Cipactli (5e Creature)

Cipactli Cipactli, Adult Cipactli, Young A lesser species of Maztican dragon, cipactli are massive solitary monsters that make their home in flooded sinkholes, jockeying for territory only with the greatest of river monsters, such as hakuna and pods of giant crocodiles, though they are also preyed upon by older tlalocoatl. The turquoise scales of a submerged cipactli make detection nearly impossible, while their living breath allows them to set up ambushes, block retreats, or create openings for their own retreat. Cipactli are jealous, irritable creatures. They will often harass villages near their sinkholes for offerings, sometimes even gaining a taste for humanoid flesh in the process. While they are largely solitary, it has been observed that this is not due to territorialness, but rather due to even the smallest of sleights erupting into a full blown battle. Prior to the Spellplague, cipactli were nearly extinct. While they are vicious hunters, they breed rarely, and their pods of only one to four eggs take a year to hatch, by which point one parent has invariably angered the other and left, leaving the remaining parent often too exhausted to fight off predators that they would typically dominate. In the modern day, however, the four lakes of the Valley of Nexal have become a new breeding ground, and it isn't uncommon to see cipactli turn their corner of the lakes red with the blood of a rival cipactli.

A cipactli on its hind legs, source

During the earliest days of New Amn, a group of Amnian explorers were warned by their Payit slaves of the ahuizotl that stalked the waters. When this party was torn apart by a cipactli, the few survivors returned with tales of the horrible scaled ahuizotl, which became the name the settlers knew the dragon by.

Young Cipactli

Cipactli take roughly a year from their hatching to reach their adult size and harden their soft scales. During this time, they are vulnerable prey to hakuna and giant crocodiles, and typically sustain themselves on crocodiles, minotaur lizards, and the scraps left behind by their parents. Young cipactli seemingly inspire less of their parents' ire than other creatures, only being bludgeoned for perceived disrespect rather than fought to the death.
While adult cipactli fully dominate the will of their living breath, the same can not be said for their young. It isn't uncommon for a young cipactli to be slain by its own breath and eaten by its siblings. Young cipactli are rarely hunted by Mazticans, and such hunts are typically done to prevent adult cipactli from propagating in the area rather than the hunt itself.

Cipactli Scale Equipment

Hunting a cipactli has historically been a trial to test the mettle of warbands that wished to prove their greatness. These quests resulted in treasured suits of armor made of their beautiful scales and maca made of their scales and claws for any survivors. These dragon knights are few and far between both prior to the Spellplague and in the modern day, where most cipactli are found in loose groups.

Cipactli scales can be made into a form of dragon scale mail that grants the wearer resistance to slashing damage or a +1 maca.

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