A player asked me to update the dragon shaman class out of the 3.5 phb II, this is what I came up with. The biggest changes are in the 'touch of vitality' feature, skill points and class skills, and the capstone abilities for the class. Any input in terms of balance of features would be greatly appreciated as I've never had this class in a group. I apologize for the formatting, I'm not entirely certain how to clean that up.
Thanks -JWP.
Draconic Shaman
Role: Draonic Shamans act as diplomats, keepers of tribal or local lore, healers, warriors and combat support. Their dragon auras and gifts make them effective at supporting their allies while still being competent combatants in their own right.
Alignment: Within one-step of totem dragon spirit.
Hit Die: d10
Good Saves: Fort and WIll
Class Skills: Appraise, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Fly, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge Arcana, Knowledge History, Knowledge Nature, Perception, Profession, Sense Motive, Survival, Swim
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier
Starting Gold: 4d4x10 gp
Starting Age: As druid
Class Features:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Dragon Shamans are proficient with all simple weapons, with medium and light armor, and with shields (except tower shields).
Bonus Languages: A dragon shaman’s bonus language options include Draconic.
Dragon Aura (Su):
Projecting this aura is a swift action and only one aura can be projected at one time. An aura remains in effect until the dragon shaman uses a free action to dismiss it or he activates another aura in its place. He can have a dragon aura active continually, thus, an aura can be in effect at the start of an encounter even before he takes his first turn.
Unless noted, a dragon aura affects all allies within 30 feet, (including the draconic shaman) with line of effect to the shaman. The aura is dismissed if the draconic shaman becomes unconscious or is slain, but will remain in effect even if he is incapable of acting.
The bonus granted by the draconic shamans aura begins at +1 and increases to +2 at 5th level, +3 at 10th level, +4 at 15th level, and +5 at 20th level. At 1st level a draconic shaman knows how to project 3 auras, at every odd numbered level after that he learns on additional dragon aura, until all seven are known at level 9. Each time he activates a dragon aura, a draconic shaman may choose from any of the auras that he knows.
Totem Dragon Spirit:
- Black NE, CE, CN, Stealth, Line of acid
Blue NE, LE, LN, Stealth, Line of electricity
Brass NG, CG, CN, Linguistics, Line of fire
Bronze NG, LG, LN, Disguise, Line of electricity
Copper NG, CG, CN, Acrobatics, Line of acid
Gold NG, LG, LN, Disguise, Cone of fire
Green NE, LE, LN, Stealth, Cone of acid
Red NE, CE, CN, Acrobatics, Cone of fire
Silver NG, LG, LN, Acrobatics, Cone of cold
White CE, CN, NE, Escape Artist, Cone of cold
Draconic Lore:
Gift of the Dragon Spirit: At 2nd level a draconic shaman may heal the wounds of living creatures (including his own or those of others) by touch. Once per day, a draconic shaman can heal a number of points of damage equal to twice his class level x his charisma bonus. For example, if a 6th level draconic shaman with a charisma score of 14 (+2 bonus) can heal 24 points of damage. He may chose to divide his healing among multiple recipients, and he does not have to use it all at once. Using gift of the dragon spirit is a standard action, it has no effect on undead.
*At 11th level the draconic shaman treats his charisma score as if it were 2 higher than it is for the purposes of calculating the amount points of damage he can heal. At level 19 the dragon shamans charisma score is treated as 4 higher than it is for determining the amount of points of damage he can heal, this ability replaces the level 11 ability.
Starting at level 5 a dragon shaman’s Gift of the Dragon Spirit ability begins to become more powerful. He may spend 5 points of healing from the Gift of the Dragon Spirit ability to remove the dazed, fatigued, or sickened condition from one individual.
At level 7, for every 10 points of healing spent from the Gift of the Dragon Spirit ability he can remove the exhausted, nauseated, poisoned, or stunned condition from one individual.
At level 9, for every 20 points of healing spent from the Gift of the Dragon Spirit ability he can remove a negative level, or the blinded, deafened or diseased condition from one individual.
At level 11, the draconic shaman may use his Gift of the Dragon Spirit ability to create the effect of a ‘Reincarnate’ spell on a fallen creature. In order to use this ability the dragon shaman must spend 40 points of healing from the Gift of the Dragon spirit ability. Using this aspect of Gift of the Dragon Spirit also requires a tithe made to the totem dragon of the dragon shaman. This tithe must be 1000 gold pieces worth of precious coins or gems that are placed next to the body to be reincarnated during this ritual. As the subject is reincarnated the precious coins or gems are used just as the material components of the ‘Reincarnate’ spell. This ability functions just like the spell listed on pg. 331 of Core Rulebook. If this ability is attempted without a tithe, or if the tithe is lost, stolen, or removed during the ritual, the ritual fails.
This particular use of the Gift of the Dragon Spirit ability is strenuous, as such, the draconic shaman may only use this gift a number of times per day equal to ¼ levels in the draconic shaman class the character posses, to a maximum of 5 times/day at level 20. (draconic shaman levels only)
*This particular use of the ‘Gift of the Dragon Spirit’ ability counts as a spell, instead of a supernatural ability, because the draconic shaman’s totem dragon spirit is casting the spell not the draconic shaman, who is only channeling it. Therefore, this use of ‘Gift of the Dragon Spirit’ is subject to anything that can affect a spell. The effective caster level for the totem dragon spirit is equal to the draconic shamans caster level (equal to a druid of the same level), with the dc for the spell being equal to 10 + spell level + the draconic shamans cha modifier. The draconic shaman must concentrate on this ritual. If a concentration check is required, the base check is d20 + the caster level of the draconic shaman (equal to a druid of the same level) + the draconic shamans cha mod, for all other concentration checks reference table 9-1 on pg. 207 of the Core Rulebook.
Dragon Spirit Adaptation: At 3rd level the draconic shaman takes on an aspect of his totem dragon spirit. Some adaptations are extraordinary abilities while others are always active; others are spell-like abilities that have a caster level equal to your class level and a save DC equal to 10 + spell level + Cha modifier.
Black—Water Breathing (Ex): You can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use spells and other abilities underwater (always active).
Blue—Ventriloquism (Sp): As the spell (at will).
Brass—Endure Elements (Sp): As the spell, except you can only target yourself (at will).
Bronze—Water Breathing (Ex): You can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use spells and other abilities underwater (always active).
Copper—Spider Climb (Sp): As the spell, except you can only target yourself (at will).
Gold—Water Breathing (Ex): You can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use spells and other abilities underwater (always active).
Green—Water Breathing (Ex): You can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use spells and other abilities underwater (always active).
Red—Treasure Seeker (Ex): You gain a +5 competence bonus on Appraise and Search checks (always active).
Silver—Feather Fall (Sp): As the spell, except you can only target yourself (at will).
White—Icewalker (Ex): You can walk across icy surfaces without reducing your speed or making Balance checks (always active).
Breath Weapon: At 4th level, you gain a breath weapon corresponding to your totem spirit dragon. Regardless of the area one affects or the type of energy damage it deals, all breath weapons deal 2d6 points of damage, plus an extra 1d6 points of damage for every two additional class levels (3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 8th level, and so forth). A successful Reflex save halves the damage dealt; the save DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 your dragon shaman level + your Con modifier. Just like a true dragon, once you breathe you must wait 1d4 rounds before you can use your breath weapon again. Cone-shaped breath weapons extend out to 15 feet at 4th level, increasing to 30 feet at 12th level and to 60 feet at 20th level. Line-shaped breath weapons are 30 feet long at 4th level, increasing to 60 feet at 12th level and to 120 feet at 20th level.
Dragons Resolve: At 4th level, you gain immunity to paralysis and sleep effects. You also become immune to the frightful presence of dragons.
Natural Armor: (Ex) +1 to natural armor at levels 7, 12, 17
Energy Immunity: (Ex) At 9th level, the dragon shaman gains immunity to the energy type of the breath weapon he gained at 4th level.
Commune with Draconic Spirit: (Sp) At 14 level, the draconic shaman gains the ability to contact his dragon totem spirit directly to ask questions of it. This is equivalent of casting a ‘commune’ spell, except that it has no material component, focus, or XP cost and allows only one question per three class levels. After using this ability, the draconic shaman cannot use it again for seven days.
Dragon Wings: (Ex) At 15th level the draconic shaman grows a pair of wings that resemble those of his totem dragon spirits. They allow flight at a speed of 60 (good maneuverability). The draconic shaman can even fly while carrying a medium load, though his fly speed drops to 40 feet in this case. If the dragon shaman already has wings, he can choose whether these wings replace his own.
Draconic Spirit Ascension (Ex): At 20th level the draconic shaman’s journey into the realm of dragons is complete. He gains several abilities and attributes similar to those of his dragon patron spirit. This amounts to and increase in his aura bonus to +5, and increase in breath weapon dmg equal to 10d6; and an increase to a 60-ft. cone or 120-ft. line, as well as immunity to paralysis and dark vision out to 60 ft.
In addition the Draconic shaman may choose between any one of the following gifts, representing a unique blessing from the draconic shamans totem dragon spirit.
Gift of the Dragon Scale: +4 to natural armor
Boon of the Dragon Body: +2 to two of the following stats: Str, Con, Int, Cha
*these +2 bonuses must be used on different stats, the bonuses cannot be used on the same stat twice.
Roar of the Dragon: Increased breath weapon hit die to d8
Gift of the Sky Dragon: Increased fly speed to 90 feet (good maneuverability)
Senses of the Dragon: Your dark vision range increases to 90 ft and you also receive blind sense out to 20 ft. in addition you may cast Truesight as a spell like ability 1/day with your caster level being equal to your class level.
I think that some of the "at will" abilites, most specifically the totem Dragon spirit, and the Breath Weapon, should be a "per day" sort of thing.
Possibly CHA Bonus plus Lvl/2 (Minimum 1)
Otherwise, this looks awfully powerful for a character class.
I think that some of the "at will" abilities, most specifically the totem Dragon spirit, and the Breath Weapon, should be a "per day" sort of thing.
Possibly CHA Bonus plus Lvl/2 (Minimum 1)
Otherwise, this looks awfully powerful for a character class.
As far as the breath weapon goes, that is straight from the PHB II 3.5 edition. The Gift of the dragon spirit I have modified from that classes 'Touch of Vitality' ability. My remove condition abilities occur sooner in levels than that classes, however, the level they originally occurred at made them far less effective as the party would need a main healer to remove conditions. As it is this class is meant to be able to play effective healing/party support.
What is BAB? In Pathfinder BAB is generally tied with HD (with specific exception of Barbarian, Dragon Disciple and Stalwart Defender, each one because of certain reasons). D10 HD is designated for high BAB classes (1/level).
When possible I would suggest comparing draconic qualities with Sorcerer's Draconic Bloodline and weight them against them (sorry I won't compare and comment at the moment but I am just going to sleep and my itchy eyes would not suffer from reading through prd at the moment, maybe in the morning).
Another point: Touch Of Vitality was very similar to Paladin's Lay On Hands and thus I would rework it into something that acts like Pathfinder Lay On Hands - and that ability changed quite much.
What is BAB? In Pathfinder BAB is generally tied with HD (with specific exception of Barbarian, Dragon Disciple and Stalwart Defender, each one because of certain reasons). D10 HD is designated for high BAB classes (1/level).
When possible I would suggest comparing draconic qualities with Sorcerer's Draconic Bloodline and weight them against them (sorry I won't compare and comment at the moment but I am just going to sleep and my itchy eyes would not suffer from reading through prd at the moment, maybe in the morning).
Another point: Touch Of Vitality was very similar to Paladin's Lay On Hands and thus I would rework it into something that acts like Pathfinder Lay On Hands - and that ability changed quite much.
I would agree on the Touch of Vitality but disagree on changing hit die type or BAB. The Dragon Shaman definitely seems to work best with a 3/4 BAB and a d10 hit die -- which puts its hit die one step above the recommended minimum just as the three classes you cited are. While there are numerous cases where the rule connecting hit die type with BAB was used to improve hit die type when going from 3.5 to Pathfinder, I know of no cases where it was used to reduce a hit die type or increase a BAB progression -- the few exceptions were left as is.
I came up with a version that uses the 1d8 HD, but also incorporates "Draconic Toughness" which allows the dragon shaman to add his Charisma modifier to hit points in addition to his Constitution modifier.
This can lead to a ton of hit points, but this is kind of balanced by the fact the dragon shaman doesn't really dish out a lot of damage. It mostly just soaks up hits and damage, with a nice bit of buffing, an occasional small area effect, and some supplemental healing.
Remember, the "prime attributes" of the dragon shaman are Charisma and Constitution, and they are argueably the least "useful" abilities. Constitution only affects hit points and fortitude saves (there are NO Constitution-based skills!), and Charisma only affects some social skills (Charisma has NO non-class based combat use--maybe feinting and demoralizing).
A compromise might be to add your Charisma modifier to your Constitution score when determining bonus hit points. But that's probably a not necessary complication.
Thank you all so far for the input. In response to a few of the questions or comments.
The class is supposed to have its original 3/4 BAB not full.
The 'Gift of the Spirit Dragon' ability is almost unchanged from the 'Touch of Vitality' class feature except that the ability to remove conditions comes earlier to be comparable to the paladins 'Lay on Hands' ability and the subsequent 'Mercy' features. The reason I have not simply given the draconic shaman the 'Lay on Hands' ability is that the class needed a more effective healing resource to be a competent main healer/support.
The paladin receives a slew of other benefits that are far more powerful than anything the draconic shaman receives, therefore I feel that the 'Gift' ability is more than reasonable.
(the ability to remove diseases at level 9 is far later than the divine casting classes ability to do this at levels 3 or 5 but still on par with the paladin's mercy)
The 'Reincarnation' feature was added so that in the unfortunate event that a party member dies, the draconic shaman may bring that member back, with many conditions, and the party will still more than likely have to have help returning the PC to normal, via a quest or npc caster.
I realize that the draconic shamans healing ability is far less variable than the other divine casters, but when compared at level to any of those casters, save maybe the druid in terms of healing, he will be far out matched in terms of total healing and spell utility.
As far as the breath weapon goes, that is straight from the PHB II 3.5 edition. The Gift of the dragon spirit I have modified from that classes 'Touch of Vitality' ability. My remove condition abilities occur sooner in levels than that classes, however, the level they originally occurred at made them far less effective as the party would need a main healer to remove conditions. As it is this class is meant to be able to play effective healing/party support.I think that some of the "at will" abilities, most specifically the totem Dragon spirit, and the Breath Weapon, should be a "per day" sort of thing.
Possibly CHA Bonus plus Lvl/2 (Minimum 1)
Otherwise, this looks awfully powerful for a character class.
This is probably going to sound a little snarkier than intend it to be, but just converting from any of the WOTC splat books (including PH II and any of the "complete") can be a recipie for unbalance right off the bat. So many of those new classes and rules were very munchkinny.
I just think the breath weapon is usable too often for what it can do.
I play a slightly pathfinderized dragon shaman, and the breath weapon is actually pretty weak. It's only usable once or twice per combat, and it does half the damage that a sorcerer or wizard of equal level can do pretty much every round of combat, and to a smaller area of effect. It's a nice trump card to have, but it can't be used as a main combat ability.
The dragon shaman is more of support character, buffing allies with his aura, and healing them with his touch of vitality.
I have to say I dislike reading the format so I kinda skimmed through it.
I'd mix some bits of Dragon Disciple / sorceror bloodline in the class, though I'd keep it at D8 and possibly add the same ability bonuses the Dragon Disiple gets throughout the classes levels. Most of the abilities should be gotten a bit earlier than a sorceror or dragon disciple can get them at the earliest.
I agree that laying on hands would be a good fit, breath weapon doesnt bother me much, the sudden jump to immunities in abilities does a bit, I'd prefer to see energy resistance and +2 /+4 on saves before immunities.
I think you can make a pretty decent buffer/ secondary warrior/ tank with it, I'd scrap all the abilities and rearrange them by level though, I do not think you have much chance outbalancing this class even by giving it fair combat abilities. Considering it is basically a cleric class without spells, channeling or domain powers you can use class abilities quite freely.
Using Lay On Hands and Mercies, possibly with some modifications of Mercies to make them more flexible instead of Touch Of Vitality would give benefit of using Lay On Hands-related feats from UM - like the Ultimate Mercy (IIRC: requires Greater Mercy feat, allows Paladin to spend 10 charges of lay on hands to raise dead once per day at the cost of one negative level to the caster that vanishes after 24 hours, if 5k diamond is used as per spell, there is no negative level for the caster).
I also thought about streamling Dragon Shaman somehow with Dragon Disciple. On the other hand I wouldn't have problem with changing Dragon Shaman HD to d12 to keep with its draconic image. Actually I would either prefer it to have d8 (possibly with Toughness as bonus feat) to keep with BAB or to change to d12 because of draconic nature - that d10 irks me as out of place.
I think the Dragon Shaman should "second best" to an actual dragon. What I mean by that, is that it should be almost as good in its mechanics.
For example, Dragons are Full BAB, All Good Saves, 1d12 HD, and 6 skill points per level.
Dragon Shamans should be 3/4 BAB, 2 Good Saves, 1d10 HD, and 4 skill points per level.
But with PF linking BAB and HD, I can see either being barbaricly unique and keeping the 1d10 HD, or grant a special hit point enhancing ability, like also adding Charisma modifier to hit points, or adding your Charisma modifier to your Constitution score for the purposes of determining bonus hit points.
I think the Dragon Shaman should "second best" to an actual dragon. What I mean by that, is that it should be almost as good in its mechanics.
For example, Dragons are Full BAB, All Good Saves, 1d12 HD, and 6 skill points per level.
Dragon Shamans should be 3/4 BAB, 2 Good Saves, 1d10 HD, and 4 skill points per level.
But with PF linking BAB and HD, I can see either being barbaricly unique and keeping the 1d10 HD, or grant a special hit point enhancing ability, like also adding Charisma modifier to hit points, or adding your Charisma modifier to your Constitution score for the purposes of determining bonus hit points.
But here is the thing -- in all of the official 3.5 to Pathfinder conversions I have seen, I have only seen that linkage of BAB and HD used to boost HD type -- never to boost BAB or reduce HD type. Can anyone cite any case where either of the latter two changes was made?
But here is the thing -- in all of the official 3.5 to Pathfinder conversions I have seen, I have only seen that linkage of BAB and HD used to boost HD type -- never to boost BAB or reduce HD type. Can anyone cite any case where either of the latter two changes was made?
Constructs have their BAB boosted to match HD (high BAB, d10)
The closest thing to HD reduction was what happend to Undead type, but I it was more of serious redesigning that specific type: their BAB moved up from poor to medium and their HD dropped 2 steps, from d12 to d8.
EDIT: Oozes! Just noticed that Oozes ha their HD cut down to match their BAB.
3.5: Ooze has medium BAB progression and d10.
PF: Ooze has medium BAB progression and d8.
Also, one could argue the 3.5 Knight with its 1d12 HD was reduced to 1d10 with the APG Cavalier.
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Also, one could argue the 3.5 Knight with its 1d12 HD was reduced to 1d10 with the APG Cavalier.
While this is true, it doesn't really translate to an be applicable in this situation. The actual BAB has not changed, merely the HD, provided the Cavalier is the PF equivalent of the knight. I never used or saw the Knight class, so I wouldn't know.
The breath weapon ability should be scaled back to be fundamentally equal to that of the Alchemist and his bombs. Then grant the ability to modify the breath weapon as class abilities.
if you want unlimited usage, downtone it or make it a feat (d6 +1/2 level seems to be standard for unlimited use stuff?).
Does he gain spellcasting ability?
==Aelryinth
The breath weapon can be used once every 1d4 rounds, so really only 2 or 3 times per combat at the most. An alchemist can use his bombs every round of combat, especially at higher levels, and they cause more damage thanks to the Int bonus to damage.
If anything, the dragon shaman needs a way to boost damage to his breath weapon. Empower Breath helps a bit, but it increases the recharge time of the dragon shaman's breath weapon by 2 rounds, which means it can only be used once per encounter, and even then, it does less damage than a sorcerer's fireball or lightning bolt.
I was making Animist class (long story short, after trying to rewrite Dragon Shaman I finally found myself with something somewhat different than the original - I'll post it in a new thread *when* and *if* I finish it) and while tweking with their abilities I picked Lay On Hands. Then I thought that I could save place in table by giving lay on hands and dragon breath weapon the same damage dice. Which make me think more and finally I decided that Animist (Dragon Spirit) should use Lay On Hands daily uses to power their breath weapon. Which lead to removal of 1d4 rounds of delay as already limited class resource.
As far as the breath weapon goes, that is straight from the PHB II 3.5 edition. The Gift of the dragon spirit I have modified from that classes 'Touch of Vitality' ability. My remove condition abilities occur sooner in levels than that classes, however, the level they originally occurred at made them far less effective as the party would need a main healer to remove conditions. As it is this class is meant to be able to play effective healing/party support.I think that some of the "at will" abilities, most specifically the totem Dragon spirit, and the Breath Weapon, should be a "per day" sort of thing.
Possibly CHA Bonus plus Lvl/2 (Minimum 1)
Otherwise, this looks awfully powerful for a character class.
This is probably going to sound a little snarkier than intend it to be, but just converting from any of the WOTC splat books (including PH II and any of the "complete") can be a recipie for unbalance right off the bat. So many of those new classes and rules were very munchkinny.
I just think the breath weapon is usable too often for what it can do.
No snark taken :) I actually came to an agreement with the player that chose to try the dragon shaman, that we would try it out of the book and if the abilities, particularly the breath weapon, became unbalancing that we would amend it to so many times per combat or day. Having gone through and reviewed his copy of PHB II, as I do not have my own copy, I think I can agree to some of the balance issues you speak of. For instance the 'Beguiler' class seems very powerful, with it's only real weakness being monsters that are immune to compulsions or mind effecting spells. As there are quite a few of them in the monster manual, I am wondering if this is why they chose to make this class; in addition, I found the 'duskblade' to be a more powerful version of the 'magus' if only slightly so.
I think that 'Smilodan' has done some pretty extensive research on this class, based on his conversion, so I think we may try his breath weapon chart if there are issues, than we will scale back from that. Luckily, the player is very easy going so I'm looking forward to working with him and seeing this class play out.
Thanks again for the feedback from everyone. The game starts next week, all other classes and content are straight from pathfinder so I hope to have a final post on how it went, or what modifications we might come up with to keep the flavor of the class but keep it's power within reason.
I thought I would follow up this thread with some feedback from the campaign I have now run up to level 16. Using the Dragon Shaman from the 3.5 phb II with a few changes, and how the class operated as used by the player.
Changes:
1)full BAB.
2)Touch of vitality as written, except can remove conditions at level 6. Lay on hands given at level made for far too many abilities at certain levels.
3)Fledgling wings at level 11 fly speed of 40 feet average maneuverability. (to replace remove conditions, which came far too late to be effective as a source for the removal of conditions)
4)Draconic Wings at 19. Fly speed of 60 feet good maneuverability. (as written)
5) added skills Diplomacy and Sense Motive and Knowledge Arcana to the class skill list.
(Knowledge Arcana for knowledge checks pertaining to dragons. The player had a great idea for a 'Draconic Lore' ability that allowed Dragon Shamans to use Knowledge Nature to make checks for information about dragons)
With the above changes the characters played 'Rise of the Runelords' updated to current rules from level 1-16 (additional adventures increased their finishing level). The Dragon Shaman class performed very well and I had no issues with balance at any point in time. The party lacked a main healer and as such the DS had to focus more on support at times than combat, but he made a great and flavorful addition to the group.
Of note:
The breath weapon at 1d4 cool down rounds was not broken in any way. It gave the DS an interesting option in combat but it in no way dominated the game in terms of damage or utility. Often times this resulted in the breath weapon only being used twice in a combat, except for a couple of instances where he rolled three 1's in a row. However his damage was between 3d6 and 5d6 at levels 7 and 10.
Touch of Vitality was great. Dependable healing, and really gave the party selective support for diseases and level drain without being too powerful.
Wings at 11 was almost too late in my opinion, however the player was so happy to not have to wait until level 19, which he assumed we wouldn't get to in this campaign, so it went over very well.
All in all, the auras were almost too 'balanced', maybe even a tad weak, the skill points could have used a boost as I see dragons as being fairly skillful creatures as should someone that emulates them.
The player used a copper dragon as his totem, for the 'hide' skill I replaced it with 'stealth'. This combined with at will spider climb and skill focus bluff and stealth was alot of fun for him. He had several goblins in caves convinced he was a stone spirit by hiding behind a large stalactite and using bluff to convince them the rock was speaking.
Lastly, the 'commune with dragons' ability was great fun from a DM's perspective, it was wonderful tool to help the players along without holding their hands, and gave me a great resource to add some mystery to the adventure.
Thanks for all the suggestions above, the player and his party mates had a great time with the class.
-JWP