Is there a feat that does this

[Yqatuba]

A feat that allows a dragon (or other creature with a breath weapon) to change the shape of their breath? I think in the 3e Draconomicon there was something like this, but I'm not sure in Pathfinder. Also, am I correct in thinking a cone is almost always better than a line? The only time a line would be better would be if all you're enemies are lined up single-file, which is pretty unlikely.

[Kayerloth]

Generally you're probably right. That said how much depends on how far away the targets are. As for catching targets in a line, dragons are smart and will use the terrain (plus or minus battlefield control spells) to catch folks

[Java Man]

I often use the search function on Archives of Nethys to address questions like this.

[Lelomenia]

Line is nice when you have allies. You can almost always hit two with a line, and usually without getting any friendlies.

[avr]

Lines generally have twice the range of cones and do less collateral damage. Dragons usually aren't concerned with the latter, true.

I'm not aware of any PF feat that'd help. Note that if you're firing from above the effective shape of cones/lines to those on the ground changes.

[Thedmstrikes]

There is a monstrous feat for shape breath. I believe it is in one of the bestiarys. If not, it is in a splat book by a 3PP.

[ShroudedInLight]

If you're in a home game and a feat doesn't exist that does what you want, as the GM it is your prerogative to create said feat.

[Dragonborn3]

ShroudedInLight wrote:

If you're in a home game and a feat doesn't exist that does what you want, as the GM it is your prerogative to create said feat.

To further expand this, you can also just say the dragon has a cone instead of a line, or vice versa.

[Yqatuba]

I guess I'm worried about making the dragon too powerful (as they are pretty powerful, to begin with.)

[ShroudedInLight]

Eh, a feat that changes the way a Dragon's breath works (or even a specific change to a named dragon) isn't going to drastically alter the CR thanks to the time delay between breath weapon attacks and their limited range. As long as the dragon needs to recharge between breath weapon attacks, can't use the breath weapon mid-move, and the breath weapon has to start from the dragon's maw you won't break anything. Start changing those aspects and you'll break things fast.

[LordKailas]

Thedmstrikes wrote:

There is a monstrous feat for shape breath. I believe it is in one of the bestiarys. If not, it is in a splat book by a 3PP.

yep, you can find it here as a 3pp feat. There's also the feat Arcing Breath which lets you change a line into a chain lightning like effect. Though it's also 3PP from a different publisher than the 1st feat.

I wasn't able to find anything that wasn't 3pp that affects the shape of a breath weapon.

[Meirril]

Yqatuba wrote:

A feat that allows a dragon (or other creature with a breath weapon) to change the shape of their breath?

Not really meaning to derail the thread but...the title bothers me a lot. The title has nothing to do with the subject. That means people will either ignore or check this thread because they have no idea what it is about.

The topic of the thread is about Dragon Breath, and either shaping, changing, feats or any number of other words to indicate you want something different than what the bestiary entry says. Enough words related to the topic should be used in the title to give some kind of hint what the thread is about. Without that people will keep checking this thread because they can't remember what it is about even if they have seen it a dozen times.

This is by no means a bad topic, just a bad thread title. And if anyone hasn't guessed, this is a pet peeve of mine. Please take a little more time and try to choose a title that helps people find and remember your topic of discussion. Especially important for frequent posters like Yqatuba.

[Ninjamancer]

fwiw, Draconomicon feats can be slotted into Pathfinder seamlessly.

[Yqatuba]

LordKailas wrote:

Thedmstrikes wrote:

There is a monstrous feat for shape breath. I believe it is in one of the bestiarys. If not, it is in a splat book by a 3PP.

yep, you can find it here as a 3pp feat. There's also the feat Arcing Breath which lets you change a line into a chain lightning like effect. Though it's also 3PP from a different publisher than the 1st feat.

I wasn't able to find anything that wasn't 3pp that affects the shape of a breath weapon.

The first one seems closest to what I was thinking of, although I'm not sure it's worth using to make a line a cone if it only does half damage (even if the logic behind it makes sense). BTW, what exactly would a cone shaped lightning breath look like? I'm thinking maybe a bunch of lightning bolts fill the area? Or maybe the dragon just breathes out some electrified mist (which lasts too short to affect your vision like most mist/fog does).

[Java Man]

A leaping mass of sparks that fills the area, briefly outlining every object and creature in deadly St. Elmos fire?

[Ryze Kuja]

Depending on what level of spells you'd like your dragon to have, you could have that dragon get the spell Form of the Dragon and then you can switch into any type dragon you want :P