I'm planning for my players to eventually encounter an umbral dragon in their adventure. It will be the first time any of them, player or character, has ever met a dragon. They'll have the opportunity to befriend the beast and gain a very powerful ally.
The only issue is having her grow more powerful to keep pace with the party. Advancing her one age category is a possibility, to give her +2 sorererc aster level. Advancing more than one age category is unlikely, because the campaign won't take decades. So what class should she take levels in? I've got a few ideas. Wizard, because she has a thing for studying magic. She would do necromancer or illusionist. Or dusk stalker, the fetchling rager archetype, becuase she's big on hunting and will probably returnto the shadow plane frequently once she's stronger. I would also consider dirge bard, rogue, fighter, barbarian, or witch. I definitely don't want her taking levels in sorcerer. That's what her dragon HD are for. Thoughts?
Sorcerer (shadow/umbral bloodline?) is the easiest option, as it stacks with dragon spellcasting already. I know you said you don't want it, but I'm not sure why having dragon HD should be a problem.
You could just ignore the prerequesites and give the dragon levels in shadowdancer, this should mesh really well with her dragon-powers.
Sorcerer (shadow/umbral bloodline?) is the easiest option, as it stacks with dragon spellcasting already. I know you said you don't want it, but I'm not sure why having dragon HD should be a problem.
I know there's no mechanical problem, I just want her to expand in other directions. She knows she'll just get better and better with her sorcery as she ages. She's plenty patient. She wants to develop other skills, basically. Umbral dragons are one of the most powerful of the true dragons, and she knows that. She's looking for something different from the abilities she's bound to gain anyways.
You could just ignore the prerequesites and give the dragon levels in shadowdancer, this should mesh really well with her dragon-powers.
I like that idea, actually. I'll put it up there with wizard and ranger. I won't completely ignore the prereqs either, probably just mobility.
Anti-Paladin of Zon-Kuthon?
Oracle of Bones would be pretty neat too. Heck, a lot of the Oracle Revelations are awesome gravy to give a dragon. (I don't think it'd fit thematically, but an Oracle of Battle would be horrific. That whole 'Surprising Charge' ability is amazing.)
Anti-paladin is a no because I don't want her to be that evil. Even if the party fails to win her over to neutrality/goodness, she won't be quite as evil as the average umbral dragon. Oracle could be super cool, although her sorcerer levels already let her cast cleric spells. But I'll give bones and maybe a few other mysteries a look.
nothing is scarier than a dragon/rogue. They are supposed to be huge, roaring and visible a mile away. Then one of those can hide in the shadows, be in the same room silently observing you and you have no clue.... now THATS scary!
nothing is scarier than a dragon/rogue. They are supposed to be huge, roaring and visible a mile away. Then one of those can hide in the shadows, be in the same room silently observing you and you have no clue.... now THATS scary!
That's what I was thinking. It would have vanish as a spell known, so it could turn invisible in the middle of combat, move, and then bust out a whole bunch of natural weapon sneak attacks on whoever messed with it. Add in the fact that umbral dragons are already good at stealth (for a dragon) and you've got a recipe for success. But is it better than wizard? I can't decide.