Dragonne
| Species | beast |
| No. Appearing | 1 |
| Behaviour | solitary |
| Range | desert, savanna |
| Size | 8 ft. long |
| Weight | 800 lbs. |
| Intelligence | 5 |
| Armour Class | 3 |
| Hit Dice | 9 |
| Action Points | 5 |
| Max. Stride | 17 |
| THAC0 | 15 |
| Hp/Die | d10 |
| Attack Forms | 3: two claws, fangs |
| Damage | claw [2–16]; fangs [3–24] |
| Special Attacks | deafening roar, raking, surprised only on a 1, weakness |
Dragonnes, also draconne, are beasts native to the high, dry lands of the Atlas Mountains and the Hodh plateau near the Senegal Basin. In earlier centuries they ranged as far north as southern France and Spain, but by the 9th century they had been driven out or destroyed in those regions. Rare accounts persist of isolated individuals, though such reports are uncommon and often unverified. Dragonnes are solitary creatures, never observed in groups. No confirmed mating pairs or young have been recorded, leaving their means of reproduction unknown. Their total number is believed to be fewer than one hundred.
Contents
The dragonne bears the tail, scaled hide and leather wings of a dragon, joined to the body and head of a lion. It is considerably larger than a lion, though not of a size to rival true dragons. Its colouring ranges from dull bronze to dark brass, with a muted sheen that may appear gold in low light. The wings are not capable of flight, nor can they be used to buffet opponents, but when driven by the creature’s powerful stride they aid its speed, allowing it to outpace a lion over open ground.
Though active during the day, the dragonne avoids exertion in the height of heat, withdrawing to hollows, ruined vaults or stone overhangs where the air remains still and dry. It will remain there for hours without movement, conserving its strength. With the fall of light it becomes active, and at dawn and dusk it hunts, taking advantage of long shadows and reduced visibility to close upon large prey. The creature feeds infrequently but in great quantity. It can go for weeks without eating, showing no visible loss of strength. When it does make a kill, it gorges, consuming immense amounts of flesh in a single period — as much as a ton of meat or more in a day — before withdrawing again into inactivity.
Families bearing the dragonne as a family crest are presumed to trace their lineage to a lord or knight of the early Frankish period, most often to the time of Charles Martel or before.
Advantages
The dragonne shows a marked preference for engaging heavily armoured opponents, directing its attacks toward those it perceives as the greatest threat. This reflects the creature's understanding that these are the more dangerous of opponents, recalling that the beast's intelligence allows for more than brute strategy when fighting. When the dragonne strikes successfully with both forepaws, it immediately follows with two additional raking attacks from its hind claws, each causing [2-12] damage.
Its most feared ability is its deafening roar. All creatures within 120 ft., or 24 hexes, in every direction are deafened for [2-12] rounds. Those affected suffer disorientation from the sudden loss of hearing, incurring a -2 penalty to their armour class. This roar can only be applied every third turn, but there is no other limitation on its use.
In addition, affected creatures must make a saving throw against paralysation or become weakened, losing [2-8] points of strength.
See Bestiary
