Round 1: Dragon breathes lightning, deals damage to everything in the line, and calls down an extra bolt that deals the same damage again to a single enemy (could be a target hit by the line or not as long as they are within any reasonable distance), then rolls a d4 and determines that he can breathe again in 4 rounds, and then rolls a d6 and finds out the lightning storm will last the entire 4 rounds until he breathes again.
Round 2-5: he does something else for his turn but also calls down a single bolt to deal said 24d8 dmg.
Round 6: repeat of Round 1 with likely new die roll results.
|
The way I read Storm Breath is that the ability expends the Dragons Breath to create a Call Lightning Storm with slight changes. Its not on top of the normal Breath Weapon, otherwise it would have 'additionally' in there somewhere.
So Round 1: it breathes to create the storm(but not its normal line), 'spell' completes so summon a bolt.
Round 2+: If breath weapon recharges and Storm Breath is still active, can use a standard action to 'recast' Storm Breath to add 1d6 more rounds to duration. Free action, call another bolt.
I agree with Firebug. The ability says: "A wyrm blue dragon can use its breath weapon to create a storm of lightning. This functions as call lightning storm but the damage is 24d8." That changes how the Breath weapon works. Instead of firing it against opponents, the dragon uses it to charge the atmosphere so it can call the lighting storm.
That doesn't really fall in line with how the other great wyrm dragons work though. For example, the black dragon literally creates a puddle of acid at the end of it's line in addition to the line. A red dragon presumably has to hit the stone it wants to melt even though the wording is similar and as a cone it would likely catch anyone within the cone that is also getting lava'd. The white and green dragons specifically call out that it's blizzard and miasma abilities respectively are their own standard actions. Umbral dragons are also their own exception in that their secondary breath attack is distinctly a different breath with no cool down and 3/day usage.
|
|
Acid Pool (Su)
An ancient or older black dragon can use its breath weapon to create an acid pool as a standard action. This acid pool has a radius of 5 feet per age category of the dragon. When an acid pool is created, anyone inside its area takes an amount of damage equal to the dragon’s breath weapon (Reflex half). Any creature that starts its turn touching this pool takes damage, but can make a Reflex save for half. Each round, the total damage dice of the pool is halved until the result would be less than 1d6. The acid pool floats on water, and deals damage to anything on the surface.
No. The black dragon doesn't "creates a puddle of acid at the end of it's line in addition to the line." Nothing in the text of the ability says that.
Melt Stone (Su)
An ancient or older red dragon can use its breath weapon to melt rock at a range of 100 feet, affecting a 5-foot-radius area per age category. The area becomes lava to a depth of 1 foot. Any creature in contact with the lava takes 20d6 points of fire damage on the first round, 10d6 on the second, and none thereafter as the lava hardens and cools. If used on a wall or ceiling, treat this ability as an avalanche that deals fire damage.
Special Attacks breath weapon (60-ft. cone, DC 30, 20d10 fire),
No, decidedly not, it is an alternate use. Notice how the range is completely different.
None of the ability says that the dragon uses the breath weapon normally plu the special attack. They are alternate attacks.
Looks like it, yeah.
Breathe a storm. It lasts for d6 rounds. You have to wait d4 rounds before you can breathe (storm or just regular type) again.
|
|
I think I get it now, but just to be sure, is this example correct?
Round 1: Blue dragon does not breath line but uses storm breath as a standard action, and rolls both a 1d4 and 1d6, and as a free action he calls lightning.
A bit nitpicky, but technically the Dragon cannot use a free action to call down the lightning in the first round. Since the spell it is mimicking says "Immediately upon completion of the spell, and once per round thereafter...Each round after the first you may use a standard action (which is replaced as a free action for storm breath) to call a bolt."
Ultimately, it's a difference without much of a distinction as you do get a bolt in the first round... just as a no-action not a free action.
Note that the spell has a casting time of 1 round while the ability of the wyrm of 1 standard action. But yes, the first lightning strike doesn't cost any kind of action.