Red Steel Dragons

Breath weapon: Extended cone of fire, and a cone of explosive gas.

Habitat: The preferred home for a red steel dragon is inside an active volcano, or in mountainous areas with geothermal activity. Volcanic tropical islands are also a favourite.

Dread Knight Home: Castle Dragonfyre

Diet: They prefer to eat meat, especially the flesh of human and elves. Red steel dragons usually feed on fallen enemies after a battle. The best part of a meal for a red steel dragon is drinking the blood.

Preferred Treasure: Absolutely anything with some monetary value, and metallic weapons/armour with fire enchantments.

Overview: Red steel dragons are the largest, and second most powerful, of the steel dragons. They were bred solely for their mass destruction abilities. Their purpose was as the tactical role of shock troops, breaching enemy defences in order to prepare the way for a broad cavalry advance. They dominated the battlefield, and could easily take out large concentrations of enemy troops. Red steel dragons have an amazing eye for battlefield conditions, and can determine the exact amount and composition of enemy troops at a glance.

Their hierarchy is based on enemy kills, the more kills the higher their ranking. The attainment of kills is the complete focus of a red steel dragon's adult life, and they tend to amass an incredible amount of kills with amazing rapidity. For this reason it is difficult to stop these dragons once they are engaged in battle. Red steel dragons do not slay every foe they meet in battle. Always conscious of their status, they often allow a few survivors to escape and spread word of the dragon's victory.

One effect of this crossbreed is that they have inherited the breath weapons of both parents. The superheated sparks of the Iron and the Fire of the Red. They are unable to fire these weapons individually, and combine them instead. The combined reaction of superheated metallic sparks and fire produces a long range cone of fire that can cover a larger area than standard breath weapons. In addition it has a secondary breath weapon in the form of an explosive gas.

After hatching these beasts are subject to a constant regime of training and learning. They are taught the tactics of warfare and study the history of armed conflicts. These dragons learn quickly and are masters of the battlefield. They are trained in martial combat both in the air and on land, with a focus on ground attacks.

Lair: In the wild the typical red steel dragon lair is in a large cave high up a mountain. Their lairs often have only one entrance, which will be very high above ground level, with ledge from which the dragon can survey its territory. The entrance leads to a narrow tunnel, which drops off into a steep pit. At the bottom of the pit lies a pool of water, surrounded by several chambers. One chamber will typically be the dragon's sleeping quarters, while the others will contain its hoard and supplies.

Appearance: The red steel dragon is physically distinguished by their enormous size and wingspan. Two massive horns sweep back atop a red steel dragon's head, which point backwards toward their wings. These horns can be straight or twisted and are a metallic silver colour. Rows of small metallic horns run along the top of a red dragon's head, and the dragon has small metallic horns on its cheeks and lower jaw as well. A red dragon has the longest wings of all chromatic dragons, both in actual measurement and in relation to body length. The wings have a metallic tint along the trailing edge. Its frills show a similar pattern.

The pupils of a red steel dragon fade as it ages. The oldest red steel dragons have eyes that resemble molten lava orbs.

The small scales of wyrmlings are a matt silver colour with a slight red tinge. Toward the end of the young stage, the scales turn a deeper red, and the matt texture is replaced by a smooth, metallic, glossy finish.

They have long, red, forked tongue’s and tiny flames often dance in their nostrils when angry. These effects intensify when the dragon is angry or about to attack, giving off an odour of sulphur, and burning metal.

Personality: Red steel dragons are fiercely territorial, and can be vain, cunning, greedy, and covetous. Red steel dragons tirelessly seek to increase their rank through battle. They are exceptionally vain, even for dragons, which is reflected in their proud bearing and disdainful expression. However, red steel dragons always seek to know about events in the wider world.

Parenting: The eggs of a red steel dragon must be kept in a hot area at all times while incubating. Usually this will be a geothermal vent. After the eggs are laid, the younger of the two parents (either male or female) will remain behind to guard the eggs. Once they hatch, the wyrmlings are left to fend for themselves. They usually have little problem in doing so. A red steel wyrmling is highly dangerous, being approximately the size of a human at hatching. They are fully capable of breathing fire, and revel in wreaking destruction and havoc on almost anything that moves. The latter trait is carried fully into adulthood.

Battle: In combat, red steel dragons are exceptionally dangerous. They are confident fighters, proficient in magic, and are also very fast in the air, but somewhat clumsy, so they prefer to do their fighting on the ground. There, red steel dragons often display considerable mobility and tactical savvy. They are excellent jumpers and often leap from place or take short flights to gain the most favourable position possible when using spells or breath weapons.

They spend years formulating plans of attack and battle strategies, upon spotting potential foes, the simply choose a strategy and immediately put it into practice. Their massive blasts of fire end most battles before they truly begin. As a result, red steel dragons will use their powerful breath weapons as their favoured method of attack, followed by power strikes from their massively powerful bodies, followed by magical attacks.

Equipment: Red steel dragons are usually armed with the following equipment when going into battle:-

• Claws of the Ripper: These metal, scythe like blades are designed to fit over one set of a dragon's claws. They are armed with a set a two, one for each forearm.

• Dragonarmour of Invincibility: This is a set of half-plate armour (barding) designed to fit a dragon. It is made of a lighter metal than the standard dragonarmour, to keep their aerial mobility. In addition to its armour bonus, the armour is fitted with spikes and blades designed to enhance the dragon's attacks.

• Tail Blades - These metal, axe like blades fit on either side of the dragon’s tail, enabling it to cut through enemies as it swings its tail.