CHAPTER 2:
A DM’S GUIDE TO DRAGONS
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(acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic) that it is not already immune or resistant to. The gold hidecarved dragon example, at 12th level, would have immunity to fire (naturally), electricity (since 6th level), and acid. It would have resistance to sonic 20 and cold 10. Overcome Weakness: At 7th level, a hidecarved dragon gains Overcome Weakness (see page 72) as a bonus feat. Death Ward (Sp): At 7th level, a hidecarved dragon gains the ability to use death ward on itself once per day as a cleric of its class level. Wholeness of Body (Su): At 9th level, a hidecarved dragon can cure its own wounds. It can cure up to three times its class level in hit points each day and can spread this healing out among several uses. Poison Immunity (Ex): At 10th level, a hidecarved dragon gains immunity to poison of all kinds. Superior Damage Reduction (Su): At 11th level, a hidecarved dragon’s damage reduction can be overcome only by epic chaotic weapons. For example, a mature adult blue dragon/11th-level hidecarved dragon has damage reduction 15/epic and chaotic.
SACRED WARDER OF BAHAMUT Among dragon clerics of Bahamut, some are moved primarily by compassion for those who suffer from the depredations of evil dragons. These clerics adopt the sacred warder of Bahamut prestige class, shaping their identities around the idea of protecting those who cannot hope to protect themselves from the awesome power of Tiamat’s brood. Sacred warders of Bahamut are usually gold or silver dragons with some levels in the cleric class. Good half-dragons are surprisingly common among the ranks of the sacred warders, and they find more acceptance there than in most other dragon groups and organizations. Sacred warders often possess some levels of paladin as well as cleric; other classes are rare. Sacred warders can be found anywhere evil dragons threaten other creatures. Their usually lawful alignment inclines them to cooperate with other creatures. They sometimes operate in pairs, but more often work with groups of humanoids or other creatures drawn from the communities they try to protect. Hit Die: d10.
Requirements To qualify to become a sacred warder of Bahamut, a dragon must fulfill all the following criteria. Race: Any dragon. Alignment: Lawful good or neutral good. Base Attack Bonus: +15. Feats: Endure Blows, Power Attack. Spells: Able to cast divine spells. Domain: Protection. Special: Damage reduction 5/magic. Class Skills The sacred warder’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (religion) (Int), and Sense Motive (Wis). See Chapter 4: Skills in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions. Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier. Class Features The following are class features of the sacred warder of Bahamut prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A sacred warder gains no proficiency with any weapons, armor, or shields. Divine Conversion: At 1st level, a sacred warder loses any effective sorcerer level it had previously gained by virtue of its age and draconic variety. Its effective divine spellcasting level increases by the number of sorcerer levels it sacrificed, allowing the dragon to cast cleric spells much more effectively. These effective levels apply only to the dragon’s spellcasting, not to other class abilities (such as turning undead or wild shape). For example, a very old gold dragon/1st-level cleric adopts the sacred warder of Bahamut prestige class. Its sorcerer caster level of 13th converts into thirteen effective cleric levels, giving the dragon the spellcasting ability of a 14th-level cleric. Smite Evil Dragons (Su): Once per day, a sacred warder of Bahamut of at least 2nd level may attempt to smite an evil dragon with one normal melee attack. It adds its Charisma bonus to its attack roll and deals 1 extra point of damage per class level. If the sacred warder accidentally smites a dragon that is not evil, or a creature that is not a dragon, the smite
Table 2–10: The Sacred Warder of Bahamut Class Level 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th
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Base Attack Bonus +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10 +11 +12
Fort Save +2 +3 +3 +4 +4 +5 +5 +6 +6 +7 +7 +8
Ref Save +0 +0 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +4
Will Save +2 +3 +3 +4 +4 +5 +5 +6 +6 +7 +7 +8
Special Divine conversion Smite evil dragons 1/day Aura of courage — — Smite evil dragons 2/day Sacred shield — — Smite evil dragons 3/day — Area sacred shield
Spellcasting — +1 level of existing class +1 level of existing class +1 level of existing class +1 level of existing class +1 level of existing class +1 level of existing class +1 level of existing class +1 level of existing class +1 level of existing class +1 level of existing class +1 level of existing class
