Evil DM Mark3
2019-11-07, 09:17 AM
Drakelings
The blood of dragons is strong and famously can give rise to raw magical power in those who carry it in their veins. There are other less common manifestations too, such as those fighters who access the magical and physical might of their ancestry, as well as scores of organisations, disciplines and traditions worldwide that seek to emulate the power and majesty of dragonkind. Then there are those species created in draconic image, the Dragonborn and Kobolds that were created to serve dragonkind and the various part-draconic children of dragons.
Then there are Drakelings. Dragonblood may not be quite as ethereal or otherworldly as that of celestials or fiends but it shares with them the trait for making itself known generations later. A number of things can bring it about, multiple draconic ancestors is one, but so are practising draconic arts such as Dragon Sorcery or the path of the Dragon Disciple. Drakelings can even breed true with a little effort and the occasional exception, although the injection of fresh draconic blood is often beneficial. When born a Drakeling will often be mistaken for a normal human, although by the age of two the signs are unmistakable. Drakelings grow quickly and strong and develop a rough skin and rarely grow hair of any kind (those that do grow hair typically grow it only in small areas and in small amounts, perhaps enough for a short beard or only for eyebrows). They often also lack clear lips, have hard nails (although not hard enough to use as weapons) and unusually coloured eyes. They typically grow tall, even when raised in poor environments, with a typical Drakeling of either gender standing at a burly 6ft. Psychologically Drakelings are universally driven and confident, often to the point of arrogance of bullheadedness. They have an unquenchable sense of personal power and a universal expectation that they will achieve greatness, a temperament that they share with the draconic ancestors. For most Drakelings the closest thing to Humility they will achieve is the acceptance that there are others who are likewise destined for greatness and that, due to superior heritage or age, some of them are likely further along that path.
At typical Drakeling reaches physical adulthood around 14, although mentally only mature as fast as normal humans which often leads to problems. They are long lived, reaching middle age at around 70 and are considered old at around 140. Those that live to die of old age (which their temperament often prevents) typically do not do so until around their second century.
Discussing Drakelings as a race is difficult because, a few aristocratic dynasties notwithstanding, they do not exist in large groups. As a rule however they tend to push towards leadership positions or other forms of power, although the reasons for this range from personal pride to a sincere belief that they are best placed to wield the power in question. They tend to view dragons with respect and awe (attitudes that are otherwise rare) and have high expectations of other Drakelings, as well as Planestouched and people with notable or mighty ancestries. They are naturally drawn to the arcane arts, although some prefer to exert their power on the world physically.
Traits:
Size and Type: Drakelings are Medium sized and are of the Dragon type with the (Human) Subtype. They are considred human if targeted by an ability that gains bonuses or takes penalties when targeting a human (such as Favoured Enemy) even though Human is normally a Humanoid sub-type.
Base Speed: 30ft.
Ability Modifiers: Drakelings are strong in both body and personality, gaining +2 Strength and +2 Charisma. Their high opinions of their own capabilities and general drive and sense of purpose tends to blind them to their flaws however, meaning they take -2 to Wisdom.
Racial Abilities:
Arcane Blood: A Drakeling must always have the Dragon bloodline for any class that offers it, although they may be crossblooded sorcerers so long as one bloodline is Dragon. They are always considered arcane spellcasters for the purpose of qualifying for feats or using magical items, even if they have no class levels in an arcane spellcasting class (although in many cases this will limit their ability to use the feat or item in question). They are also always considered to have the Dragon Bloodline for the purposes of qualifying for feats and prestige classes, even if they haven’t taken a class that would grant that feature. They gain no benefit of the feature however. Finally they may qualify for the Dragon Disciple prestige class, despite being of the Dragon type.
Tough Skin: Drakelings possess a +1 natural armour bonus.
Dragon senses: Drakelings possess Low Light Vision, Darkvision (60ft) and Blindsense (5ft).
Draconic insticts: Drakelings gain a +2 racial bonus on Knowledge (Arcana) and Spellcraft checks, as well as to all rolls to detect the ongoing effect of spells, such as Perception checks to notice Invisible creatures or Sense Motive to detect Charm effects.
Note:As Dragons Drakelings are immune to magical Sleep and Paralysis effects, although they do require mundane sleep.
• Non-Human Drakelings: Occasionally Drakelings will be born to non-human races, although for unclear reasons this is much rarer. This is mostly just a cosmetic change for the sake of simplicity however. If the parent race is Small then they Drakeling may be too, but many grow so large as to qualify as Medium. If the Drakeling is Small apply all the normal modifiers, -2 Strength (for a net change of 0), +2 Dexterity. The strong musculature and energy of Drakelings means even Small Drakelings have Base Speed 30. Multiply the age categories of the race by 2. They have their parent race’s subtype.
• “Pureblooded” Drakelings: Most Drakelings are the result of several mixed ancestral bloodlines (occasionally it is rumoured not even from True Dragons) and as such show no particular affinity or connection to a particular type of dragon. Some however clearly bear the blood of a specific ancestor. This has no mechanical advantage but it can effect their appearance and general mentality, although even the descendants of calm, patient, dragon species tend towards the arrogant and impetious. As dragons themselves say, Patience is the last virtue of Dragonkind.
The blood of dragons is strong and famously can give rise to raw magical power in those who carry it in their veins. There are other less common manifestations too, such as those fighters who access the magical and physical might of their ancestry, as well as scores of organisations, disciplines and traditions worldwide that seek to emulate the power and majesty of dragonkind. Then there are those species created in draconic image, the Dragonborn and Kobolds that were created to serve dragonkind and the various part-draconic children of dragons.
Then there are Drakelings. Dragonblood may not be quite as ethereal or otherworldly as that of celestials or fiends but it shares with them the trait for making itself known generations later. A number of things can bring it about, multiple draconic ancestors is one, but so are practising draconic arts such as Dragon Sorcery or the path of the Dragon Disciple. Drakelings can even breed true with a little effort and the occasional exception, although the injection of fresh draconic blood is often beneficial. When born a Drakeling will often be mistaken for a normal human, although by the age of two the signs are unmistakable. Drakelings grow quickly and strong and develop a rough skin and rarely grow hair of any kind (those that do grow hair typically grow it only in small areas and in small amounts, perhaps enough for a short beard or only for eyebrows). They often also lack clear lips, have hard nails (although not hard enough to use as weapons) and unusually coloured eyes. They typically grow tall, even when raised in poor environments, with a typical Drakeling of either gender standing at a burly 6ft. Psychologically Drakelings are universally driven and confident, often to the point of arrogance of bullheadedness. They have an unquenchable sense of personal power and a universal expectation that they will achieve greatness, a temperament that they share with the draconic ancestors. For most Drakelings the closest thing to Humility they will achieve is the acceptance that there are others who are likewise destined for greatness and that, due to superior heritage or age, some of them are likely further along that path.
At typical Drakeling reaches physical adulthood around 14, although mentally only mature as fast as normal humans which often leads to problems. They are long lived, reaching middle age at around 70 and are considered old at around 140. Those that live to die of old age (which their temperament often prevents) typically do not do so until around their second century.
Discussing Drakelings as a race is difficult because, a few aristocratic dynasties notwithstanding, they do not exist in large groups. As a rule however they tend to push towards leadership positions or other forms of power, although the reasons for this range from personal pride to a sincere belief that they are best placed to wield the power in question. They tend to view dragons with respect and awe (attitudes that are otherwise rare) and have high expectations of other Drakelings, as well as Planestouched and people with notable or mighty ancestries. They are naturally drawn to the arcane arts, although some prefer to exert their power on the world physically.
Traits:
Size and Type: Drakelings are Medium sized and are of the Dragon type with the (Human) Subtype. They are considred human if targeted by an ability that gains bonuses or takes penalties when targeting a human (such as Favoured Enemy) even though Human is normally a Humanoid sub-type.
Base Speed: 30ft.
Ability Modifiers: Drakelings are strong in both body and personality, gaining +2 Strength and +2 Charisma. Their high opinions of their own capabilities and general drive and sense of purpose tends to blind them to their flaws however, meaning they take -2 to Wisdom.
Racial Abilities:
Arcane Blood: A Drakeling must always have the Dragon bloodline for any class that offers it, although they may be crossblooded sorcerers so long as one bloodline is Dragon. They are always considered arcane spellcasters for the purpose of qualifying for feats or using magical items, even if they have no class levels in an arcane spellcasting class (although in many cases this will limit their ability to use the feat or item in question). They are also always considered to have the Dragon Bloodline for the purposes of qualifying for feats and prestige classes, even if they haven’t taken a class that would grant that feature. They gain no benefit of the feature however. Finally they may qualify for the Dragon Disciple prestige class, despite being of the Dragon type.
Tough Skin: Drakelings possess a +1 natural armour bonus.
Dragon senses: Drakelings possess Low Light Vision, Darkvision (60ft) and Blindsense (5ft).
Draconic insticts: Drakelings gain a +2 racial bonus on Knowledge (Arcana) and Spellcraft checks, as well as to all rolls to detect the ongoing effect of spells, such as Perception checks to notice Invisible creatures or Sense Motive to detect Charm effects.
Note:As Dragons Drakelings are immune to magical Sleep and Paralysis effects, although they do require mundane sleep.
• Non-Human Drakelings: Occasionally Drakelings will be born to non-human races, although for unclear reasons this is much rarer. This is mostly just a cosmetic change for the sake of simplicity however. If the parent race is Small then they Drakeling may be too, but many grow so large as to qualify as Medium. If the Drakeling is Small apply all the normal modifiers, -2 Strength (for a net change of 0), +2 Dexterity. The strong musculature and energy of Drakelings means even Small Drakelings have Base Speed 30. Multiply the age categories of the race by 2. They have their parent race’s subtype.
• “Pureblooded” Drakelings: Most Drakelings are the result of several mixed ancestral bloodlines (occasionally it is rumoured not even from True Dragons) and as such show no particular affinity or connection to a particular type of dragon. Some however clearly bear the blood of a specific ancestor. This has no mechanical advantage but it can effect their appearance and general mentality, although even the descendants of calm, patient, dragon species tend towards the arrogant and impetious. As dragons themselves say, Patience is the last virtue of Dragonkind.