Feats for a Juvenile White Dragon

[trentonjoe]

I am writing up an encounter for my game tomorrow. It is a 15th level ranger who has two white dragons as "pets".

These White Dragons are medium sized and need 5 feets. I was going to give them fly by attack and the extra breath feat form the MM but I am stumpted on their other 3. Any suggestions?

 

[Nightfall]

Give one Snatch, Power Dive, Rend.

The other Wingstorm, Empower and Maximize Breath Weapon.

 

[Mark]

Give one Snatch, Power Dive, Rend.

The other Wingstorm, Empower and Maximize Breath Weapon.

SNATCH [GENERAL]
Prerequisite: Size Huge or larger.
Benefits: The creature can choose to start a grapple when it hits with a claw or bite attack, as though it had the improved grab special attack. If the creature gets a hold on a creature three or more sizes smaller, it squeezes each round for automatic bite or claw damage. A snatched opponent held in the creature’s mouth is not allowed a Reflex save against the creature’s breath weapon, if it has one.
The creature can drop a creature it has snatched as a free action or use a standard action to fling it aside. A flung creature travels 1d6 x 10 feet, and takes 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet traveled. If the creature flings a snatched opponent while flying, the opponent takes this amount or falling damage, whichever is greater.

Typical feats for a White Dragon include -

Feats: All dragons have one feat, plus additional feats based on Hit Dice just like any other creature. Dragons favor Alertness, Blind-Fight, Cleave, Flyby Attack, Hover, Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Snatch, Weapon Focus (claw or bite), Wingover, and any metamagic feat that is available and useful to sorcerers.

Which is not to say that they are mandatory, but I'm inclined to go with what is suggested unless special circumstance (in-game or meta) suggest otherwise (background that steers toward a different feat, players that know the MM too well, etc.)


Dragon, white, juvenile (26-50 yr.): CR 6; Medium Dragon (Cold); HD 12d12+24; hp 102; Init +0; Spd 60 ft. (12 sqs.), fly 200 ft. (poor) (40 sqs.), swim 60 ft. (12 sqs.), burrow 30 ft. (6 sqs.); AC 21 (+11 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 21; Base Attack/Grapple +12/+15; Attack Bite +16 melee (1d8+3) or claw +13 melee (1d6+1) or wing +13 melee (1d4+1); Full Attack Bite +16 melee (1d8+3) and 2 claws +13 melee (1d6+1) and 2 wings +13 melee (1d4+1); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Breath weapon (30 ft. Cone of cold, Ref Con-based DC 18, 4d6/half), Spell-like abilities; SQ Blindsense 60’, Icewalking, Immunities (cold, paralysis, sleep), Keen senses; AL (Always) CE; SV Fort +10, Ref +8, Will +8; Str 17, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 8.
Languages: Draconic.
Skills/Feats: Hide +15, Listen +15, Search +14, Spot +15, Swim +18; Blind-fight, Flyby Attack, Hover, Multiattack, Weapon Focus (bite).
Spell-like abilities (as per spell): 3/day–fog cloud.
Blindsense (Ex) [60‘]: Uses keen sense of smell and hearing to pinpoint creatures or objects (still requires a line of effect).
Breath weapon (Su): Cone of cold (as high/wide as long, from adjacent intersection), 30 ft. range, Ref save Con-based DC 18, 4d6 cold damage/half.
Icewalking (Ex): Always in effect. Like spider climb spell, but climbing surface must be icy.
Immunities/Vulnerability: Immune to cold, paralysis effects and sleep; vulnerable to fire (damage +50%).
Keen senses (Ex): 4 X human in shadowy illumination, 2 X normal light, darkvision 120 ft.
Combat/Description: Preferring sudden assaults, they swoop down from aloft or burst from beneath water, snow, or ice loosing their breath weapon, then take out single opponents with follow-up attacks. Wyrmling scales glisten like mirrors (sheen disappears with age, by very old age, scales of pale blue/light gray/mixed with white).

I like to go with Flyby and Multiattack right off the bat to make the creature more mobile and increase the effectiveness of all attacks. As soon as strength reaches 13, I like to add Weapon Focus (Bite). Hover does a lot to increase it's ability to fight from range effectively, and I add Blind-fight as soon as the Fog Cloud is available to it.

Just my thoughts and I hope that helps. Remember where you got it...

 

[Nightfall]

Okay so scrub snatch, take rend and then go with Improved natural attack or improved natural armor.

 

[trentonjoe]

I add Blind-fight as soon as the Fog Cloud is available to it.

..[/i]

Isn't blindsense better than Blind fighting?

I think I am going with:

Wingover, Multiattack, FLy-by-attack, Hover, amd one more.

 

[Mark]

Isn't blindsense better than Blind fighting?

I think I am going with:

Wingover, Multiattack, FLy-by-attack, Hover, amd one more.

BLIND-FIGHT [GENERAL]
Benefit: In melee, every time you miss because of concealment, you can reroll your miss chance percentile roll one time to see if you actually hit.
An invisible attacker gets no advantages related to hitting you in melee. That is, you don’t lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, and the attacker doesn’t get the usual +2 bonus for being invisible. The invisible attacker’s bonuses do still
apply for ranged attacks, however.
You take only half the usual penalty to speed for being unable to see. Darkness and poor visibility in general reduces your speed to three-quarters normal, instead of one-half.
Normal: Regular attack roll modifiers for invisible attackers trying to hit you apply, and you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC. The speed reduction for darkness and poor visibility also applies.
Special: The Blind-Fight feat is of no use against a character who is the subject of a blink spell.
A fighter may select Blind-Fight as one of his fighter bonus feats.

Blindsight (Ex): This ability is similar to blindsense, but is far more discerning. Using nonvisual senses, such as sensitivity to vibrations, keen smell, acute hearing, or echolocation, a creature with blindsight maneuvers and fights as well as a sighted creature. Invisibility, darkness, and most kinds of concealment are irrelevant, though the creature must have line of effect to a creature or object to discern that creature or object. The ability’s range is specified in the creature’s descriptive text. The creature usually does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to notice creatures within range of its blindsight
ability. Unless noted otherwise, blindsight is continuous, and the creature need do nothing to use it. Some forms of blindsight, however, must be triggered as a free action. If so, this is noted in the creature’s description. If a creature must trigger its blindsight ability, the creature gains the benefits of blindsight only during its turn.

If Blindsense is negated due to silence spells and some sort of overwhelming odors, Blind-fight still allows effective fighting, if not maneuverability. It's a back-up system that could easily be dropped for the sake of an NPC, but I'd keep it for a longterm NPC or a PC, myself. Wingover is a good alternate, as you mention. Improved Natural Attack is another good choice, perhaps, as Nightfall mentions.

 

[Nightfall]

How about Whirlwind Tail sweep? Or maybe Suppress Weakness.

 

[jasper]

How about these feats
black head and pimple resistance
parent avoidance - juv gets +4 on all rolls when dealing with parents, adds +10 to all escape rolls.
life of party - juv gets +4 circumstance bonus on all charisma related rolls.
hard of head - juv gets +4 on all will saves, thinks int goes +6 but really stays the same.
Smooth tongue- allows communication with opposite sex without embarrassing comments
heighten allowance - gp value doubles. however taker of feat must spend all the allowance or lose feat
drivers license - user gains +4 morale bonus when in wheeled vechile.