Korovia - The Free License Fantasy World

(Cold and Fire)

Korovian dragons are a strange crossbreed between white dragons and silver dragons, but are known for their impressive intelligence and size (they are remarkably like red dragons, even their horns are similar). The dragons are adapted to Korovia’s often-cold climate and are generally aloof of the affairs of mere humanoids. They eat what they please and take what they please, and generally aren’t threatened by anything less than a small army or a powerful wizard.

Korovian dragons are known for one very important fact: They’re moody. They can be benevolent one minute and outraged the next. As the saying goes, only a fool jokes with a Korovian dragon. This doesn’t mean they are not honourable, because every Korovian dragon has their own definition of honour and do occasionally like to discuss the topic. They are chaotic by nature, but they have a deep understanding of honour and integrity. When done philosophizing however they might just shrug and eat whoever brought up the topic, especially if the person proved to be stupid. Korovian dragons respect intelligence and wisdom and try not to eat smart/wise people. Beware of the moodiness factor however.

Korovian dragons swore an oath during the last demon war to protect Korovia. They are the unofficial protectors of the kingdom, but that doesn’t stop them from wrecking havok.

The dragons have white-grey scales that change their shade depending on the light and help them to blend well with both snow and grey skies. The scales on their belly are usually a darker shade of grey. Despite their size, they are surprisingly skilled at hiding. Korovian dragons delight in ambushing targets and scaring them. They don’t want to eat the target (although they do sometimes), they just enjoy scaring the living daylights out of the creature or creatures.

Adult Korovian dragons have spiked tails (young adults and younger have smooth tails), which is their favourite weapon in combat, both on the ground and in flight. Numerous people have lived to tell the tale of how a Korovian dragon flew overhead, and killed their horse with one smack of their tail. The dragon then waits as the scared human runs for their lives, after which Korovian dragons sometimes like to play with their food.

During prolonged combat Korovian dragons like using dirty tricks and especially vicious moves: Picking up a helpless human and then breathing on them. Disarming a fighter of his/her sword and jokingly use it as a toothpick to intimidate the fighter. Scooping up handfuls of rocks and throwing them at the wizard to disrupt any spells. Sneezing up dust so the humans will be caught in a dust cloud and unable to see, whereas the dragon has superior hearing. According to one story a Korovian dragon even projectile vomited up the horse it ate for lunch onto a cleric, creating such a stench that the mortals all fled due to nausea.

If forced to, a Korovian dragon will use more deadly weapons like its cone of frost breath. Korovian dragons are immune to both fire and cold damage. It does have a secondary breath weapon, a line of fire, but it rarely uses it unless there is a specific target at a longer range.

The lairs of Korovian dragons could be anywhere. They tend to stay near a source of food (or amusement). They are also notoriously overprotective of their children. They often visit their children once per month. Killing a Korovian hatchling is very bad luck and woe to any adventurer who does so. Because they can shape-change, a Korovian dragon can make their home inside a mortal city and go unnoticed. They sometimes have children with mortals too, and keep track of this offspring as eagerly as they keep track of their full-blood offspring. Due to their chaotic nature however this offspring could easily be a half ogre or a half elf.

In addition to playing with their food, Korovian dragons are one of the few kinds of dragon-kind that actually enjoy cooking their food. They even make soup sometimes (elf stew is considered to be a delicacy, and dwarf stew is very healthy before an important battle or when ill). When the mood hits them, Korovian dragons sometimes go looking for more exotic meals. If they encounter another dragon on the way, it is likely that the dragon will join in the “quest”, as trying new exotic foods is a favourite past time. “Hmm… I’ve never tried unicorn before… have you?” “I hear they go well with elf stew!”

“Take two elves, boil in a small pond using your fire breath, gently place the elves in the pond and simmer. Sip leisurely!”

The only natural enemy of Korovian dragons is other dragons. They are very territorial. They are more cautious around other dragons and take precautions against their deadlier attacks (like an Al-Kazar dragon’s poison). When calculating their statistics, use Red Dragon as the base creature with the following changes.

Environment: Cold Mountains.
Alignment: Usually chaotic.
Abilities: The Korovian Dragon’s cone of cold breath deals 2d12 per Age Category. Its line of fire breath deals 2d8 per Age Category. They are immune to cold and fire, but are vulnerable to lightning. Instead of the red dragon’s spell like abilities, use the following at the appropriate levels: Polymorph Self (Juvenile), Control Winds (old), Ice Storm (ancient), & Summon Monster VIII (great wyrm). When determining a Korovian dragon’s spells, they tend to prefer spells that will confuse opponents and often have spells that are useful against extra-planar or undead creatures.