Lunar Dragon

Presumably the most numerous of the outer dragons, lunar dragons are radiant, shimmering beasts seemingly fascinated with the lives of the planet-bound mortals they orbit around.

Beyond that…?  We don’t know.  That’s one of the awesome things about the outer dragons: We are given so little description of them that the field is wide open for you to leave your mark upon.

Maybe lunar dragons are capricious but basically benevolent protectors of their moons and the planets below.  (One would certainly imagine a lunar dragon in the Forgotten Realms setting acting this way.)  Or maybe their temperaments and alignments might wax and wane with the phases of the moon, swinging from chaotic good to evil and back.  Maybe they are tasked to keep races planetbound, or help guide them to the stars.  Maybe their visits to mortal artists is what drives these folk to new heights of inspiration…until the dragons’ alien presence renders the poor souls mad (hence “lunacy”).  Maybe every moon has its own patron moon dragon guardian or perhaps whole clutches of them congregate on particularly icy or beautiful or remote spheres.  It’s all on the table.

Hunting lycanthropes, adventurers come across a lunar dragon feasting on a wereboar.  Under the light of the full moon, the lunar dragon is gregarious, generous, and benevolent.  But the shadow that passes over the moon passes over the dragon’s heart as well, and in the dark of the new moon she is cruel and vicious.  She consorts mainly with fey, who are well used to such mercurial swings in their own folk.

Each of Tennaro’s 12 moons has its own guardian lunar dragon, scales tinged with the dust of his or her particular rocky sphere.  Jasuphex is an active beast that regularly swims with the tritons of Merrow.  Despite the warlike red of his scales, Utaro is a pacifist who meditates with the contemplatives of his moon.  Eltanux’s moon is lifeless, but he scries on mortals from the world below, occasionally intervening on behalf of his particular favorites.  And Vetaneth’s greed has gotten the better of her, as her hoard is filed with the hulks of treasure galleons she has plucked from the seas, the sky, and the void seemingly indiscriminately.

A clutch of lunar dragons are the rulers of a city on the dark side of the moon.  Attended by catfolk scholars, warriors, tumblers, and servants, the lunar dragons study the stars for portents and otherworldly invaders.  While travelers are not particularly welcomed in the hidden city, they are not unknown either, and occasionally can be put to good use.  Currently the lunar dragons are offering adventurers a bounty on twin void dragons—known and hated for preying on oma calves—and on one of their own, a silver-winged lunar dragon beauty who participated in the genocide of all life from her small moon.

—Pathfinder Bestiary 4 66–67

Catfolk on the moon?  Looks like someone’s paying homage.

Regarding yesterday’s post, goluxexmachina wrote:

Shouldn't completing the pentagram be possible at level 19 with an Int of 36?  Granted that's really high, but if you can get it super high it's possible even earlier I think. On the other hand, even at 20 it requires an Int of 28...

Sure, there are tons of ways to crunch the numbers and spell slots, especially once you start messing with high Intelligence scores, whether naturally or magically boosted.  I was keeping it simple: At 20th level pretty much any wizard can cast four memorized 9th-level spells a day and then trigger a wish (presumably cast the day before and worded to trigger after the other spells are cast, or triggered from an item specifically crafted for this event).  But each wizard’s path toward attempting this feat might be a little different—you don't get to Level 20 without taking a few risks and amassing some pretty unique items, artifacts, spell lists, and followers/familiars.  In any case, Lorthact doesn’t intend to allow any mage within his sphere of influence to ever aspire that high!

Have a good weekend, everybody.