Dragon Shaman Question

[Nifft]

Seriously though, I stand by my assertion that vigor is the best aura and honestly defines the class.

I do not disagree!

But there are other (non-Vigor) auras you can get without needing to dip into Dragon Shaman, and thus without having to sacrifice BAB, class features, etc. IMHO they may be worth a look for someone who wants that Draconic thingy without the mediocre class.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Dragon_Man_Of_Lore]

I do not disagree!

But there are other (non-Vigor) auras you can get without needing to dip into Dragon Shaman, and thus without having to sacrifice BAB, class features, etc. IMHO they may be worth a look for someone who wants that Draconic thingy without the mediocre class.

Cheers, -- N

Well, my D&D sources are very limited. I have been looking around for some Draconic classes, but I have found few that I am interested in. But that most likely is due to my restricted D&D sources. Other than the ones you stated earlier, are there any others you suggest?

 

[Nifft]

Well, my D&D sources are very limited. I have been looking around for some Draconic classes, but I have found few that I am interested in. But that most likely is due to my restricted D&D sources. Other than the ones you stated earlier, are there any others you suggest?

Dragon Magic is a mish-mosh of random stuff, but it's mostly good stuff. There's a new base class (Dragonfire Adept, sort of a draconic Warlock), there's a bunch of nice Prestige Classes, there are many feats and spells (most of which work best for Sorcerers).

Draconomicon is a gorgeous book which all DMs should buy, but it also has a section for players (with a few Prestige Classes). It's great, but of very limited use to you. Buy it for your DM the next time you owe him a present.

Races of the Dragon ... has a nice section on Kobolds. I don't have very many nice things to say about RotD.

Cheers, -- N

 

[szilard]

I wonder how Dragon Shaman X/Knight 3/Fighter 2 would work out... Fighting Challenge is nice for a Dragon Shaman and Bulwark of Defense is great for any tank. The d12 for hit points doesn't hurt either...

Honestly, though, Paladin would work really well, too. Great charisma synergy.

Races of the Dragon ... has a nice section on Kobolds. I don't have very many nice things to say about RotD.

That's fair, but the Dragonborn race presented in it may be of interest to the OP...

-Stuart

 

[Kat']

Dunno, I've always seen the DS mostly as a healing machine... the Vigor aura is awesome, and Touch of vitality beats Lay on hands anytime.

Concerning your problem: you can multiclass between Fighter and DS, but honestly, it's a bad idea. These classes do not synergize well. You'd be a poor DS and a medium fighter, and in the long run you won't be able to tank properly 'cause you'll lack feats and BAB. Not optimal. IMO, a good dip for Dragon Shaman is Paladin, not Fighter. At least your high Charisma cares for good saves.

If you're hell bent on Ftr/DS, take only 2 levels of Fighter and pick, say, Shield Specialization and Shield Ward and do something for your Touch AC. Who gives a damn about Weapon Specialization? You're NOT going to be Mr. Thumpy, so save the slots for, say, Draconic Feats. Things like Draconic Senses are just too good, and you'll want Double Draconic aura. Plus there are Breath feats, and the always good Improved Initiative.

 

[eamon]

You're basically trying to optimize your character here. You know what you want, and are asking how to achieve it best - right?

To do that well, we need to know more about your character, most specifically, your stats. If you have a high charisma, then more levels of dragon shaman can be interesting. Secondly, it's useful to know what level ranges you will play - you're second level now, and you'll probably never reach 20th.

You're definitely going to want weapon focus, weapon specialization, and melee weapon mastery if you're a tank - but those are just three feats, and so you're not very dependent on more than 4 fighter levels.

You really lose as a tank by taking the 1st and 5th levels of dragon shaman and any other 3/4 BAB class. So, if you're going to take 1 level of dragon shaman, taking up to 3 more won't cost much, and if you take 5, then taking the next three won't cost you much. Specifically, if you have a high charisma, the dragon shaman can heal pretty reasonably at 6th level using his touch of vitality ability, and at 7th level you gain +1 natural armor (stacks with enhancement bonuses to natural armor such as amulets), which pretty much compensates for the lost BAB.

If you have a high charisma, you might also be interested in the marshal class (also online at http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030906b ). This class has a minor aura with a bonus equal to your charisma modifier. There's an dexterity-checks aura which for instance applies to initiative checks, and has a pretty handy 4th level ability (grant move action).

So the real question is, what is your charisma, and what level range will you play?

 

[Thurbane]

If you're looking for Auras and a dragon motif without nerfing your BAB, the Dragon Lord PrC from Dragon Magic is pretty good - prereqs are pretty easy for a fighter (BAB +6, Intimidate 9 ranks)...

 

[blargney the second]

Dragon Shaman is an interesting class because it's one of the least feat-hungry classes out there. So in an Eberron campaign I just filled up my feat slots with dragonmark feats. It actually worked out quite well, and I had a blast with the character.
-blarg

 

[akbearfoot]

I've never actually seen a DS played in a game, so my remarks are not necessarily 'professional' in nature. However I still dispute everyone saying that he can't be an effective 'tank' as a FTR/DS.

If there were no support members then that's 1 thing, but he said there was both a bard and a cleric in the group, as well as a paladin who also (presumably) can -share- the tanking.

Bard buffs + cleric buffs + WF/WS/MWM + the interesting DS class features looks to be pretty viable to me....Certainly not optimized, but very playable and probably quite fun.

 

[Dragon_Man_Of_Lore]

I have 19 charisma. In fact my lowest ability score is 15. I'm not that interested in the auras, I'm in to the draconic theme. I have seen plenty of aura classes, if I were looking for auras, don't you think I would have chosen another?

By level range, do you mean how far do I intend on playing my classes? Well, probably until 4th edition comes out, or when I find a more interesting class or classes.