Possible to make Dragon Disciple a viable core gish?

[Vasja]

Hey all,

I've been lurking reddit's dnd board of late and have stumbled upon a long discussion in one of the prestige class threads. It's a bit of a long read, but the gist is the contention that the Dragon Disciple is a viable core gish due to the massive stat boosts it provides as well as the free flight and bonus spells. However, I'm having trouble coming up with a build that stays effective into the mid- and high-levels. The lack of feats is a real bummer, and trying to do some sort of Paladin/Sorcerer/EK replacement isn't really working either.

Would it be possible to use this prestige class yet stay a flexible and contributing member of the party past, say, level 10?

[JohnnyMayHymn]

Well... there IS a way; but, it's probably a little TOO good for practical use.

[Solo]

Barb4/Sorc2/DD10/Anything4
You can also do Rogue5/AssassinX/DD(15-X)

[RobbyPants]

It's a bit of a long read, but the gist is the contention that the Dragon Disciple is a viable core gish due to the massive stat boosts it provides as well as the free flight and bonus spells.

I don't know if I'd say "contention" so much as the one poster refuses to do anything other than an apples to oranges comparison to get the result he wants. Also, he thinks he can get +40 points of Power Attack damage (2/3 of his total!) by sacrificing more than his BAB to hit.

Would it be possible to use this prestige class yet stay a flexible and contributing member of the party past, say, level 10?

Apples to apples, I'd say no. If you try a whole lot of shenanigans, you might be able to come off as level appropriate, but a similar amount of shenanigans on a better class would result in a better PC.

[Vasja]

Ah. Thanks for the help, guys.

[Nanshork]

The Dragon Devotee prestige class from Races of the Dragon (if I remember correctly) makes an excellent entry into Dragon Disciple.

[carnivore]

sadly ... the 1/2 Dragon Template is Core and makes the Dragon Disciple virtually worthless


 

[Nanshork]

sadly ... the 1/2 Dragon Template is Core and makes the Dragon Disciple virtually worthless


 

Except class levels > level adjustment.   

[Garryl]

sadly ... the 1/2 Dragon Template is Core and makes the Dragon Disciple virtually worthless


 

Except class levels > level adjustment.   

Other than the hit points, you're not really getting much for the 7 extra LA that Dragon Disciple makes you go through. Is a Dragon Disciple 10 build ever going to be better than the same thing with 7 levels of, say, Eldritch Knight?

[awaken_D_M_golem]

ninja-vored


"A bonus spell can be added to any level of spells the disciple already has the ability to cast."
Sooo ...
combat build dips 1 level of specific spell casting class
PAO into spell casting form, with same class as above
last old T.O. definition of Polymorph = gets the monster spellcasting
DD
very suspect to targeted Dispels + Antimagic

This is like a level 15 party gimmick, because how else are you getting a PAO.

[carnivore]

personally i would rather have:

1/2 Dragon Elf(Gray)
Wizard 7/ Loremaster 10

than any Dragon Disciple 10 build, in fact i cant think of any DD 10 build that can come even close in a CORE only setting

 

[snakeman830]

sadly ... the 1/2 Dragon Template is Core and makes the Dragon Disciple virtually worthless


 

Except class levels > level adjustment.   

Other than the hit points, you're not really getting much for the 7 extra LA that Dragon Disciple makes you go through. Is a Dragon Disciple 10 build ever going to be better than the same thing with 7 levels of, say, Eldritch Knight?

If you need (Ex) flight and can't fit a mount?.  In core, that's the only way to do it.

So no, there is no build with DD that will be superior

[Chrononaut]

Politely request that Dragonheart mage gives you the half dragon template at the end instead? (The alternate concept fluff about making it a 'heritage mage' does as much for half celestial or half fiend and those are both bigger LA's than half dragon)

The PF dragon disciple is basically that anyways, ask if you can use it instead.