Editing Gem Dragon (section)

==Mystaran Gem Dragons==
Whilst the well-known gem dragons made their debut in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 1st edition, [[Mystara]] had its own take on them from quite early on. 

When they debuted in BECMI, the Mystaran Gem Dragons were... pretty throw-away. Aside from potentially having different [[alignment]]s, they were literally just reskins of the standard Mystaran Dragons (Red, Black, Green, Blue, White, Gold) with the addendum that their breath weapon now carries a secondary effect. The original list consisted of the Crystal Dragon (faux-White), the Onyx Dragon (faux-Black), the Jade Dragon (faux-Green), the Sapphire Dragon (faux-Blue), the Ruby Dragon (faux-Red) and the Amber Dragon (faux-Gold), also known as the Brown Dragon.

Of these, the Crystal, Onyx, Jade and Ruby Dragons would be updated to [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition in the Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix. The Crystal dragon would be renamed the ''Crystalline'' Dragon for much the same reason the Sapphire Dragon was dropped; to avoid confusing them with the "true" gem dragons. Why the Mystaran Amber Dragon was dropped, who can say? All of the dragons retained their breath weapon in the BECMI to AD&D shift, aside from maybe some slight underlying mechanical tweaks due to the way those two games worked.

In BECMI, Mystaran Sapphire Dragons are Lawful aligned and can shoot Vaporization Beams; this is a Line type breath weapon that, in addition to zapping the foe with electrical damage like a blue dragon's lightning breath, also transmutes the victim into a cloud of still-conscious but invisible gas for 1 round per Hit Die of the dragon.

Also in BECMI, the Mystaran Amber Dragon is a Chaotic aligned dragon that possesses two combo breath weapons; the Ruby's Melting Fire breath, and the Jade's Miasma breath.

Finally, the [[Mystaran Immortal]]s who take the role of the [[Dragon Gods]] are mostly named after gemstones; Pearl of the Chaotics, Opal of the Neutrals, and Diamond of the Lawfuls, all subservient to The Great One.

===Crystalline Dragon===
[[File:Crystalline dragon MC Mystara.jpg|thumb|200px|right]]
In BECMI, Crystalline Dragons are Lawful aligned and resemble White Dragons; their breath weapon is a Cone of Crystallization, which not only does cold damage but also transmutes objects to crystal in a similar manner to petrification.

In AD&D, Crystalline Dragons are noted to be very similar to Crystal Dragons, but are much more serious and orderly (Lawful Neutral alignment). They are distinguished by their different personalities, their larger stature and their unique breath weapon - the aforementioned Cone of Crystallization. They favor artic climates, especially glaciers; this is because their native diet is ore and gems, and because glaciers scrape up tons of rock and soil as they slowly crawl across continents, they often hide unique centuries-old veins of mineral rich strata in their depths. Crystalline Dragons thusly like to bore out lairs in the depths of glaciers so they can hunt these rarefied foodstuffs. Of course, crystallized adventurer equipment is also considered a particular taste treat.

At birth, crystalline dragons have white scales that are glossy and opaque, like packed snow. As they age, the scales acquire greater translucence, as if the once-snowy scales were transformed into gleaming glacial ice. Under faint light, the scales of a mature dragon luminesce softly. In bright light, venerable crystalline dragons shine so brilliantly that it pains others to look upon them.
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===Jade Dragon===
[[File:Jade dragon MC Mystara.jpg|thumb|200px|right]]
In BECMI, these faux-Green Dragons are Neutral aligned, and in addition to being able to exhale a cloud of toxic miasmas; in addition to acting like a cloud chlorine gas, ala the Green Dragon's, the vapors are also full of a magical disease that can infect living creatures and anything they carry with a virulent rotting effect, causing them to swiftly decay into goo.

In AD&D, jade dragons are stated to be amongst the most conversational, least hostile of all the dragons to be found on Mystara. Still Neutral in alignment (now True Nuetral), they are supposedly indistinguishable to the common eye from a Green Dragon so long as you're at least 120 feet away - only an expert can tell that the jade is smaller, more heavyset, and possesses a shorter, thicker tail. Getting close-up reveals the translucent scales that shimmer and sparkle. Omniovorous, these forest-dwellers feed on both animals and plants, favoring bamboo and young saplings. Jade dragons pride themselves on being cultured, almost urbane creatures. They love to converse philosophically with creatures of all alignments, so as to show off their wisdom (which they, at least, seem to think is prodigious).

In collecting their hoards, jade dragons take a special interest in art objects. They may look favorably upon characters who offer them new artwork, or interesting pieces of information related to pieces that the dragons already possess. Even a hungry jade dragon will be tempted by these prizes.
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===Onyx Dragon===
[[File:Onyx dragon MC Mystara.jpg|thumb|200px|right]]
In BECMI, these pseudo-Black Dragons are Neutral Aligned and spit a line-shaped blast of corrosive darkness, which simultaneously inflicts acid damage like a Black Dragon's breath and also envelops the victim in a personally centered 15ft cloud of magical darkness.

In AD&D, onyx dragons could almost be considered a cross between black and white dragons. These swamp-dwelling beasts are almost impossible to distinguish from regular black dragons visually without bright light or close inspection to reveal the gem-like luster of their hides. But mentally? That's another story. Similarly to white dragons, onyx dragons are simple-minded, borderline bestial creatures - cunning when it comes to stalking and hunting prey, and smart enough to realize that [[adventurer]]s may be more trouble than they're worth as food, but generally quite dumb... we're talking an average Intelligence score of 5 -7 here! Their hoards tend to be smaller than those of other dragons, although they certainly do like wealth, especially dark and lustrous gems. Onyx dragons aren't afraid of eating humanoids, but usually prey on the largest creatures their swampy, boggy homes have to offer, such as alligators, herons, manatees, moose, and so forth. Unlike both black and white dragons, onyx dragons are firmly True Neutral.

In a sense, you could say that these guys technically made it into 3e, since that's the edition that tried to add a sixth "black crystal" Gem Dragon in the form of the Obsidian Dragon to the psionic gem dragons.
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===Ruby Dragon===
[[File:Ruby dragon MC Mystara.jpg|thumb|200px|right]]
In BECMI, Ruby Dragons are Lawful-aligned pseudo-Reds whose breath weapon is a more powerful version of the Red's breath weapon; this "Melting Fire" basically does fire damage as per a Red Dragon, but also causes any objects being carried by the victim to start slowly dissolving as the magical flames linger and burn them to ashes.

In AD&D, they have the least expanded flavor of the Mystaran Gem Dragons; they crave gems above all else, which means they favor attacking [[dwarf]] communities. They are ravenous carnivores. They are all but indistinguishable from common Red Dragons, and they favor the same environments as Reds, although they are more willing to venture into higher altitude, colder climes, and deep underground.
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