Expanding the Dragonborn: Racial Class?

[Damon_Tor]

I have a player who is currently a dragonborn barbarian and wishing he was more dragon and less barbarian. IE, he wants to fly, get more use out of his fire breath, get bigger, etc.

So I'm toying with a homebrew "racial class" which follows the progression of a Dragonborn who is devoted to pushing his natural gifts to their limits and expanding on his draconic ancestry.

My current thinking is to base it on the Warlock progression: give him bonus damage to his fire breath around the same levels a warlock would get higher tier spells and give him extra uses of fire breath per short rest based on when the warlock gets more spell slots. Treat other misc perks of being dragon-like into "legacies" which progress like the warlocks' invocations.

Looking for thoughts and input while I'm mulling this over.

[Trandir]

Did this player considered to go dragon sorcerer? It gets everything you listed.

[Damon_Tor]

Did this player considered to go dragon sorcerer? It gets everything you listed.

He's not interested in fiddling with spells, spell lists, spell slots etc.

[Nikushimi]

I have a player who is currently a dragonborn barbarian and wishing he was more dragon and less barbarian. IE, he wants to fly, get more use out of his fire breath, get bigger, etc.

So I'm toying with a homebrew "racial class" which follows the progression of a Dragonborn who is devoted to pushing his natural gifts to their limits and expanding on his draconic ancestry.

My current thinking is to base it on the Warlock progression: give him bonus damage to his fire breath around the same levels a warlock would get higher tier spells and give him extra uses of fire breath per short rest based on when the warlock gets more spell slots. Treat other misc perks of being dragon-like into "legacies" which progress like the warlocks' invocations.

Looking for thoughts and input while I'm mulling this over.

So they want to be a dragon. They want to be a monster. Honestly, I'd have them roleplay out how they are going about trying to become more dragon like. Have it be something earned. Dragons are ridiculously powerful. Perhaps they begin looking into lore about their ancestors and come across a ritual that requires certain ingredients that they must use in the ritual. Each time they perform the ritual they begin to become more dragon and gaining the appropriate abilities. Each ritual complete grants more and better abilities.

This way though I would also begin to take away their Barbarian abilities. Why? Cause dragons are stupid powerful and if they want to be a full dragon there has to be some kind of drawback. No ritual is without its price.

HOWEVER

Option 2.

If you want to just grant them a bit more dragon like abilities...I agree with the other person talking about Draconic Sorcerer. They literally gain wings at later levels.

Though if they don't want magic (which is weird cause Dragons are literally magic with lots of magic themselves) then the option of making a "racial class" isn't too far fetched.

Here's things that I would do.

Wings
Level 1: They are a basic dragon born.
Level 2: Small knobs begin to form on their backs. They begin to grow as time passes.
Level 3: Small wings take form. They are strong enough for them to glide. Unable to maneuver well. Can't do anything complicated.
Level 4: They are able to fly short distances as their wings become stronger. Half Con Mod=amount of hours or something they can fly.
Level 5: They can fly an amount of time equal to their con mod in hours. Still can't maneuver well.
Level 6: They can maneuver a lot better now able to take more complicated actions.
Level 7: They can fly as long as is feasibly possible under normal travel and exhaustion rules.

By level 7 they have control over their wings enough to maneuver well enough to do complicated things. Your discretion on what "complicated" is.

Breath

I'd give this to them at level 3. Once they hit level 3 they are able to use their breath weapon an equal amount of times to their Con Modifier per long rest. I say long rest cause breath weapons are crazy and this will reduce the amount of "I'm gonna breath" spam. Even dragons have a cool down on how often they can use their breath weapon.

Or, if you don't like restricting it to Con Mod per long rest give them a cooldown on it. An Adult Red Dragon has a recharge time on their breath. Every turn they roll a d6 and if it lands on a 5 or 6 they can use it again. However, you can do something like "You can only use your breath weapon once every other turn" or something similar.

Bigger Size
This one is a bit different and weird. To "Grow in size" changes a LOT of things for a character.

Personally, I'd treat it as an innate Enlarge spell on self. Something that comes naturally to them. Since they are a barbarian perhaps they get large whenever they enter Rage and they gain the benefits of the Enlarge spell. This will limit them the amount of times they can benefit from the enlarge spell.

If it's just simply "I want to grow bigger" with no extra benefits, then just have them grow several inches or however you want to do it whenever they gain a level. That's one way to do this.

Anything Else

Anything else they want should be looked at carefully. If all they want is to fly, be able to use their fire breath more, and grow bigger than that is easily done.

Just be careful not to give them too much over other players at your table.

It's a cool idea to want to become more dragon, and the two options are to either have them roleplay it out or by simply allowing them to take a variant Dragonborn type race with the above mentioned changes.

Being level 1 with flight is a bit crazy so you'd want to give them flight over time. Hence growing their wings as they level makes sense. Since they're new they won't know how to use them so they shouldn't be able to fly the moment they have wings large enough. Some amount of difficulty should be placed in it.

Other than that just have fun and find something both you and the player can agree upon and have fun with!

EDIT
Another thing I thought of too is that if they want better damage with their breath weapon you can also give them bonus damage based on Con Modifier.

I used Con a lot for this cause they are hardy boys and doing all this takes a lot out of them physically I feel. But yeah, that's a suggestion too.

[Theaitetos]

Maybe create a feat that allows flying and breath attacks instead of rage? Adapt the racial feats Dragon Fear and Dragon Hide or a Tiefling feat to achieve that?

[Ertwin]

So they want to be a dragon. They want to be a monster. Honestly, I'd have them roleplay out how they are going about trying to become more dragon like. Have it be something earned. Dragons are ridiculously powerful. Perhaps they begin looking into lore about their ancestors and come across a ritual that requires certain ingredients that they must use in the ritual. Each time they perform the ritual they begin to become more dragon and gaining the appropriate abilities. Each ritual complete grants more and better abilities.

This way though I would also begin to take away their Barbarian abilities. Why? Cause dragons are stupid powerful and if they want to be a full dragon there has to be some kind of drawback. No ritual is without its price.

HOWEVER

Option 2.

If you want to just grant them a bit more dragon like abilities...I agree with the other person talking about Draconic Sorcerer. They literally gain wings at later levels.

Though if they don't want magic (which is weird cause Dragons are literally magic with lots of magic themselves) then the option of making a "racial class" isn't too far fetched.

Here's things that I would do.

Wings
Level 1: They are a basic dragon born.
Level 2: Small knobs begin to form on their backs. They begin to grow as time passes.
Level 3: Small wings take form. They are strong enough for them to glide. Unable to maneuver well. Can't do anything complicated.
Level 4: They are able to fly short distances as their wings become stronger. Half Con Mod=amount of hours or something they can fly.
Level 5: They can fly an amount of time equal to their con mod in hours. Still can't maneuver well.
Level 6: They can maneuver a lot better now able to take more complicated actions.
Level 7: They can fly as long as is feasibly possible under normal travel and exhaustion rules.

By level 7 they have control over their wings enough to maneuver well enough to do complicated things. Your discretion on what "complicated" is.



Why seven levels for wings? the Aarakora? (however they are spelt) have wings at level 1.

[Daithi]

There is the UA Sidekick thing. That would allow him to actually play a dragon, well as a sidekick, and just as a wyrmling brass or copper dragon. Nevertheless, it might be an option.

[Trandir]

Anyway it would help to have some more informations about this homebrew world. Do the dragons have any different ability than the Forgotten Realms ones?
What is their connection to the dragonborns?
And what level is this PC that wants to become more dragon?

[47Ace]

Why seven levels for wings? the Aarakora? (however they are spelt) have wings at level 1.

Aarakora are op and no one should be allowed to play them at level 1. Level 5 maybe. Level 11 definitely but at level 1 at will flight is op.

To the op why not just make a dragonborn exclusive dragon totem Barbarian.

Level 3
1d8 natural claw attack. That counts as a heavy two handed weapon.
Breath weapon increase by 1d6 and rage damage boost is added
Breath weapon can be used once per rage
You start growing to better resemble you dragonic ansestors. (Fluff, about 1-2 inches a level)

Level 6
40 feet flight
Claw attack upgraded to 1d12 and counts as magic

Level 14
Grow to large size
Gain at 1d10 tail attack with reach that counts as a magic heavy two handed polarm(not a bonus action just another option)

I have no reason to think this wouldn't be ballanced. The breath weapon may still be a bit weak. You may want to add bonuses equal to the magic items you give out as well; or just custom magic items.

Darn now I want to play this. I doubt I would be able to convince any of my DM's given my reputation as an optimiser.

[Imbalance]

Iirc, there are two UA feats for Dragonborn - one for wings and flight speed, and another for a ferocious roar. A player in my campaign wants wings for her db eldritch knight, so I'm working on a quest path to have such features granted directly from Bahamut himself IF the char can stay true to his calling.

I'm also working in some alternative fluff based on Mage Knight's Draconum. Each stage of ritual transformation will be like a chrysalis, and he'll be vulnerable for a time. She will have to rp in a way that convinces the others to watch his back while he becomes more powerful, but also more dangerous; less like a dragonborn of noble mettle and closer to a true dragon.

[47Ace]

Level 3
1d8 natural claw attack. That counts as a heavy two handed weapon.
Breath weapon increase by 1d6 and rage damage boost is added
Breath weapon can be used once per rage
You start growing to better resemble you dragonic ansestors. (Fluff, about 1-2 inches a level)

Level 6
40 feet flight
Claw attack upgraded to 1d12 and counts as magic

Level 14
Grow to large size
Gain at 1d10 tail attack with reach that counts as a magic heavy two handed polarm(not a bonus action just another option)

I have no reason to think this wouldn't be ballanced. The breath weapon may still be a bit weak. You may want to add bonuses equal to the magic items you give out as well; or just custom magic items.

Darn now I want to play this. I doubt I would be able to convince any of my DM's given my reputation as an optimiser.

On second thought rereading the current totem abilitys

Natural attack becomes at level 3 1d8 with one free hand 1d12 with two free hands (heavy and two handed propertys for gwm)
Keep rest of level 3

Flight is moved to level 14 and possibly has the limits of the eshle totem

Level 6 feature becomes you gain the senses and abilitys of you dragon ansestors darkvision to 120 feet and the tail attack.
( More in line with other level 6 abilitys but means a 3 level dip doesn't get you a reach weapon well make PAM an option for most of the barbarian career.)

[Yakk]

Change the Path to http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/barbarian:totem-warrior

Homebrew Dragon totems.

[LentilNinja]

As others have pointed out, other classes like Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer give him more draconic abilities.

But if they want to be a Barbarian, could you swap out their Barbarian path features for the Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer ones? A couple may need reflavoured, such as have Elemental Affinity apply to his breath weapon rather than a spell. I'd let him apply the AC calculation from either Unarmoured Defense OR Draconic Resilience, but either way still gain the extra HP.

It's probably not an optimal build compared to most if not all Barbarian paths existing, but it would let the player play a Barbarian with Draconic features.

He can then invest his feats in the Dragonborn racial feat(s) for more draconic abilities.

[Yakk]

Here:

Barbarian: Path of the Dragon

3rd - Dragon Seeker

See Dragon Ancestor from Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer.

You have resistance to that damage type at all times. If you already had resistance, once per day as a reaction to taking damage of that type you can become immune to it until the start of your next turn.

Whenever you deal Rage bonus damage you can choose it to be of that damage type.

3rd - Dragon Spirit

When you Rage, you embrace the Dragon's Spirit.

Claws While raging, your unarmed attacks deal 1d8+Charisma additional damage of your Dragon Seeker damage type. You may make an unarmed attack as a bonus action whenever you reduce a creature to 0 HP or strike a critical hit.

Roar While raging you can release a Draconic Roar as a bonus action. The Roar can be heard 200' away. All hostile creatures within 50' must make a wisdom saving throw with DC (8+Proficiency+Charisma bonus) or become Frightened of you for 1 minute. They can as an action repeat their saving throw on their turn. You gain temporary HP equal to the highest HD creature frightened by this Roar, and advantage on all attacks against creatures Frightened by this ability.

You can make a Draconic Roar once before you have to take a short or long rest.

Scales - When you rage you gain temporary HP equal to your Charisma bonus. Whenever you score a critical hit, or reduce a creature to 0 HP, you gain these temporary HP again. When you take melee damage and have these temporary HP, you deal Charisma bonus damage of your Dragon Seeker damage type to the attacker.

6th - Dragon's Gaze

You have advantage on perception checks relying on vision. While Raging, you can make a perception check to spot hidden or invisible creatures once per turn as a free action.

You can smell precious metals and gems within 15', and as an action you can cast detect magic once per rest.

10th - Dragon's Wings

At 10th level, when you Rage you can sprout wings. You have a fly speed equal to your speed.

14th - Dragon's Will

You learn 6 spells from the sorcerer spell list of level 1 through 3. They must all deal damage, and any damage they do becomes the type of your dragon seeker.

While raging you may cast any of these spells as a bonus action. You can cast one spell of each level (1 2 and 3) this way between rests (short or long), and can cast them in no other way.

[Magicspook]

Here:

Barbarian: Path of the Dragon

3rd - Dragon Seeker

See Dragon Ancestor from Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer.

You have resistance to that damage type at all times. If you already had resistance, once per day as a reaction to taking damage of that type you can become immune to it until the start of your next turn.

Whenever you deal Rage bonus damage you can choose it to be of that damage type.

3rd - Dragon Spirit

When you Rage, you embrace the Dragon's Spirit.

Claws While raging, your unarmed attacks deal 1d8+Charisma additional damage of your Dragon Seeker damage type. You may make an unarmed attack as a bonus action whenever you reduce a creature to 0 HP or strike a critical hit.

Roar While raging you can release a Draconic Roar as a bonus action. The Roar can be heard 200' away. All hostile creatures within 50' must make a wisdom saving throw with DC (8+Proficiency+Charisma bonus) or become Frightened of you for 1 minute. They can as an action repeat their saving throw on their turn. You gain temporary HP equal to the highest HD creature frightened by this Roar, and advantage on all attacks against creatures Frightened by this ability.

You can make a Draconic Roar once before you have to take a short or long rest.

Scales - When you rage you gain temporary HP equal to your Charisma bonus. Whenever you score a critical hit, or reduce a creature to 0 HP, you gain these temporary HP again. When you take melee damage and have these temporary HP, you deal Charisma bonus damage of your Dragon Seeker damage type to the attacker.

6th - Dragon's Gaze

You have advantage on perception checks relying on vision. While Raging, you can make a perception check to spot hidden or invisible creatures once per turn as a free action.

You can smell precious metals and gems within 15', and as an action you can cast detect magic once per rest.

10th - Dragon's Wings

At 10th level, when you Rage you can sprout wings. You have a fly speed equal to your speed.

14th - Dragon's Will

You learn 6 spells from the sorcerer spell list of level 1 through 3. They must all deal damage, and any damage they do becomes the type of your dragon seeker.

While raging you may cast any of these spells as a bonus action. You can cast one spell of each level (1 2 and 3) this way between rests (short or long), and can cast them in no other way.
None of these are super OP, but there are a lot of bonuses (greater in number than vanilla barbarian subclasses) and you have a tendancy to make them (almost) free in terms of action cost (roar being a bonis action, the perception check being a free action). To balance them better, I suggest the following changes:

-ditch the immunity at 3rd level. It sounds like one of those abilities you forget about and then facepalm 3 turns later 'ugh why didnt I use that!'
-make draconic roar an action. This is much more balanced because it isn't 'free' alongside your normal attacks, and brings it more in line with abilities such as the warlock's fey presence. Consider if this ability is really necessary. Isn't there a dragonborn feat for this,and don't barbs already have an intimidate?
-scales: my god another feature at 3rd level?! I do like this one though
-dragon's gaze: NEVER give something as a free action. Bonus action at best. And besides, dragons were never about havig good vision, were they? This is not really themetic. If you do want to give them a special sense, blindsight while raging is more thematic since all dragons have it.
-wings: yeah, cool.
-spells: allowing spells for a non-caster is very powerful, and sorcerers are thus far the only class to cast spells as a bonus action (a limited number of times a day). Remove the cast-as-bonus-action and you're fine.

As you can see, most of my suggestions involve increasing the action cost of the added abilities. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and cool abilities are no exception.

[Finback]

Why seven levels for wings? the Aarakora? (however they are spelt) have wings at level 1.

In a narrative sense, one could argue aarakocra are *born* with their wings, and are learning how to use them from birth. This character is already an adult dragonborn, so needs time to learn how to use them.

[Yakk]

My first pass of roar ended rage; when I reworked it, I should have increased the action cost maybe, or stripped some features, or just nixed it.

The idea of roaring in triumoh at the tail end of a battle seems fun tho; maybe return "ends rage".

---

The bonus-action heaviness was intentional; as a barbarian, your meat and bones is your action. If you give up your action, you aren't doing your job.

Casting a level 1 damage spell at level 14 as an action is being an idiot. You'd usually be better off spitting on your target; low level damage spells don't scale.

The level 3 slot is better; good old fireball for 8d6 or 28 damage. Still less than a typical level 14 barbarian at-will attack round tho!

A 1/3 caster at 15 is level 5. A warlock has 2 level 3 slots per short rest at that point. A 1/2/3 slot seemed reasonable.

[Damon_Tor]

Thanks for the input everyone.

I've spoken to the player in question about the options you've presented: my favorite was making a custom barbarian class, but he didn't care for it. I think he really just wants to play a dragon or the closest approximation of that the system can offer.

As such I've moved forward with building my Dragonborn Racial class, structured after the Warlock. This is what I have so far:


Dragonborn Scion
Requirement: Dragonborn

Class Features

Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per Dragonborn level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10+Your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Scion level after 1st
(Notes: The Scion has a bigger hit die compared to the warlock, and more armor proficiencies, because unlike the warlock the scion has no access to ranged cantrips or damage mitigation spells.)

Proficiencies
Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
Skills: Choose two skills from Athletics, Arcana, Deception, History, Intimidation, Nature, and Religion

Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

any simple weapon
(a) an explorerer’s pack or (b) a dungeoneer’s pack
scale mail


Powerful Bite
Your teeth are longer, and your jaws are more powerful, than those of your kin. Your bite is a natural weapon that deals 1d10 piercing damage.(Notes: Balance-wise, This largely replaces the warlock's cantrips)

Improved Breath Weapon
The damage dealt by your breath weapon improves by 1d6. At third, fifth, seventh and ninth levels it improves by another 1d6. (Notes: this is in addition to the increases it naturally gets at character levels 6, 11, and 16. With these changes, the damage we expect from the breath weapon at each level keeps pace with a damage-dealing spell cast by a warlock at those levels)

Missing: Replacement for the first level Otherworldly Patron features.

Repeated Breath
Starting at second level, you can use your breath weapon a second time. At 11th level you gain a third use of your breath weapon. At 17th level you gain a fourth use of your breath weapon. You regain all uses on a short or long rest.(Notes: Again, this mirrors the progression of a warlock gaining more spell slots)

Draconic Legacy
As your connection to your draconic ancestors deepens, your body begins to change to more closely resemble them, changes which grant you a variety of abilities. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.

At 2nd level, you gain two legacies of your choice. Your legacy options are detailed at the end of the class description. When you gain certain scion levels, you gain additional legacies of your choice, as shown in the Legacies column of the Scion table.(Note: I haven't made the table yet: currently it follows the same progression as the warlock invocations, going up by 1 every 4 levels culminating at 8 at level 18, 19 and 20.)

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of your legacies and replace it with another legacy that you could gain at that level.

If a draconic legacy has prerequisites, you must meet them to gain it. You can gain the legacy at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.

Missing: Replacement for the Pact Boons at third level

Versatile Breath
Starting at fourth level, when you use your breath weapon, you can choose whether to do so as a 5 by 30 foot line or as a 15 foot cone. Starting at 6th level, the range of your breath weapon increases to either a 30 foot cone or a 10 foot by 60 foot line. At 8th level it increases again to either a 60 foot cone or a 15 foot by 120 foot line (Notes:In keeping with advancing the breath weapons like we would expect spells to increase, we had to increase the area of effect as well. Allowing the player to choose which shape they prefer seemed more elegant than listing two size progressions and telling them to ignore the one that doesn't apply to them.

Missing: Replacement for the sixth level Otherworldly Patron features.

Missing: Replacement for the tenth level Otherworldly Patron features.

Legendary Resistance
Starting at 11th level, when you would fail a saving throw, you can choose to succeed instead as a reaction. You can use this ability once. At 13th level you can use this power twice. At 15th level you can use this power three times. You regain all uses of this ability when you take a long rest. (Notes: I acknowledge this is a powerful ability for a PC, but it takes the place of the warlock's 6th, 7th and 8th level Mystic Arcana. Limiting the reroll to a reaction, and thus once per round, helps keep it in line.)

Missing: Replacement for the fourteenth level Otherworldly Patron features.

Missing: Replacement for the warlock's 9th level mystic arcanum at seventeenth level.

Missing: A level 20 Capstone


Draconic Legacies

Claw Attack
Prerequisite: 5th level
Your claws are natural melee weapons you can use to make unarmed attacks. They deal 1d6 slashing damage on a hit. If you take the attack action on your turn, as a bonus action you can make one melee attack with your claws. You must have a free hand to attack with your claws. Starting at 11th level you can instead make two claw attacks as a bonus action if both your hands are free.

Draconic Body
Your body is covered in hard, rigid scales. While wearing no armor, your Armor Class is equal to 13+your constitution modifier.

Dragon Sight
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in Darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in Darkness, only shades of gray.

Dragon Senses
Prerequisite: 15th level
A combination of acute hearing, smell, and temperature sensitivity gives you Truesight within 30 feet.

Dragon Wings
Prerequisite: 9th level
You grow a pair of dragon wings from your back, granting you a flight speed equal to your walking speed. However, you can only remain in flight for a number of consecutive rounds equal to your proficiency bonus. At the end of that many rounds, if you are still flying, you fall. At 15th level your flight is no longer limited in this way.

Elemental Bite
Your bite deals extra damage equal to your constitution modifier. The type of damage is determined by your Draconic Ancestry.

Soul of Asgorath
You descend from no one draconic lineage; you carry the blood of many types of dragon, or perhaps even all dragons, within you. During a long rest, can change your draconic ancestry, shedding your old scales and regrowing a new set of the chosen color. In addition, whenever you use your Breath Weapon, you can choose any of the damage types on that table, regardless of which ancestry you're currently manifesting.

Tail Attack
Prerequisite: 13th level
Your tail is a natural melee weapon that deals 1d8 bludgeoning damage. When a creature enters your reach you can make a melee weapon attack against that creature using your tail as a reaction.

Truesize
Prerequisite: 11th level
The diminutive size of your corporeal form cannot contain your full draconic might. As a bonus action, you cause yourself to grow to your true size: your true size is large. While large, your size doubles in all dimensions, and your weight is multiplied by eight. If there isn't enough room for you to double your size, you attain the maximum possible size in the space available. Your natural weapons also grow to match your new size, gaining one dice of additional damage. This change in size lasts until you end the effect as a bonus action or when you become incapacitated.

Truesize II
Prerequisite: 16th level, Truesize
Your true size can be large or huge. While huge, your size triples, your weight is multiplied by sixteen, and your reach increases by 5 feet.

Truesize III
Prerequisite: 20th level, Truesize II
Your true size can be large, huge or gargantuan. While gargantuan, your size quadruples, your weight is multiplied by thirty-two, and your reach increases by 10 feet.

[47Ace]

Thanks for the input everyone.

I've spoken to the player in question about the options you've presented: my favorite was making a custom barbarian class, but he didn't care for it. I think he really just wants to play a dragon or the closest approximation of that the system can offer.

As such I've moved forward with building my Dragonborn Racial class, structured after the Warlock. This is what I have so far.... (Snip)

[

At first glance it looks ok. The bonus action attacks worry me a bit but given that don't appear to get more bites they should be ok. If the legendary resistance is a problem you could swap it for the fighters indomitable to get a reroll instead of an auto pass. One thing to remember with the draconic legacies is that if this is only for one player you only need to create and ballanced the ones they are currently using.

Oh and thanks for the idea of a raging fire breathing dragonborn barbarian that becomes more like a dragon as they level up. I definitely want to look into that more to see if I can create something one of my DMs will let play.

[Damon_Tor]

At first glance it looks ok. The bonus action attacks worry me a bit but given that don't appear to get more bites they should be ok.

I did the math on it, comparing it to a raging full classed zealot barbarian and a full classed warlock using eldritch blast, and the damage for the scion is actually low. The scion will be doing 45 damage per turn using regular attacks, while the barbarian is looking at 49.5 (more because of their big crits and perma-advantage, but I'm not accounting for that) and the warlock is doing 56. This is okay: the breath weapon is the big draw here.

You're correct that they don't get a second bite attack through their normal class, but of course they could get it through multiclassing, such as if the PC takes barbarian to 5, but it's also worth noting that the scion needs both hands free to get that second claw attack. This effectively takes options like GWM off the table if they want the full benefit of the scion.

Right now I'm trying to fill in the gaps. I'm thinking instead of the warlock subclasses, features based on their ancestry, so "Black Dragon Scion" would function somewhat like a distinct subclass and might come with a swim speed, water breathing, and stealth proficiency. This would mean a scion with Soul of Asgorath would be able to effectively change "subclasses" on a long rest.

[Yakk]

May I suggest more natural weapons, and a limit of one use per action on bite/tail/wings like xbow.

A melee (non-spell) damge dealer without 2nd attack is a bit unstable in a sense.