Alternate Versions
Size
Hero Forge: 8'6" (XXL)
Lore: Medium to Gargantuan
Suggested: Medium to Gargantuan
Other Monikers
Tarterian dragon, tomato dragon
Abilities
- Breath weapons: force, crushing despair
- Immune to paralysis, freedom of movement
- Resistant to force damage and charmed condition
- Colossal claw, bite, wing, and tail attacks
- Legendary Actions
- Legendary Resistance
- Flight
- Blindsight
Appearance
Tarterian dragons are
skeletally gaunt, with
leathery scales stretched
tight over witheredlooking flesh. Their wings have a tattered appearance, though they can fly fast and ably. Their teeth and claws are long and black, while their scales form a striped pattern of black, gray, and olive green. Ghostly green light flickers in their black eyes, and their faces seem to wear a perpetual sneering grin.
Home Plane
Carceri
Stat Block
5th Edition (different ages have their own stat block):
3.5e:
- Draconomicon: The Book of Dragons (2003)
Description
(From 3.5e Draconomicon: The Book of Dragons - 2003):
Native inhabitants of a prison plane, Tarterian dragons are at once wardens and prisoners themselves, preying on weaker denizens than themselves.
Tarterian dragons are skeletally gaunt, with leathery scales stretched tight over witheredlooking flesh. Their wings have a tattered appearance, though they can fly fast and ably. Their teeth and claws are long and black, while their scales form a striped pattern of black, gray, and olive green. Ghostly green light flickers in their black eyes, and their faces seem to wear a perpetual sneering grin.
Tarterian dragons inhabit a wide range of habitats on their native plane of Carceri, from the steaming jungles of Cathrys (the second layer) to the cruel mountains of Colothys (the fourth). Similarly, when they make their way to the Material Plane they can dwell comfortably in a variety of locales, both above and under the ground. They delight in reproducing the jailhouse atmosphere of Carceri whenever they find themselves on the Material Plane.
Tarterian dragons are accustomed to a diet of fiendish flesh and condemned souls. They do not enjoy other food, but can live on literally anything.
Combat: Tarterian dragons use their spell-like abilities to divide and constrain their opponents, trying to face each one individually when possible. They use their gas breath weapon to weaken foes at the start of combat, then their force breath to take out the strongest foes. Young and older Tarterian dragons’ natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Breath Weapon (Su): A Tarterian dragon has two types of breath weapon, a line of disruptive force or a cone of will-sapping gas. Creatures within the cone must succeed on a Will save or be affected by a crushing despair effect, taking a –2 penalty on saving throws, attack rolls, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls for 1 round per age category of the dragon.
Force Resistance (Ex): Tarterian dragons have a +4 racial bonus on saving throws against force-based spells and effects. Freedom of Movement (Su): Tarterian dragons can move and attack normally despite any magic that usually impedes movement, such as hold monster, paralysis effects, solid fog, slow, and web spells. Strength of Will (Ex): Tarterian dragons have a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and compulsion effects.
Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—forcecage, imprisonment, maze, Otiluke’s resilient sphere.
Sources