[OT] What is the "Dragonlance 5th Age" RPG Like?

[Azlan]

I came across a bunch of Dragonlance 5th Age stuff in a used bookstore, the other day; all of it, marked down in price by 50%. I was able to flip through some of the books and glance at individual cards in the Fate Deck. I thought it all looked pretty intriguing. For sure, the production values in these products appeared to be pretty high.

But what is the SAGA game system like? I realize it's far less complex than D&D; and that the rules for player character creation are less math intensive and power driven, and more personality and background oriented, than in D&D; and that the SAGA system emphasizes roleplaying and storytelling over detailed combat. But is it a total switch from one extreme to the other; e.g., is SAGA combat - and the game mechanics involved - pretty much overshadowed by the game system's storytelling and roleplaying?

How usable and adaptable is the SAGA system with other heroic fantasy settings? Looking at the Fate Deck, I saw a lot of major characters from the Dragonlance series on those cards, so I'm wondering if maybe the SAGA system is only usable with a Dragonlance setting ("5th Age" or not).

How does the SAGA system compare to other diceless, card-based RPGs, such as EverWay?

What about rules expansions and variants for the SAGA system, given in supplements such as "Heroes of Steel" and "The Saga Companion"?

What are the adventure modules like for Dragonlance 5th Age? I see there are floorplan maps included with the modules, which makes me think the SAGA system is more D&D-ish than comparable systems such as EverWay and Castle Faulkenstein.

Currently, I am gaming with a group of veteran RPG'ers, ages 30-40. We have both male and female players in our group. Lately, 3E D&D is seeming a little too rules-intensive for us, and that the majority of our game sessions is taken up by detailed combat encounters involving miniatures, grid maps, numbers crunching, and referencing the rules books. Now, don't get me wrong: I love 3E D&D, and I'm not looking to give up on it entirely. But I'm wondering if maybe something like the SAGA system might be better suited for my current group.

Although I was never too thrilled about the Dragonlance setting, itself, I now find myself wondering if maybe I was quick to judge, since my exposure to Dragonlance ended with the first couple of novels in the original series. But there has been quite a lot built upon that, during the past decade or so. From what I hear, the "5th Age" is some kind of post-apocalyptic sub-setting of Dragonlance that takes place many, many years after the original series. Exactly what all this entails, I don't know... but it sounds interesting.

 

[talinthas]

woo. this is a heavy question.
I liked saga alot. it was a fun system, and fit dragonlance in the fifth age really well.

Basic story- The gods left at the end of the war of chaos. The fifth age is marked by new magic in the form of sorcery, which manipulates the arcane energy inherent in krynn, and mysticism, which is the power inherent in all living beings.

The age is characterised by giant dragon overlords who have basically gained control over various parts of the continent and have killed off most other dragons to drain their power. Underneath this is a vast and complex power struggle between various factions trying to survive in a world without gods or heroes. Add in cool things like Ogre titans and thinker gnomes, and you have a post post apoc setting.

The rules supplements in the boxes, and especially the saga companion are INCREDIBLY valuable. I always hated that they spread all the rules through the boxes, but still, they are useful.
The modules can be a lot of fun, but i'm a biased dragonlance fan.

edit- oh, and the flavor of these products is pretty much unmatched in dragonlance. They add so much to the setting that even without the rules, they would be incredibly valuable. My favorite is Rise of the Titans, which details the ogres.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

Loved the setting, loved the cards, but found the system sort of shallow.

Oh and characters are almost invariably really to fairly specialized, when they aren't they are pretty much powerless, which meant that most PCs were limited to those character types who had the most widely applicable specializations or that the DM was constantly having to throw players into situations that pleased the one Mariner character.

It was perfect for a one shot or a series of short shots. Only Feng Shui rivals it for that.

Are the giant dragon evil overlords going to be gone in the upcoming Dragonlance RPG? I loved those guys!

 

[jonesy]

Are the giant dragon evil overlords going to be gone in the upcoming Dragonlance RPG? I loved those guys!

Originally there were 5 of the giant ones (Malys, Skie, Beryl, Frost and Sable) and 3 smaller ones (Fume, Pyro and Thunder).

War of Souls spoiler warning.
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In the current timeline Malys, Skie and Beryl are dead, the rest are still around.

 

[vrykyl]

Are the giant dragon evil overlords going to be gone in the upcoming Dragonlance RPG? I loved those guys!

Sounds like you would love our AGE OF MORTALS book. All of the dragon overlords are detailed within!

Jamie Chambers
Sovereign Press, Inc.