Difference between revisions of "Age Of Dragons: Advancement And Downtime"

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(With Age Comes Power)
(Living in Interesting Times)
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==Living in Interesting Times==
 
==Living in Interesting Times==
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Getting older is not the only way to gain experience.
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Player characters, by their nature, are protagonists in the story and often live through tumultuous events, great dangers and special circumstances.
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Collectively, these are referred to as '''"interesting times"'''.
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Living in interesting times gives bonus experience level onto the dragon's current Lifepath. For example, if the character is awarded an '''Interesting Times bonus of +4''', he should add +4 to the current Experience Level of his current Lifepath.
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GMs can use the following guide as to how large these bonuses should be:
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'''+1 if a player turns up to a session.''' The events of the session should be by definition "interesting times". If they're not, then the GM is doing something wrong.
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'''+1 if the dragon experiences significant danger.''' This danger could be as simple as physical danger to himself form combat, or as complex as another character seeking to compromise or diminish his resources.
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'''+1 if the dragon experiences a significant life event.''' This could be anything from falling in love, to the death of a close relative, to being forced to move lairs.
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'''+1 if the dragon engages in a learning experience of some sort.''' This could be travelling abroad for the first time, or gaining a collection of rare arcane scrolls to study.
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'''+1 if the dragon has a significant achievement.''' For example, creating a work of art that has challenged his own capabilities, or defeating a longstanding enemy.
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'''+1 if the dragon has a significant loss.''' For example, losing an eye, having power stripped, losing their home.
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Generally GMs should aim to award between 2 and 4 '''Interesting Times''' points per game session, and no more than 25 '''Interesting Times''' points per century of a dragon's life.
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==Changing Paths==
 
==Changing Paths==

Revision as of 07:26, 3 September 2008

Age Of Dragons: Main Page -> Advancement And Downtime


Character Progression and Lifepaths

Character progression in Age of Dragons is linked to the character's Lifepath. As a dragon grows older, or has life experiences, his Experience Rating increases.

With Age Comes Power

As a Dragon gets older, he gains experience. For each full year that passes, he gains +1 Experience Level in his current Lifepath.

Note that in-game, time passes at a fairly slow rate: while the GM might narrate that a day, week or even month has passed during a game session, it is not usual for him to wind the clock forward a matter of years.

Instead, between stories the GM will decide how far forward the timeline moves. This is called downtime.

How fast the GM moves forward downtime is up to him. The default assumption is that each story will last 2-3 sessions, and at the end of each story there will be 25-100 years of downtime passing. This isn't set in stone, of course.

Living in Interesting Times

Getting older is not the only way to gain experience.

Player characters, by their nature, are protagonists in the story and often live through tumultuous events, great dangers and special circumstances.

Collectively, these are referred to as "interesting times".

Living in interesting times gives bonus experience level onto the dragon's current Lifepath. For example, if the character is awarded an Interesting Times bonus of +4, he should add +4 to the current Experience Level of his current Lifepath.

GMs can use the following guide as to how large these bonuses should be:

+1 if a player turns up to a session. The events of the session should be by definition "interesting times". If they're not, then the GM is doing something wrong.

+1 if the dragon experiences significant danger. This danger could be as simple as physical danger to himself form combat, or as complex as another character seeking to compromise or diminish his resources.

+1 if the dragon experiences a significant life event. This could be anything from falling in love, to the death of a close relative, to being forced to move lairs.

+1 if the dragon engages in a learning experience of some sort. This could be travelling abroad for the first time, or gaining a collection of rare arcane scrolls to study.

+1 if the dragon has a significant achievement. For example, creating a work of art that has challenged his own capabilities, or defeating a longstanding enemy.

+1 if the dragon has a significant loss. For example, losing an eye, having power stripped, losing their home.

Generally GMs should aim to award between 2 and 4 Interesting Times points per game session, and no more than 25 Interesting Times points per century of a dragon's life.

Changing Paths

Senescence