Spelljammer Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The mikado, leader of all stellar dragons

A Stellar dragon is an enormous draconic creature native to wildspace from the Spelljammer campaign setting.[1]

Overview[]

Stellar dragons are enormous spaceborn philosopher's who wander the Flow in search of knowledge,[1] and are counted among those races who share in the accolade of “scholars of wildspace”.

Description[]

Stellar dragons are an iridescent deep purple, with a chrome drop at the tip of each scale. Gems of myriad colors and sizes adorn their scales in random patterns, giving the stellar dragon its name. Four enormous lace-like wings provide direction and stability, while two fins, similar to that of a lionfish, are located centrally on either side of its torso. Numerous other fins of various sizes are spread across the rest of the dragon's body. Stellar dragons do not appear to have any arms or legs.

Stellar dragons are among the largest living creatures in wildspace. Juveniles can grow as long as 1,200 feet, whereas young adults can reach lengths in excess of 4,000 feet. Great wyrms are singularly awe-inspiring as they can reach lengths of between 20,000 to 3,000,000 feet (568 miles) and are simply among the largest living creatures in existence.[1]

Behavior[]

Stellar dragons have watched the rise and fall of many civilizations over many aeons, and understand the underpinnings of the multiverse. Unlike their smaller cousins, the radiant dragons, the stellar dragons consider meddling in the affairs of smaller beings to be loutish and in bad taste. When they do encounter humanoids, stellar dragons prefer to watch rather than get involved, and only rarely do they deign to speak with lesser beings.

However, if a crew of spacefarers approach a stellar dragon with respect and offer up some choice information previously unknown to the dragon, this may be enough to garner its interest and it may agree to speak with them, even going so far as to offer useful information in trade. Knowledge is literally a stellar dragon's food and drink, and it is quite willing to trade information in kind (one rumor even suggests that the archmage Bigby learned his interposing hand and grasping hand spells from a stellar dragon in exchange for a juicy tidbit of information.) On the other hand, the dragon may be busy thinking (that is, digesting knowledge) and may dismiss the interlopers out of hand.

Stellar dragons literally consume knowledge, crystallizing it into clear or milky gems of varying size. These gems of wisdom and pearls of knowledge are extruded through their hides until they are embedded among the dragon's scales. The number of pearls and gems sprinkled across a dragon's hide indicate its relative status among other stellar dragons. The encrustation also roughly indicates its age; younger dragons have few gems, whereas venerable stellars are literally covered in jewels.

A stellar dragon's ultimate goal is to uncover truth; it abhors dishonesty and misinformation. Though information it trades may be cryptic, it is never false. A lesser being's misinterpretation is that being's own fault. However, misinformation causes a stellar dragon severe, painful indigestion, and as with its smaller kin, a dragon in pain is extremely dangerous.[1]

Combat[]

Although steller dragons are normally not aggressive, they are quite capable of defending themselves. A stellar dragon's "breath weapon" is unique in that it generates a gravitic attraction effect: rather than emitting an elemental energy or force it instead draws objects and creatures into an internally generated sphere of annihilation located within the dragon's mouth. The attraction effect is emitted in the form of a cone 1,200 yards long (4,500 feet or 1,372 meters), 50-feet wide (15 meters) at the dragon's mouth and 600-feet wide (183 meters) at its base.

Apart from its breath weapon, a stellar dragon has access to a number innate abilities. First, it can randomly teleport (as per the spell) an opponent up to 6,000 yards (18,000 feet or 5,486 meters) in any direction (up to 12 hexes).

Second, a stellar dragon's titanic intellect allows it to employ any known arcane spell without error, and it may even modify or create new spells to suit its needs (for example, a dragon may combine the effects of a darkness, 50' radius and a fireball spell to create a shadow flare spell). A stellar dragon may repeat a spell as often as required.

Third, a stellar dragon can summon up to seven planar creatures, one at a time (as per the summon monster spell). Summoned creatures serve the dragon slavishly for up to 12 minutes before returning to their home plane.[1]

Society[]

Stellar dragons are rarely encountered in wildspace. However, once every 500 years, all stellar dragons convene for a special mating ceremony where the most worthy individuals are paired up by the ruler of all stellar dragons, known as the "mikado". There is always a single mikado, who is distinguished by a single crystal horn growing from their forehead. The dragons selected as mates by the mikado produce a single offspring, who is born fully sentient and who immediately leaves to make their own way among the stars.

Stellar dragon territories are vast, extending into other planes and dimensions. Individuals negotiate boundaries to prevent intrusion on each other's space. However, they haggle endlessly to obtain dynamic civilizations to monitor.[1]

Rumors[]

Gems of wisdom and pearls of knowledge are valuable almost beyond calculation. The information they contain can be liberated and used to gain enormous profit, and many sages and spellcasters will do nearly anything to procure one.

According to certain texts, the power of artifacts and relics is derived in part from the knowledge contained within certain gems embedded within them. These gems, according to legend, are the everlasting knowledge of thousands of beings that have been crystallized by the stellar dragons. Quite how these gems were wrested from the dragons remains unexplained.[1]

Appendix[]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Newton Ewell, MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Dragon, Stellar entry
Advertisement