While different in personality and fighting styles, dragon knights, are champions who fights alongside a dragon companion. Tough, relentless and unyielding, dragon knights and their dragons never give up, fighting to either heroic or devious ends.

Hatchling bond

Beginning when you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain the service of a dragon hatchling, considered as a small creature until level 7. The dragon's color is the chosen covenant color. You also learn to speak draconic.

As an action, you can use the prestidigitation cantrip to create small sensory effects relating to your dragons type

If you are ever slain (in battle or otherwise), your dragon will also die after a number of hours equal to your dragon knight level, during which it will attempt to do everything in its power to return you to life.

If your dragon companion is ever slain, the magical bond you share allows you to return it to life. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 50 gp worth of precious gems per your dragon knight level, you can call forth your companion's spirit and use your magic to create a new body for it. You can return a dragon companion to life in this manner even if you do not possess any part of its body.

Returning your dragon to life is a grueling process, and you must expend some of your own life force to compel the dragon back to life. You can choose to expend any number of hit dice when you finish the ritual. Make a Charisma check, with the DC being equal to 15 minus the number of hit dice you expended. This DC cannot be lowered below 5 in this way.

On a failed ability check, the dragon is restored to life, but you aren't able to regain any of the hit dice you expended for the ritual until 7 days have passed. Additionally, you and your dragon both suffer three points of exhaustion. On a successful ability check, the dragon is restored to life, and you can regain the spent hit dice as normal. 

Also at the 3rd level, your dragon companion gains a variety of benefits while you two are together.

The dragon obeys your commands as best it can. It rolls initiative like any other creature, but you determine its actions, decisions, attitudes, and so on (no action required by you). When you and your dragon roll initiative, your dragon can change initiative to match your own. If you are incapacitated or absent, your dragon acts on its own.

You can activate positive effects targeted at you to your dragon (ie. Fighter abilities, Healing spells, Buffs) and vice versa

Because of its youth, it has yet to master flying, and as such, falls if it ends its turn in the air. Additionally, it can't fly with a creature it has grappled or be used as a mount until you reach 7th level, at which point it is strong enough to properly trained to support other creatures.

While not wearing armor your dragon's AC is 10 + its CON mod + your proficiency bonus

For every Fighter level you take your Dragon gains a 1d10 hit dice + its con. When reduced to 0hp it makes death saving throws as a player would. 

Your dragon has proficiencies in perception, survival, athletics, and acrobatics and shares any saving throw proficiencies you have

In addition, the dragon cannot have its size increased beyond large (but would still gain the extra benefits of the enlarge/reduce spell, for example). The dragon's level is equal to your dragon knight level for the purpose of calculating spells like polymorph and true polymorph.

Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your dragon's abilities also improve. Your dragon can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your dragon can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Your dragon shares your alignment and has a personality trait and a flaw that you select. Your dragon shares your ideal, and its bond is always "I will protect my knight; I will do the best I can for my knight; I will die for my knight."

The Initial stats of the hatchling are STR: 14 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 12 WIS: 12 CHA: 12 with 3d10 hit dice. You can remove stats from one stat and move them to another but no stat may go below 8 or above 18

Initial Fly speed of 30ft all others are 20ft

Attacks: 

Claw Attack

Your dragon swipes with its claws. +(strength mod + prof bonus) to hit 1d4 + str mod slashing this increases to 3d4 at 7th level, and 6d4 at 15th level.

Wyrmling Advancement

At 7th level, your dragon companion continues to grow, and gains the following benefits:

• Its claw attacks deal an additional 1d4 slashing damage.
• Its flying speed increases by 15 feet, and it’s other speeds increase by 5 feet.
• The dragon's wings are stronger, and it no longer falls to the ground if it ends its turn in the air. and can support up to a medium creature
• Breath weapon now available
• Dragons attacks are now magical for overcoming resistances and immunities
• Size is now medium

Youngling Advancement

At 10th level, your dragon companion still grows, and gains the additional following benefits:

• The dragon's size is now large.
• Its flying speed increases by 15 feet, and it’s other speeds increase by 5 feet.
• As long as your dragon can see you, it has advantage on all saving throws.
• If it moves straight up out of creatures reach It no longer takes opportunity attacks

Additionally, you gain resistance to the damage type appropriate to your dragon and age 1 year for every 10 that pass you no longer can be magically aged,  Also choose one of the following benefits:

Claw

You gain a claw

Eyes

You gain Draconic looking eyes giving your eyesight a boost

Scales

You gain protective scales

Tail

You grow a large sinewy tail

Titanic Growth

At 15th level, your dragon companion grows even larger, and gains the additional following benefits:

• Its flying speed increases by 20 feet, and it’s other speeds increase by 10 feet.
• It gains the Trembling Roar ability
• It gains 2 legendary actions per turn and 3 legendary actions

Trembling Roar

Your dragon can let loose a vicious roar, filling nearby creatures with dread.

As an action on its turn, your dragon can roar. Any number of creatures of its choice within 20 feet of the dragon must make a Wisdom saving throw against the dragon's breath weapon DC. On a failed save, creatures are frightened by the dragon for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of their turn, ending the effect on a success.

Once your dragon has used this ability, it cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Legendary Actions

The dragon can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The dragon regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

Detect. The dragon makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.

Tail Attack. The dragon makes a tail attack.

Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions). Takes a Wing attack

 

Essence of the Covenant

At 18th level, the bond between knight and dragon grows so close that you can take damage for the sake of each other. As long as you and your dragon are within 30 feet of each other you and your dragon can take damage directed at the other. When either you or your dragon start their turn while the other is at 0 hp whichever one is conscious can donate hp from their own health pool to revive the other.

You now Auto succeed the ritual to bring your dragon back.

You and your dragon now share a legendary resistance