Dragon
It may have been obvious from birth, it may never have crossed your mind...but yours is the blood of the dragon, and your destiny is manifest.
Those of the path of the dragon have some amount of draconic blood, and can unlock the power of that blood as they advance in this path. Even at the lowest levels, it is possible to occasionally harness the full might and true form of a dragon. At higher levels, it becomes possible to gain your true form for long periods, or even permanently.
| Rank | Abilities | Draconic Might |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blood of the Dragon | +2 |
| 2 | Wings of the Dragon | +4 |
| 3 | Lesser Transformation | +6 |
| 4 | Mystic Flight | +8 |
| 5 | ? | +10 |
Blood of the Dragon
You gain the following abilities:
- Keen Senses: Gain darkvision 60 ft (double if you already had it) and advantage to Perception checks. Dragons can make out detail at four times the distance human senses can.
- Heart of Fire: Resist 50% (fire). Fire cannot harm the dragon.
- Rage: See below.
- True Form: See below.
- Breath Weapon: See below.
Rage
Rage is an attribute possessed by dragons. It represents their inner fire burning at an exceptionally-high temperature due to emotional compromise.
- Minimum value: 0
- Maximum value: None
- Gained: When specific events occur (see below)
- Lost: By expending it using Fire Breath, Transformation, or other uses (see Feats)
Gaining Rage
A dragon gains 1 point of rage automatically when any of the following events occur:
- He suffers a major or critical injury
- An ally is injured for the first time in a given encounter
Many other sources of rage are possible, per DM discretion, such as:
- He is the victim of an injustice (stolen from, assaulted, deprived of rights, etc)
- He or a loved one is made to suffer (torture, etc)
- A hated enemy evades his wrath
- Death of an ally or loved one (usually more than one point)
Not all situations should incur Rage. It is not a measurement of annoyance, nor the anger of mere mortals...it is an emotional force that creates literal heat, unleashing an extraordinary fiery power.
Examples of situations that probably should not result in a Rage gain include:
- The dragon is insulted or disrespected
- He fails a skill check or attack roll (although such a thing could of course result in one of the above situations)
- He finds someone annoying
Losing Rage
Rage does not diminish over time. It can be diminished with Fire Breath, Transformation, or other uses provided by feats.
The Effects of Rage
When a dragon's Rage is not zero, she is affected by the following:
Rage 1-4
She becomes more physically imposing--less human, more draconic, in proportion to her Rage. She becomes less rational, more emotional, more impulsive, driven more by base needs than by higher mental function (the PC retains control of the character).
No mechanical effects.
Rage 5-9
She begins to look unmistakably draconic. She is driven by the most immediate needs--overwhelmingly, to sate her rage.
She must eat more food to sustain herself (100% more per Rage point), and loses the ability to sleep, without gaining any resistance to the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.
Gain +4 Str and Cha, but -4 Int and Wis.
Each time an opportunity arises to satisfy her rage, she must pass a Willpower check, DC 5 per Rage point, if she wishes to suppress the urge. On success, she gains one Rage point; on failure, she is compelled to satisfy the urge.
Rage 10+
She immediately transforms, unleashing her full power. She loses all sense of friend and foe, becoming a menace to anyone unlucky or foolish enough to be near her. She sates her rage as quickly and recklessly as possible, until she is entirely diminished.
The player loses control of her character.
Draconic Might
Dragons are mighty. So much so, in fact, that their might cannot be contained by their form. At all times, you gain a bonus to Strength, Constitution, and Charisma given by the Draconic Might column in the table to the right.
True Form
The true form of a dragon is, of course, larger and more physically powerful than that of a human.
Even the lowest-level dragon can transform, if sufficiently motivated by Rage.
- Transform: At-will, immediate, requires 5 or more Rage; you take on your full draconic form (see below). You expend 1 Rage per round while in this form. If your Rage reaches 0, the effect ends. Ending the effect prematurely requires a Wisdom save, DC 5 per Rage point.
When you transform, your equipment merges magically with your form. You still benefit from the effects of worn equipment (except armor DR, see below), but you cannot use held items. When you resume normal form, your equipment returns to you.
| Rank | Size | Ability Scores | Natural Attacks | Natural Defenses | Other Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medium | Str 20 Con 16 | Claw/wing 2x 1d8, Bite/tail 1d12 (2h) | DR 5 | Move 6, Fly 8 |
| 2 | Large | Str 24 Con 18 | Claw/wing 2x 2d8, Bite/tail 2d12 (2h) | DR 10 | Move 8, Fly 10 |
| 3 | Huge | Str 28 Con 20 | Claw/wing 2x 3d8, Bite/tail 3d12 (2h) | DR 25 | Move 10, Fly 12 |
| 4 | Gargantuan | Str 32 Con 22 | Claw/wing 2x 4d8, Bite/tail 4d12 (2h) | DR 50 | Move 12, Fly 15 |
| 5 | Colossal | Str 36 Con 24 | Claw/wing 2x 5d8, Bite/tail 5d12 (2h) | DR 100 | Move 15, Fly 20 |
Notes:
- Size effects include those listed in [[Size]]
- Ability score modifiers replace those based on [[#Rage]]; upon transformation, cancel the Rage-based modifiers and use these instead
- DR replaces that of worn armor, although other effects of armor will still apply
Natural Attacks
- You have a number of natural attacks, all of which may be used in a single standard action (although not all target the same arc)
- Bite: Single attack, front, slashing damage as a two-handed weapon.
- Claw: Two attacks, front, slashing damage as one-handed weapons.
- Tail Sweep: Single attack, rear, kinetic damage as two-handed weapon; also push 5 ( 5 per size above large).
- Wing Slap: When you are in draconic form and not flying, you may use your wings to attack (two attacks, damage same as claw, can attack flanks without turning).
Natural Defenses
- In addition to simple DR, you also gain:
- Wing Block: When you are in draconic form and not flying, you may use your wings to [[Block]]. They grant a 5 bonus to the check, and can protect your flanks as well as your front.
Breath Weapon
The simplest way to burn off excess Rage is to convert it directly into fire. A dragon's lungs are quite massive--large even for his size--and his lung capacity is based on his true form's size, not his humanoid size. Thus, he can breath in quite a lot of air, then heat it to incredible temperatures, finally releasing it as a gout of flame. Of course, dragons need to breath air, so after releasing such a blast, he must take some time to breath normally before trying it again.
- [[Breath of Fire]]: Recharge 33%, std, cone 1/level (min 3), costs at least 1 Rage; cone of fire inflicts 3d12 fire damage per Rage point burned.
Wings of the Dragon
You may use your shapeshifting to gain draconic wings at any time, even when not in true form. As the humanoid form is not meant for flying, the wings are not useful for flight, but do allow you arrest falls (limiting falling speed to 30 ft/rd) and glide 40 ft for each 10 ft you fall.
As a single action, you may take a running leap and extend your wings, gliding up to 4x your normal movement speed. This requires a DC 15 Athletics check, but if you are proficient in Athletics, you may assume success on this check.
Lesser Transformation
You may freely shapeshift into your dragon form without spending Rage, albeit as if you were 2 ranks lower.
Mystic Flight
You may use the flight ability of your draconic form without transforming at all; this is a supernatural effect.
Options
You may swap your breath weapon for an alternate element: choose acid, lighting, poison, or cold.
You may gain an additional element in addition to the one(s) you already know by spending a [[Skills#Skill Alternative]].
Feats
- Alternate Breath: You gain an alternate breath weapon. Choose one:
- Dispelling Blast: spells are dispelled. Roll 1d20 + proficiency + Con vs each spell encountered in the area, DC = 10 + caster's proficiency + caster's ability modifier. On success, the spell ends. Max spell level dispelled = Rage spent.
- Mind Fog: enemies are confused and disadvantaged against Int/Wis/Cha saves, Wis ends, max 1 rd per Rage spent.
- Sleeping Gas: enemies fall asleep, Con or damage ends, max 1 rd per Rage spent.
- Draconic Claw: Your claws lengthen, becoming lethal weapons even outside of your true form. Gain a claw attack that inflicts 1d8 slashing damage, and can be used as a one-hand or offhand attack, using Str or Dex (your choice).
- Lesser Breath Weapon: Outside of True Form, you may use a lesser form of your breath weapon: 1 action, cone 1/level (min 3), recharge 33%; 1d8 + proficiency bonus fire damage (increases to 2d8 at rank 2, 3d8 at rank 3, etc).
- Disciplined Dragon: You are studied in the ways of mental discipline. You may spend points of Focus as if they were Rage to power draconic abilities. Furthermore, to determine the effects of your Rage (in terms of losing control of your actions, etc), first subtract your Wisdom modifier.