Radiant dragon

This article is about the creature. For the novel, see The Radiant Dragon.

“

Better to be slain by a star dragon quickly, before it has a chance to think about it.

”

— Giff saying^[1]

Radiant dragons, sometimes called star dragons or celestial dragons, were large shimmering dragons that lived in space and were capable of crossing its vast distances as natural spelljammers.^[1]

Description

Radiant dragons were extremely large: the oldest members of the species could reach a maximum length of 1400 ft (427 m) from head to tail. Their serpentine bodies were covered in iridescent pearl-like scales resembling mica and gypsum that scintillated when struck with starlight.^[1]

Unlike "standard" dragons, which could not fly more than 8 mi (13 km) above the surface of a planet,^[2] radiant dragons were completely spaceborne and, due to their large sizes, were clumsy close to the surface. They had an innate ability to travel in space at will as natural spelljammers, never tiring.^[1]

Personality

Unlike other dragons, radiant dragons were neither inherently benevolent nor malicious. A radiant dragon could as easily terrorize an entire planet as another could use its space capabilities to rescue a drifting ship in danger. They were, however, extremely proud, considering themselves the pinnacle of dragonkind. When wronged, they were extremely vindictive and often considered cruel and creative methods of revenge as they hunted down their targets.^[1]

Combat

If in a fight, radiant dragons relied on their massive sizes to deal substantial amounts of damage to ships, while also concentrating their attacks on spellcasters. They did not retreat, but frequently offered the crew a chance to beg for their mercy in order to escape.^[1]

Their breath weapon consisted of pulses of energy similar to magic missiles, but considerably more powerful. The pulses could either hit a single target or multiple, separate targets and rarely missed. They were also innately capable of invoking magical abilities as they aged, such as some aspects of the Bigby's hand spell, shapechange, wall of force, forcecage, and prismatic sphere.^[1]

Society

Radiant dragons could be encountered anywhere in space, both in wildspace and in the phlogiston. They were solitary and territorial creatures, often claiming for themselves territories that spanned volumes of space surrounding entire planets. When organized in families, they made their lairs in hollowed-out asteroids. Radiant dragons were also extremely protective of their young.^[1]

It was unknown whether radiant dragons were naturally occurring spelljamming creatures or if their abilities were granted by the arcane in some sort of arrangement. Some believed that they were necessary for the creation of spelljamming helms.^[1]