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.

Weekly Pathfinder-Riding Drake

Lets get this started! This was inspired by a forum topic about some kind of dragonrider class.  Of course, this is only the base creature. Next up, I'll post animal companion stats and the prestige class to go with it.

RIDING DRAKE CR 5
This large, dark-scaled reptile sports massive wings above its forelegs. Its eyes glint with a savage intelligence, as its scaly tail flicks side to side.

XP 1,800 
N Large Magical Beast
Init +3; Senses Low-light vision, scent; Perception +12

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +7 natural, –1 size)
Hp 51 (6d10+18)
Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +5

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft., fly 120 ft. (average)
Melee bite +9 (1d8+6), 2 claws +9 (1d6+4)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Qualities Powerful Bite

STATISTICS

Str 18, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 5, Wis 13, Cha 12
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 23 (25 vs. trip)
Feats Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception), Power Attack
Skills Fly +10, Perception +12;
Languages Common (Cannot speak)

ECOLOGY
Environment mountains, forested hills
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure incidental
Special Abilities:
Powerful Bite: A riding drake adds 1-1/2 times its strength modifier to its bite damage.

Centuries, perhaps millennia ago, a reclusive order of magi and cavaliers set about breeding a draconic creature suitable for a mount.  Starting with the simplistic drakes, and working over generations, the breeders muddled the bloodlines of dozens of creatures.  Drakes, dragonnels, wyverns-even a smattering of true dragon blood. The eventual result was known as the riding drake- a four-legged, winged reptile that was more than animal but clearly less than true dragon.  The creatures are as varied in temperament and personality as horses, and form close bonds with their handlers.
Being artificially bred, riding drakes seldom live in the wild, but escapees have survived, and bred true. They prefer mountainous areas, though they also accept seaside cliffs or even large trees, in a pinch. The two main criteria are seclusion and ready food sources. Of course, this means a wild riding drake moving into an area can rather problematic for farmers. Thankfully, the creatures tend to move from year to year, until they find a spot they consider 'just right'.