dragon-magic-oef

CHAPTER 1
DRAGONBOUND
HEROES
12
Illus. by L. Parrillo
DRACONIC FIST
Monks who follow the Way of the Draconic Fist seek to
harness their inner ki just as dragons harness their innate
magical ability. While you give up versatility in combat, the
ability to add energy to your unarmed strikes makes them
more potent against a wide range of foes.
Class: Monk.
Level: 1st.
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain
the standard monk’s bonus feat at 1st
level.
Benefit: When you select this
class feature, choose one energy
type from among acid, cold, electricity,
or fire. As a swift action,
you can choose for your next
unarmed attack made in this round
to deal an extra 1d6 points of damage
of the chosen energy type. This extra
damage improves to 2d6 points at
5th level, and by another 1d6 points
every five levels thereafter. You can
use this ability a number of times
per day equal to your class level.
DRAGONSCALE
HUSK
Any warrior knows that skill in
battle isn’t enough; you must
also guard against the attacks of
your enemies. A well-forged suit
of armor can mean the difference
between life and death, but
a warrior whose very body is his
armor has an immediate advantage.
Those who have the blood
of dragons running in their veins
can gain this benefit.
Class: Any standard class that
grants proficiency in heavy armor,
such as fighter or paladin.
Level: 1st (unless the class grants proficiency in heavy
armor at a level other than 1st, in which case this feature can
be taken only at that level).
Special Requirement: You must be of the dragonblood
subtype (see page 4) to select this alternative class feature.
As long as you gain the dragonblood subtype at the same
level that you would gain heavy armor proficiency, you can
select this class feature, even if you would normally choose
class features before selecting the option that grants you the
subtype. For example, a 1st-level human fighter who takes
Dragontouched (see page 18) as one of his 1st-level feats could
also select this class feature.
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain
proficiency with any kind of armor. If you would later gain
some form of armor proficiency (such as by multiclassing or
taking a feat), you can choose at that time to gain that proficiency,
but you then lose this class feature. If you already
Ember, apprentice to a silver dragon,
channels her ki into a cold attack
have proficiency with any kind of armor, you must lose that
proficiency in order to select this class feature.
Benefit: You gain the extraordinary ability to grow a thick,
scaly hide that protects you like armor. The dragonscale husk
resembles the scales of a dragon of your choice (selected
when you gain the class feature). The husk requires 8 hours
to grow, but this process can take place at night while you
are sleeping.
Your scaled hide grants you a bonus to your Armor Class
equal to 6 + 1/3 your class level in the
class that granted you heavy armor
proficiency (+7 bonus to
AC at 3rd level, +8 bonus to
AC at 6th level, and so on, up
to a maximum +12 bonus to
AC at 18th level). Multiple
classes that grant this proficiency
stack for determining the
dragonscale husk’s total bonus.
This bonus doesn’t stack with
any feat, racial trait, or other
special ability that would grant
you a bonus to Armor Class.
In addition, as you attain
higher levels, your husk grants
you increasing resistance to
acid, cold, electricity, and fire.
You gain resistance 5 at 5th level,
resistance 10 at 10th level,
resistance 15 at 15th level, and
resistance 20 at 20th level.
Your dragonscale husk is
treated as medium armor for
the purpose of determining
your speed and whether you
can use class features or other
special abilities. It allows a
maximum Dexterity bonus
to Armor Class of +2 and has
an armor check penalty of
–4. You can sleep in your husk
without penalty. You cannot wear any other armor while
your husk is present.
Your husk isn’t treated as armor for the purpose of being
affected by spells or other abilities. You can’t grant it an
enhancement bonus with magic vestment, nor can you imbue
it with special properties, as you could a normal suit of
armor.
You can’t take off your dragonscale husk, but you can
choose to shed it. Doing this requires 10 minutes of concentration
and results in your sloughing off a pile of scales that
crumble to dust if handled.
DRAKKEN FAMILIAR
Arcane spellcasters, even those who don’t claim the blood of
dragons as their own, often have a special link with dragonkind.
One manifestation of this link is the caster’s familiar,
which can take on draconic characteristics.