The heroes advanced into the ancient dwarven forge, casting glances in every direction for more of the traps they had already made their way through. At the front, the fighter and rogue moved slowly, the former holding a shield up to defend the both of them as the latter scanned for more ploys. Well behind them, the cleric and wizard moved with even greater caution, hesitant after the experiences they had already faced. However, as they intruded on the long forgotten halls, a low, rumbling roar echoed throughout the chamber. From behind one of the cold forges, a reptilian beast lumbered. It was covered in scales that glimmered with a metallic sheen in their torchlight and a cherry glow suffused its throat. As it drew closer, heat radiated from the burly body of the creature that only seemed to intensify when it drew a great breath, fanning its internal flames.
Illustration by SethMonster
It has been a minute since I had an original monster to present to you all, but I’ve finally gotten art for something new! I’ll start with a tiny bit of background – Pathfinder generally lacks wingless, quadrupedal dragons as a category. While they may be called drakes in other games, drakes in Pathfinder tends to refer to a winged, bipedal variety of dragon. However, I like that design for creatures, so I have designed a creature type called tarragon. Another word for ‘dragon’ in some languages, I liked the word tarragon for this with ‘tarra’ calling ‘terra’ to mind, referring to the earthbound nature of these types of dragons.
One of the main ideas behind tarragons is that they have by and large developed with and alongside humanoid civilizations, often aiding them in their endeavors. The forge tarragon is a heat-generating and flame-fueling dragon who gives off such intense heat that people who step too close can find themselves developing heat exhaustion or worse effects, which I aimed to represent with the fatigued condition. Related to the fire and the forge, this tarragon can eat ores and minerals and its body incorporates the metal it consumes into its scaled – giving it a near impenetrable hide represented by its DR. Its other abilities liken it to a forge, with stoke flames increasing its internal flame and extending its intense heat. This ability also sets it up for its bellows breath, which enhances flame effects in an area. While this may work better with other companions, the forge tarragon can take advantage of the area itself with its slag spit where it launches molten material from its gullet. In designing its feats, I also stumbled across the Relic Breaker feat, which somehow causes successful sunder attempts to deal fire damage to the wielder of the item! The forge tarragon has these sunder abilities to represent its ability to feed upon ore and failed projects from the smithy that it dwells at.
Pathfinder 1e:
The test of the PF2e forge tarragon was slightly skewed by several lucky rolls that I had to adjust for, but otherwise went very well. Being able to play around with the three-action economy worked very well for its abilities – Stoke Flame and Billows Breath as a single action allows it to use them both in a turn and still throw out a slag spit Strike to make use of the enhanced fire damage. However, it could make sense to wait a round before unleashing Billows Breath so that it can catch all of its enemies in its Forge’s Heat. Sunder isn’t entirely an option in 2e, but I wanted to include a similar effect and so I referenced the ankhrav’s Armor-Rending Bite, gave it some upgrades, and created Crushing Bite, allowing it to punch through armor and shields while also damaging the wielder. Initially, those were the extent of its abilities but I decided to include a an ability that tied it to dragons. As such, I added a Draconic Frenzy activity. Instead of the classic jaws and two claws, since the forge tarragon doesn’t fight with those, it makes a jaws and two thagomizer Strikes. A fun note about its thagomizer – it was an ability I only decided to include after the artist designed it with those bundles of spikes at the end of its tail.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Fan the Flames: The heroes must delve into an abandoned fire giant stronghold to retrieve a powerful artifact that has lain lost in their forges for centuries, almost forgotten. After having discovered the location of this fort, infiltrated its defenses, and fended off the creatures that have taken up residence in the halls, they have finally made it to the forge. However, they find that a forge tarragon has been dwelling since the days when the forge was active and will kill before it allows thieves and scoundrels to steal the works it helped to create. If the heroes are particularly obvious about their invasion of the fort, the tarragon may even light the forge, causing blazing forges that deal fire damage around them or other obstacles that the heroes must face during their fight.
Forge Anew: To face a coming threat, the heroes must acquire weapons that felled them in age long past. While those weapons have been lost, the forge tarragon that crafted them remains. Unfortunately, the tarragon is retired and a cantankerous sort that has no interest in returning to his work. The heroes must find some means of convincing him to do so and severe missteps may cause in a fight to break out.
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Have a monstrous Monday!