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Kobold Breath does not list any prerequisites, but it talks about your draconic exemplar:

You channel your draconic exemplar's power into a gout of energy that manifests as a 30-foot line or a 15-foot cone, dealing 1d4 damage.

I have not found draconic examplar mentioned in Kobold Heritages. Should this mean, anyone with Adopted Ancestry can learn breath fire? Seems a bit counterintuitive.

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    \$\begingroup\$ “Draconic exemplar” isn’t under Kobold Heritages exactly, but it’s there on the same page (Advanced Player’s Guide p.13). Or if you’re using AoN, 2e.aonprd.com/Ancestries.aspx?ID=18 \$\endgroup\$ Nov 8, 2021 at 10:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ The source of the problem: I was searching for "exAmplar". \$\endgroup\$
    – András
    Nov 10, 2021 at 12:14

2 Answers 2

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No

Draconic Exemplar is a special ability that all kobolds have, described in their main entry details. A character without that ability wouldn't qualify for the feat, so other characters of other ancestries would not be able to take it.

Another good reason why this wouldn't work is that Kobold Breath has different effects depending on the character's Draconic Exemplar, with no catch-all for some typeless breath weapon. What effect a non-kobold with Kobold Breath would generate would be entirely up to the GM, if they chose to allow it anyways.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ While I agree that a GM shouldn't allow it for these reasons, Draconic Exemplar isn't a prereq for Kobold Breath (probably an oversight tbh), so I think the other answer is more correct. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ifusaso
    Nov 9, 2021 at 10:07
  • \$\begingroup\$ I don’t know… Adopted Ancestry is pretty explicit about ancestry feats being limited only by “physiological feature[s] that you lack, as determined by the GM”. (And while you might say that an exemplar is a physiological feature, given that it determine scale colour, the other answer already pointed out evidence that Kobold Breath itself is magical.) Compare Clan Dagger from the dwarf ancestry, something “given to [a dwarf] at birth”: should a non-dwarf born among and raised by dwarves be denied the dagger, and hence ancestry feats like Clan Protector? \$\endgroup\$ Nov 9, 2021 at 10:28
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yes, there is no 'Prerequisite' entry for the ability so theoretically anyone could take it. But the second point that it would have no mechanical effect suggests it inherently requires an ability all kobolds have. \$\endgroup\$
    – brandon
    Nov 9, 2021 at 15:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ And a special dagger is definitely not physiological feature, while something that "determines your color and appearance" almost certainly would be. \$\endgroup\$
    – brandon
    Nov 9, 2021 at 16:38
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    \$\begingroup\$ The reason I did not go into the Draconic Exemplar stuff in my answer is because the text is highly ambivalent, making it an attribute of a community as much as any given individual: 'The scales of newly hatched kobolds often reflect the community’s draconic exemplar, whether that’s the dragon they currently serve or the dragon type from which they’re descended.' Consequently, I (personally) have no difficulty imagining an adopted kobold adopting the practice of having an exemplar. \$\endgroup\$
    – Novak
    Nov 9, 2021 at 23:12
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It Is Technically A GM Call....

But I would tend not to allow it, unless someone came up with a truly compelling justification.

An adopted ancestry means just that-- you're an honorary kobold by virtue of having been adopted into the culture. Whether that means actually being adopted at birth or as a child and raised among kobolds, or having joined a tribe years ago and been fully accepted and acclimated into it, or something similar. You are therefore allowed to take ancestry feats from any actual ancestry you have, and any ancestry feats from the adopted ancestry as long as your body will support them:

You’re fully immersed in another ancestry’s culture and traditions, whether born into them, earned through rite of passage, or bonded through a deep friendship or romance. Choose a common ancestry. You can select ancestry feats from the ancestry you chose, in addition to your character’s own ancestry, as long as the ancestry feats don’t require any physiological feature that you lack, as determined by the GM.

The emphasis is mine, and it's in two parts:

  1. Your physiology needs to support the feats, and,
  2. Your GM determines what your physiology supports.

Some of the Kobold Feats are pretty clear that they need kobold bodies to support them:

Kobold Breath, unfortunately, is not so clear cut. It comes down to whether or not the GM considers the Kobold Breath as something inherently dependent on kobold physiology that some kobolds are born with, or whether it's more of a spell-like effect when anyone with any body plan can learn.

The latter position, though I also find it counter-intuitive, can be supported by noting that the Kobold's Breath feat has the Arcane and Evocation tags as well as the Kobold Tag.

But the emphasized text from the Adopted Ancestry text, in my opinion, trumps all: It is, per the rules as written, explicitly a GM call.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ It would be easier to justify for some main ancestries than others (e.g. Lizardfolk) \$\endgroup\$
    – ikegami
    Nov 8, 2021 at 16:35

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