[PrC] Inheritance Trilogy Dragon Rider [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

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Drglenn

2007-10-15, 04:03 PM

This Is My First Homebrew
This class is based on the dragon riders in the Inheritance Trilogy (Eragon, Eldest)
DRAGON RIDER

Requirements
Skills:Ride 8 ranks, Handle animal 8 ranks
Special:Must be chosen by Dragon companion (Dragon will hatch only in Rider's presence and bond to the Rider)
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|1st|2nd|3rd|4th

1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Dragon Companion|0|-|-|-

2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Inspire Courage +1|1|-|-|-

3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Leadership |2|0|-|-

4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|Inspire Courage +2|3|1|-|-

5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+1| Dragon Strike (1/day)|3|2|0|-

6th|
+6|
+5|
+2|
+2|Inspire Courage +3|3|3|1|-

7th|
+7|
+5|
+2|
+2|Dragon Strike (2/day)|3|3|2|0

8th|
+8|
+6|
+2|
+2|Inspire Courage +4|3|3|3|1

9th|
+9|
+6|
+3|
+3|Dragon Strike (3/day)|3|3|3|2

10th|
+10|
+7|
+3|
+3|Inspire Courage +5|3|3|3|3[/table]

Abilities: Charisma determines how powerful a spell the Dragon Rider can cast, helps with her Inspire Courage, Leadership and Dragon Strike abilities and several skills. To cast a spell a Dragon Rider must have a Charisma score of 11 to cast any magic and 14 to cast the most powerful Dragon Rider Spells.
Hit Dice: D10
Alignment: Any

Class Skills
The Dragon Rider's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (History) (Int), Knowledge (Nobility And Royalty), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex) and Sense Motive (Wis)
Skill points at each level: 2+Int Modifier

Class Features
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Dragon Riders gain proficiency with all simple and martial weapons, all types of armour (light, medium, heavy), and shields (except tower shields)
Spells: A Dragon Rider casts arcane spells (the same type as Bards, Sorcerers and Wizards), which are drawn from the Dragon Rider Spell list (see below). He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or cleric must. To learn or cast a spell a Dragon Rider must have a Charisma score of at least 10+the spell level (11 for 1st level spells etc.), Like other spellcasters a Dragon Rider can only cast a limited number of spells per day. Her Base daily spell allotment is given in the table above. In addition the she gains bonus spells per day if she has a high Charisma score. When the table indicates that the Dragon Rider gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level (e.g. 1st level spells at 4th level) she only gains the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his charisma score for that spell level.
Dragon Companion:A Dragon Rider MUST begin play with a dragon companion (see below), if the dragon companion is slain the Dragon Rider must spend 24 hours of uninterrupted ritual and 100XP per Dragon Rider level to get a new one, until the ritual is completed the Dragon Rider looses all class features (except weapon and armour proficiencies and bonus feats)
Inspire Courage: A Dragon is a truly inspiring sight. At 2nd level, if the Dragon Rider's Dragon is within 5ft of the Dragon Rider, any ally that can see the Dragon Rider is bolstered against fear and has their combat abilities improved. This affect lasts as long as the ally can see the Dragon Rider and 5 rounds afterwards. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against fear and charm effects and a +1 morale bonus to attack and weapon damage. At 4th level and every other Dragon Rider levels afterwards this bonus increases by 1 (+2 at 4th, +3 at 6th, +4 at 8th, +5 at 10th), the maximum this bonus can be is equal to the Dragon Rider's Charisma Bonus (e.g. a Dragon Rider with 12 Charisma can only ever give a +1 bonus). This bonus does not affect the Dragon Rider or any Dragons.
Leadership:Dragon Riders make great leaders. At 3rd level the Dragon Rider gains leadership as a bonus feat
Dragon Strike: Once per day a Dragon Rider may attempt to use her Dragon's power to smite creatures of the opposite alignment on the good-evil scale (neutral characters choose whether to smite good or evil when they take the 5th level of the Dragon Rider class) with a normal melee attack whist riding her dragon companion. She adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack roll and deals 1 extra point of damage per Dragon rider level. At 7th and 9th level the Dragon rider may use Dragon Strike one additional time per day, as shown on the table above, to a maximum of 3 times at 9th level

Dragon companion
{table=head]Dragon Rider Level|Dragon Hit Dice|Dragon Size|Special|Breath Weapon(DC)|DR|SR|Base Speed|Str|Dex|Con|Int|Wis|Cha|Natural Armour
1st|
2|Small|Wings, Empathic Link, Evasion, Share Spells|2d6(13)| | |60ft|13|13|13|10|11|12|+2
2nd|
4|Medium|Share Saving Throws, Telepahic Link|3d6(16)| | |60ft, Fly 120ft (good)|17|14|17|12|12|14|+4
3rd|
6|Medium|Spell Like Ability 1, Dragon Eyes|4d6(17)| | |60ft, Fly 120ft (good)|17|14|17|12|13|15|+5
4th|
8|Large|Throw Rider|5d6(18)|5/magic| |60ft, Fly 150ft (good)|18|15|18|12|13|15|+6
5th|
10|Large|Multiattack|6d6(19)|5/magic|15|60ft, Fly 150ft (good)|20|15|20|13|14|16|+7
6th|
12|Large|Fly By Attack|7d6(21)|5/magic|17|60ft, Fly 150ft (good)|20|15|20|13|14|16|+9
7th|
14|Large|Spell Like Ability 2|8d6(22)|5/magic|19|60ft, Fly 150ft (good)|20|15|20|13|14|17|+10
8th|
16|Large|Improved Evasion|9d6(23)|5/magic|21|60ft, Fly 150ft (good)|20|15|20|14|15|17|+11
9th|
18|Huge|Wingover, Hover|10d6(24)|10/magic|22|60ft, Fly 200ft (average)|20|15|20|15|16|18|+12
10th|
20|Huge| |12d6(27)|10/magic|23|60ft, 200ft (average)|22|15|22|16|17|20|+14[/table]
Dragon Ability Descriptions
Wings: A newly hatched dragon's wings are unable to allow it to fly but give a +5 bonus to jump checks
Empathic LinkThe Rider has an empathic link with his dragon out to a distance of 1 mile. The master cannot see through his dragons eyes, but they can communicate empathic ally. Because of the limited nature of the link only general emotional content (such as fear, hunger, happiness curiosity) can be communicated. Note that dragon see the world differently as other creatures do so misunderstandings are always possible.
Evasion: When subject to an attack that allows a reflex save for half damage, if the dragon passes the save he takes no damage. This ability is also conferred to the rider when she is riding her dragon, make one save roll for both rider and mount at the higher save modifier.
Share spells: At The Riders option she may have any spell (but not any spell like ability) he casts on himself also affect her dragon. The Dragon must be within 5 feet at the time the spell is cast to receive the benefit. If the spell has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the dragon if it moves more than 5 feet away from the rider and will not be affected again even if it returns to the master before the duration expires. Additionally, the Rider may cast a spell with the target 'you' on her dragon (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A Rider and dragon can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect dragons
Share saving Throws: for each of its saving throws the dragon uses its own base save bonus or its Rider's, whichever is higher. The dragon applies its own ability modifiers to saves and it doesn't share any other bonuses on saves that the master might have (such as from magic items or feats)
Telepathic link: The Rider and dragon can communicate telepathically to a range of 1 mile, dragons speak common and draconic but cannot speak orally, only telepathically
Spell like ability 1/2: See Table Below, both are 3/day with a caster level equal to the dragon's HD
Dragon Eyes: The dragon can see any living being within 1 mile, this ability negates the hide skill but is stopped by 10 feet of stone/metal or 1 foot of lead. This ability may be used by the dragon's Rider as a standard action
Throw Rider: While flying the dragon may, as a standard action, throw its rider up to 20+(5*str modifier)ft, this deals 1d6 damage to both the target and rider for every 10 feet thrown (reflex half), the rider may use evasion to avoid this damage but cannot use the dragon's modifiers even if they are higher than his own.
Multiattack: the dragon gains multiattack as a bonus feat
Fly By Attack: the dragon gains Fly By Attack as a bonus feat
Hover: the dragon gains Hover as a bonus feat
Improved Evasion:When subject to an attack that allows a reflex save for half damage, if the dragon passes the save he takes no damage, if he fails the save he takes half damage. This ability is also conferred to the rider when she is riding her dragon, make one save roll for both rider and mount at the higher save modifier.
Wingoverthe dragon gains Wingover as a bonus feat

Dragon Varieties
{table=head]Dragon Colour|Spell like ability 1|Spell Like Ability 2
Black|Darkness|Ray of Exhaustion
Blue|Glitterdust|Daylight
Green|Protection From Arrows|Wind wall
Red|Daze monster|Suggestion
White|Scare|Sleet Storm[/table]
All dragons breathe fire in a line or cone (chosen at Dragon Rider level 1), this fire starts as orange (levels 1-3), then gains a tinge of the colour of the dragon (4-5), then turns the colour of the dragon (5+)

For Breath ranges, and attacks see the True Dragon entry (MM p68-69)

Dragon Rider Spell list
Dragon Riders choose their spells from the following list:
1st Level: Cure Light Wounds, Feather Fall, Remove Fear, Cause Fear, Ventriloquism, Bless, Entropic Shield, Magic Weapon
2nd Level: Cure Moderate Wounds, Calm Emotions, Eagle's Splendor, Cat's Grace, Fox's Cunning, Owl's Wisdom , Bull's Strength, Heroism, Rage, Align Weapon, Scare, Dispel magic
3rd Level: Cure Serious Wounds, Good Hope, Crushing Despair, Haste, Slow, Remove Curse, See Invisibility, Magic Vestment
4th Level: Break Enchantment, Cure Critical Wounds, Fear, Death Ward, Greater Magic Weapon, Neutralise Poison, Poison, Sending

Dragon Rider Spells Known
{table=head] Level|1st|2nd|3rd|4th
1st|2*|-|-|-
2nd|3|-|-|-
3rd|3|2*|-|-
4th|4|3|-|-
5th|4|3|2*|-
6th|4|4|3|-
7th|4|4|3|2*
8th|4|4|4|3
9th|4|4|4|3
10th|4|4|4|4[/table]
* Provided the Dragon Rider has sufficient Charisma to have a bonus spell of this level

Vadin

2007-10-15, 04:27 PM

So they get a dragon familiar at level 1, and a cohort (who may very well be a dragon rider as well) and followers (who might also be dragon riders) at level 6?
How strong are the dragons you're providing them with?

Drglenn

2007-10-15, 04:29 PM

They'll start off at tiny size and 1HD and grow as the dragon rider levels up

jindra34

2007-10-15, 04:31 PM

Drglenn

2007-10-15, 04:36 PM

Daracaex

2007-10-15, 05:36 PM

heres the planned size and Hit point progression for the dragon (no special abilities as of yet):
Number of hit Dice= Dragon Rider's level
Size by Dragon Rider level:
1st:Tiny
2nd-3rd:Small
4rd-6th: Medium
7th-10th: Large
11th-19th: Huge
20th: Gargantuan

Mabye I should drop leadership?

Let me get this straight. You're a dragon rider, but you can't actually ride your dragon until you're level 7? 4 if your a gnome or halfling? That doesn't make much sense to me, especially if you like starting your campaigns at level 1.

jindra34

2007-10-15, 05:42 PM

Let me get this straight. You're a dragon rider, but you can't actually ride your dragon until you're level 7? 4 if your a gnome or halfling? That doesn't make much sense to me, especially if you like starting your campaigns at level 1.

well you do have to raise the dragon before you can ride it. and the levels are one stage higher if you want to ride it in the sky.

Drglenn

2007-10-15, 05:44 PM

well you do have to raise the dragon before you can ride it. and the levels are one stage higher if you want to ride it in the sky.

You+your equipment+any equipment the mount is carrying must be a light load for the mount for it to fly

I might lower the level for large size to 5, then it fits in better with other classes (e.g. paladin, druid) getting ridable creatures at level 4/5

jindra34

2007-10-15, 05:46 PM

You+your equipment+any equipment the mount is carrying must be a light load for the mount for it to fly

and it has to be two sizes larger... or am i thinking of gurps... any way the class is currently a bit on the weak side.

Drglenn

2007-10-15, 05:49 PM

It is definately one step higher than the rider in D&D, in the DMG Hippogrifs and Griffions (Large creatures) are specifically stated as mounts for medium paladins

the dragon will also have stuff that familiars animal companions have (link, share spells etc.) and i have added evasion to the rider's progression at level 8 and lowered the level for uncanny dodge to 3 and Improved uncanny dodge to 5

arkol

2007-10-15, 07:34 PM

Drglenn if you'r really serious about makign a Inheritance Trilogy dragon rider class you should make it a Prestige Class. Eragon is defintly a ranger when he starts... not a Dragon Rider.

Plus the flavor of the dragon rider is sort of "The dragon must choose you". Meaning not everyone can become one. Again sounds like a prestige.

You can make the class not have requisites in terms of feats/bab/skills but have only a roleplaying requirement. You alignement must matc that of the dragon in the evil-good axis and the dragon must choose you of course.

That way the DM can prevent the world frm become infested with dragon riders, but still allow a player that choice if he wants it.

My 2 cents...

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll

2007-10-15, 08:02 PM

Agreed. This would make such a better Prestige Class, but it should have pretty broad req., other than being picked by the dragon, so any type of character could become a Dragon Rider. Give it a few more abilities, based on Charisma.

arkol

2007-10-15, 08:29 PM

True. Maybe even have choices on requirements (nothing new some classes have it)

Something along the lines of:

Bab +X OR caster level Y OR Skill whatever Z ranks

Drglenn

2007-10-16, 07:02 AM

arkol

2007-10-16, 07:33 AM

Well "eragon" dragons are not similar to DnD dragons (dnd dragons age a lot slower for one...)

Depends on what exactly do you wanna do this.

Do you want a standard DnD (prestige) class with a "Dragon Rider" feel. Or do you want a Class true to the dragon riders?

If you want a true class, then you have to say goodbye to the DnD alignement restrictions on dragons. Any dragon can be of any alignement.

If you want a general class with the rider flavour, then you don't need to change alignements...

Either way I think you should have a match between the dragon's alignement and the dragon rider. Maybe cleric style... as in it can be one step away. So if you dragon is chaotic good, you can be neutral good. I think that fits a lot more with that's in the books.

ZeroNumerous

2007-10-16, 07:40 AM

Note: Dead levels. Way too many of them. Especially if you're gonna condense it into a prestige class. You should have something every level, even if it's just a bonus feat.

Prophaniti

2007-10-16, 09:04 AM

You dont need something every level if its a spellcasting class(see Wizard), which they already alluded to.

EDIT:btw, looks good so far. This seems like it would work best in a homebrewed world that doesnt have dragons alignment determined by color. I've always hated that. Why is it that Dragons are alone among sentient creatures in having no choice for their behavior? Don't discriminate! Free the Color!:smallbiggrin:

Triaxx

2007-10-16, 09:05 AM

It's interesting. I had some problems when I built a Dragon Rider, and it turned out kind of wierd too. You might have to rebuild the dragon to go with it. I ended up giving them until level 10 before they could actually ride a flying dragon, but at level 3, the dragon was strong enough to become a standard mount.

Drglenn

2007-10-16, 10:10 AM

Changed to a PrC and added dragon companion

nonsens

2007-10-16, 12:39 PM

This class is pretty much impossible
A 10th level Dragon Rider would have a Gargantuan dragon
The dragons who grow the fastest are Red (CR 20) and Gold (CR 21) dragons. These dragons become Gargantuan the youngest. They become it at age 'old'. Which is a minimum of 401 years.
Now you have a dragon who has a higher CR then you are, and you somehow have to get very old in order for the dragon to grow to it's size.
Thus, you might be able to gain another level, your dragon can't. It has to age first.

Dragons do not grow per class level, they grow by years.

Triaxx

2007-10-16, 02:18 PM

Hmm... It seems it would be better off to have it stick at Medium for a couple levels, then become huge at 9 and 10.

The problem I see though, comes with share spell. A Dragon with Stoneskin? Or Iron Skin?

Drglenn

2007-10-16, 02:24 PM

Hmm... It seems it would be better off to have it stick at Medium for a couple levels, then become huge at 9 and 10.

hmm that sounds like a good idea

webgem

2007-10-16, 02:36 PM

I think it is okay to have it get larger with levels, if it is set in the eragon world where that happens. If you want it to be in a regular d&d it might even work, but have the dragon rider's dragon be different. It increases in size do to hit die increase, which is generally thought to be age related, but instead be based on the rider. I don't know why that is such a big deal. The magical bond changes the dragon.

dark-sage 95

2007-10-16, 05:27 PM

I know that they are almost totaly differant but just lettin' you know dragon rider is also a PrC in the Draconomicon book. For the sake of confusion you may want to alter the name a little.:smalltongue:

As for the class seems interesting however i think it should cost a little more (okay a lot) to get a new dragon if you let the first die. also an XP penalty for letting your dragon die might be sufficient penalization. its not like dragons can be made/bought for just 100 gp/level. i mean come on, if your 10th in a PrC you should have enough dough to pay 1000gp without a thought, and i may be a bit of a mean DM but if i give my players a dragon and they get it killed they are really gonna' have to pay to get it back:smallfurious:.

Holocron Coder

2007-10-16, 08:52 PM

Just a note... The class allows any alignment, but only evil dragons are listed.

Problem?

Drglenn

2007-10-17, 03:48 AM

Just a note... The class allows any alignment, but only evil dragons are listed.

Problem?

Read my earlier post:

I'm not gonna restrict the alignment of the dragon rider to the dragon colours because in the books and film Saphira is a blue dragon and she is obiously good aligned, whereas a normal D&D blue dragon is evil

Changed 100gp per level to 100XP per level, too harsh or just right?

drawingfreak

2007-10-17, 11:40 AM

Didn't have the patience to read through the whole thread (ADD), so if this was already addressed, then I apologize.

I want to understand the rationale behind the +5 BAB Requirement. When Eragon received his dragon, he was basically still a commoner. He was no special than any other Tom, ****, or Harry (my apologies to any Toms, *****, or Harrys reading this now). Sure, he could hunt and track, but you don't need character levels for that.
I agree with the other requirements though.

Another thing, perhaps he shouldn't gain levels in Rider until he has had a chance to start riding the dragon. The dragon, however, might have some kind of special ability that helps the soon to be Rider receive the requirements needed to become one as it grows. This would mean you might have to add a special type of requirement beyond being chosen by the dragon, but this could also replace the +5 BAB you currently have.

I think what this class should be is entirely familiar driven. I can see you have that going partially, but the relationship between the two is more symbiotic than what the familiar/master relationship is with basic D&D (in comparison). Not sure how that will work.

*tosses in two copper*

Triaxx

2007-10-18, 08:55 AM

Nice, you forgot to change the flight speeds around though.

Drglenn

2007-10-18, 09:10 AM

Nice, you forgot to change the flight speeds around though.

Thanks, changed

also removed the BAB restriction and added spells

Istari

2007-10-18, 02:55 PM

If this is Eragon based you need to add a few things mainly adding some attack spells(brisinger) and you can extend the age of the rider possibly changing to half-elf length if you do not live longer by default.

Vadin

2007-10-18, 03:14 PM

I don't think that the spells are actually all that central to the dragon-riding. Certainly all dragon riders we know about so far can use magic, but so can other characters. Simply having a dragon does not actually grant them the ability to use magic (maybe). Perhaps another prestige class (a prestige prestige class?) that advanced the dragon (one that has already been obtained from the PrC) a lot less and in exchange is granted some spell like abilities. On that note, making this a 5 level prestige class (just take the first half of it, no reall need for a whole new class, I don't think) and following it up with 2 10 level prestige classes (so they get the final and largest dragon at minimum level 20): a full dragon progression class and a half or quarter dragon progression casting class might not be a bad idea. This might help explain the BBEG (who is supposedly a BEAST in actual combat) and Brom (who can cast really well) without needing lots of other casting classes like Sorcerer and Wizard.

drawingfreak

2007-10-18, 03:20 PM

I think the dragon can only give the power to cast to those who previously did not know it.

Also, maybe the dragon should be treated as a character with its own class, where it levels up through age instead of experience, and most of the abilities tie in with power upping the Rider.