Drakkensteed for Sorcerer? [3.5]

[Volos]

I have a Female Elven Sorcerer who is obsessed with dragons. Go figure right? She has taken the dragon heritage feat, and she told me flat out that she wanted to ride a dragon. After explaining to her how impossible that was, she gave up on it... or that was untill she found the Drakkensteed, Dragon Magic pg 113. Now she wants to have one to ride when she gets up to a high enough level.

Sorcerers have no skill with animals, other then that with their familiars. Handle Animal and Ride are not class skills for them. How would a Sorcerer even hope to have high enough checks in either skill to handle such an animal? (Yes it is an animal and not a dragon technically)

Aside from multiclassing, how would a Sorcerer be able to handle such a beast?

[arguskos]

Aside from multiclassing, how would a Sorcerer be able to handle such a beast?

Find some enchantment spell that will dominate it. Ta-da, problem solved.

Oh, or hire a druid.

[HCL]

Get it as a familiar or cohort (Dragonomicon)

[jiriku]

Magic saddle.

[Tempest Fennac]

You could also let her have Handle Animal and Ride as class skills in place of 2 skills she doesn't want (it would fit for the character).

[Shadwen]

Have her have a social interaction with the thing...play it out...if she is the better of it...or have some item in the game that if held allows you to gain ranks in those kills...would make her lose a hand to use it..but wth

[Starbuck_II]

I have a Female Elven Sorcerer who is obsessed with dragons. Go figure right? She has taken the dragon heritage feat, and she told me flat out that she wanted to ride a dragon. After explaining to her how impossible that was, she gave up on it... or that was untill she found the Drakkensteed, Dragon Magic pg 113. Now she wants to have one to ride when she gets up to a high enough level.

Sorcerers have no skill with animals, other then that with their familiars. Handle Animal and Ride are not class skills for them. How would a Sorcerer even hope to have high enough checks in either skill to handle such an animal? (Yes it is an animal and not a dragon technically)

Aside from multiclassing, how would a Sorcerer be able to handle such a beast?

Draconic Cohort feat (pg 139 chart, treat dragon as 3 CL less). Dracon Familar grants a wrymling.

Drawback Draconic Cohort requires 9th level, but it is pretty grand.

[Thurbane]

If she were human, she could pick up some skills with the Human Paragon class, and only lose one level of casting...

Also, I think the Wild Soul prestige class may have more animal/riding related skills.

[Darrin]

Take a look at the Silverwood Arcanist PrC and the Wild Cohort feat on the WotC Website. This would allow her to put some skill ranks in both Handle Animal and and the Wild Cohort feat, and best of all she doesn't lose any caster levels.

The only tricky part is determining how powerful a Drakkensteed would be as a Druid's animal companion. Just by eyeballing it a bit... it's a little more powerful than a Dire Bat, and I think most of the CR3 animals fall in with the Dire Wolf at Druid 7th. So as a Wild Cohort, she could pick it up around 10th level. I'd also allow her to pick up Natural Bond to increase her effective Druid level by 3, so she could take it at 7th. I *might* let it slide down to 4th... stat-wise it's pretty close to a Dire Bat.

Huh. There's another draconic animal in Dragon Magic but for some reason the site isn't letting me post its name... basically, cat + dragon. It's a 1HD animal that Druids can take as a 1st level animal companion, and stat-wise it fits in with the other 1st level animal companions. I'd be OK with letting someone take one as a Wild Cohort at 1st level

[Volos]

Draconic Cohort feat (pg 139 chart, treat dragon as 3 CL less). Dracon Familar grants a wrymling.

Drawback Draconic Cohort requires 9th level, but it is pretty grand.

That sounds wonderful, but I can't find said feat in Dragon Magic... were you quoting a different book?

EDIT :: It was in the Draconomicon, found it.

[Zaq]

I don't normally recommend Ruathar (from RotW) because it has some truly vile prereqs*, but it's full casting and offers Handle Animal as a class skill.

(*you have to be a friend to the elves! How gross is that?! I guess if you're dealing with an elf already, that's one thing, but let's face it, even elves hate elves...)

[sadi]

(*you have to be a friend to the elves! How gross is that?! I guess if you're dealing with an elf already, that's one thing, but let's face it, even elves hate elves...)

I'm playing in a game where I am an elf, of course there are only 12 valid race choices, 6 elves, 3 halflings counting frickin kender, 1 human, 1 dwarf and 1 gnome. The only thing my guy hates more than his own subspecies of elves are other elves, and the only thing more than them are all halflings and that's mainly due to the party rogue being the most incompetent halfling ever.

Back on topic, Skill knowledge as a feat, gives you whatever as a class skill, or the 3.0 cosmopolitan did the same thing but gave you a +2 bonus to using the skill, it was rewritten in 3.5 to be something not so useful anymore. I don't have that book on hand but as long as it has an int of 2, you can use handle animal to train it for a rider, if its smarter its a matter of just communicating with it. If that's the case you just need ride.

[Volos]

In any case I found what I had been looking for. There is a feat in the Draconomicon that allows you to have a Dragonel as a mount, I just subsituted Drakkensteed for Dragonel, being that the Drakkensteed atleast looks like a dragon. The Dragonel looks like some horrible crossbreeding between a horse and a retarded dragon.

So... thread closed?

[ShadowsGrnEyes]

Dur this is why you read the whole thread. . . lol

DRAGON STEED [GENERAL]
You have earned the service of a loyal draconic steed.
Prerequisites: Cha 13, Ride 8 ranks, Speak Language (Draconic).
Benefit: You gain the service of a dragonnel (see page 150) as a steed. It serves loyally as long as you treat it fairly, much like a cohort.
Special: If you have a special mount (such as from the paladin class feature), this dragonnel replaces your special mount. See Dragons as Special Mounts, page 139, for details.

its a feat in dragonomicon, pg 105

DRAGONNEL (also in dragonomicon. pg 151)
Large Dragon
Hit Dice: 6d12+6 (45 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), fly 90 ft. (average)
Armor Class: 16 (–1 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural), touch 10,
flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+15
Attack: Bite +9 melee (2d6+4) or claw +4 melee (1d8+2)
Full Attack: Bite +9 melee (2d6+4) and 2 claws +4 melee (1d8+2)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Roar
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., immunity to magic
sleep effects and paralysis, low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +6
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +6, Listen +12, Move Silently +10, Spot +12
Feats: Ability Focus (roar),
Alertness, Improved Initiative
Environment: Temperate hills
Organization: Solitary, pair, family (2–5), or pack (5–20)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 7–12 HD (Large); 13–18 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: +3

Dragonnels are powerful, graceful creatures often bred and trained as steeds for mighty paladins and knights. Though relatively simple minded for dragons, they are fiercely loyal to their masters. A dragonnel stands about 5
feet tall at the shoulder and measures nearly 10 feet from nose to tail. Its scales range from red-brown to a brilliant gold. A pair of muscled wings sprouts from its shoulders, spanning up to 30 feet in flight. In the wild, dragonnels typically lair in hidden caves located far from civilization. Occasionally, a group of up to four families settles in nearby locations, sharing hunting and protection duties among the various adults. Dragonnels speak Draconic.

[Foryn Gilnith]

Don't you still need to make Ride checks, though?