Disciple of Ashardalon - Dragon Prestige Class

This Prestige class uses elements that may not be applicable to the Forgotten Realms Campaign

The ancient red dragon Ashardalon, when struck a mortal blow by a human druid, replaced his wounded heart with a living demon: a balor of enormous power named Ammet, the Eater of Souls. Inspired by this example, disciples of Ashardalon bind fiendish spirits to their own hearts, eventually taking on the characteristics of demonic spawn themselves. Disciples of Ashandalon do not really worship the ancient dragon, nor do they literally learn directly from him as the word "disciple" implies, but they regard Ashardalon as the great exemplar of their path and seek to emulate him in every way possible.

Dragons of any class or none can qualify for the disciple of Ashardalon prestige class. Those with a religious or arcane leaning who have pursued specialized knowledge are most likely to follow this course. Even the most martially minded evil dragons, though, often find enough to inspire them in Ashardalon's example that they adopt this class.

Disciples of Ashardalon are members of an organization, loose-knit and secretive though it may be. Of necessity they have some contact with other members of the order, but their overwhelming personal ambition means they rarely cooperate with one another in pursuit of their various evil schemes. They are likely to make use of various minions, particularly those of a fiendish character, in pursuit of their plans, rather than rely on the cooperation of equals. Like their evil exemplar, they are often served by deluded cults made up of evil humanoids or even undead. Both they and their cultists contemplate plans of sweeping evil grandeur-seizing power, leveling kingdoms, reclaiming or destroying ancient artifacts, and the like. They are thus particularly well suited for use in campaigns of epic scope and, quite likely epic level.

Hit Die: d8

To qualify to become a Disciple of Ashardalon, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

• Race: Any dragon
• Alignment: Any evil.
• Skills: Knowledge (religion) 18 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 18 ranks
• Feats: Iron Will, Quicken Spell-like Ability,
• Base Attack Bonus: +18.
• Special: Initiation: Before adopting the prestige class, a dragon must join the loose-knit cult of other disciples and undergo its initiation rites. This process includes the ritual scarring of the dragon's heart - an extremely dangerous practice that would claim the life of a dragon too weak to qualify for the class, and leaves even those that do robbed of 1 point of Constitution. (Dragons that progress to at least 6th level in this class regain the lost Constitution point eventually).

Disciple of Ashardalon Details

From: Draconomicon

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