Dragonbane general thread

[overgeeked]

And I'll add one addendum: in something like Shadowdark I would let them find the trap automatically if they choose to tap. No roll required, but I would then roll for random encounters.

But in Dragonbane they need skill rolls in order to get Dragons/Demons in order to improve. So ideally the decision to tap would result in automatically finding the trap, but I would still call for a roll and then improvise some sort of "success with complication" on a failed roll. And maybe that complication is a roll on the random encounter table? I'm not sure, exactly, but that's the sort of thing I want to achieve.

Agreed.

I think you are misunderstanding 'telegraph'.

Not really, no.

Kind of. I prefer to have a reason for tapping in this location, rather than "we tap in all locations".

To me, as I said, the reason is "you're in a dungeon."

P.S. And it's ok if telegraphs are totally missed! In my experience, the realization that "we should have realized this door was like that last one!" is also really fun/funny. The damage taken isn't just arbitrary resource attrition, the players recognize it as their own mistake, and they accept it.

Not in my experience. What's funny to one is an antagonistic, killer DM to another.

I didn't quite follow this. Reason enough for what?

You're in a dungeon is reason enough to be on the lookout for traps.

At this point the subtopic is already circular and taking over the thread so we should move this to any one of the existing threads on the topic.

 

[Aldarc]

Dragonbane isn't an OSR game. At most it's an NSR game. Modern design that's meant to evoke an old-school feel without mimicking or copying an old-school game. Sure, Drakar och Demoner is a 40+ year-old game and some elements have remained or were carried over when Free League rebooted it.

You're right that it's not an OSR game - something that I have already talked about in this thread - but it does seem to be informing how you talk about Dragonbane and your approach to the game. Anyway my point still stands that there is a difference between telling players about traps and telegraphing traps.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Not in my experience. What's funny to one is an antagonistic, killer DM to another.

And likewise, that's how some players feel about "there could be traps anywhere and they are never telegraphed."

But, sure, we can drop the topic.

 

[overgeeked]

For those who’ve at least read Dragonbane, what content do you think is missing, if any? I don’t mean rules per se, just general stuff. Like more spells, monsters, professions, kin, etc. I know there’s the Expert book in the offing.

For me, Dragonbane feels closer to sword & sorcery than anything. It’s clearly low magic compared to some other games and combined with the lethality, yeah. Sword & sorcery.

Which, to me, means snakes. Lots more snakes. Some of the first stuff I’ll be homebrewing will be giant snakes, snake-men, and snake cults.

What about you? What’s high on your homebrew list?

 

[Bill Zebub]

For those who’ve at least read Dragonbane, what content do you think is missing, if any? I don’t mean rules per se, just general stuff. Like more spells, monsters, professions, kin, etc. I know there’s the Expert book in the offing.

For me, Dragonbane feels closer to sword & sorcery than anything. It’s clearly low magic compared to some other games and combined with the lethality, yeah. Sword & sorcery.

Which, to me, means snakes. Lots more snakes. Some of the first stuff I’ll be homebrewing will be giant snakes, snake-men, and snake cults.

What about you? What’s high on your homebrew list?

Yeah, more monsters.

But mostly I guess I'd like more adventure arcs of the sort I've seen so far.

 

[Bill Zebub]

For me, Dragonbane feels closer to sword & sorcery than anything. It’s clearly low magic compared to some other games and combined with the lethality, yeah. Sword & sorcery.

It also occurs to me...for exactly these reasons, and also the flat power curves...that Dragonbane might make a great chassis for a Middle Earth RPG. I'd love to see some great kin & professions, adversary conversions, and maybe some kind of Shadow mechanic.

 

[overgeeked]

Yeah, more monsters.

Yeah, but I’m kinda torn on that one. With the format of having adventure seeds and random encounters with each, they’re incredibly useful. But I think with the lower magic and higher lethality a few monsters will go a long way. They strike me as end-of-the-dungeon boss encounters rather than something you’d face frequently.

But mostly I guess I'd like more adventure arcs of the sort I've seen so far.

I really dig the sandbox in the box set. I haven’t read Path of Glory yet. Is it a sandbox or more story-focused adventure path?

 

[Bill Zebub]

Yeah, but I’m kinda torn on that one. With the format of having adventure seeds and random encounters with each, they’re incredibly useful. But I think with the lower magic and higher lethality a few monsters will go a long way. They strike me as end-of-the-dungeon boss encounters rather than something you’d face frequently.

I really dig the sandbox in the box set. I haven’t read Path of Glory yet. Is it a sandbox or more story-focused adventure path?

I haven't read it enough detail to know for sure, but it looks like:

• There's an overall goal to the whole thing
• It is broken into three main sections
• Each section seems to allow for various pathways to completion. So "sandbox" in that sense.

Yet another benefit of flat power curves: the order that the party tackles various goals matters less.

 

[overgeeked]

I haven't read it enough detail to know for sure, but it looks like:

• There's an overall goal to the whole thing
• It is broken into three main sections
• Each section seems to allow for various pathways to completion. So "sandbox" in that sense.

Nice.

Yet another benefit of flat power curves: the order that the party tackles various goals matters less.

Yeah, absolutely. And for the same reason NPCs will still be a real threat throughout. Regular old town guards will always be a threat to experienced PCs. Even if only in groups later on. It keeps the world and game more grounded. So you only need different kinds of monsters for story reasons instead of game math reasons.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Nice.

Yeah, absolutely. And for the same reason NPCs will still be a real threat throughout. Regular old town guards will always be a threat to experienced PCs. Even if only in groups later on. It keeps the world and game more grounded. So you only need different kinds of monsters for story reasons instead of game math reasons.

Well said.