Mantidrake

2e

2nd Edition Statistics^[1]^[2]

Size

Huge

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

General Information^[2]^[1]

Movement

Flying

Activity cycle

Any

Diet

Carnivorous

Average lifespan

Same as manticore

Intelligence

Low

Language(s)

As parent, sometimes Common

Favored climate

Any

Favored terrain

Any

Appearance^[1]^[2]

Average length

25 feet (7.6 meters)

Skin color(s)

As parent, blended with brown

Hairstyle(s)

Mane

Typical build

Winged lion

History^[1]

First appearance

Dragon magazine 170

A mantidrake was the offspring of a manticore and a chromatic dragon.^[1] They sometimes served the Cult of the Dragon as mounts.^[2]

Description[]

Mantidrakes resembled scaled manticores. They bore a lion's mane around their head, which was more like a dragon's, and they carried two large wings. Their coloration resembled their dragon parent, blended with the dun brown of the manticore; the dragon color predominated in its head, wings, hindquarters, face and belly, with the rest only having stripes of the scale color.^[1]^[2]

Personality[]

Wild mantidrakes were solitary brutes. They liked to collect treasure, and favored manflesh for its taste.^[1]^[2]

Abilities[]

Mantidrakes were clumsy fliers. They could use their dragon parent's breath weapon, destructive enough that one gout had the potential to slay them at full vitality if they weren't immune to its element, which they were; they could unleash this devastating attack up to four times a day. Magic that empowered attacks meant for dragons had no additional effect when wielded against them.^[1]^[2]

Combat[]

Mantidrakes always opened combat with a volley of their tail spikes, of which it regrew up to 4 volleys a day. They avoided aerial combat if at all possible, using it only for ambushes and to keep their range from creatures too dangerous to engage at close range. The toughness of their naturally armored skin and the resilience of their bodies varied according to the parent dragon.^[1]^[2]

Society[]

Mantidrakes preferred warm habitats, making their parents more likely to be blue dragons.^[1] They spoke the language of their rearing parent (most often the mother), with a minimal understanding of the other parent's language, if it was involved at all. Cult mantidrakes normally knew Common and the language of their dragon parent. Those mantidrakes that had escaped the Cult of the Dragon became solitary in the wild; where more than one was encountered, those were pairs that mated for life, like manticores did.^[2]

It was impossible to train a mantidrake unless it was taken from its parents shortly after birth. They often served the Cult as protectors or distractions, sometimes even as mounts. An adult mantidrake only understood partnerships, and wouldn't be interested unless brought great amounts of treasure and food.^[2]

Ecology[]

Mantidrakes with a territory smaller than 25 square miles (65 square kilometers) overhunted until it was devoid of all animals and humans. Their hide, curiously supple, could fetch about 5,000 gp (if intact).^[1]^[2]

History[]

Mantidrakes were created by Sammaster in the course of his research into draconic life, to better understand how to prolong that life after death. Enterprising cult members later realized they could be used as guards and servants; some of these hybrids later escaped into the wild.^[3] There were known hybrids not only with red, white, green, blue and black dragons, but also with brown and yellow dragons.^[2] Versed sages have suggested that while hybrids with shadow dragons were known in other worlds,^[1] these dragons were reluctant to participate in Cult schemes.^[4]