Astral dreadnought
| Astral Dreadnought | |
|---|---|
| Characteristics | |
| Alignment | Chaotic neutral |
| Type | Outsider |
| Publication history | |
| Source books | 3E Manual of the Planes, Planescape Appendix 2 |
The astral dreadnought is an outsider in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
The creature was first depicted on the cover of the original first edition Manual of the Planes (Jeff Grubb, 1987). Although the book contained no statistics for the creature, it did make mention of the creature as an "ethereal dreadnought".
The astral dreadnought was first described in second edition for the Planescape setting in the Planescape Monstrous Compendium II (TSR, 1995), by Rich Baker. In a review of Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II for Arcane magazine, the reviewer considered the monstrous astral dreadnought to "populate their periphery with true terror".
The astral dreadnought appeared in the third edition Manual of the Planes (2001).
The astral dreadnought appeared in the fourth edition Manual of the Planes (2008), again appearing on the cover in this edition.
They attack characters wandering around the Astral Plane by attacking their silver cords (the link between a character's physical body and their astral form, which, if severed, will kill the character instantly). They also make use of powerful anti-magic to weaken characters who are dependent on magic items and spells as sources of power.
Astral dreadnoughts are solitary creatures, with no form of society, and seem to lack any form of motivation other than to devour any astral travellers who are unfortunate enough to cross their path. Very few have ever encountered an astral dreadnought; nobody has ever managed to communicate with such a creature and lived to tell the tale.
Astral dreadnoughts are, without exception, chaotic neutral creatures.
The astral dreadnought is a gargantuan creature, reaching approximately the same size as a storm giant. It has a single black eye in the middle of its face (similar to that of a cyclops), and a gaping maw filled with razor-sharp teeth. Its tongue is dark blue. Its armored carapace is a reddish-brown color, covered with a multitude of horn-like spikes. It has two muscular forearms, which end in huge pincer-like claws. Its lower body is serpentine.
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