Talon of Tiamat

Table 3–11: The Platinum Knight

Class Base Fort Ref Will Level Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special Spellcasting

1st +1 +2 +0 +2 Smite evil dragon 1/day, — immune to frightful presence 2nd +2 +3 +0 +3 — +1 level of existing class 3rd +3 +3 +1 +3 Platinum scales +1 — 4th +4 +4 +1 +4 Smite evil dragon 2/day +1 level of existing class 5th +5 +4 +1 +4 Bahamut’s grace — 6th +6 +5 +2 +5 — +1 level of existing class 7th +7 +5 +2 +5 Platinum scales +2, — smite evil dragon 3/day 8th +8 +6 +2 +6 +1 level of existing class 9th +9 +6 +3 +6 Charisma increase — 10th +10 +7 +3 +7 Smite evil dragon 4/day, true seeing +1 level of existing class

purpose of being immune to the frightful presence of dragons and similar creatures.

Spellcasting: When an even-numbered platinum knight level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of controlling or rebuking undead, metamagic or item creation feats, and so on). This essentially means that he adds 1/2 his platinum knight level to the level of some other spellcasting class he has, then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly.

If a character takes two or more levels in this class before having any levels in a spellcasting class, he does not receive this spellcasting benefit. If he thereafter takes levels in one or more spellcasting classes, he becomes eligible to receive the spellcasting benefit for any level in the platinum knight class that he has not already attained. For example, a 6thlevel fighter/2nd-level platinum knight does not receive the spellcasting benefit for being a 2nd-level platinum knight because he did not belong to a spellcasting class before taking 2nd level in the prestige class. If he then picks up one or more levels of wizard before advancing to 4th level in the platinum knight class, he receives the spellcasting benefit of a 4th-level platinum knight (when he attains that level) but does not receive the 2nd-level benefit retroactively.

Platinum Scales (Ex): At 3rd level, a platinum knight’s skin takes on a slightly metallic sheen. He gains a +1 increase to his natural armor bonus. At 7th level, this increase improves to +2.

Bahamut’s Grace (Su): A 5th-level platinum knight adds his Charisma modifier (if positive) as a bonus on all saving throws against the attacks, special abilities, and spells cast by evil dragons. This effect stacks with the divine grace class feature of paladins and similar abilities.

Charisma Bonus (Ex): At 9th level, a platinum knight’s Charisma increases by 2 points.

True Seeing (Su): At 10th level, a platinum knight gains the ability to see all things as they actually are. This ability is the equivalent of the true seeing spell and lasts for 1 hour. A platinum knight may use true seeing once per day. TALON OF TIAMAT

The talon of Tiamat furthers the goals of evil dragonkind. He takes particular delight in causing harm to metallic dragons and their allies.

The talons of Tiamat welcome characters from any class or background, as long as they share a dedication to evil. Former fighters and barbarians rub shoulders with those who practice sorcery or divine magic. Even ex-paladins can find a home among the talons.

Talons of Tiamat may work individually or in groups, as befits their plans. They work well with evil characters of any stripe, and ally with evil dragons when possible.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become a talon of Tiamat, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Alignment: Any evil.

Base Attack Bonus: +4.

Feats: Dragonthrall.

Skills: Bluff 4 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks.

Languages: Draconic.

Class Skills

The talon of Tiamat’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). See Chapter 4: Skills in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the talon of Tiamat prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A talon of Tiamat is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor, and with shields.

Breath Weapon (Su): At 1st level, a talon of Tiamat gains the ability to breathe out a cone of frost (size of the cone corresponds to the size of the character) that deals 3d6 points of cold damage.

As the talon gains levels, additional versions of his breath weapon become available to him. At 3rd level, the talon can breathe a line of acid (8d4 acid damage). At 5th level, he can breathe a cone of corrosive gas (10d6 acid damage). At 7th level, he can expel a line of lightning (12d8 electricity damage). At 9th level, he can breathe a cone of fire (14d8 fire damage).

In each case, a successful Reflex save halves the damage dealt. The DC for saves against the talon’s breath weapon is 10 + talon class level + Con modifier. A talon of Tiamat can use each of his breath weapons once per day. Once a talon uses any of his breath weapons, he can’t use any other breath weapon until 1d4 rounds have passed.

Spellcasting: When an even-numbered talon of Tiamat level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of controlling or rebuking undead, metamagic or item creation feats, and so on). This essentially means that he adds 1/2 his talon of Tiamat level to the level of some other spellcasting class he has, then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly.

If a character takes two or more levels in this class before having any levels in a spellcasting class, he does not receive this spellcasting benefit. If he thereafter takes levels in one or more spellcasting classes, he becomes eligible to receive the spellcasting benefit for any level in the talon of Tiamat class that he has not already attained. For example, a 7th-level fighter/2nd-level talon of Tiamat does not receive the spellcasting benefit for being a 2nd-level talon of Tiamat because he did not belong to a spellcasting class before taking 2nd

level in the prestige class. If he then picks up one or more levels of wizard before advancing to 4th level in the talon of Tiamat class, he receives the spellcasting benefit of a 4th-level talon of Tiamat (when he attains that level) but does not receive the 2nd-level benefit retroactively. Voice of the Dragon (Ex): At 2nd level, a talon of Tiamat gains a +2 bonus on Bluff and Intimidate checks. This bonus increases by +2 every four levels thereafter, to +4 at 6th level and +6 at 10th level. Keen Senses (Ex): A talon of Tiamat gains low-light vision at 4th level. He gains darkvision out to 60 feet at 8th level. Immunities (Ex): At 6th level, a talon of Tiamat gains immunity to magic sleep and paralysis effects. In addition, he gains immunity to one of the following forms of energy, at his option: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. Once an energy immunity is selected, the decision may never be changed. Frightful Presence (Ex): An 8th-level talon of Tiamat can unsettle foes with his mere presence. The talon of Tiamat can activate his frightful presence as a free action. Creatures within a radius of 30 feet per point of Charisma modifier (minimum 30 feet) are subject to the effect if they have fewer Hit Dice than the talon of Tiamat (dragons are immune to the effect). A potentially affected creature that succeeds A talon of Tiamat on a Will save (DC 10 + talon’s class level + talon’s Cha modifier) remains immune to that talon’s frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or fewer HD become panicked for 2d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 2d6 rounds. Dominate Dragon (Su): A 10th-level talon of Tiamat can attempt to dominate any dragon (as dominate monster, but it only applies to dragons) once per day. The target may attempt a Will save to negate the effect (DC 10 + talon’s class level + talon’s Cha modifier).

Table 3–12: The Talon of Tiamat

Class Base Fort Ref Will Level Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special Spellcasting

1st +0 +2 +0 +0 Breath weapon (cone of cold) — 2nd +1 +3 +0 +0 Voice of the dragon +2 +1 level of existing class 3rd +2 +3 +1 +1 Breath weapon (line of acid) — 4th +3 +4 +1 +1 Keen senses +1 level of existing class 5th +3 +4 +1 +1 Breath weapon (cone of corrosive gas) — 6th +4 +5 +2 +2 Immunities, voice of the dragon +4 +1 level of existing class 7th +5 +5 +2 +2 Breath weapon (line of lightning) — 8th +6 +6 +2 +2 Keen senses, frightful presence +1 level of existing class 9th +6 +6 +3 +3 Breath weapon (cone of fire) — 10th +7 +7 +3 +3 Dominate dragon, voice of the dragon +6 +1 level of existing class