Acanous
2013-08-20, 07:38 AM
Dragonborn of Tiamat is an Acquired template that can be added to any humanoid creature. This entry is to serve as a counterpart to the Dragonborn of Bahamut, and as such, many of the abilities and racial modifiers remain the same. Changes have been added, both to the roleplaying ("Fluff") and gameplay ("Crunch") of this template, mainly in the addition of weekly tasks the Dragonborn must perform.
THE SPAWN OF TIAMAT
The dragonborn Spawn of Tiamat are a twisted perversion of the Dragonborn of Bahamut. They are not born; they are made.
Each one enters the world as a halfling, an elf, a human, or a member of some other humanoid race with all that race’s propensities and traits. Tiamat takes this raw material, and molds it to her liking.
Most of those who end up as twisted Dragonborn never asked for it, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A few seek it after reaching adulthood as a means to power, and forsake their original race to serve the Queen of Evil Dragons.
DRAGONBORN RACIAL TRAITS
A dragonborn combines some of the racial traits of her original race and her new form. Only those traits gained from transformation are given here.
• +2 Constitution, –2 Dexterity. Dragonborn are hearty
and healthy, but they are awkward in their newly adopted
bodies.
• Humanoid (dragonblood): Dragonborn are humanoids
with the dragonblood subtype and any other subtypes
they had before undergoing the Ritual of Spawning. For
all effects related to race, a dragonborn is considered a
dragon and a member of her original race.
• Age: After a dragonborn underoes the Ritual of Spawning,
she emerges as an adult creature regardless of her previous
age. If she lives for 200 years,
she enters middle age.
• +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class against creatures
of the dragon type. The dragonborn have an innate
sense of how best to defend themselves against their
potential enemies.
• Immunity to Frightful Presence: Dragonborn are
immune to the frightful presence ability of dragons,
just as if they were dragons.
• Draconic Aspect: Tiamat has perverted the dragonborn's very soul
with aspects combining some of the most terrifying attributes and
goals of Evil dragons. Upon completing the Ritual of Spawning,
a dragonborn chooses which of the following three
aspects to manifest. Once the choice is made, it cannot
be changed.
-Purge the Weak (Su): A dragonborn who chooses Purge the Weak as her draconic aspect gains a breath weapon.
The breath weapon is a Dark, billowing line that fluxes and wanes with every color.
The line’s length is 5 feet per Hit Die the dragonborn has, up to a maximum of 100 feet at 20 HD.
The breath weapon deals 1d8 points of damage, plus an extra 1d8 points for each 3 HD the dragonborn possesses (2d8 at 3 HD, 3d8 at 6 HD, and so on).
The damage can be acid, cold, electricity, or fire, changing on each use as the dragonborn chooses.
A successful Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 the dragonborn’s HD + her Con
modifier) halves the damage.
A dragonborn can use her breath weapon once every 1d4 rounds.
A Dragonborn who choses Purge the Weak must kill and sacrifice a humanoid creature once a week, or she loses the benefit of this draconic aspect.
Dragonborn who choose this draconic aspect have their alignment shifted to Chaotic Evil upon completing the Ritual of Spawning.
-Expand the Brood (Ex): A dragonborn who selects the Expand the Brood aspect becomes more fertile and hale of body, gaining immunity to paralysis and magic sleep effects.
She gains darkvision out to 30 feet and low-light vision, plus a +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
She may choose upon mating weather or not to create spawn. If she so chooses, the incubation time is the same as that of the Dragonborn's original race, but the newborn babe gains the Half-Dragon template. (Any color, selected by the Dragonborn at birth.)
At 6 HD, the dragonborn’s darkvision extends to 60 feet.
At 9 HD, the dragonborn’s darkvision extends to 90 feet, and her low-light vision allows her to see three times as far as a human in shadowy illumination.
At 12 HD, the dragonborn’s darkvision extends to 120 feet, and her low-light vision allows her to see four times as far as a human in shadowy illumination.
At 15 HD, the dragonborn gains blindsense out to 30 feet.
A Dragonborn who chooses Expand the Brood is committed to creating more dragonspawn, and protecting their young. You must create a new Dragonborn of Tiamat (See Ritual of Spawning, below) once per week or lose the benefits of this draconic aspect. Dragonborn with this aspect who are pregnant retain these abilities without having to meet this weekly requisite.
Dragonborn who select Expand the Brood are shifted to Evil on the Good/Evil axis upon completing the Ritual of Spawning.
-Rule the Skies (Ex): A dragonborn who selects the Rule the Skies
aspect hatches sporting fully formed wings.
Dragonborn can use these wings to aid their jumps (granting a +10 racial bonus on Jump checks) and to glide.
Those with 6 HD or more can use their wings to fly.
Gliding: A dragonborn can use her wings to glide, negating damage from a fall from any height and allowing 20 feet of forward travel for every 5 feet of descent.
Dragonborn glide at a speed of 30 feet with average maneuverability. Even if a dragonborn’s maneuverability improves, she can’t hover while gliding.
A dragonborn can’t glide while carrying a medium or heavy load.
If a dragonborn becomes unconscious or helpless while in midair, her wings naturally unfurl, and powerful ligaments stiffen them.
The dragonborn descends slowly in a tight corkscrew and takes only 1d6 points of falling damage, no matter the actual distance of the fall.
Flight: When a dragonborn who selected the Rule the Skies aspect reaches 6 HD, she gains a fly speed of 30 feet with average maneuverability.
A dragonborn can’t fly while carrying a medium or heavy load or while
fatigued or exhausted.
A dragonborn can safely fly for a number of consecutive rounds equal to her Constitution modifier (minimum 1 round).
She can double this length of flight but is fatigued by such exertion.
The dragonborn is likewise fatigued after spending a total of more than 10 minutes per day flying.
Because a dragonborn can glide before, after, and between rounds of actual flight, she can remain aloft for extended periods, even if she can only use flight for 1 round at a time without becoming fatigued.
When she reaches 12 HD, a dragonborn has enough stamina and prowess to fly without tiring.
She can fly at a speed of 30 feet (average maneuverability) with no more exertion than walking or running.
A dragonborn with flight can make a dive attack.
A dive attack works like a charge, but the dragonborn must move a minimum of 30 feet and descend at least 10 feet.
A dragonborn can make a dive attack only when wielding a piercing weapon.
If the dive attack hits, it deals double damage.
A dragonborn with flight can use the run action while flying, provided she flies in a straight line.
A Dragonborn who selects Rule the Skies must prove dominant over other scalykind races.
Each week, you must bring one member of a dragonblooded race to heel, proving your dominance and inducting them into the service of Tiamat. This can be done with seven successful Intimidate checks, once per day, by a successful Diplomacy check to take the creature to Helpful, or by magical means such as Charm or Dominate monster. Failure to do so results in the loss of your flight ability, though you still retain the wings and can glide.
Creatures already in the service of Tiamat do not qualify for this weekly requirement.
Dragonborn who select the Rule the Skies draconic aspect are shifted to Lawful Evil.
• Automatic Languages: Draconic. Dragonborn gain the ability to speak Draconic upon their transformation but do not lose the ability to speak languages they already know.
• Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass dragonborn’s fighter class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for being a multiclassed character.
Furthermore, dragonborn paladins (Of Tyranny or Slaughter) can leave that class and return to it without penalty.
AGE
A dragonborn character is reborn, losing any bonuses or penalties she received because of her age.
She emerges from her transformation as an adult. Dragonborn are hearty and capable of living long lives.
A Dragonborn reaches Middle Age 200 years after their Ritual of Spawning, and advance an age category every 100 years therafter.
The Mechanics of Rebirth
>Section remains entirely unchanged from the entry on page 10 of Races of the Dragon.
Tarnished Dragonborn
This section is entirely removed. Dragonborn of Tiamat change alignment at the completion of the Ritual of Spawning. Any subsequent alignment change is overlooked by the Queen of Evil Dragons, for the occasional do-gooder means her children can infiltrate lesser societies.
THE RITUAL OF SPAWNING
The Ritual of Spawning transforms a character into a dedicated draconic servant of Tiamat known as a dragonborn.
Becoming a dragonborn isn’t undertaken by choice. It is a
horrible process forced upon a character by a villain of considerable standing in Tiamat's favor.
Those supplicants raised in the ways of their original race endure a traumatic event that strips them of their very identity and replaces it with another. While a human might be content to give up her natural versatility, it’s hard for someone heavily invested in her racial identity to forfeit that race’s abilities.
When the ritual begins, the victim must be rendered helpless, stripped of all her equipment and possessions for the duration of the ritual.
Painted in the blood of the Dragon (Any Chromatic Dragon or Dragonblooded Character) she is left a full day and night without food or water, tied down within a ritual circle.
Her mind fills with all manner of alien thoughts, ensuring her undying loyalty to Tiamat and her Dragonspawn.
When dawn comes, the prospective dragonborn is placed inside an egg-shaped structure that has been built for this purpose (see
Cost) in order to sleep for the last time in her original form.
When the next dawn arrives, she is transformed into a dragonborn.
After awakening inside the sealed egg, she breaks out of it as a shell of her former self, filled with new desires and goals. A draconic child of Tiamat.
Prerequisites: the victim must be non-evil and have an
Intelligence score of at least 3.
Benefit: A dragonborn loses many of her original racial traits and gains the racial traits of the dragonborn race (see below).
Time: The Ritual of Spawning requires keeping the creature helpless for 24 hours followed by 24 hours of sleep.
If the ceremony is interrupted, it must be started again from the beginning.
Cost: The symbolic egg crafted by the servant of Tiamat costs 100 gp to create, and requires a handful of scales from a Dragonblooded creature loyal to Tiamat.
This Ritual can be conducted by any Evil Dragon or Dragonblooded creature with a caster level of fifth and the Craft Wonderous Item feat.
THE SPAWN OF TIAMAT
The dragonborn Spawn of Tiamat are a twisted perversion of the Dragonborn of Bahamut. They are not born; they are made.
Each one enters the world as a halfling, an elf, a human, or a member of some other humanoid race with all that race’s propensities and traits. Tiamat takes this raw material, and molds it to her liking.
Most of those who end up as twisted Dragonborn never asked for it, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A few seek it after reaching adulthood as a means to power, and forsake their original race to serve the Queen of Evil Dragons.
DRAGONBORN RACIAL TRAITS
A dragonborn combines some of the racial traits of her original race and her new form. Only those traits gained from transformation are given here.
• +2 Constitution, –2 Dexterity. Dragonborn are hearty
and healthy, but they are awkward in their newly adopted
bodies.
• Humanoid (dragonblood): Dragonborn are humanoids
with the dragonblood subtype and any other subtypes
they had before undergoing the Ritual of Spawning. For
all effects related to race, a dragonborn is considered a
dragon and a member of her original race.
• Age: After a dragonborn underoes the Ritual of Spawning,
she emerges as an adult creature regardless of her previous
age. If she lives for 200 years,
she enters middle age.
• +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class against creatures
of the dragon type. The dragonborn have an innate
sense of how best to defend themselves against their
potential enemies.
• Immunity to Frightful Presence: Dragonborn are
immune to the frightful presence ability of dragons,
just as if they were dragons.
• Draconic Aspect: Tiamat has perverted the dragonborn's very soul
with aspects combining some of the most terrifying attributes and
goals of Evil dragons. Upon completing the Ritual of Spawning,
a dragonborn chooses which of the following three
aspects to manifest. Once the choice is made, it cannot
be changed.
-Purge the Weak (Su): A dragonborn who chooses Purge the Weak as her draconic aspect gains a breath weapon.
The breath weapon is a Dark, billowing line that fluxes and wanes with every color.
The line’s length is 5 feet per Hit Die the dragonborn has, up to a maximum of 100 feet at 20 HD.
The breath weapon deals 1d8 points of damage, plus an extra 1d8 points for each 3 HD the dragonborn possesses (2d8 at 3 HD, 3d8 at 6 HD, and so on).
The damage can be acid, cold, electricity, or fire, changing on each use as the dragonborn chooses.
A successful Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 the dragonborn’s HD + her Con
modifier) halves the damage.
A dragonborn can use her breath weapon once every 1d4 rounds.
A Dragonborn who choses Purge the Weak must kill and sacrifice a humanoid creature once a week, or she loses the benefit of this draconic aspect.
Dragonborn who choose this draconic aspect have their alignment shifted to Chaotic Evil upon completing the Ritual of Spawning.
-Expand the Brood (Ex): A dragonborn who selects the Expand the Brood aspect becomes more fertile and hale of body, gaining immunity to paralysis and magic sleep effects.
She gains darkvision out to 30 feet and low-light vision, plus a +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
She may choose upon mating weather or not to create spawn. If she so chooses, the incubation time is the same as that of the Dragonborn's original race, but the newborn babe gains the Half-Dragon template. (Any color, selected by the Dragonborn at birth.)
At 6 HD, the dragonborn’s darkvision extends to 60 feet.
At 9 HD, the dragonborn’s darkvision extends to 90 feet, and her low-light vision allows her to see three times as far as a human in shadowy illumination.
At 12 HD, the dragonborn’s darkvision extends to 120 feet, and her low-light vision allows her to see four times as far as a human in shadowy illumination.
At 15 HD, the dragonborn gains blindsense out to 30 feet.
A Dragonborn who chooses Expand the Brood is committed to creating more dragonspawn, and protecting their young. You must create a new Dragonborn of Tiamat (See Ritual of Spawning, below) once per week or lose the benefits of this draconic aspect. Dragonborn with this aspect who are pregnant retain these abilities without having to meet this weekly requisite.
Dragonborn who select Expand the Brood are shifted to Evil on the Good/Evil axis upon completing the Ritual of Spawning.
-Rule the Skies (Ex): A dragonborn who selects the Rule the Skies
aspect hatches sporting fully formed wings.
Dragonborn can use these wings to aid their jumps (granting a +10 racial bonus on Jump checks) and to glide.
Those with 6 HD or more can use their wings to fly.
Gliding: A dragonborn can use her wings to glide, negating damage from a fall from any height and allowing 20 feet of forward travel for every 5 feet of descent.
Dragonborn glide at a speed of 30 feet with average maneuverability. Even if a dragonborn’s maneuverability improves, she can’t hover while gliding.
A dragonborn can’t glide while carrying a medium or heavy load.
If a dragonborn becomes unconscious or helpless while in midair, her wings naturally unfurl, and powerful ligaments stiffen them.
The dragonborn descends slowly in a tight corkscrew and takes only 1d6 points of falling damage, no matter the actual distance of the fall.
Flight: When a dragonborn who selected the Rule the Skies aspect reaches 6 HD, she gains a fly speed of 30 feet with average maneuverability.
A dragonborn can’t fly while carrying a medium or heavy load or while
fatigued or exhausted.
A dragonborn can safely fly for a number of consecutive rounds equal to her Constitution modifier (minimum 1 round).
She can double this length of flight but is fatigued by such exertion.
The dragonborn is likewise fatigued after spending a total of more than 10 minutes per day flying.
Because a dragonborn can glide before, after, and between rounds of actual flight, she can remain aloft for extended periods, even if she can only use flight for 1 round at a time without becoming fatigued.
When she reaches 12 HD, a dragonborn has enough stamina and prowess to fly without tiring.
She can fly at a speed of 30 feet (average maneuverability) with no more exertion than walking or running.
A dragonborn with flight can make a dive attack.
A dive attack works like a charge, but the dragonborn must move a minimum of 30 feet and descend at least 10 feet.
A dragonborn can make a dive attack only when wielding a piercing weapon.
If the dive attack hits, it deals double damage.
A dragonborn with flight can use the run action while flying, provided she flies in a straight line.
A Dragonborn who selects Rule the Skies must prove dominant over other scalykind races.
Each week, you must bring one member of a dragonblooded race to heel, proving your dominance and inducting them into the service of Tiamat. This can be done with seven successful Intimidate checks, once per day, by a successful Diplomacy check to take the creature to Helpful, or by magical means such as Charm or Dominate monster. Failure to do so results in the loss of your flight ability, though you still retain the wings and can glide.
Creatures already in the service of Tiamat do not qualify for this weekly requirement.
Dragonborn who select the Rule the Skies draconic aspect are shifted to Lawful Evil.
• Automatic Languages: Draconic. Dragonborn gain the ability to speak Draconic upon their transformation but do not lose the ability to speak languages they already know.
• Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass dragonborn’s fighter class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for being a multiclassed character.
Furthermore, dragonborn paladins (Of Tyranny or Slaughter) can leave that class and return to it without penalty.
AGE
A dragonborn character is reborn, losing any bonuses or penalties she received because of her age.
She emerges from her transformation as an adult. Dragonborn are hearty and capable of living long lives.
A Dragonborn reaches Middle Age 200 years after their Ritual of Spawning, and advance an age category every 100 years therafter.
The Mechanics of Rebirth
>Section remains entirely unchanged from the entry on page 10 of Races of the Dragon.
Tarnished Dragonborn
This section is entirely removed. Dragonborn of Tiamat change alignment at the completion of the Ritual of Spawning. Any subsequent alignment change is overlooked by the Queen of Evil Dragons, for the occasional do-gooder means her children can infiltrate lesser societies.
THE RITUAL OF SPAWNING
The Ritual of Spawning transforms a character into a dedicated draconic servant of Tiamat known as a dragonborn.
Becoming a dragonborn isn’t undertaken by choice. It is a
horrible process forced upon a character by a villain of considerable standing in Tiamat's favor.
Those supplicants raised in the ways of their original race endure a traumatic event that strips them of their very identity and replaces it with another. While a human might be content to give up her natural versatility, it’s hard for someone heavily invested in her racial identity to forfeit that race’s abilities.
When the ritual begins, the victim must be rendered helpless, stripped of all her equipment and possessions for the duration of the ritual.
Painted in the blood of the Dragon (Any Chromatic Dragon or Dragonblooded Character) she is left a full day and night without food or water, tied down within a ritual circle.
Her mind fills with all manner of alien thoughts, ensuring her undying loyalty to Tiamat and her Dragonspawn.
When dawn comes, the prospective dragonborn is placed inside an egg-shaped structure that has been built for this purpose (see
Cost) in order to sleep for the last time in her original form.
When the next dawn arrives, she is transformed into a dragonborn.
After awakening inside the sealed egg, she breaks out of it as a shell of her former self, filled with new desires and goals. A draconic child of Tiamat.
Prerequisites: the victim must be non-evil and have an
Intelligence score of at least 3.
Benefit: A dragonborn loses many of her original racial traits and gains the racial traits of the dragonborn race (see below).
Time: The Ritual of Spawning requires keeping the creature helpless for 24 hours followed by 24 hours of sleep.
If the ceremony is interrupted, it must be started again from the beginning.
Cost: The symbolic egg crafted by the servant of Tiamat costs 100 gp to create, and requires a handful of scales from a Dragonblooded creature loyal to Tiamat.
This Ritual can be conducted by any Evil Dragon or Dragonblooded creature with a caster level of fifth and the Craft Wonderous Item feat.