Taninim Draconic Exemplar Balance Question

[Lloyd-Starbuck]

Hello everyone. I was searching through pathfinder stuff( can't remember what I was looking for) and came across the Taninim race and Draconic Exemplar class from In The Company of Dragons book( which is 3rd party I believe). I always wanted to play a dragon PC if my DM ever allowed it. even though I would like to play a dragon, there is that one main problem, IT'S A DRAGON and dragon were not originally meant to be played, mainly because of balance problems. So for DMs and Players that have had them in their campaign I have a few questions

1. Is the Taninim race weak/strong/balance compared to other starter race.
2. The Draconic Exemplar to me looks powerful at first sight with all of the options, good saves, D12 HP, and perfect base attack bonus, and the ability to become colossal at lv 20, but i know there are cons of being that big but does it counter balance the pros of the class.
3. OK this question is more about optimization than balance, but if this class was balance and I was allowed to play it. would it be more beneficial for me to take feats from the Bestiary such as imp natural ATK, multi ATK. or feats from the In The Company of Dragons book , or are the other feats that would be more better for dragons.

[Extra Anchovies]

You mean this Draconic Exemplar (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/rite-publishing/draconic-exemplar)? The only real problem I see with it is that they don't get the 6+Int skills that dragon RHD would provide. Other than that, it looks like a solid martial class with some fun tricks on the side. The Draconic Essence alignment looks like a particularly fun class feature, with the compulsions adding some interesting bits to the roleplay side of things that I think aren't nearly as present in the game as they should be. I've had that class bouncing around for a while as something I want to try out in a game at some point.

1. Taninim are fine. They could be a bit strong next to CRB races in the early levels but they don't push out human for most
2. There's no issues with the Draconic Exemplar that aren't present in greater magnitude somewhere else. If you ban this and allow full-casters you don't have your priorities straight. I could understand not allowing it (or only allowing it up to 7 or 11 levels) in a lower-powered game, though.
3. It may be good to pick up some of the feats from In The Company of Dragons, as long as they're not obviously garbage (I don't think they're on the SRD and thus cannot judge for myself) - they're probably designed for use with the class, after all. Multiattack is worth picking up ASAP, though, and if you're in a fairly high-powered game you could also nab Improved Unarmed Strike; use your iteratives to deliver literal dragon-kicks, then add on both claws, the bite, both wings (or the gore), and the tail slap. That might be the only character where Hammer the Gap is actually worth the feat slot!

[Psyren]

I like the class but not a fan of the race; non-humanoid shaped ones (not biped etc.) always have issues that the GM is then expected to sort out. I'd use this class as a basis for some kind of PF update for the Dragon Shaman.

[MasterFu]

I haven't bought the guide yet, but another possible issue with the exemplar is the -8 to dex they get over the course of the class (with the possible exception of feykin). That means you can't really afford to dump it.

[Draconium]

always wanted to play a dragon PC if my DM ever allowed it. even though I would like to play a dragon, there is that one main problem, IT'S A DRAGON and dragon were not originally meant to be played, mainly because of balance problems.

That sounds like HUMANOID talk to me, son!

Nah, just kidding. :smalltongue: I've been wanting to try this class out for a while myself, though I haven't really had a chance to. However, just from what I've seen from my theoretical standpoint...


I haven't bought the guide yet, but another possible issue with the exemplar is the -8 to dex they get over the course of the class (with the possible exception of feykin). That means you can't really afford to dump it.

This seems to be one of the biggest issues of the class. I mean, I get why they do it, and you do get stat increases in return, but that doesn't change the fact that losing so much of one stat is a poor design choice. If you do get a chance to play it, I would talk with your DM about lessening or removing the penalty - I mean, -8 is seriously a bit too much, since it's otherwise not really a priority stat for the class.

Other than that? I would consider seeing if you can bump the skill points up to 6+Int, like a True Dragon, but that's not a deal breaker. Really, though, unless I get my hands on the book itself to see what other options might be available, that's all the advice I can give you that others haven't already said.

[Fayd]

I'm currently planning a 4 taninim game, with a semi gestalt between draconic exemplar and a chosen base class. I made a few changes to make the party feel more.... Dragony. Changing what abilities have uses, the scaling of some powers, changing stat distributions, etc.

The biggest thing I changed though was the compulsion. At the advice of another DM friend of mine, I looked at it and realized that I did not like the dice controlling the character's RP choices that much. So I tied them to the hero point system instead.