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Dragon Shaman, a Draconic Martial Class Inspired by 3.5e

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Dragon Shaman, a Draconic Martial Class Inspired by 3.5e

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Now updated with the Gem Totem Dragon after the release of Fizban's Treasury of Dragons. Check the changelog below for the full list of alterations.

To many, strength and power is the ultimate goal. And no creature embodies these traits like dragons. Those who seek to emulate these majestic beings call themselves Dragon Shamans. Through their bond with a totem dragon spirit, a Dragon Shaman's very body adapts to take on draconic traits, granting them boosting auras, resilient scales, and even powerful wings. To become a Dragon Shaman is to gain the soul of a dragon.

The Dragon Shaman class presented in this title is based on the Dragon Shaman in 3.5e's Player's Handbook II. There, the Dragon Shaman acted as something of a buff-providing leader and damage-dealing striker. Their auras gave the entire party useful combat buffs as well as social buffs, while the dragon shaman themselves slowly became more and more dragonlike. In 5e, the Dragon Shaman fulfills the same types of rolls, acting as a strong party face, buffing their allies, and gaining powerful draconic abilities based on the type of totem dragon they select.

Check out our Draconomicon for 5e, which contains information regarding more dragon species and has addtional options for the Chromatic, Gem, and Metallic Totem Dragons.

This work is part of the collections of the Arcane Athenæum. Check out our other works below.

The Artificer class

The Ranger (Revised) class

The Sorcerer (Revised) class

The Swordmage class

The Barbarian: Path of the Wild Soul subclass

The Druid: New Druidic subclasses

The Monk: Way of the Mystic Force subclass

The Paladin: Oath of Freedom subclass

The Savage and the Striker: Dual Wielding subclasses

The Sorcerer: Frozen Heart and Phoenix Sorcery subclasses

The Warlock: Great Wyrm subclass

The Wizard: Blue Magic and Sangromancy subclasses

The Sharkfolk player race

The Treant player race

Crafting Magic Items: A Guide to Artifice

The Draconomicon for 5e

The Explorer's Guide to the Wilderness

Changelog:

Version 4.0 01Nov2021 (oh look, it's muh birthday!)

Overall

Re-worked a bit of the flavor of the class, leaning more heavily into the idea that a dragon shaman's totem dragon is more like a spirit guide that bonds its soul to the dragon shaman's soul, altering the dragon shaman's nature in a spiritual way which facilitates the physical changes that they undergo.
Redesigned the draconic breath to work similarly to the breath weapons for the dragonborn in Fizban's Guide to Dragons. Now, you can use your breath weapon a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus each long rest, and you can use your breath weapon in place of a single weapon attack. As a result of this change, the damage scaling of the draconic breath has been lowered back to pre-v3.1 levels, starting at 2d6 at lvl 1 and reaching 6d6 at lvl 20.
Added a new feature at lvl 9 called "Enlarged Breath", which allows you to expend two uses of your draconic breath at once to double the size/length of your draconic breath.
Due to the changes to draconic breath, changed the class' capstone feature. Now whenever you take a short rest you can regain, at minimum, 1 of your breath uses. But there's also the possibility, if you've already used it 6 times, that you could get all 6 uses back.
Added the Gem Totem Dragon subclass, allowing you to choose from the gem dragons released in Fizban's (amethyst, crystal, emerald, sapphire, and topaz).

Chromatic Totem Dragon

Due to the changes to draconic breath, the subclass's Bloodied Breath feature no longer lets you regain your breath weapon. Instead, whenever you are at half your hit points or fewer, you can roll d10s for your draconic breath instead of d6s (so, at lvl 15 when you gain the feature, you can roll 5d10 instead of 5d6).

Version 3.2 21Sep2020

Overall

The subclass feature which was originally at 14th level has been moved to 15th level. Reason being, I think it's more mechanically balanced and less feature heavy at that lvl; lvl 14 gives you wings (which can significantly affect how you approach a fight), while 15th level just increases your breath weapon damage. So I believe adding a new feature at 15th rather than 14th is less complicated.
Added a clause to the dragon scales feature which establishes that you can wield a shield and still gain the benefits of the feature. Note that wielding a shield is not the same as wearing armor; if you are just wielding a shield with no other armor you would use the AC = 13 + Dex calculation. If you were wielding a shield while also wearing armor you'd take the +1 bonus AC.

Version 3.1 27Aug2020

Overall

The initial damage and damage progression of the Draconic Breath feature has been updated a bit to be a tad more powerful. The original damage was based on the dragonborn's breath weapon damage progression, but in all honestly it's generally agreed that the dragonborn trait isn't particularly strong. This change starts the damage a bit higher and leaves it at 6d6 at lvl 15 and 7d6 max at lvl 20, compared to the dragonborn's max of 5d6 at 16. As a class feature, and something of a core one, I think it needs a bit more oomph to make it more impactful. Honestly, it could potentially even go higher; at lvl 11 you're doing an average of 17 damage to an average of 3 targets once per short rest; not exactly amazing, but not nothing either. It's only at the capstone that we're looking at an almost-fireball-like ability (average of 24 damage) roughly every 3 rounds.

For a full changelog, click here.

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Reviews (2)

Discussions (14)

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Troy S November 05, 2022 10:55 pm UTC

PURCHASER

I noticed on the class table, Legendary Resistance is listed at Level 13, but in the class description, Commune with Dragon Spirit is described as the Level 13 feature.

Craig E April 01, 2022 3:42 pm UTC

PURCHASER

Interesting question: can a gem dragon shaman qualify for multiclassing with strength 13 and intelligence 13, since it can substitute intelligence for charisma?

Jeff V April 01, 2022 8:33 pm UTC

CREATOR

That’s exactly the intention, yes.

Craig E April 01, 2022 10:29 pm UTC

PURCHASER

The thing is, as it stands, even if you say the gem dragon shaman can switch out INT for CHA to enter another class (like adding a level or three of artificer or wizard), the entry requirements for someone who started as another class are STR 13/CHA 13, even if they plan to take on a gem dragon totem based on INT. Pedantic individuals like me could make a RAW vs. RAI argument in either direction, so it was good to get confirmation.

Troy S November 14, 2021 1:06 am UTC

PURCHASER

I assume it does, but does the Second Draconic Breath feature of the Metallic Totem Dragon benefit from the Enlarged Breath class feature?

Jeff V November 14, 2021 1:12 am UTC

CREATOR

Yes 100%. Both breaths are considered a “draconic breath” and thus benefit from that feature.

Craig E November 02, 2021 2:11 am UTC

PURCHASER

I love the new gem dragon options, especially how they get to use intelligence in place of charisma, due to the gem dragons having psychic powers! I may end up trying to get my DM to let me play a gem dragonborn dragon shaman (with a different type of gem dragon as the totem) the next time we start a new campaign.

Craig E November 02, 2021 3:58 am UTC

PURCHASER

You DO realize that dragonborn breath weapons are now 1d10 damage per tier, instead of the original numbers, right?

Jeff V November 02, 2021 4:18 am UTC

CREATOR

Yes of course! The dragon shaman’s breath weapon remains d6 s for a few reasons.

1) To differentiate it from the Dragonborn one (it is, after all, called draconic breath, not breath weapon).
2) I like the damage progression of d6s with the class compared to the d10s of the race. There is some difference, but not so much that I think it unbalanced either of them.

1d10 averages to 5.5 damage while 2d6 averages to 7. 2d10 averages to 11 damage while 3d6 averages to 10.5 damage. 3d10 averages to 16.5 damage while 4d6 averages to 14, and then 5d6 averages to 17.5. And finally, 4d10 averages to 22, while 6d6 averages to 21.

Of course at lvl 15 the Chromatic Dragon Shaman can use 5-6d10 when injured, but that’s sorta the point. The chromatic gets to be a slightly more damaged-focused subclass, the gem a bit tankier (with the extra resistance and teleporting), and the metallic control. These particular aspects don’t turn on until higher levels but are intentional....See more

Craig E October 27, 2021 2:03 pm UTC

PURCHASER

I hope this gets an update, now that Fizban's Treasury of Dragons brings dragon-themed gaming into the spotlight.

Jeff V October 27, 2021 2:38 pm UTC

CREATOR

Keep your eyes peeled in the next few days; working on it now. :D

Craig E October 01, 2020 3:49 am UTC

PURCHASER

I had a player in a game last week who chose this class without me even mentioning it. She picked the silver dragon as her totem, and described the Dragon Scales as being microscopically fine, like an all-over dusting of body glitter. I couldn't keep a straight face, and almost laughed out loud.

Troy S September 21, 2020 12:46 am UTC

PURCHASER

I wish I'd known this was a 3.5 class; otherwise, I might not have spent the past two years creating my own dragon themed class from the ground up. The breath weapon was a key component of my class too with a similar capstone at Lv20 and dealt a max of 10d6 damage (which just so happens to be the same as the original 3.5 class). I say this to affirm what you suggest in your most recent update (v3.1 of this posting). 7d6 damage, isn't exactly anything to scoff at, but if you wanted to bump the damage to 10d6 (I wouldn't do more than that), it wouldn't be too over powered. That would bring the average damage of the breath to an average of 35 damage per individual caught in the blast; which is about on par with a young dragon in The Monster Manual.

Jeff V September 21, 2020 1:04 pm UTC

CREATOR

Yeah I would love to see some feedback from playtesters concerning the damage; I'm worried about making it too strong; 10d6 that remained a per-rest ability would be fine, but with the capstone I would be concerned about making it too powerful when it's so much easier to recharge; though not necessarily likely, you could have 2 or 3 turns in a row where you get to deal 35 avg damage to 3ish opponents each and I think that's a bit much, especially since it can just keep recharging; not like a spell slot where if you burn through so many you have less later on.

Craig E October 04, 2020 6:02 pm UTC

PURCHASER

Then again, this is the class capstone we're talking about, a point when most combat classes are pretty much expected to inflict heavy damage to a minimum of 1 or 2 enemies per round (assuming you're playing appropriately). And while it's possible for a level 20 dragon shaman to recharge their breath quickly, you've also got wizards who can cast their favorite level 1 or level 2 spell every round (look at the level 18 feature and weep!). In fact, if one of the wizard's standard spells is a bonus action, he can do that AND cast an attack cantrip EVERY SINGLE ROUND! So while a dragon shaman's capstone is flashy and does good damage, you're gonna use it an average once or twice per fight, just like any mage's mid-level damage spells.

Jeff V October 05, 2020 5:09 pm UTC

CREATOR

A fair point. If your new silver dragon shaman player gets up to the capstone I'd love to hear how they do compared to the rest of the party damage-wise, and I can see if we need to update anything and improve the power.

Jeremy G March 28, 2019 3:59 pm UTC

PURCHASER

I would love to add a gem dragon subclass to this already amazing class!

Jeff V April 08, 2019 5:17 pm UTC

CREATOR

I'm currently working on porting the other metallic dragons from 4e, and after that I'll be doing gem dragons in *some* capacity. I need to look over Matt Colville's gem dragons a bit and decide if I want to to something differently from them OR base a gem dragon subclass off his. But they will come.

Craig E February 03, 2019 10:09 pm UTC

PURCHASER

You should make sure the Dragon Scales ability mentions whether you can use a shield. And run a spell check. Otherwise, great work.

Jeff V February 06, 2019 6:07 pm UTC

CREATOR

I'll be sure to add that when I do a revision. 'Cause you're right, most features which give a new way to calculate AC include that part. And thank you for the note on the spell checker; I do of course proofread but sometimes things slip through.

Jonathan S December 11, 2018 6:45 pm UTC

PURCHASER

I have a concern about how the Chromatic Dragon "subclass" has Black and Green have the exact same effect for the 6th level ability. Is this a typo, perhaps?

Upon further investigation, the Metallic Dragon "Subclass" has Bronze and Gold have the exact same effect at the same level.

Jeff V December 18, 2018 1:28 pm UTC

CREATOR

Not at typo; their adaptations are supposed to be the same, because those dragon's have the same sort of lifestyles and biological abilities.

Craig E September 08, 2018 7:19 am UTC

PURCHASER

I've been waiting for this class to show up for forever, and I'm glad to see you brought my favorite 3.5e class to the modern era!

That said, you need to specify how to deal with the "energy shield" aura at level 1. As it stands, there's no reason to pick it up as part of your starting bundle, because you don't have a totem dragon yet, and therefore no specified energy type. So really, you have to wait until level 5 in order to get it! That said, level 1 is debatably the point at which "energy shield" would do the most good, but not if it does nothing at all!

Come to think of it, the "resistance" aura is the same way.

On a side note, maybe you should revisit the level 14 metallic totem ability. I can see where you got it, but by level 14, the ability to shift your appearance once per day is nothing, barely a ribbon (and that assumes you aren't playing a changeling dragon shaman, who gets it for free at level 1!). At least the chromatic totems...See more

Jeff V September 10, 2018 12:57 am UTC

CREATOR

Good point with the lvl 1 thing and energy shield. I'll probably just make it bludgeoning for simplicity's sake, since before the totem dragon at lvl 2 I don't think there should be any elemental damage associated with it. I could choose Force as a general "magic" damage option, but force is actually a very strong damage type and I think it would be a bit silly if you got the best damage type at lvl 1 and then immediately lost it.

Resistance is a bit trickier. I don't want to make it any of the physical damage types since again, at those levels it's potentially stronger than intended and doesn't really fit the theme.

Come to think of it, I might just swap the Totem Dragon and Draconic Aura levels around. I vaguely remember not doing this for some reason, but I can't think of why at this point in time. Looking over it though, it doesn't look like this would break anything. Hmmmm.

For that 14th level ability, I think the dragon strike idea is neat. Alternatively,...See more

Jeff V September 10, 2018 1:17 pm UTC

CREATOR

For now, I've swapped the Totem Dragon and Draconic Aura features in the newest version. I am going to keep the 14th level feature for metallics as it is for now, but I've made it unlimited use. I like the idea of metallic dragons focusing less on combat numbers and more on skills and less-violent-features, as I feel it fits the theme for them better. But I'll keep an eye on things to see if I should make another change.

Craig E September 11, 2018 2:57 am UTC

PURCHASER

Back in 3e, Damage Reduction applied to PHYSICAL ATTACKS, a distinction from Energy Resistance, which worked on... well, energy. The main difference was, energy resistance applied only to the listed type of damage (fire resistance 10 reduced every incident of fire damage by 10 points, to a minimum of 0, but did nothing versus cold or sonic damage), while DR was considered all-inclusive, barring those attacks that met the listed criteria. DR 5/magic at level 20 was worse than useless, because it reduced every physical attack by 5 points, unless it came from a magical source... such as magic weapons, a monk's unarmed strikes, or the natural weapons of pretty much any creature of CR 10 or higher (and some creatures as low as CR 1!). In fact, DR didn't even apply to physical damage that wasn't a direct attack, like falling damage, traps, or running into a cactus!

For the record: dying from "cactus damage" is NOT the most unusual death I've ever experienced! Just imagine the possibilities...

John R August 08, 2018 6:19 pm UTC

PURCHASER

I am curious if you plan on keeping to the core 10 dragons or maybe have thoughts of expanding to other true dragons from old supplements such as the Gem Dragons or the Shadow Dragon for example. Outside of that curiosity I find that this product has been well designed and seems to balance well with official material.

Jeff V August 09, 2018 1:02 pm UTC

CREATOR

I do! If you download my Draconomicon product (http://www.dmsguild.com/product/224857/5e--Draconomicon-I-Chromatic-Dragons) you'll get rules for brown, gray, and purple dragons. Eventually, though this is taking longer than I hoped, I will be doing other metallic dragons (iron, cobalt, etc.) and those will receive rules as well, and eventually gem dragons beyond that. With Matt Colville's gem dragons eventually coming out though, I'm not sure what my plan is with that. With only a couple of exceptions I don't like to make content for stuff where great versions already exist. If I end up really liking Colville's gem dragons I probably will just provide supplement rules for them.

Shadow dragons I probably won't be doing, since they aren't really a "species" of dragon so much as a dragon which has undergone a magical transformation.

Thank you for the interest!

Alexander G July 28, 2018 2:51 pm UTC

PURCHASER

You accidentally wrote the whole "Draconic Adaptation" Column down twice in the Chromatic Dragon subclass.

Jeff V July 29, 2018 1:43 pm UTC

CREATOR

Oh dear. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I’ll try to get a fixed version up soon.

Jeff V July 29, 2018 2:06 pm UTC

CREATOR

Unexpectedly had some time, so the fixed version is up!

Matthew C September 20, 2017 5:31 am UTC

PURCHASER

I've made this class available for play in my home campaign.

The flavor is good and the sort of narrative placement of it fits, but I swear the general design rankles something fierce.

After much reflection I think it's because this class seems to basically give the barbarian another "core mechanic" in the auras and as a result their Rage is just this other thing they do instead of the focus of their schtick. I have a player interested in making one, we'll see how it functions in game and my reservations might be rooted in the fact I've never seen any barbarian played past level 6.

Jeff V September 22, 2017 9:32 pm UTC

CREATOR

The Dragon Shaman Barbarian still has to rage in order to use the auras; the auras are really just a bonus effect for the rage, but their rages function exactly the same otherwise (advantage on Strength checks, extra Rage damage, resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, etc.) So I still consider Rage the focus of their schtick; it's just a special rage (much like Berserker Barbarians get a special kind of rage, and some Totem Barbarians get extra effects with their rages).

Please let me know how it goes if anyone takes it. Playtesting is super important to me.

Matthew C September 23, 2017 9:31 pm UTC

PURCHASER

Ah, I see. There's some language in the descriptions that make that unclear. Paragraph 1 under Draconic Aura reads "... you can channel the mighty powers of dragonkind and project an aura that grants you and nearby allies a special benefit." No mention is made of projecting while raging until... paragraph 3. My initial reading made it seem you have an aura and it explands to a 10ft radius when you rage.

Paragraph 1 under Empowered Aura reads "... you can have two draconic auras active at one time rather than one, and can activate two when you rage." Which makes the issue a little unclear since activating an Aura is not described as requiring an action of any sort. This further reinforced my earlier interpretation making it seem like you have 1 but when you're raging you can now have 2 going at once.

I'd recommend tightening up the initial description from Draconic Aura Paragraph 1 by adding some variation of "when raging."

Now that I'm digesting...See more

Jeff V September 28, 2017 7:07 pm UTC

CREATOR

I shall tighten up the description a bit for the auras to ensure the ability is clear.

When it comes to the concerns about the auras needing to be separated by level, however, I disagree. For a simple reason; Dragon Shamans are very MAD. Barbarians already want good Str, Dex, and Con for their abilities to shine. By requiring Cha for the auras, this effectively puts Dragon Shaman characters in a position where boosting the bonus to their auras makes them weaker as a Barbarian overall, since they then don't improve those other qualities. Sure, you could put your highest lvl stat into Cha and thus get a +2 or +3 aura right at lvl 3, and even increase this all the way up to +5 at later levels, but if you do that then you are making everything else that makes them a Barbarian worse.

I think by making the subclass so MAD we inherently avoid those sorts of problems. Most Barbarians are either going to have a +0 or +1 in their Cha at most. By comparison, most Paladins are going to have...See more

Matthew C September 30, 2017 6:31 am UTC

PURCHASER

I recognize you've stated your commitment to keeping it as is, I can always house rule it (though that will impact my player's feedback on it). Without too much back and forth, you can ignore strength making this Barbarian Path only as MAD as a normal Barbarian. Good luck with it in any event.

Jeff V September 30, 2017 8:21 pm UTC

CREATOR

I'll look into it a bit more; you may be correct about the auras getting too strong. And doing some napkin math, it occurs that the boost provided by the auras could override the loss of Strength, for example, in certain ways.