Mardallond (CR 7)

Medium Dragon
Alignment: Usually neutral
Initiative: +3 (Dex); Senses: Listen +9 and Spot +9
Languages: Cannot speak


AC: 18 (+3 Dex, +5 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 15
Hit Dice: 10d12+20 (85 hp)
Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +9
Speed: 40 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor)
Space: 5 ft./5 ft.
Base Attack +10; Grapple +5
Attack: Tail +12 melee, 2 claws +10 melee, bite +10 melee
Full Attack: Tail +12 melee, 2 claws +10 melee, bite +10 melee
Damage: Tail 1d8+3, claws 1d6+1, bite 1d8+1
Special Attacks/Actions: Spit brew +11 ranged
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 4, Wis 14, Cha 11
Special Qualities:
Feats: #Feats: 4
Skills: Hide +9, Listen +9, and Spot +9
Advancement: 11-13 (medium-size) 14-20 (Large)
Climate/Terrain: Warm and temperate plains
Organization: Solitary or pair (2)
Treasure/Possessions: None

Source: Dragon #284

Spit Brew (Ex): While mardallonds eat various types of grain as a dietary supplement, some grain is stored in their throat bladders, where it ferments over time into an intoxicating liquid. This is not really mead, but it has the general color of mead. This fact, plus the color of the mardallond's scales, led to its nickname "mead drake".

By contracting its throat bladder, the mardallond spits a stream of this liquid at a single target up to 30 feet away. The mardallond must make a ranged touch attack to hit the victim. A victim drenched in a mardallond's brew takes no damage from the liquid, but the liquid is flammable and many mardallond riders take advantage of this fact, tossing flaming brands and the like at drenched victims. Setting fire to a victim drenched in e mardallond brew has the same effects as hitting someone with alchemist's fire except that there is no splash damage.

Mardallonds store enough brew in their throat bladders for 1d4 such uses, but it takes a month of fermentation in the bladder for the liquid to become flammable. Thus, after four uses of its spit brew ability, a mardallond must wait a month before such an attack is available again.

This ability is useful to the mardallond in the wild as larger predators often shy away from the potent reek of the brew. Mardallonds also use the brew to mark their territories. Needless to say, mardallonds seem immune to the effects of ingested alcohol.

Many halflings and gnomes that have domesticated mardallonds for their own use dislike using their mounts' spit brew ability against enemies; they prefer saving the liquid for their own consumption.