Dechired Dragon

Meaning "Broken or Torn", to be Dechired for a dragon is to forever live with complications or shortcomings; and to be ever aware of one's own limitations, where other dragons tower above as titans of power and might.

Whether through physical injuries, disabilities at birth, or magical afflictions, some dragons are smaller and weaker than their peers. The lives of these poor souls can be difficult, for in the world of dragons *The Great Game* of power and influence is key to a long and successful life of a wyrm; and those who suffer from cruelties of fate or accidents of birth have little to look forward to on the great stage.

These are known as Dechired Dragons.

Physically smaller than their brethren and woefully outmatched in their natural and magical abilities, these True Dragons often seek out a new purpose in the Civilizations of Qareth and adventure with companions! Their stories are diverse and their motives their own, but all Dechired Dragons share a common need for the protections of society and the comradery of friends. And much like their mortal comrades, these dragons must learn skills and trades to offset their physical and magical shortcomings; Dechired Dragons do not gain hit dice nor increase in their magics as the years pass by, instead they must learn Classes and hone their talents like any other player character.

It would be foolish, however, to disregard the Dechired as "lesser" or "weak"; They are still Dragons, just as cunning, calculating, ambitious, and proud as their able-bodied peers. Surviving for as long as they have necessitates creative solutions, a drive to learn and grow, and a willingness to experiment. Whether they are masters of diplomacy, champions of righteousness, bold and self-reliant survivors, or cold and cruel opportunists; to underestimate a Dechired Dragon is to bumble directly into their advantage.

## Character Stats:

#### Standard Racial Traits

* **Ability Score:** Flexible, Dechired Dragons gain a +2 bonus to any two ability scores at creation.
* **Type:** Dragon
* **Size:** Large (long)
* **Base Speed:** 30 feet
* **Languages:** Dechired Dragons begin speaking Common and Draconic, Dechired Dragons with high intelligence scores can learn any languages they want (except Druidic and other secret languages). See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
* **Alignment:** Any; While most dragons feel a natural inclination toward specific alignments from their Heritage, Dechired Dragons fundamentally live in a different world than their able-bodied brethren. Through choice, chance, the actions of others, and the life experience of living among mortals; there is no short list of reasons why any dragon may see the world differently. Player's are encouraged to play their characters the way that best fits their backstory and design!
* **Long Lived:** While they do not grow more powerful with age like most dragons, Dechired Dragons can live for centuries, wandering the lands and living among the mortals to find their destinies.

* **Darkvision:** 60 feet.
* **Low-Light Vision:** Dechired Dragons can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.

* **Natural Armor:**  Dechired Dragons' tough skin give them a +1 Natural Armor bonus to their AC.
* **Racial Favored Class Benefits:** None, while they do gain the standard Favored Class Bonuses (either +1 hit point or +1 skill rank per level) Dechired Dragons gain no extra benefits to class features.

#### Feat and Skill Racial Traits

* **Dragon Immunities:** Immune to sleep and paralysis.
* **Change Shape, Lesser:** As a Standard Action a Dechired Dragon can assume the appearance of a single form of any humanoid race; this form is chosen at character creation and can not be altered by this ability. The size category of this humanoid form is either Large or Medium, whatever the player chooses. The form is static and cannot be changed aside from outside mundane or magical help (such as clothing, make-up, disguises, or spells). The Dechired Dragon gains a +10 racial bonus on Disguise checks (vs. Knowledge Arcana) made to appear as the member of the chosen race. Changing back into Dragon Form is a standard action. This trait otherwise functions as alter self, save that the creature does not adjust its ability scores.
* **Dragon Heritage:** At character creation, choose one heritage. You gain all abilities and modifiers associated with that heritage (see table).
* **Bonus Movement\*:** Dechired Dragons gain a bonus movement ability depending on their heritage (see table). If there is a skill associated with said movement, such as fly, swim, or climb, these skills are always Class Skills for you.
* **Elemental Resistance\*:** Dechired Dragons gain a resistance depending on their heritage (see table).
* **Breath Weapon\*:** 3/day, as a standard action, Dechired Dragons can make a supernatural breath weapon attack that deals 2d6 points of damage in either a 20ft cone or a 50ft line. All creatures within the affected area must make a Reflex saving throw to avoid taking damage. The save DC against this breath weapon is 10 + 1/2 the user’s character level + the user’s Constitution modifier. Those who succeed at the save take half damage from the attack. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. The damage type of this breath weapon depends on their heritage (see table).
* **Utility Ability\*:** Dechired Dragons inherit a bonus utility ability depending on their heritage (see table). If the Utility Ability is a spell, treat your caster level for the spell as your class level, even if you are not a spellcasting class; use either INT, WIS, or CHA for your casting stat, whichever is highest.

## History and Ecology:

Some eggs are laid a little smaller than others, some wyrmlings become sick or injured, and sometimes curses are placed on whole family trees of dragons and their brood. Whatever ill fate has befallen these noble creatures, they must now live with their afflictions and seek out their own meaning for living!

Very little, if any help is to be expected from other dragons, even among the most benevolent of divine wyrms. In the eyes of a powerful, mighty, independent, and solitary dragon, there is little incentive to give assistance or resources to the dechired. Most able-bodied wyrms will either look upon the dechired with aloof disinterest, platitudes of pity, or even disgusted superiority. In the world of Dragonkind it is one's own strength that determines one's worth; and so when compared directly, any dechired will prove to be little more than a mortal with scales.

Even one's own broodmates and ancestors are not likely to give support. To bare a small egg or to have hatched a wyrmling inflicted with a magical disease is one less offspring likely to survive. More good natured dragons may gift these inferior eggs and offspring to mortal families or townships who will raise them and protect them; while the cruel parents of these unfortunates may abandon the eggs or cast out the wyrmlings from the nest, left to fate on whether they survive at all.

Therefore when encountering Dechired Dragons, it is not uncommon to find them living in society; whether they have sworn their loyalty to a noble house, serve a nation or kingdom, or run their own criminal organizations or personal cults. Dechired Dragons know that they will not survive in the dragon world, and so they seek out the lesser races to either assist or dominate, carving out their own niches to thrive in. It is better to rule in the underworld than to be crushed in the clouds.

Thanks to their long lives, these souls can spend their time gaining new knowledge and skills, learning martial and magical means to defend themselves and project their ideals onto their small corner of the world. Fighting, Spell slinging, Adventuring, and Ruling; these are the tools of a wise dragon who has found themselves broken.

#### (DM Notes:)

No, this is NOT balanced, in any way; thank you for noticing! Implicit trust between the player and the DM is needed for this race, because Dragons are powerful, some would say they Literally Embody the concept of "Power". Thus I wanted a race to reflect that, allowing a trusted player to play as a literal dragon without pouring 10 to 12 levels into some bullshit class like... Dragonrider or Draconic Druid or... whatever.

This race is meant for players to tell interesting stories and build their dragon the way they want to, using their Class to embody and personify the kind of Dragon they want to be. Player Freedom is the ethos of this race, and as such I encourage my players to be creative with how they build their character sheets. To wit when playing this race I will happily allow my players to qualify for any feats or classes that have prerequisites that are "dragon themed", whether that is dragon bloodlines, or dragon cleric domains, or whatever. You are a *True Dragon*, you are special, be special and have fun!