Nifft,
Here is the post I made in reply over on Against The Shadow. I thought you might have given up on those boards so thought I would repeat my reply here:
Nifft,
OK, firstly sorry if my comments came across as, "that's not what I would do" rather than as positive input. Here are some flavour thoughts first:
1. The first entry in the time line is:
Time of Years (Year of the Seer Wind)
Xircxi, Patriarch of the Dragons, gifts a crown of scales to Suthail Aman, High Lady of the elthedar. The present is a token of highest honor and sublime divinity.
I could see the Dragonblooded heroic path as a legacy of this "blessing" of Xircxi and perhaps of the elthedar, particularly if the Dragonblooded character is a fey.
2. The Dragon Disciple might more properly be known as the Disciple of Xircxi... or some other noun combined with Xircxi (rattling brain for ideas... Inheritor... Scion [not bad]... that's all... need more coffee).
3. Perhaps the Dragon Disciples/Disciples of Xircxi/Scions of Xircxi must be "commissioned" by Aradil in a ceremony involving Xircxi's Crown of Scales. That is, of course, assuming that Aradil has this crown in her possession (as the one closest in power to the elthedar)... failing which, that sounds like an adventure hook for a Dragonblooded character.
4. With 2 and 3 in mind, perhaps the Scions of Xircxi ar enot required to be Dragonblooded but, rather, represent Xircxi reaching across time to see his beloved Aryth defended against the Shadow?
OK, rules issues:
1. I think the prestige class is too powerful largely because, under the Midnight magic rules, 10 levels in any class result in a ten level increase in caster ability. When this is combined with the following gains: 10d8 hp, +7 BAB, +4 natural armour, +8 Str, Con +2, Int +2, Cha +2, blindsense, 60% spell energy acquisition (compared to another "full time" caster), claws, bite, breath weapon and a couple of immunities including one to energy, you really have a class that gives you a lot of "bang for your buck". I may have even missed a couple of things. The only drawback is that you have difficulty disguising yourself.
So, basically, you have a channeler with slightly lower spell energy (by only four points... that's not a lot) but with better hit points, ability scores, natural armour, natural attacks, breath weapon and one type of energy immunity. No way I would allow this in my game.
2. Prerequisites are a bit off (NB: Knowledge: arcana, or any other skill prerequisite, should be shown in ranks not as a plus). Also 5 ranks can be gained at only 2nd level. I realise that casting 3rd level spells bumps up the minimum level requirement but perhaps the skill ranks should reflect the minimum level that you foresee the class being entered?
Hmmm... two large points, not a lot positive there. OK, IMO I would drop the Dragon Disciple idea and, if you really want a half-dragon, try some sort of ceremony tied to the Crown of Scales (and that really could make an interresting adventure/mini-campaign) and go with a Savage Species-style three level acqusition of the half-dragon template which also results in no additional caster level, spell energy, hit points or saves.
Conveniently, Sean Reynolds posted such a progression on the WotC website some weeks ago but here it is for you:
Table SP-2: The Half-Dragon Template Class
Level CR Special
1 +1 Str +2, Int +2, resistance (lesser), racial HD type increase, natural armor +2, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision
2 +1 Str +2, Con +2, resistance (greater), 2 claws, bite, natural armor +1, breath weapon 3d8, immunities (lesser)
3 +2 Str +4, Cha +2, immunities (greater), wings, natural armor +1, breath weapon 6d8, dragon type
Half-Dragon Template Class Features
Ability Score Changes: The indicated ability score increases or decreases by the amount noted.
Resistances (Ex): A half-dragon has energy resistance 10 to one type of energy. The specific type is determined by the dragon kind that provided the benefits of the template, according to the following table.
Dragon
Variety Energy Type
Resisted
Black Acid
Blue Electricity
Brass Fire
Bronze Electricity
Copper Acid
Gold Fire
Green Acid
Red Fire
Silver Cold
White Cold
At 2nd level, this resistance increases to 20. At 3rd level, the half-dragon becomes completely immune to the indicated energy type (see Immunities, below).
Racial HD Type Increase (Ex): At 1st level, each of a half-dragon's racial Hit Dice increases by one die type: d4 to d6, d6 to d8, d8 to d10, or d10 to d12. Class Hit Dice are unaffected. Rather than rerolling all racial Hit Dice, you can simply add 1 hit point per racial Hit Die to the half-dragon's hit point total.
Natural Armor Improvements: At every level of the prestige class, the half-dragon's natural armor bonus increases by the indicated amount. A character that does not normally have a natural armor bonus (such as a human) is considered to have an initial natural armor bonus of +0 for the purpose of this ability. Thus, a human's natural armor bonus would increase to +2 at 1st level, to +3 at 2nd level, and finally to +4 at 3rd level.
Darkvision (Ex): At 1st level the half-dragon gains darkvision to a 60-foot range.
Low-Light Vision (Ex): At 1st level, the half-dragon gains low-light vision.
Claws: At 2nd level, the half-dragon gains two claw attacks if she didn't already have them. For the base damage of the half-dragon's claw attacks, use the appropriate value from the table below if the base creature did not previously have claw attacks. If she did, use either the value from the table or the base creature's claw damage, whichever is better. The half-dragon's claws are natural attacks.
Bite: At 2nd level, the half-dragon gains a bite attack if she didn't already have one. For the base damage of the half-dragon's bite attack, use the appropriate value from the table below if the base creature did not previously have a bite attack. If she did, use either the value from the table or the base creature's bite damage, whichever is better. The half-dragon's bite is a natural attack.
Size Bite
Damage Claw
Damage
Fine 1 --
Diminutive 1d2 1
Tiny 1d3 1d2
Small 1d4 1d3
Medium 1d6 1d4
Large 1d8 1d6
Huge 2d6 1d8
Gargantuan 3d6 2d6
Colossal 4d6 3d6
Breath Weapon (Su): At 2nd level, a half-dragon gains a breath weapon similar to that of the dragon that provided the benefits of the template. The breath weapon is usable once per day and allows a Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 half-dragon's racial HD + half-dragon's Constitution modifier) for half damage. The shape and size of the breath weapon are given by the following table.
Dragon
Variety Breath
Weapon
Black 60-foot line of acid
Blue 60-foot line of lightning
Brass 30-foot cone of corrosive (acid) gas
Bronze 30-foot cone of fire
Copper 30-foot cone of cold
Gold 60-foot line of fire
Green 60-foot line of lightning
Red 60-foot line of acid
Silver 30-foot cone of fire
White 30-foot cone of cold
When first acquired, the breath weapon deals only 3d8 points of damage. When the half-dragon reaches 3rd level, the base damage for the breath weapon increases to 6d8.
Immunities (Ex): At 2nd level, the half-dragon becomes immune to sleep and paralysis. When she reaches 3rd level, her template-based energy resistance (see Resistances, above) is replaced by total immunity to that energy type.
Wings (Ex): At 3rd level, a Large or larger half-dragon grows fully functional wings and may use them to fly at up to twice her land speed (maximum 120 feet) with average maneuverability. A Medium or smaller half-dragon either does not grow wings or grows nonfunctional vestigial ones.
Dragon Type: At 3rd level, the half-dragon completes her metamorphosis, and her type changes to dragon. She becomes vulnerable to spells and effects that work on creatures of the dragon type but is immune to effects that target her original type. For example, a half-human/half-dragon would be subject to the extra damage from a dragon bane sword, but she is immune to hold person because that spell affects only humanoids.
I really think that the Dragon Disciple as you have proposed is just waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overpowered, largely because the levels count for spellcaster level purposes because of the way magic works in Midnight. The big offset with the core version of the class is losing 10 spellcaster levels: in other words, delaying the acquisition of 5 spell levels and that's huge.
Anyway, what do you think?
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Cheers
D
