A Mounted Flying Class 3.5 thoughts?

[Mindleshank]

There another edit thanks a lot guys.

I would be happy on advise on how to fix or how to balance (though thats not really an issue, wizards,) Thanks anyways

Dragoon

The feared sound of a Wyvern’s roar and the piercing of the enemies’ armour are the great fear and legend of the great Warrior that is a Dragoon. Lords of the sky these warriors practice battle on winged beasts and hope one day to become dragon riders. The enemies of these fierce warriors know death swiftly via the lance or the mouth of the steed. The allies of these knights are happy that the effectiveness of these knights lives up to the hype that the legends make them out to be.

Adventures: The Dragoons usually adventure as a way of passage and as a way to find or gain a better mount these knights want to fulfill their goals and adventuring is a perfect way to do so. However, those knights that are in service strictly to a lord or king rarely leave his side because the noble holds the knights at high esteem.

Characteristics: The Dragoon is an extremely versatile class she can scout, fly, fight, and retreat from almost any situation. Their strength comes from their own prowess with martial weapons and their connection with their flying steed. While they are excellent warriors it comes at a price many of their mounts are extremely vulnerable to arrows. As far a magic goes they have a small but of arcane magic in them but not much.

Alignment: The Dragoon has a range of alignments however they all have ideals or the opposition of ideals. In addition the Knights almost always have a stance on the Good vs. Evil spectrum. Any alignment is available to the Dragoon, except true Neutral.

Religion: An Dragoon most likely worships the same god that is the god of her steed. However, really it could be any god at all.

Background: Many Dragoons are the wealthy or especially talented. The Knights receive their status by finding their steeds in a solitary search this proves to weed out those who aren’t worthy. Most Dragoons find their steeds in the remote confines of an Empyrean Monastery. These usually exist in the mountains or the desert, here there are just a few people who house the winged steeds and will give them to knights as they see fit. These Monasteries can be any alignment and have a number of different villagers and usually worship one of the Dragon Gods.

Races: When it comes to races there are really only four that would be interested in the Empyrean way. First comes humans who have always looked to the sky and wanted to fly on their own. Then elves and Half-Elves these races cherish the creatures they ride upon as a partner and the appreciation of the Creature, not to mention the half-elf thrill seeking from flying. Halflings also find a way in the sky though their steeds are smaller they love to fly and seek adventure in the air much like their nomadic heritage. Half-Orcs don’t become Empyrean often because they enjoy relaying on themselves as a way of self-sufficiency. Gnomes and Dwarves are likely to be scared of flying since it is so different then the underground lands the were raised in.

Classes: Dragoons get along well with classes of their alignment and ideals. But when it comes straight to class on class the Dragoon gets along well with Rangers and druids especially well. Rouges have their uses although the Knight usually won’t condone them, but the knights enjoy the company of an urban dwelling rouge. Mostly Barbarians get along fine with the knights. Wizards and Sorcerers have great reverence and get along quite well with Dragoon mostly due to the magical aptitudes of their steeds. Clerics and Paladins are too devout to worry about, other than that it depends on the character not the class.

Role: Striker. Really the job of the Dragoon is to scatter scout and cause chaos within the enemy. While still quite capable of putting up a fight the mobility cannot be passed up for its uses.

GAME RULE INFORMATION
Dragoons have the following game statistics
Abilities: Strength determines the knights attack and damage so that should be at a high score. Dexterity allows the rider to dodge the ever potent arrows and take full advantage of the mobility of the mount. Charisma covers handle animal checks and in addition the Knight must have a Charisma score of 10 + spell level to cast the spell and the knight adds that any modifiers of the spell.
Alignment: Any, excluding true neutral.
Hit Dice: d10
Class Skills
The Dragoons class skills(and key abilities for each) are as follow Balance(Dex), Bluff(Cha), Climb(Str), Concentration(Con), Craft(Int), Diplomacy(Cha), Escape Artist(Dex), Gather Information(Cha), Handle Animal(Cha), Jump(Str), Knowledge(Flying Monsters)(Int), Listen(Wis), Profession(Cha), Ride(Dex), Survival(Wis), Swim(Str)
Skill Points At First Level: (4+Int Mod) x4
Skill Points At Each Additional Level: 4+Int Mod
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Dragoon.

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: The Dragoon is proficient with all simple and Martial Weapons. Also the Shortbow and the Longbow. The Dragoon is Proficient with all Armour and Shields (execpt Tower).

The Knight And The Steed: At 1st level the Dragoon gets to choose one of the mounts from the following list to grow with her as her steed. The Dragoon can summon her mount once per day. New mounts are available to the Knight(see table) so she can therefore change her steed out once without occurring the penalty if starting the mount at level 1.
Further more the steed takes saves and skill of the Knight. (refer to bonus chart).

Empyreal Bond: As the knight grows so does the mount that carries her. Apply Bonuses from Chart Empyreal Bond. This grows at every addition of level to the Empyreal Bond at a This differs depending on the mount of choice. Because, the Dragoon and her steed act as one unit both rider and beast get bonuses in combat. However, different steeds do different things in combat to aid their masters in Synchronization.

Aerial Empathy: An Dragoon can improve the attitude of any Monster or Magical Beast that she can ride. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person. The Dragoon rolls 1d20 and adds her Dragoon level and his Charisma modifier to determine the aerial empathy check result. The typical good aligned beast has a starting attitude of indifferent, while evil aligned beast are usually unfriendly or

Mounts
{table=head]Mount|Required Level |Defects

Asperi|

5th

|-

Hunting Bat|

1st

|Full Attack is unable till 3rd level

Giant Eagle|

4th

|-

Giant Owl|

4th

|-


Griffon|

5th

|-

Pegasus|

4th

|-


Manticore|

7th

|-

Hippogriff|

1st

|Full Attack is unable till 3rd level

Wyvern|

7th

|-


Nightmare|

7th

|-


Dragon, Young Adult|

15th

|-

Dragon, Adult|

20th

|-
[/table]



hostile. To use aerial empathy, the Dragoon and the beast must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.

The Dragoon can also use this ability to influence any flying creature with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but she takes a -10 penalty on the check.

Mounted Combat: An Dragoon acquires the mounted combat feat, at 2nd level.

Empyreal Combat: Each third level the Dragoon gains the ability to gain mastery of fighting with a reach weapon while on her flying steed. The Dragoon gains a +1 to attack damage and anti-sunder role with either a Spear, Lance, or other Piercing Reach Weapon used from her steed, in addition the damage bonus increases by two on a successful charge. The bonus increases at 6th level to +2 and the damage on a successful charge increases to 3, etc.

The Dragoon
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus |Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|

+1

|

+0

|

+2

|

+0

|The Knight and The Steed, Empyreal Bond I, Ariel Empathy, Mounted Combat

2nd|

+2

|

+0

|

+3

|

+0

|-

3rd|

+3

|

+1

|

+3

|

+1

|Empyreal Combat I, Ride-by-attack or Mounted Archery

4th|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|

+1

|-

5th|

+5

|

+1

|

+4

|

+1

|New Mounts Selection, Empyreal Bond II

6th|

+6/+1

|

+2

|

+5

|

+2

|Empyreal Combat II, Spirited Charge

7th|

+7/+2

|

+2

|

+5

|

+2

|Empyreal Focus

8th|

+8/+3

|

+2

|

+6

|

+2

|Spell-like abilities


9th|

+9/+4

|

+3

|

+6

|

+3

|Empyreal Combat III


10th|

+10/+5

|

+3

|

+7

|

+3

|New Mount Selection, Empyreal Bond III


11th|

+11/+6/+1

|

+3

|

+7

|

+3

|

12th|

+12/+7/+2

|

+4

|

+8

|

+4

|Empyreal Combat IV


13th|

+13/+8/+3

|

+4

|

+8

|

+4

|

14th|

+14/+9/+4

|

+4

|

+9

|

+4

|Empyrean Focus II


15th|

+15/+10/+5

|

+5

|

+9

|

+5

|New Mount Selection, Empyreal Bond IV, Empyreal Combat , Dragon Mount

16th|

+16/+11/+6/+1

|

+5

|

+10

|

+5

|

17th|

+17/+12/+7/+2

|

+5

|

+10

|

+5

|

18th|

+18/+13/+8/+3

|

+6

|

+11

|

+6

|Empyreal Combat V

19th|

+19/+14/+9/+4

|

+6

|

+11

|

+6

|

20th|

+20/+15/+10/+5

|

+6

|

+12

|

+6

|Dragon Mount, Empyreal Bond V
[/table]


New Mount Selection: At 5th level and every 5 levels (10/15/20). New mounts are now able to bear the Dragoon (refer to mount list).

Empyrean Focus: The knight gains +1 to Attack and Damage roles, +1AC and +20 Movement Speed for 1 round/level Uses per day correspond with the acquisition new mount (You activate this on the same round you use it, it counts as a swift action).

Spell-Like Abilities: An Dragoon can now use any and all of the Spell-like abilities of any of her current mount(this continues as the Dragoon progresses), as often as her mount and as potent as her mount.

Dragon Mount: 15th level is The ultimate goal of the Dragoon, she can choose one of the Colours or Metals that true dragons are and select it as her mount, first as a Young Adult then as an Adult at 20th level.

Empyreal Bond
{table=head]Mount|Bonus of Mount |Bonus for Dragoon

Asperi|

+1 cold damage/level

|Improved trip and +1/level on the touch attack to initiate

Hunting Bat|

Flyby attack/1 Wounding bite/2 and an additional +1 ac against arrows/3,4,5

|Blindfight/1 Wounding Attack/2 Vampiric Attack 1d6/level/3,4,5

Giant Eagle|

+1 on Attack rolls during the day/level

|Ability to cause one enemy to become dazzled at 1st level dazed at second Shaken at 3rd Panicked at 4th and cowering at 5th

Giant Owl|[center]+1 on attack rolls/level when fighting at night [center]|[center]Ability to cause one enemy to become dazzled at 1st level dazed at second Shaken at 3rd Panicked at 4th and cowering at 5th


Griffon|

+1AC/level

|[center]Close-quarters Combat/1 Powerful Charge +1d8/level2,3,4,5

Pegasus|

Dodge/1 Powerful Charge 1d4/2,3,4,5

|+1 Attack When moving 60ft. Or more/level


Manticore|

Wounding Spike 1 Con dmg/level and +5 fly speed per level

|Choice Of Spike Shooting Weapons(Manticore Spikes 1per day/level) or Deflecting Arrows Weapon(gains +1 AC for both rider and steed per level)

Hippogriff|

Flyby Attack

|+5 Reach on Charge


Wyvern|

Dodge/1, Mobility/2, Improved Flyby Attack/3, Improved Natural Attack(Tail)/4, Improved Natural Attack(Talons)5

|Extra Focus Per Day/1, Increased AC+2 R&S/levels 2,3,4 Poison Attack 2d6 Con on all Attacks/5


Nightmare|

Flyby Attack/1 Powerful Charge +1d6/2 Immunity to Fire/3 Hover/4 Multiattack/5

|Evil-Aligned Weapons/1 Fire Damage 1d6/Level2,3,4,5


Dragon|

Increase of Flight Maneuverability Average/1 Good/2 Perfect/3 Dragon Armour +2 AC (Armour Bonus)/4 Improved Flyby Attack/5

|Gain Dragon Natural Armour/1 Breath Weapon that is Two ages less than the Mount of the Knight/2 Dragon Immunities/3 Dragon Resistance/4 Dragon Weapons/5 (All weapons and armour are treated as if they were the Dragons when it comes to DR or Sundering) +Breath weapon damage
[/table]

When it says "/level" that is Dragoon Level
When it says "/1,2,3,4 or 5" that is Empyreal Level Refer to the Dragoon Table

Empyreal Bond Level
{table=head]Mount|Empyreal Bond Level

Asperi|

-1

Hunting Bat|

-

Giant Eagle|

-1

Giant Owl|

-1

Griffon|

-1

Pegasus|

-1

Manticore|

-2

Hippogriff|

-

Wyvern|

-2

Nightmare|

-2

Dragon, Young Adult|

-3

Dragon, Adult|

-4

[/table]

Empyreal Bond Level
{table=head]Empyreal Level|Special

I|

Empathic Link, Evasion

II|

Improved Fly Speed +10

III|

Improved Evasion, Speak with Master

IV|

Spell Res +5

V|

Speak with Others, Spell Res +10

[/table]



Half-Elf Dragoon Starting Package
Amour: Studded Leather (+3 AC, armor check penalty –1, arcane
spell failure chance n/a, speed 20 ft., 10 lb.).
Weapons: Longspear (1d8, Crit x3 9lbs, two-handed, Piercing)
5 Javelins (1d6, Crit x2, range increment 30ft, 2lbs, Piercing)
Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4+int mod
Feats: Animal Affinity, Dodge
Mount: Hunting Bat (see Monster Manual II for details)
Gear: Adventurers Kit, Riding Saddle
Gold: 2d4 gold pieces

[Ashtagon]

Is this meant to be an actual mounted warrior, or the FF dragoon? I'm going to assume mounted...

Weapons: Halberd, Ramseur, Gisarme, Glaive, and longbow make no sense, since none of these can be used mounted.

Armour: Why no full plate?

Vulnerability to Arrows: This makes no sense. A character without this class is now theoretically a better air-cavalryman than a character with this class.

[Mindleshank]

What weapons are usable while mounted?

[Ashtagon]

What weapons are usable while mounted?

Historically, the most common cavalry weapons were: lance, spear, longsword, flail, axe, and pick (one-handed versions in all cases). The problem with two-handed weapons is that they are too bulky to let you hold onto the reins two-handed (for when you don't want to make any particular effort to hold on) and still be properly balanced on a horse (nb. That's the reality; D&D doesn't have specific rules on that issue).

[Temotei]

Guide with Knees
You can react instantly to guide your mount with your knees so that you can use both hands in combat. Make your Ride check at the start of your turn. If you fail, you can use only one hand this round because you need to use the other to control your mount.

There is this, though. I've always thought you can carry a two-handed weapon in one hand, but you can't swing it without penalty that way.

[Ashtagon]

Well, yes, I know quite well you can guide a horse with your knees. But it requires concentration, and its quite a bit more tiring than guiding a horse the normal way. Add to that holding a great big unbalanced pole, and its not something people can comfortably do all day. My point was that smaller weapons give you an option to stow the weapon without dismounting so you can ride the horse more comfortably.

There's a reason why the default rules assume you aren't continuously guiding your horse with your knees while mounted.

And yes, I know there are no rules to reflect the fatigue that doing so for long periods would cause. That doesn't mean it won't happen though. There's a good reason why cavalrymen did not historically use guisarmes.

[Temotei]

Well, yes, I know quite well you can guide a horse with your knees. But it requires concentration, and its quite a bit more tiring than guiding a horse the normal way. Add to that holding a great big unbalanced pole, and its not something people can comfortably do all day. My point was that smaller weapons give you an option to stow the weapon without dismounting so you can ride the horse more comfortably.

There's a reason why the default rules assume you aren't continuously guiding your horse with your knees while mounted.

And yes, I know there are no rules to reflect the fatigue that doing so for long periods would cause. That doesn't mean it won't happen though. There's a good reason why cavalrymen did not historically use guisarmes.

True, and I agree. I'd say to just give the class all simple and martial weapons and just leave it at that.

Also, martial weapon proficiency will help in case the mount isn't available (when the party is in a dungeon, for example).

Note: I haven't looked at anything but the proficiencies yet.

[Lix Lorn]

It'd be easier to read if you bolded all the subheadings, like ability names and 'religion' and such.

It looks pretty cool.
It strikes me as off that they abandon their old steed for their new one. It's kind of cruel. :/
And why don't they get Mounted Combat at first? Kinda doesn't make sense...
Also, you get martial weapons. Longbows and shortbows are martial weapons- you effectively say them twice.

The Mounts table is also half way through an ability entry. :/

Nice idea though.

[alexeduardo]

Historically, the most common cavalry weapons were: lance, spear, longsword, flail, axe, and pick (one-handed versions in all cases). The problem with two-handed weapons is that they are too bulky to let you hold onto the reins two-handed (for when you don't want to make any particular effort to hold on) and still be properly balanced on a horse (nb. That's the reality; D&D doesn't have specific rules on that issue).

Ever heard of the mongols? the huns? the apaches? Bows and arrows are a staple of cavalry warfare!

[Lix Lorn]

Roman auxilaries too, I believe.

[Ashtagon]

Ever heard of the mongols? the huns? the apaches? Bows and arrows are a staple of cavalry warfare!

shortbows, or D&D's "composite shortbow" (the standard/composite issue is another rant entirely). I excluded longbows in my earlier post, not shortbows.

[Mindleshank]

At any rate i thank you guys for your input i have checked with my DM and got the green light to use this class in my next campaign.

Thanks

[Mindleshank]

I edited this now so i hope for some new feedback. added a way to want to keep your old mount.

Thanks Gents and ladies

[Debihuman]

The only problem with allowing a PC to have a flying mount at 1st level is that it will dominate the rest of the party. The ability to attack from above is a significant advantage. I'd much rather see this sort of thing as a prestige class.

You state that the Dragoon gains Mounted Combat at 2nd level but you list it as first level in the chart.

Debby