Scholars have long questioned how these dragons came to be. Are they vampires manifested into a draconic form? The descendants of a dragon struck with the curse? Or simply dragons consumed by hunger and warped into a shape that better suits their endless appetite? If anyone knows, they dare not speak of it.

Sanguine dragons are covered in slimy crimson scales which harden as they get older. Shed scales and slimy residue are left by sanguine dragons to mark their territory. Stories tell of uninformed travelers stumbling across a lucky dragon scale, only to discover far too late how misfortunate they truly are.

Sanguine dragons prefer to hunt with stealth and subtlety and rarely kill their prey immediately. Instead, they will subdue their quarry and take them back to their lair, where the victim’s blood can be drained at the dragon’s leisure until the last of their vitality is spent and they wither away.

Like other dragons, sanguine dragons are known to horde rare items. While they are happy to collect any treasures and magical items they find, these dragons particularly like to hoard artifacts related to blood magic, rare recipes for meals and, most of all, people. They are driven by their endless hunger, and anything that can sate them even temporarily is of great interest.

Due to the obvious similarities of nature, many comparisons have been drawn between sanguine dragons and vampires. However, for all the similarities there are just as many things that contrast the two. For instance, while sanguine dragons are typically nocturnal, they lack the vampire’s sunlight vulnerability and will not hesitate to hunt during the day if their hunger grows strong enough. They are not undead, and while they are as difficult to slay as any dragon, they have no special ability to resurrect or regenerate themselves after death. Despite these distinctions, their preferred hunting methods and compulsion to feed on the life force of living things has given them the colloquial name of “Vampire dragons.”

Young, Sanguine Dragon, Creature 10

Recall Knowledge DC 29 Dragon (arcane)
Perception +22; darkvision, scent (impercise) 60 feet, bloodsense (impercise) 60 feet
Languages common, draconic, necril
Skills Acrobatics +19, Athletics +22, Deception +23, Diplomacy +23, Intimidation +23, Medicine +20, Religion +18, Stealth +23
Str +7, Dex +4, Con +5, Int +6, Wis +4, Cha +8

AC 30; Fort +22, Ref +19, Will +16, +2 status to all saves vs. Occult
HP 185; Immunities bleeding, paralyzed, sleep; Resistance physical 10 (except silver)
Veins Run Cold (aura 90 feet, emotion, fear, mental) (aura 90 feet, emotion, fear, mental) the first time a creature within the aura takes persistent bleed damage, they dragon’s gaze falls on them. The creature must make a DC 26 Will saving throw or become frightened 1 (frightened 2 on a critical failure) and cannot lower their frightened condition below 1 for as long as they are in the aura or still taking persistent bleed damage. They become temporarily immune to Veins Run Cold until their persistent bleed damage ends.
Taste Blood Trigger a creature that is taking persistent bleed damage ends its turn within 10 feet of the dragon; Effect The dragon lashes out with its tongue to lick the blood off the creature. The dragon gains temporary hit points equal to the bleed damage taken by the target that last for one minute.

Speed 40 feet, fly 100 feet
Melee Claw +23 [+19/+15] (agile, magical) 2d8+11 slashing plus Grab
Melee Jaw +23 [+18/+13] (magical, reach 10 feet) 2d10+9 piercing plus 2d6 persistent bleed
Melee Tail +21 [+18/+13] (magical, reach 15 feet) 2d8+11 bludgeoning plus Pull
Draconic Frenzy The dragon makes two claw Strikes and one tail Strike in any order.
Draconic Momentum The dragon recharges their Sanguine Breath whenever they score a Critical Hit with their Strike.
Drain Life (Divine) Requirement A grabbed, paralyzed, restrained, unconscious, or willing creature is within the dragon’s reach. Effect: The dragon sinks its teeth into the creature and begins to drain their life away. The target must make a DC 29 fortitude save or become drained 1 (drained 2 on a critical failure). Further use of this ability increases the target’s drained value up to a maximum of drained 4. The dragon regains hit points equal to twice the hit points the creature lost.
Sanguine Breath (Divine) The Dragon exhales a swarm of blood-formed bats which cut and bite at all in their way. Each creature within a 60-foot cone (might want to reduce cone size) must make a DC 29 basic Fortitude save or take 6d6 slashing damage. On a failure, a creature also takes 3d6 persistent bleed damage, or double that on a critical failure. They can’t use Sanguine Breath again for 1d4 rounds.

Adult, Sanguine Dragon, Creature 15

Recall Knowledge DC 36 Dragon (arcane)
Perception +29; darkvision, scent (impercise) 60 feet, bloodsense (impercise) 60 feet
Languages common, draconic, necril
Skills Acrobatics +27, Athletics +30, Deception +31, Diplomacy +31, Intimidation +31, Medicine +28, Religion +28, Stealth +33
Str +9, Dex +6, Con +6, Int +7, Wis +6, Cha +8

AC 37; Fort +29, Ref +26, Will +23, +2 status to all saves vs. Occult
HP 285; Immunities bleeding, paralyzed, sleep; Resistance physical 15 (except silver)
Veins Run Cold (aura 90 feet, emotion, fear, mental) As Young Sanguine dragon but DC 33
Taste Blood As Young Sanguine dragon.

Speed 40 feet, fly 100 feet
Melee Claw +30 [+26/+22] (agile, magical) 3d10+14 slashing plus Improved Grab
Melee Jaw +30 [+25/+20] (magical, reach 10 feet) 3d12+12 piercing plus 3d6 persistent bleed
Melee Tail +28 [+23/+18] (magical, reach 15 feet) 3d10+14 bludgeoning plus Pull
Draconic Frenzy As Young, Sanguine dragon.
Draconic Momentum
Drain Life As Young Sanguine dragon but DC 36
Sanguine Breath As Young Sanguine dragon but DC 36 and 9d6 slashing damage and 5d6 bleed

Ancient, Sanguine Dragon, Creature 19

Recall Knowledge DC 41 Dragon (arcane)
Perception +35; darkvision, scent (impercise) 60 feet, bloodsense (impercise) 60 feet
Languages common, draconic, necril
Skills Acrobatics +33, Athletics +37, Deception +38, Diplomacy +38, Intimidation +38, Medicine +34, Religion +32, Stealth +40
Str +10, Dex +6, Con +6, Int +9, Wis +6, Cha +10

AC 43; Fort +35, Ref +32, Will +29, +2 status to all saves vs. Occult
HP 365; Immunities bleeding, paralyzed, sleep; Resistance physical 19 (except silver)
Veins Run Cold (aura 90 feet, emotion, fear, mental) As Young Sanguine dragon but DC 38
Taste Blood As Young Sanguine dragon.

Speed 40 feet, fly 100 feet
Melee Claw +36 [+32/+28] (agile, magical) 4d10+17 slashing plus Improved Grab
Melee Jaw +36 [+31/+26] (magical, reach 10 feet) 4d12+15 piercing plus 3d8 persistent bleed
Melee Tail +33 [+28/+23] (magical, reach 15 feet) 4d10+17 bludgeoning plus Pull
Draconic Frenzy As Young, Sanguine dragon.
Draconic Momentum
Drain Life As Young Sanguine dragon but DC 41
Sanguine Breath As Young Sanguine dragon but DC 41 and 12d6 slashing damage and 7d6 bleed

Sanguine Archragon, Creature 22

Recall Knowledge DC 46 Dragon (arcane)
Perception +39; darkvision, scent (impercise) 60 feet, bloodsense (impercise) 60 feet
Languages common, draconic, necril
Skills Acrobatics +37, Athletics +42, Deception +43, Diplomacy +43, Intimidation +43, Medicine +38, Religion +36, Stealth +45
Str +10, Dex +8, Con +8, Int +9, Wis +8, Cha +10

AC 48; Fort +39, Ref +36, Will +33, +2 status to all saves vs. Occult
HP 445; Immunities bleeding, paralyzed, sleep; Resistance physical 22 (except silver)
Veins Run Cold (aura 90 feet, emotion, fear, mental) As Young Sanguine dragon but DC 42
Taste Blood As Young Sanguine dragon.

Speed 40 feet, fly 100 feet
Melee Claw +40 [+36/+32] (agile, magical) 4d8+22 slashing plus Improved Grab
Melee Jaw +40 [+35/+30] (magical, reach 10 feet) 4d12+20 piercing plus 4d8 persistent bleed
Melee Tail tail +37 [+32/+27] (magical, reach 15 feet) 4d8+22 bludgeoning plus Pull
Draconic Frenzy As Young Sanguine dragon.
Draconic Momentum
Drain Life As Young Sanguine dragon but DC 45
Sanguine Breath As Young Sanguine dragon but DC 45 and 15d6 slashing damage and 9d6 bleed

Sanguine Dragon Spellcasters

Sanguine dragon spellcasters tend to cast the following spells
Young, Sanguine dragon 5th rank Occult caster, Spontanous Spells DC 29, attack +21
Adult, Sanguine dragon 8th rank Occult caster, Spontanous Spells DC 36, attack +28
Ancient, Sanguine dragon 9th rank Occult caster, Spontanous Spells DC 41, attack +33
Sanguine archdragon 10th rank Occult caster, Spontanous Spells DC 45, attack +37
10th Tear the Veil; 9th Unpeakable Shadow, Vampiric Revelry, Wails of the damned; 8th Canticle of Everlasting Grief, Quandary, Stop heart; 7th
Devouring Void, Infinitesimal Collapse Field, Puppet Strings; 6th Cryostasis, Dominate, Expunge Blood, Vampiric Exsanguination; 5th Blood-Feasting Breath, Drop Dead, Umbral Journey, Wall of Flesh; 4th Bloodspray Curse, Sanguine Mist, Vampiric Maiden, Whisper of the Void; 3rd Organsight, Paralyzed, Reblooded, Vampiric Feast; 2nd Blood Runs Cold, Blood vendetta, Draw Blood, See the Unseen; 1st Bone Shield, Gravitational Pull, Phantom Pain, Quick sort; Cantrips Approximate, Daze, Detect Magic, Needle Darts, Stabilize, Void Warp