Any one got any info on Half-Dragons

[Marauder_POV]

I'm looking to find some info on how to go about a half dragon character, or like a dragon blood heritage or something similar.

Any thoughts?

 

[Mentat55]

Dragonborn seem like the way to go. If you want to play up a draconic bloodline, you could also play a draconic sorcerer, along with some of the dragon-themed PP.

One of the recent Dragon articles contains paragon paths for dragonborn connected to specific types of metallic dragons.

 

[Amaroq]

Yeah, I'm not sure how the Dragonborn race, 4e PHB p34, fails to fit your requirements:

Play a dragonborn if you want . . .
✦ to look like a dragon.
✦ to be the proud heir of an ancient, fallen empire.
✦ to breathe acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison.
✦ to be a member of a race that favors the warlord, fighter, and paladin classes.

Physical Qualities

Dragonborn resemble humanoid dragons. They’re
covered in scaly hide, but they don’t have tails. They
are tall and strongly built, often standing close to
6½ feet in height and weighing 300 pounds or more.
Their hands and feet are strong, talonlike claws with
three fingers and a thumb on each hand. A dragonborn’s
head features a blunt snout, a strong brow,
and distinctive frills at the cheek and ear. Behind
the brow, a crest of hornlike scales of various lengths
resembles thick, ropy hair. Their eyes are shades of
red or gold.

A typical dragonborn’s scales can be scarlet, gold,
rust, ocher, bronze, or brown. Rarely do an individual’s
scales match the hue of a chromatic or metallic
dragon, and scale color gives no indication of the type
of breath weapon a dragonborn uses. Most dragonborn
have very fine scales over most of their body, giving
their skin a leathery texture, with regions of larger
scales on the forearms ...

 

[Marauder_POV]

I'd particularily like to beable to have the dragon heritage unknown to the PC and have it reveal itself over time. Similar to the way the "dragon disciple" prestige class worked in 3.5(granted i don't know exactly how it worked then)

 

[eriktheguy]

Then I would let them choose their race as normal, and have their draconic heritage 'kick in' when least expected. Look at the racial powers for the shifter race in PHB II that surface when bloodied. When your character is bloodied, intimidated, or somehow else stressed you could cause their wild side to take control, granting them some minor bonuses and perhaps a use of breath weapon.

If it is a heritage the player didn't know they had, they might have trouble controlling this feature and it could be useful or embarrassing depending on when it is triggered.

 

[Marauder_POV]

Yeah thats what i was going for...

Looking at the shifter stuff is a good idea..

 

[eriktheguy]

I was also thinking of the moon frenzy disease of werewolves for the involuntary pit (but obviously don't run it as a disease).
Monster Manual P 181

 

[Marauder_POV]

Cool thanks guys

Its a shame they haven't sorted this out proper(half-dragons and dragon blood feats) but hey there is always PHB4!

 

[Amaroq]

I'd particularily like to beable to have the dragon heritage unknown to the PC and have it reveal itself over time. Similar to the way the "dragon disciple" prestige class worked in 3.5(granted i don't know exactly how it worked then)

Mmm .. do you want this to be unknown to the Player, or unknown to the character?

'Cause if you're the DM and you want this known to the Player but unknown to the character, then I'd say you:

1. Declare that Dragonborn don't exist in your world as described in the core books
2. Have your player roll up a Dragonborn
3. Flavor it as "looks human and thinks its human"

and go from there. If you're the player, you talk to the DM and say "I want to play a Dragonborn, but I don't want my character to know he has draconic heritage. I want to look human and think I'm human. Is that cool?"

I've had a lot of fun with campaigns where the player knew their class but the character did not: one was a paladin who didn't know she had divine favor, and another was a sorceress whose spell powers first manifested when she felt she was in danger of dying.

If you want the DM to know but both Player and character do not, then I'd say you're looking for things that are a lot more subtle than changing the character's race, mechanically - either you overpower the character, or you have to explain to the player why they don't get that bonus feat for being human ... ... It might be better to consider the player a McGuffin with indeterminate powers that may not manifest until level six or higher, and then use Tattoos, Boons, or other non-standard magic items to represent the racial powers, simply considering the boon you're giving to the player to be a part of the treasure parcel.