4th & Dragon : Dungeons and Dragons...and stuff

Here are the ‘parameters’:

Level:6 (usually, see below).
Starting money: Standard DMG, but see below.
Race: kobold, or atleast give me a VERY good reason why you aren’t.
Books allowed: any, but munchkins will be executed without fail.
Homebrew: case by case, but generally accepted unless it’s broken or doesn’t fit.

Stats: all stats start at 10 (before racial adjustments). You have 23 points to distribute as you see fit on a 1-for-1 basis, max 18.

Bonuses: one free dragon-related feat or one free level in a dragon-related class. Alternatively, you may have the LA of a dragon-related template reduced by 2, to a minimum of 0 (my call if a feat/class/template counts or not).

You also have 60 CR of traps to spend for free, max CR 7. I decide the CR of homebrew traps.

Lastly, Mithril and Tin are at a 20% discount, due to being readily available.

He made an adjustment though - the half-dragon template still costs +2 LA if you want the entire strength bonus.
Books allowed should be all WotC - and anything that isn’t taken because it’s powerful.

So. Since I made the sorcerer for the flying challenge not too long ago, I would again like to make a sorcerer (even though I’m open to other ideas). For a draconic template I was looking at the dragonspawn templates in the Dragonlance book - even though I’ll have to offer to nerf them lest the DM will smite me for munchkinism. A flying, breath weapon using sorcerer does sound nifty though. I’ll offer to reduce the fly speed and the natural armor… that should be enough.

I’m entirely open to other nifty idea though.

Edit: Oh, clarification on the traps part. We’re going to be a tribe of kobolds who defend our ‘homeland’ against human(oid) attacks.. I think. We get to build up some defenses… but first I need to figure out a fun character before we start dealing with traps.

My favorite kobold character I ever played was a kobold trapsmith. He was the trapmaster of his clan, it was so much fun.

Build was rogue 5/Combat Trapsmith 5/Trapsmith 5 (fill in the last 5 with whatever you want)

It’s a simple easy build, nothing complicated. All your focus is on trapmaking and clever trap use.

Combat Trapsmith can be found in the Complete Scoundrel, Trapsmith is in Dungeonscape.

It seems like it would fit really well too ^^

It seems like it would fit really well too ^^

That it does, indeed!

Since we’re only level 6 - I’d go Rogue 5 / Combat Trapsmith 1?

I’ll check it out.

Edit: If I decide to go for a kobold trap maker, I’d probably go for Trapsmith first for this campaign I think.

Ok I took a shot at it based on the information you provide above.

Kobold Dragonspawn(Green) LA reduced from +2 to zero by the special campaign rules you mentioned .
Sorcerer 6th (with dragonspawn template effective 7). Not effective caster level it said EFFECTIVE sorcerer level.
Original: Str 12, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 17
(that should be 23 on a 1-1 bases starting from 10)
Kobold -4 Str, +2, Dex, -2 Con,
Dragonspawn +2 Str, +2 Con, +2 Cha , +3 Natural Armor(nerfed from 7)
+1 Ability Point into charisma

Hit Points 6d4+18 (34.5) taking average
Fort+5, Ref+5 Will+5
Str 10
Dex 16
Con 16
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 20/22 enchanted

Feats:
(1st): Improved Flight
Split Ray(3rd)
Practical Metamagic: Split Ray 6th* Reduces metamagic cost by 1 for a single metamagic feat to a minimum of 1.
*Adjustments made based on biff’s advice.

Skills:
Bluff+9 Ranks+5 Cha
Concentration+9 Ranks, +3 Con=12
Craft: Trapmaking+9 Ranks +2, Int, +2 Racial=13
Craft: Alchemy+9 Ranks, +2 Int=11

Spells Known(Keep in mind the dragonspawn template increases effective sorcerer level by 1)
0
Detect Magic
Read Magic
Ray of Frost
Mending
Prestitigation
Light
Message

1st
Magic Missile
Ray of Enfeeblement
Alarm
True Strike
Charm Person

2nd
Glitterdust
Scorching Ray
Mirror Image

3rd
Fireball or lightning bolt depending on the lay out of the tunnels.
Dispel Magic

I don’t have spell compendium handy right now, so I just went through the SRD for spells.

I consider Ray of Enfeeblement an essential spell. It greatly reduces the damage done from melee attacks with split ray you could stirke two seperate targets. A split ray scorching ray would add one additional ray.
Later spells to pick up would be Enervation
As your a naturaly flying kobold spellcaster I avoiding any touch spells.
Charm person should be useful to befriend invaders.

Though you suffer from extended casting times, remember a full-round action happens all on your turn. Don’t confuse it with a 1 round casting time.

Alarm is obvious as your often on the defensive and mirror image should help prevent you from getting hammered to often.

Fireball is there for your general group roastings and dispel magic becasue you don’t want to get stuck fighting an enemy spell caster who’s defenses are simply to high.

*Keep in mind that your breath weapon DC is based off your hit dice not class level. So the DC will always be 10+con. The sample dragonspawn has 2 barbarian levels which are not counted in its breath weapon calculation

Gear: 13,000gp
Cloak of Charisma+2, 4,000gp
+1 Mithril Chain Shirt of Twilight 4,900gp weight 6.25lbs
(0% arcane spell failure, no check penalty either)
+1 Mithril Buckler 1,815gp, weight 1.25lbs
(also 0% arcane spell failure, no check penalty either)
* Includes 20% discount on mithril

2,285gp remaining for anything else you might want

AC 23+ (+3 Dex, +5 Armor, +2 Shield, +3 natural)

I’m not good with traps I’ll leave that to you.

The Dragonspawn templates are probably a little bit too good. Maybe take the Draconic template (DCN, RotD) as it would be free, which would give you the necessary Dragonblood subtype to get Dragon Wings (RotD) at level 1. Draconic will also help make up for most of your negative ability score adjustments as well as boosting your Cha for Sorcerer.

One of my favorite builds which would be fitting goes Hexblade 3/ Sorcerer 2/ Talon of Tiamat 10/ Spellsword 5, with the first Spellsword level taken between the 5th and 6th Talon levels. I’d normally use a reach weapon such as a glaive and take Combat Reflexes with Dragonthrall and Practiced Spellcaster if human, get Leap Attack, Maximize Breath, Clinging Breath, and maybe even Ability Focus: Breath Weapon (all of the Talon’s breath weapons are treated as a single class feature, similar to a metallic dragon’s multiple breath modes). Use the PHB2 Sorcerer variant to spontaneously cast with metamagic without increasing the casting time. Lesser Metamagic Rods of Extend, Maximize, and especially Quicken are amazing with this character. You’d be able to use a (rod of) Extended Wraithstrike (which normally doesn’t take longer to cast anyway) and charge in with leap attack, then on the following round use a maximized clinging breath weapon and cast a (rod of) Quickened Whirling Blade with Wraithstrike still active. Or, use a breath weapon then cast Wraithstrike, and charge with leap attack the next round with a quickened whirling blade so you’ll still get your leap attack damage with it. At level 20 you’ll have a +16 BAB and 5th level Sorcerer spells, which will allow you to use Channel Spell with Cloudkill which would become a targeted effect and deal 1+ con damage/round for 10 rounds per caster level. Get a Spell Storing weapon asap and put a (rod of) Maximized Vampiric Touch in it. Focus on skills like Bluff, Intimidate, and Sense Motive, and this character is a combination of melee combatant, AoE damage dealer, and excellent at dealing with noncombat encounters.

Calling my dragonspawn template sorcerer a little bit to good is well like the pot calling the kettle black coming from the build you’ve got in mind.

Lord Vukodlak - 28 April 2008 01:27 PM

Calling my dragonspawn template sorcerer a little bit to good is well like the pot calling the kettle black coming from the build you’ve got in mind.

Notice my post went up 9 minutes after yours. I wasn’t referring to your build specifically, it wasn’t even up yet when I started typing that. He’d expressed an interest in the Dragonspawn templates, but voiced his opinion that they’d probably need to be toned down to be allowed, and I was simply agreeing with that. Your build is a good one, though I’d replace Hover with Improved Flight (RotW) and also consider Practical Metamagic (RotD) if Easy Metamagic isn’t allowed. As for my build, its really only strong in the mid to late levels, as it only surpasses a primary spellcaster in area effect damage when it gets the Maximized Cone of Acid breath weapon, and even then such abilities are only usable 1/day. I like the build mostly because its good at so many things though it isn’t better at melee than a dedicated melee build, and it isn’t better at spell-type tricks than a dedicated spellcaster, but it does include tricks which allow it to compete in effectiveness with more dedicated characters.

Another idea to consider would be the Dragon Shaman class from PHB2. Take Dragon Wings and similar feats in the early levels, and get some feats to improve your breath attacks later on. Entangling Exhalation (RotD), Recover Breath (DCN), and Ability Focus would all be excellent choices. You could spam entangling breath weapons nearly every round to keep the entire encounter penalized and moving at half speed, act as a secondary tank with medium armor and a large shield, and be a good support character with the beneficial auras and the ability to cure damage and other debilitating effects. You could even get Shield Specialization and Shield Ward early on, as you wouldn’t be able to take feats which require a breath weapon until 6th level, or possibly use a reach weapon with Combat Reflexes, which would especially be good considering that anyone who’s movement speed is slowed cannot make a five foot adjustment, such as by an entangling breath attack, so any movement would provoke an AoO.

Sorry Biff my bad.
I thought about practical metamagic but as I understood it that required you had the dragonic heritage feat.
But looking at the feat I see it only requires the dragonblood subtype. I just went with the
quickest feat to get the desired effect.

Okay, three options for me now (I only have time to figure out what to do tomorrow) - thanks for the feedback so far!

1. The kobold rogue / trapsmith
2. The kobold sorcerer
3. The kobold dragon shaman

The hexblade sorcerer won’t work to well at 6th level if I’m guessing correctly - and I don’t see us going up in more than one or two levels… only if a real campaign evolves from this - which is unsure as of now.

I’ll get back to you when I’ve made a choice.

Hrhmpf. I just realized that someone else is playing a dragon shaman already. Furthermore, there is one ranger 5 / combat trapsmith 1 and a kobold expert specializing in traps - so that area is covered as well.

Which leaves me with… well, the sorcerer or… well, maybe still the dragon shaman build with breath weapon. But honestly… in that case I’d rather take the 1/2-dragon template without the strength bonus for a +1 LA, then get the feat from RotD which lets the half dragon use his breath weapon every 1d4 rounds and two more feats (I need a flaw then, I guess) to reduce the ‘recharge time’ and entangling breath.

Another option would be to contact the DM again and ask for a change of the blue/black dragonspawn template I asked for… I suggested doing away with the breath weapon, the sorcerer level and reducing the natural armor - maybe if that could be reworked for a nice breath weapon and other things could be dropped, then all is well.

The DM is open to changes/suggestions concerning existing templates - as long as those templates have a dragon theme and one isn’t trying to munch one’s way to power.

Great thing about the dragonspawn template with all that stuff is that I would still have 6 class levels to spend on whatever I think fits best, heh.

Any suggestions - even though this is quite a confused mess that I posted?

A Half Dragon has to be at least 6th level to take Dragon Breath to use their breath weapon more often than 1/day. That means you wouldn’t be able to take Recover Breath or any other metabreath feats before that, though Entangling Exhalation and Ability Focus would still work. In that case though, you could throw this trick into just about any build, but with Dragon Shaman you’d be able to alternate between the two breath weapons (as each would be on a separate 1d4 round cooldown) in order to use Entangling Exhalations more often. At 9th level you could take Recover Breath which would apply to both breath weapons.

One thing the group seems to be lacking is a good Cleric-type. The Ranger could use Wands of Cure Light Wounds, and with two Dragon Shamans in the party it could probably work out, but that’s not exactly a replacement for the versatility of a Cleric. Considering the theme of the campaign, you could probably get Wands of Faith Healing (SC) as long as someone was able to use them.

Maybe even go with something completely different. The party doesn’t seem to have a heavy hitter or melee tank, so going with a Dragonkin (DCN) who was raised by kobolds and has always believed that he’s a really big kobold. Considering the two point reduction of LA and the fact that his racial HD are inferior to class levels, it could probably work out playing one of these with no class levels starting out. Maybe try taking Dragonwrought (RotD) to change those monstrous humanoid HD into dragon HD, which would also open up Draconomicon feats like Improved Speed, Awaken Frightful Presence, and Endure Blows. Go into something like War Hulk (MinisHB) or Blackguard, and just have fun with The Incredible Kobold.

Maybe even go with something completely different. The party doesn’t seem to have a heavy hitter or melee tank, so going with a Dragonkin (DCN) who was raised by kobolds and has always believed that he’s a really big kobold. Considering the two point reduction of LA and the fact that his racial HD are inferior to class levels, it could probably work out playing one of these with no class levels starting out.

You know what? I’m asking the DM to play one of those. Simple. Brute. Fun.

TIK, lol.

I’ve asked the DM to grant the dragonkin some kind of armor proficiency - hopefully he’ll agree (the pic does show the dragonkin in armor)… otherwise I’ll have to spend a feat as I don’t intend to miss out on some crucial AC.

Other than that I’d go the classic battlefield control character. Combat Reflexes + Power attack + ... maybe cleave?

I’d take a guisarme as weapon for 20’ reach and get some armor spikes for the short range attacks. Too bad the dragonkin doesn’t have a bite attack. :/

Any suggestions for this one? It’s rather straight forward and simple (and not too powerful, but that’s alright) but maybe I’m missing something?

Edit: One thing I am planning on getting is an item with which I can cast protection from arrows twice per day or so. It would just not do to stand there blocking the hallway and then being shot to ribbons. Hrhm… just calculated it - 2x protection from arrows / day at CL 3 would cost 4,32k gold. That’s quite a lot. Maybe I should rather invest in a high AC. Hrhm…

Just wear masterwork studded leather or a mithrial chain shirt until you get an armor proficiency.
If there is no armor check penalty you don’t need any proficiency as you’ll suffer no penalty for wearing it.
Thats why sample rogues from the DMG have mw bucklers despite

Considering your race has a 2 claws plus an additional 2 claws if attacking while airborne you may want to hold off on using any weapon for a while. Unfortunately the entry under their natural weapons says mixing them with manufactured weapons causes the same penalties as two-weapon fighting. Unlke say the lizardfolk who get a off-hand bite with out penalizing their weapon attack.

Also consider a spiked chain you get the same reach but can hit adjacent foes as well as trip them. This lets you get into battle field control with improved trip and combat reflexs you can keep the enemy prone and unable to reach the softer kobolds

Ah, thanks for the hints on how to use armor. Now that you mention it I remember the rules concerning the use of armor that one isn’t proficient in.

Concerning the spiked chain - I wanted to do without… somehow. As to the claw attacks - I wanted to get the weapon augment crystal (MIC) which lets one draw the weapon as a free action for the guisarme. That way I can bring it into play easily. For damage output, I think using the guisarm while flying at 5’ height and also attacking with the feet claws (at a -5 penalty) is the optimal way to go. The larger reach is nice as well.

Combat Reflexes, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip would be the optimal way to go probably, but I did not want to make the dragonkin very intelligent… therefore, that’s not really an option. But with reach it won’t suffer any AoO for the initial trip attempt at least.

Remember under the dragonkin’s entry if you mix claw and weapon attacks you suffer the same penalties as for two-weapon fighting. Its not the simple free extra attack at -5 like most creatures.

That’s not how I understand it though.

If I use a one-handed weapon and a claw, then it is handled like two weapon fighting. The rake claws can be added at any time at a -5 to attack (as opposed to at full BAB if it only attacks with claws). Unless I’m missing something…