Part Two: How To Play
It should be stressed here that what follows in this section are game mechanics and not rules. After a time of playing the game if you want to make changes to your gameplay which you and your group agree on, that is perfectly acceptable.
THE ROLE OF THE DRAGON MASTER
The DM designs or “writes” seasons and single adventures called episodes. They play the parts of NPCs (non-player characters), and the opponents you face in battle. In short, they do everything PCs (Player Characters) need for a fun and challenging game session. Your group of players will need to pick a DM who understands their responsibility.
An RPG adventure has the potential to go on as long as everyone is having fun. Remember what it’s like to be watching a new show and after three seasons start to lose interest? When it’s no longer fun people stop watching.
DMs are encouraged to include “cutscenes” in their episodes. Players can gain a lot of information by watching a brief scene between NPCs. In fact, DMs are encouraged to do anything they believe will make the game more challenging and fun. The only things a DM is discouraged from are attempting to tell the PCs exactly what to do just because they said so, and playing both the role of the DM and PC.
THE PLAYER CHARACTERS
Part Two will teach you how to create a character. Think of yourself as an actor. While creating the character you and the DM are writing the part you will play. When the game starts you become that character. You are about to experience the theater of the mind.
INGENUITY, SANITY & ETHICS POINTS
Ingenuity points are to be awarded by the DM at will. PCs can spend these points on purchases for certain skills. In any given situation you may find these points extremely useful. See “THE DRAGON MASTER’S AWARD” below.
Along with IP are Sanity and Ethics Points. Both start at 10 and are permanent. At any time in the game a character could lose control of either their sanity or their ethics. In a world filled with demons, monsters, aliens, and ruled over by a tyrant who has outlawed magic in which adventurers must often commit horrible acts of violence, the danger of losing one’s self can be very real. We must remember that Sméagol was once a kind-hearted and joyful Hobbit who lost all control of his senses and became Gollum.
Each PC starts with 10 Sanity Points* and 10 Ethics Points*. To lose points from either a player must perform some act that would affect their mental well-being.
During an adventure, suppose a PC causes the death of an NPC ally, intentional or not. Realistically a person will be affected by such an event, regardless of what they say about not caring or that person deserved it. In any case, they lose points. If the death was unintentional they would lose a point of sanity. If it was murder however, a point is taken from ethics. The more points that are taken the closer they come to losing control of their character.
If a PC loses all their Sanity Points they are no longer in possession of the character. They are controlled by the DM. If a PC loses all their Ethics Points they are effectively a monster and are no longer in the possession of the player. They are controlled by the DM.
*Loss of these points is permanent
THE DRAGON MASTER’S AWARD
A DM will award Ingenuity Points during and/or after a game session. PCs must keep track of their IP for reasons of making purchases, and in competing against the other players for the Dragon Master’s Award. But first, let’s talk about Seasons.
Most RPGs refer to campaigns to describe their adventures. This is a tradition held over from the earliest RPG games using the military term of a battle campaign. The difference between a single adventure and a long term campaign is in the term game session.
In Dragon Lords a campaign is one season, borrowing from modern-day streaming shows. Think of Dragon Lords as one of your favorite shows you can’t miss a single episode of. A single adventure is one episode, or one game session.
DMs will “write” a season and at the end of every season they will ask PCs to turn in their totals for IP. The PC who has the most IP at the end of a season will be given the Dragon Master’s Award. But is it really that valuable?
HOW TO BE A BETTER ROLEPLAYER
In the above section you’ve learned that roleplaying is rewarded and you’re not so comfortable with the idea of acting out all these scenes you believe your DM wants to see. You’d like that Dragon Master’s Award, but you’re not so sure it’s obtainable to an introvert or someone with no acting talent whatsoever.
Let’s be clear: as much as this book hypes up the fantasy of you being cast as a hero on your favorite streaming TV series, no one is expecting you to deliver an Oscar-winning performance while killing a few monsters to save the day. The idea of role playing is that you are having fun with the character you created. It’s a lot like playing pretend when you were a kid. You probably didn’t care who was watching you play back then. But the Dragon Master’s Award wasn’t on the line either and you’d really like to win.
Here are some tips that will help you engage your character and get your DM’s attention.
The Catchphrase
Some players are simply awkward when it comes to changing their voice when playing in-character. Others can turn it off and on with no problems. A catchphrase announces to everyone at the table that you are now in-character. It doesn’t need to be loud and aggressive, such as a battle cry. It can be as simple as the way your character greets the party. All that matters is that it is consistent. Think about your own real life catchphrases and stay away from their uses while in-game. It will help differentiate you the player from your character.
Go To Responses
How we respond to any given situation helps make up how the world sees us. In real life we all have behaviors and things we say to situations provoking a response from us. Do this for your character. Have responses you can go to for situations that provoke happiness, fear, confusion, and more.
Superstitious
Many people the world over have superstitions centric to themselves. In the world of Dragon Lords there are many things your character could be superstitious about, perhaps having to do with their species. Some work environments encourage superstitions so maybe your character is superstitious concerning their profession. Maybe a Dragon Knight doesn't want anyone touching his mount for fear that it could break the bond they have. Maybe a mage only wants one color of tattoo fearing to do otherwise will cause every spell on his body to backfire when cast. Play your character's superstitions out when the opportunity presents itself. If you can't act it out, announce it to the table.
Dynamic vs Static Play
A character who is static remains the same throughout the entire story. If they are a person who never cries at the beginning they will never cry by the end of the season. These types of people are usually NPCs.
A dynamic character is always growing. They are affected by the people and events in their lives. At the beginning they may be shy or even afraid to engage in battle. By the end they fear no one and readily engage the other characters.
One of these types catches the attention of the DM.
Don't Step on Any Toes
Once you've got a feel for your character and you're doing a fine job of acting in-game be sure to give the other players plenty of space to perform in-character and respond to the DM. Everyone gets a chance with the spotlight. Monopolizing the table's time will probably be frowned upon.
There are three stages of an RPG experience. First the DM describes what has happened. Next the player considers how their character will respond. And finally they act that out as best they can. Interrupting that process, even for a fraction, can cause a player distress.
Get Excited
You may have noticed there seems to be no place on the character sheet for a background. While writing a backstory for your character is not discouraged, the Dragon Lords game mechanics are designed for a simple character creation process. By all means, consider your character's history. If you feel compelled to write a biography there is always space on the back side.
More important however, are your character's motivations. Are they greedy, moved by the promise of money to be had? Maybe they just want to see the oppressed set free and will fight for that cause. In short, what gets them excited?
Certainly there will be things they hate. Destroy the Hellspawn because they're demons. But what about the things they love? Rage about the monsters all you like. Is ice cream something worth getting excited for? The kid inside you may say yes.
Hatred is a rather shallow trait. Giving your character something they love adds depth.
Personality vs Background
While it is true that background contributes to your character's identity it is not the definition of their personality. Personality is all about how they act and present themselves. There are positive, neutral, and negative personality traits. Your character should respond to any given situation in a positive, neutral, or negative way.
Ex: an attractive barkeep winks at your character. They would probably react in a positive way.
An unattractive barkeep winks at you. Probably a negative response to that.
A barkeep pours a drink and hands it to you. That's nice, but meh.
And so we see, background is how they feel. Personality is how they act.
STATS
Statistical Ability Scores are determined by the roll of a D20 when you create your character and are permanent unless otherwise noted. Imagine you come to a high wall the party needs to climb over. The DM will have each PC roll under their Agility score to determine if you are successful. Suppose your character has an Agility of 14. To make it over the wall you need to roll a D20 at 14 or under. Anything above is a failure.
Each task may require the DM's discretion on deciding what you need to roll. Your party finds a book written in a language unknown to you. The mage takes a crack at it and the DM has them roll under their Education, and so forth.
NO INITIATIVE
In most RPGs a roll for the initiative to attack is needed. With Dragon Lords initiative is done away with. Everyone attacks at once with the DM assigning the order of attacks.
THE ATTACK ROLL
To attack both the PC and the DM roll a D20 at the same time. Highest roll with bonuses wins.
INJURY BONUS
All PCs will add the bonus of their weapon, spell, etc., to the amount of damage that is caused, determining how much injury is inflicted and how many points to reduce. Meaning that when a PC wins a roll and damage is caused to a monster or opponent’s CP (Character Points) they will add their bonus to the injury. And so if a PC’s weapon has a +2 bonus the DM will subtract an additional 2 CP. Thus a hit that would ordinarily cause 1 CP of injury now causes 3.
KILL SHOT
During the attack roll between PC and DM you may have rolled a 20. This is commonly known as a critical roll. In Dragon Lords this is called a “kill shot”. Meaning, yes. You just killed your opponent with one roll. No creature or monster is immune to death.
NATURAL ONES
Alternatively, a roll of a 1 is a fumble. It is the DM’s discretion as to how this affects the attack.
MAGIC AND MAGIC ATTACKS
In the Dragon Lords setting magic is something dangerous, outlawed, and is feared throughout the Realm. As such, there are no schools, and no books from which to study and learn spells. As PCs advance they must find a Mage Artist and have their spells tattooed. This has given rise to Mage Hunters, bandits who hunt magic users for their skins.
Characters who have spells tattooed and know any given spell may use that spell at any given time. Use it all day long, if they like. The only caveat is they must first make a spell check roll. This is an ability check against your Education, for which you roll under. Example: your Education is 16. To cast a spell successfully you must roll 16 or below. A failed roll could have dire consequences. You were attempting to cast and failed. Both you and any PC in that spell’s range suffer injury. It is the DM’s discretion as to what a failure to cast a spell does.
When a PC attacks using magic and wins the roll they simply announce what spell they are using and its effect/s, including injury.
SPELL INCREASE
With every level a mage gains they can opt to add more detail to an individual tattoo, thereby increasing its power. If their level increase permits them to have only two additional spells they may choose to add more detail to one tattoo while adding a new tattoo, or they may choose to have twice as much detail added to one tattoo. Each session of detail that is added to the tattoo increases the power of the spell by 2 points for both Attack and Injury. And so, if they add more detail to one tattoo and its Attack/Injury is +2/+2 its power now increases to +4/+4. While leveling up, if they choose to add even more detail to that tattoo instead of adding a new tattoo, the power of that spell increases to +6/+6. The only limitation to the “spell increase” is the canvas space of a character’s skin. Some species are larger and others smaller in size. Canvas space will vary. But to balance this out a limitation is set in place. A mage may only add to one tattoo for up to five levels. Note: at level 1 if a mage starting out with only 2 tattoos wants to increase the power of 1 tattoo they may choose to have only 1 tattoo at level 1 and increase its power to Attack +2 Injury +2.
THE FIRST TATTOO SPELLS
After the Old Gods engineered the “Hu” it wasn't long before their creations turned to worship. In those days Humans were very primitive. Their education was limited and focused on physical labor. The only method they had of passing on knowledge was oral tradition.
Tattooing was a means of identifying Humans. Simply, this was branding. Each marking was tattooed on individual Humans identifying them as belonging to certain gods. Other tattoo markings noted their history.
When Humans turned to the worship of the gods they copied the tattoos they were familiar with, believing they were invoking the powers of any given god. Over time they learned the art of imbuing tattoos with magic and this was passed on from one generation to the next.
As language and art evolved, inscribing (from tattoos) likewise evolved into writing, and the ancient traditions were abandoned by society. Tattooing remained but it was a taboo at worst and fashionable at best. Only after Lord Xanthias was enthroned did tattooing as a means of invoking magic become necessary to the mage.
With the introduction of new species to Zo'ras came new types of spells never before known in Agondar. The artform, as forbidden as it is, has advanced. Mage Artists often use ancient methods and inscriptions, but each customizes spells with their own individual signature style. By and large a spell may be the same from one mage to another, but the ways in which it is cast and executed vary greatly. Some are crudely drawn while others are extraordinarily detailed and beautiful, depending on the hand of the Mage Artist.
Mage Artists have directly caused a rise in violent crimes. Magic is prized at great value on the black market. A single strip of Mage Leather featuring one tattoo can be worth as much as 500 GP and more. The Office of the Supreme Dragon Lord has worked tirelessly to capture Mage Hunters but they need your help to put an end to the violence. If you see anyone hiding a tattoo, report them to your local authorities. A substantial reward may be waiting for you.
Pleiadians and Tattoos
There are many individuals of various species who abhor tattoos and what they imply. But the only species we know of that is adamantly opposed to tattooing are the Pleiadians. Representatives have made it clear that they find it repugnant and defiling.
This does not mean that there aren't Pleiadians who tattoo themselves. With their natural trait of invisibility they are able to conceal their tattoos except when the spell they are casting is in use. Furthermore, Pleiadians with tattoos are shunned by their community, unable to conceal their tattoos from other Pleiadians.
If you see a Pleiadian with tattoos you'll be doing them a favor by turning them in.
MULTIPLE ATTACKS
PCs do not get the benefit of multiple attacks per round of battle. However, a DM may award a free attack if an opponent fumbles.
A creature, beast, or monster (the three categories of opponents, see Fearsome Fiends section of this book), does have multiple attacks. That may seem like an unfair advantage but here's how it works: the size of the party of PCs determines the number of attacks a single opponent has per round of battle. If the number of opponents facing the party is equal to or greater than the number of PCs there is no multiple attack bonus.
If your party of 3 PCs is attacking a single opponent, that opponent has 3 attacks per round of battle. If your party is facing 3 opponents or more then each opponent only has 1 attack per round, unless an opponent has a specialty granting them multiple attacks per round.
“THE DEATH ROLL”
Zero (0) CP is DEATH! There is no negotiating. The character is dead. But the DM can always opt to give the PC one chance at surviving, and that is known as the “death roll”. They may be saved from death but there will be permanent injury to the character. Consult the Death Roll table to learn your fate.
NO HIT POINTS! WHAT ARE CP?
With other RPGs a PC keeps track of the damage they suffer in battle via Hit Points. The higher the level they gain the more HP they earn. This becomes very cumbersome in gameplay during battle so here we are doing away with HP altogether in exchange for Shield, Armor, and Character Points.
CP are earned by PCs per level which are divided into two categories: Mages and Fighters. Mages refers to any character using magic and Fighters refers to any character who prefers to do things the Old fashioned way. Both have their advantages and neither are restricted. If a Mage wants to use a sword they may do so. If a Fighter wants to be tattooed with a spell then let them find a Mage Artist and have at it.
A Note About Opponents
As is traditional in RPGs the challenge score for opponents the PCs encounter grows higher. Some of the highest rated monsters are 20-23 CP. With this system of doing away with Hit Points in exchange for CP keeping track of battle for any size party moves much quicker.
When starting out it may seem as if a PC is a weakling and easy to kill. Yet there are numerous monsters whose CP are just as low. Some are even lower. But as PCs advance they become as strong and as challenging as the higher level monsters they face. And if a party of 4 adventurers with 20 CP each face a single monster whose CP is 20 who really has the advantage?
ARMOR POINTS
All armor is assigned a rating of damage points. This is how many points it can take before the character starts to take direct injury. Once an armor reaches 0 AP it is damaged beyond repair and is useless. This applies to shields as well which have their own Shield Points. A character must acquire new armor and shield.
BLUDGEONING DAMAGE
It only makes logical sense that if a character is being struck by a club or war hammer they are going to take some damage to their CP. In this case the damage caused is split 50/50 between the character’s CP and their AP. If they are using a shield the shield will always take damage first before it is useless and then damage be distributed to the armor afterward.
HOW DOES THIS WORK IN BATTLE?
A player will keep track of the CP damage/injury they take per round of battle. Here is a quick example of battle during game play:
The battle starts!
Both PC and DM roll a D20 simultaneously.
The PC wins the roll, the monster takes a hit. DM subtracts 1 CP from the monster.
Battle continues.
PC and DM roll a D20 again.
The DM wins the roll, the PC takes a hit and subtracts one CP. If the PC is wearing armor and/or using a shield they subtract AP and/or SP first.
Battle continues until one or the other is dead or surrenders.
THE “MEDIC” ROLL
To restore the loss of CP after a battle PCs must announce "Medic", at which point the game stops temporarily. They will then roll a D20. Rolls under 10 restore half of their total CP, and rolls over 10 are a full restoration. In-game this can be played out as a period of rest in which the characters received medical attention.
BONUS SKILLS
PCs will have the option of buying Bonus Skills as they gain IP. These skills, coupled with the specialties your species is equipped with, can make for an enjoyable roleplay. The following are available to everyone in exchange for IP. A few of these skills you may need to buy everytime you wish to use them. Others are a one-time purchase only. See EVERYTHING YOUR CHARACTER NEEDS for the Skills List.
DETERMINING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Killing monsters is not the key to gaining levels in Dragon Lords. While the killing of a monster will give you XP it is more about the adventure. XP is awarded at the end of a game session. Players can then do their homework before the start of the next session.
ARENA CHALLENGE
From time to time disagreements may happen between two players for a myriad of reasons. A DM may be watching an ongoing argument and decide they’ve had enough of the bickering. They may then announce an “Arena Challenge”. In-game PCs will be suddenly transported through a portal to a gladiatorial style arena and forced to fight one another. They may fight until one or the other yields or they may fight to the death. As this is an extreme measure and is occurring in-game, all outcomes will be real and final. Meaning, if a PC kills another PC they must live with that outcome. The losing player will then need to create a new character. Alternatively any PC may call for an “Arena Challenge” if they feel it is the best way to resolve an issue with another player. To discourage players from this course of action it should be stressed that both parties will more than likely be penalized with a reduction of Ethics and/or Sanity Points, depending on the situation, as determined by the DM. In the case that two players are simply eager to have a little fun with one another and it is not a matter of “settling a score”, the DM can entertain the idea of a little PvP just for the fun of it without the need for penalties.
