Dawnwing believes a dragon of his stature deserves a palatial lair to reflect his magnificence. Such a lair takes much time and expense to create, however, not to mention valuable building materials that could better reside in his hoard. Dawnwing thus compromises with an ordinary lair that seems extraordinary. Keyed Locations The following features correspond to numbered areas on the map.
- Pillars of Gold: A wide cavern mouth opens into a craggy mountainside and reveals the way to Dawnwing’s lair. Through gratuitous use of illusion spells, Dawnwing creates the appearance of a yawning archway flanked with two pillars of gold. The pillars gleam as if continually reflecting the rising sun; each stands 50 feet tall and is farther around than an ogre can reach. Anyone touching the pillars or otherwise interacting with them receives a Will save, because the wondrous displays of wealth are actually permanent images.
A genuine flight of overlarge carved steps leads up to the cavern entrance. Dawnwing never uses the stairs himself, but he enjoys watching his goblin servitors struggle their way up.
Each morning and dusk, Dawnwing casts mirage arcana to alter the terrain around his lair in a pleasing fashion. He fashions the terrain according to his whim—one day might see a crystal-clear waterfall tumbling down on either side of the golden pillars, and on the next, lush forest growth covers the mountainside. - Zenith Lounge: Dawnwing terms this room the zenith lounge, and it is one of the few rooms in which he invested actual time and money. The conical chamber rises to a narrow, peaked ceiling. At the ceiling’s apex, Dawnwing installed an oval crystal 10 feet across. From mid-morning to mid-afternoon, the sun streams down through the crystal and fills the cavern with dancing rainbows. When Dawnwing reclines here, the multitude of colors shimmering over his scaled hide truly makes him a sight to behold.
Dawnwing also installed a safety mechanism in this room. A lever on the wall, camouflaged but not concealed, can adjust the crystal’s angle. As a standard action, Dawnwing can focus a beam of sunlight on anyone in the room, causing 15d6 points of fire damage (Reflex DC 22 half). - Parlor: Dawnwing keeps a few attractive items here to entertain guests, such as his allied dragon neighbors. Two or three goblins possess a knack for drawing, and they have covered the walls with illustrations of Dawnwing’s arrival among them. Numerous images of goblins prostrating themselves before a reclining dragon mingle with smaller images of Dawnwing hunting, Dawnwing casting spells, Dawnwing eating, and Dawnwing sleeping—all liberally embellished with gold paint.
The piece de resistance of the parlor is an enormous chunk of pure mithral, almost as large as a human man. Its rough edges give it an earthy, edgy appeal, and it sits mounted on a block of red marble. Dawnwing makes light of his “paperweight” in the company of others, but greatly values the mithral showpiece. A mass hold person trap wards the item. Mass Hold Person Trap: CR 8; magic device; touch trigger; automatic reset; spell effect (mass hold person, 15thlevel sorcerer, Will DC 25 negates); multiple targets (one or more humanoid creatures, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart); Search DC 32; Disable Device DC 32. Cost: 52,500 gp, 4,200 XP. - Dawnwing’s Hold: This is Dawnwing’s private sanctum, his home, and few aside from the gold dragon ever see this room. From time to time, he grants the current goblin leader an audience here, but he generally conducts all business in the parlor.
Bolts of silk cloth intercepted crossing his land (and confiscated as a tariff) line the floor. Atop the reams of red and purple silk, Dawnwing layers his coins. Copper goes on the bottom, of course, followed by silver, platinum, and gold. Though platinum is more valuable than gold, Dawnwing likes the color of gold and finds it more comfortable. This layering requires Dawnwing to rearrange his hoard each time he acquires new coins, a task the dragon relishes.
Larger items such as objets d’art, paintings, and tapestries that strike Dawnwing’s fancy ring the chamber. At the rear of the room stands a large steel portcullis, the first safeguard for the bulk of the hoard beyond. - Glorious Hoard: Before moving into his hold, Dawnwing allowed the goblins into this room to decorate the walls. The numerous displays of goblin devotion blend together in a mishmash of shining dragon images, which is just how Dawnwing likes it.
The bulk of the dragon’s treasure rests safely here, guarded by the steel portcullis (Open Lock DC 30 to open, plus Strength DC 20 to lift) and by a pitch black luminary ward (Dr 84). The steel half-orb mounted in the ceiling sheds deeper darkness that fills the cavern. Not even creatures that can normally see in the dark can see in this darkness, and it cancels out any normal light as well as any magical light of 2nd level or lower. If a daylight spell is brought into or cast in the area, it and the pitch black luminary cancel each other out until the daylight spell expires or is removed from the area. Finding and disabling the pitch black luminary’s magical effect requires DC 28 Search and Disable Device checks (suppresses ward for 1d4 rounds, unless the DC is beaten by 10 or more, then 1d4 minutes).
A shutter controls the pitch black luminary. Though Dawnwing can use his blindsense to move about this room unimpeded, he sometimes turns the darkness off so that he can better admire his treasures (and the paintings). - Goblin Warrens: These winding tunnels contain frightened or awestruck goblins and their families. Crude fire pits, intriguing cave drawings, preserved foodstuffs, and rough bedrolls fill the area. The goblins obey Dawnwing with slavish devotion; only Smok, an adept, believes differently. A narrow passage opens out in a back door almost a mile away.