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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Retreater" data-source="post: 9512807" data-attributes="member: 42040">As is my tradition, each time a game ends, I try to learn from it. This time I'm looking at the new Free League edition of Dragonbane and our 12-session campaign.  (Note: many of my group's struggles have been noted in another thread: <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/how-dragonbane-pointed-out-the-clashing-desires-of-my-gaming-group.706571/" target="_blank">How Dragonbane Pointed out the Clashing Desires of My Gaming Group</a>)About the GroupPlayer A: my wife, a power gamer who likes butt kicking and action-packed adventure. Her favorite systems are Pathfinder 2 and D&D 4E because of the tactical combat options and big damage potential.Player B: our neighbor (who grew up with THAC0-era D&D)Player C: my neighbor’s co-worker (who also grew up with the same era of D&D, but prefers more story-focused games)(Additionally, we were joined on two sessions by Player B's two college-age sons, home from break. Also, on our final session, my friend from out-of-town joined as a special guest.)Since forming as a group about two years ago, we played two 5e campaigns, short forays into 7e Gamma World (based on 4e) & Savage Worlds Holler, an 8-month campaign in 4e D&D, a handful of 1-shots (Dread, Monster of the Week, Alice is Missing). My Experience with Dragonbane (and the Basic RPG engine)So, I have a long history with Call of Cthulhu. The first edition of Dragonbane was based on that same Chaosium engine, though it's been revised over the years. I thought many times how much I'd love the mechanics of Call of Cthulhu, a little more survivable, and in a fantasy setting. Unfortunately, when I looked into RuneQuest, it wasn't it. But I really fell in love with Dragonbane. Streamlined, character-driven, exploration procedures, built-in tactics built on the narrative for monsters, captivating art, etc. My first foray into Dragonbane was a rare time I got to be a player. I was a bow-wielding huntsman. I think our group survived about 5 total hours of play before we had a TPK and abandoned the system. But I was interested to try it with my own group.The Selection of DragonbaneMy group was down to 3 regular players and most of us wanted something simpler than 4E's approach to tactical combat that would also accommodate 3 players. Player C was instantly down for trying Dragonbane. I gave her the quickstart rules and she was sold. It took a few sessions, but Player B eventually came around to it. However, Player A never warmed up to it.Player A: "A is for ACTION!!!"Her: "I feel weak. We can't do anything."Me: "You guys killed a giant. Not like an ogre. You killed a damn giant!"Her: "One round, I only did 16 points of damage."Me: "It only has 74 hit points. That's more than 20% of its health in a single attack!"Her: "The numbers are just so small."Me: "So you'd prefer doing 64 points of damage in a round against a giant that had 296 hit points?"Her: "Yeah! That would be awesome!" Her: "We're so weak - anything can kill us."Me: "How many character deaths have you had in this campaign?"Her: "None. It just seems more dangerous."Her: "I don't like that I can only do one thing a round."Me: "How much would you like to be able to do?"Her: "Like, I can only pull out my weapon, move up to the monster, and attack it. In Pathfinder 2, I get three actions."Me: "Yeah, you can use those to pull out your weapon, move up to the monster, and attack it."Her: "It seems like more in Pathfinder 2."This was like literally beating my head against a wall. She did decide that playing Dragonbane with two friends and a GM who really liked it was better than playing no game at all. Especially since she got an 8-month campaign in her favorite system of all time (4E), I think it's a fair trade. She posed this question: "Why are complex games the only ones where you can feel powerful? All the streamlined games, you're one hit away from death." What Happened?We had a TPK fighting the BBEG of the campaign in the last fight. Even though the campaign is salvageable, it feels almost cheapening their loss to continue the campaign "as if nothing happened." And if we follow the logical course, stuff is going to be really bad. Not to mention that you don't really "level up" in Dragonbane, so the group doesn't feel as though they can get more powerful and defeat the BBEG, especially since he's more powerful for taking the McGuffin magic item from the party. So we're at least going to take a break from the system for a while and give some distance.What Next?Player B and C seem to be wanting to go in the direction of old school D&D (THAC0-era). Player A wants to be a badass (which really can't happen in TSR-era gaming). We're going to meet over card games next week and discuss what we want. Could be Savage Worlds. Could be old school D&D. Could be Age of Sigmar Soulbound. I have no idea.Any questions about Dragonbane?</blockquote>

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