Post/Author/DateTime	Post
WilhelmTheConquerer 06-14-06, 05:25 PM	Hello, I just recently started to play DnD and there are a few questions the my DM ould not answer, that I am hoping you can. I was told when I started to play that you can fully customize your character, and, you could be just about anyone. Well, I am rather partial to Dragonriders, so my questions are...... 1. Can I be a Dragonrider? 2. How do I become a Dragonrider? A. What prerequisites do I need? 3. What special abilities do they have? 4. Does the Dragon follow the character around the whole time. 5. If so, what would happen when the dragon gets to big to fit into some areas (dungeons/caves/etc.) 6. Are they a good character to play with? 7. Is it true that Dragonriders can use Weapons and Magic proficiently?(kind of like a Barbarian who is proficient in the Arcane/vice versa) If it is the case that I can not play as a Dragonrider, is there a character that is similiar to them that I could use? Any feedback is appreciated. Thank You :cool:
RevIron 06-14-06, 05:52 PM	Taking your questions in order 1. Only if the DM (referee) says you can 2. I can't find my copy of the book with the rules in it at the moment - it's "Dragonlance Campaign Setting" A. First your DM must own a copy of the book, it helps if you also own a copy, then you must follow the rules. Alternatively your DM can make up their own rules. Generally you'd need 8 ranks in Ride and the ability to speak the dragon language. 3-7 Because I can't find the book I can't answer the questions, but some of them I'd violate the part of the Code of Conduct about Copyright if answered. (3&7) To answer your follow on question, the "Races of the Dragon" presents a variety of options, but if you don't have access to it the closest I came up with was the Dragon Disciple, which turns you into a dragon, or the Sorcerer which cast Arcane spells through heritage (usually draconic, infernal or abysal)
Lincoln Hills 06-14-06, 06:03 PM	(I'm only answering based on my book-knowledge - which unfortunately doesn't extend to the Dragonlance material mentioned above. Sorry.) 1. Probably not right away. But you can get on the right track by taking the Mounted Combat feat, putting ranks into Diplomacy, Knowledge (dragons) or whatever similar "group" your DM rules dragonlore to be under, and Ride. 2. Since there is no 'Dragonrider' class, you're best off starting as a Good-aligned character with Ride as a class skill (Paladins are traditional, but I believe Barbarians, Druids, Fighters and Rangers are other start-up classes with good Ride skill.) One of your character's objectives will be finding a Good-aligned dragon of sufficient size for you to ride: the next objective will be convincing it that the two of you would make a good team (often by doing good deeds and bringing proof to it: or gathering treasure to bribe it: or both). You might set your sights somewhat lower - say, acquiring a hippogriff or giant eagle steed - until you are fairly high in level. 3. High ability scores (except Dexterity), incredible natural armor, flight at exceptional speeds, incredible sight and hearing, and breath weapon come standard. Deluxe models include Spell Resistance, an aura of fear, and spell-casting ablity. 4. Generally not. These are not McCaffrey-style telepathic life-bonded buddies - D&D's dragons are generally somewhat arrogant and solitary. If you're a friend, a Good-aligned dragon will generally aid you, but its loyalty is not like a familiar's. 5. It would wait outside, or fly off until you made some pre-arranged return signal (smoky fires, colored lights by night, a sending spell, etc.) 6. They are not well-balanced against other party members: fights that would ordinarily be right for you will be laughably easy, while fights that challenge the dragon are liable to kill the rest of the party. 7. Sometimes. It is not a class name, just an occupation. A Fighter who rides a dragon might not have a single spell (but be a master lancer and archer), while a Cleric who rides a dragon will have a mixture of martial and magical abilities.
The man they call Boxhead 06-14-06, 06:31 PM	If you don't mind being a goody-two-shoes, Paladin is the route to follow. There are optional rules for special mounts in the Dungeon Master's Guide, which I believe includes Dragons. You won't have one right away, so you'll have to make due with a horse for a while you build your combat and riding abilities. A Paladin is able to cast a few spells and has some other nifty powers to boot. You may be required or advised to take Leadership at some point in order to make the dragon a cohort, who would then be likely accompany you quite often, though you can usually leave him outside in really tight dungeons.
DragonFanatic 06-14-06, 06:43 PM	I would suggest looking in the players section of the Draconomicon. There is a Dragonrider prestege class and a feat that allows you to get a Dragonnel as a mount. It is'nt a true dragon, but it is a dragon.
green_yawgmoth 06-14-06, 06:43 PM	Draconomicon has a dragonrider PrC in it as well. Don't have the book on my at the moment, so I can't really say how hard it is to get into it. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v91/yawgmoth/kittyjig.gif
tizonacampeador 06-14-06, 07:03 PM	Both Draconomicona and Dragonlance have a PrC for dragon riding. If you want a dragon sooner try a half-dragon/warhorse. If you have(or have access to) Draconomicon you can ride a Felldrake which is a dragon type creature made by the King of Dragons. Another fun option to be good with dragons is the Vassal of Bahumat in Book of Exalted Deeds. That class gives you a bonus on dealing with dragons as well injuring any evil wyrm that you hit or that hits you.
snowlynx 06-15-06, 01:39 AM	The main problem I see with playing a dragonrider is that you need a dragon to ride. I can't think of any ways to do this at low levels, but at higher levels you might have some options: -Dragon cohort feat from draconomicon. -Dragon steed feat from the same book. But it's a dragonnel you get, which is sort of like a draconic horse with wings....not very exciting. -Find another player willing to play a large sized dragon and willing to work with your character (or, much easier, play a small race and find a player willing to play a medium sized dragon.) -Hire a dragon for the cost given in the draconomicon (something like 1,000 gold for each hit die per year, which isn't too bad considering treasure values at that level.) Really, I would suggest picking up (or looking through) the draconomicon, which answers all these sorts of questions. 1. Can I be a Dragonrider? Yes....at higher levels. 2. How do I become a Dragonrider? A. What prerequisites do I need? You find a dragon mount willing to carry you (see above for how to hire or aquire one by the rules). If you mean the prestige class requirements, we're not allowed to list that...but it seems pretty simple, attack bonus like many classes and appropriate ranks and feats for riding. (Just look in the draconomicon page 125...) It's not as if you need ranks in the class to consider yourself a dragonrider either. I mean, you could be an Eldrich Knight (DMG) and ride a dragon and call yourself a dragonrider. They have ride, they cast spells, they use all weapons, so why not? 3. What special abilities do they have? Dragonrider class: All stuff related to being mounted and pushing said mount to greater speeds and abilities. 4. Does the Dragon follow the character around the whole time. Unfortunately you don't GET a dragon for being a dragonrider. Whether or not the dragon you've convinced to be your mount tails the character around depends on the relationship with said dragon in game. If it's a cohort through leadership/dragon cohort/dragon steed, probably. 5. If so, what would happen when the dragon gets to big to fit into some areas (dungeons/caves/etc.) You can't ride them in there. Either you leave them behind or you hope that they have the alternate form ability some dragons have and can go with you as humanoids/animals. 6. Are they a good character to play with? A dragonrider? Sure, my epic character was a dragonrider....but I didn't have any levels in dragonrider class. I went Cavalier (Complete Warrior) instead, which worked just as well. I'm not sure I'd bother with the dragonrider class itself; it looks a little boring compared to most mounted-type prestige classes which suggest some manner of profession or style of riding. 7. Is it true that Dragonriders can use Weapons and Magic proficiently? Uh, depends on what classes you have, right? Dragonrider, the class, is a prestige class. You can have spellcasting levels (though I note the prestige class adds none itself) and levels in, say, barbarian if you wanted to in order to meet the prerequisites for the class, and then, you'd use both weapons and magic proficiently, yes.
Wood 06-15-06, 11:43 AM	well... Theres plenty of good advice here already. In particular I'd advise you checking out the dragonlance stuff. I dont have it personally, but one of my players does, and he rants all the time about how cool it is. So, because there's not a great deal that I feel I could contribute by citing rules/books/classes or whatever else I'm just gonna clutter up the thread by offering my random musings. Hope you dont mind. 1. Can I be a Dragonrider? Yep. Any character can acquire a dragon mount. Keep in mind that there are avenues for accomplishing this that would only be palatable to evil characters. The example that comes to mind is years ago I played with a guy who used the Orb of the Eternal Grand Dragon to enslave an ancient red, which he then treated like something of a winged horse. In conversation he would refer to it as "my riding beast", and when addressing it directly; "Hey, big stupid lizard! Get over here I need a lift!" 2. How do I become a Dragonrider? Well like I said above, as far as finding a base class or a prestige class Im going to defer to what my colleagues have already mentioned. Other than that I'd say just find a dragon to climb onto and hang on real tight. A. What prerequisites do I need? Well if youre gonna go the route of getting a dragon mount through a class or whatever then all you need is whatever the prereqs are for the class. However, if you are somewhat more daring, and intend to capture the beast and beat it into submission, or otherwise enslave the monster, I'd suggest one prerequisite above all others: a deathwish. 3. What special abilities do they have? Who? The dragonrider or the dragon? 4. Does the Dragon follow the character around the whole time. There again, it kinda depends on the particular dragon, the rider, and the setting. In some places (Council of Wyrms comes to mind) it wouldnt be odd at all to ride a dragon up to the local tavern and tie it off to the hitching post. In most places though it might be seen to be a little strange. The times that I've had a dragon mount I just send it off to go burn farmhouses and devour livestock until I need to go somewhere again. Giving a dragon free time is important, and this is the easiest way I know of to keep it fed. You dont really wanna BUY a herd of cattle every other day do ya? Just a suggestion. 5. If so, what would happen when the dragon gets to big to fit into some areas (dungeons/caves/etc.) Well if its too big to follow you down into the dungeon you just send him off to devour sheep and cattle while you go brutalize the monsters inside. In some cases you might have a dragon that can shrink itself, or even polymorph into something smaller, but that smacks of cheese to me. An important thing to remember is that even though a dragon might not be able to fit through a medium sized doorway or cave opening that doesnt mean its usefullness has come to an end. For instance say you're going into a monster infested old ruin of a castle. In this case think of your dragon as an artillery division. Have him do several fly bys and ignite everything flammable on the surface. When he's done with that have him crawl all over the ruins sticking his snout into every window, doorway, and open crevice breathing fiery doom to whatever may be inside. Have him hang around a while mopping up any minor monsters that might flee the flaming ruins, then break for a light lunch, let him go hunt some buffalo for an hour or two, and then do it again. You could repeat this process for days if you like. In the case of having an exceptionally large dragon you can sit several miles away having tea while your dragon flies over head bombarding the structure with boulders/trees/or anything else big and heavy that happens to be handy. Then when you're satisfied that your mobile air/artillery unit has done all the damage it can do you go in and pick over the stragglers and sack up the treasure. ya just gotta be creative. 6. Are they a good character to play with? That depends entirely on the player. 7. Is it true that Dragonriders can use Weapons and Magic proficiently?(kind of like a Barbarian who is proficient in the Arcane/vice versa) Once again, it depends on the particular rider. If it is the case that I can not play as a Dragonrider, is there a character that is similiar to them that I could use? Thats an important question. If all you want is a dragon mount then you can play any class you want. There are plenty of perfectly reasonable ways to saddle a big lizard than by wasting- er ahem- spending however many levels on the "privilege". and hey, you might be doin your DM a favor. I would love to DM this gig. A pack of nonepic characters with a wagon load of chains and nets and high hopes? :D sounds like fun to me. :plotting:
Manus 06-16-06, 12:21 PM	Keep in mind the main two reasons why we have all these rules about levels and feats and other stuff.... so the DM has some guide to how powerful to make our enemies, and so (in theory) our characters are balanced with the other players'. For instance... in a campaign where all the other players are 6th level, it would be unfair if you were 6th level, AND had a dragon to ride on. Having said that... here's how I weigh in on the topic: yes, you can have a dragon riding character. But it takes many levels, feats, stat choices, etc. My character just couldn't start out as a level 1 character with a dragon to be pals with. Take the dragon cohort feat from 'draconomicon'. It makes your leadership score only work with dragons, but gives it a (needed) boost. Now, here is the catch. Your Leadership score has to be high enough to attract a large enough dragon. Check out the ecl tables of dragons in the draconomicon. Remember, to ride your dragon, you need to make him one size larger than your character. So at low levels, you can only have a small/medium dragon as your cohort, but you'll eventually get high enough. You can speed things along by playing a small race, such as halfling, gnome, or even kobold. I've got a high level warlock who rides a dragon. It's an efficient combination. Add a message/sending spell from the ground troops... and you've got an effective air strike / strafing run to take the pressure off of them.
RedWizard 06-17-06, 06:45 AM	One important thing that has not been really stressed so far, you need to find out how your game world treats dragons. In the game I run, Dragons are the oldest beings around aside from angelic of demonic folk. They are easily the most powerful one to one and they have egos that match that power. I had a younger player who desired a dragon for a steed. He unfortunately got what he wished for in a warped fashion. He encountered a adult red dragon and tried to tame it like he would a mustang. In the end the dragon "explained" to him his new role as the dragon's human. He got a dragon, to bad for him it became his boss.
Wisedragon 06-20-06, 04:01 PM	I had the same problem, so I made my own Dragon Rider class (go DMming!) Here it is: and please use PEACH, thanks. I guess its loosely based off of the Eragon series. Dragon Rider Prestige class: Champions of the skies, the elite force of Dragon Riders defend the realm. Dragon Riders use their mystic mounts and limited arcane prowess for either good or evil. Each rider undergoes a difficult and lifechanging ordeal to recieve his partner. Fighters, Rangers, or sorcerers usually become riders. Hit die: d10 plus 2d12 for every age category of the dragon mount. Races: Human, Elf, Half-elf, or Dwarf. Base Attack Bonus: +4 Feats: Weapon Prociency with Longsword and Longbow, Mounted Combat Languages: Draconic Skills: Knowledge (dragons) 6 ranks, Ride 4 ranks Allignment: Corresponds to Dragon mount. Class Skills: Concentration, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Jump, Knowledge (dragons), Listen, Ride, Spellcraft, Spot 4+Int Modifier skill points per level 1st Level: BAB +1 ,Saves (F/R/W) +2/0/+1, Wyrmling Familiar, telepathic link, Spells per day 2/1 Spells Known: 2/1, must be evocation, conjuration, or abjuration schools for all spells. 2nd: BAB +2, Saves +3/0/+1, Toughness, Spells per day 3/2, Spells Known 2/1 3rd: BAB +3, Saves +3/+1/+2, Spells per day, 3/3/1 Spells Known 3/2/1 4th: BAB +4, Saves +4/+1/+2, Mounted Archery, Shared Abilities SPD, 3/3/2, SK 3/3/1 5th: BAB +5, Saves +4/+2/+3, AC bonus +1, SPD 3/3/3, SK 3/3/2 6th: BAB +6, Saves +5/+2/+3 Toughness, SPD 3/3/3 SK 3/3/3 7th: BAB +7, Saves +5/+3/+4 SPD 3/3/3/1 SK 3/3/3/1 8th: BAB +8, Saves +6/+3/+4 SPD 3/3/3/2 SK 3/3/3/1 9th: BAB +9, Saves +6/+4/+5 Spell Resistance, SPD 3/3/3/3 SK 3/3/3/2 10th: BAB +10, Saves+7/+4/+5 AC Bonus +2 SPD 3/3/3/3 SK 3/3/3/3 Wyrmling Familiar: The rider gets his newborn mount at first level, or in very special cases a more mature dragon. The rider cannot ride his dragon until it is 10 years old or older, the same size as the rider, and it cannot fly until 50 years or older, and one size category above his rider. A dragon can carry one additional Medium humanoid (or two Small) per 100 years of life, as it grows. If the dragon dies, the rider must take DOUBLE the normal penalties of having a familiar die, and make a DC 15+3 per age category Will save or become severly depressed. Telepathy: The rider communicates with his mount not only verbally, but telepathically and empithatically. This link is how many of the rider's abilities are shared, such as extended life. This link can exchange feelings, pictures, memories, and all concious thought, up to a distance of 5 miles. If the Rider loses this link for any reason, he suffers a -1 morale penalty on all attack, damage, and saving rolls. For every hour this link is seperated, the rider increases this penalty by -1 and takes 2d4 points of nonlethal damage. Toughness: The rider gains the toughness feat at 2nd and 6th level. Mounted Archery: At 4th level the rider gains the feat Mounted Archery, even without the requirements. Shared Abilities: Any arcane, divine, or spell like abilities can be shared back and forth between the dragon and ride. AC Bonus: The rider gains a +1 Deflection Bonus at 5th and 10th level In quests: Dragon Rider abilities emerge over time rather than expierince, making the one weakness in this class. Although a rider and dragon have extended lives (~3,000 years for both), they gain the supernatural ability of Timeless body, thus giving no penalties when aging. At around 100 years is when the dragon reaches its full potential, and can act as an expierenced mount and fierce warrior of the sky. A Ride check of 20 must be made for complex airial maneuvers (sp?) I hope this helps.
Saiyori 06-21-06, 03:22 AM	1. Yes, the Draconomicon has a PrC called Dragonrider(this has already been mentioned.) This class only has five levels. 2. See below(2A) A. other than a dragon to ride, the base prerequisites are: BAB +5 Mounted Combat and Skill Focus (Ride) feats Skills: Diplomacy 4 ranks, Handle Animal 4 ranks, Ride 8 ranks and the non-magic ability to speak Draconic 3. Dragonriding (Ex), Immune to Frightful Presense (Su), Mounted Spellcasting (Ex), Bonus Feat, Flyby Attack (Ex), Spur Mount (Ex). I'm not sure if I can discuss what they do on the forums though. 4. Only if instructed to do so. 5. See above 6. Not sure, never played one 7. Not unless they could do so already, though they do gain a few more proficiencies with certain weapons and armors.
Morwen 06-21-06, 04:54 AM	Be aware that the Dragon you're planning to ride is probably older, stronger, more intelligent, and more powerful in other ways than you yourself are. So don't treat it like a horse; it will want to be treated at worst as an equal, and since it has its own free will it won't necessarily do anything you tell it to do ("Dragon Rider" doesn't mean "I have a Dragon Pet"; rather "I am able to ride a Dragon, if I can find one that lets me").