I'm a dragon, Rarw!

I’ve been trying to put together a Dragon Disciple for Society organized play. I want him to kinda look like a dragon to start, and then build into the class.

Concept: it’s the unholy hell spawn of Smog and Lamashtu!

Origin: An underworld mixer, an open bar and poor judgment.

Race: Teifling. With the Maw alternate racial trait for a bite attack.

Stats: Build with Str 16, Con 14, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 8, and Cha 12. With racial bonuses this changes to Str: 18, Int 8, and Cha 14 (I’m going with the Demon Spawn option from Paths of Blood, which is legal).

Traits: Magical Knack (for sorcerer levels), Birthmark (+2 saves vs. charm and compulsion).

1st level: Barbarian 1: Invulnerable Rager Archetype – Feat: Armor of the pit (+2 natural armor)
2nd level: Sorcerer 1 Crossblooded Archetype (Abyssal, Draconic)
3rd level: Barbarian 2: Rage Power: Claws – Feat: Arcane Strike
4th level: Barbarian 3:
5th Barbarian 4: Rage Power – Fiend totem (for gore attack), Feat: Intimidating prowess
6th DD 1, etc.

Notes: I needed to go with a minimum eight intelligence so I would have the skill points I need for the prestige class.

I pick up a wand of mage armor and by third level I have a claw, claw, bite attack with +8 attack (+2 bab, +6 str), each with d6+7 (+6 str, +1 arcane strike). Before combat I can buff myself with shocking grasp for an extra 3d6 if any of my attacks land (3d6+3 if I choose blue dragon archetype). In theory, if everything were to hit for max damage, I could move into combat and pump out 60 points of damage on the first round of an encounter.

My armor class is a meager sixteen (+4 mage armor with wand, +2 dex, +2 natural armor, -2 rage) but I’ll have 6 extra hp from the rage and a DR of 1 (Invulnerable Rager).

I think the character scales well with lots of HP and nifty bonuses from the dragon disciple prestige class and the versatility of the cross blood archetype (although the -1 spell known per level hurts).

What do you guys think? Is this a legal build? Are there any suggestions on improvement? Is this build too abusive?

You could be an Oni-Spawn Tiefling. They get alter self 1/day instead of darkness, which can make you look like a lizardman. It's kinda like a dragon.

Going crossblooded is not your best choice. For the loss of your spells known and a -2 to will saves for adding the Abyssal bloodline isn't worth it. The bloodline Arcana you would be getting for that isn't terribly good. Since you are going with the Barbarian levels and you are getting extra claw options through that, you would be better off actually soaking a couple feats into the Abyssal Bloodline through the Eldritch Heritage line. That way you can get double the Claw attacks that way, and also get them through your raging as well.

You should also consider some armor. I know, ASF is no fun, but neither is being hit. Arcane Strike is better used in higher caster level builds, although it is nice that it works for all your natural weapons. A +1 mithral Chain Shirt is a +5 to your Armor Class, and Costs as much as someone else's first Magical Weapon. Since you are casting your spells outside of battle, a 10% ASF isn't bad.

Thanks for your response, I used your guide to help me with this build. One reason I took cross blooded was to get the +2 charisma teifling racial bonus and you need the abyssal or diabolic bloodline for that. I also took them to get the bite attack, and the cross blooded power to increase the claws by six rounds later in on. The +2 charisma gets me an extra 3rd level spell level, but then again, that won't be useful until I hit around 10th level.

OTOH, I don't know if it's worthwhile to spend two feats for five more rounds of claws.

Perhaps this build would be better if I did only a two level melee class dip. Say, fighter for two levels. Then the extra charisma makes more sense....but then the loss of a spell hurts even more and the -2 will save isn't mitigated by the +2 will save rage bonus. Grrr, I can't win.

It seems dragon disciple is a difficult class to efficiently build while staying thematically consistent.

I like playing a crossblooded sorcerer, but I can tell you a few things from my perspective.

I too followed Oterisk's guide, its excellent and well written.

I went 5 Sorc (Crossblooded Dragon/Elemental) and am now 4 DD as well

The -2 will save SUCKS. BIG TIME.

The -1 spell known per level ALSO SUCKS. BIG TIME.

However, in an AP there is plenty to work around that.

In PFS however, I think you are going to really want the extra spell and the will save.

Here's why: You don't need to be a combat genius to win in PFS, especially if you play level appropriate encounters.

Even playing up you don't really need to be so specialized for combat.

While it can sometimes seen that PF is a combat intensive game, the reality for many PFS scenarios is that its far better to be more useful and generalized as a character than spec'ed out for one thing only.

All this character sounds like is a combat machine.

Think more like Indiana Jones....yeah, he could win a fight, but how many times did he get hit or take a beating? More frequently than not...but he was more than just fighting. Sneaking, knowledges, diplomacy, bluffing, crafting....all those skills are necesary.

Just my 2cp, but I would really be careful about the cuts you take in a PFS setting.

Bonus points if your PC actually uses "RARW" when they make noise

Just a few points...

For starters, Magical Knack is one of the few ILLEGAL traits in PFS. Sucks, but there it is.

2nd, the barbarian rage power that grants claws is Beast Totem (lesser). If you have one totem, you CANNOT have another, so getting Fiend Totem (lesser) is not an option at this point. (BOO! HISS!)

On the plus side, Dragon Disciple is a phenomenally powerful prestige class with paltry prerequisites. As such, I think that your idea to go with a minimal caster level is just fine.

However, as has been previously mentioned, while ASF sucks, so does getting hit. Perhaps a spontaneous casting class that doesn't suffer from ASF would be a decent choice...like, maybe....a bard...no, wait, hear me out!

A bard can do INCREDIBLE things for you. For one, it can let you lower your int ALL the way to 7. You'll still get 4 skill points! Also, you get inspire courage (which is fantastic). Sure, it's only a few times per day (like five or six...), BUT you can take the feat Lingering Performance, which essentially triples your daily uses. That means that at the start of virtually EVERY combat (in PFS) you can use it, and it will last for three rounds (hopefully the vast majority of the fight). Light armor prof. and shield prof. are also very nice, as is the whip proficiency. Not necessarily a selling point, but nice. Also, there are quite a few archetypes that offer very decent variations (I'm looking at you, Arcane Duelist).

That's all well and good, right? but maybe not enough? Tell you what, let's take a look at that 4 level barbarian chassis. From it you get: medium armor and shield profs., the rage ability (the selling point), a d12 hit die (the best there is), martial weapon prof., and access to the rage powers. If you're going with the Invulnerable Rager archetype, you even get a small amount of DR- (very nice indeed!)

Now, we get to look at an alternative to the barbarian: The Ranger. Now, compared to the barbarian, we'll get a bonus to skills (2 more points per level), better reflex saves, the same armor and weapon prof., and a very similar, yet distinctly different version of the beast totem (lesser) rage power: Aspect of the Beast as a bonus feat. That is, you get PERMANENT claws. Forget about rounds per day nonsense. Speaking of an all-day-every-day ability, the Freebooter archetype gets everyone within 30 feet an UNTYPED +1 on attack and damage rolls against a single target (i.e. the one that you want to hit...)

So, the side by side comparison is fairly equal, with some slight benefits going to the ranger, and some to the barbarian. Now, picking just one will be good...but really, there is very little reason NOT to get the best of both worlds. 2 levels of Ranger gets you pretty much ALL of the goodies, and 2 levels of Barbarian delivers the goods as well.

Once you've got a level of Bard and a level of Ranger, you spend the first round of combat "Roaring" at the enemy, granting your entire party a +2 to attack and damage rolls (inspire courage and freebooter's bane), you can wear light armor (you'll eventually buy mithral breastplate, AKA the best armor ever), wield whichever weapon you like (I favor a whip and a maw of big sharp pointy teeth for the first levels, until you have claws) With a shield (buckler) and you've got loads of skill points and a great draconic feel.

Your point buy is decent, but if you end up going ranger and/or bard, you could drop your Int a point or two in favor of Wisdom, as your will saves are pretty poor.

Wow, I didn't quite realize how massive a wall of text that would be....

Magical knack is back in pfs (or soon will be) Do not pass level 1, do not collect 200 gold pieces and you can pick it up/

Magical knack! It's Back...In Pog Form!!!!

Thanks for all your great advice everyone. Let me preface this by asking how the Pathfinder Society could allow aasimar and tieflings as playable races. Both seem unbalanced, with bonuses far in excess of most of the other races. That being said, after considering the advice of the responders I’ve amended my builds.

I like the idea of a tiefling dragon disciple because it seems more dragon-like, but I like the advantages of the aasimar paladin. I’m also thinking it’s better to go with a two or three level dip for a better hybrid. I considered the bard, but it really doesn’t really fit my play style.

Option 1: tiefling half dragon/ half demon – with a bite attack.
Stats: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 16 (using the demon-blooded tiefling variant)

Traits: magical Knack (it’s legal for pfs now), Birthmark.

1. Barbarian (invulnerable, savage, or maybe elemental king), Feat: Armor of the pit +2 natural armor
2. Sorcerer 1(dragon, straight up)
3. Barbarian 2 rage power: claws, Feat: Extra rage or intimidating prowess
4. Barbarian 3
5. Sorcerer 2
6. DD 1, Feat: skill focus Knowledge (planes)

I’m not really sure about this build. A third level of barbarian gives me two extra rounds of rage, +1 bab, +3 hp and a nifty power, but it also means I get slower spell progression and bloodline powers. I think this guy as mostly gish, buffing himself then charging into battle. I also took Bomanz's advice and lowered my strength so I could be better rounded for PFS with higher int for skills and three instead of four barb levels.

Option 2: The Pallydragon: ½ angel born aasimar ½ gold dragon.
Stats and traits: same

1. Paladin (divine hunter archetype), not sure what feats to take.
2. Paladin for Divine Grace
3. Sorcerer 1 (etc.)

This would be a more sorcerer based build and I would get some ranged touch attack spells to take advantage of my free divine hunter precise shot feat. I thought about going tiefling with this build for the bite attack and getting better claws with the eldritch heritage feats, and because I want this guy to look like he’s ½ dragon. He claims his looks are from his dragon heritage; his tiefling heritage is a dark secret. This might be better for a home campaign - in PFS it might just seem silly.

Question: If I take elemental Kin, do I get the extra rage if the damage is absorbed by my resistances?

Hm. I'd still think that an even number of your melee-part is more valuable to you than another sorc level because of another rage power, +1 BAB and better hp. And you mentioned "buffing himself and charging into battle".
I know PFS has a 20pt-buy system, but the WIS 8 hurts - I can't think of a worse situation than having a dominated DD clawing at your party members.
Have you thought about lowering CHA since DCs for spell will not be all that important if focussing on self-buffing? You can always get a headband +2 later, too.

Ruyan.