Monster Prestige Class : Dragon - Elemental Master
Dragons are creatures of raw elemental power. Two mighty forces rage within their veins: the energy that powers their breath weapons, and the elemental nature that forms the core of their being. Elemental masters strive to attain the purity of perfect attunement with both of these forces.
The path of the elemental master is almost exclusively pursued by true dragons, since the class requires a connection to elemental and energy forces. Some dragons have levels in other classes, commonly wizard or sorcerer, before adopting this prestige class, but many others do not.
Elemental masters are the most solitary and reclusive of dragons, spending their lives in communion with the natural forces of the universe rather than interacting with creatures they consider to be lesser life forms. When they do cooperate with other creatures, they choose elementals and outsiders from the elemental planes as their allies, and occasionally younger dragons of the same variety.
Requirements
To qualify to become an Elemental Master, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Race: Any dragon
- Feats: Any three metabreath feats,
- Base Attack Bonus: +20.
- Spells: Able to cast arcane spells.
- Special: Elemental Attunement: The dragon must have energy or elemental subtype, such as air, cold, earth, electricity, fire, or water.
Breath Weapon: The dragon must have a breath weapon that deals energy damage.
Class Skills
The elemental master's class skills are Concentration, Knowledge (arcane), Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (the planes), Spellcraft, and Survival.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
The following are Class Features of the elemental master prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: An elemental master gains no proficiency with any weapons, armor, or shields.
Element Mastery (Ex): At 1st level, an elemental master gains an additional attunement to the element type that corresponds to its subtype.
Dragons with the air or electricity subtype (including emerald, green, crystal, fang, and song dragons) gain air mastery: Any airborne creature takes a -1 penalty on attack and damage rolls made against the dragon.
Dragons with the earth subtype (including blue, copper, amethyst, brown, deep, and sapphire dragons) gain earth mastery: The dragon gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage if both it and its foe are touching the ground.
Dragons with the fire subtype (including red, gold, and brass dragons, as well as hellfire wyrms) gain fire mastery: The dragon gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls if both it and its foe are touching fire or using weapons with the flaming or flaming burst special abilities.
Dragons with the water subtype (including black, bronze, and topaz dragons) gain water mastery: The dragon gains a +1 bonus on its attack and damage rolls if both it and its opponent are touching water.
Dragons with the cold subtype (silver and white dragons) gain cold mastery: The dragon gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls if both it and its foe are touching ice or using weapons with the frost or icy burst special abilities.
Elemental Command (Su): An elemental master can turn or destroy creatures of the elemental subtype opposed to its own subtype, just as a good cleric turns undead. It can rebuke or command creatures of its own elemental subtype, as an evil cleric rebukes undead. The dragon can use these abilities a total number of times per day equal to 3 + its Charisma modifier.
Air and earth are opposed elemental subtypes; fire and water are opposed. Dragons with the cold subtype can rebuke cold creatures and turn fire creatures.
Energy Attunement (Ex): An elemental master is attuned to the energy type that powers its breath weapon. Dragons with more than one breath weapon gain attunement to the one that deals energy damage, usually acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic energy. A dragon with multiple energy breath weapons can choose a single energy type it is attuned to. This ability grants the dragon no special powers, but determines the form of powers it gains later, including energy substitution, energy focus, energy burst, and energy storm.
Energy Substitution (Ex): At 2nd level, an elemental master gains the ability to modify its spells that have an energy descriptor so that they use the dragon's attuned energy instead. The substituted spell works normally in all respects except the type of damage dealt.
Summon Elemental (Sp): Once per day starting at 2nd level, an elemental master can use its breath weapon to summon a Medium elemental corresponding to its elemental subtype. The dragon breathes as normal, but in the wake of its breath the elemental appears, attacking in the next round. If it chooses, the dragon can instead summon an adult arrowhawk (air or cold), average salamander (fire), adult tojanida (water), or average xorn (earth). This ability works like the summon nature's ally V spell, with the dragon's class level as its caster level. A dragon with the cold subtype can summon a Medium water elemental or an adult tojanida.
At 5th level, an elemental master can summon one large elemental or two Medium elementals. This ability works like the summon nature's ally VI spell.
At 8th level, an elemental master can summon one Huge elemental, two large elementals, or four Medium elementals. Instead, the dragon can summon one elder arrowhawk, noble salamander, elder tojanida, or elder xorn, or four Medium creatures of the appropriate kind. This ability works like the summon nature's ally VII spell.
At 11th level, an elemental master can summon one greater elemental, two Huge elementals, or four large or Medium elementals. This ability works like the summon nature's ally VIII spell.
Energy Focus (Ex): At 3rd level, an elemental master adds 1 to the save DC of spells it casts with an energy descriptor corresponding to the dragon's attuned energy type.
This bonus increases by +1 for every additional three levels the elemental master gains (+2 at 6th level, +3 at 9th level, and +4 at 12th level), and it stacks with the bonus from the Spell Focus feat.
Energy Burst (Su): A 4th-level elemental master can create a burst of damaging energy around its body. The burst consists of energy corresponding to the dragon's attuned energy type and has a radius of 5 feet per class level of the dragon. Anything in the area takes 1d8 points of damage per class level of the dragon. A successful Reflex save (DC 10 + dragon's class level + its Con modifier) reduces the damage by half.
Creating an energy burst counts as a use of the dragon's breath weapon. It cannot breathe or create another burst for 1d4 rounds after creating a burst.
Energy Storm (Su): A 7th-level elemental master can surround itself with a vortex of swirling energy corresponding to the dragon's attuned energy type. The vortex extends from the dragon in an emanation with a radius of 5 feet per class level. The effect stops attacks with thrown weapons and projectiles. Such attacks fail if made by creatures inside the area, or if targeted at creatures within the area, or if their paths take them through the area. The storm deals 2 points of damage per class level to every unprotected creature within its area each round. The storm lasts for 1 round per class level (though the dragon can dismiss it as a move action), and counts as two uses of the dragon's breath weapon. The dragon cannot use its breath weapon (or its energy burst ability) while the storm is in place and for 2d4 rounds after it subsides.
Spell-Like Ability: At 10th level, an elemental master gains a spell-like ability associated with its elemental subtype. An air dragon can use whirlwind, an earth dragon earthquake, a fire dragon incendiary cloud, a water dragon horrid wilting, and a cold dragon polar ray. The dragon can use this ability three times per day, with a caster level of 20th.
Elemental Qualities (Ex): A 12th-level elemental master is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, and stunning. It is not subject to critical hits or flanking.
| Elemental Master | Hit Die: d12 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | Element mastery, elemental command, energy attunement |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Energy substitution, summon elemental I |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Energy focus +1 |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | Energy burst |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +4 | +4 | Summon elemental II |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +5 | +5 | Energy focus +2 |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +5 | +5 | Energy storm |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +6 | +6 | Summon elemental III |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +6 | +6 | Energy focus +3 |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +7 | +7 | Spell-like ability |
| 11th | +11 | +7 | +7 | +7 | Summon elemental IV |
| 12th | +12 | +8 | +8 | +8 | Elemental qualities, energy focus +4 |
Source: Draconomicon