Dragon Shaman Help please [Archive] - Wizards Community

Dragon Shaman Help please [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
RannosWoodfist
06-18-06, 01:59 AM I need help making a effective dragon shaman. I want to bea front line heavy damage dealing fighter. I am not sure what weapon I should use but I was leaning toward a two hander. I was thinkinh about Dragon shaman with a level or two of bbn mixed in and maybe a prc but I am not against full dragon shaman for better breath weapon and aura. please post thought or even a link if this has been done before. I can't seem the find the search feature to look myself. Thanks in advance!
Gryhkwanderer
06-19-06, 05:52 AM A barbarian/ dragon shaman is very effective & extremely brutal. Personally, I think it's best to start as a barbarian then level into Dragon Shaman -numbers speaking!
As for weapon - most definitely the largest, most damaging weapon you can find!!!!!
DustBunny
06-21-06, 03:43 PM On the topic of weapons... it depends, if your playing a more tribal barbarian I would go with a greataxe or a weapon of blunt destruction (greatclub or maul). If you’re more a gladiator who gets really angry, then find greataxe or greatsword. If you want to burn a feat on your weapon, look cool, and make your DM cry when you crit... Scythe. All are 2 handed weapons and can go well with most characters, personally I love the Maul, but that might just be because of the obscene amount of undead in my DMs campaign.
fendrin
06-22-06, 11:58 AM I need help making a effective dragon shaman. I want to bea front line heavy damage dealing fighter. I am not sure what weapon I should use but I was leaning toward a two hander. I was thinkinh about Dragon shaman with a level or two of bbn mixed in and maybe a prc but I am not against full dragon shaman for better breath weapon and aura. please post thought or even a link if this has been done before. I can't seem the find the search feature to look myself. Thanks in advance!

This thread belongs in the Character Optimization board, this board is more for story/personality/fluff development... but regardless...

I am considering a character similar to yours. Something to keep in mind is that as a Dragon Shaman, you will not be able to keep up with a full barbarian in terms of damage, because less BAB means less attacks and less successful hits, and less Power Attack.

Also, you will have less hit points, so you will not be able to soak up damage as well (though with the vigor aura and Touch of Vitality you can make up for and exceed this in the long run). Still, you will need to prevent yourself from taking as much damage, and this means a higher AC.

Further, If you want to get the most out of the DS's wonderful Touch of Vitality, you will need a decent Charisma. Given that this is a common dump stat for barbarians, you are going to need to make up for it in some other area. This is likely to be dex, as you are trying to max your str and con already, and have probably alread taken a low int and wis. If you are going to be lowering your dex, you need to make up that lost AC in some way (see above for why AC is crucial to a frontline DS)

I guess what I am saying is that seeing you will already not be power attacking (much, anyway), you might want to consider lowering your damage slightly in favor of boosting your AC. Namely, use a shield. That or accept a lower str in exchange for a higher dex (which if you are using point buy could be a small loss for a big benefit).

As for personality/background...
I am doing up a couple of ideas for a campaing that isn't off the ground yet. It is set in Eberron. One of my ideas is for a human (maybe w/ the draconic template) Dragon Shaman. He would be from Argonessan. (No name yet, just using ??? for now). Also not sure of the whole copper dragon thing. I might change it to silver or gold, but I like the spider climb ability...

His backstory would be something like this:

Among the barbarian tribes of Seren Island, it was always known that ??? was a little... different. Not quite right in the head. Confused. Everyone agrees that the dragons of Argonessan are a mighty power, worthy of totemic idolization. ??? though, took it a bit too far. He made it his mission in life to be as much like the dragons as possible. Whereas most young barbarians would go through a rite of passage on the shores of Argonessan, and then leave, only come back occasionally, ??? decided to live there.

On one occasion, ??? managed to climb up quite a ways up the mountains surrouding Argonessan, and found a cave. Wandering into the cave, he came across a dragon, copper in color and as large as a horse. The dragon, merely looked menacingly at ???. That was enough to send ??? running in panic out of the cave. A few days later, however, ??? returned to the cave. Once again, the dragon menacingly frightened ??? away.

??? would not be daunted, however, and kept returning to the cave, and eventually, managed to control his fear to the point that he was able to talk(or rather, semi-insanely ramble) to the dragon. Needless to say, the dragon was not particularly pleased with this development, but being the good creature that it was, it was not willing to outright kill ???. So instead, it grabbed ??? and flew him out to a passing (air?)ship.

The crew wasn't too pleased at being ordered to take on an unpayed for passenger, and ??? wasn't too pleased either, but everyone invloved realized that when a dragon tells you to do something, you do it. So ??? was shipped off to (wherever the campaign takes place). During the journey, ??? came to think of these events as the dragon sending him off on a quest. He just has no idea what that is. But, he knows he has a purpose!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
RannosWoodfist 06-18-06, 01:59 AM	I need help making a effective dragon shaman. I want to bea front line heavy damage dealing fighter. I am not sure what weapon I should use but I was leaning toward a two hander. I was thinkinh about Dragon shaman with a level or two of bbn mixed in and maybe a prc but I am not against full dragon shaman for better breath weapon and aura. please post thought or even a link if this has been done before. I can't seem the find the search feature to look myself. Thanks in advance!
Gryhkwanderer 06-19-06, 05:52 AM	A barbarian/ dragon shaman is very effective & extremely brutal. Personally, I think it's best to start as a barbarian then level into Dragon Shaman -numbers speaking! As for weapon - most definitely the largest, most damaging weapon you can find!!!!!
DustBunny 06-21-06, 03:43 PM	On the topic of weapons... it depends, if your playing a more tribal barbarian I would go with a greataxe or a weapon of blunt destruction (greatclub or maul). If you’re more a gladiator who gets really angry, then find greataxe or greatsword. If you want to burn a feat on your weapon, look cool, and make your DM cry when you crit... Scythe. All are 2 handed weapons and can go well with most characters, personally I love the Maul, but that might just be because of the obscene amount of undead in my DMs campaign.
fendrin 06-22-06, 11:58 AM	I need help making a effective dragon shaman. I want to bea front line heavy damage dealing fighter. I am not sure what weapon I should use but I was leaning toward a two hander. I was thinkinh about Dragon shaman with a level or two of bbn mixed in and maybe a prc but I am not against full dragon shaman for better breath weapon and aura. please post thought or even a link if this has been done before. I can't seem the find the search feature to look myself. Thanks in advance! This thread belongs in the Character Optimization board, this board is more for story/personality/fluff development... but regardless... I am considering a character similar to yours. Something to keep in mind is that as a Dragon Shaman, you will not be able to keep up with a full barbarian in terms of damage, because less BAB means less attacks and less successful hits, and less Power Attack. Also, you will have less hit points, so you will not be able to soak up damage as well (though with the vigor aura and Touch of Vitality you can make up for and exceed this in the long run). Still, you will need to prevent yourself from taking as much damage, and this means a higher AC. Further, If you want to get the most out of the DS's wonderful Touch of Vitality, you will need a decent Charisma. Given that this is a common dump stat for barbarians, you are going to need to make up for it in some other area. This is likely to be dex, as you are trying to max your str and con already, and have probably alread taken a low int and wis. If you are going to be lowering your dex, you need to make up that lost AC in some way (see above for why AC is crucial to a frontline DS) I guess what I am saying is that seeing you will already not be power attacking (much, anyway), you might want to consider lowering your damage slightly in favor of boosting your AC. Namely, use a shield. That or accept a lower str in exchange for a higher dex (which if you are using point buy could be a small loss for a big benefit). As for personality/background... I am doing up a couple of ideas for a campaing that isn't off the ground yet. It is set in Eberron. One of my ideas is for a human (maybe w/ the draconic template) Dragon Shaman. He would be from Argonessan. (No name yet, just using ??? for now). Also not sure of the whole copper dragon thing. I might change it to silver or gold, but I like the spider climb ability... His backstory would be something like this: Among the barbarian tribes of Seren Island, it was always known that ??? was a little... different. Not quite right in the head. Confused. Everyone agrees that the dragons of Argonessan are a mighty power, worthy of totemic idolization. ??? though, took it a bit too far. He made it his mission in life to be as much like the dragons as possible. Whereas most young barbarians would go through a rite of passage on the shores of Argonessan, and then leave, only come back occasionally, ??? decided to live there. On one occasion, ??? managed to climb up quite a ways up the mountains surrouding Argonessan, and found a cave. Wandering into the cave, he came across a dragon, copper in color and as large as a horse. The dragon, merely looked menacingly at ???. That was enough to send ??? running in panic out of the cave. A few days later, however, ??? returned to the cave. Once again, the dragon menacingly frightened ??? away. ??? would not be daunted, however, and kept returning to the cave, and eventually, managed to control his fear to the point that he was able to talk(or rather, semi-insanely ramble) to the dragon. Needless to say, the dragon was not particularly pleased with this development, but being the good creature that it was, it was not willing to outright kill ???. So instead, it grabbed ??? and flew him out to a passing (air?)ship. The crew wasn't too pleased at being ordered to take on an unpayed for passenger, and ??? wasn't too pleased either, but everyone invloved realized that when a dragon tells you to do something, you do it. So ??? was shipped off to (wherever the campaign takes place). During the journey, ??? came to think of these events as the dragon sending him off on a quest. He just has no idea what that is. But, he knows he has a purpose!