Dragonblooded (3.5e Class)

Dragonblooded
The sorcerer is said to draw his power from the blood of dragons in his veins. However, the Dragonblooded has blood so pure it begins not simply to grant him mystic powers, but change his form until he becomes a half-dragon. It is said that every so often a half-dragon is actually born with human features, and the manifestation of its true direct parentage does not manifest until they age.

Making a Dragonblooded
Dragonblooded are tough and durable, gaining powerful ability boosts over their fellow humanoids. They focus on their growing natural abilities beyond all else, and eventually obtain some arcane spellcasting out of it as well. It is neither a direct fighter, tank, or caster, but may fit into any of those roles.

Abilities: Constitution is important to support they're already huge health, and determining the DC of their breath weapons. Charisma controls the DC of their frightful presence, number of Megaflares, and powers their best skills, while Strength is important to any melee build. Intelligence and Wisdom both help, with Dexterity often ignored in favor of the heavy natural armor of the dragonblooded.

Races: Any. Dragons have known to match with any species and their spawn pop up in the strangest of places.

Alignment: Any.

Special: Must not already be a dragon.

Starting Gold: 5d4&times;10 gp (125 gp).

Starting Age: Simple.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Dragonblooded.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Dragonblooded are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with light and medium armor, and with shields (except tower shields)..

You gain the dragonblood subtype for your character, and the elemental type of your breath weapon, and if it does a 30 ft cone or a 60 ft line, depends on your dragon type. See the Half-Dragon for details on dragon types. DMs may also allow other dragons from Draconomicon to be played. Regardless, the breath weapon should be from the fire, electric, cold, or acid energy types. If you choose sonic or force, drop the dice down to 1d6.

In addition to determining your breath, your blood's connection runs through you stronger than normal. A Dragonblooded must stay within 1 step of alignment to their chosen dragon type. If they change alignments, they become an Ex-Dragonblooded (see below).

 (Su): The dragonblooded gains two breath weapons from the dragon you are descended from, which are either a 30 foot cone or a 60 foot line (for Medium characters; scale for smaller or larger characters according to the ranges of a true dragon), and which may be used once every 1d4 rounds. At 3rd level and every three levels beyond, the die of the dragon breath increases by one. The breath invokes a Reflex save, DC 10 + 1/2 class level + Con modifier, half damage on a successful save. Metabreath effects may be applied as per any dragon's breath weapon.

 (Ex): At 2nd level, a dragonblooded gains  two claws and a bite as natural weapons if he does not already have them. Medium creatures have a claw attack of 1d6, and a bite attack of 1d4. Smaller and larger characters scale their damage accordingly. Your bite is your primary attack, while your claws are secondary.

 (Ex): At 2nd level you begin to pick up the resistances of a dragon. You may add half your class level, rounded down, as a bonus to saves against sleep and paralysis, and resistance to the energy type of your chosen dragon.

 (Ex): At 4th level and every 4 levels beyond, you gain a +1 increase to natural armor as your skin hardens into visible dragon scales.

 (Ex): At 5th level a dragonblooded's eyes become cat-like and striking, gaining low-light vision. He can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

 (Ex): At 5th level a dragonblooded surges with the strength of his parentage. He gains a +2 bonus to Str. At 15th level, he gains another +2 Str.

He gains the spellcasting of a 1st level sorcerer (but not any other benefits such as HD, BAB, familiars, or the like). If he already had or later gains sorcerer levels, these levels stack. At 8th and every three levels beyond, he gains another quasi-sorcerer level.

 (Ex): At 7th level a dragonblooded's eyes glow with a soft inner light, and the color seeps over the whites of their eyes turning them into seas of hue. He can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dragonblooded can function just fine with no light at all. As the dragonblooded ages his pupils fade away, making his eyes look like molten spheres of color.

 (Ex): At 9th level, a dragonblooded grows a set of draconic wings. He may now fly at a speed equal to his normal land speed, with average maneuverability. The dragonblooded can slam opponents with its wings, even when flying. Wing attacks deal 1d4 damage for medium creatures plus ½ the dragon’s Strength bonus (round down) and are treated as secondary attacks.

In addition, they grow a tail. This tail starts to warp their body into a more monstrous shape. The dragonblooded must wear armor made for inhuman characters, doubling the base masterworked item price. They may get their current armor re-fitted by paying the difference.

 (Ex): At 10th level, the dragonblooded gains blindsense with a range of 30 feet. Using nonvisual senses the dragonblooded notices things it cannot see. He usually does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to notice and pinpoint the location of creatures within range of his blindsense ability, provided that he has line of effect to that creature.

Any opponent the dragonblooded cannot see still has total concealment against him, and the dragonblooded still has the normal miss chance when attacking foes that have concealment. Visibility still affects the movement of a creature with blindsense. A creature with blindsense is still denied its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against attacks from creatures it cannot see. At 16th level, the range of this ability increases to 60 feet.

If it hasn't already occurred yet, the dragonblooded's body becomes completely draconic, much like a Dragonborn. The dragonblooded's type changes to Dragon, they gain damage reduction 5/magic, and they gain +2 Int and Cha as they surge with new mental prowess. They no longer need the dragonblood subtype, and lose their previous type entirely. In addition, they are now immune to the frightful presence of dragons.

Their mind begins to change and they show more draconic qualities (especially those qualities associated with their color). They may also consume, and may develop a taste for, inedible metals which may now be digested.

 (Ex): At 11th level a dragonblooded can unsettle foes with its mere presence. The ability takes effect automatically whenever the dragonblooded attacks, charges, or flies overhead. Creatures within a radius of 10 feet × dragonblooded class level are subject to the effect if they have fewer HD than the dragonblooded. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save (DC 10 + ½ dragonblooded ’s HD + dragonblooded ’s Cha modifier) remains immune to that dragonblooded ’s frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds. Dragons ignore the frightful presence of other dragons and dragonblooded.

 (Ex): At 13th level, a dragonblooded gains spell resistance equal to her current dragonblooded level + 10. In order to affect the dragonblooded with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the dragonblooded’s spell resistance.

 (Ex): The fortification of the draconic resistances are complete. At 16th level you gain complete immunity to sleep, paralysis, and the element of your chosen dragon. This overrides the benefits of Draconic Resistances.

 (Su): At 19th level the dragonblooded unlocks the secret of overloading their breath weapon into a devastating attack. If an dragonblooded spends 1 round powering up and then uses his breath weapon, it bursts in a tremendous wave. It's range or spread is doubled, and it deals 2d6 damage per class level. In return you take 5d6 in non-lethal damage. They must make a Fortitude save DC 10 + 1/2 class level + Cha vs dazed effect for 1 round, negated on a successful save (they must still save on the Reflex save to halve the damage). This is taxing on the inner magical reserves of the dragonblooded. They may perform it up to Cha/day, minimum 1. If they run out of uses per day, they are fatigued.

They often begin walking on all fours, living in lairs, and being almost impossible to tell that they were every humanoid. They become True Dragons (and thus may qualify for true dragon only prestige classes and feats), and gain an elemental subtype according to their draconic blood. They gain an additional +4 Str, and their damage reduction rises to 10/magic. Finally their size increases to one larger, and they gain age categories as a dragon of their kind. They are always at "young adult" stage when they reach this moment. Aging does not grant them the abilities noted on their dragon's table, it merely serves as a record of their general appearance and time left in the world, which has become very very long indeed.

Now that they are a size larger the length or spread of their breath weapon increases as a true dragon of the same size (minimum 30ft cone, 60ft line). They also are able to use their tail to attack, dealing 1d8 damage for large, 1d6 for medium. The dragonblooded can slap one opponent each round with its tail. A tail slap deals the indicated damage plus the dragonblooded’s Strength bonus (round down) and is treated as a secondary attack.

Ex-Dragonblooded
A dragonblooded who strays too far from the alignment of his base dragon is unable to level in the Dragonblooded class any longer. They lose their breath weapon and frightful presence, but keep all other class features. An atonement spell may return their class abilities.

Epic Dragonblooded
Breath Weapon: At 21st level and every 3 levels after, the damage of the breath weapon increases by one die.

Dragon Skin: At 24th level and every 4 levels after, the natural armor bonus of the dragonblooded increases by one.



Epic Dragonblooded Bonus Feat List: Armor Skin, Energy Resistance, Epic Fortitude, Epic Leadership, Epic Prowess, Epic Toughness, Epic Will, Extended Life Span, Great Charisma, Great Constitution, Great Strength, Improved Darkvision, Improved Low-Light Vision, Improved Spell Resistance, Legendary Commander, Multiweapon Rend, Perfect Health, and Perfect Multiweapon Fighting.

Human Dragonblooded Starting Package
Weapons: Lance, Longbow.

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Feat: Improved Initiative.

Bonus Feats: Improved Toughness.

Gear: Tent, Backpack.

Gold: 28g

Playing a Dragonblooded
Religion: A dragonblooded is focused on what the power inside them foretells, and so many do not have focus for religion. Those that do worship draconic gods, ones which are similar to their blood.

Other Classes: Dragonblooded understand sorcerers and bards the best, and consider them distant kin. They have little opinion on others, but as they advance in the class many grow distant and stop considering themselves human.

Combat: A dragoonblooded makes an excellent front-line tank. They have health to spare, and deal with groups with a blast of their breath. A dragonblooded with wings may swoop down with Flyby Attack, making several strafes with their breath.

Advancement: Classes which promote the draconic theme work well with dragonblooded. Early departures may qualify for dragon disciple, while those deep into the transformation may find dragon-only prestige classes exciting..

Dragonblooded in the World
"RWAR I'm a dragon! 12 dragons! Run!"

Dragonblooded are the result of a dragon and a humanoid's offspring, but which takes on a new, and significantly different twist of their form, becoming complete dragons in the end. The exact nature of this mutation is a complete mystery to scholars.

Daily Life: The dragonblooded, consciously or not, begin to mimic the dragons they take off of. In general this involves a greedy eye for shiny things, and a sense of absolute pride. How a dragonblood holds those emotions, with kind respect or cruel tyranny, is up to them and their blood.

Notables: It is said that the silver dragon in the north, Aerogon, was once human.

Organizations: Dragonblooded are alone in the world. They are rare to begin with, and have no desires to meet each other. They desire the company of gold in their lairs.

NPC Reactions: Early in the class the dragonblooded is treated no differently than a sorcerer or bard with pointed dragonic aspects. As they advance, they may be confused for dragonborn. This continues until 16th level, which they rapidly evolve into something not human at all. Others begin to fear or respect the dragonblooded for what they have become.

Dragonblooded Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge Arcana can research Dragonblooded to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Dragonblooded in the Game
Dragonblooded are fighters. While they lack the full BAB of a normal fighter, they can still manage, and their breaths never miss. They have plenty of hit points, letting them take massive damage.

Adaptation: Perhaps not all breath attacks deal energy damage. Ability damage such as the Fang Dragon may be possible.

Sample Encounter: The heroes are called in to deal with someone who is said to be possessed by a demonic dragon, only to find a dragonblooded in the midsts of transformation... and sorely pissed at his imprisonment. Find a way to calm his wrath, or take him down before he wrecks the town.

EL whatever: 16.