Name of Race: Rock Dragon

Physical Description: Vary in size, but range in males from 4 to 8 horse lengths long, and wingspan is usually proportionally the same as their length. Females are on average larger than males, reaching up to 10 horse lengths long. They have scales so small that their hide sometimes more closely resembles skin, and it has been found in a limited range of colors, usually gray, commonly black or brown, and sometimes a calico of all three with some white. It is extremely rare to find a white rock dragon, as that color is not beneficial to the individual's survival. They have large bat-like ears, and long necks. They have five limbs. The two front limbs are sturdy wings with finger-like talons for grasping and clinging onto rocky surfaces. The talons are tough enough to punch holes in granite. The back two limbs are a pair of legs with which to walk, run, and assist in latching on to the sides of cliffs. Their tail is semi-prehensile, and used for balance and steering while running and flying.

Racial attributes/abilities/weaknesses: Rock dragons are well adapted to life at high altitudes. They have extraordinary hearing, and use sound to navigate in places without light, or where sight is useless. They spit acid as adults. As far as sentient creatures go, rock dragons are among the middle level intelligence. Humans, on average, are smarter, but not by much. Few have interacted with these beasts on a personal level, but some who study them insist they are likely to be among those species that can speak the tongue of higher dragons. Though, no one has been recorded as able to confirm this with witnesses.

Social structure/Lifestyle: Females live in small pods, usually odd numbered, of 3 to 7. Males are solitary once they reach adulthood, except during mating season, when they attract a female away from her pod and pair off with her for a time, then they separate and the female returns to her pod.

Growth and Development: Rock dragons hatch from eggs in clutches of 3 to 9 per female and are cared for as a group by the pod until they reach maturity. Sexual maturity is reached at 10 to 15 years of age. Males are driven out to live solitary, like other males. Females stay, unless the pod grows too large for the territory to support. The females then compete for placement in the pod. The weaker ones that survive are expelled from the territory to form another pod elsewhere. The ones who do not are cannibalized. The average lifespan of these dragons is short compared to others. Due to the nature of their lives, it's rare that they die merely of old age. However, if they are not killed before that, they can live up to 300 years.

Habitats/Locations found: Mountain peaks above the tree line, in deep caverns.

Battle Preferences: Females hunt as a pack, preferring a stalking/ambushing style of hunting. Males are quite aggressive. Despite being smaller than females, they survive alone, without the protection of numbers. In battle, rock dragons use their teeth and talons primarily, but their acid is powerful, and has been noted to corrode away the armor of many warriors.