Ponce
2007-11-24, 08:30 PM
You know him, you love him. Scaly grandmaster of his good-aligned bad breath kin, keeping all the nasty red dragons from gobbling up us tiny humanoids. Knowing this, you decide to devote your life to spreading the word of mighty Bahamut, benevolent keeper of the world! So what do you do? You take his prestige class, of course! He has several, after all. But what's this? Oh dear! It seems that they all stink! This won't do at all!
In all seriousness, Bahamut does have several prestige classes available to him, but none of them seem particularly good, certainly not worthy of such a figure. Indeed, the main problem with the Bahamut prestige classes are their specificity in destroying evil dragons. While this ability is appropriate for Bahamut, it is also fairly useless. Unless you can somehow expect to be fighting evil dragons continuously (a fair stretch, given how evil dragons aren't exactly available in droves). What I propose is that a Bahamut Prestige class is developed, right here in the homebrew design forum.
Existing Bahamut Prestige Classes:
Platinum Knight (Draconomicon): Decent requirements, but the Dragonfriend requirement is pretty much a thrown away feat. The smite evil dragon ability is very limited in its use, as seen above. Same goes with Bahamut's Grace. Aside from that, this class also suffers from the "I like dragons, therefore I should try to become one" concept found in many dragon-oriented classes. There's enough material out there to turn your character into a dragonesque creature, we don't need ANOTHER class that does this.
Sacred Warder of Bahamut (Draconomicon): This is for dragons only. While it is relatively easy to gain the dragon type, you are still stuck with the +15 BAB prerequirement issue. Combined with the fact that it is a 12-level prestige class, you're either a Juvenile dragon in a fairly absurd campaign, or you may as well forget about it. Not designed for PC use.
Vassal of Bahamut (Book of Exalted Deeds): Its requirements are "quirky." It contains a whole slew of evil-dragon-specific abilities. Again, not useful unless your entire party is out to kill evil dragons and nothing but. The Shared Trove ability is just a bad idea, and the Platinum Armor one is even worse (sure, you get a great set of base armor, but if anyone other than you puts it on, it turns to dust. Goodbye, +5 Heavy Fortification Platinum Armor!). Spellcasting and bonus feats are nice, though.
What I think a Bahamut character should do:
1)It should protect its fellows from the forces of evil. That is what Bahamut does. Remember that the greatest dragons often have legions of non-dragon followers, so much of your time will be spent battling non-dragons. As such, general anti-evil abilities are a choice. Maybe a perpetual Magic Circle Against Evil?
2)It should be combat proficient, preferably leading out of something like the Paladin. Full BAB, good fort save. Smite evil progression, etc.
3)It should be charisma-oriented, again leading out of the Paladin.
4)The Air and Storm domains are in Bahamut's portfolio. Perhaps they should be integrated into the class, since they are fairly important to him. Weapons you wield are treated as having the Frost ability?
What I think the class should require:
1)Speak language (Draconic).
2)Base Attack Bonus around +5.
3)Alignment Lawful Good, and Deity Bahamut.
Discuss! :smallsmile:
In all seriousness, Bahamut does have several prestige classes available to him, but none of them seem particularly good, certainly not worthy of such a figure. Indeed, the main problem with the Bahamut prestige classes are their specificity in destroying evil dragons. While this ability is appropriate for Bahamut, it is also fairly useless. Unless you can somehow expect to be fighting evil dragons continuously (a fair stretch, given how evil dragons aren't exactly available in droves). What I propose is that a Bahamut Prestige class is developed, right here in the homebrew design forum.
Existing Bahamut Prestige Classes:
Platinum Knight (Draconomicon): Decent requirements, but the Dragonfriend requirement is pretty much a thrown away feat. The smite evil dragon ability is very limited in its use, as seen above. Same goes with Bahamut's Grace. Aside from that, this class also suffers from the "I like dragons, therefore I should try to become one" concept found in many dragon-oriented classes. There's enough material out there to turn your character into a dragonesque creature, we don't need ANOTHER class that does this.
Sacred Warder of Bahamut (Draconomicon): This is for dragons only. While it is relatively easy to gain the dragon type, you are still stuck with the +15 BAB prerequirement issue. Combined with the fact that it is a 12-level prestige class, you're either a Juvenile dragon in a fairly absurd campaign, or you may as well forget about it. Not designed for PC use.
Vassal of Bahamut (Book of Exalted Deeds): Its requirements are "quirky." It contains a whole slew of evil-dragon-specific abilities. Again, not useful unless your entire party is out to kill evil dragons and nothing but. The Shared Trove ability is just a bad idea, and the Platinum Armor one is even worse (sure, you get a great set of base armor, but if anyone other than you puts it on, it turns to dust. Goodbye, +5 Heavy Fortification Platinum Armor!). Spellcasting and bonus feats are nice, though.
What I think a Bahamut character should do:
1)It should protect its fellows from the forces of evil. That is what Bahamut does. Remember that the greatest dragons often have legions of non-dragon followers, so much of your time will be spent battling non-dragons. As such, general anti-evil abilities are a choice. Maybe a perpetual Magic Circle Against Evil?
2)It should be combat proficient, preferably leading out of something like the Paladin. Full BAB, good fort save. Smite evil progression, etc.
3)It should be charisma-oriented, again leading out of the Paladin.
4)The Air and Storm domains are in Bahamut's portfolio. Perhaps they should be integrated into the class, since they are fairly important to him. Weapons you wield are treated as having the Frost ability?
What I think the class should require:
1)Speak language (Draconic).
2)Base Attack Bonus around +5.
3)Alignment Lawful Good, and Deity Bahamut.
Discuss! :smallsmile: