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

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==With Age Comes Power==
 
==With Age Comes Power==
  
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As a Dragon gets older, he gains Experience. For each full century that passes, he gains '''+1 Experience''', as detailed in the character generation chapter.
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With the passage of years, dragons grow in power.
  
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A starting character (aged between 100-199 years) has an Experience of just 1.
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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.  
  
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When that same character reaches the grand old age of 1000, his Experience will be 10, so long as he hasn't adopted any additional lifepaths.  
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Instead, between stories the GM will decide how far forward the timeline moves. This is called '''downtime'''.  
  
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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.
+
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, but follows the demands of the story.
  
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Instead, between stories the GM will decide how far forward the timeline moves. This is called '''downtime'''.
+
As a Dragon gets older, he assigns the years he has lived to various lifepaths.  
  
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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.
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For example, a starting 190 year old Dragon might have the following Lifepaths:
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    * Scholar-Sage (140 years)
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    * Ambassador-Courtier (50 years)
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 +
As downtime passes the GM could state that thirty years pass. The dragon could then add +30 years to an existing Lifepath or start a new Lifepath. He can even split out this thirty years across multiple Lifepaths. For example, the 220 year Dragon might now have the following Lifepaths:
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 +
    * Scholar-Sage (150 years)
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    * Ambassador-Courtier (60 years)
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    * Hallowed Chorister (10 years)
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For each full ten years spent in a lifepath, add +1 to the Arete you have in that Lifepath.
  
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==Gathering Resources==
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For example, the 190 year old Dragon in the section above would have the following:
  
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Getting older is not the only way to gain power.
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    * Scholar-Sage, Arete 14.
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    * Ambassador-Courtier, Arete 5.  
  
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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. Their dangerous lives are not without rewards, however, and it is likely that they will acquire Resources.
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But at 220 years old the Dragon in the section above would now have the following:
  
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In a way, many players might regard Resources as the only true measure of long term success for their characters. This is their reward for hard work in-game, and the only substantial advantage that they can pass as legacy to proteges or offspring.
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    * Scholar-Sage, Arete 15.
 +
    * Ambassador-Courtier, Arete 6.
 +
    * Hallowed Chorister, Arete 1.
  
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How they gain these resources is a matter of in-game story, but it should never be eithout effort. For GM's looking for a rule of thumb, it is suggested that they aim to let each player gain about 1 point of Resource per game session played, with higher cost Resources taking multiple game sessions to achieve.
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Though the Dragon only gains new Edges when he starts a Lifepath, the Edges he already has on his existing Lifepaths generally benefit from a higher Arete in that Lifepath.
 
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<br><br>
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==Gathering Resources==
  
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==Acquiring Lifepaths==
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Getting older is not the only way to gain power.
  
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Generally, adopting a new Lifepath can be handled during the '''downtime''' between stories. At any stage when a player would normally gain a point of '''Experience''', he can decline that gain to instead permanently gain a Lifepath.  
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'''Resources''' are things external to the dragon that he has laid claim over - such as kingdoms and domains, hoards and treasures or armies and followers.
  
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Note that some Lifepaths have certain prerequisites that must be met before a dragon can change to it. If age is a requirement, the dragon might meet the prerequisite as downtime passes. If particular actions are necessary, the dragon will generally take those actions during game-time.
+
Player characters, by their nature, are protagonists in the story and often live through tumultuous events, great dangers and special circumstances. Their dangerous lives are not without rewards, however, and it is likely that they will acquire Resources.
  
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Once a Lifepath has been gained, its a lifelong commitment. No dragon can choose to abandon a Lifepath he has begun, and he will have to live with the knowledge that the decision to broaden his focus will forever cost him some of the puissance he might have gained through specialisation. Nevertheless, its rare for a dragon (or a player) to have the discipline to follow a single lifepath through the course of a whole millennium. It should be presumed that any player characters or NPCs that do are exceptional rather than the norm: hence the sheer power and impressiveness of the maximum Experience powers for each Lifepath.
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In a way, many players might regard gathered resources as the only true measure of long term success for their characters. This is their reward for hard work in-game, and the only substantial advantage that they can pass as legacy to proteges or offspring.
 
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Revision as of 09:36, 6 May 2009

Age Of Dragons: Main Page -> Advancement And Downtime

Character Progression and Lifepaths

With Age Comes Power

With the passage of years, dragons grow in power.

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, but follows the demands of the story.

As a Dragon gets older, he assigns the years he has lived to various lifepaths.

For example, a starting 190 year old Dragon might have the following Lifepaths: 

   * Scholar-Sage (140 years)
   * Ambassador-Courtier (50 years)

As downtime passes the GM could state that thirty years pass. The dragon could then add +30 years to an existing Lifepath or start a new Lifepath. He can even split out this thirty years across multiple Lifepaths. For example, the 220 year Dragon might now have the following Lifepaths: 

   * Scholar-Sage (150 years)
   * Ambassador-Courtier (60 years) 
   * Hallowed Chorister (10 years)

For each full ten years spent in a lifepath, add +1 to the Arete you have in that Lifepath.

For example, the 190 year old Dragon in the section above would have the following: 

   * Scholar-Sage, Arete 14.
   * Ambassador-Courtier, Arete 5.

But at 220 years old the Dragon in the section above would now have the following: 

   * Scholar-Sage, Arete 15.
   * Ambassador-Courtier, Arete 6. 
   * Hallowed Chorister, Arete 1.

Though the Dragon only gains new Edges when he starts a Lifepath, the Edges he already has on his existing Lifepaths generally benefit from a higher Arete in that Lifepath.

Gathering Resources

Getting older is not the only way to gain power.

Resources are things external to the dragon that he has laid claim over - such as kingdoms and domains, hoards and treasures or armies and followers.

Player characters, by their nature, are protagonists in the story and often live through tumultuous events, great dangers and special circumstances. Their dangerous lives are not without rewards, however, and it is likely that they will acquire Resources.

In a way, many players might regard gathered resources as the only true measure of long term success for their characters. This is their reward for hard work in-game, and the only substantial advantage that they can pass as legacy to proteges or offspring.

Senescence

Senescence for dragons happens very different than for mortals.

A dragon will remain at full health until his thousandth year. In fact, thanks to gaining Experience he will usually grow more powerful till that time.

After that, old age will strike suddenly and irreversibly. Every D6 years afterwards, he will lose -1 from Soma, Sophis and Pneuma.

When any sphere rating reaches zero, he dies of old age.


A dragon that dies of old age in this way transmutes physically into stone - akin to pale grey marble but with a slight translucent quality. Dragons call this the sleep of stone. The statue is no more or less resilient than a marble statue, and if broken apart is made of the same stone all the way through. No dragon ever returns from the sleep of stone, and the stone has no especial magical qualities, though certain macabre dragons and mortals might seek to acquire such statues for their own collections.

Note that dragons that die from any cause other than senescence do not enter the sleep of stone, instead rotting away as any other organic creature might.

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