Part 4 · Monsters & Creatures
Screeching Dragon
“Do you hear that sound coming from up there? That’s no bird, my boy. That’s a dragon’s hunting call.” – Demacian farmer
Demacia is one of the regions of Runeterra with the highest recorded presence of dragons, even having scholars specialized in these magnificent beasts. Although not every dragon is studied in depth (largely due to their aggressiveness), Screeching Dragons are one of the types most known and understood by specialists.
Screeching Dragons have a distant connection to mountain dragons, noticeable in the similarity of their elemental cores.
Lair
A Screeching Dragon’s nest varies quite a bit, but it’s always close to rock formations, whether on plains at the base of mountains, in cavities within them, or even inside caves. They favor locations where they can protect their eggs and young.
Besides the choice of location, the presence of Screeching Dragons can cause intense vibrations in the ground where they build their Nest.
Regional Effects
When an Adult or Elder Screeching Dragon settles its nest, its elemental energy alters the region within a 1-mile radius of the nest with the following effects:
- Earthquakes become frequent in the region, generating Tremors and, occasionally, Fissures.
- When a creature takes a short, long, or full rest within the area, roll 1d100. On a result of 30 or lower, 7 (3d4) creatures appear, interrupting the rest.
- The population of creatures that have Beast as a type or subtype increases considerably.
In addition to these effects, if the Nest’s owner is an Elder, it has an additional effect:
- The ground tremors intensify vibrations from other sources. Whenever a creature that doesn’t have resistance, immunity, or absorption to Thunder damage takes that type of damage, it gains 1 Exposure to that damage type, accumulating up to 20 Exposure to Thunder damage this way.
The regional effects fade gradually over 1d10 days after the Screeching Dragon that inhabits the Nest is killed, destroyed, or driven away.
Lair Actions
A Screeching Dragon’s Nest can take certain lair actions in combat. The Nest doesn’t follow the Initiative rules for creatures; instead of rolling Initiative at the start of combat, the Nest’s Initiative is always 20, losing any Initiative ties.
During combat, the Nest can take the following lair actions:
- Call for Aid. The Screeching Dragon lets out a warning roar. Doing this brings 3 (1d6) Screeching Dragon Hatchlings to its aid, appearing within 30 feet of it at the start of the next round, acting on the lair’s turn.
- Weaken Defenses. The ground tremors reverberate through a specific creature, maximizing other vibrations. A creature within 15 feet of the Screeching Dragon gains vulnerability to Thunder damage until the end of the next round. If the creature has some degree of resistance, that resistance is decreased by one degree instead.
- Vibrational Strengthening. The Screeching Dragon directs the frequency of the environment’s tremors into its own body, strengthening its attacks. The Screeching Dragon’s next melee natural weapon attack deals its Pulse Die as additional Vibrational damage.
- Draconic Breath. If it has used its breath weapon, the Screeching Dragon rolls its recharge again, potentially recovering a use of its breath weapon this way.
Rewards
A Screeching Dragon’s Nest may contain parts from beasts of CR 8 (Adult) / 10 (Elder) or lower, as well as any rare component that can be found in environments like the Nest’s (mountains).
In addition, certain body parts of a Screeching Dragon can be obtained after it’s dissected and used for various purposes. Hatchlings and Young ones have claws, fangs, and scales, while Adults and Elders have an Elemental Core in addition to the previous ones.
Item Crafting
Materials obtained from a Screeching Dragon’s body have magical properties tied to the nature of these beasts. Each material from a Screeching Dragon grants a specific effect when used to craft items, in exchange for an increase in the difficulty of crafting them:
- The Claws and Fangs of Screeching Dragons can be used by a creature with the Weaponsmith Craft to craft weapons.
- When using these materials to craft weapons, the crafting DC increases by a value equal to the proficiency bonus of the Screeching Dragon the materials came from; in exchange, the resulting weapon gains an attack and damage bonus equal to half that value.
- The Scales of Screeching Dragons can be used by a creature with the Armorer Craft to craft Scale Mail.
- When using this material to craft armor, the crafting DC increases by a value equal to the proficiency bonus of the Screeching Dragon the materials came from; in exchange, the resulting armor gains an AC and DR bonus equal to half that value.
- The Elemental Core of a Screeching Dragon is a special material that can be used by an Enchanter both to craft a special mana crystal and to enhance items made from other Screeching Dragon materials:
- The Elemental Core can be used as a Rare (Adult) / Very Rare (Elder) crystal to craft a Mana Crystal. When using the Elemental Core this way, the crafting DC increases by a value equal to the proficiency bonus of the Screeching Dragon the Core came from; in exchange, the resulting Mana Crystal can be used as an arcane focus: crystal, granting any creature that uses it the ability to spend the crystal’s mana points (or its own mana points, if it has any) to cast the Cacophony or Thunder Wave spells. When using the core of an Elder Screeching Dragon, it’s also possible to cast the Seismic Shove spell. The spellcasting attribute for these spells is Intelligence.
- The Elemental Core can be fused to an item made from Screeching Dragon materials through the Elemental Fusion Formula; the fusion DC is 8 + twice the proficiency bonus of the Screeching Dragon the Core came from.
- When fusing the Elemental Core to a weapon, the weapon deals 1d10 (Adult) / 1d12 (Elder) additional Vibrational damage on its attacks.
- When fusing the Elemental Core to armor, it grants resistance (Adult) / immunity (Elder) to Vibrational damage to whoever wears it.
Screeching Dragon Sheets
Hatchling
Screeching Dragon Hatchling
Dragon, Medium
- Senses
- Blindsight 60 feet, Passive perception 13
- Speed
- 30 feet walking, 40 feet flying
- Skills
- Athletics +5, Stealth +1, Intimidation +3, Perception +3
- Languages
- Draconic
Defenses
Saving Throws: Strength +5, Constitution +5
Damage resistance. Thunder damage.
Characteristics
Growing Fury. Each attack the Screeching Dragon Hatchling makes against the same target generates 1 Fury charge, up to a maximum of 4 charges. The Screeching Dragon Hatchling's attacks deal 1 additional damage for each Fury charge it has. Attacking a different target resets the Screeching Dragon Hatchling's Fury charge count.
Nimble Claws. When making a Claw attack, the Screeching Dragon Hatchling can make a second Claw attack using its bonus action.
Attacks
Bite. Melee Natural Weapon Attack, +5 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. On a hit, deals 24 (5d8+2) Piercing damage.
Claws. Melee Natural Weapon Attack, +5 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. On a hit, deals 15 (3d8+2) Slashing damage.
Thunder Breath (Recharge 5-6). The Screeching Dragon Hatchling can breathe a high-pitched, shrill roar. Each creature within a 5-foot radius of the Screeching Dragon Hatchling must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 28 (8d6) Thunder damage on a failure, or half that damage on a success.
Equipment and Loot
A creature with the Collector: Biologist Craft can Dissect the following parts of the Screeching Dragon Hatchling:
Claws and Fangs: It's possible to collect 2d8 claws and fangs from the Screeching Dragon Hatchling. Claws and Fangs from Dragon Hatchlings can be used as raw material to craft slashing or piercing weapons for Small or smaller creatures.
Scales: It's possible to collect the Screeching Dragon Hatchling's scales. The Screeching Dragon Hatchling's scales can be used as raw material for armor.
Runes
Runic Pulse: Jade Pulse (1d6 Bludgeoning and Thunder damage)
Runes: Territorial Surge, 2 uses.
Young
Young Screeching Dragon
Dragon, Large
- Senses
- Blindsight 60 feet, Passive perception 16
- Speed
- 40 feet walking, 60 feet flying
- Skills
- Athletics +7, Stealth +1, Intimidation +5, Perception +6
- Languages
- Draconic
Defenses
Saving Throws: Strength +7, Constitution +7
Damage immunity. Thunder damage.
Characteristics
Growing Fury. Each attack the Young Screeching Dragon makes against the same target generates 1 Fury charge, up to a maximum of 6 charges. The Young Screeching Dragon's attacks deal 2 additional damage for each Fury charge it has. Attacking a different target resets the Young Screeching Dragon's Fury charge count.
Nimble Claws. When making a Claw attack, the Young Screeching Dragon can make a second Claw attack using its bonus action.
Attacks
Multiattack. The Young Screeching Dragon can use an attack action to make 2 attacks, choosing between attacking with Claws or Bite.
Bite. Melee Natural Weapon Attack, +7 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. On a hit, deals 47 (8d10+3) Piercing damage.
Claws. Melee Natural Weapon Attack, +7 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. On a hit, deals 30 (5d10+3) Slashing damage.
Thunder Breath (Recharge 5-6). The Young Screeching Dragon can breathe a high-pitched, shrill roar. Each creature within a 5-foot radius of the Young Screeching Dragon must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 42 (12d6) Thunder damage on a failure, or half that damage on a success.
Epic Actions
The Young Screeching Dragon has 4 epic action charges, and can spend one of these charges to act. Only one action can be used at a time, at the end of another creature's turn. At the start of the Young Screeching Dragon's turn, the number of charges resets to 4
The Young Screeching Dragon can take an action and restore its reaction (if spent)
The Young Screeching Dragon can repeat a saving throw against an effect affecting it
Cost. When the Young Screeching Dragon redoes the saving throw this way, it loses 11 hit points
The Young Screeching Dragon can spend all or the rest of its movement.
Equipment and Loot
A creature with the Collector: Biologist Craft can Dissect the following parts of the Young Screeching Dragon:
Claws and Fangs: It's possible to collect 2d8 claws and fangs from the Young Screeching Dragon. Claws and Fangs from Young Dragons can be used as raw material to craft slashing or piercing weapons for Medium or smaller creatures.
Scales: It's possible to collect the Young Screeching Dragon's scales. The Young Screeching Dragon's scales can be used as raw material for armor.
Runes
Runic Pulse: Jade Pulse (2d4 Crushing, Vibrational, Intoxicating damage)
Runes: Territorial Surge, 3 uses.
Adult
Adult Screeching Dragon
Dragon, Huge
- Senses
- Blindsight 60 feet, Passive perception 18
- Speed
- 60 feet walking, 100 feet flying
- Skills
- Athletics +10, Stealth +2, Intimidation +7, Perception +8
- Languages
- Draconic
Defenses
Saving Throws: Strength +10, Constitution +10
Damage resistance. Vibrational damage.
Damage immunity. Thunder damage.
Characteristics
Growing Fury. Each attack the Adult Screeching Dragon makes against the same target generates 1 Fury charge, up to a maximum of 10 charges. The Adult Screeching Dragon's attacks deal 2 additional damage for each Fury charge it has. Attacking a different target resets the Adult Screeching Dragon's Fury charge count.
Nimble Claws. When making a Claw attack, the Adult Screeching Dragon can make a second Claw attack using its bonus action.
Attacks
Multiattack. The Adult Screeching Dragon can use an attack action to make 3 attacks, choosing between attacking with Tail, Claws, or Bite.
Tail. Melee Natural Weapon Attack, +9 to hit, 10 ft. reach, one target. On a hit, deals 56 (8d12+4) Lacerating damage.
Claws. Melee Natural Weapon Attack, +10 to hit, 10 ft. reach, one target. On a hit, deals 41 (6d12+5) Lacerating damage.
Bite. Melee Natural Weapon Attack, +10 to hit, 10 ft. reach, one target. On a hit, deals 57 (8d12+5) Incisive damage.
Thunder Breath (Recharge 5-6). The Adult Screeching Dragon can breathe a high-pitched, shrill roar. Each creature within a 10-foot radius of the Adult Screeching Dragon must succeed on a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw, taking 70 (20d6) Vibrational damage on a failure, or half that damage on a success.
Booming Breath (Recharge 5-6). The Adult Screeching Dragon can direct a sonic shriek in a 50-foot cone from itself. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw, taking 35 (10d6) Vibrational damage on a failure, or half that damage on a success.
Epic Actions
The Adult Screeching Dragon has 5 epic action charges, and can spend one of these charges to act. Only one action can be used at a time, at the end of another creature's turn. At the start of the Adult Screeching Dragon's turn, the number of charges resets to 5
The Adult Screeching Dragon can take an action and restore its reaction (if spent)
The Adult Screeching Dragon can spend all or the rest of its movement
The Adult Screeching Dragon can repeat a saving throw against an effect affecting it
Cost. When the Adult Screeching Dragon redoes the saving throw this way, it loses 15 hit points.
Epic Resilience
Resilience Points: 147 When the Adult Screeching Dragon would fail any saving throw against an effect, it can spend 15 Resilience points to succeed instead. In addition, the Adult Screeching Dragon can use the effect below:
Determination: When the Adult Screeching Dragon is targeted and must make a saving throw to resist an effect, it can spend 7 Resilience points to gain advantage on the roll.
Equipment and Loot
A creature with the Collector: Biologist Craft can Dissect the following parts of the Adult Screeching Dragon:
Claws and Fangs: It's possible to collect 2d8 claws and fangs from the Adult Screeching Dragon. Claws and Fangs from Adult Dragons can be used as raw material to craft slashing or piercing weapons for Large or smaller creatures.
Scales: It's possible to collect the Adult Screeching Dragon's scales. The Adult Screeching Dragon's scales can be used as raw material for armor.
Elemental Core: The Adult Screeching Dragon has an Elemental Core inside its body, which can be collected within 1 minute after the dragon is slain (working similarly to a large creature's fragile organ). If the Collector fails the roll, the Core is destroyed and its magic explodes in a 15-foot area around it; creatures in that area must make a DC 25 Strength saving throw, and on a failure are thrown back 15 feet and take 25 (10d4) Thunder damage. The Elemental Core can be used as an Arcane Focus of the Sound element, allowing the casting of the Thunderclap and Thunder Wave spells, using Intelligence as the spellcasting attribute for them. Alternatively, an Enchanter can use the Elemental Core as raw material to imbue magical properties to weapons made from Adult Screeching Dragon parts or as a Rare arcane component of the Sound element.
Runes
Runic Pulse: Jade Pulse (2d6 Crushing, Vibrational, Intoxicating damage)
Runes: Territorial Surge, 3 uses.
Elder
Elder Screeching Dragon
Dragon, Gargantuan
- Senses
- Blindsight 60 feet, Truesight 30 feet, Passive perception 25
- Speed
- 70 feet walking, 120 feet flying
- Skills
- Athletics +18, Stealth +1, Intimidation +8, Perception +15
- Languages
- Draconic
Defenses
Saving Throws: Strength +12, Constitution +12
Damage immunity. Vibrational damage.
Characteristics
Growing Fury. Each attack the Elder Screeching Dragon makes against the same target generates 1 Fury charge, up to a maximum of 12 charges. The Elder Screeching Dragon's attacks deal 3 additional damage for each Fury charge it has. Attacking a different target resets the Elder Screeching Dragon's Fury charge count.
Nimble Claws. When making a Claw attack, the Elder Screeching Dragon can make a second Claw attack using its bonus action.
Attacks
Multiattack. The Elder Screeching Dragon can use an attack action to make 4 attacks, choosing between attacking with Tail, Claws, or Bite.
Tail. Melee Natural Weapon Attack, +11 to hit, 15 ft. reach, one target. On a hit, deals 64 (9d12+5) Lacerating damage.
Claws. Melee Natural Weapon Attack, +12 to hit, 15 ft. reach, one target. On a hit, deals 51 (7d12+6) Lacerating damage.
Bite. Melee Natural Weapon Attack, +12 to hit, 15 ft. reach, one target. On a hit, deals 65 (9d12+6) Incisive damage.
Thunder Breath (Recharge 4-6). The Elder Screeching Dragon can breathe a high-pitched, shrill roar. Each creature within a 15-foot radius of the Elder Screeching Dragon must succeed on a DC 26 Dexterity saving throw, taking 84 (24d6) Vibrational damage on a failure, or half that damage on a success.
Booming Breath (Recharge 4-6). The Elder Screeching Dragon can direct a sonic shriek in a 60-foot cone from itself. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 26 Dexterity saving throw, taking 81 (18d8) Vibrational damage on a failure, or half that damage on a success.
Epic Actions
The Elder Screeching Dragon has 6 epic action charges, and can spend one of these charges to act. Only one action can be used at a time, at the end of another creature's turn. At the start of the Elder Screeching Dragon's turn, the number of charges resets to 6
The Elder Screeching Dragon can take an action and restore its reaction (if spent)
The Elder Screeching Dragon can spend all or the rest of its movement
The Elder Screeching Dragon can repeat a saving throw against an effect affecting it
Cost. When the Elder Screeching Dragon redoes the saving throw this way, it loses 19 hit points.
Epic Resilience
Resilience Points: 225 When the Elder Screeching Dragon would fail any saving throw against an effect, it can spend 19 Resilience points to succeed instead. In addition, the Elder Screeching Dragon can use the effect below:
Determination: When the Elder Screeching Dragon is targeted and must make a saving throw to resist an effect, it can spend 9 Resilience points to gain advantage on the roll.
Equipment and Loot
A creature with the Collector: Biologist Craft can Dissect the following parts of the Elder Screeching Dragon:
Claws and Fangs: It's possible to collect 2d8 claws and fangs from the Elder Screeching Dragon. Claws and Fangs from Elder Dragons can be used as raw material to craft slashing or piercing weapons for Large or smaller creatures.
Scales: It's possible to collect the Elder Screeching Dragon's scales. The Elder Screeching Dragon's scales can be used as raw material for armor.
Elemental Core: The Elder Screeching Dragon has an Elemental Core inside its body, which can be collected within 1 minute after the dragon is slain (working similarly to a large creature's fragile organ). If the Collector fails the roll, the Core is destroyed and its magic explodes in a 15-foot area around it; creatures in that area must make a DC 28 Strength saving throw, and on a failure are thrown back 15 feet and take 30 (12d4) Thunder damage. The Elemental Core can be used as an Arcane Focus of the Sound element, allowing the casting of the Thunderclap and Thunder Wave spells, using Intelligence as the spellcasting attribute for them. Alternatively, an Enchanter can use the Elemental Core as raw material to imbue magical properties to weapons made from Elder Screeching Dragon parts or as a Rare arcane component of the Sound element.
Runes
Runic Pulse: Jade Pulse (3d4 Crushing, Lacerating, Vibrational, Incinerating, and Intoxicating damage)
Runes: Territorial Surge, 5 uses.