Weekly Pathfinder Part Deux- The Drakebonded Cavalier

And here's part two! The riding drake animal companion, and a prestige class for those who want to awaken its full potential! A riding drake is technically a magical beast, and is not immediately available to most PCs. A good backstory or a quest to find one of the beasts could almost certainly change a GM's mind, however...

Riding Drake

Starting Statistics: Size Medium; AC +5 natural armor; Speed 40 ft., fly 50 ft.(Average); Attack bite (1d6); Ability Scores Str 14, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 5, Wis 13, Cha 11; Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., Low-light vision, Scent

7th-Level Advancement: Size Large; AC +3 natural armor; Speed 50 ft., fly 100 ft (Average).; Attack: 2 claws (1d4), bite (1d8); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex -2, Con +4; Special Qualities Powerful Bite

Drakebonded Cavalier

The Dragonbound were knights said to be descended from the union of true dragons and men.  They were said to be incredible soldiers, and nearly invincible atop their bonded companions.  Though the order is long gone, rumors abound that their traditions live on through the Drakebonded Cavaliers, knights who form an uncanny bond with a riding drake. They live, work, and train together with their mounts, and the pair soon seem more like clutch mates than mount and rider.  Their coordination is incredible, with each seeming to anticipate and assist the other’s actions.  Their connections to the Dragonbound grow more and more plausible as the greatest among them awaken dormant draconic abilities in their companions and themselves.

Prerequisites:

Base Attack +4

Ride 6 ranks

Handle Animal 3 ranks

Knowledge Arcana 1 rank

Special: Must have a riding drake animal companion.

Hit Die: 1d8

The Drakebonded Cavalier's class skills are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Profession (Wis), Perception (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Cavaliers are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with light and medium armor, and with shields (except tower shields).

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Reflex Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+1	+1	+0	+1	Dragonbond, Order, Challenge 1/day
2nd	+2	+1	+1	+1	Dragonblood
3rd	+3	+2	+1	+2	Dragon Senses (Low-light), Teamwork Feat
4th	+4	+2	+1	+2	Dragonblood (Energy Resistance)
5th	+5	+2	+2	+2	Ferocious cooperation (Aid Another)
6th	+6/+1	+3	+2	+3	Dragonbreath 1/day
7th	+7/+2	+3	+2	+3	Challenge 2/day, Demanding challenge
8th	+8/+3	+4	+3	+4	Dragon Senses (Darkvision), Teamwork Feat
9th	+9/+4	+5	+3	+5	Ferocious Cooperation (Take 10), Dragonbreath 2/day
10th	+10/+5	+5	+3	+5	Dragonblood (Saving Throws)
11th	+11/+6/+1	+6	+4	+6	Ferocious Cooperation
12th	+12/+7/+2	+6	+4	+6	Dragonbreath 3/day
13th	+13/+8/+3	+7	+4	+7	Challenge 3/day, Teamwork Feat
14th	+14/+9/+4	+7	+5	+7	True Dragonblood

Class Features

Dragonbond: Dragonrider levels stack with levels in the class that granted them the animal companion used to qualify for the class.

Order: If the Dragonrider possesses the Order ability from another class, he adds his class levels to that class when determining Order abilities.

Challenge: As per the cavalier ability of the same name. If the dragonrider already possesses this feature from another source, he adds his class levels to determine the level of effect, and adds uses gained from this class to his uses per day of the other source instead.

Dragonblood: At 2nd level, the Dragonrider and his mount receive Toughness as a bonus feat.  They also receive a +2 bonus on saves vs sleep and paralysis effects. If either already has toughness, they may choose any combat feat they normally qualify for.

At 4th level, the dragonrider's mount awakens some of the dormant draconic power within it.  Choose an energy type (acid, electricity, fire, or ice). The drake gains resistance 10 to the chosen type, and the rider gains resistance 5.  These resistances stack with any resistance they may already have, such as a magic item or a spell.

At 10th level, the energy resistance improves to 20 for the drake and 10 for the rider, and they receive a +2 bonus on saves against effects using that energy type.

Dragon Senses: At 3rd level, the drake's senses sharpen.  The drake’s darkvision improves by 30 feet. The rider receives low-light vision, and if they already possessed low-light vision, may see four times as far as a human in low light conditions.

At 8th level, the drake’s darkvision improves to 120 feet, and the rider gains darkvision 60 feet. If the rider already has darkvision, it improves by 30 feet.

Teamwork Feat: At 3rd level, and every 5 levels thereafter, the rider and drake receive a teamwork feat as a bonus feat.  The drake must take a teamwork feat possessed by the dragonrider, though it need not be the one gained at this level.

Ferocious Cooperation: At 5th level, the dragonrider and his mount improve their coordination in battle tremendously.  When making a full attack, either may sacrifice an attack to perform the Aid Another action.  At 9th level, they may 'Take 10' on the attack roll to use the Aid Another action.  At 11th level, the bonus from aid another improves by 2 when used to help each other.

Dragonbreath: At 6th level, the Dragonrider's mount awakens more of the dragon magic in its veins.   The drake gains a breath weapon, in the form of a 40 ft. cone dealing 1d6 damage per drake hit die.  This damage is the same type as its energy resistance.  The Dragonrider doubles his energy resistance against his drakes breath weapon.  It may use this breath weapon once per day, and gains an additional use per 3 class levels after 6th.

Demanding Challenge: This ability is identical to the Cavalier class feature.

True Dragonblood: At 14th level, the dragonrider has fully awakened his mount’s draconic heritage.  The drake gains immunity to sleep and paralysis, and to the energy type it chose for its Draconic Resistance ability.  The Dragonrider gains a +4 bonus on saves vs. sleep and paralysis, and the energy resistance from the Draconic Resistance ability improves to 30.  The Drake and Dragonrider also receive a +2 bonus to strength, and may use aid another as a swift action once per round.