D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana: Drakewarden and Way of the Ascendant Dragon

cbwjm · Oct 27, 2020

AcererakTriple6 said:
I'm nearly certain that a Draconomicon book will be named the Draconomicon. There've been multiple books of the same name in previous editions, and it works well.

I'm nearly certain that they will follow the 5e naming convention they've come up with and name it X's guide to dragons or maybe X's draconomicon (which keeps both the old and new naming conventions).

Iry · Oct 27, 2020

Kurotowa said:
Some people consider Drizzt the definitive Ranger icon.

I thought Aragorn and Legolas were the definitive ranger trope?

Kurotowa · Oct 27, 2020

Iry said:
I thought Aragorn and Legolas were the definitive ranger trope?

It comes in age bands, based on what the dominant one was when the person was first introduced to the concept. The OG ranger was LotR novel Aragorn, then Drizzt took center stage, then LotR movie Legolas. I'm not sure who the new model is, if any. My age is showing.

cbwjm · Oct 27, 2020

Kurotowa said:
Some people consider Drizzt the definitive Ranger icon. Which okay, I don't, but I can see why some people would.

It's not even necessarily Drizz't but the fact the since 2e, two-weapon fighting has been one of the things rangers were known for along with archery. Things like the bonus action to redirect the pet and even hunter's mark's bonus action work against it.

EzekielRaiden · Oct 27, 2020

Definitely digging the monk, and it's nice to see the ranger get some love. Guess we'll probably be living in the land of "Rangers always use their +1 to fix their class" for this edition, which sucks but at least it's some kind of fix.

Levistus's_Leviathan · Oct 27, 2020

Weiley31 said:
Odyssey of The Dragonlords is (points to the right) thatta way.

Specifically Oath of The Dragonlords subclass.

On a serious note, I guess handing a player a legit dragon might be seen as too much in WoTC's eyes. A Drake is much more controllable. A Dragon well....insert buddy cop movie moments.

I am not familiar with Odyssey of the Dragonlords or Oath of the Dragonlords.

It doesn't have to be a "legit" dragon, as in actually using the Monster Manual dragon stats, but they could have the dragon be a Steel Defender-ed dragon, like what I did for my homebrew dragon rider subclass. I just think they should decide if this subclass is a dragon rider or a drake warden, and change the features depending on what they choose.

Minigiant · Oct 27, 2020

DnD Warlord said:
I use the pact of chain warlock ability to make rangers “worg” by replacing familiar with “animal an equal level Druid could wild shape into”

Still doesn't fulfill the beastmaster ranger trope though.

Essentially the problem is the image of a beastmaster changes depending on the beast.

The image of "a ranger and his hawk" is different from "a ranger and his bear" and "a ranger and its monkey" and "a ranger and her unicorn" and "a ranger and his swarm of insects" and "a ranger and her hound". Each one of those fantasies are different. The hawk is seen as an utility tool and occasionally harasser. The bear is expected to be a decent combatant on its own. The unicorn is a mount. And the hound fights soft targets and grants out of combat utility.

Therefore any "beastmaster" system will fall short unless it has a way to differentiate the types of companions the ranger might pair up with OR create a subclass for each type of companion.

Weiley31 · Oct 27, 2020

AcererakTriple6 said:
I am not familiar with Odyssey of the Dragonlords or Oath of the Dragonlords.

It doesn't have to be a "legit" dragon, as in actually using the Monster Manual dragon stats, but they could have the dragon be a Steel Defender-ed dragon, like what I did for my homebrew dragon rider subclass. I just think they should decide if this subclass is a dragon rider or a drake warden, and change the features depending on what they choose.

In Odyssey of the Dragonlords, the Paladin subclass(Oath of Dragonlords) pretty much gives you a legit Dragon Companion, and depending on factors, it's entirely possible for it to get Legendary Actions and Multi-Attack IIRC.

Odyssey of the Dragonlords is pretty much what happens when you take Mass Effect/KOTOR/ a Bioware RPG and turn it into a pen and paper Greek Mythology Centric 5E.(And it does have a number of Bioware tropes as well.) The Dragonlords in it were some of the important big name players in the lore of the setting that became famous for doing their thing in history.

It comes with a number of "Destinies" which is pretty much your character's Video Game storyline plot beats, that when completed, gives you some bonuses such as items or even immunities/whatever. Two of the Destinies either makes it that you become the start of a new generation of Dragonlords or your actually one of the original Dragonlords who pretty much got Captain Americaed from the past and brought into the current era in the book. (Both Destinies make Oath of the Dragonlord redundant as it provides lets you get the same dragon mount deal like the Oath. But if your a Paladin and you want to feel like the video game MC, especially if your in a DM/Solo one on one duet play with it, then Oath of The Dragonlords is your selection to do.)

It's actually pretty cool. I also strongly suggest, especially if your Greek Mythologying up your 5E, to combine the crunch from both Theros AND Odyssey of The Dragonlords for all your Greek 5E needs.(at the time, it was out even before the Theros setting book.)