So, I'm creating a new character at the moment, and taking inspiration from the polymorphed dragon character hook in Hoard of the Dragon Queen, I decided I'd really like to play a polymorphed bronze dragon since they are my favourite dragon type. I love their appearance and the idea of them swimming beneath the waves amongst vivid coral reefs and schools of fish, emerging from the waves to tear apart the hull of a pirate ship with claws and fangs, blasting them with lightning, all while having a noble and protective outlook on the world.
I'll probably make him a bronze dragonborn (using new UA dragonborn race rules) for his polymorphed humanoid form, but I'm unsure of how to proceed any further with the creation of the character and I'd really appreciate some suggestions if I may.
EDIT: Note that I do not intend to utilise the Monster Manual bronze dragon statblock in any way. Any stats or abilities my character will use will possess will come entirely from their class and race, and they will be created in the standard D&D character creation methods. I simply wish to emulate a bronze dragon that has, forcefully or by choice, been changed completely into a dragonborn until his adventuring career is complete, in a way that best imitates the theme and/or temperament of a bronze dragon.
The new Unearthed Arcana metallic dragonborn race now more closely resemble their full dragon counterparts, with either sleep or repelling breath weapons in addition to their elemental breath weapons, so that in itself is a good step forward.
Class
What class should a polymorphed bronze dragon be in humanoid form? I feel like they're less of a full-caster for sure, but more martial, and I did read somewhere that they prefer melee to ranged attacks.
I was thinking maybe a Storm Herald Barbarian, since the sea abilities of harnessing lightning, waterbreathing and a swimming speed couldn't be more perfect; however, I've heard it is also really weak in combat so I don't want to disadvantage my party that way.
Paladin is also an obvious option if the dragon worships Bahamut, though what subclass, I'm not sure. Devotions abilities are great, but it doesn't seem the most fitting thematically or mechanically. Oath of the Ancients is an interesting option, but it has less lightning energy or draconic flavour than I'd like, and grasping vines, at first glance, definitely didn't seem fitting, unless he's summoning seaweed on dry land to ensnare them. Oath of the Crown has been suggested to me by a friend, and I can see the divine allegiance being useful, but I'm not sure about it.
I'm not too sure about fighters. While the martial toughness is pretty cool, and I can see a dragonborn fighter cleaving through enemies (before shapeshifting to dragon form ideally, haha), but they don't have much in the way of flavour for a dragons natural abilities. That being said, the Purple Dragon Knight would be cool, and I can see allies perhaps being rallied with bravery from an almighty dragon roar, but royal envoy? Eh. With Battle Master, I guess I can see them picking up a few tricks if they've been stuck in their mortal form, or are unwilling to reveal their true form, but it's not very dragony itself. Eldritch Knight could work I suppose, especially if all I mainly use is chromatic orb lightning and thunderwave.
I'm also very interested in homebrew classes. I've particularly liked the Oath of the Dragon Lord, since at level 20 you can turn into an ancient dragon, though I really would appreciate being able to do this sooner, even if in a weaker dragon form. I've also admired The Oath of Storms for it's tempestuous powers. (though I wish it had water breathing :( ) If you know of any stormy melee classes or, even better, a class where you can shapeshift into a dragon for a while, I would be most appreciative. I'm almost certainly overthinking this character creation, but I'd really love to get this character right!
Background.
Probably the easier section to work out. As I see it, I have two options:
My character was an underling of Bahamut, but displeased or disappointed the dragon god and was cast down to the Material Plane in disgrace for one reason or another. This though wouldn't give any justification as to why my character hasn't already got fantastical stats, powers, skills and knowledge for a mortal. Reasons as to why I would be cast out though I guess could be a few possibilities. A) He was vain, arrogant and pompous, with an inflated sense of self-importance, and was indefinitely changed into a mortal to teach him some humility. Or B) What the character thought was right, was wrong, and innocents suffered because of it. Maybe his zealousness caused deaths or even a tyrannical view of mortals. This had to be nipped in the bud.
The character is a regular young bronze dragon. He swam with his kin off the coast, diving through coral and shapeshifting into dolphins to play in shallower waters. But he is a bronze dragon and his sense of justice is as big as adult. He learned to polymorph sooner than usual, and went to land to root out rumors of Tiamat's dragon followers stirring inland.
Thanks so much if you read all that, I really appreciate it and would love some input if you have any to suggest! Have a great day!
(TL/DR: Bronze dragon polymorphed into a dragonborn to become an adventurer. Why and what class should they be?)
Are you saying that you want to play a Young Bronze Dragon, with all those abilities, PLUS have a normal stat bloc on top of that when Poly'ed into Humanoid form? There is no way as a DM I would allow anything like this. Have you checked with your DM, and the other players?
If you are indeed saying that you want the abilities of a Young Bronze, as a DM, that would be a hard "no".
It's important, as Vince said, you not mechanically actually be a dragon, so you need an IC excuse for the fact that for OOC reasons you will under no circumstances actually use a bronze dragon statblock. I recommend writing into your backstory both an explanation of how and ideally why you were locked into your current body shape and statistics (you may want to discuss with your DM replacing the dragonborn racials entirely with the half-dragon (bronze) template from the Monster Manual - they're like the UA dragonborn rules but far more draconic, imho). Both Bahamut and Tiamat are capable of doing this to you, depending on how you write the story (e.g. Bahamut might have done this as part of a rite of passage for you).
While any class can be fluffed to work, even an ancient bronze dragon has a very limited set of abilities:
Like all dragons, bronze dragons are very mobile - in their case, in addition to flight, they can swim and breathe water.
Like all dragons, bronzes are very perceptive, with darkvision and blindsight.
Like all dragons, the primary way bronzes murder things is in melee, with tooth, claw, tail, and wing. They're metallic, so their bite is less damaging than a chromatic's.
Like all dragons, bronzes are scary.
Like all dragons, bronzes have a breath weapon. Since they're metallic, they have a second breath weapon, which repulses. You can simulate this with the telekinetic feat and describe it as your breath weapon having Magneto-like control, if you like.
Like all metallics, bronzes can change shape into a humanoid or beast.
So you'll probably want to avoid spellcasting, since they're not actually spellcasters. You can be a caster who basically never casts - there are many ways to build a paladin (with the oath of conquest, probably, so you can use dragonfear) who spends all their slots on smites, if you want the melee and the scariness. You can also be a moon druid to embrace the shapeshifting and mobility aspects, and spend all your slots healing yourself. The third option I see is playing a monk, for a different take on mobility and embracing the tooth and claw thing without druidic shapeshifting (several subclasses could easily be made to work, but astral self feels the most draconic, since it provides perception, scariness, and energy damage reduction). Telekinetic can easily be made to work with all three options. Note: You could also be a Beast Barbarian, which would let you swim and breathe water like a bronze, but this can't be made to work well with Telekinetic and doesn't match the vibe you're giving off.
Recap:
Write into your backstory how and why you were forced into your current shape and can't change back.
Pick a draconic meme to boop: Conquest Paladin for dragonfear, Moon Druid for shapeshifting, Astral Self Monk for native mobility and rip and tear, with a dose of perception, scariness, and energy damage reduction.
I would personally pick Moon Druid - it fits best my interpretation of the character you described - but you should pick for yourself.
Storm Herald fits perfectly. Just because it’s not an optimised subclass (maybe, I personally don’t have a problem with it) it fits what you want to roleplay. Surely that’s the important thing.
SwiftSign is correct. If you like the Storm Herald, then by all means play the Storm Herald.
Unless your game is entirely min/max combat encounters, you won't disadvantage your party. There is so much more to a well run campaign then that. This is coming from someone who has both run and played since first edition (Yes, I know how old that makes me) and spent her favorite (to date) 5E campaign as the much maligned Beast Master Ranger.
Always, play what you love. You will often find unexpected benefits in surprising situations. Memorable moments for my beast master pirate include diving off the mast of an enemy ship after stealing their flag (and the commotion when we later tried to auction it off); my animal companion (hawk) diving into the face of a ranged attacker who was just about to finish me off; and gaining Land's Stride shortly before a crucial chase. (The NPC who was expected to escape wound up joining our crew mostly thanks to the fighter's interest in her)
One other thing you may want to do is talk to your DM and the other players about your ideas and any concerns you have. This can not only tell you what the DM allows in their campaign world, but can help you develop a story that fits and might even include connections to the others in your party.
Given what you have so far, you might also want to look at Tempest Cleric or the UA Monk, Way of the Ascendant Dragon.
Are you saying that you want to play a Young Bronze Dragon, with all those abilities, PLUS have a normal stat bloc on top of that when Poly'ed into Humanoid form? There is no way as a DM I would allow anything like this. Have you checked with your DM, and the other players?
If you are indeed saying that you want the abilities of a Young Bronze, as a DM, that would be a hard "no".
Thanks for your reply Vince! I'm sorry, I should have elaborated better. I don't intend to use any statistics from the bronze dragon statblock.
I am aware that the amount of damage they deal is INSANE. Just the young bronze dragon alone deals a whopping 10d10 damage, which is so much more powerful than even than the fireball spell, and would be cast much more often.
What I meant was that, in his backstory, he WAS a bronze dragon, whether he was cast down by Bahamut or willing transformed his body, he now has the body of a weak and feeble mortal dragonborn, and possesses only the strengths of said race. That being said, with the new Dragonborn UA, the race closer resembles dragons now, with more uses of their breath and level scaling damage.
My question was mainly asking for suggestions on how to best emulate the powers of a shapeshifted bronze dragon using the classes, feats and mechanics of the PHB and further supplements.
It's important, as Vince said, you not mechanically actually be a dragon, so you need an IC excuse for the fact that for OOC reasons you will under no circumstances actually use a bronze dragon statblock. I recommend writing into your backstory both an explanation of how and ideally why you were locked into your current body shape and statistics (you may want to discuss with your DM replacing the dragonborn racials entirely with the half-dragon (bronze) template from the Monster Manual - they're like the UA dragonborn rules but far more draconic, imho). Both Bahamut and Tiamat are capable of doing this to you, depending on how you write the story (e.g. Bahamut might have done this as part of a rite of passage for you).
While any class can be fluffed to work, even an ancient bronze dragon has a very limited set of abilities:
Like all dragons, bronze dragons are very mobile - in their case, in addition to flight, they can swim and breathe water.
Like all dragons, bronzes are very perceptive, with darkvision and blindsight.
Like all dragons, the primary way bronzes murder things is in melee, with tooth, claw, tail, and wing. They're metallic, so their bite is less damaging than a chromatic's.
Like all dragons, bronzes are scary.
Like all dragons, bronzes have a breath weapon. Since they're metallic, they have a second breath weapon, which repulses. You can simulate this with the telekinetic feat and describe it as your breath weapon having Magneto-like control, if you like.
Like all metallics, bronzes can change shape into a humanoid or beast.
So you'll probably want to avoid spellcasting, since they're not actually spellcasters. You can be a caster who basically never casts - there are many ways to build a paladin (with the oath of conquest, probably, so you can use dragonfear) who spends all their slots on smites, if you want the melee and the scariness. You can also be a moon druid to embrace the shapeshifting and mobility aspects, and spend all your slots healing yourself. The third option I see is playing a monk, for a different take on mobility and embracing the tooth and claw thing without druidic shapeshifting (several subclasses could easily be made to work, but astral self feels the most draconic, since it provides perception, scariness, and energy damage reduction). Telekinetic can easily be made to work with all three options. Note: You could also be a Beast Barbarian, which would let you swim and breathe water like a bronze, but this can't be made to work well with Telekinetic and doesn't match the vibe you're giving off.
Recap:
Write into your backstory how and why you were forced into your current shape and can't change back.
Pick a draconic meme to boop: Conquest Paladin for dragonfear, Moon Druid for shapeshifting, Astral Self Monk for native mobility and rip and tear, with a dose of perception, scariness, and energy damage reduction.
I would personally pick Moon Druid - it fits best my interpretation of the character you described - but you should pick for yourself.
This is fantastic advice, thank you Quindraco! I Ireally appreciate you summing up things so perfectly in a simple and undaunting way.
I was wondering if you had read the new and updated dragonborn races in the most recent Unearthed Arcana? It's very good stuff, creating a more noticable distinction between Chromatics, Metallics and Gem dragons.
In addition to this, it also gives Metallics a second type of breath weapon, and you can choose either sleep or repulsion breath, the latter of which is used by real bronze dragons. It creates a 15 ft. come of force that hurls opponents back 20 ft. if they fail a strength saving throw, and they are also knocked prone.
This is more than ideal for it honestly, and means I would no longer have to worry about investing in the telekinetic feat.
I think druid would certainly be interesting, I would love to have him be able to shapeshift into beasts like that, though considering a normal dragons high charisma, strength and constitution I'd been considering it a dump stat until now. That being said, maybe it's worth considering...
Storm Herald fits perfectly. Just because it’s not an optimised subclass (maybe, I personally don’t have a problem with it) it fits what you want to roleplay. Surely that’s the important thing.
You're not wrong, thank you for the advice! Maybe I can request my DM to consider ever so slightly upping the damage of it's storm aura damage, or maybe rethink the attack requiring a bonus action to instead activate after a regular melee attack instead... 😄
SwiftSign is correct. If you like the Storm Herald, then by all means play the Storm Herald.
Unless your game is entirely min/max combat encounters, you won't disadvantage your party. There is so much more to a well run campaign then that. This is coming from someone who has both run and played since first edition (Yes, I know how old that makes me) and spent her favorite (to date) 5E campaign as the much maligned Beast Master Ranger.
Always, play what you love. You will often find unexpected benefits in surprising situations. Memorable moments for my beast master pirate include diving off the mast of an enemy ship after stealing their flag (and the commotion when we later tried to auction it off); my animal companion (hawk) diving into the face of a ranged attacker who was just about to finish me off; and gaining Land's Stride shortly before a crucial chase. (The NPC who was expected to escape wound up joining our crew mostly thanks to the fighter's interest in her)
One other thing you may want to do is talk to your DM and the other players about your ideas and any concerns you have. This can not only tell you what the DM allows in their campaign world, but can help you develop a story that fits and might even include connections to the others in your party.
Given what you have so far, you might also want to look at Tempest Cleric or the UA Monk, Way of the Ascendant Dragon.
Wonderful, thank you very much. You're right that, depending on the group, roleplay and having might be more important than being the most efficient killing machine ever
I'll definitely look into the Way of the Ascendant dragon too, thanks!
I like it as a flavor thing, but I wouldn’t go with a simple polymorphed dragon. What happens the first time someone casts dispel magic on you? Even if they don’t realize what they’re doing. I’d say work with the DM to make it some kind of homebrew curse or something, just to avoid that.
Also, it's a good idea not to come into the session as a level 1 PC with a level 20 backstory. This is the beginning of your journey! As fun as playing that kind of character is, a warped "main character" perception can create a toxic environment. Just giving you a heads up. Make sure to talk with your DM!
I like it as a flavor thing, but I wouldn’t go with a simple polymorphed dragon. What happens the first time someone casts dispel magic on you? Even if they don’t realize what they’re doing. I’d say work with the DM to make it some kind of homebrew curse or something, just to avoid that.
Polymorph has a 1 hour duration, so anything permanent must be something else. I'm pretty sure the term is just used as shorthand here.
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I like it as a flavor thing, but I wouldn’t go with a simple polymorphed dragon. What happens the first time someone casts dispel magic on you? Even if they don’t realize what they’re doing. I’d say work with the DM to make it some kind of homebrew curse or something, just to avoid that.
The way I see it, the bronze dragons shapeshift ability is an innate magical ability, not a cast spell, so it cannot be dispelled with dispel magic.
And if it was a curse cast by Bahamut himself or one of his ancient dragon lietentants, then it's quite likely they could have cast it at 9th level or at an untamperable godly level, so that way it would basically be impossible for anyone (outside of maybe an insanely powerful archmage, god or fiend) to undo without Bahamuts will
Also, it's a good idea not to come into the session as a level 1 PC with a level 20 backstory. This is the beginning of your journey! As fun as playing that kind of character is, a warped "main character" perception can create a toxic environment. Just giving you a heads up. Make sure to talk with your DM!
I like it as a flavor thing, but I wouldn’t go with a simple polymorphed dragon. What happens the first time someone casts dispel magic on you? Even if they don’t realize what they’re doing. I’d say work with the DM to make it some kind of homebrew curse or something, just to avoid that.
Polymorph has a 1 hour duration, so anything permanent must be something else. I'm pretty sure the term is just used as shorthand here.
Actually, true polymorph can become permanent if the caster concentrates on the spell for the entire 1 hour.
The background description in Hoard of the Dragon Queen says: "You were too proud and vain, to the point that Bahamut decided to teach you a leason. You have been trapped in a weak, humanoid body, with your memories of your former life but a dim shadow." So honestly it was probably either cast at a godly level by Bahamut (maybe with instantaneous effect) or it was simply a curse by him.
Not strictly related to this thread but I really liked in Dungeon of the Mad Mage how Umbraxakar the shadow dragon was a bronze dragon who had been corrupted and could be redeemed. (Fun fact: they changed her gender in 5e I just flipped thru the original 3e Expedition to Undermountain last week and back then Umbraxakar was a guy.)
I really don't see the point of this entire backstory, unless the player is trying to write in an advantage for his character down the line.
If he knows of his background, but can NEVER access any of those abilities, he would be considered insane.
If he knows of his background, but wants to access those abilities in the future, hard no, as players are NOT dragons.
If he does NOT know of his background, and will never access the abilities, then he is simply a human, and once again, why the backstory?
Enhances the RP even if it doesn’t give him any mechanical advantage. And players can be dragons if the DM allows it (I would at high levels).
The main reason being is that the DM's story is loosely based on RoT, or at least seems to have Tiamat as the main villain. By level 6, our party has already fought two chromatic dragons, one of our favourite NPC's (a child dragon sorceress) is being hunted left and right by minions of Tiamat, and the starting town we were in was half obliterated by a dragon while we were off adventuring. My last character died to a band of their cultists.
Having been a metallic dragon is a fantastic plot hook into getting my character to embrace the narrative, barelling head-first into quests to put their tyranny to an end.
Plus, who doesn't love dragons? When, and only when, my character hits level 20 or the campaign completely finishes, Bahamut may forgive my character and allow him to return to his original form as a reward for heroism.
It will not be achieved during the game unless the DM decides to allow me to, but I will not demand it.
The main reason being is that the DM's story is loosely based on RoT, or at least seems to have Tiamat as the main villain. By level 6, our party has already fought two chromatic dragons, one of our favourite NPC's (a child dragon sorceress) is being hunted left and right by minions of Tiamat, and the starting town we were in was half obliterated by a dragon while we were off adventuring. My last character died to a band of their cultists.
Having been a metallic dragon is a fantastic plot hook into getting my character to embrace the narrative, barelling head-first into quests to put their tyranny to an end.
Plus, who doesn't love dragons? ...
I think this is a great idea and would certainly allow it. Backstory that fits the plot and gives the character motive to support the party and more foreword with the story arc is a DM's dream come true. I spend hours developing plot hooks, links between encounters and specific NPCs in attempt to get these effects, with varying degrees of success.
Also, I completely endorse your point about dragons. I have always felt that the game needed more dragons -- especially dragons in roles other than that of a scary end-boss. I built the entire world of Drakamar around this. Of course, I also have included a few differences in the dragons of this world, a few new types of dragons and a whole history of their interactions with the main races (dwarves, elves, etc.) collectively called the free peoples; dragon deities, dragon heroes, dragon sages... and an ancient pact between the dragons and the free peoples that leads to my current campaign plot and story line.
If you can be a dragon, always be a dragon.
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Hi all!
So, I'm creating a new character at the moment, and taking inspiration from the polymorphed dragon character hook in Hoard of the Dragon Queen, I decided I'd really like to play a polymorphed bronze dragon since they are my favourite dragon type. I love their appearance and the idea of them swimming beneath the waves amongst vivid coral reefs and schools of fish, emerging from the waves to tear apart the hull of a pirate ship with claws and fangs, blasting them with lightning, all while having a noble and protective outlook on the world.
I'll probably make him a bronze dragonborn (using new UA dragonborn race rules) for his polymorphed humanoid form, but I'm unsure of how to proceed any further with the creation of the character and I'd really appreciate some suggestions if I may.
EDIT: Note that I do not intend to utilise the Monster Manual bronze dragon statblock in any way. Any stats or abilities my character will use will possess will come entirely from their class and race, and they will be created in the standard D&D character creation methods. I simply wish to emulate a bronze dragon that has, forcefully or by choice, been changed completely into a dragonborn until his adventuring career is complete, in a way that best imitates the theme and/or temperament of a bronze dragon.
The new Unearthed Arcana metallic dragonborn race now more closely resemble their full dragon counterparts, with either sleep or repelling breath weapons in addition to their elemental breath weapons, so that in itself is a good step forward.
Class
What class should a polymorphed bronze dragon be in humanoid form? I feel like they're less of a full-caster for sure, but more martial, and I did read somewhere that they prefer melee to ranged attacks.
Oath of the Ancients is an interesting option, but it has less lightning energy or draconic flavour than I'd like, and grasping vines, at first glance, definitely didn't seem fitting, unless he's summoning seaweed on dry land to ensnare them.
Oath of the Crown has been suggested to me by a friend, and I can see the divine allegiance being useful, but I'm not sure about it.
Eldritch Knight could work I suppose, especially if all I mainly use is chromatic orb lightning and thunderwave.
I'm also very interested in homebrew classes. I've particularly liked the Oath of the Dragon Lord, since at level 20 you can turn into an ancient dragon, though I really would appreciate being able to do this sooner, even if in a weaker dragon form.
I've also admired The Oath of Storms for it's tempestuous powers. (though I wish it had water breathing :( )
If you know of any stormy melee classes or, even better, a class where you can shapeshift into a dragon for a while, I would be most appreciative. I'm almost certainly overthinking this character creation, but I'd really love to get this character right!
Background.
Probably the easier section to work out. As I see it, I have two options:
Thanks so much if you read all that, I really appreciate it and would love some input if you have any to suggest! Have a great day!
(TL/DR: Bronze dragon polymorphed into a dragonborn to become an adventurer. Why and what class should they be?)
Are you saying that you want to play a Young Bronze Dragon, with all those abilities, PLUS have a normal stat bloc on top of that when Poly'ed into Humanoid form? There is no way as a DM I would allow anything like this. Have you checked with your DM, and the other players?
If you are indeed saying that you want the abilities of a Young Bronze, as a DM, that would be a hard "no".
It's important, as Vince said, you not mechanically actually be a dragon, so you need an IC excuse for the fact that for OOC reasons you will under no circumstances actually use a bronze dragon statblock. I recommend writing into your backstory both an explanation of how and ideally why you were locked into your current body shape and statistics (you may want to discuss with your DM replacing the dragonborn racials entirely with the half-dragon (bronze) template from the Monster Manual - they're like the UA dragonborn rules but far more draconic, imho). Both Bahamut and Tiamat are capable of doing this to you, depending on how you write the story (e.g. Bahamut might have done this as part of a rite of passage for you).
While any class can be fluffed to work, even an ancient bronze dragon has a very limited set of abilities:
So you'll probably want to avoid spellcasting, since they're not actually spellcasters. You can be a caster who basically never casts - there are many ways to build a paladin (with the oath of conquest, probably, so you can use dragonfear) who spends all their slots on smites, if you want the melee and the scariness. You can also be a moon druid to embrace the shapeshifting and mobility aspects, and spend all your slots healing yourself. The third option I see is playing a monk, for a different take on mobility and embracing the tooth and claw thing without druidic shapeshifting (several subclasses could easily be made to work, but astral self feels the most draconic, since it provides perception, scariness, and energy damage reduction). Telekinetic can easily be made to work with all three options. Note: You could also be a Beast Barbarian, which would let you swim and breathe water like a bronze, but this can't be made to work well with Telekinetic and doesn't match the vibe you're giving off.
Recap:
Storm Herald fits perfectly. Just because it’s not an optimised subclass (maybe, I personally don’t have a problem with it) it fits what you want to roleplay. Surely that’s the important thing.
SwiftSign is correct. If you like the Storm Herald, then by all means play the Storm Herald.
Unless your game is entirely min/max combat encounters, you won't disadvantage your party. There is so much more to a well run campaign then that. This is coming from someone who has both run and played since first edition (Yes, I know how old that makes me) and spent her favorite (to date) 5E campaign as the much maligned Beast Master Ranger.
Always, play what you love. You will often find unexpected benefits in surprising situations. Memorable moments for my beast master pirate include diving off the mast of an enemy ship after stealing their flag (and the commotion when we later tried to auction it off); my animal companion (hawk) diving into the face of a ranged attacker who was just about to finish me off; and gaining Land's Stride shortly before a crucial chase. (The NPC who was expected to escape wound up joining our crew mostly thanks to the fighter's interest in her)
One other thing you may want to do is talk to your DM and the other players about your ideas and any concerns you have. This can not only tell you what the DM allows in their campaign world, but can help you develop a story that fits and might even include connections to the others in your party.
Given what you have so far, you might also want to look at Tempest Cleric or the UA Monk, Way of the Ascendant Dragon.
Thanks for your reply Vince! I'm sorry, I should have elaborated better. I don't intend to use any statistics from the bronze dragon statblock.
I am aware that the amount of damage they deal is INSANE. Just the young bronze dragon alone deals a whopping 10d10 damage, which is so much more powerful than even than the fireball spell, and would be cast much more often.
What I meant was that, in his backstory, he WAS a bronze dragon, whether he was cast down by Bahamut or willing transformed his body, he now has the body of a weak and feeble mortal dragonborn, and possesses only the strengths of said race. That being said, with the new Dragonborn UA, the race closer resembles dragons now, with more uses of their breath and level scaling damage.
My question was mainly asking for suggestions on how to best emulate the powers of a shapeshifted bronze dragon using the classes, feats and mechanics of the PHB and further supplements.
I'm sorry for the misunderstanding 😄
This is fantastic advice, thank you Quindraco! I Ireally appreciate you summing up things so perfectly in a simple and undaunting way.
I was wondering if you had read the new and updated dragonborn races in the most recent Unearthed Arcana? It's very good stuff, creating a more noticable distinction between Chromatics, Metallics and Gem dragons.
In addition to this, it also gives Metallics a second type of breath weapon, and you can choose either sleep or repulsion breath, the latter of which is used by real bronze dragons. It creates a 15 ft. come of force that hurls opponents back 20 ft. if they fail a strength saving throw, and they are also knocked prone.
This is more than ideal for it honestly, and means I would no longer have to worry about investing in the telekinetic feat.
I think druid would certainly be interesting, I would love to have him be able to shapeshift into beasts like that, though considering a normal dragons high charisma, strength and constitution I'd been considering it a dump stat until now. That being said, maybe it's worth considering...
You're not wrong, thank you for the advice! Maybe I can request my DM to consider ever so slightly upping the damage of it's storm aura damage, or maybe rethink the attack requiring a bonus action to instead activate after a regular melee attack instead... 😄
Wonderful, thank you very much. You're right that, depending on the group, roleplay and having might be more important than being the most efficient killing machine ever
I'll definitely look into the Way of the Ascendant dragon too, thanks!
I like it as a flavor thing, but I wouldn’t go with a simple polymorphed dragon. What happens the first time someone casts dispel magic on you? Even if they don’t realize what they’re doing. I’d say work with the DM to make it some kind of homebrew curse or something, just to avoid that.
Also, it's a good idea not to come into the session as a level 1 PC with a level 20 backstory. This is the beginning of your journey! As fun as playing that kind of character is, a warped "main character" perception can create a toxic environment. Just giving you a heads up. Make sure to talk with your DM!
My only good homebrews: Races, Subclasses.
An aspiring DM and Homebrewer. Ask me if you need anything.
Polymorph has a 1 hour duration, so anything permanent must be something else. I'm pretty sure the term is just used as shorthand here.
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The way I see it, the bronze dragons shapeshift ability is an innate magical ability, not a cast spell, so it cannot be dispelled with dispel magic.
And if it was a curse cast by Bahamut himself or one of his ancient dragon lietentants, then it's quite likely they could have cast it at 9th level or at an untamperable godly level, so that way it would basically be impossible for anyone (outside of maybe an insanely powerful archmage, god or fiend) to undo without Bahamuts will
Gotcha, thanks for the advice! 🙂
Actually, true polymorph can become permanent if the caster concentrates on the spell for the entire 1 hour.
The background description in Hoard of the Dragon Queen says: "You were too proud and vain, to the point that Bahamut decided to teach you a leason. You have been trapped in a weak, humanoid body, with your memories of your former life but a dim shadow." So honestly it was probably either cast at a godly level by Bahamut (maybe with instantaneous effect) or it was simply a curse by him.
I really don't see the point of this entire backstory, unless the player is trying to write in an advantage for his character down the line.
If he knows of his background, but can NEVER access any of those abilities, he would be considered insane.
If he knows of his background, but wants to access those abilities in the future, hard no, as players are NOT dragons.
If he does NOT know of his background, and will never access the abilities, then he is simply a human, and once again, why the backstory?
Not strictly related to this thread but I really liked in Dungeon of the Mad Mage how Umbraxakar the shadow dragon was a bronze dragon who had been corrupted and could be redeemed. (Fun fact: they changed her gender in 5e I just flipped thru the original 3e Expedition to Undermountain last week and back then Umbraxakar was a guy.)
Enhances the RP even if it doesn’t give him any mechanical advantage. And players can be dragons if the DM allows it (I would at high levels).
The main reason being is that the DM's story is loosely based on RoT, or at least seems to have Tiamat as the main villain. By level 6, our party has already fought two chromatic dragons, one of our favourite NPC's (a child dragon sorceress) is being hunted left and right by minions of Tiamat, and the starting town we were in was half obliterated by a dragon while we were off adventuring. My last character died to a band of their cultists.
Having been a metallic dragon is a fantastic plot hook into getting my character to embrace the narrative, barelling head-first into quests to put their tyranny to an end.
Plus, who doesn't love dragons? When, and only when, my character hits level 20 or the campaign completely finishes, Bahamut may forgive my character and allow him to return to his original form as a reward for heroism.
It will not be achieved during the game unless the DM decides to allow me to, but I will not demand it.
I think this is a great idea and would certainly allow it. Backstory that fits the plot and gives the character motive to support the party and more foreword with the story arc is a DM's dream come true. I spend hours developing plot hooks, links between encounters and specific NPCs in attempt to get these effects, with varying degrees of success.
Also, I completely endorse your point about dragons. I have always felt that the game needed more dragons -- especially dragons in roles other than that of a scary end-boss. I built the entire world of Drakamar around this. Of course, I also have included a few differences in the dragons of this world, a few new types of dragons and a whole history of their interactions with the main races (dwarves, elves, etc.) collectively called the free peoples; dragon deities, dragon heroes, dragon sages... and an ancient pact between the dragons and the free peoples that leads to my current campaign plot and story line.
If you can be a dragon, always be a dragon.