Making a martial dragon disciple work?

[Zeykk]

New to the game and have been really drawn to the dragon disciple archetype lately. However I’m trying to figure out how I can get it to work as a front liner/martial character.

I’ve been playing around with kobold barbarian builds for grappling to make use of dragon claws and scales of the dragon, monk got action economy, maneuverability and scales of the dragon, or fighter for agile grace with the claws, grapples, trips, and intimidation.

How would you make a front liner / martial dragon disciple work? Or is it just better to lean into the archetype as a spellcaster/shapeshifter?

[Captain Morgan]

So first off, you need to remember that Access is not the same as Prerequisite. ANYONE can take the dragon disciple archetype with GM's permission for an uncommon option. Kobolds and such just don't need to ask for permission. That's what access means.

With that in mind the best answer is a dragon style monk. 18 strength, 16 Dex. Take Scales of the Dragon at 4. If you're a crystal or forest dragon you get Piercing resistance, which is definitely the best for a tank. You're basically the hardest hitting monk. Compared to your standard Dex monk, you wind up with one point lower AC for levels 1-3, one point higher levels 4-9, and you're even the other levels. You also have less pressure to pump Dex in the long run, which is good because you'll want charisma if you're going to take Dragon's Roar. And because Dragon Tail strikes are kicks, your hands are free. Might as well pack a shield, and maybe snag shield block.

Otherwise the build is free. Snag dragon's breath if your GM allows it to scale with Divine proficiency, or form of the dragon if you can still flurry in that form.

[Zeykk]

Great input, yea the intimidation skills look great to me in fleshing out a front lining character and seems even more fitting for a dragon disciple.

Why monk over barbarian or fighter? Fighter seems interesting with better chance to hit, more crits (maybe?), and agile grace. Don’t they all have the same unarmored proficiency? Or is city of blows just that powerful?

[Lucerious]

Monks get better unarmored defense which works best for getting the most out of Scales of the Dragon, which I assume is part of the reasoning.