Purple Dragons are deeply, sadistically evil. They delight in spreading fear far and wide, combining raids for food with outright destruction and mayhem. They are the scourge of the prairies and farmlands, all the more terrifying because they are night hunters.

At birth, a purple dragon’s scales are indigo. As the dragon matures, the scales become larger, thicker, harder, and darker. Adult dragons are completely violet, growing darker until they are nearly black at Great Wyrm age.

Purple dragons speak their own tongue and a language common to all evil dragons. Fourteen percent of hatchling purple dragons have an ability to communicate with any intelligent creature. The chance to possess this ability increases five percent per age category of the dragon.

Combat: A purple dragon prefers to attack with its claw/claw/bite routine. Its claws and teeth are serrated, leaving jagged tears in flesh that take twice as long to heal. Powerful enemies are first struck by its breath weapon before being engaged in physical combat. In general, purple dragons relish battle and go looking for it. If confronted with an unexpected situation, however, they are intelligent enough to back off and reconsider.

Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: A purple dragon's breath weapon is pure energy, a deadly combination of the fire and lightning of its red and blue parents. By flexing certain muscles in the throat and mouth, the dragon can form its blast three different ways: as a cloud 40 feet long, 30 feet wide and 20 feet high; as a cone 75 feet long, 5 feet wide at the dragon's mouth and 25 feet wide at the base; or as a tightly-focused blade of energy, 2'6 inches wide by one foot high for its entire length, up to 100 feet.

Purple dragons use the cone form against a small number of very dangerous enemies, such as adventurers. Creatures caught within the cone must save vs. dragon breath for half damage. The cloud form is used against a large number of moderately dangerous enemies, such as a detachment of archers. Creatures caught within the cloud take half damage and must save vs. dragon breath for quarter damage.

Focusing the energy to a blade produces the greatest effect against one very powerful opponent, such as another dragon. The victim must save vs. dragon breath at -4 to suffer half damage instead of full damage. Moreover, the searing hole burned straight through the target will not heal by normal means, so badly has the body around the wound been burned and shocked. Cure disease must be cast upon each wound before natural healing may begin. A natural roll of 20 on 1d20 by the attacking purple dragon indicates an opponent's limb has been severed, as if struck by a sword of sharpness.

The energy's sudden brilliance, in any of its shaped forms, is eye-searing, causing anything within a 120 degree arc in front of the dragon's head to be struck blind. During daylight, blindness lasts two melee rounds per age category of the dragon. In twilight or by torchlight, three rounds per age category, and if the dragon is encountered at night, four rounds per age category. The blindness is temporary. If it is urgent the victim be returned to sight immediately, such as to fight without penalty, blindness may be ended immediately by cure blindness.

Purple dragons cast spells and use their magical abilities at 8th level, adjusted by their combat modifier. At birth, purple dragons are immune to normal fires and minor electrical attacks such as shocking grasp, and suffer half-damage from magical fire or lightning. As they age, they gain the following special powers:

Habitat/Society: Purple dragons are found in deep caves that open onto prairies, plains low foothills. Until mating time, they are solitary creatures like most dragons. Both parents will participate equally in raising the young, but the purple male is the primary hunter, being more violent and cruel.

Purple dragons will sometimes ally with evil humans or hill-dwelling creatures, providing protection in exchange for servitude and information. Purple dragons are generally haughty, however, and rarely consider other evil creatures, even other evil dragon subspecies, worth negotiating with.

Ecology: Purple dragons prefer to live in dark underground places where the blinding effects of their breath weapon is at its height. Often they will dig their own lair if none exists naturally Should they encounter rock too hard to dig through, their breath weapon can burn up to 10’ of stone at a time, getting the dragon past the obstacle and into easier digging again.

Purple dragons are mostly meat eaters, feeding on herd animals, farm animals, and inhabitants of lonely settlements. They hunt at night, their dark wings blending into the night sky. If possible they will hunt during thunderstorms, which they can anticipate with predict weather, as they enjoy the crash of thunder and the whip of rain, which mask their approach and have already frightened or unnerved those below.

If necessary, they can consume tuberous vegetables (potatoes, onions, carrots) if no meat is available, although this makes their temper even shorter.

Purple dragons generally have no natural enemies once past the first age of life. Verbeeg and hill giants sometimes hunt Hatchlings in the foothills, and ankheg will prey on Hatchlings in the prairie. Purple parents will painfully slay any such creatures found in their lairs. Sometimes purple dragons encounter copper dragons in the foothills, and the coppers are fortunate to escape intact. On very rare occasions, purple dragons may meet gold dragons while airborne, and such is the arrogant ferocity of the purple dragon that it may challenge a gold dragon of equal size rather than attempting to flee. Usually the gold dragon will win an “even” fight like this – but not always!