Draeden

Draeden
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first_appearance	Immortals Rules (BECMI) (1986)
title	Draeden
size	19 to 38 miles long

A draeden is a truly massive, ancient being whose origins predate the known multiverse.

Appearance

A draeden's true form resembles a cluster of 40 tubular strands arranged symmetrically around a central node. Each stand has a mouth at the end, which it uses to consume nutrients that travel through the strands and into a a central stomach. Including these strands, a draeden is roughly between 101,000 and 200,000 feet long (19.13 to 37.88 miles), with its central core representing one tenth of that length.

The inside of a draeden's mouth is red, undulating flesh. Veins run through its long organic tunnels like rivers, and massive fleshy boulders hang from the ceiling and drip acid below.

However, only the most strong-minded of opponents are capable of seeing the draeden's true form. Most instead perceive the draeden to be the most powerful, deadly, and invulnerable being they can imagine. Humans and other mortal creatures normally perceive them to be enormous dragons.

Personality

Draedens typically ignore creatures in their vacinity, unless provoked. They use their mouths to consume matter they encounter, including large diamond boulders to aid digestion.

Draedens are extremely highly intelligent. They also tend to be self-centered and arrogant, and difficult to negotiate with.

They are chaotic in alignment.

Abilities and traits

Draedens are truly massive and almost invulnerable to weapons and normal attacks. It is invulnerable to normal weapons and poison, and is also extremely difficult to successfully strike with weapons or magic. The draeden's enormous mouths allow it to bite and swallow opponents as large as 1,000 feet long, tall, or wide, although they will not intentionally swallow something which might harm it later.

They have the unique ability to reflect powers of any sort back against their attacker, with the same effect and strength. They slowly regenerate injuries.

Draedens have an ability to sense and perceive their surroundings which cannot be blocked by any known magic. They can cross any dimensional or planar boundary, which they use to escape if seriously threatened. They also have the ability to speak any language they have heard, using their mouths.

They are in particular invulnerable to the nipper, a pest common on the astral plane.

Ecology

Environment

Draedens consider the entire multiverse to be their domain. However, they are extremely rarely encountered, with perhaps only 1,000 or more existing in the multiverse. If the draedens have a home plane, it has not yet been discovered.

Draedens prefer to wander vacuum of space, including where it exists in the Material Plane and elemental planes. They hate elemental material, and dislike the substance which forms the ethereal plane and astral plane, although they are occasionally encountered there.

Life cycle

The draeden's life cycle is unknown.

Draeden are speculated to have a larval form, maggotlike ellipsoid creatures over 6 miles long which might be found clustering in the Astral Plane. The being Mazikeen once carried several such creatures to a plane named Draedenden for research, though whether these creatures were draeden larvae or something else is uncertain.

Diet

Draeden possess powerful digestive acids in their stomachs, capable of rounding even solid diamond boulders smooth. They consume such boulders to aid digestion, some as wide as twenty feet.

History

Origins

Draedens are descended from beings that existed before the Immortals, and who existed before the creation of the multiverse in its current form. It is speculated that they have some relation to dragons, and may watch over them.

Prehistory

Draedens have conflicted with the Immortals (or deities) in the past, an event known as the great Draeden-Immortal war. Draedens first resented the appearance of the Immortals, and on occasion would united in groups as large as twenty to attack an Immortal outpost. However, the last time such a thing occurred as over 200 million years. The dragons existed at this time, but were neutral, and the Immortals believed the dragons and draedens were closely related.

The draedens eventually agreed a peace with the Immortals, ceding control of the multiverse to them. The draedens believe that the Immortals will eventually destroy themselves, and in time the multiverse will revert to its original stewards, the draedens. However, sporadic draeden attacks still occassionally occur.

Notable draedens

The only known named draeden is Ulgurshek, the 92nd layer of the Abyss. Ulgurshek lay dormant while the Abyss formed around it. Only a few know beings of the multiverse know its true form, among them Lolth, whose servants use it to dispose of prisoners.

Related creatures

The dragon and repeater are speculated to be related to the draeden, though all three species deny that there are any connection.

Publication history

D&D Basic

The draeden were introduced in the Immortals Rules (BECMI), Dungeon Master's Guide to Immortals (1986), p.38, and later in Wrath of the Immortals, Book I: Codex of the Immortals (1992), p.107. Although they were originally described in Immortals Rules as having 20 strands, the statblock and art sugggest it has 40 (20 on each end), and Wrath of the Immortals corrects the number to 40.

Draedens appear in the adventure modules IM1 The Immortal Storm (1986), p.38 and IM2 The Wrath of Olympus (1987), p.22, and draeden larvae in IM3 The Best of Intentions (1987), p.9-16.

Draedens are mentioned in The Mightiest of Dragons, Dragon #158 (Jun 1990), p.10-14.

D&D 3rd edition

The draeden Ulgurshek appears in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (2006), p.126.

The draeden are briefly mentioned in The Ecology of the Keeper, Dragon #353 (Mar 2007), p.55. They are mentioned in Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007), p.91, in reference a treaty known as the Draeden Compact, which governs the transmission of pre-Great Wheel magical secrets and was signed by the rilmani, keepers, mapmakers, devetes, and githzerai.