Red Guard Drake

D&D 2024 monster: Red Guard Drake. Source: Volo's Guide to Monsters. challenge rating 2, creature type Dragon, Medium size, speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft. A guard drake is a reptilian creature created out of dragon scales by means of a bizarre and grisly ritual. When trained properly, a drake is obedient, loyal, and territorial, which makes it an excellent watch-beast that can follow simple commands. Gifts from Dragons The ritual to create a guard drake was originally devised by the cult of Tiamat, but has spread to other groups that are skilled in arcana and associated with dragons. The cooperation of a dragon is necessary for the ritual to succeed, and a dragon typically provides its help when it wants to reward its allies or worshipers with a valuable servant. The ritual, which takes several days, requires 10 pounds of fresh dragon scales (donated by the dragon allied with the group), a large amount of fresh meat, and an iron cauldron. When the process is complete, a halfling-sized egg emerges from the cauldron and is ready to hatch within a few hours. Eager to Learn A newly hatched guard drake imprints upon the first creature that feeds it (usually the one planning to train it), establishing an aggressive but trusting bond with that individual. A guard drake is fully grown within two to three weeks and can be trained in the same length of time. One is the equivalent of a guard dog in terms of what it can be trained to do. A guard drake resembles the type of dragon it was created from, but with a wingless, squat, muscular build. A drake can't reproduce, nor can its scales be used to make other guard drakes. Variant: Chromatic Guard Drakes Each type of chromatic dragon's scales and blood creates a guard drake that resembles a wingless, stunted version of that type of dragon, with unique abilities related to that type. Each has the special features described below. Black Guard Drake A black guard drake is amphibious (it can breathe air or water), has a swimming spee...