The Strange
According to legend, dragons were first made by Lotan. Asking a dragon whether that's true is the best way to get off on the wrong foot.
The massive, feathered dragons of Ardeyn are exceptionally territorial and competitive. They love games of all sorts, especially ones that end with the nondragon loser being eaten. Unfortunately for civilized folks, dragons view war as a kind of game and the capture of human and qephilim holdings as moves in some wider contest, the rules of which only dragons understand. In the same way, a dragon's hoard is not only an end in itself, but part of a never-ending tournament among dragons of a certain age to see which one can accumulate the largest trove. Other, less known contests are also likely ongoing. The Harrowing is a yearly competition in Kuambis where dragons compete with humans and qephilim.
As they say in Ardeyn, you can't tell a dragon by the color of its feathers.
Motive: Winning at games large and small
Environment (Ardeyn | Magic): Anywhere
Health 52
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (7 points)
Armor: 1
Movement: Short; long while flying
Modifications: Perception as level 8. Speed defense as level 6 due to size.
Combat: A dragon can bite one target or claw two opponents in immediate range as a single action. When bitten, the target is also immobilized until he succeeds on a Might defense roll to break free (or the dragon drops him).
Most dragons have one or more additional magical abilities they can bring to bear in combat, including the following.
Fiery Breath: A dragon can breathe a stream of fire up to long range, doing 7 points of damage to all targets within immediate range of each other. Targets who succeed on a Speed defense roll to avoid the full effect of the fire still take 3 points of damage from the flame. This ability cannot be used on consecutive rounds.
Change Shape: A dragon with this ability can take the form of a human or qephilim as its action, or return to its regular shape. When so changed, the disguise is nearly impenetrable without special knowledge. As a human or qephilim, the dragon is a level 5 creature.
Captivate: A dragon with this ability can psychically mesmerize a nondragon target in immediate range who fails an Intellect defense roll. A captivated target does the dragon's verbal bidding for one or more days. Each time the target is confronted by a third party about its mental condition, the target is allowed another Intellect defense roll to break the effect.
Demon Fire: Some dragons still secretly serve Lotan. The taint of such a dragon's fiery breath provides a conduit that demons can follow to afflict fresh vessels. Once a day when such a dragon breathes its fiery breath, targets who take full damage from the fire become vulnerable to demonic possession. If these targets fail a second difficulty 5 Intellect defense roll (which is the attack made by a demon attempting to possess a target), the victim is indeed possessed by a demon of Lotan.
Interaction: Like the colors of dragon feathers, dragon personalities run the gamut from beastly thug to refined connoisseur. Some dragons lie with every smoky breath, others consider the least bit of dishonesty a personal failing, and most fall somewhere in between.
Use: A dragon confronts the PCs, challenging them to a riddle game with the following rules: if the PCs win, they get a cypher. If the dragon wins, the PCs owe the dragon a favor to be specified later.
Loot: A dragon usually carries a couple of cyphers and 1d6 x 10 gold crowns. A dragon's hoard might contain 2d6 cyphers, 1d6 . 200 gold crowns, and possibly a few artifacts (but a dragon's lair is usually well guarded).
GM Intrusion: The dragon breathes fire while the PC is already caught in the dragon's mouth.