Dragon Shaman - Gimme something to go on here...

[Immak Antunel]

My main problem, which has been mentioned before in this thread (but not really resolved), is that the powers do not seem particularly "draconic." I mean, the fluff for the class seems to have it right, with the inspirational awe and the lust for power motivating the class, but how that translates into Buff-Aura Support Class just eludes me. In every incarnation I've seen, dragons are proud and solitary. A so-called "dragon shaman" whose primary strength is keeping his allies alive and empowered just doesn't sit well with me.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

My main problem, which has been mentioned before in this thread (but not really resolved), is that the powers do not seem particularly "draconic."

Now this I think is a legitimate critique - one I spent serious time thinking about as I generated my homebrew. [See Drakontai Homebrew Race in my Homebrew thread - link in sig.] What I ended up with is the following rationalization:

Dragons are beings of innate magic. They tap into an essence that is by definition greater than they are and more diverse than they are. As their magical aptitude combines with the much more readily mutating aspect of beings with shorter life spans, the connections to the magical essence can easily become distorted. Thus, beings of even a small portion of draconic heritage can have unique abilities - often vastly different than the original dragon itself.

For example: In my Story Hour one of the main characters - in fact perhaps the true caracter about whom the story truly revolves - is a Drakontos child of red dragon heritage several generation removed from a dragon/human breeding. Without giving away too many spoilers (go read the Story Hour if you want more detail!) I can say that her unique ability is that of healing. Yes, she comes from red dragon heritage! She's no dragon shaman ... she's actually a Favored Soul. But she becomes so important to her clan of enslaved people under the oppression of the red dragon because her magical tie to healing is not only rare among her people but extremely valuable when the red wyrm gets angry with his Drakontai.

It works for me. It doesn't have to work for everyone, though. Just my two cents.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Buff-Aura Support Class just eludes me. In every incarnation I've seen, dragons are proud and solitary. A so-called "dragon shaman" whose primary strength is keeping his allies alive and empowered just doesn't sit well with me.

It's because the dragon shaman isn't trying to be a dragon, he's just using the dragon's power. Dragons may be proud and solitary, but the dragon shaman definately isn't -- he's a social beast, at his best when he's with a team of allies.

Dragon shamans *use* a dragon's power by giving it to others (and himself). Energy resistance, keen senses, physical power, impressive presence, impenetrable hide, and ancient longevity are all traits of D&D dragons that the dragon shaman imparts to others through his aura. In many ways, he's kind of the flip side of the Dragonfire Adept class from Dragon Magic -- Dragonfire Adepts are "selfish classes" with self-interested abilities that rarely help the rest of the party. The focus is on *them* becoming like a dragon. Dragon shamans are "generous classes" with group-focused abilties that also help themselves. The focus is on using the powers of a dragon.

Bards and clerics and marshalls are all very generous classes.

I think the classic image of the dragon shaman is when you have some tribe, say a clan of dwarves, living with a close relationship with a dragon, say, a silver dragon. Dragon Shamans arise among the dwarves honoring the traits that make Silver Dragons (including their own) neat. They use the power of the Silver Dragons to enhance their whole tribe, and the Silver Dragon that watches over their community lets them know that they truly do have power. The Dragon Shaman is something of a liason between the dragon's world (being able to tap the same powers that make the dragon itself long-lived and powerful) and the mortal's world (being a social, mortal creature).

 

[Nightfall]

Psion,

Just do what I do with clerics in my SL games. Kill them in ways the PCs wouldn't expect!

 

[Patrick O'Duffy]

This is a list of quick ideas I put together when one of my group decided to play a dragon shaman in my Eberron game. I think it'd be easy to come up with ten similar concepts for any other setting, then let the player do the work of ironing out the details.

--
1 – You’re part of a small dragon-worshipping sect, who may hold you up as a priest, hero or divine agent.

2 – You’ve escaped from a small dragon-worshipping sect, taking with you the secrets of their power. They may or may not be hunting you.

3 – You met a dragon in your travels who convinced you to work as his agent in mortal society. The dragon can be a patron in the campaign if you like.

4 – You found a dying dragon in your travels, who bequeathed a measure of his power to you before expiring (or perhaps you stole it from him). Other dragons may not be happy about this.

5 – There are places in the world where parts of the Draconic Prophecy becomes physically visible in the landscape. You saw this happen, or interacted with one of these greater marks, and it changed you.

6 – The Prophecy states you have a special destiny, and your abilities have arisen spontaneously to protect you. Dragons may be very interested in you, in both positive and negative ways.

7 – You uncovered an arcane rite that lent you a measure of draconic power, and possibly tied you into the Prophecy in the process. Others may seek to gain the same knowledge from you.

8 – An ancestor masqueraded as a human to infiltrate the Seren barbarians, who blessed her with draconic power that has passed down to you.

9 – An ancestor masqueraded as a human to infiltrate the Seren barbarians, who cursed her for her crime. That curse manifests as power in you, but there may be a price to pay.

10 – Who cares where your powers come from? The past is the past (and won’t be relevant in play); what matters is what you do in the present and future.

 

[kigmatzomat]

My main problem, which has been mentioned before in this thread (but not really resolved), is that the powers do not seem particularly "draconic." I mean, the fluff for the class seems to have it right, with the inspirational awe and the lust for power motivating the class, but how that translates into Buff-Aura Support Class just eludes me.

Ahhh. Mmm-hmmm. (flip-flip) Yep. You know, I never noticed that. IMC dragons have the ability to channel magic, with the fear aura being a raw, unrefined use of that power. Virtually all dragons are given a rune by an elder that harnesses that magic into a mostly unique power that evolves as they grow. Shamanic auras blend pretty seamlessly into that concept so I never really looked at the DS in any other light.

The only rational I can come up with is that the affecting others side of the aura is "spill over." The Shaman draws the power of (a/all/totemic/Socratic ideal/whatever) dragon(s) into themself and is sloppy about it. It's like calling down a spotlight that shines on other people, too. Of course, by that logic they could get feats that "focus" the power so the aura only affects themself but at a much higher rate.

An alternate, which requires the dragon shaman to be part of a plot, is that the auras are part of a grand scheme to turn the planet into draconic beings. Shamans go through an apotheosis, gaining wings and whatnot, could be those greatly affected by auras will begin acquiring draconic traits, or at least giving birth to beings with draconic traits. Imagine a thousand-year plot to turn an entire continent into dragon-men who are instinctively subservient to true dragons. Since the Shaman will be an adventurer of some fashion, it will impact the heroes first.

 

[Presto2112]

I'd actually be interested to see how well a Dragon Shaman / Dragon Disciple would work. You'd need a level or two of sorcerer or something to make it actually work, of course.

 

[Klaus]

I'd actually be interested to see how well a Dragon Shaman / Dragon Disciple would work. You'd need a level or two of sorcerer or something to make it actually work, of course.

IIRC, there's a Dragon Disciple-ish PrClass in Dragon Magic for noncasters.

 

[Nightfall]

Indeed. But me, I'm against all Dragon disciples. But that's just me.

*still thinks Psion should just off the PC's character* But I'm evil that way.

 

[airwalkrr]

I would suggest reading the fluff for the class (often overlooked). Dragon shamans seem to derive their powers from true dragons themselves. By respecting them, studying them, and meditating on them, they infuse themselves with draconic power. How do wizards get their spells? They just pull magic out of thin air. Why can't dragon shaman's pull "dragonness" out of thin air. If you want to add some flair to the class you could say the further the character is from true dragons, the weaker his powers on, but adjust it on the fly and don't make the penalties too great. If your campaign is lacking in dragons, I wouldn't allow the class, but in a traditional D&D world, it makes a certain modicum of sense.