Tonopara (3.5e Class)

Tonopara

Special warriors infused with magical powers and ritually bonded to a dragon. Inspired to be heavy hitters in a party (for a 5e converted to 3.5e Rise of Tiamat campaign) that can withstand large scale draconic encounters.

Making a Tonopara

A Tonopara excels at the front lines of combat along with other melee focused classes, fighting with both steel and tooth and claw. If required, they can slip away to cast a spell while their draconic mount continues the assault. Despite not having the spell selection of a Wizard or even Sorcerer a Tonopara can still fill the need for a spellcaster both in and out of combat. Outside of combat they make excellent scholars, messengers, and scouts, although it can be extremely difficult for them to hide the large and reflective scales of their mounts. These draconic guardians serve as warriors, mages, scholars, diplomats, and even teachers to the surrounding countryside and ally nations.

Abilities: Tending to be on the front lines of war with other melee-oriented classes, Strength is a key attribute for a Tonopara. Constitution is important as it not only provides increased health but also increases the difficulty class save for their breath weapons. Wisdom determines how powerful a spell a Tonopara can cast, how many spells they can cast per day, and how hard those spells are to resist.

Races: Any race may undergo the extensive training, education, and ritual to become a Tonopara.

Alignment: Since the Tonopara originate through a ritual bonding of draconic souls through the god Bahamut, those who undergo the intense training and ritual generally end up sharing the deity's Lawful Good alignment. They tend to be highly individualist and can be any alignment; however, should a Tonopara fall to Evil ways, they risk the combined assault of the rest of their guild.

Starting Gold: 6d4×10 gp (150 gp).

Starting Age: As Monk (see Table 6-4: Random Starting Ages, page 109 of the Player's Handbook)

Table: The Tonopara

Hit Die: d10

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Breath Weapon	Natural Armor	Spells per Day
		Fort	Ref	Will				0	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+0	+2	+0	+2	Draconic Ritual Bond, Draconic Breath Weapon, Draconic Language	1d6	+0	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+3	Dragon Riding, Draconic Senses (Eyes)	1d6	+0	4	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+2	+3	+1	+3	Energy Resistance, Scales, Draconic Skills	2d6	+1	5	4	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Magic Attunement (Light), Flyby Attack, Immunity to Fear	2d6	+1	6	5	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Draconic Ritual Aging, 1st Draconic Ability, Bonus Feat, Hover	3d6	+1	6	5	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+4	+5	+2	+5	Draconic Senses (Blindsight), Improved Breath Weapon, Bonus Metabreath Feat	3d6	+1	6	6	3	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+5	+5	+2	+5	Magic Attunement (Medium), Synchronicity	4d6	+1	6	6	5	2	0	—	—	—	—	—
8th	+6/+1	+6	+2	+6	Improved Dragon Riding, Mounted Spellcasting, Spell Resistance	4d6	+2	6	7	6	3	1	—	—	—	—	—
9th	+6/+1	+6	+3	+6	Improved Breath Range, Elemental Control	5d6	+2	6	7	6	5	2	0	—	—	—	—
10th	+7/+2	+7	+3	+7	Draconic Ritual Aging, 2nd Draconic Ability, Bonus Feat	5d6	+2	6	8	7	6	3	1	—	—	—	—
11th	+8/+3	+7	+3	+7	Magic Attunement (Heavy), Immunity to Fear (Permanent)	6d6	+2	6	8	7	6	5	2	0	—	—	—
12th	+9/+4	+8	+4	+8	Improved Draconic Senses, Bonus Metabreath Feat	6d6	+2	6	8	8	7	6	3	1	—	—	—
13th	+9/+4	+8	+4	+8	Elemental Control (Full Attack)	7d6	+3	6	9	8	7	6	5	2	0	—	—
14th	+10/+5	+9	+4	+9	Wingover, United We Stand	7d6	+3	6	9	8	8	7	6	3	1	—	—
15th	+11/+6/+1	+9	+5	+9	Draconic Ritual Aging, 3rd Draconic Ability, Bonus Feat	8d6	+3	6	9	8	8	7	6	5	2	0	—
16th	+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+10	Superior Breath Range, Energy Immunity	8d6	+3	6	9	9	8	8	7	6	3	1	—
17th	+12/+7//+2	+10	+5	+10	Timeless Body	9d6	+3	6	10	9	9	8	7	6	5	2	0
18th	+13/+8/+3	+11	+6	+11	Bonus Metabreath Feat	9d6	+4	6	10	9	9	9	8	7	6	3	1
19th	+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+11	-	10d6	+4	6	10	10	9	9	8	7	6	5	2
20th	+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+12	Draconic Ritual Aging, Bonus Feat, Soul Bond	10d6	+4	6	10	10	10	9	9	8	7	6	3
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Craft (Wis), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (The Planes) (Int), Knowledge (Nobility) (Int), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Tonopara.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Tonopara are proficient with the lance, longspear, longbow, shortbow, all simple weapons, and one martial weapon of their choice. The choice of proficient martial weapon is chosen when the first level of Tonopara is taken and cannot be changed at a later time. They are proficient with light and medium armor and shields (except tower shields).

Spells: A Tonopara casts arcane spells (the same type of spells available to bards, sorcerers, and wizards), which are drawn primarily from the sorcerer/wizard spell list (page 192). They can cast any spell they know without preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or cleric must (see below).

To learn or cast a spell, a Tonopara must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level (Wis 10 for 0-level spells, Wis 11 for 1st-level spells, and so forth). The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Tonopara's spell is 10 + the spell level + the Tonopara's Wisdom modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a Tonopara can only cast a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Their base daily spell allotment is given on the table above. In addition, they receive bonus spells per day if they have a high Wisdom score (see Table 1-1: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells, page 8). When the table indicates that the Tonopara gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, they gain only the bonus spells they would be entitled to based on their Wisdom score for the spell level.

Spells Known: A Tonopara's selection of spells is extremely limited. A Tonopara begins play knowing two 0-level spells (also called cantrips) and two 1st-level spells of your choice. At each new Tonopara level, they gain one or more new spells, as indicated by the table below. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a Tonopara knows is not affected by their Wisdom score; the numbers on the table are fixed.) These new spells can be common spells chosen from the sorcerer/wizard spell list (page 192), or they can be unusual spells that the Tonopara has gained some understanding of by study. For example, a Tonopara with a scroll or spellbook detailing an unusual sorcerer/wizard spell (one not on the sorcerer/wizard spell list) could select that spell as one of their new spells for attaining a new level, provided that it is of the right spell level. The Tonopara cannot use this method of spell acquisition to learn spells at a faster rate, however.

Upon reaching 4th level, and every even-numbered Tonopara level after that (6th, 8th, and so on), a Tonopara can choose to learn a new spell in place of one that they already know. In effect, the Tonopara "loses" the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell's level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level Tonopara spell the Tonopara can cast.

Unlike a wizard or cleric, a Tonopara need not prepare their spells in advance. They can cast any spell they know at any time, assuming they have not used up their spells per day for that spell level. They do not have to decide ahead of time which spells they will cast.

Table: Tonopara Spells Known

Level	Spells Known
	0	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	2	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	4	3	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	5	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	5	4	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	6	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	6	5	3	2	1	—	—	—	—	—
8th	7	5	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
9th	7	5	4	3	2	1	—	—	—	—
10th	8	5	5	4	3	2	—	—	—	—
11th	8	5	5	4	3	2	1	—	—	—
12th	9	6	5	5	4	3	2	—	—	—
13th	9	6	5	5	4	3	2	1	—	—
14th	9	6	5	5	5	4	3	2	—	—
15th	9	6	6	5	5	4	3	2	1	—
16th	9	6	6	5	5	5	4	3	2	—
17th	9	6	6	6	5	5	4	3	2	1
18th	9	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	2
19th	9	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	2
20th	9	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	3

Draconic Ritual Bond: A Tonopara gains a draconic mount through a ritual that binds part of their soul to a dead, unhatched dragon egg. This ritual is a long, daunting process to the dragon god Bahamut lasting for twenty-four hours that succeeds in restoring life to the unborn hatchling by exchanging part of the Tonopara's soul and the soul of the deceased dragon. At the conclusion of the ritual, the dragon egg hatches, and the new dragon begins to rapidly age over the course of several days and quickly maturing the body (all dragon mounts start at a medium size). A permanent bond is forged between the new rider and mount, giving both of them a distinctive silvery mark where the bond occurred (appearing as the silvery stars of Bahamut's symbol) and allowing both to mentally convey emotions and images through this link.

A dragon mount begins with the stats for the lowest age category of its size in the Monster Manual, gaining the Hit Dice, Base Attack Bonus, Grapple, Saves, and breath weapon. The dragon also gains the Ability Scores; however, their Intelligence score becomes a 2, and their Charisma is halved. They do not gain a frightful presence (even if they would at a later age category) nor gain access to any supernatural abilities (aside from their breath weapon) except for the first available at the wyrmling age category. Dragon mounts never gain access to their spells and have no caster level. They still benefit from their spell resistance when available.

The Tonopara's lifespan is greatly extended through the ritual; however, due to their bond, should the rider or dragon mount perish the other is likely to follow. Only the strongest are able to keep their life and sanity after the death of part of their soul. If either the Tonopara or draconic mount fall in combat but have not died (hit points below 0 but above -10), the other must succeed on a Will save (DC 15) or take a -2 on all rolls due to the pain and concern until the other is stabilized. Should one of them die, the other must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 20) to survive and a Will save (DC 20) to retain their sanity, or they become permanently insane. Even if the individual manages to keep their sanity, if the Will save does not beat a DC 25 it will cause them to seek the rest of their lives in solitude, never willingly interacting with another creature again. If the deceased Tonopara or draconic mount is brought back to life, if the other succeeds on a Will save (DC 20) they regain their sanity.

Draconic Breath Weapon (Ex): Tonopara that are in physical contact with their draconic mount gains the same breath weapon as their dragon. The breath weapon for each dragon is listed down below. As a standard action, a Tonopara can use their breath weapon to deal 1d6 elemental damage at 1st level and increases the damage die by 1d6 for every odd-numbered level thereafter. After a breath weapon is used, the Tonopara must wait 1d4 rounds before they may use it again (this extends to the draconic mount as well). A line breath weapon has a range of30 feet and a cone breath weapon has a range of 15 feet. The Reflex save DC for their breath weapon is 10 + half their Tonopara level + Constitution modifier.

Draconic Language: As part of their training and bond, a Tonopara gains Draconic as a bonus language.

Dragon Riding: At 2nd level, a Tonopara may add their class level as a bonus to any Ride check made in conjunction with riding their own draconic mount. In addition, draconic mounts enjoy maneuverability of one grade better than normal (maximum perfect maneuverability) while being ridden.

Draconic Senses (Ex): At 2nd level, a Tonopara begins to experience heightened senses due to their bond with their draconic mount. They gain Low-Light Vision and Darkvision out to 60 feet (or an additional 60 feet if they already have Darkvision).

At 6th level, they gain Blindsight out to 30 feet while in contact with their draconic mount. Even if they are not in contact with their mount, they still have Blindsight out to 5 feet.

Energy Resistance (Ex): At 3rd level, a Tonopara naturally begins to grow resistant to the same energy type of their breath weapon. They gain Resistance to that energy type equal to half their Tonopara class level (rounded up).

Scales: At 3rd level, a Tonopara begins to experience a change to their body, causing their skin to grow small scales of the same color as their draconic mount. They gain a +1 bonus to their natural armor. If they do not already have a natural armor bonus, then the natural armor bonus of that character is +0 and still takes the bonus. This bonus increases by +1 every five levels thereafter (8th, 13th, 18th, and so on).

Draconic Skills: As the Tonopara grows accustom to their bond with their draconic mount, they are able to help their mount grow in strength. At 3rd level and every three levels thereafter (6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 18th and so forth), the draconic mount gains a feet from either the Monster Manual or Dragonomicon. They must meet all the prerequisites for the feat. Draconic mounts cannot gain feats any other way.

Magic Attunement (Ex): Normally, armor of any type interferes with an arcane spellcaster's gestures, which can cause spells to fail if those spells have a somatic component. A Tonopara's limited focus and specialized training, however, allows them to avoid arcane spell failure so long as they stick to light armor and light shields. This training does not extend to medium or heavy armors, nor to heavy shields. This ability does not apply to spells gained from a different spellcasting class.

At 7th level, they can learn to use medium armors with no chance of spell failure.

At 11th level, they can learn to use heavy shields with no chance of spell failure.

Flyby Attack: At 4th level, a Tonopara's draconic mount is treated as having the Flyby Attack feat while they ride together, even if they do not meet the prerequisites.

Immunity to Fear (Ex): At 4th level, while a Tonopara is in physical contact with their draconic mount, or within 5 feet per Tonopara class level, they are immune to the frightful presence of dragons. At 11th level, they become immune to the frightful presence of dragons no matter the distance between them and their mount.

Draconic Ritual Aging: The ritual that brings the mount to life and rapidly ages the body continues to forcibly mature the draconic mount as they gain experience with their rider. At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th) the draconic mount increases in size by one and is considered the lowest age category for that size. The dragon gains the stats for that new age category, except for the mental stats of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma (these do not increase as the dragon magically ages). The draconic mount does not gain any extraordinary or supernatural abilities or access to spells or a caster level. A draconic mount cannot increase their size beyond what would normally be possible for that type of dragon.

Instead of increasing the draconic mounts size, a Tonopara may choose to absorb the energy of the ritual into themselves. By negating the change, a Tonopara may use the energy to permanently increase their caster level and spell resistance by +1. Since the mounts increased size may limit its ability to enter dungeons, caverns, or other areas that the rider may go, many Tonopara limit the transformations so they can always be close to their mounts.

Draconic Abilities: Through extended exposure to the bond between the Tonopara and their mount, they begin to manifest the draconic traits of dragons. At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th) they gain the abilities based on their dragon mount type as listed on the table below. Extraordinary abilities (Ex) are nonmagical, cannot be dispelled or countered, does not provide attack of opportunities, and are activated using a free action. Spell-like abilities (Sp) are magical abilities that are very much like spells, they are subject to spell resistance and dispel magic, they do not function where magic is suppressed or negated, and are activated using a standard action (caster level for abilities are the same as the Tonopara class).

Bonus Feat: At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level, a Tonopara gains a bonus feat. The Tonopara must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including caster level minimums. These bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets every three levels.

Hover: At 5th level, a Tonopara's draconic mount is treated as having the Hover feat while they ride together, even if they do not meet the prerequisites.

Improved Breath Weapon: At 6th level, a Tonopara may call upon their draconic breath weapon even when not in contact with their mount. In addition, all metabreath feats that the Tonopara and draconic mount know may be used by the other. The wait time for a used breath weapon no longer affects both rider and mount, and instead only affects the one that used it.

Bonus Metabreath Feat: At 6th, 12th, and 18th level, the draconic mount may select an additional feat from the Dragonomicon so long as it is a metabreath feat. They must still meet the prerequisites for the bonus feat.

Synchronicity: At 7th level, a Tonopara and their draconic mount learn the nuances of the others movements. While mounted, a Tonopara no longer requires Ride checks outside of combat for basic movement (although storms or environmental factors may still require skill checks). They gain a +10 bonus in combat to avoid being dislodged from an attack.

Improved Dragon Riding: At 8th level, a draconic mount no longer requires its rider's guidance during flights. The mount enjoys maneuverability of one grade better than normal even when not in contact with their Tonopara. Any feats the mount receives while flying with the rider can be used when not in contact even if they do not meet the prerequisites.

With their extended time and experience together, the rider begins to understand the movements of their mount. They gain a +5 bonus to Ride checks to mount their dragon in mid-air and can reduce the damage of the impact (as if they hard purposefully jumped from a height).

Mounted Spellcasting: At 8th level, a Tonopara gains a +5 bonus to Concentration checks to maintain spells while riding their draconic mounts.

Spell Resistance (Ex): At 8th level, a Tonopara becomes resistance to spells and spell-like abilities. They gain spell resistance equal to 10 + their Tonopara class level.

Elemental Control (Su): At 9th level, a Tonopara gains the ability to generate their breath weapon into new attacks. As a standard action they may channel the energy type of their breath weapon through their weapons in a single attack or through a melee touch attack, dealing half of their breath weapon damage (rounded down). Generating their breath weapon in this fasion does not provoke an attack of opportunity. The energy of the attack is lost if the attack misses, and they must wait 1d4 rounds before use again (this is treated the same as if the breath weapon was used normally). At 13th level, they may channel this energy as part of a full attack action, and the elemental damage is dealt to each target hit in the round.

Wingover: At 14th level, a Tonopara's draconic mount is treated as having the Wingover feat even if they do not meet the prerequisites.

United We Stand (Ex): At 14th level, a Tonopara and their draconic mount have reached an understanding between them that they no longer need to think in order to act during combat. By instinctively melding their minds while fighting the two may now act as one. During combat, the rider and mount may act during the same initiative order, able to interchange their actions to better suit themselves.

Timeless Body (Ex): At 17th level, a Tonopara no longer takes penalties to their ability score for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that they have already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the Tonopara still dies of old age when their time is up.

Soul Bond: At 20th level, the magical bond between a Tonopara and their draconic mount reaches its pinnacle, and they are able to merge their souls into a single being. If they so choose, the Tonopara and mount may inhabit a single body (choosing either body) that is able to transform between humanoid and draconic form at will; however, if this process is done, the remaining body withers and perishes without its soul. A soul bonded Tonopara gains all the abilities and feats of both bodies. They are forever more treated as a Dragon rather than a Humanoid for the purposes of spells and magical effects.

If the Tonopara chooses to not undergo the transformation, they may choose to channel the energy instead to increase their ability score by 2 points (or two points by a point each), increase their caster level and spell resistance permanently by 2, or increase the size of the Tonopara's body by one step (up to a maximum of huge) as if naturally increasing their size with all relevant changes (such as increasing size from medium to large).

Table: Dragon Mount Abilities

Roll	Dragon Color	Breath Weapon	1st Draconic Ability	2nd Draconic Ability	3rd Draconic Ability
						1	Black	Line of Acid	Water Breathing (Ex)	Darkness (Sp)	Corrupt Water (Sp)
2	Blue	Line of Electricity	Sound Imitation (Ex)	Create/Destroy Water (Sp)	Ventriloquism (Sp)
3	Brass	Line of Fire	Speak with Animals (Sp)	Endure Elements (Sp)	Suggestion (Sp)
4	Bronze	Line of Electricity	Water Breathing (Ex)	Alternate Form (Sp)	Create Food and Water (Sp)
5	Copper	Line of Acid	Spider Climb (Sp)	Stone Shape (Sp)	Transmute Rock to Mud/Mud to Rock (Sp)
6	Gold	Cone of Fire	Water Breathing (Ex)	Alternate Form (Sp)	Bless (Sp)
7	Green	Cone of Acid	Water Breathing (Ex)	Suggestion (Sp)	Plant Growth (Sp)
8	Red	Cone of Fire	Treasure Seeker (Ex)	Locate Object (Sp)	Suggestion (Sp)
9	Silver	Cone of Cold	Feather Fall (Sp)	Alternate Form (Sp)	Cloud Walking (Ex)
00	White	Cone of Cold	Icewalking (Ex)	Fog Cloud (Sp)	Gust of Wind (Sp)

Ex-Tonopara

A Tonopara whose dragon mount has died may no longer take levels as a Tonopara and loses all spells and abilities (but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). They still retain bonus feats and bonus metabreath feats (although they may lose access to them if tied to a class ability) and their natural armor bonus. If the dragon mount is revived, they must undergo the ritual again to reestablish their bond before being allowed to take any more levels in Tonopara. An Ex-Tonopara may not perform the ritual to establish a bond with a new dragon egg.

Epic Tonopara

Table: The Epic Tonopara

Hit Die: d10

Level	Special	Breath Weapon	Natural Armor
21st	-	11d6	+4
22nd	Bonus Feat	11d6	+4
23rd	-	12d6	+5
24th	Bonus Metabreath Feat, Bonus Feat	12d6	+5
25th	-	13d6	+5
26th	Bonus Feat	13d6	+5
27th	-	14d6	+5
28th	Bonus Feat	14d6	+6
29th	-	15d6	+6
30th	Bonus Metabreath Feat, Bonus Feat	15d6	+6
4 + Int modifier skill points per level.

Draconic Breath Weapon (Ex): A Tonopara's continues to increase by 1d6 every odd-numbered level.

Scales: A Tonopara's natural armor bonus continues to increase by +1 every five levels as shown above.

Bonus Metabreath Feats: A Tonopara continues to gain a metabreath feat every six levels.

Bonus Feats: The epic Tonopara gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic Tonopara bonus feats) every two levels after 20th.

Epic Tonopara Bonus Feat List: Armor Skin, Automatic Quicken Spell, Automatic Silent Spell, Automatic Still Spell, Blinding Speed, Combat Archery, Damage Reduction, Dire Charge, Distant Shot, Energy Resistance, Enhance Spell, Epic Endurance, Epic Fortitude, Epic Leadership, Legendary Commander, Epic Prowess, Epic Reflexes, Epic Reputation, Epic Skill Focus, Epic Speed, Epic Spell Focus, Epic Spell Penetration, Epic Spellcasting, Epic Toughness, Epic Weapon Focus, Epic Weapon Specialization, Epic Will, Fast Healing, Great Charisma, Great Constitution, Great Dexterity, Great Intelligence, Great Strength, Great Wisdom, Ignore Material Components, Improved Combat Casting, Improved Darkvision, Improved Heighten Spell, Improved Low-Light Vision, Improved Metamagic, Improved Manyshot, Improved Spell Capacity, Improved Spell Resistance, Improved Stunning Fist, Improved Whirlwind Attack, Instant Reload, Intensify Spell, Legendary Rider, Multispell, Overwhelming Critical, Devastating Critical, Penetrate Damage Reduction, Perfect Health, Perfect Two-Weapon Fighting, Permanent Emanation, Polyglot, Spell Knowledge, Spell Opportunity, Spell Stowaway, Spellcasting Harrier, Spontaneous Spell, Storm of Throws, Superior Initiative, Swarm of Arrows, Two-Weapon Rend, Uncanny Accuracy.

Human Tonopara Starting Package

Weapons: Shortsword (1d6, crit 19-20/x2, 2 lb., piercing, light), lance (1d8, crit x3, 10 lb., piercing, two-handed), and shortbow (1d6, crit x3, 2 lb., piercing, range inc 60 ft.).

Armor: Chain shirt (+4 AC, +4 Max Dex, -2 check penalty, 25 lb.) and light steel shield (+1 AC, -1 check penalty, 6 lb.).

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Skill	Ranks	Ability	Armor Check Penalty
Concentration	4	Con	-
Diplomacy	4	Cha	-
Intimidate	4	Cha	-
Ride	4	Dex	-
Spot	4	Wis	-
Survival	4	Wis	-
Swim	4	Str	-6
Tumble	4	Dex	-3

Feat: Improved Initiative.

Bonus Feats (Human): Toughness.

Gear: Backpack with waterskin, one day's trail rations, bedroll, sack, flint and steel, quiver with twenty arrows.

Gold: 4d4 gp.

Campaign Information

Playing a Tonopara

Religion: Most Tonopara worship the dragon god Bahamut (god of good dragons) due to their link with their draconic mount through the ritual; however, it is not uncommon for a Tonopara to worship other deities, especially if they performed the bonding ritual later in life. While rare to find Tonopara that worship the dragon goddess Tiamat (goddess of conquest), she eagerly accepts and manipulates their power in order to further her wishes. Due to their education and eventual spellcasting abilities, some worship Boccob (god of magic) or Wee Jas (goddess of death and magic).

Other Classes: Melee-oriented classes such as Fighters, Barbarians, or Duskblades are usually the most accepting of a Tonopara due to their similar backgrounds and mutual understanding of the requirements during battle. Clerics, Knights, and Paladins generally view them with suspicion due to the ritualistic bonding of their draconic mounts, unless the Tonopara shares their views on philosophy or codes of honor. Dragon Shaman are the most at ease with a Tonopara; their similar powers and connections to dragons resonate without conflict. Rangers, especially those with dragons as favored enemies, may view the Tonopara without outright distrust and hatred, but can occasionally put aside their hatred to use their natural combat prowess against other dragons. Wizards, Bards, and Beguilers usually view them with indifference, although Sorcerers may seek them out to study and understand their own powers.

Combat: A Tonopara excels at the front lines of combat; this is where they can assist and back up others in combat with both steel and claws while diverting attention away from the spellcasters in back. If they feel the need, their draconic mounts may continue a frontal assault while they gain distance to cast a spell or two. If needed they can flank an enemy force from the side or rear, even beginning combat from an aerial ambush.

Advancement: A Tonopara profits most from continuing to take as many of the Tonopara class levels as they can so their breath weapon and draconic mounts gain strength. If they decide to multiclass, multiple levels of Fighter are good for the additional feats and specialized training with better weapons. A single level of Barbarian gives them access to the rage ability, which can benefit from a high Constitution; however, their draconic mounts gain no benefits from the rage, and it can be dangerous as it blocks access to Ride checks during the rage. Multiclassing as a Cleric offers access to new spells, which benefit from a high Wisdom, and healing abilities, but as with other spellcasting classes, they gain no benefit from the magical attunement of the Tonopara class. Dragon Shaman have many similar abilities that do not stack with the Tonopara class and severly limit its usefulness.

Tonopara in the World

“	I don't just uphold the law. When war breaks out, I fly into battle for the good of the nation and slaughter my enemies without a single thought. But when a peasant uprising in the nearby village starts, I fly out with knowledge and diplomacy. Sometimes the best option is not always steel and tooth and claw. Sometimes it is words and strategy and understanging.	”
—Naemyar Omarwarin, Elf Tonopara

Tonopara are a specialized unit of soldiers, scholars, and mages that can face many dangerous threats and be called into action quickly. It allows players to have the majestic powers of dragons while providing a DM with new ways to introduce large scale conflicts, dragons, and other high-level dangers. The class benefits small parties, as a Tonopara player essentially has to two characters, and can help to easily fill in any gaps from missing or limited classes. However, the class requires future planning depending on the campaign. An open world, multicity map greatly benefits a Tonopara class with many outdoor encounters, but is severely limited to any indoor encounters, as many caves, tombs, and dungeons do not have the required space for large draconic mounts, meaning the player may not actually have a rideable mount during the campaign.

Daily Life: Tonopara are always ready for the call to action as they are not required to study or pray for their powers to face new challenges. With their draconic mounts, they are able to cover vast distances to settle disputes or scout enemy army movements. Due to this, they are a decisive group, often having to think quickly for solutions to conflicts that others cannot see. They are trained for battle and adventuring is as natural as breathing to them.

Despite their nature, they rarely take leadership roles over any group for an extended period of time as their fealty to their nation may recall them at any point. While some Tonopara continue their training and adventuring, some find the constant conflict troubling and seek to better their mind and focus on their growing spellcasting prowess. These ones spend time studying in libraries and guild halls or spend their time among nature to understand their connection to dragons, much as a druid studies nature. When given time to rest and relax, a Tonopara usually find themselves unable to stay in one place for too long, having become accustom to the freedom of the sky and the privacy with just their draconic mounts. This may make them take seemingly meaningless jobs, such as delivering scrolls from one town to the next, just to have an excuse to travel.

Notables: Quilyassa Draldran, a female green-scaled dragonborn bound to a blue dragon mount: was one of the founding members and established the trials used to train new Tonopara.

Naemyar Omawarin, a male elf bound to a black dragon mount: led the elven army's southwestern front in the late Elf-Human war. Singlehandedly sank more than four dozen ships, ambushing the craft from beneath the waves and the low marshlands of the coast.

Organizations: Tonopara pledge their loyalty to the council of Martivir, once a dwarven city carved into a mountain said to have its peak destroyed by Bahamut and Tiamat during their legendary fight. Now seen as a holy sight, the city has become a haven of multiple races and cultures, with a new city built into the flat stone of the broken peak. It is not uncommon for multiple Tonopara to team up for difficult assignments but as an unspoken rule they tend to work alone so to better train themselves and the bonds with their mounts. The official guild hall for the Tonopara is located beneath the city of Martivir, along with the hidden hatchery housing the deceased dragon eggs used in the ritual. Nearby mountains house multiple caves that the Tonopara mounts can use to rest and recover while their riders are in the city; the guild cleans and maintains the cave systems so that any dragon may rest in whichever cave they wish.

NPC Reactions: <-How NPCs react to PCs of this class->.

Tonopara Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) can research Tonopara to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge (Arcana)

DC	Result
5	Tonopara are magical warriors bound to draconic mounts and serve the Council of Martivir.
10	The Tonopara use ancient magic to link themselves with dragon eggs that died before they hatched. The dragons are magically aged during the ritual in order to reach maturity.
15	The magic that binds the Tonopara causes them to inherit the traits of dragons, including their powerful breath weapons and natural affinity for certain elements.
20	In order to bind a Tonopara with a draconic mount, a part of their soul is ripped free and exchanged with that of the dead dragon's soul. Dragons loyal to Bahamut, the god that allows the ritual, eagerly agree to assist the mortals the deity deemed worthy and to feel the sensations of the mortal realm once again, however slight they might be.

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