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I have a player that loves the idea of the Dragonborne. He asked me to create a playable race on par with with other Pathfinder races. Here is what I have come up with so far. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Dragonborne
The spelling is different from that used in other fantasy games. The addition of the ‘e’ at the end of the word changes the meaning. The former spelling, without the “e”, translated to, “One the dragon had given birth to.” With the revised spelling the name translates to, “One who has endured the dragon.” and/or, “One who is accountable to the dragon.”
Dragonborne are scaled, hairless, warm blooded creatures born from eggs and are milk fed in their early youth. Their scales range from a light tan to a darker brown depending on their age. Unlike dragons they do not have tails.
Some dragonborne undergo transformations using Draconic Rituals. This allows them to take on more dragon-like qualities such as; wings, breath weapon, and superior senses. The decision to accept such transformations is not taken lightly as this sets the dragonborne apart from his clan. They are, at best, considered respected protectors. However, depending on the circumstances, it is not uncommon for them to be viewed with suspicion or seen as war mongers.
+2 Strength, +2 Charisma, and -2 Dexterity
Medium size creature
Base speed of 30’ (6 squares)
Low-light Vision
+1 Natural armor bonus
+2 on Perception skill checks
+2 on Intimidate skill checks
Dragonborne are considered humanoid and un-typed dragons for any affects that target race.
Dragonborne start with the Common and Draconic languages.
Dragonborne Racial Traits
Dragonborne Tradition
The Dragonborne take great pride in recording and learning about the history of the world. They believe, by studying the past, great wisdom can be applied to the future. You have been raised with these beliefs instilled in you. You receive +1 on all History skill checks and History is always considered a class skill for you.
Dragonborne Racial Feats
Blood of the Great Wyrm
Requirements: Dragonborne
Benefit: Choose your dragon type. You gain the coloring of that dragon and receive +2 with the skill associated with that dragon type. You only gain this bonus if you are trained in that skill. You are now considered humanoid and a dragon of your chosen type for any affects that target race.
Breath of the Dragon
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm, 2 Dragonborne Feats
Benefit: You gain a breath weapon matching your dragon type that you may use once per day. It does 1d6 damage per Dragonborne Racial Feat + CON as an area attack versus Reflex of ½ Level + CON.
Breath of the Dragon, Improved
Requirements: Breath of the Drake, 4 Dragonborne Feats
Benefit: Your breath weapon now uses d10’s.
Breath of the Dragon, Greater
Requirements: Improved Breath of the Dragon, 4 Dragonborne Feats
Benefit: Your Breath Weapon may be used additional times per day equal to CON.
Claws of the Drake
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain two Claw attacks for 1d4 damage. You are considered armed when using your claws.
Claws of the Dragon
Requirements: Claws of the Drake
Benefit: You claw attack improves to 1d6
Claws of the Wyrm
Requirements: Claws of the Dragon
Benefit: You claw attack improves to 1d8
Draconic Resistance
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain Energy Resistance 5 + CON against the energy type of your Dragon Variant and you are immune to your own breath weapon.
Draconic Resistance, Improved
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm, Draconic Resistance
Benefit: You gain Energy Resistance 10 + CON against the Energy Type of your Dragon Variant.
Draconic Senses
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain Darkvision 60’.
Draconic Senses, Improved
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm, Draconic Senses
Benefit: You gain +2 on Insight skill checks.
Draconic Senses, Greater
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm, Improved Draconic Senses
Benefit: You gain the Scent special ability.
Dragon Wings
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm, 2 Dragon Feats
Benefit: You grow a set of draconic wings which grant you a fly speed equal to your regular movement. However, you must land at the end of your movement. Also, falling damage is negated by using your wings. These benefits are lost if you are carrying more than a Light load. Your wing span is equal to twice your height and your weight increases by 25%. You may not "run" or hover while flying. You now qualify for Flying Feats.
Maw of the Drake
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain one Bite attack at 1d6.
Maw of the Dragon
Requirements: Maw of the Drake
Benefit: Your bite attack increases to 1d8.
Maw of the Wyrm
Requirements: Maw of the Dragon
Benefit: Your bite attack increases to 1d10.
Dragon Hide
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: Your natural armor bonus increases to +2.
Wyrm Hide
Requirements: Dragon Hide
Benefit: Your natural armor bonus increases to +3.
Related Feats that become available after taking specific Dragonborne Feats. These do not count as Dragonborne Feats.
Lesser Flight
Requirements: Wings, Ability to Glide but no natural Fly Speed
Benefit: You gain a natural Fly speed equal to your regular movement. You may fly for a number of rounds equal to STR. At the end of your flight you are fatigued for a number of rounds equal to the number of rounds you were in flight. You may not use "run" while flying. You can not hover.
Lasting Flight
Requirements: Wings, Lesser Flight
Benefit: You may increase the number of rounds you are in flight by CON. You may "run" while flying.
Multi-Attack
Requirements: Three or more Natural Attacks
Benefit: You may attack once with each natural attack as a standard attack. This will allow Claw, Claw, Bite.
Improved Special Ability
Requirements: Natural Special Ability
Benefit: +2 on the DC of one special ability. You may this feat more than once but it must apply to a different special ability each time you take it. This is for +2 on Breath weapon DC.
I'm liking this so far, but I really want to see more fluff. What is their culture like, their origins? 3.5 dragonborn had an interesting, if shoehorned, origin and culture. (I've made use of events from the Age of Worms campaign I recently ran to help shape and establish the dragonborn in my games, but not all DMs have such opportunities.)
The feats mention choosing a dragon color. Are these metallic only, implying a 3.5 Bahamut origin? Or can it be any color, ala 4th edition? Are there other consequences for chosing colors? Are some colors considered bad/inferior/unusual?
I think your mechanics are fairly solid (although I admit I skimmed a little once I realized what I was really wanting to see). Lets see more fluff!
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Hi Black Bard. Welcome back to the boards and thanks for the reply.
As for fluff, I haven't really developed any. I have had a hard time figuring out how to integrate them into the world. For other races, elf, dwarf, etc., I have viewed the different races as having all descended from humanity. They had received their 'racial' gifts in ages past to help their people survive trials during various ages of the world.
If you feel up to posting it, I would love to hear how Age of Worms inspired what you did.
The intention is that you can take on the draconic coloring of your choice. I tend to subscribe to the idea that any of the dragons can be of any alignment and the listed alignment is a tendency rather than a hard rule.
As for mechanics, I had seen where making the value of a feat based on an ability bonus was considered a bad idea. Since it would be more powerful for some than others. Also, the idea of having the power of a given feat based on the number of associated feats, like dragon breath is done, was a bad idea. So, I was hoping to see some alternatives.
My Age of Worms game was actually a follow up game to Shackled City, set 15 years later, so that children of previous PCs could become the new PCs.
In Shackled City, we had a raptoran warlock who went into a slaad themed acolyte of the skin. Then got it on with a marilith.
Yeah.
The offspring of that union was raised by the NG Healer who took control of the abyssal layer of Occipitus at the end of that game.
15 years later, this freaky orange and blue, four armed, snake eyed, seven foot tall spawn of chaos has come to be supremely annoyed by his birth father, who's blood ties to him cause his chaotic nature to spin out of control when he is near. So he leaves to attempt to master his chaotic and impulsive side, ultimately becoming a paladin loosely allied with the church of Heironius. But he disagrees with the Heironian "FOR GLORY" mentality, preferring to fight real and tangible threats. Eventually, the hideous transgressions of Illthane the Black (who I made a double agent of Tiamat, stealing secrets of creature modification from the cult of Kyuss) came to his attention, and the fate she nearly visited upon the local lizardfolk sickened him.
Bahamut (on the counsel of the very same healer who had raised the paladin) offered the young creature a unique and singular opportunity, to be reborn completely through his divine will. A complete shedding of the chaotically infused body he loathed so much, in exchange for service to the Platinum Dragon.
He agreed. His dragonborn form was majestic, his rear arms now armored wings that could deflect spears and blades. His visage and presence drew many to him, and his courage and compassion held them. When Illthane destroyed Diamond Lake, he helped the survivors to rebuild or relocate, as they choosed. Many chose to follow him, a few embracing a lesser form of the transformation he had undergone (the first "regular" dragonborn). As his journey progressed, he drew more and more to his banner, building a great army to prepare for war, a war not with Kyuss, but with Tiamat. With all seriousness he announced, on the day Kyuss's presence loomed over Allhaster, that the Wormgod was merely an excersize, a warm-up, for their campaign upon the Chromatic Queen.
By the time the events of the Age of Worms drew to a close, he had amassed thousands of devoted followers. The entire kingdom of Redhand, formerly ruled by the infamous Prince Zeech, was his, bestowed to him in a duel lost by the Prince, who dissapeared shortly thereafter (although from that day forth he was rarely unnattended by a new dragonborn as an advisor and confidant).
The Dragonborn of Redhand live two lives. First, they live their mortal lives, as humans, dwarves, elves, whatever they may be born to. Then, after the fullness of their lives has passed, and they lay on their death beds, they may choose to live again in service to the Platinum Dragon, transformed by his will. Their funeral is conducted regardless, for their previous lives have ended all the same. It is considered a sin of pride to involve oneself in their old family directly, instead it is best to serve them from the anonymity of the ranks of the Platinum Army, protecting their children and generations to come from the chromatic dragons and their evil.
Regarding some ideas that could be good for yours, in a previous game I once ran (not tied to my current Shackled City/Age of Worms/Savage Tide progression) I created a draconic entity called Un (pronounced oon).
Un was the first son of Io, the draconic creator diety, although some would call him more twin than offspring. Io's first creation was carved from his very flesh, fragments of his torn scales dripping from the heavens. There is no coincidence that a certain variety of valuable magical gem bear the name Ioun. From Io's blood were the other dragons made, each like a diamond, reflecting all the variety of thought and color, constantly shifting, flickering, mercurial.
But Un was flawed. He was a copy, an attempt at duplication of perfection. But to be duplicated, perfection had to be ruined, a peice removed. This inherent paradox of existance eventually shattered the creature, physically, mentally, spiritually. An echo of this shattering occured in Io, but while the effect upon Un was obliterating, it was merely devastating to Io. The creator dragon's mind collapsed under the strain, and it was eons before he awoke from his slumber. In that time, his children had experienced Un's fragmentation in their own way, each becoming a singular color, a singular mindset. No longer were they flickering diamonds, but now reds, golds, blues, greys, purples, coppers. Never again would they be as their creator, and when he awoke to see what had become of them, he wept.
Your dragonborn could perhaps have a mythic origin regarding Io's tears. Perhaps they claim that even as Io wept, the fragmentation of the dragons was proven to not be quite so severe as it seemed. Perhaps where a tear struck a dragon, lesser creatures sprang into being, creatures of varied colors, some even of multiples. Perhaps the dragons cling to these creatures as hope, hope that they may one day attain completion through them. Perhaps they hate them, for possibly reaching completion while the true dragons suffer.
Eh, I got verbose. If you like any of that, feel free to idea-steal, you or anyone else.
Killer monotremes... O...K....
Hrmmm...
Perhaps you should give the feats a possibility of choice: "Choose either Con or Int as relevant stat" or something similar.
Also, you might consider not measuring the number of uses based on the number of feats the character has/takes, but rather you could say "After x uses of this ability, you're fatigued/exhausted/sickened/dazed/striped pink with cherries on top.".
Channeling class powers into racial powers could work nicely, too, but has been done very much in the past.
Apart from that, I really like your thinking and the diligence behing this. The race seems balanced all in all, the feats are a nice choice and don't seem too over the top.
Kudos.
;-)
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Nether Saxon,
As for giving a choice on which ability to base it on, I have been thinking a lot on this. I keep coming back to the idea that it feels like it should be based on CON.
Also, you're right about basing things on number of feats. It made sense at the time but I think it really just opens the door for an unnecessary mechanic.
Tim,
Thanks for taking a look. I appreciate the feedback. You are spot on about the saving throw. It looks like what was in my brain didn't make it to the page quite how I intended. I have included missing information about the dragons to flesh out area attacks.
Here are a list of changes...
Version 3:
- This was the first version I posted.
Version 4:
- Added +2 racial bonus on Insight skill checks.
Removed 'x number of Dragonborne feats required' from all racial feats.
Changed Dragon Breath to 1d6 'per character level' instead of 'per Dragonborne feat'.
Removed generic non-Dragonborne flying feats.
Added Dragon Flight as a feat that offers full flight ability.
Changed Improved Draconic Senses to give the Scent ability instead of skill bonuses.
Changed Greater Draconic Senses from Scent to See Through Invisibility.
Changed Green and Cobalt breath weapons to sonic damage. (Like a focused thunder clap.)
The spelling is purposelly different from that used in other fantasy games. The addition of the ‘e’ at the end of the word changes the meaning. The former spelling, without the “e”, translated to, “One the dragon had given birth to.” With the revised spelling the name translates to, “One who has endured the dragon.” and/or, “One who is accountable to the dragon.”
Dragonborne are scaled, hairless, warm blooded creatures born from eggs and are milk fed in their early youth. Their scales range from a light tan to a darker brown depending on their age. Unlike dragons they do not have tails.
Some dragonborne undergo transformations using Draconic Rituals. This allows them to take on more dragon-like qualities such as; wings, breath weapon, and superior senses. The decision to accept such transformations is not taken lightly as this sets the dragonborne apart from his clan. They are, at best, considered respected protectors. However, depending on the circumstances, it is not uncommon for them to be viewed with suspicion or seen as war mongers.
+2 Strength, +2 Charisma, and -2 Dexterity
- Medium size creature
Base speed of 30’ (6 squares)
Low-light Vision
+1 Natural armor bonus
+2 on Intimidate skill checks
+2 on Intuition skill checks
+2 on Perception skill checks
Dragonborne are considered humanoid and un-typed dragons for any affects that target race.
Dragonborne start with the Common and Draconic languages.
Dragonborne Tradition
The Dragonborne take great pride in recording and learning about the history of the world. They believe, by studying the past, great wisdom can be applied to the future. You have been raised with these beliefs instilled in you. You receive +1 on all History skill checks and History is always considered a class skill for you.
Blood of the Great Wyrm
Requirements: Dragonborne
Benefit: Choose your dragon type. You gain the coloring of that dragon and receive +2 with the skill associated with that dragon type. You only gain this bonus if you are trained in that skill. You are now considered humanoid and a dragon of your chosen type for any affects that target race.
(I am still working out which skills to associate with which dragon type.)
- Metallic Dragon Types
Type, Breath, Area, Skill Specialty
Gold, Fire, 3x3, Diplomacy
Silver, Frost, 3x3, ???
Copper, Electricity, 1x9, Perception
Iron, Acid, 1x9, Craft
Cobalt, Sonic, 1x9, ???
Chromatic Dragon Types
Type, Breath, Area, Skill Specialty
Red, Fire, 3x3, Intimidation
White, Frost, 3x3, ???
Blue, Electricity, 1x9, SpellCraft
Black, Acid, 1x9, Stealth
Green, Sonic, 1x9, ???
Breath of the Dragon
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain a breath weapon matching your dragon type that you may use once per day. It does 1d6 damage per character level + CON. The Reflex DC is 10 + ½ Level + CON.
Breath of the Dragon, Improved
Requirements: Breath of the Drake
Benefit: Your breath weapon now uses d10’s.
Breath of the Dragon, Greater
Requirements: Improved Breath of the Dragon
Benefit: Your Breath Weapon may be used additional times per day equal to CON.
Breath Weapon Control
Requirements: Breath of the Dragon
Benefit: Your Breath Weapon may be used in a 1x9 line or in a 3x3 area regardless of type.
Claws of the Drake
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain two Claw attacks for 1d4 damage. You are considered armed when using your claws.
Claws of the Dragon
Requirements: Claws of the Drake
Benefit: You claw attack improves to 1d6
Claws of the Wyrm
Requirements: Claws of the Dragon
Benefit: You claw attack improves to 1d8
Draconic Resistance
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain Energy Resistance 5 + CON against the energy type of your Dragon Variant and you are immune to your own breath weapon.
Draconic Resistance, Improved
Requirements: Draconic Resistance
Benefit: You gain Energy Resistance 10 + CON against the Energy Type of your Dragon Variant.
Draconic Senses
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain Darkvision 60’.
Draconic Senses, Improved
Requirements: Draconic Senses
Benefit: You gain the Scent special ability.
Draconic Senses, Greater
Requirements: Improved Draconic Senses
Benefit: You gain the ability to see through invisibility.
Dragon Wings
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You grow a set of draconic wings which grant you a fly speed equal to your regular movement. However, you must land at the end of your movement. Also, falling damage is negated by using your wings. These benefits are lost if you are carrying more than a Light load. Your wing span is equal to twice your height and your weight increases by 25%. You may not "run" or hover while flying.
Draconic Flight
Requirements: Dragon Wings
Benefit: You gain the full ability of flight.
Maw of the Drake
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain one Bite attack at 1d6.
Maw of the Dragon
Requirements: Maw of the Drake
Benefit: Your bite attack increases to 1d8.
Maw of the Wyrm
Requirements: Maw of the Dragon
Benefit: Your bite attack increases to 1d10.
Dragon Hide
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: Your natural armor bonus increases to +2.
Wyrm Hide
Requirements: Dragon Hide
Benefit: Your natural armor bonus increases to +3.
Multi-Attack
Requirements: Three or more Natural Attacks
Benefit: You may attack once with each natural attack as a full attack.
Improved Special Ability
Requirements: Natural Special Ability
Benefit: +2 on the DC of one special ability. You may this feat more than once but it must apply to a different special ability each time you take it.
Not bad, I really like the race. But I didn't know there was an Intuition skill.
@eric
Yeah, everyone THINKS the platypus is soooo cute (awr!), but they can seriously mess you up. And when you mentioned the Dragonborne being oviparous and milk-fed, well, I put 2 and 2 together.
Generally, I like your structure here. The race itself isn't overpowered, and your feat options are reasonable, if actually a bit *underpowered* in places. I would suggest consulting the core sorcerer entry, specifically the draconic bloodline, for ideas as to where to make different feats and abilities available.
Specific observations:
While it's evident Blood of the Great Wyrm is a gateway feat, it's a pretty pointless one by PF standards. I would replace the +2 to one skill with resistance 5 to the dragon's energy type. The resistance feats would add to this resistance - perhaps to 15, and then to 30.
Template your breath weapons pathfinder-style, rather than using 4.0's bland "X by X squares" system. Sorcerers get either 30' cones or 60' lines. To not tread on their toes, I would suggest going to a 15-20' cone / 30-40' line. Breath weapon damage should be d6/level; adding Con is an artifact of 4.0 that we don't need. If you want to make Con relevant, make it a prerequisite for Improved Breath Weapon (I'd say 15). Greater Breath Weapon is misnamed, as it only gives more daily uses, rather than improving the weapon itself - call it Extra Breath Weapon, in line with the PF feat naming schemes. It's utility is also a bit too variable (its way too good with con 16+), so I would recommend having it grant a flat +2 uses/day.
I wouldn't make improved/extra BW prerequisites for each other; they focus on different aspects of the ability, and a character should be able to select which focus they prefer.
I like the Dragon Wings feat, but you need to specify maneuverability in the entry. Dragon Flight is *almost* too good, but the feat tax is high, and as long as the maneuverability is average or below, it's probably okay.
The natural attack feats seem alright, but you should specify whether the attacks are primary or secondary. Specifically, claws should be primary (since they replace weapons), and the bite a secondary attack (since it's in addition to weapons). I might ease off the full d4-d6-d8 and d6-d8-d10 damage scaling; the Improved Natural Attack feat from the bestiary fills the role and makes things much less cluttered.
For that matter, the bulk of your feats overlap with bestiary ones. Ability Focus = your Improved Special Ability, Improved Natural Armor = Dragon Hide, etc. I suggest reading through them.
Multiattack is irrelevant as a feat. All creatures can attack once with each natural attack they possess as a full attack action. The bestiary Multiattack reduces secondary attack penalties from -5 to -2, which would be applicable to a dragonborne's bite attack.
Lastly: Put some minimum level restrictions on those feats so they don't overshadow class abilities. Wings should be 5th, and full Flight ought to be 9th or later. I'd put the breath weapon at 3rd or 5th- it's earlier than the sorcerer's one, but it's got a reduced range to balance that a bit.
*some interesting stuff I myself was having issues with, but couldn't quite put my finger on*
I'm with Maeloke here, his suggestions sound reasonable. I'd like to point out that the bite attack, per Bestiary, would only count as secondary attack when used in conjunction with weapon attacks.
When used with natural attacks, you treat all natural attacks (except for tentacle slams, wing buffets, and so on - full list is in the back of the Bestiary) as primary attacks.Seeing as the Dragonborne don't have a natural armor bonus to start with, I recommend giving them access to just the one feat that gains them a +1 bonus. That can be upgraded with the Improved Natural Armor feat from the Bestiary, as Maeloke said.
Finally (for now), what do you mean by "Intuition" - would that be Sense Motive in Pathfinder?
If you ever get this to a final state, feel free to add it to the Pathfinder Database!
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Spyder25,
Whoops! Too much flipping back and forth between editions. I need to change that to Sense Motive. Nether Saxon caught this one also.
Maeloke and Nether Saxon,
Great information from both of you. Much appreciated.
Mr. PD Pimp,
Thanks for the invitation. I will certainly look into to doing just that.
Okay, now I'm off to research the recommended changes. Version 5 will be forthcoming.
Thanks All,
Eric
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Nether Saxon,
Thanks for the information about primary and secondary attacks. Also, the Dragonborne do have Natural Armor +1.
Maeloke,
I believe I made all of the changes you suggested.
I look forward to your criticism. Here are a list of changes...
Version 3:
- This was the first version I posted.
Version 4:
- Changes listed in previous post.
Version 5:
- Changed +2 racial bonus on Insight to Sense Motive skill checks.
Clarified racial abilities text to denote 'racial bonus' on skills.
Clarified racial trait, Dragonborne Tradition, to show 'Knowledge: History' instead of 'History' and clearly stated that the bonus is a 'trait bonus'.
Numerouse changes to racial feats. It would be easier to read than list here.
The spelling is purposelly different from that used in other fantasy games. The addition of the ‘e’ at the end of the word changes the meaning. The former spelling, without the “e”, translated to, “One the dragon had given birth to.” With the revised spelling the name translates to, “One who has endured the dragon.” and/or, “One who is accountable to the dragon.”
Dragonborne are scaled, hairless, warm blooded creatures born from eggs and are milk fed in their early youth. Their scales range from a light tan to a darker brown depending on their age. Unlike dragons they do not have tails.
Some dragonborne undergo transformations using Draconic Rituals. This allows them to take on more dragon-like qualities such as; wings, breath weapon, and superior senses. The decision to accept such transformations is not taken lightly as this sets the dragonborne apart from his clan. They are, at best, considered respected protectors. However, depending on the circumstances, it is not uncommon for them to be viewed with suspicion or seen as war mongers.
+2 Strength, +2 Charisma, and -2 Dexterity
Medium size creature
Base speed of 30’ (6 squares)
Low-light Vision
+1 Natural armor bonus (this qualifies you for the Improved Natural Armor feat)
+2 racial bonus on Intimidate skill checks
+2 racial bonus on Sense Motive skill checks
+2 racial bonus on Perception skill checks
Dragonborne are considered humanoid and un-typed dragons for any affects that target race.
Dragonborne start with the Common and Draconic languages.
Dragonborne Racial Traits
Dragonborne Tradition
The Dragonborne take great pride in recording and learning about the history of the world. They believe, by studying the past, great wisdom can be applied to the future. You have been raised with these beliefs instilled in you. You receive +1 trat bonus on all Knowledge: History skill checks and Knowledge: History is always considered a class skill for you.
Dragonborne Racial Feats
Blood of the Great Wyrm
Requirements: Dragonborne
Benefit: Choose a dragon type. You gain the coloring of that dragon and resistance 5 to the dammage type associated with that dragon. You are now considered humanoid and a dragon of your chosen type for any affects that target race.
Dragon Types
Black, Acid, 45-foot line
Blue, Electricity, 45-foot line
Green, Acid, 20-foot cone
Red, Fire, 20-foot cone
White, Cold, 20-foot cone
Brass, Fire, 45-foot line
Bronze, Electricity, 45-foot line
Copper, Acid, 45-foot line
Gold, Fire, 20-foot cone
Silver, Cold, 20-foot cone
Breath of the Dragon
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm, 3rd level
Benefit: You gain a breath weapon matching your dragon type that you may use once per day. It does 1d6 damage per character level. The Reflex DC is 10 + ½ Level + CON. You qualify for the Ability Focus monster feat.
Breath of the Dragon, Improved
Requirements: Breath of the Dragon, 7th level
Benefit: Your breath weapon now uses d10’s.
Extra Breath Weapon
Requirements: Breath of the Dragon, 5th level
Benefit: Your Breath Weapon may be used 2 additional times per day.
Breath Weapon Control
Requirements: Breath of the Dragon
Benefit: Your Breath Weapon may be sprayed as a 20 foot cone or focused in a 45 foot line.
Claws of the Dragon
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain two Claw attacks for 1d4 damage. You claws are considered a natural weapon which qualifies you for the Improved Natural Attack monster feat. This attack is treated as a primary attack when not using weapons.
Draconic Resistance
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm, 7th level
Benefit: Your energy resistance improves to 15 against the energy type of your dragon variant.
Draconic Resistance, Improved
Requirements: Draconic Resistance, 15th level
Benefit: You energy resistance improves to 30 against the energy type of your dragon variant.
Draconic Vision
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain Darkvision 60’.
Draconic Smell
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm, 3rd level
Benefit: You gain the Scent special ability.
Dragon Wings
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm, 5th level
Benefit: You grow a set of draconic wings which grant you a fly speed equal to your regular movement. However, you must land at the end of your movement. Also, falling damage is negated by using your wings. These benefits are lost if you are carrying more than a Light load. Your wing span is equal to twice your height and your weight increases by 25%. You may not "run" or hover while flying.
Draconic Flight
Requirements: Dragon Wings, 15th level
Benefit: You gain the full ability of flight. Your fly speed is equal to your regular movement with average manueverability. You now qualify for monster feats that have a fly speed prerequisit.
Maw of the Dragon
Requirements: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain one Bite attack at 1d6. You bite is considered a natural weapon which qualifies you for the Improved Natural Attack monster feat. This attack is treated as a primary attack when not using weapons.
Related Monster Feats
Ability Focus, Flyby Attack, Hover, Improved Natural Armor, Improved Natural Attack, Multiattack, Wingover.
Now THIS looks like a race I could see myself playing and enjoying. ^^
Or tossing at my players as an adversary (I always kind of disliked the draconians and their complications...).
I wasn't sure about someone being able to use a 20 ft. cone of 7d10 damage 3/day - but, then again, he'd have to invest all his character feats in this ability and have not much else going for him but his class abilities.
Nicely done. I'll bookmark this thread for possible later use and inspirations. ^^
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Nether Saxon,
Thanks for the kind words and thanks for keeping up with the progress. I struggled with the breath weapon for a long time before I decided what to do with it. Specifically because it had the potential to be so powerful. Maybe the upgrade to d10's will prove to be too much. I finally decided to go with it since the feat tax is so high.
Do you think I should get rid of it or leave it up to an individual GM to worry about?
Also, I removed the 'See through Invisibility' feat it seemed underpowered. Blindsight seemed like too much since Sorcerers with the Draconic bloodline only get Blindsense and that's at 20th level. Then I started thinking, what is the point in even worrying about either of those since they can just take Blind Fight.
Please let me know if there are any further recommendations.
Its shaping up very nicely!
I should point out that your extra text about natural attacks switching from primary to secondary when used in combination with weapons may be unnecessary - it seems it's embedded in the universal monster rules.
I would probably remove the Dragon Smell feat. Depending on the rules rigor of the game, scent is actually a very potent special ability; automatically being aware of hidden enemies within 30 feet means a character with scent is almost impossible to ambush, an ability many would kill to achieve.
Blindsense is even more cheap. Leave that kind of thing for in-class capstones, rather than feats on the side. If they can already pick up darkvision and blind-fight, that seems like more than enough to me.
Like Nether Saxon, I'm a bit leery of the breath weapon, now I actually look at it in context. I feel like we might be giving paladins a bit too much ammunition, between the eminently favorable base racial abilities, plus the handy breath weapon feats... str & cha is exactly what paladins want, and that breath weapon shores up the paladin's "weakness" (read: balanced match) against hordes of lesser enemies.
The fix for this might be as simple as raising the level for extra breaths to 7 or 9. At that point, the party wizard is graduating from fireballs to the real battlefield-warping spells, and it's less toe-stompy for the tanks to be spitting fire at swarm-type enemies.
Personally, I'd leave the Breath Weapon problem for individual GMs to handle. After all, it's not that he'll be doing anything else in the round (apart form moving, which would cause an AoO and so on...).
Concerning the "Front-loaded Paladin"-Dilemma - I did a race that just seemed to scream "OMGLOLOLOL PALLY POWER!!11oneleven!" because of the racial stat adjustments.
I simply moved the stat bonus from Charisma to Intelligence and still kept the flavor of the race - wise, cultured, civilised. Now even more so because of their inherent intellect.
But I don't say you should do that, it's just what I did.
Otherwise - so the dragonborne Paladin can, three times per day, obliterate a horde of opponents who a) are susceptible to his breath weapon, b) fail their saves, c) are low on hit points anyway, d) are standing way too close to each other in the first place (situational placing depending on the form of your breath weapon - if it's a line, it's just silly placing for the opponents)...
Hmpf. So, yeah, you just saved the wizard a fireball spell there. I'm happy for you. ;-)
Basically, when I throw hordes of mooks at my players, I don't expect them to last very long, mostly it's just a nuisance. ^^
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Thanks for all of the insight guys. Your help has made all the difference in developing this race. I'm really comfortable with how it turned out.
I think I want to raise the level of the scent ability to 5th but I don't want to get rid of it. To me, it just feels Dragon-like. To the point that I have always given this ability to the dragons I put in the game.
As for the cohesion of playing a Dragonborne Paladin, I'm okay with that.
As for adding text about primary attacks and 'you are now qualified for monster feat x', I threw these in as helpful pointers rather than because I felt it was needed information. My intention is to add links to the appropriate rules but I didn't think that would be important yet.
Lastly, does anybody have a recommendation for an alternate name for the Draconic Scent feat. Draconic Smell and Draconic Scent make it sound as if the Dragonborne gives off an odor rather than an ability they possess.
Here are a list of changes...
Version 6:
- Changed Draconic Smell to Draconic Scent.
Changed Draconic Scent from 3rd to 5th level.
Changed the word requirement to prerequisite throughout feats.
Added Dragonborne prerequisite to Dragonborne Tradition trait.
The spelling is purposelly different from that used in other fantasy games. The addition of the ‘e’ at the end of the word changes the meaning. The former spelling, without the “e”, translated to, “One the dragon had given birth to.” With the revised spelling the name translates to, “One who has endured the dragon.” and/or, “One who is accountable to the dragon.”
Dragonborne are scaled, hairless, warm blooded creatures born from eggs and are milk fed in their early youth. Their scales range from a light tan to a darker brown depending on their age. Unlike dragons they do not have tails.
Some dragonborne undergo transformations using Draconic Rituals. This allows them to take on more dragon-like qualities such as; wings, breath weapon, and superior senses. The decision to accept such transformations is not taken lightly as this sets the dragonborne apart from his clan. They are, at best, considered respected protectors. However, depending on the circumstances, it is not uncommon for them to be viewed with suspicion or seen as war mongers.
+2 Strength, +2 Charisma, and -2 Dexterity
Medium size creature
Base speed of 30’ (6 squares)
Low-light Vision
+1 Natural armor bonus (this qualifies you for the Improved Natural Armor feat)
+2 racial bonus on Intimidate skill checks
+2 racial bonus on Sense Motive skill checks
+2 racial bonus on Perception skill checks
Dragonborne are considered humanoid and un-typed dragons for any affects that target race.
Dragonborne start with the Common and Draconic languages.
Dragonborne Racial Traits
Dragonborne Tradition
Prerequisite: Dragonborne
The Dragonborne take great pride in recording and learning about the history of the world. They believe, by studying the past, great wisdom can be applied to the future. You have been raised with these beliefs instilled in you. You receive +1 trat bonus on all Knowledge: History skill checks and Knowledge: History is always considered a class skill for you.
Dragonborne Racial Feats
Blood of the Great Wyrm
Prerequisite: Dragonborne
Benefit: Choose a dragon type. You gain the coloring of that dragon and resistance 5 to the dammage type associated with that dragon. You are now considered humanoid and a dragon of your chosen type for any affects that target race.
Dragon Types
Black, Acid, 45-foot line
Blue, Electricity, 45-foot line
Green, Acid, 20-foot cone
Red, Fire, 20-foot cone
White, Cold, 20-foot cone
Brass, Fire, 45-foot line
Bronze, Electricity, 45-foot line
Copper, Acid, 45-foot line
Gold, Fire, 20-foot cone
Silver, Cold, 20-foot cone
Breath of the Dragon
Prerequisite: Blood of the Great Wyrm, 3rd level
Benefit: You gain a breath weapon matching your dragon type that you may use once per day. It does 1d6 damage per character level. The Reflex DC is 10 + ½ Level + CON. You qualify for the Ability Focus monster feat.
Breath of the Dragon, Improved
Prerequisite: Breath of the Dragon, 7th level
Benefit: Your breath weapon now uses d10’s.
Extra Breath Weapon
Prerequisite: Breath of the Dragon, 5th level
Benefit: Your Breath Weapon may be used 2 additional times per day.
Breath Weapon Control
Prerequisite: Breath of the Dragon
Benefit: Your Breath Weapon may be sprayed as a 20 foot cone or focused in a 45 foot line.
Claws of the Dragon
Prerequisite: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain two Claw attacks for 1d4 damage. You claws are considered a natural weapon which qualifies you for the Improved Natural Attack monster feat. This attack is treated as a primary attack when not using weapons.
Draconic Resistance
Prerequisite: Blood of the Great Wyrm, 7th level
Benefit: Your energy resistance improves to 15 against the energy type of your dragon variant.
Draconic Resistance, Improved
Prerequisite: Draconic Resistance, 15th level
Benefit: You energy resistance improves to 30 against the energy type of your dragon variant.
Draconic Vision
Prerequisite: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain Darkvision 60’.
Draconic Scent
Prerequisite: Blood of the Great Wyrm, 5th level
Benefit: You gain the Scent special ability.
Dragon Wings
Prerequisite: Blood of the Great Wyrm, 5th level
Benefit: You grow a set of draconic wings which grant you a fly speed equal to your regular movement. However, you must land at the end of your movement. Also, falling damage is negated by using your wings. These benefits are lost if you are carrying more than a Light load. Your wing span is equal to twice your height and your weight increases by 25%. You may not "run" or hover while flying.
Draconic Flight
Prerequisite: Dragon Wings, 15th level
Benefit: You gain the full ability of flight. Your fly speed is equal to your regular movement with average manueverability. You now qualify for monster feats that have a fly speed prerequisit.
Maw of the Dragon
Prerequisite: Blood of the Great Wyrm
Benefit: You gain one Bite attack at 1d6. You bite is considered a natural weapon which qualifies you for the Improved Natural Attack monster feat. This attack is treated as a primary attack when not using weapons.
Related Monster Feats
Ability Focus, Flyby Attack, Hover, Improved Natural Armor, Improved Natural Attack, Multiattack, Wingover.
How about
"Draconic Olfaction" or "Olfactor" ?
Traitwise, you could design a trait for each of the metallic and chromatic dragon variants from any book you care to use.
For starters, I'll just post what is going through my own mind here. The format will be "Name of trait; Skill that is getting the bonus and will be considered a class skill for all classes".
Golden Pose; Diplomacy
Silver Eyes; Sense Motive
Copper Entertainer; Perform (all)
Bronze Fluidity; Swim
Brass Tongue; Linguistics
Red Greed; Appraise
Blue Schemer; Bluff
Green Hunter; Perception
Black Visage; Intimidate
White Tenacity; Survival
Were you going to include some info regarding the colouration of the dragonborne? If so, what are the ramifications of sporting a certain colour theme? Are there superstitions among the dragonborne regarding ones' main scale colour? Questions questions questions... ;-)