dragon-magic-oef

CHAPTER 2
DRAGON
ASPIRANTS
24
DRAGONFIRE ADEPT
“I’ll have no need of spells, skill at arms, or faith to defeat you. At my
beck and call are the most powerful forces the world has seen—the
flame and fury of dragons!”
—Tatiana, a dragonfire adept
Whether they are bold champions defending the weak and
downtrodden, or merciless raiders seeking might and riches,
dragonfire adepts are imposing figures who command the
magic of dragonkind. Able to call upon a dragon’s fiery breath
and augment themselves with spell-like abilities, dragonfire
adepts have access to powers normally beyond the reach of
humanoids.
Dragonfire adepts have no arcane or divine magic, nor are
they masters of martial prowess. Instead, they draw upon a
direct link with the nature of draconic existence, infusing
their soul with the raw magic of dragons. The most obvious
incarnation of this link is their breath weapon, but as they
gain experience, dragonfire adepts learn powerful invocations
that allow them to access different draconic abilities. Cunning,
hearty, and learned, dragonfire adepts can be warleaders
or sages with equal ease.
A dragonfire adept is a student devoted to understanding
the ways of dragons and emulating them. Evil dragonfire
adepts are cruel tyrants who impose their will on others,
seeking to control land, build strongholds, and amass vast
treasures. Good dragonfire adepts are champions of justice
and freedom, using their powers to aid others. Like a sorcerer,
a dragonfire adept gains new powers automatically as she rises
in level, tapping ever deeper into the draconic magic in her
soul. Unlike a sorcerer, however, a dragonfire adept manifests
this magic not in the form of spells, but as invocations that
emulate draconic powers.
MAKING A DRAGONFIRE ADEPT
A dragonfire adept is a flexible character, able to provide
support in combat and aid her allies directly or indirectly.
While she lacks the capacity of a fighter or wizard for dealing
damage, she is more resistant to magical effects and can use
her abilities to make her comrades more effective.
Abilities: Constitution is critical to a dragonfire adept;
it makes her more resilient and affects how well targets
can resist her breath weapon attacks. Charisma, her second
most important ability, impacts the effectiveness of her
invocations.
Of course, Dexterity is useful for any character in combat,
but this is especially true for a dragonfire adept. She lacks
skill with heavy armor, and her magic focuses on offense
over defense. Worse, a dragonfire adept has limited range
with her breath weapon attacks, forcing her to move closer
to combat than a typical arcane spellcaster. A high Dexterity
helps mitigate these various defensive drawbacks.
Races: Most dragonfire adepts are humans, elves, or halfelves,
since the study of dragonkind is not unlike the study of
arcane magic. A surprising number of half-orcs also become
dragonfire adepts, seeking either to find a place for themselves
or to create one through force. Dwarves are rarely dragonfire
adepts because of their ancient enmity with dragonkind.
Most halflings and gnomes lack the burning drive needed
to take this class.
Alignment: A dragonfire adept can be of any alignment,
though her choice has a strong impact on which dragons
she can associate with. Dragonfire adepts often act similarly
to dragons of the same alignment; for example, chaotic evil
adepts are rapacious hunters of treasure and power, and lawful
good adepts are noble defenders of a selected group or territory.
Alignment can also influence a dragonfire adept’s choice
of affinity when taking the Draconic Heritage feat (see page
17), though no game rule restricts this choice. For example,
a lawful good dragonfire adept can select red dragons when
taking this feat.
Neutral dragonfire adepts are rare, but evil, good, lawful,
and chaotic representatives are equally common. The urge
to delve into the mysteries of draconic energies comes more
easily to those who have strong beliefs and wish to actively
pursue them.
Starting Gold: 2d4×10 (50 gp).
Starting Age: As paladin (PH 109).
CLASS FEATURES
All of the following are class features of the dragonfire
adept.
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DRAGONFIRE ADEPTS AND
PRESTIGE CLASSES
Dragonfire adepts benefit in a specific way from prestige classes
that have a level advancement benefit of “+1 level of existing
arcane spellcasting class” or “+1 level of existing spellcasting
class.” A dragonfire adept taking levels in such a prestige class
does not gain any other benefits of that level increase, but she
does gain an increased caster level when using her invocations
and increased damage with her breath weapon. Levels of
prestige classes that provide +1 level of spellcasting effectively
stack with the dragonfire adept’s level to determine her breath
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weapon damage and save DC. She also gains new invocations
at each prestige class level as though she had risen a level in the
dragonfire adept class.
A dragonfire adept cannot qualify for prestige classes (or other
game options) with spellcasting level requirements, because she
never actually learns to cast spells. However, prestige classes
with caster level requirements are allowed—her caster level for
her invocations fulfills this requirement. Her spell-like abilities
do meet requirements for specific spell knowledge if they mimic
the required spell.