Not all dragons are the Elder Wyrms. Not all of them are the fire breathing monstrosities ravaging cities ad devouring whole herds of cattle. Most who encounter dragons are not battling these wyrms, they are dealing with the lesser Lindworm and Wyvern. These lesser wyrms are much less deadly, intelligent, and overwhelming than their cousins, but they are still not to be trifled with.
The Wyvern is much more animalistic than the elder wyrm, they are not capable of speech, and they do not engage in much planning. They tend to perch in the steepest of cliffs, preying on goats, large fish (up to the size of dolphins), and other medium sized prey. Their mouth contains a venom sac, with a paralytic toxin, which they can deliver during a bite. Typically a wyvern will bite their prey, paralyze it, and carry it off to a far flung nest in the cliffs.
Their remote dwellings means few see wyverns, though rumours abound of them attacking and sinking ships. More pressingly, many mines have had expansion expeditions attacked by wyverns, directly causing damage to profitable enterprise. These two types of attacks are the only time that wyverns are taken seriously by people with enough money to hire a dragonslayer.
The Lindworm if far more pressing a threat to humanity. They live in forests, and, despite their humanlike intelligence, typically solo. This means that young and barely mature lindworms are often forced by their parents into the edges of forests, and this brings them into contact with those living outside these forests, becoming a threat to children or lone hunters. Since Lindworms do not have wings, and therefore cannot fly, their are the easiest for humans to hunt, so many so-called dragonslayers have often killed only a lindworm.
The most strange feature of the lindworm in their ability to roll themselves into a wheel. They take their tail into their mouth, and begin to roll at an incredible speed chasing their target. This often makes up for their lack of speed, since they can use this to outrun even a fleeing horse.
Winged Flight: The wyvern has a stride of 12 while on wing. The wyvern does not have an arms hit location, and instead has wings hit location. If it takes a light or greater wound to its wing it can not fly.
Scaled: This lesser worm has B3 armour to all hit locations. As natural armour it cannot be harmed.
Venomous Bite: When the Wyvern bites a target (Pow+0, VA1,WSX) and does any sort of wound, the bitten creates makes an Ob6 Health test. They then receive +1Ob on all physical actions per margin of failure if they fail this health test. This recovers at a rate of -1Ob every five minutes.
Sweeping Tail: When the Wyvern attempts to disengage from a Fight, it may use its Power as its tail sweeps wildly, giving it cover for its retreat.
Wheel Body: The lindworm can roll itself into a wheel. When it does this, it cannot use its claws, but it can run. When it is rolled into a wheel, the lindworm's stride is 20. This trait also counts as a call-on for Speed when chasing.
Clawed: The lindworm has four legs, ending in four large claws. These claws deal Pow+1, VA2, WS3.
A Burning Wheel Monster Every Week