Death drake
death drake l 
| |
|---|---|
| HP | 57 - 100 |
| HD | 9 |
| XP | 829 |
| Speed | 13 |
| AC | 6 |
| EV | 14 |
| Will | 36 |
| Attack1 | 12 (bite: plain)
|
| Resistances | rPois+ |
| Vulnerabilities | Dragon Slaying |
| Habitat | land |
| Intelligence | Animal |
| Uses | Uses nothing |
| Holiness | Natural |
| Size | Big |
| Type | dragon, death drake |
| Flags | Spellcaster Flying Evil Cold-blooded |
| A dark and baleful minor dragon, the death drake breathes a lethally potent miasma from its pestilential maw.. |
Useful info
Death drakes are small, extremely unpleasant members of dragonkind. Although not very physically threatening, their miasma breath attack creates clouds of poisonous rot- and slow-inducing corruption that can semi-permanently weaken your character. They can be found naturally in Tartarus and the the Abyss, as well as in some vaults, most notably the 'undead' Swamp:5 ending. However, by far the most common place to see death drakes is in the Realm of Zot, where draconian callers will summon hordes of them.
Spells
| Spell set | |
|---|---|
| Slot1 | Miasma (3d9) |
| Slot2 | Miasma (3d9) |
| Slot3 | none |
| Slot4 | Miasma (3d9) |
| Slot5 | Miasma (3d9) |
| Slot6 | none |
Tips & Tricks
- Read the article on miasma.
- In their "real" form, these monsters are quite rare, only being naturally generated in Tartarus and the Abyss. Thus, if you see one outside these areas, it is either a vault monster, a shapeshifter, or summoned. In the latter two cases, the best option is often to simply escape the area and wait for the drake to unsummon/shift, since it is not worth acquiring rotted HP for a threat that simply could have been avoided. Even "real" death drakes are often best avoided, unless they are blocking an area you need to get to. However, since drakes are fast, avoiding them is not always trivial.
- Kill them as quickly as possible or run away fast! Note that despite their name and breath weapon, they are not in fact undead, or even considered unholy or evil. This means holy wrath weapons are not especially effective against them, but it also means they have no resistances other than poison and rotting.
- Unfortunately, killing them quickly may be easier said than done: they have good EV, non-trivial AC, and almost twice as much HP as most HD 9 monsters. If the drake came from a draconian caller, it is usually better to run away, wait for the drakes to unsummon, and try to catch the caller in melee before he fills the area with allies. If it is a real death drake, use your best weapons and/or spells to dispatch them quickly. Note that their low MR means Hexes can often disable them if you have them at a decent power.
