D&D Rangers: Drakewarden - The Dungeoncast Ep.263

[@Zakharon]

Ive been building a drakewarden in my head and I came to the idea that the character would of had a parent who was a polymorphed metallic dragon who fell in love with a mortal and because of that he has a draconic soul and when he becomes a Drakewarden the drake that he summons is a reflection of that soul, a part of him that he can manifest, thus making the summoning of this drake over and over make more sense, it also explains most other abilities and the ability to understand draconic

[@leodouskyron5671]

Favorite of my Character option Drakewardens concepts is a Protector Aasimar as I lean into the resistance / summoner path. (Platinum dragon is a good dragon god after all.) But what I enjoyed was that the Ranger flies at level 3 for a minute and the Drake doesn’t. At level 7 the Drake flies all the time and the Ranger is stuck at I minute. Then at level 15, they can both fly together. To my mind a very cool long term cycle.

[@mirovalian2443]

Oh no, the Eragon nostalgia vibes are strong with this one. Thanks for another episode guys 😌

[@brandoncarlson2862]

In my buddy's homebrew setting, i basically made the drakewarden ranger a profession and an orginization. Like my character was a ranger in training with the Drakewarden Rangers. I may or may not have been playing Witcher 3 while coming up with the character backstory. They go out and kill monsters, hunt down fiendish cults, deal with bandit problems, etc, for coin.

[@dhavalrana5902]

Rangers are always my favorite archetypes and this one is really really alluring

[@Shimatzu95]

You could rule it so that instead on summoning a new drake you revive it/call back its spirit

[@andressotil4671]

I count it like in Pokemon where it faints and can be healed up

[@eclectic9210]

I had the same problem - I want to play an elf with a dragon that she has raised since it hatched. Not some spirit that I summon, etc. So, the way I flavored it is that I have a dragon. Period. At level 1 and 2, my dragon mostly rides on my shoulders - can't do anything in combat, etc. At level 3, fed up with watching, it will make it's combat debut. Also, I am reading "Draconic for Idiots" to my dragon every night - we are learning it together. So at Level 3, we will be fluent. So, WHAT IF MY DRAGON DIES? Well, it does not really die is how I flavor it. It is injured to death's door and barely able to keep up (no fighting, etc) until I can use my action (per ability or burn a spell slot either way) to sing a special draconic lullaby that restores it to full hit points. I am a ranger and can cure wounds anyway, so it is not that big a stretch. It also is how I flavor the "resummon to change draconic essence". My dragon is not sure what color she identifies, we really know nothing about her bio-parents, that is our quest in fact. There is a 2nd huge problem you did not mention. The stats are out of whack. RAW the Drake Companion stats are 16-12-15-8-14-8 (S-D-C-I-W-Ch) For comparison, a Dragon Wyrmling is 19-10-17-12-11-15 More powerful dragons have similar breakdown. Int and Cha are higher than Dex and Wis for a real dragon but for some unfathomable reason, Fizban's made the Drake Companion flip-flop. So, using the PHB point buy values, and with DM permission of course, I revised my dragon's stats to 16-10-14-12-10-13 I made no changes to attack to hit, damage, AC, hit points, or other abilities. The only real change is in how I roleplay it and mechanically it affects a few saving throws.

[@nathanthaxton7492]

Finally a 5e ranger subclass that isn't bad.

[@johnheberling7105]

I apologize if this has been asked already. Just wanted to see if someone might be able to explain some of the mechanics behind the drake companion for a drake warden ranger. (And possibly site sources) 1) can you heal the summoned drake companion/ does it heal on a long rest? 2) does the drake companion get attacks of opportunity if the ranger hasn't commanded it to attack. 3) with an intelligence of 8 and the ability to think on its own with the ranger unconscious would it continue to attack the same target until it finished the job or does it have to be told every turn? I was hoping for something a little more substantial than, "talk to the gm about it." I understand they get final say.

[@xiongray]

It's a little late but... 1. Yes, it can Short/Long Rest like normal & be targeted by Healing Spells. While keeping it topped off is good if you can, in more critical combat situations, it's more optimal to resummon a new one. Weigh your options. It also can be exhausted like normal. Chef Feat to allow it to use a Bonus Action to eat a treat for Temporary Hit Points. 2. Yes, it can use its own Reactions without your command. 3. Yes to attacks continously, but under one of two conditions: a) you're Mounted (Independent) OR b) Unmounted & incapacitated. You would need to command (Bonus Action) in one of these two conditions: c) Mounted (Controlled) OR d) Unmounted & not incapacitated. Highly suggest Spell Points for this Ranger for summoning Drake Companion & Drake Breath.

[@hikikomicklori9290]

The problem I have with the races/classes after Mordenkainen is they totally break action economy. The the Drake Warden is the worst since it adds the pets reaction to the players pool of actions.

[@leodouskyron5671]

That dose not make too much sense to me. The pets from Tasha on are generally just a bonus action and bonus actions have been used a lot since the PHB. Pet classes tend to work better as summoners but honestly that has been a thing in even books and movies since the B/W Tarzan movies. I am NOT saying you are wrong but I want to hear how you think it ruining the action economy.

[@justinmichael9043]

This design is necessary at the majority of tables. Players need to be able to control their subclass abilities and not rely on the dungeon to “even have a subclass.” I played in a one-shot where one of the other players was a beastmaster Ranger and he asked the DM if he could have a mastiff companion. The DM said yes but never gave him a mastiff throughout the entire session. He felt really bad about it, and expressed to me afterwards that he wished he had picked a different subclass. Some DM‘s are great at enabling the players fun at the table, but a lot of DM‘s are going to be too focused on the story that they’re trying to run to be able to take breaks for a player’s personal story. For me personally, the “emotional” story that can be told by losing a companion is uninteresting. I grew up watching movies like old yeller and black beauty, (Hell, John Wick 1) and I’m about sick of it. Maybe that’s just me, I’ve lost a lot of animals over the years. 😢

[@aimeemorgado8715]

I know you don’t control the ads, but can something be done about the Prager U kids ad that is currently running. It is a thinly veiled white supremacy organization that doesn’t support the values of this diverse community. I tried to find out how to report, but can’t seem to take it to KZbin. Take care and keep up the great work.

[@oielvert]

I Yoshi jump my drake all the time. That thing is my personal tank.

[@austinmcclintock4574]

Been waiting for this one 😀

[@moizzy1587]

I flavored mine as a unique "planar drake" who can planar shift at will, raising it from an egg and only relying on him in dire circumstances. The planar visits explaining why he's absorbed a new element each time he's summoned. If ever an attack would kill him he uses a reaction to planar shift away and uses proficiency hit dice per round while "banished" to determine its hp if you resummon it in the same fight. If its reaction is used it goes down and follows death save rules as normal.

[@karatekoala4270]

It's actually NOT just like the beast master. The Drake goes AFTER your turn specifically and can only make one attack vs your beast companion that can use YOUR attack and/or extra attack to attack along with your bonus action. Also the damage output for the beast is greater than the Drake until higher levels. Considering most campaigns don't go past 12th level that's a non factor. So I actually see them as fairly equal but the Drake has more utility

[@fobbles_]

I think a cool idea to establish a bond between the drake and Ranger would be to treat it like guenhwyvar, drizzt’s cat. When she dies she goes back home and can’t be summoned until given time to heal, but she feels the pain of death when it happens. It’s pretty hard not to unsommon a crying drake doggy when a giant hits it with a rock. Or, this is my choice, each aspect you choose to summon and change the drake when summoned is a physical other drake from a small collection you have. If you need blue drake Marvin right now you call for him and Dave the silver drake goes home. But if one dies then that’s it! There are other drakes to cover for them but you might run out eventually if you aren’t careful. Then if that happens maybe you could resurrect them with a diamond or something.

[@cynical_critic4152]

I like to think of a drakewarden as a draconic regional effect that produces a fey like draconic familiar that pops up in one of hundreds of thousands. The first signs of manifestation might be a physical mutation and or the summoning of a drake egg that will eventually crack open and grow as the summoner grows.

[@Shimatzu95]

Actually dragoneyes are supposedly shielded by a thick membrane

[@karatekoala4270]

My beast master had a rabbit and it was a physical manifestation of his inner self.

[@comlicab2041]

Drake the type of guy to be imprisoned by a Ranger

[@fridaymovies2924]

My drake warden character essentially flavor-texts things as being slightly akin to a pokéball 😂 He has a drake scale encased in a metallic trinket that he uses to house the drake when she’s not out. Still allows for a relationship with your companion without it feeling like a standard summons. It has a slight awareness of sounds outside its housing-container too, so sometimes she chortles at a player getting roasted by her owner for example 😂 When she gets “killed” it’s more like Guenhyvar in the Drizzt series- she gets sent back into her magical housing item to heal for a bit. Though if the character ends up having the item stolen from him, he would lose his ability to summon his drake-friend until he recovers her scale once more (think a warlock p!ssing off their patron) 💁🏻‍♀️

[@ashleyhardy4042]

My Drakewarden has a labradorite amulet she keeps her drake in. We joke that he’s a Pokémon all the time. Great minds 😆

[@erikwilliams1562]

“Rangers are underpowered!” *cries in monk*

[@Duncan275]

100%!!! My only real complaint about these pet classes is that they mechanics seem too “video gamey” I prefer the my pet to be something thats Real, something I can lose, replacing should be an event. My fix was that you cant just re-summon it with a spell, but I added the constitution bonus to is HP calculation. An added penalty is you can no longer change its flavor by the day.

[@nathanthaxton7492]

The Drake deals Peanut Butter damage.

[@ShafutoDahri]

So now it can fly as fast as a goat?

[@amazingmenace6168]

I wish Fizban’s would’ve had a paladin of bahamut. 😩

[@AjenjoAnejo]

There was such a prestige class in 3.5 draconomicon. Finding and adapting that to 5e should not be that hard.

[@D1LLDozZer135]

Omg we can be Eragon

[@clueless7005]

First

[@eggmcmuffin6067]

Nice

[@onisinn1]

🌈🖖

[@paulh3892]

FIZBAN!! 🤣

[@thetyrantofsyracuse]

Unfortunately you can't ride the thing until tier two. And because it's a medium creature it doesn't let you take advantage of the mounted combat feat either. And it can't fly with you until tier four. It's a decent ranger, but it's not going to be a satisfying dragon rider.

[@Zakharon]

Mounted combat helps with melee ranger...but if you are flying I would assume a ranged ranger is more useful and mounted combat is kinda not needed.