Draconic Guide (5e Class)
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Ways Of The Dragons
You lead the path of The Dragons, learning the ways of the dragons. Upon the discovery of those paths, you must make a choice, will you become a Dragon of the North, a Dragon of the East, a Dragon of the West, a Dragon of the South or a Dragon of the Marsh? And will you fight like Steel or will you fight like a tornado of colors? Or maybe both? Whatever path you choose, you will find a Pseudodragon upon entering the path.
You are a guide for mortals toward the endless potential of dragons. By your position, many will venerate your very steps and try to replicate, while others will scorn you for the power they do not possess and try to guide you to your downfall, but do not waver as you are destined for greatness.
The Draconic guide is a warrior who uses the power of a dragon to accomplish great feats of physical, mental, spiritual and magical prowess. They obtain those powers through ingesting the purified blood of a dragon, the method of purifying the blood is only known to the ones who master all the basics which can be thought in the safety of those recluse monasteries, and by the modifications done to the practitioners by the headmasters. As a Draconic guide, you are trained in all forms of combat, have heightened senses and can use your willpower to cast small spells.
Creating a Draconic Guide
A Draconic Guide is a multifaceted class and has multiple ways to run with, as such you are the one to decide which one to focus on.
To quick build a draconic guide, make Wisdom your highest ability score followed by Dexterity then Constitution. It's recommended to take the Folk Hero, Outlander or Sage background.
Class Features
As a Draconic Guide you gain the following class features.
- Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per Draconic Guide level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per Draconic Guide level after 1st
- Proficiencies
Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons, Martial weapons
Tools: Choose one artisan tool.
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Wisdom
Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Perception
- Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a shortsword or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- an alchemist's fire and a bottle of Purified Dragon blood
- A gift from the dragon that raised and taught you (trinket of choice)
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
Martial Arts | Ki Points | Unarmored Movement | Features | Cantrips |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | 1d4 | — | — | Arts of the dragons, Martial Arts, Unarmored Defense, Ki, Cantrips | 3 |
| 2nd | +2 | 1d4 | 2 | +10 ft. | Unarmored Movement | 3 |
| 3rd | +2 | 1d4 | 3 | +10 ft. | Dragon soul | 4 |
| 4th | +2 | 1d4 | 4 | +10 ft. | Ability Score Improvement | 4 |
| 5th | +3 | 1d6 | 5 | +10 ft. | Extra Attack | 5 |
| 6th | +3 | 1d6 | 6 | +15 ft. | Ki-Empowered Strikes, Dragon soul, Draconic Breath | 5 |
| 7th | +3 | 1d6 | 7 | +15 ft. | Evasion, Stillness of Mind | 6 |
| 8th | +3 | 1d6 | 8 | +15 ft. | Ability Score Improvement | 6 |
| 9th | +4 | 1d6 | 9 | +15 ft. | Unarmored Movement improvement, Dragon soul | 7 |
| 10th | +4 | 1d6 | 10 | +20 ft. | Purity of body, Elemental Strike | 7 |
| 11th | +4 | 1d8 | 11 | +20 ft. | Spiritual Dragon | 8 |
| 12th | +4 | 1d8 | 12 | +20 ft. | Ability Score Improvement, Dragon soul, Shadow Dragon | 8 |
| 13th | +5 | 1d8 | 13 | +20 ft. | Extra Attack(2), Draconic Breath | 9 |
| 14th | +5 | 1d8 | 14 | +25 ft. | Diamond Soul | 9 |
| 15th | +5 | 1d8 | 15 | +25 ft. | Timeless Body, Dragon soul | 10 |
| 16th | +5 | 1d8 | 16 | +25 ft. | Ability Score Improvement, Dragon Wings | 10 |
| 17th | +6 | 1d10 | 17 | +25 ft. | Dragon's Body, Mind and Soul | 11 |
| 18th | +6 | 1d10 | 18 | +30 ft. | Dragon soul, Draconic Breath | 11 |
| 19th | +6 | 1d10 | 19 | +30 ft. | Ability Score Improvement | 12 |
| 20th | +6 | 1d10 | 20 | +30 ft. | Ethereal Dragon | 12 |
Unarmored Defense
Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.
Martial Arts
At 1st level, your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are shortswords and any simple melee weapons that don't have the two-handed or heavy property.
You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only monk weapons and you aren't wearing armor or wielding a shield:
- You can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk weapons.
- You can roll a d4 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike or monk weapon. This die changes as you gain monk levels, as shown in the Martial Arts column of the Monk table.
- When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a quarterstaff, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you haven't already taken a bonus action this turn.
Certain monasteries use specialized forms of the monk weapons. For example, you might use a club that is two lengths of wood connected by a short chain (called a nunchaku) or a sickle with a shorter, straighter blade (called a kama). Whatever name you use for a monk weapon, you can use the game statistics provided for the weapon.
Ki
Starting at 1st level, your training allows you to harness the mystic energy of ki. Your access to this energy is represented by a number of ki points. Your monk level determines the number of points you have, as shown in the Ki Points column of the Monk table.
You can spend these points to fuel various ki features. You start knowing three such features: Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind. You learn more ki features as you gain levels in this class.
When you spend a ki point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you draw all of your expended ki back into yourself. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain your ki points.
Some of your ki features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature's effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows:
Ki save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier
- Flurry of Blows
Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
- Patient Defense
You can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.
- Step of the Wind
You can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.
Unarmored Movement
Starting at 2nd level, your speed increases by 10 feet while you are not wearing armor or wielding a shield. This bonus increases when you reach certain monk levels, as shown in the Monk table.
At 9th level, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move.
Ability Score Increase
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Ki-Empowered Strikes
Starting at 6th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Evasion
At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon's lightning breath or a fireball spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.
Stillness of Mind
Starting at 7th level, you can use your action to end one effect on yourself that is causing you to be charmed or frightened.
Purity of Body
At 10th level, your mastery of the ki flowing through you makes you immune to disease and poison.
Elemental Strike
At 10th level, your draconic guidance manifest itself more potently in your attacks. Your unarmed attacks are imbued with the magical energy of the element of your dragon path.
Your attacks do an additional 1d6 damage of the elemental type.
Before your attack, you may spend a ki point to add the following effect: The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw at the beginning of its next turn. On a failed save, it feels the effects of the element chosen (See effects below).
- Fire
The target is set alight and burns for an additional 1D6 fire damage at the beginning of each of its turns unless the fire is put out.
- Cold
The target's movements speed is reduced by half for their next turn and its place in the initiative queue is set to last.
- Lightning
The target is stunned and can not move or make attack actions on their next turn.
- Thunder
The target is disorientated, their next attack action has disadvantage and all ability checks have disadvantage until the end of their next turn.
Diamond Soul
Beginning at 14th level, your mastery of ki grants you proficiency in all saving throws.
Additionally, whenever you make a saving throw and fail, you can spend 1 ki point to reroll it and take the second result.
Timeless Body
At 15th level, your ki sustains you so that you suffer none of the frailty of old age, and you can't be aged magically. You can still die of old age, however. In addition, you no longer need food or water.
Arts of the dragons
When you follow the Ways of the Dragons at level 1, you assume minor draconic features, such as reptilian eyes and scales, while doubling your Constitution modifier when gaining more hit points. These become more prominent as you follow deeper into the path. You choose a way of a Dragon to attune your skills too (see table below). By choosing a way you gain resistance to the damage type associated with the way, additionally, when you hit with a martial arts attack you may spend 1 ki point to add additional damage of your dragon type to any martial arts attack. Use your martial arts die to determine the extra damage dealt, this lasts for one minute. You also gain the knowledge on how to read, write and speak Draconic. You can also use 1 ki point to be gifted Darkvision up to a range of 60ft for up to 1d6 hours.
| Dragon type | Damage Type |
|---|---|
| North | Cold |
| East | Lightning |
| West | Acid |
| South | Fire |
| Marsh | Poison |
Dragon soul
When you follow the Ways of the Dragons at level 3, you choose the ways your draconic soul manifest. At level 3, you have 4 points to spend and you get 3 more points every 3 levels (Level 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18).
| Cost | Name |
|---|---|
| 0 | Dragon adaptation |
| 1 | Rage |
| 1 | Unarmored Dragon |
| 1 | Reckless Attack |
| 1 | Dragon Sense |
| 2 | Dragon spells |
| 2 | Dragon resilience |
| 2 | Dragon Metamagic |
| 2 | Dragon Roar |
| 3 | Fighting Style |
| 3 | Feats |
| 3 | Extra attack |
| 4 | Perfect Dragon |
| 5 | Bahamut Will |
| 5 | Tiamat Wrath |
Dragon adaptation
Costs 0 only if you have a natural weapon that would replace your unarmed strikes, otherwise cost is 1.
You've trained to become more deadly with your claws, increasing by one size the die of your unarmed strikes. (d4 become d6, d6 become d8, etc)
Rage
You've trained to control the wrath of a red dragon, gaining the trait Rage from the barbarian class. It is exactly the same except it depends on your monk level instead of barbarian level.
Unarmored Dragon
You've gained the armor of a dragon, you add the Constitution modifier to your AC if you don't wear armor, nor do you use a shield.
Reckless Attack
You've trained to control the wrath of a red dragon. when you make your first attack on your turn, you can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives you advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against you have advantage until your next turn.
Dragon Sense
You've trained to master your own senses, gaining blindsight up to 60ft.
Dragon spells
You've trained to master your Ki to reproduce the innate magical ability of a Dragon. You are now a half spellcaster, your casting ability is Wisdom, and you take your spells from the Sorcerer spell list. You can use your ki points as sorcery points whenever you want and you gain the Font of magic of the Sorcerer class.
Dragon resilience
You've trained to resist various effects, gaining proficiency in a saving throw.
Dragon Metamagic
You've trained to gain mastery of the magic of dragons, gaining a Metamagic from the Sorcerer class
Dragon Roar
You make a Battle cry, all creature within 30ft of you must succeed a Charisma saving throw against your Ki save DC or be frightened.
Fighting Style
You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if later you get to choose again.
Archery
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.
Challenger
When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, you can reroll and must keep the result, even if it is a 1 too.
Hand-to-Hand Defense
While you're not wearing armor you gain a +1 to AC.
Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
Great Weapon Fighting
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2.
Polearm Expertise
While you are wielding a melee weapon with the reach property you gain a +2 to attack rolls.
Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Protection
When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to add half of your Dexterity modifier to the creature AC. If your bonus prevents the creature from taking damage, the creature that attacks can make an attack against you with disadvantage.
Feats
You take a feat of your choice.
Extra attack
You've trained to push you offensive to the next level, gaining an extra attack. You can only pick this once.
Perfect Dragon
You've focused your training in one aspect of a dragon pushing your limit. You add +2 on two ability scores to a max of 24.
Bahamut Will
You've entered the domain of Bahamut and achieved what only a few True dragons were able. As a bonus action for 1 minute, you gain advantage on all saving throws, you get a + 2 to your AC and to all your allies within 10ft of you and ranged attack against those who are within 5ft of you are made at a disadvantage.
Tiamat Wrath
You've entered the domain of Tiamat and trained in endless aggression, now your's dwarves Tiamat's Wrath. As a bonus action for 1 minute, you gain advantage in all types of attacks, you gain another action and bonus action and your unarmed strikes and breath attacks deal twice the damage.
Draconic Breath
At level 6, you gain a breath weapon, which varies based on your chosen dragon type. As an action, you may spend 3 ki points to deals 4d6 of the given damage. At level 13, this increases to 6d8. At level 18, this increases to 8d10. Targets make a saving throw against your breath weapon, and take full damage on a failed save, and half damage on a successful one. This saving throw is made against your ki save DC. If you have a natural breath weapon, (such as in dragonborns) all breath weapon features allow you to increase the size die by 1 (d6 -> d8, etc.), as long as they are of the same type.
| Color | Range and Save | Damage Type |
|---|---|---|
| Black/Copper | 5'x30' line (Dex) | Acid |
| Blue/Bronze | 5'x30' line (Dex) | Lightning |
| Brass | 5'x30' line (Dex) | Fire |
| Gold/Red | 15' cone (Dex) | Fire |
| Green | 15' cone (Con) | Poison |
| Silver/White | 15' cone (Con) | Cold |
Spiritual Dragon
At level 11, you are able to manifest your dragon soul onto your body a number of times equal to 1 + Wisdom modifier per day, to a minimum of 1, for 1 minute. When doing so, you gain + 2 to your AC, you can add your Wisdom modifier to all your attack rolls and Charisma skill checks with non-dragons and you get a flying speed equal to your walking speed (if you already have a flying speed, your flying speed is your walking speed plus your normal flying speed).
Shadow Dragon
At level 12, you are able to perfectly control your draconic aura, giving you proficiency in stealth (or expertise if already proficient) and advantage on all checks and skills made with Charisma.
Dragon Wings
At 16th level, you gain the ability to sprout a pair of dragon wings from your back using your parents' element, gaining a 40-foot flying speed + Unarmored Movement Bonus. You can create these wings as a bonus action on your turn. They last until you dismiss them as a bonus action on your turn. You can't manifest your wings while wearing armor unless the armor is made to accommodate them, and clothing not made to accommodate your wings might be destroyed when you manifest them.
Dragon's Body, Mind and Soul
At 17th level your dragon spirit has become intertwined with your fighting soul. When your hp drops to or below zero, instead of falling unconscious, you can choose to drop to 1 hp. You need to finish a short rest before you can use this feature again.
Ethereal Dragon
At level 20, your soul is indistinguishable from one of a true dragon, and therefore all dragons see you and treat you as an adult dragon. Wyrmling dragons will see you with awe and respect and could even ask for your advice. Now, when in Spiritual Dragon, as a reaction, you can manifest your true dragon soul for a round, becoming immune to your damage type and resistant to all damage type except for psychic,and magical attacks have no effect on you. You may use this a number of times equal to half your Wisdom modifier per day. Also, when in Spiritual Dragon, you can now add your Wisdom modifier to all of your Charisma skill checks and persists for 1d4 hours. Your flying speed is increased by 20ft and your unarmed strikes deal an extra 1d6 psychic damage.
Multiclassing
Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the draconic guide class, you must meet these prerequisites:
Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the draconic guide class, you gain the following proficiencies:
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