Help me bring my wish character to life

[zutox]

Hello everyone!

I have been playing D&D 3.5 a bit on and off for a while.
I'm not very good at it but I enjoy it a lot though.
I have always ended up slightly regretting the character I picked to create when starting such a game because it was always a spur of the moment kinda thing, but I have been pondering what my "wish" character would be, personality wise and such and I decided upon a few factors, but I don't really know how to get to that point as quickly and efficiently as I can, so I registered here in order to seek out some professional advice.

Here are the "requirements" of my character.

Race: Dragonborn or Xi-Coatl (Prefferably Xi-Coatl but both are good)

I really want to manage to get into both Dragon Disciple and Fists of the Forest.

Also know a requirement of Dragon Disciple is the ability to cast Arcane Magic, but I will be playing a melee character so the magic isn't important, but I do need it because it's a requirement in order to get to DD.

I guess this means my base class should absolutely be a full BAB class with spell-casting potential.

The only ones I know about that can do that are Duskblade or Hexblade.

I would of course want to get a dip into both DD and FotF as quickly as possible.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Really! :D

[Honest Tiefling]

I'm not 100% sure that a dragonborn can become a dragon disciple. Dragonblooded is a different subtype, but you do count as a dragon and whatever race you were. I guess taking a class might not count as an effect, but I'd double check with the DM just in case.

[BowStreetRunner]

I'm not 100% sure that a dragonborn can become a dragon disciple. Dragonblooded is a different subtype, but you do count as a dragon and whatever race you were. I guess taking a class might not count as an effect, but I'd double check with the DM just in case.

"The dragonblood subtype does not confer the dragon type or any traits associated with that type." RoD p.4

Dragonborn are in fact eligible to take Dragon Disciple. They are a non-dragon and also not a half-dragon.

[SirNMN]

want to help but first I want to know where is a Xi-Coatl from?

[zutox]

want to help but first I want to know where is a Xi-Coatl from?

I am having trouble finding the source book and could only find it in "D&D the Beastfolk" which seems not to be an official book, so I might have jumped the gun on this one.

I tried linking a few pages to where I could find info on it but unfortunately, since I am brand new here I am not allowed to post links yet.

If it causes any difficulties we can just go with Dragonborn for the simplicity of it.

[ExLibrisMortis]

If I'm reading this right, you want to be a nature- and dragon-loving draconic character, non-spellcaster, who fights unarmed. Is that right?Because if that's the case, you can straight-up play a dragon by being a Wyrm of War (ToB variant) steel or mercury dragon. That'll let you be a shiny dragon, who can fight in heavy armour, and can use weapons (including unarmed strikes, but also greatswords) along with bite/claw/claw natural weapons.

It's usually recommended to play wyrmlings, but I'm going to assume you want to be at least medium-sized.

A young mercury dragon has 9 HD and +3 LA, for an ECL of 12. They're medium-sized, get nice ability modifiers (+4, +4, +4, +2, +2, +2), +8 natural armour, a fly speed of 250' (good), color spray and hypnotic pattern at will, and 1st-level sorcerer casting.

A young steel dragon has 10 HD and +4 LA, for an ECL 14. They're medium-sized, get a bit more INT/CHA but less DEX (+4, +0, +4, +4, +2, +4), +9 natural armour, a fly speed of 200' (poor) and a swim speed of 30', SR 20 (+10 for spells of level 4 or lower), Alternate Form, and 5th-level sorcerer casting.

The downside of these is that they don't get a whole lot of class abilities.

Anyway, read this guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?303204-The-Truest-of-the-True-A-Handbook-to-non-Kobold-Dragons-(WIP)).

[BowStreetRunner]

I am having trouble finding the source book and could only find it in "D&D the Beastfolk" which seems not to be an official book, so I might have jumped the gun on this one.

I tried linking a few pages to where I could find info on it but unfortunately, since I am brand new here I am not allowed to post links yet.

If it causes any difficulties we can just go with Dragonborn for the simplicity of it.

I did find a race called Beastfolk, Xi-Coatl (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Beastfolk,_Xi-Coatl_(3.5e_Race)) on dandwiki.com. It looks like a homebrew race, so it depends entirely on whether your DM will allow it. If so, I am sure the playground can assist with building a character based around that race. However, there is a decent amount of support built into the game for 'dragonblood' races so keep in mind that Dragonborn benefit from more than just what you see in their race entry - like feats and so forth.


Also know a requirement of Dragon Disciple is the ability to cast Arcane Magic, but I will be playing a melee character so the magic isn't important, but I do need it because it's a requirement in order to get to DD.

I guess this means my base class should absolutely be a full BAB class with spell-casting potential. It's certainly one of the easier ways to get in, but there are other methods - such as a Dragon Devotee which grants Sorcerer casting in its third level, or even just a one-level dip into Sorcerer, Bard, Hexblade, or whatever. Since Dragon Disciple doesn't actually advance casting, my own preferred use for this class is to add onto an Assassin 10 build, continuing to pick up more Assassin spells.