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
8 (?1) 18 (+4) 16 (+3) 17 (+3) 14 (+2) 21 (+5)

Saving Throws Dex +7, Con +6, Wis +5, Cha +8
Skills Arcana +6, Insight +5, Investigation +9, Perception +5, Stealth +7
Damage Immunities fire, poison
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, poisoned
Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages all
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Scroll Casting. The bookwyrm’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). The bookwyrm has 30 spell points and can cast spells without the need for material components. When the bookwyrm casts a spell of 1st level or higher, it must expend a number of spell points equal to the spell’s level. The bookwyrm can know up to twelve spells of 5th level or lower from the wizard spell list, but the spells vary depending on the scrolls it has absorbed. The following is a sample spell list for a bookwyrm.
  • ACTIONS

    • Multiattack. The bookwyrm makes three attacks: one with its Bite and two with its Claw.
    • Multispell. The bookwyrm casts up to two spells, the combined spell level of which cannot be greater than 5th level.
    • Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d12 + 4) piercing damage.
    • Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage.
    • Spellfire Breath (Recharge 5–6). The bookwyrm exhales blue spellfire in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must attempt a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 12 (5d4) fire damage plus 12 (5d4) psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The spellfire doesn’t damage objects or structures.

    REACTIONS

    • Spell Reflection. As a reaction when the bookwyrm is targeted by a spell or magical effect from a creature it can see within 300 feet of it, it can force the creature to attempt a DC 16 Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, the creature targets itself with the spell. If the creature cannot target itself in this manner, the spell instead fails.

    ABOUT

    Sages and scholars aren’t rare among dragons, as they are long lived and more intelligent than most other creatures, but few among them can compare to the living fonts of knowledge that are the bookwyrms. These dragons may not eclipse others in size or ferocity, but what they lack in bulk they more than make up for in wisdom and understanding of the texts from which they are comprised. The hallmark of an encounter with a bookwyrm is a rustle of papers faintly heard in some abandoned library, moments before some dastardly tomb robber locks eyes with these keepers of the tomes. A bookwyrm’s body is made of various scrolls and pages from books inscribed with text that glows a faint blue hue when the dragon recounts the written details, tipped by a pointed tail covered in glowing ink. Their eyes are small blue flames which exude no warmth, with which they analyze their surroundings, taking in those who seek to infringe on their hoards. The musty smell of old parchment and the pages of ancient books permeates the air around them.

    Bookwyrms form where civilization has crumbled and left behind vast amounts of written knowledge. Wyrmlings arise as the text from ancient books and scrolls magically combines to form the delicate, intricate creatures. They spend their early years exploring this environment and reading all they can, occasionally consuming books and scrolls, preserving their knowledge onto their forms in small, complex writing, and growing as they do. When the dragons reach youthhood, they begin adding their own writings to their forms, documenting things they’ve seen around them with terms they know and eventually venturing out of their initial lairs. Upon reaching adulthood, some bookwyrms seek a place near interesting phenomena or fastidious scholars and spend the rest of their days documenting these curiosities. Others, who feel they’ve fully explored nearby realms, may choose to migrate into civilization or toward new horizons, carrying what they can of their written hoard within their forms.

    Bookwyrms are reclusive in their early years, fearful of what they do not yet understand and protective of their life’s work, yet ever curious and eager to learn more. As such, those who intrude upon their domain are met with caution but not immediate hostility, as the dragon studies their guests and attempts to parley with them. If bookwyrms encounter seekers of knowledge, they may agree to an exchange of written works. Interactions between bookwyrms and other creatures are bizarre—their voices cannot be described or mimicked, and even those who cannot hear, cannot read, or do not share a language with the dragon know their words as if they read them straight off a page.

    In ideal conditions, bookwyrms are invaluable archivists and wellsprings of knowledge, ever eager to further the cause of understanding the magical worlds in which they find themselves, blissfully ignorant of their potentially darker side.

    Others, however, suffer ill fates. Bookwyrms that fail to advance their field of study or who are attacked and suffer great losses to their collection enter an unstable frenzy, turning the magic around them wild and showing complete hostility toward all outsiders. Unfortunately, this state persists until they perish, and rarely is there a way to bring them back to their thoughtful, gentle state.

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    Dragonflight Copyright 2022 2CGaming, LLC Authors Ryan Servis, Casey Machado, Joshua Mendenhall

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