Summary

As improbable as it seems, a dragon will sometimes consider a member of a lesser race to be worthy of his attention, or even his friendship. As a show of good will, the dragon removes part of himself and imbues it with power, creating a charm that keeps working for as long as the dragon is alive.

Only dragons may create dragon charms, and then only those with spellcaster levels. Crafting a dragon charm is a way for dragons to forge alliances, give out bribes or even trick the recipient, for not all the enchantments placed upon such items are of a beneficial nature. The dragon is free to remove the power from a charm he created at any time simply by being within 30 feet of the item.

Dragons are weakened by the process of imbuing a charm, suffering 10d6 points of subdual damage to create a basic charm, which is why dragons prefer to do this when they are in good health.

Dragon charms are use-activated magical items, and only the person it was given to can use it; it becomes a simple dragon component in the hands of another. Using a dragon charm as a component for a standard magical item or even as a dragon focus strips it of the power the dragon imbued in it, and the dragon is instantly aware his gift was wasted or stolen and wasted (in which case the original owner is perfectly safe from the dragon’s wrath). Except when noted, the owner of a dragon charm may use each of its powers once per day.

Dragon Charm Powers

Every dragon charm has the following effects:

Empathic Link

The dragon has an empathic link with the recipient of his charm regardless of distance. The dragon cannot see through the character’s eyes but the two of them can communicate telepathically. The dragon can call on the character at any time but the character can only try to contact the dragon once per day and must succeed at a Will save (DC 15 or the dragon’s frightful presence DC, whichever is higher). A character with a higher Scry skill modifier can use that instead of his Will save but the dragon will be a tad annoyed to be scryed upon with one of his gifts.

Energy Protection

The recipient of a dragon charm gains a +2 inherent bonus to saves against energy attacks of the same type as the dragon’s breath weapon.

Location

On a successful Scry check (DC 10 + character’s HD) the dragon knows exactly where the character is. Often, dragons hide this particular power from the recipient of one of their charms.

Dragonmark

The recipient of the dragon charm is marked as a dragon-friend (or lackey, as the case may be). He enjoys a +2 morale bonus to all Charisma-based checks when dealing with dragons of any species and he is immune to dragons’ frightful presence effect.

If he wishes to put more effort into it, a dragon may enchant a charm with any of the following powers:

Extraordinary abilities

The dragon can imbue the item with one of the extraordinary abilities it is capable of using at its age category. Doing so causes an extra 2d6 points of subdual damage to the dragon. The charm’s recipient may use the ability once per day for one round per caster level of the dragon.

Spell-like abilities

The dragon can imbue the item with one of its spell-like abilities. It suffers an additional d6 hit points of subdual damage for every spell level of the emulated ability. The charm’s recipient may use the ability once per day, cast at the dragon’s current caster level.

Blindsight

The dragon imbues the charm with its ability to sense its surroundings without sight. The dragon suffers an extra 2d6 points of subdual damage. The charm’s recipient may use the ability once per day for one round per caster level of the dragon, extending to 30 feet around him.

Damage Reduction

The dragon can imbue the charm with the toughness of its hide, granting the recipient a damage reduction rating. It suffers an amount of subdual damage equal to its DR, plus double the enhancement needed to pierce it (thus, bestowing a rating of 10/+1 results in 12 points of subdual damage). The dragon can bestow any rating below its own. The charm’s recipient can invoke the damage reduction once per day for one round per age category of the dragon.

Keen Senses

The dragon can grant the charm’s recipient with enhanced senses. The dragon suffers an extra 3d6 points of subdual damage. The charm’s recipient can see twice as well as normal as long as the charm is in his possession and may invoke the power of darkvision once per day, which works as the spell of the same name cast at the dragon’s current caster level.

Protection from Element

The dragon instils his elemental nature into the charm, protecting the wearer from attacks using the same energy type as the dragon’s breath weapon. The dragon suffers an extra 3d6 points of subdual damage. The charm’s recipient may use the ability once per day, which works as the spell of the same name cast at the dragon’s current caster level.

Share Life

This is the most powerful of the powers of dragon charms and is never given lightly. Through the charm, the dragon ties its life with the recipient’s so they are almost as one.

As long as the recipient holds onto the charm, both he and the dragon are automatically stabilized if their hit points ever drop below 0. If either suffers enough damage to bring them below -10 they can make a Fortitude save (DC 15) to stay at -9. In addition, they are immune to death by massive damage, enjoy a +5 bonus to saves against death effects and resting heals the other’s HD in additional hit points per day. Essentially, so long as the charm is unharmed and in the possession of the recipient, both character and dragon are very hard to kill if the other is alive.

The downside is that if one of them is killed, the other must make a Fortitude save (DC 5 + dragon’s HD for the character, DC 10 + character’s level for the dragon) or die instantly. Even if they successfully save, they suffer the consequences of their bond. The character loses a level, and the dragon loses 2 HD permanently. The dragon is unaffected if the recipient dies of disease, old age or natural causes. It costs nothing for the dragon to forge this bond; he is putting his life at enough risk.

Spell Resistance

The dragon can extend all or some of his natural Spell Resistance rating to the recipient of the charm. It suffers an amount of subdual damage equal to the SR rating being bestowed, the dragon may imbue any rating between 13 and his own rating. The charm’s recipient can invoke the Spell Resistance once per day and enjoys it for one round per dragon’s caster level.

Dragon Player Characters

In the off-chance that a Games Master has allowed a dragon Player Character, he needs the Craft Wondrous Item feat in order to create a dragon charm. The price for making a basic dragon charm is 11,344 gp and 908 XP, plus 3d6 points of damage as the dragon character tears out a small portion of itself. Dragon charms have no market price, beyond that of a component.

The costs to enchant the charm with additional powers are given in the corresponding table. Divide the cost by 25 and double the result to obtain the XP cost.

Table 1-1: Dragon Charm Power Cost

Table 1-1: Dragon Charm Powers

Power	Cost
Spell-like ability	Spell level x Caster Level x 200 GP
Extraordinary Ability	1860 gp
Blindsight	1600 gp
Damage Reduction	1,280 gp per enhancement bonus required to bypass the reduction, plus damage reduced x 20 gp
Keen Senses	2600 gp
Protection versus Element	2880 gp
Share Life	6400 gp
Spell Resistance	1,000 gp for every point over 12, minimum SR 13, maximum the dragon’s own SR