Mocking Dragon (Adult, Spellcaster)
Level 12Attacks
Abilities
90 feet. A creature who enters or begins its turn in the area must attempt a DC 29 will save. Regardless of the result of the saving throw, the creature is temporarily immune to the graceless domain aura for 1 minute. The dragon can exclude creatures from this aura. Critical Success The creature is unaffected. Success For 1 round, the first time the creature rolls an Athletics, Acrobatics, or Performance skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result. Effect: Graceless Domain (Success) Failure For 1 minute, the first time each round the creature rolls an Athletics, Acrobatics, or Performance skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result. Critical Failure For 1 minute, every time the creature rolls an Athletics, Acrobatics, or Performance skill check, it must roll twice and take the worse result. Effect: Graceless Domain
The dragon takes on the appearance of any Tiny, Small, Medium, or Large animal, beast, or humanoid. This doesn't change their Speed or their attack and damage bonuses with their Strikes, but might change the damage type their Strikes deal (typically to bludgeoning). The monster changes its shape indefinitely. It can use this action again to return to its natural shape or adopt a new shape. Unless otherwise noted, a monster cannot use Change Shape to appear as a specific individual. Using Change Shape counts as creating a disguise for the Impersonate use of Deception. The monster's transformation automatically defeats Perception DCs to determine whether the creature is a member of the ancestry or creature type into which it transformed, and it gains a +4 status bonus to its Deception DC to prevent others from seeing through its disguise. Change Shape abilities specify what shapes the monster can adopt. The monster doesn't gain any special abilities of the new shape, only its physical form. For example, in each shape, it replaces its normal Speeds and Strikes, and might potentially change its senses or size. Any changes are listed in its stat block.
The dragon unleashes their breath in one of two ways. The dragon can't use Hilarious Exhalation again for 1d4 rounds. • Laughing Gas (emotion, mental) The dragon breaths a cloud of mood-altering gas in a 30-foot cone. This has the effect of Laughing Fit (DC 32 will) with a duration of 1 round. • Slippery Puddle The dragon expels a glob of viscous goo at a solid surface at a range of 60 feet. This creates a 15-foot burst with the area effect of Grease (DC 32 reflex).
On a critical hit, the dragon's claws inflict Outcast's Curse on the target as if they had rolled a success.
The dragon can Demoralize targets within 90 feet. Targets become immune to the mocking dragon's attempts to Demoralize them for 1 minute after each attempt.
Trigger A foe within 90 feet becomes Prone or critically fails on a Strike Effect The mocking dragon laughs dismissively at the foe, attempting an Intimidation check to Demoralize the creature. They do not take a penalty if the creature doesn't understand their language.
Requirements The dragon's last action was a successful tail Strike
The mocking dragon attempts a Dirty Trick against the target of their tail Strike. This attempt neither applies nor counts toward the creature's multiple attack penalty.
Description
Wily pranksters and enthusiastic show-offs, mocking dragons amuse their friends and humiliate their foes using trickery, satire, and bombast to disgrace the powerful and lift the spirits of the oppressed. Among the most likely of dragons to interact closely with humanoids, mocking dragons often settle in or near communities where they can easily find targets for their wiles. Mocking dragons are inveterate entertainers, though they're more likely to recite satirical poems or witty quips than compose ballads. Experts in disguise, mocking dragons sometimes change their form to better spy on interesting people, ferret out embarrassing information, or execute elaborate ruses. More serious dragons often view mocking dragons as feckless showboaters, but beneath their jovial exterior, mocking dragons harbor a burning desire to fight injustice. They're easily recruited into campaigns against tyrants, and younger dragons often work to remove gang leaders or landlords that oppress working folk.
Considering their shape-changing abilities, it's difficult to anticipate the guise that a mocking dragon might take. Unless trying hard to avoid attention, a dragon's animal and beast forms have whimsical details that indicate they're more than they seem, like a black mask on a fox or strangely colored plumage on a goose. Mocking dragons also love to employ their ability to shock the unwary by speaking to them in the guise of a dog or squirrel.