Playing a dragon

[Spore]

Greetings playground,

for a possible future character I want to simulate being a dragon (possibly a weaker one without SLAs). How would you procure such a thing short of asking the DM to homebrew a dragon race? I've always wanted to play a dragon (with a standard humanoid form, like the major and minor dragons in the WoW lore, not the drakes).

[5ColouredWalker]

This is pathfinder right?
As per these (https://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/monsters/monstersAsPCs.html) core rules, you can play it by sacrificing a number of levels equal to CR, and you slowly loose over half your CR getting you bonus levels in between level ups.

You've just got to convince the DM to allow you to play a dragon.

[Eldaran]

Yeah, playing as a monster is pretty good in Pathfinder, especially if your DM lets you advance as a dragon.

[JeminiZero]

In 3.5 at least, there is already a Humanoid Dragon Race (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20060105b). There is also the Dragonwrought Kobold.

[Psyren]

If your goal is "play a dragon that has an alternate human form," simply pick the dragon you want to be and use the Monsters as PCs rules linked above to play it. Taking human form can be as easy as using their innate sorcerer casting.

If your goal is "play a bipedal dragony humanoidy thing", I would use the Race Builder for that.

[Spore]

If your goal is "play a dragon that has an alternate human form," simply pick the dragon you want to be and use the Monsters as PCs rules linked above to play it. Taking human form can be as easy as using their innate sorcerer casting.

Thing is it oughta be a permanent-ish disguise so that the character can participate in social roleplay and doesn't have to hide from commoners with pitchforks all the time (although that could prove fun).

[Milo v3]

Thing is it oughta be a permanent-ish disguise so that the character can participate in social roleplay and doesn't have to hide from commoners with pitchforks all the time (although that could prove fun).

Play a bronze, forest, gold, sea, silver, sky, sovereign, or underworld dragon?

[Segev]

If you're willing to wait for level 6+ for the humanoid form, Dragonfire Adept (not PF, admittedly) applied to a pseudodragon or a white wyrmling works really well, in my opinion. At level 6, your first Lesser Invocation can be Humanoid Form.

[Tohsaka Rin]

Or just play a Dragonborn. You know those, right?


http://gamingshogun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/etc-statue-es-dragonborn-zoom.jpg

:smalltongue:

[Geddy2112]

In addition to Kobolds and Dragonborn, there are also Wyvarans which are humanoid dragons. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/races/other-races/more-races/advanced-races-11-20-rp/wyvaran-17-rp

[Dusk Eclipse]

This is pathfinder right?
As per these (https://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/monsters/monstersAsPCs.html) core rules, you can play it by sacrificing a number of levels equal to CR, and you slowly loose over half your CR getting you bonus levels in between level ups.

You've just got to convince the DM to allow you to play a dragon.

Let me see if I understand these rules clearly, hypothetically I decided to play a random monster of CR 6 (because rounding is hard :smalltongue:) so I would have 17 class levels free to do whatever I want with them. And over the course of those levels I would reduce that CR and eventually get those 3 levels back?

[Psyren]

Let me see if I understand these rules clearly, hypothetically I decided to play a random monster of CR 6 (because rounding is hard :smalltongue:) so I would have 17 class levels free to do whatever I want with them. And over the course of those levels I would reduce that CR and eventually get those 3 levels back?

It would go like this - you start at level 6 (well, you could start earlier than that, but you're not leveling up until everyone else catches up with you and you'd likely be overpowered before then.) So you are a level 0 whatever thing you are, let's say Vulpinal.

Now the party hits level 7 and so it's time for you to level up as well. Let's say you want to be a bard. Your progression would look like this:

Bonus Level 1 (halfway between 6 and 7) - Vulpinal Bard 1
Party Level 7 - Vulpinal Bard 2
Party Level 8 - Vulpinal Bard 3
Party Level 9 - Vulpinal Bard 4
Bonus Level 2 (halfway between 9 and 10) - Vulpinal Bard 5
Party Level 10 - Vulpinal Bard 6
Party Level 11 - Vulpinal Bard 7
Party Level 12 - Vulpinal Bard 8
Final Bonus Level (halfway between 12 and 13) - Vulpinal Bard 9
Party Level 13 - Vulpinal Bard 10
Party Level 14 - Vulpinal Bard 11
Party Level 15 - Vulpinal Bard 12
Party Level 16 - Vulpinal Bard 13
Party Level 17 - Vulpinal Bard 14
Party Level 18 - Vulpinal Bard 15
Party Level 19 - Vulpinal Bard 16
Party Level 20 - Vulpinal Bard 17

You almost get to 6ths, but the Vulpinal benefits should even things out - and you're much stronger than you would be as a Vulpinal Bard 13 or 14. Class feature wise you only miss out on Mass Suggestion and Deadly Performance, whereas just multiclassing normally you'd have also missed Inspire Heroics and probably Frightening Tune as well. Your Inspire Competence is down 1 from a regular bard instead of down 2, and you get full Inspire Courage.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Wow, that is soooo much better than LA with or without buy-off. Just one more clarification, by mid-way between 6 and 7 you mean you get your first bonus level at 29,000 XP right?

[Psyren]

Wow, that is soooo much better than LA with or without buy-off. Just one more clarification, by mid-way between 6 and 7 you mean you get your first bonus level at 29,000 XP right?

Yes, assuming the medium track. Fast track would be at 19,000, slow track would be at 44,000. If your GM is using "level up when I say so," they would either pick an ad-hoc moment to bump the Vulpinal up, or simply give the Vulpinal two levels when everyone else hits 7.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Now I really want to play a monster with those rules.

[Segev]

Tangentially, I still like the idea of putting full casters on the slow XP track, "half-casters" on the medium one, and non-casters on the fast one. (Really, that's a guideline; it would be case-by-case to determine for particular classes.)

[panaikhan]

I'm sure that I saw a Pathfinder Dragon PC supplement imminent to be released...

[Spore]

Not sure which color and fluff of dragon I would give the benefit of a doubt but at least I've seen that the dragons are very different aside from their elemental immunities and such. Maybe I can get my DM to trade some moderate power for the Change Shape power (3 times a day changing from humanoid form to dragon form and back). Like the caster level of a young red dragon (1st level sorcerer casting): It sure hurts but being able to disguise myself and not be hunted on the spot is fine with me.

[Ethereal Gears]

This is a class that's a dragon. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/rite-publishing/draconic-exemplar)

[Spore]

This is a class that's a dragon. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/rite-publishing/draconic-exemplar)

That looks extensive and quite powerful. I have to find a way to get my DMs to accept full BAB and three good saves on d12 chassis.

[Urpriest]

If your DM doesn't like the rules for playing as monsters, you could probably get away with playing an Alchemist and refluffing your Mutagen as turning you into a Dragon, or doing something similar with a Synthesist Summoner.