Grey Eyes Steel Dragon?

Quote Originally Posted by Lady Grey

Lady Grey, Shadow of the Dark Queen
LE Steel Dragon Wyrmling Talon of Tiamat 10/Soul Eater 2/Spellsword 1/Mindbender 1

Background
Spoiler
Show
King Leonard Braithwaite awoke in darkness with a dull ache in his head. His mind reeled for a few moments as he tried to recall where he was, and how he had arrived. He remembered riding forth with a column of his best knights to slay the foul dragon that had been spoiling the countryside near his castle. He remembered the surge of excitement as, once the beast had been spotted, he lowered his lance and charged. There was a solid impact and then ... nothing. As he struggled to look around, he realized that he was chained to the wall of a dank cell. As he tried to figure out just who had imprisoned him, the door to his cell opened and bright light flooded into the room, momentarily blinding him.

"Ah, your majesty, I'm glad to see you are awake." A velvety female voice slid around the room. He recognized it at once as belonging to one of his vassals, Lady Grey.

As his eyes became accustomed to the light, he squinted at her always alluring form. "What is the meaning of this! Why have you taken me pri-"

Lady Grey laid a firm finger on his lips and whispered, "Hush, my liege, I will tell you all you wish to know and more." She trailed her fingers along his cheek and turned the edge of her mouth up into a smile. "You nearly killed my pet on the field of battle, I had to intervene personally to ensure my plans were not spoiled by your heroics." She let out a quiet sigh, "Not that my poor, dimwitted cousin will surivive his encounter with Sir Adahn. Slaying the beast who killed the king will place Adahn right where I want him, and he is a much more suitable puppet than I could have ever hoped."

The King glowered at her, his mind racing. "What ... what are you?"

Lady Grey smiled approvingly, "Always the quick study, my liege. A trait you no doubt inherited from your mother." Her brow furrowed. "My family tree has a more ... colorful past. Though it is not unlike human nobility. The taking of prisoners, ransoming, fostering, and betrayal around every corner. I was a fosterling myself, if you can believe it. My ... mother was not what you might call a nurturing sort. But my time with her was very educational. She was quite knowledgeable and devout, despite her obsessions and proclivities. Her most valuable lesson to me was on the importance of trust, and how easily most sentients fall into its trap."

She turned her back to the king and laid her head on his shoulder. "I learned that lesson so well, I mastered it where she had not. Her trust in me was her undoing. I spent with years with the Cult of the Shadowed Vessel learning the secrets of the Dark Feast, plotting, planning, and waiting. The mad wyrm never saw me coming." She stood and strode into the center of the cell. "You see, she forgot one of the most basic tenets of the mother of dragons - Never forgive a slight. And what is a slight if not the usurpation of your childhood and the murder of your family?"

"Which brings us to you, my liege." Lady Grey spun on her heel and regarded the King with disdain. "Believing yourself to be superior to one of my kind. Such arrogance. And we can't have that, oh no." She shook her head as it sprouted scales and her form rippled and shifted, "But now I will take from you my due." The door closed, plunging the cell into darkness, and Lady Grey's voice whispered from every corner, "Feel free to scream, I do so love the taste of terrified nobility."


Build
Spoiler
Show
Lady Grey
{table=head]Level|Class|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Skills|Feats|Class Features

6th|Steel Dragon Wyrmling|
+4
|
+4
|
+4
|
+4
|Bluff 7, Diplomacy 5, Escape Artist 7, Hide (2), Intimidate 7, Knowledge(Arcana) 6, Listen 7, Move Silently (1), Sense Motive 4, Spot 7|Dragonthrall, Alertness|60ft. Speed, fly 150ft. (Average), +2 Con, +2 Cha, Breath Weapon (40ft. Line of Acid (1d6) or 20 ft. Cone of Poisonous Gas (Fort Save, 1 Con damage)), +3 Natural Armor, Bite and 2 Claw attacks, Spell Resistance 16, Immunity to Acid, Immunity to Sleep and Paralysis, Poison Resistance, Alternate Form, Casts spells as a 1st level sorcerer, Blindsense 60ft., Keen Senses

7th|Talon of Tiamat 1|
+4
|
+6
|
+4
|
+4
|Bluff 8, Escape Artist (8), Intimidate 8| |Breath Weapon (Cone of Cold - 3d6)

8th|Talon of Tiamat 2|
+5
|
+7
|
+4
|
+4
|Bluff 9, Intimidate 9, Never Outnumbered|Weapon Focus(Claw)|Voice of the Dragon +2, +1 level of existing spellcasting class

9th|Soul Eater 1|
+6
|
+9
|
+6
|
+6
|Escape Artist (9), Hide 3, Intimidate 10, Move Silently 3| |Energy Drain 1

10th|Talon of Tiamat 3|
+7
|
+9
|
+7
|
+7
|Bluff 10, Intimidate 11, Easy Escape| |Breath Weapon (Line of Acid - 8d4)

11th|Talon of Tiamat 4|
+8
|
+10
|
+7
|
+7
|Bluff 11, Escape Artist (10), Intimidate 12|Improved Unarmed Strike|Keen Senses, +1 level of existing spellcasting class

12th|Talon of Tiamat 5|
+8
|
+10
|
+7
|
+7
|Bluff 12, Escape Artist (11), Intimidate 13| |Breath Weapon (Cone of corrosive gas - 10d6)

13th|Talon of Tiamat 6|
+9
|
+11
|
+8
|
+8
|Bluff 13, Escape Artist (12), Intimidate 14| |Immunities(Fire), Voice of the Dragon +4, +1 level of existing spellcasting class

14th|Talon of Tiamat 7|
+10
|
+11
|
+8
|
+8
|Bluff 14, Escape Artist (13), Intimidate 15|Entangling Exhalation|Breath Weapon (Line of Lightning - 12d8)

15th|Talon of Tiamat 8|
+11
|
+12
|
+8
|
+8
|Bluff 15, Escape Artist (14), Intimidate 16| |Keen Senses, Frightful Presence, +1 level of existing spellcasting class

16th|Talon of Tiamat 9|
+11
|
+12
|
+9
|
+9
|Bluff 16, Escape Artist (15), Intimidate 17| |Breath Weapon (Cone of Fire - 14d8)

17th|Talon of Tiamat 10|
+12
|
+13
|
+9
|
+9
|Bluff 17, Escape Artist (16), Intimidate 18|Darkstalker|Dominate Dragon, Voice of the Dragon +6, +1 level of existing spellcasting class

18th|Soul Eater 2|
+13
|
+14
|
+10
|
+10
|Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Spellcraft 1, Escape Attack| |Soul Strength

19th|Mindbender 1|
+13
|
+16
|
+10
|
+12
|Bluff 18, Escape Artist (17), Sense Motive 5| |Telepathy, +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class

20th|Spellsword 1|
+14
|
+18
|
+10
|
+14
|Escape Artist (18), Quick Escape|Mindsight|Ignore Spell Failure 10%, +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class[/table]


Stats
Spoiler
Show

Starting Ability Scores:
Str - 12
Dex - 14
Con - 14
Int - 14
Wis - 10
Cha - 18

Final Ability Scores:
Str - 12
Dex - 14
Con - 14
Int - 14
Wis - 10
Cha - 22 (+4 levels)


Spells per day/Spells Known
Spoiler
Show

Spells per day (not adjusted for high ability scores)
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|6|4|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

9th|6|4|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

10th|6|4|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

11th|6|5|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

12th|6|5|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

13th|6|6|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

14th|6|6|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

15th|6|6|4|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

16th|6|6|4|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

17th|6|6|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-

18th|6|6|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-

19th|6|6|6|4|-|-|-|-|-|-

20th|6|6|6|5|3|-|-|-|-|-[/table]

Spells Known
{table=head]Level|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th

1st|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

4th|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

5th|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

6th|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

7th|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

8th|5|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

9th|5|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

10th|5|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

11th|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

12th|5|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

13th|6|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

14th|6|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

15th|6|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

16th|6|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

17th|7|4|2|1|-|-|-|-|-|-

18th|7|4|2|1|-|-|-|-|-|-

19th|7|5|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-

20th|8|5|3|2|1|-|-|-|-|-[/table]
Detect Magic(0-level), Read Magic(0-level), Prestidigitation(0-level), Disrupt Undead(0-level), Cure Minor Wounds(0-level), Create Water(0-level), Purify Food and Drink(0-level), Acid Splash(0-level)

Shield(1st), Charm Person(1st), Nerveskitter(1st), Mage Armor(1st), Orb of Sound, Lesser(1st)

Mirror Image(2nd), See Invisibility(2nd), Invisibility(2nd)

Girallon's Blessing(3rd), Protection from Energy(3rd)

Divine Power(4th)


Level Breakdown
Spoiler
Show

Level 6
At this level, Lady Grey is a fresh young Steel Dragon wyrmling. She has all the goodies a small dragon could have, flight, blindsense, SR, breath weapon, natural attacks and armor, and can cast spells as a 1st level sorcerer (with access to learn spells on the cleric list, as well as those from the Knowledge and Trickery domains as arcane spells). She makes a good skirmisher at this level, and is a capable infiltrator thanks to her Alternate Form ability and the Charm Person spell. With solid Bluff and Intimidate skills, she can also play the party face and debuff foes in combat with intimidation. She makes an excellent scout at this level, with good Spot and Listen skills, draconic senses, and the Alertness feat.

Level 11
Lady Grey now has the groundwork laid for the fearsome opponent she will become. She has picked up many new tricks to aid her in hunting her prey. She continues to advance her Bluff and Intimidate scores, and Voice of the Dragon from Talon of Tiamat enhances them further. Talon of Tiamat's spellcasting advancement improves her innate casting ability, giving her the effective spellcasting of a 3rd level sorcerer. She's picked up a few handy skill tricks with Never Outnumbered and Easy Escape. The former lets her debuff groups of foes with her impressive Intimidate score, and the latter lets her slip out of any tight spot she might find herself in. With Energy Drain from Soul Eater and Improved Unarmed Strike, she can drop 5 negative levels on any foe she full attacks (assuming she can hit with her touch attacks). Talon of Tiamat has also provided her with two very nice new breath weapons. The last big thing she gets from Talon of Tiamat is one that is easy to miss; Lady Grey is now proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as all armor and shields. This may not seem very useful, but it lets Lady Grey function well while in humanoid form, and serves as an important pre-requisite later.

Level 17 "Sweet Spot"
This is where Lady Grey really hits her stride. She can drop 6 negative levels on a foe with a single full attack, casts as a 6th level sorcerer, and has 3 new potent breath weapons (so she can put the breath weapon hurt on pretty much any creature, so long as it isn't immune to all energy types), all thanks to Talon of Tiamat. But the goodies don't stop there. Entangling Exhalation gives her breath weapons a new use as battlefield control rather than just damage. Talon of Tiamat immunities grant her immunity to fire, in addition to her natural immunity to acid. Her Frightful Presence DC is a very respectable 25 before items, so with fear stacking and her sky-high Intimidate score, she can send groups of foes running for the hills. At this level, buffed with Girallon's Blessing, Lady Grey only needs one or two full attacks to render any challenge appropriate dragon into a level drained mess that will easily fail the DC 25 will save to her Dominate Dragon ability. As an Example, assuming she could land 2 full attacks against their touch ACs, a Mature Adult Gold Dragon (CR19 - Touch AC 8), or an Old Red Dragon (CR18 - Touch AC 6) will both be reduced to only saving against her Dominate Dragon ability on a natural 20. Lady Grey is free to wreak havoc in the name of evil dragon kind. She can send her metallic dragon minions to raze and pillage the countryside, or smite her enemies. And woe betide the chromatic dragon that underestimates this terrifying little hitman of Tiamat, lest she bind them to her will and steal their hoards. The Secret Ingredient has turned Lady Grey into a better dragon than she would be if she had just gotten older, like most dragons. These abilities all work in her alternate forms as well, should she decide she needs to go after prey in a different guise.

Level 20
There are plenty of goodies in these last 3 levels. Lady Grey's social skills slow down a little, but still remain far ahead of where they would normally be thanks to the SI. She can now attempt to escape a grapple as a swift action in addition to her normal escape attempt, and if she escapes a grapple, she gets to smack her opponent with a negative level touch attack on her way out. Soul Strength from Soul Eater gives a nice boost to strength after level draining something, so she can always have this up assuming she drains a small animal or gives a foolish courtier the last kiss of his life. Given her mental control over dragons and her social manipulation of others, her progression into Mindbender dovetails nicely, and gives her the excellent telepathy ability as well as advancing her spellcasting. She finishes out the build with a level in Spellsword, which she qualifies for thanks to the weapon and armor proficiencies from the SI. Now she can cast in most light armors, and casts as an 8th level sorcerer. This gives her one final boost in power by granting her access to 4th level spells. She selects Divine Power as her spell known for this level, meaning that with Girallon's Blessing up, her full attack routine is 4 unarmed strikes, 4 claws, and a bite - all of which are capable of inflicting negative levels if used as touch attacks.

I'd like to take a moment to discuss Lady Grey's spell selections. As you can see from her list, most of her spells are long duration defensive spells, very few are short duration spells. Lady Grey is not someone who will generally cast spells during combat (at least not beyond the first round). Her spellcasting is utility and defense based only, as she lacks sufficient Concentration ranks to reliably cast while threatened. However, she has unparalelled versatility when items are brought into play - even compared to most sorcerers. Runestaves will expand her repertoire of buffs immensely, and will likely be the source for Shivering Touch, Haste, Stinking Cloud, Polymorph, Solid Fog, Rebuking Breath, and the like. In addition to runestaves, wands will be a huge boon to Lady Grey. Thanks to her extensive spell list, Lady Grey can use any sorcerer/wizard or cleric wand.


Use of the Secret Ingredient
Spoiler
Show

Talon of Tiamat. When I first read through this class, all I could think about was making this work with a dragon. I tried numerous approaches. I knew I wanted a small assassin type dragon that preyed on larger dragons, but I just couldn't make it work. I started with a pseudodragon Totemist/Dragonfire Adept but couldn't make anything work right. I shoe-horned Ur-priest onto it to try and make that work, but the end result just wasn't flavorful, and didn't make sense. I tried a faerie dragon Divine Crusader into Talon of Tiamat, and while it made me smile, the end result was surprisingly weak. I had just about given up hope on this idea, when I came across the Steel Dragon. It's low ECL and innate casting ability were perfect for the SI, and the build uses the class to make a little wyrmling into a monstrosity capable of downing or controlling some of the biggest, most iconic creatures in the game.


Adaptations
Spoiler
Show
If LA buyoff is allowed, Lady Grey takes the next two levels of Mindbender. This gets her some additional spell-likes for mental manipulation, as well as further boosting her Bluff and Intimidate scores.


Sources
Spoiler
Show

Complete Arcane
Complete Warrior
Lords of Madness
Dragons of Faerun
Draconomicon
Book of Vile Darkness
Monster Manual
Races of the Dragon
Complete Scoundrel
Spell Compendium