The Gold of Anauroch

Deep in the heart of the Great Sand Sea, a nomadic Bedine tribe settled down near a cluster of oases and came to call it home. Thus Antora was founded, a rich and beautiful sanctuary from the dry desolate waste of Anauroch. Antora quickly became a place of rest along the Black Road, a profitable Zhentarim trade route through the desert. The wealth of the oases brought a great deal of attention to the once small town. The settlement would have been plundered, as so many like it had been in the past had it not been for the grace of the dragon Aurifauxos.

The Secret of Antora

The best kept secret of Antora is that gold dragon Aurifauxos is actually a cunning, brutish brown dragon. The explosion of growth in Antora attracted a lot of attention from barbarian nomads, Zhentarim leaders, and even the Ever Parched. Aurifaux saw that his time was short, and quickly struck up a deal with the town Speaker, offering his protection in exchange for food and gold. Uneager to turn down the massive creature, the Speaker accepted.

Much to the suprise of the Speaker, Aurifauxos became a ferocious protector of Antora. Word spread in Anauroch quickly that the dragon had claimed Antora as his own, and the town appeared to be safe. This was not to last.

Dragon Slayers

As time passed news that a dragon ruled Antora reached the ears of the Sword Coast. It was not long before adventurers and dragon hunters began to flock to Antora, eager to end the plight of the defenseless Bedine people.

The Speaker's words fell on deaf ears, and so band after band of dragon slayers flocked to Antora, eager to slay the ferocious beast that ruled over the town. It was only a matter of time before a blade found the dragon's heart. The Speaker feared his people were in peril.

Desperate to get rid of the adventures that plauged his town, the Speaker mandated that the dragon only be refered to as Aurifauxos the Radiant. As traders passed through the town the word was spead until the dragon slayers began to trickle in, and finally stop. Now the only visitors to Anauroch are traders along the Black Road, and Antora carries on it's great secret.

Aurifauxos, The Radiant

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing ties), Aurifauxos takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; Aurifauxos can’t use the same lair action two rounds in a row.

A tremor shakes the lair in a 60 ft radius around the dragon. Each creature other than Aurifauxos on the ground in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.

Part of the ceiling collapses above one creature that Aurifauxos can see within 120 feet of it. The creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone and buried. The buried target is restrained and unable to breathe or stand up. A creature can take an action to make a DC 10 Strength check, ending the buried effect on a success.

Regional Effects

The region around taining Aurifauxos' lair is warped by his magic, which creates the following effects:

Small shards of glass appear along the the Black Road for 100-foot intervals. Walking off the path in these areas is like walking on caltrops.

Tracks appear in the sand within 6 miles of Aurifauxos' lair. The tracks lead deep into the desert and away from water sources.

Whenever a creature with an intelligence score of 3 or higher comes within 30 feet of an oasis within 1 mile of Aurifauxos' lair, he becomes aware of the creature's precence and location.

Tactics

Aurifauxos is incredibly lazy and has no desire to fight, but any percieved threat to his lair or Antora can expect to be on his bad side.

Aurifauxos initially tries to bury the intruder. He does this by casting expedious retreat on himself before he is spotted and the suprising them with a his weakening breath on his first turn. On his second turn he the tries grappling the weakest target. Once he has a victem in his clutches, he burrows deep into the sands before letting go and leaving them to suffocate.

If this tactic fails, he makes liberal use of his surperior mobility under the earth and the cover of sand dunes, diving beanth the sands only to emerge to take shots at the threat with his flame sands.

If Aurifauxos is unable to attack from beaneath the sand, he becomes reluctant to continue the fight. Lazy and not particullarly brave, he will abandon his endeavor and look for a more opportune time to resume his attack.

Aurifauxos is not likely to give chase to anyone who flees from combat unless he happens to be particullarly hungry. Once Aurifauxos feels he has driven off intuders, he returns to his lair to bask in the sun.