Dragon as a cohort

[Himoura]

ok ground work first I'm lvl 16 with a -1 CHA i currently have a cohort, a wizard one who is about lvl 10 or something like that.

I've noticed that in the last session she died twice to AOE attacks from enemies and we've decided that she really doesn't have the kind of HPs that means she can adventure with a lvl 16 party. So i talked to the group and one person came up with the idea of a Dragon cohort.

I'm NG aligenment, now IF my DM said yes to me what do i need to do/get for a dragon cohort and what kind/age dragon would i be looking at.

alternatively does anybody have any other suggestions or with the -1 CHA i should give up the cohort idea altogether and get something a little more useful to my class

 

[blargney the second]

There's a Dragon Cohort feat in Draconomicon that seems to do what you're looking for. That'd be a decent starting place.

 

[Aidan Milvus]

According to the Draconomicon, you'd qualify for a Brass, copper, or bronze wyrmling, a very young brass, or a pseudodragon.

Alternatively... You could just get a cloak of charisma, and up your leadership score...

 

[Himoura]

I'll have to get a look at it i don't have that book. does it have a pre-req of leadership or can i swap the feats around

 

[Aidan Milvus]

The Dragon Cohort feat works like the leadership feat, except for dragons, you subtract 4 from the ecl to determine what kind of dragon you can take as a cohort. Leadership isn't a prereq.

 

[squee]

I think what Himoura really wants is is there something he could get now without changing his character that would be more effective?

 

[blargney the second]

Coming at it from another perspective, you could just get a humanoid cohort with a decent amount of resiliency. If you're set on the dragon theme, they could be dragonborn (+2 Con, -2 Dex) for no LA, or draconic (+2 Str, +2 Con, +2 Cha) for +1 LA. As an added benefit, with PC classes they'll be able to do useful stuff.

Heck, a draconic marshal wouldn't be a bad idea. Reasonably tough, and makes everyone around them even better just by being there.

 

[MerricB]

No Dragon Cohort, Greg. It doesn't fit the campaign.

 

[Aidan Milvus]

I think your first problem was taking the wizard in the first place... With wizards only having a d4 for hd, unless they have really high Con, I'm not surprised that he died as much as he did. If you want something tough, go barbarian or some other warrior class. If you need magical help, you might possibly look at the Duskblade from PHB2 if that's allowed. d8 hd, full BAB, and some very handy magical spells and abilities.

 

[Herobizkit]

I know this is going to sound odd, but consider:

Your cohort is only level 10 to your level 16. Anything s/he encounters that is party-appropriate for your group of 16th level is practically death, as you've witnessed. [Edit: I've just read the Leadership feat. Seems to me that Cohorts are the people you leave behind to 'watch the fort' rather than bring on adventures -- you need to up your Leadership score to get a better cohort. ]

I think the big issue is that you and your party see the NPC as a disposable target rather than a member of your party. Your players/you should be taking extra steps to protecting your wizard or, worst case scenario, your wizard HIDES while the real heroes do battle.

If a Dragon isn't an appropriate cohort, and you're looking for a blaster, perhaps a Pixie Sorcerer?