Buy me a coffeeClockwork Dragon, “The Gears of Draconic Mastery”
“Unleash the Mechanical Fury: Clockwork Dragons of Power and Precision!”
The Clockwork Dragon is a marvel of artifice, an imposing construct standing at a towering height. Its sleek, metallic body is adorned with intricate gears, cogs, and pistons, meticulously crafted to resemble the form of a dragon. Gleaming brass and steel plates encase its frame, creating a striking contrast with its vibrant sapphire-blue eyes that seem to radiate intelligence.
This mechanical marvel moves with a mesmerizing fluidity, each joint and limb articulating with precision. Its wings, resembling a fusion of feathers and gears, allow it to soar gracefully through the skies, while its tail, lined with razor-sharp blades, serves as a deadly weapon. With an aura of both majesty and menace, the Clockwork Dragon is a testament to the art of engineering and the power of imagination.
Clockwork Dragon, 5e
Clockwork Dragon, pathfinder
Clockwork Dragon 5e
Huge construct (clockwork), neutral
Armor Class 18 (natural armor) Hit Points 207 (18d12 + 90) Speed 50 ft., fly 80 ft. (hover)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 (+7) | 16 (+3) | 20 (+5) | 10 (0) | 14 (+2) | 6 (-2) |
Saving Throws Str +11, Dex +7, Con +9 Skills Perception +6 Damage Immunities poison, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with adamantine weapons Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 16 Languages understands the languages of its creator but can’t speak
Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)
Immutable Form. It is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. It has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Multiattack. It makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 7) piercing damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 7) slashing damage.
Breath Weapon (Recharge 5-6). It exhales a blast of steam in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 17 Strength saving throw, taking 45 (10d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The steam lingers, creating a dense fog that heavily obscures the area for 1 minute.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If it fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Reactive Fire Shield. Whenever its hit by a melee attack, the attacker takes 9 (2d8) fire damage.
Actions
Swallow. The clockwork dragon makes one bite attack against a Medium or smaller target it is grappling. If the attack hits, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. The swallowed target is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the mechanical dragon, and it takes 36 (8d8) acid damage at the start of each of the clockwork dragon’s turns.
If the dragon takes 60 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the dragon must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate the swallowed creature, which falls prone in a space within 10 feet of the dragon. If the clockwork dragon dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse using 30 feet of movement, exiting prone.
Legendary Actions
The clockwork dragon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The clockwork dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Detect. It makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Claw Attack. It makes one claw attack.
Steam Breath (Costs 2 Actions). It uses its Breath Weapon.
Clockwork Dragon, Pathfinder
Though made of thousands of metal parts, this masterpiece of gleaming metal glides through the air with impossible grace.
Source Bestiary 4 pg. 30, Pathfinder #66: The Dead Heart of Xin pg. 86
While the clockwork goliaths possess more brute power, clockwork dragons’ powerful breath weapons and mastery of flight make them more versatile and graceful killers.
Designed for long flights and missions, the intricate winding mechanism of the clockwork dragon is more efficient than that of other clockwork constructs, partially because it reuses some of the energy generated by its intricate wings and the complex machinery of its breath weapon device.
One of the most complicated and subtly crafted clockworks, its many moving parts are fortified by adamantine supports and fixtures, making this killing machine a brilliant mix of intricacy and unyielding terror.
The basic chassis and internal workings of the clockwork dragons are highly adaptable, and many variants of the clockwork dragon exist. These mechanical dragons are typically 20 feet long from snout to the tip of its tail, and weigh nearly 75 tons.
| Clockwork Dragon CR 16 |
| XP 76,800 N Huge construct (clockwork) Init +8; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision, see invisibility; Perception +8 |
| Defense |
| AC 34, touch 14, flat-footed 28 (+4 Dexterity, +2 dodge, +20 natural, -2 size) hp 177 (25d10+40) Fort +8, Ref +14, Will +8 DR 15/adamantine; Immune construct traits; Resist fire 20; SR 27 Weaknesses vulnerable to electricity |
| OFFENSE |
| Speed 60 ft., fly 100 ft. (average), swim 60 ft. Melee bite +35 (4d6+12), 2 claws +35 (2d8+12), tail slap +30 (2d6+6), 2 wings +30 (2d6+6) Space 15 ft., Reach 15 ft. (15 ft. with bite) Special Attacks adamantine weapons, breath weapon (100-ft. line, 14d6 fire damage, Reflex DC 22 half, usable every 1d4 rounds), self-destruction |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 34, Dexterity 19, Constitution -, Intelligence -, Wisdom 11, Charisma 1 Base Atk +25; CMB +39; CMD 55 (59 vs. trip) Feats Improved InitiativeB, Lightning ReflexesB Skills Fly +8, Perception +8, Swim +20; Racial Modifiers +8 Fly,+8 Perception SQ difficult to create, efficient winding, swift reactions |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Adamantine Weapons (Ex) The teeth and claws of a clockwork dragon are made of adamantine and have the qualities of a weapon made from that material. Efficient Winding (Ex) Built for long and dangerous missions, a mechanical dragon can function for 3 days per Hit Die each time it’ wound. Self-Destruction (Ex) When a clockwork dragon’ hit points are reduced to 10% of its total (17 in the case of most clockwork dragons) or less but are still above 0, the creature self-destructs on its next turn, bursting into an explosion of metal scraps and steam that deals 10d6 points of slashing damage plus 10d6 points of fire damage to all creatures within a 20-foot-radius burst. A successful DC 22 Reflex save halves the damage. The save is Charisma-based. |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment any land Organization solitary Treasure none |
Variant Clockwork Dragons
The following are a number of variant clockwork dragons. Some of these mechanical dragons exhibit more than one of these variations.
Acid Breath (CR +0): Equipped with an internal fountain of caustic liquid, this type of clockwork dragon replaces its fire breath with a 60-foot line of acid. Targeted creatures take 10d8 points of acid damage (Reflex DC 22 half ).
Destroyer (CR + 0): These clockwork dragons are used as highly mobile and powerful siege engines. While the destroyer clockwork dragon lacks a breath weapon, as a full-round action taken while on solid ground, it can move its gears to pull its wings apart and to rise up as a heavy bombard (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat 161).
The body of the clockwork is used as the platform for the bombard, and the internal workings of the clockwork can load the bombard without a crew, though it still takes five full-round actions on the part of the clockwork to load the bombard. The clockwork dragon can also take the actions necessary to aim the bombard. A clockwork dragon carries enough ammunition to fire the bombard 10 times.
Flaming Tar Breath (CR +1): Instead of breathing fire, some clockwork dragons spray a 30-foot cone of flaming tar. Creatures in the area of effect take 14d6 points of fire damage and are entangled in a thick layer of flaming tar. A successful DC 22 Reflex save halves the damage and negates the entangled effect. Creatures are entangled for 5 rounds as the tar burns. Entangled creatures take 3d6 points of fire damage each round on their turn. Spending a full-round action and succeeding at a DC 22 Reflex save removes the tar, freeing the trapped creature from the entanglement and further fire damage.
Infiltrator (CR + 1): These clockwork dragons are more subtle and nimble than those of other dragons. An infiltrator mechanical dragon can rearrange its movable parts into very serpentine and compact shapes, which gives it the compression ability. Furthermore, its parts are coated with a black, noise-dampening resin, granting it a +8 racial bonus on Stealth checks (typically Stealth +0). Finally, it’s infused with magic allowing it, as a standard action, to become invisible as the greater invisibility spell (CL 15th) three times per day. The infiltrator dragon’s invisibility is a supernatural ability.
Mithral (CR +0): This variant loses its adamantine weapons and its DR, which are replaced by greater flight capability thanks to its spell-infused mithral parts. Its land and swim speeds increase to 70 feet, and its fly speed increases to 200 feet with good maneuverability. In addition, once per day as a swift action, it can gain the benefits of the haste spell for 1d4 rounds.
Rust Breath (CR +0): Rust-breath clockwork dragons do not breathe fire. Instead, the creatures breathe out a fine mist of an alchemical solvent that instantly rusts exposed metals. This so-called ‘rust breath’ issues forth in a 60-foot line. Creatures can attempt a DC 22 Reflex save to avoid the effect for attended items; however, they need to make a separate attempt for each exposed item.
Each alchemical dragon can hold enough of the alchemical solvent to make up to three breath weapon attacks before the solvent must be refilled manually, which takes 10 minutes. These clockwork dragons are made of ironwood, adamantine, and other resistant materials immune to rusting of any form.
Sleep Gas Breath (CR +0): This clockwork dragon’s breath weapon is replaced with tanks of sleep gas. When the clockwork breathes out this gas in a 30-foot cone, creatures within the cone must succeed a DC 22 Will save or fall asleep for 1d6+10 rounds. Clockwork dragons with this breath weapon tend to have either the infiltrator or mithral variants, and often they have both variants. These mechanical dragons excel at missions that require stealth and precision rather than brute force.
Construction
The clockwork dragon is a masterpiece of clockwork construction and is exceptionally difficult to create. The creator must begin with crafted clockwork pieces worth 25,000 gp.
Clockwork Dragon
CL 18th; Price 300,000 gp
Construction Requirements Craft Construct, animate objects, geas/quest, and limited wish, creator must be at least CL 18th; Skill Craft (clockwork) DC 20; Cost 162,500 gp