How to convert a dragon knight from the Dragonlance setting from 3.5 to 5th edition

[dehro]

Not sure if I should put this in the 5ed. subsection or in the 3.5 subsection.
I'll do both, just in case... I trust the mods will remove one, if need be.

As per title.. We're doing something a bit unorthodox. We started a 3.5 campaign some time ago and we've hit roughly level 13. I started out with a human, 10 levels of fighter and then took Dragon knight as a prestige class. Plot-wise, the DM handed me a bronze dragon.

In the meantime we've all sort of fallen in love with the fifth edition (especially me and the DM)... and since we've sort of blown our world saving mission, he's sent us back in time to "back to the future" ourselves out of trouble.
We succeded, I'm told (I missed the last session)... and returned to a present that apparently has seen some things altered. The DM decided that one of these changes was going to be the rules edition.

so..

how do I best transpose the Dragonlance Dragon Knight into 5th edition using only Core Books?
I can of course provide further details on the original character, if need be. just assume that he's got all the prerequisites necessary for the Dragon Knight in the first place.

[Albions_Angel]

Im not sure you can.

Prestige classes dont work well in 5th. They have made precisely 1, for the UA playtest content. And its awful. Skills are more or less set at character creation, so any prestige class you wanted would have to be planned from level 1. And because of the way it works, its a binary "either you have it or you dont" check. Im not sure how that fits requirements for a Dragon Knight. But maybe you just make a whole new class, for which you will need the 5e forums so the balance is right.

But lets focus on some other things. Namely MOUNTED COMBAT, which is super weird in 5e. I am assuming you are actually a Dragon Rider? I cant find Dragon Knight in the campaign setting. Anyway.

Take a look at the SECOND ANSWER on this page: https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/80747/can-a-rider-move-using-his-mount-attack-from-his-mount-then-have-the-mount-das

The first answer is incorrect. The second answer clearly points out that mounts have their own turn, which must be completed BEFORE or AFTER the riders turn. And dragons, with all their swooping and flying, cant just stop. They would have to LAND every time you wanted to attack. No flyby attacks for both of you. At which point, you might as well just play the dragon.

Oh, but it gets worse. Dragons are highly intelligent. Does that mean it gets its own initiative roll? Or is it still a mount and so does it go on your turn?

Oh, and dragons are WAY WEAKER in 5e, with no spell casting ability. I dont know if thats important to you.

Dragon Rider is a bit like Incarnate or Binder. 5e just doesnt support the core mechanics yet. Mounted Attack simply breaks the entire 5e combat system (does it count as a readied attack? If so, dont you lose your extra attack and reaction? If not, what happens on your turn?). Feats are VERY different in 5e. So what about those dragon feat levels? Do you have to convert EVERY dragon feat to a 5e class ability? Oh, and what about increasing Fear DCs and your AC? Thats not how 5e works either. Bonuses provide advantage or give disadvantage. But doubling the chance for fear to work seems way more powerful than adding +3 or whatever to the DC.

Do yourself a favour. Play a 5e Paladin, and get your DM to give you a drake as a mount. Ditch the flying. 5e doesnt work well with it anyway, as movement is all borked and you can just move diagonal for MASSIVE increases to distance traveled. Use a lance. Pretend you are a dragon rider.

[Silly Name]

Common wisdom I've heard in conversion circles is that you might try to make the PrC a subclass or a feat chain your character gets.

Dragon Rider would probably fit as a Fighter or Paladin subclass (by the way, Paladin subclasses is the way to go if you want to make Knights of Solamnia and Neraka),

[dehro]

I've found this to be a fairly decent adaptation of classes and subclasses...
https://www.kurry.fi/viki/images/4/49/Dragonlance_Classes_5e.pdf
do you think they could work/are balanced?

[Albions_Angel]

That IS something you will have to ask the 5e forums. And yourself to a degree. So much depends on what the rest of your party do.