Dragonbane Post-Mortem

[The Soloist]

Player A likes tense combat - or at least combat that seems tense. She wants everything to be solved with what is on the character sheet. The fight should allow the party to show off and look badass, or should get everyone down to 10% strength - but not actually be defeated. And then get a full heal of all resources before the next fight.

It sounds like she would like D&D 4e. It's my wife's favourite edition. She loved the class power cards management (tap, untap, at-will, encounter, utility and daily powers).

 

[Wolfpack48]

The players have different ideas of what they like.

Referencing the OP...

Player C likes a variety of challenges. Loss (or even a character death) isn't the end of the world. It takes the game in interesting, new directions. She can try out new builds. (This is really my favorite way of viewing it.)

Player B gets a little pouty at first but then accepts it, laughs, and makes a new character. He has been known to place bets on the first character death in a new campaign (and usually bets that it will be his character).

Player A likes tense combat - or at least combat that seems tense. She wants everything to be solved with what is on the character sheet. The fight should allow the party to show off and look badass, or should get everyone down to 10% strength - but not actually be defeated. And then get a full heal of all resources before the next fight.

Is Player A a fan of computer games and MMORPGs?

 

[Vaslov]

Also, monsters with multiple attacks (Ferocity) get more than one card. They make one attack per card. Some characters can get more than one card using a Heroic ability.

It's card-based. Each turn you pass out cards labeled 1-10 and go in order, low to high. An earlier initiative can trade with someone going later. You can "save" your initiative card to use for a defensive reaction like Dodge or Parry.

Cards is not what I was expecting you to say. Sadly that makes Dragonbane a pass for me. Despite my enjoyment of Savage Worlds, the card based initiative broke down as the table I play at is pretty big and passing the cards around was a pain. Pushed me to pick up SotDL and I never looked back. Thanks for sharing your experience. Good luck with your players. Does sound like a challenging mix of desired player system outcomes.

 

[Retreater]

Cards is not what I was expecting you to say. Sadly that makes Dragonbane a pass for me.

I get that. I had a group of 7 players at one point, and doing card based initiative (for Savage Worlds) was an issue. We later went down to 3 players, so it wasn't much of a problem at that point.
There might be a way to house rule an initiative system from a BRP system like Cthulhu (since that's where Dragonbane has its origins). Don't know if it's worth the squeeze. Maybe take a look at the free starter rules at Drive Thru if you're ever curious.

 

[The Soloist]

With my Savage Worlds group, I let one of the players handle the shuffling and passing around of cards. While they do that, I look up the stats for my encounter.

I imported the idea in D&D 5e. After they'd rolled their initiatives, the players would pass around cards among themselves. Then I'd start calling from 10 going down. I always hated writing down initiative numbers in order.

 

[Retreater]

Is Player A a fan of computer games and MMORPGs?

She has just sort of recently (past 5 years) gotten into video game RPGs: Zelda, Skyrim, Baldurs Gate, etc. She has asked me why TTRPGs can't be more like them - save points, fast travel, endless inventory, quick healing potions everywhere, frequent loot drops, etc.
I try to explain that a human GM can't function like a computer program and that TTRPGs would lose something if you had save points and similar mechanics.
She primarily likes getting together with friends and feeling powerful. She doesn't care about story, world building, immersion, roleplaying, or anything more than moving a mini, rolling dice, and killing stuff.

 

[mamba]

Cards is not what I was expecting you to say. Sadly that makes Dragonbane a pass for me.

you can always use an initiative system you like, all they do is establish an order, the game won’t break if you do that differently

 

[dbm]

She doesn't care about story, world building, immersion, roleplaying, or anything more than moving a mini, rolling dice, and killing stuff.

One of the excellent modern dungeon / adventure board games does seem like the answer for this person’s wants. I know it isn’t the role-playing you want but with everything you have said over multiple threads I think your gaming tastes are basically incompatible. Find an online group to do gaming with a role-play component.

 

[Aldarc]

She has just sort of recently (past 5 years) gotten into video game RPGs: Zelda, Skyrim, Baldurs Gate, etc. She has asked me why TTRPGs can't be more like them - save points, fast travel, endless inventory, quick healing potions everywhere, frequent loot drops, etc.
I try to explain that a human GM can't function like a computer program and that TTRPGs would lose something if you had save points and similar mechanics.
She primarily likes getting together with friends and feeling powerful. She doesn't care about story, world building, immersion, roleplaying, or anything more than moving a mini, rolling dice, and killing stuff.

I would again recommend looking through Fabula Ultima or at least "Press Start." Even if you don't know JRPGs, it could be used to run CRPGs. You should potentially consider running a one-shot of it for her just to gather her impressions.

Another possibility would be something like Fantasy AGE. It's not too heavy. IME, it's lighter than 5e D&D. There are builds. There are stunts (i.e., a point value from rolling doubles on a successful 3d6 check) that could make her feel cool and awesome. There are even rules for grid combat for the other player.

 

[AnotherGuy]

She has just sort of recently (past 5 years) gotten into video game RPGs: Zelda, Skyrim, Baldurs Gate, etc. She has asked me why TTRPGs can't be more like them - save points, fast travel, endless inventory, quick healing potions everywhere, frequent loot drops, etc.
I try to explain that a human GM can't function like a computer program and that TTRPGs would lose something if you had save points and similar mechanics.
She primarily likes getting together with friends and feeling powerful. She doesn't care about story, world building, immersion, roleplaying, or anything more than moving a mini, rolling dice, and killing stuff.

She sounds great for a boardgame and cardgame group.
It is a little pricey but I'd recommend Sleeping Gods. It has save points and plays like an RPG.