Age Of Dragons: Conflict Resolution

Age Of Dragons: Main Page -> Conflict Resolution

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Overview: Narrative based conflict

A Conflict occurs when one or more characters is placed in opposition to each other. The Age of Dragons game treats conflicts with a high degree of abstraction, in order to make the system as flexible as possible and to allow breadth of narrative possibilities. Almost any opposed action can be defined as a conflict.

For example, all of the following can be treated as Conflicts:

• A brutal sky melee where dragons and wyverns are trying to defeat each other in battle.
• A clash of vast armies, commanded by talented and opposed generals.
• A legal battle between advocates that speak to condemn or exonerate a defendant.
• A formal debate between politicians in the symposium.
• An attempt by a seductress to woo a recalcitrant victim.
• A struggle between two merchant companies to dominate the tea-trade routes.
• A contest of dance and song, where aerobatic and talented dragonbards compare their art.

The list is not exhaustive, of course, and exploring the options for interesting and novel conflicts is part of the joy of playing the game.

Energy Pools

A key concept in conflicts is Energy Pool. A conflict deals with one of the three energy pools: Physical Energy, Mental Energy or Soul Energy.

This energy pool is key, as it is used to power your actions, and to measure how far you are from being defeated and to determine who gets to act next.

By default, at the start of a conflict your Energy Pool is equal to your sphere rating (Soma for Physical Energy, Sophia for Mental Energy and Pneuma for Soul Energy).

Generally, a single Conflict will only track a single Energy pool, the choice of which depends on the conflict type. For example, a melee combat would track Physical Energy.

Exertion

In Conflicts, each action is attributed a different level of Exertion. This represents how much effort an action takes.

• A Mild Exertion is resolved with a single D6 roll.
• A Moderate Exertion is resolved with a 2D6 roll.
• A Full Exertion is resolved with a 3D6 roll.

Each has its pros and cons, of course. Larger exertions are more likely to succeed, and will tend to have greater effect than a combination of lesser exertions on average. However, lesser exertions often carry less risk of surrendering the initiative, and you can attempt more of them with the same resource expenditure.

Additionally, exertion level is a useful guide to narrative and as to how you should describe your action.

Technique

Technique measures how effective you are at conducting yourself in a conflict, whether it be in attack or defence.

The base amount for your Technique is a Sphere rating (i.e. Pneuma, Soma or Sophis), with a Skill bonus equal to your Arete in a relevant lifepath if you have an appropriate Skill Edge.

Technique level needs to be determined for both the acting character and the targeted character.

For example, in a physical conflict a Dragon that makes a furious assault of biting and clawing might calculate his Technique for the attack as follows:

• Soma (55) + Warmaster Arete from Combat Training skill (45) = Total Technique (100).

Whereas his target might calculate his defensive Technique as follows:

• Soma (50) + Skydancer Arete from Aerobatics skill (20) = Total Technique (70).

Different actions in a single Conflict may be based on different Spheres and use different skills, and this have different Technique ratings.

Aside from Skill Edges, several other factors may increase (or even decrease) Technique, including certain Birthrights, as well as Buffs and Defbuffs.

Effect

The Effect rating of an action determines the magnitude of any outcome. For example, with a flurry of wing-strikes designed to keep an enemy on the defensive, the Effect rating would determine how much Energy Pool the target loses.

By default, the Effect rating of a successful action is equal to the total of all dice rolled.

Some factors, however, may increase (or even decrease) Effect, including certain Birthrights, as well as Buffs and Defbuffs. Note that Skill Edges specifically do not directly affect Effect ratings.

Action Cost

The Action Cost rating of an action determines how much Energy it costs you to carry out.

By default, the Action Cost rating of a successful action is equal to the total of all dice rolled.

Some factors, however, may decrease (or even increase) Action Cost, including certain Birthrights, as well as Buffs and Defbuffs. Note that Skill Edges specifically do not directly affect Action Cost ratings.

It's also worth noting that Action Costs are always paid from the active Energy Pool being used in the conflict. For example, in a physical conflict, all action costs are paid from Physical Energy Pool, even if that action was a non-physical one (such as spellcasting or combat leadership).

Resolving Conflicts

The overview for this process is as follows:

• 1. Determine Conflict Type
• 2. Set Defeat Conditions
• 3. Determine Initiative
• 4. Select Action Type
• 5. Determine Technique
• 6. Roll the Dice
• 7. Resolve Effect (if successful)
• 8. Resolve Energy Cost
• 9. End or continue conflict

1. Determine Conflict Type

First, its important to decide what sort of conflict this is. This is a decision to be made ultimately by the GM, though optionally with player opinions. The type of conflict will determine what Energy Pool is used, and will also set the narrative context for what sort of actions can be used.

• Soma Conflicts are those where physical interaction is the core. Examples might include melee combats, aerobatic displays, races and aerial pursuits. These conflicts use the Physical Energy Pool.
• Sophia Conflicts are those where mental interaction is the core. Examples might include competing research, commanding armies, games of strategy and battles of will. These conflicts use the Mental Energy Pool.
• Pneuma Conflicts are those where social, creative or arcane interaction is the core. Examples might include singing competitions, diplomacy, persuasion, seduction or battles of arcane force. These conflicts use the Soul Energy Pool.

A balanced story should generally include roughly equal numbers of conflict of each type, so as to give characters of different strengths a chance to shine. Of course, what conflicts arise should also be determined primarily by the players' actions, and not all conflicts are of equal importance or consequence...

2. Set Defeat Conditions

Each participant in the conflict has a Defeat Condition described by the GM. This is what happens when they are Defeated in the conflict.

This should be defined primarily by the narrative, and the defeat conditions for each participant can be different. For example:

• A dragon is trying to sway a crowd to his cause, while his opponent seeks to discredit his arguments. If either dragon is defeated, then his arguments are dismissed by the crowd, and they will no longer listen to him.
• A dragon is fighting a pack of wyverns. If any combatant is defeated, he is killed.
• A dragon is fighting a squad of pikemen in the middle of a pitched battle. If the dragon is defeated, he will be driven off and must retreat, perhaps to attack again later in the battle if opportunity arises. If the pikemen are defeated, they are killed by the dragon.

Note that the GM should be very clear about the defeat conditions, and should attempt to place realistic conditions dependent on the narrative. Its worth noting, as above, that a physical defeat doesn't have to mean death, and indeed if the GM uses life-or-death conflicts too often, then he can expect a high mortality rate for his player's characters over the campaign. Instead, the Conflicts over the course of a story should have varying levels of severity in their defeat condition, so that when the GM does present a Conflict with an especially scary defeat condition, it has more dramatic impact.

3. Determine Initiative

Next determine who has the Initiative. The character with the Initiative is able to take an Action. The Initiative may pass from character to character during a Conflict, but only one character has the Initiative at a time.

To determine the Initative look at the following:

• If a character has the highest Energy Pool, then he gains the Initiative.
• If more than one character has equal highest Energy Pool then the GM looks at the narrative of the situation, and decides which of them has the Initiative.
• If narrative and drama don't decide the situation, and more than one character has equal highest Energy Pool, then the GM just decides which of them has the Initiative, in general favouring player characters over NPCs. (This is colloquially known as "player perogative").

Obviously, there will often be judgment calls required on the GM's part, so a higher degree of trust in the GM is required of players of this game than most.

4. Select Action Type

An Action is something that the character with the Initiative actively does, to seek to affect the course of the conflict in some way. This is an admittedly vague description, but the conflict system is by its nature abstract, so GMs and players can be flexible and creative!

When the player declares his characters action (or the GM declares his NPCs' actions) he describes in full what he is trying to achieve, adding roleplaying flourish if he wishes.

The below list of action types are suggested as guidance and suggestions that will cover the majority of conflict actions that a character might engage in, but the list is not intended to be exhaustive, and GMs and players should be open minded to making up new rules on the fly for actions not covered here...

One important rule applies:

• All actions must be supported by the narrative, by described actions, and by the characters capabilities.

"Supported by the narrative" means that the action must make sense within the context of the conflict and the story so far. You cannot, for example, declare that your dragon is attacking with his armour spikes when its clear from the narrative that his armour is a hundred miles away in the dragon's lair.

"Supported by described actions" means that both the GM and players have responsibility for describing the actions of characters under their control. It is not acceptable, for example, to simply declare "I make a 3 dice Assault" as your action. The narrative and the roleplaying are not just a side effect of the Conflict system - they are its entire point.

"Supported by the characters capabilities" is an important limiter on action types. Most characters can attempt Assault, Finisher and Escape actions in any conflict, but generally either specialised edges or smart roleplaying are needed to attempt other action types. For example, in melee combat, if you want to debuff your enemy's fighting Technique rating, you'd need some means to do so, such as a magic that curses and weakens him, or a special combat technique that hampers his fighting style.

Assault

This is the default attack option early in a conflict, representing an attempt by the character to maintain control of the conflict through aggression and forward posturing.

A successful assault reduces the target's Energy Pool by an amount equal to the Effect rating of the action.

Examples of Assault actions in different contexts might include:

• In a Physical melee: Launching strike after strike at an opponent to keep them on the defensive.
• In a Social persuasion: Firing off quickfire arguments in an assertive voice, and without pause, to keep control of the conversation.
• In a Mental game of strategy: Working an aggressive gambit that forces your opponent to react rather than act.

Finisher

This is the default attack option late in a conflict, representing an attempt by the character to defeat his opponent.

A successful Finisher has a chance of Defeating the opponent. Compare the Effect rating of the action to the target's Energy Pool. If the Effect rating is equal or higher, then that target is Defeated.

Note that a Finisher doesn't actually reduce a target's Energy Pool, so if the Effect isn't sufficient to trigger a Defeat, then the action is effectively wasted. Knowing the right moment to switch from Assaults to Finishers is an important part of Conflict strategy.

Examples of Finisher actions in different contexts might include:

• In a Physical melee: Making a bite for the opponent's throat, with a view to the kill.
• In a Social persuasion: Stating your conclusions, wrapping up your argument, and waiting to see if you've done enough to persuade your opponent.
• In a Mental game of strategy: Moving pieces towards a checkmate attempt.

Escape

This is used to exit a conflict that you don't think you can win, or which you don't want to be part of.

A successful Escape results in you leaving the Conflict altogether. You do not suffer the Defeat Condition but you can no longer participate in it either.

Examples of Escape actions in different contexts might include:

• In a Physical melee: Flying away from the battle.
• In a Social persuasion: Making your excuses, then walking away.
• In a Mental game of strategy: Stopping the game, and refusing to play.

Note that Escape is slightly more complicated then most actions, and is something that is incorporated into the narrative. Different consequences could follow your Escape. For example, a dragon fleeing a physical combat could be pursued by other flying combatants (thus starting a new physical conflict that represents the pursuit). A dragon that walks away from an argument might be perceived as having lost, even if he was not defeated.

Also, Escape is sometimes easier or harder than default - see Difficulty Modifiers below.

Buff/Debuff

A buff is an action that increases a stat, whereas a debuff is an action that decreases a stat. Generally you put buffs on your allies, and debuffs on your enemies.

A successful buff increases either the target's Effect or Technique by an amount equal to the Effect rating of the buff action.

A successful debuff decreases either the target's Effect or Technique by an amount equal to the Effect rating of the debuff action.

Note that buffs and debuffs normally require some sort of special effect to achieve (such as magic or a specialised technique) and have an effect that lasts until the end of the Conflict, though the GM may waive the requirement with smart tactics or shorten the duration if he feels it is too powerful. Also, a buff or debuff tends to apply to only a thematically linked group of actions.

Examples of Buff/Debuff actions in different contexts might include:

• In a Physical melee: Using the Suspire of Wind to cajole wind spirits into throwing your opponent off balance, thus debuffing his Technique with regards to flying physical actions.
• In a Social persuasion: Using the Suspire of Fire to wreathe yourself in flame, thus buffing your Technique with regards to intimidation attempts.
• In a Mental game of strategy: Acting seductively to throw off the concentration of your opponent, thus debuffing his Technique with regards to game playing.

Alter Situation

Alter Situation is an action that globally changes the Conflict in some way normally in a way that is favourable to you or detrimental to your opponent.

A successful action of this sort generally requires a little GM interpretation as to what the effect is, with the general guideline that a higher Effect rating results in a more dramatic alteration of the situation.

• In a Physical melee: Using the Suspire of Wind to drive you and your opponent up in altitude, lifting you above the forest canopy and into the open to better suit your fighting techniques.
• In a Social persuasion: Using the Suspire of the Arcane to disenchant an opponent, wiping all magical buffs and debuffs off him.
• In a Mental game of strategy: Engaging in a forced prolonged exchange of pieces, that leaves the game board greatly simplified (and results in both players losing mental energy equal to twice the effect rating).

These sort of actions need to be improvised on the fly!

5. Compare Attack and Defence Technique

As noted above, Technique is determined by a combination of sphere rating, applicable skill and buffs/debuffs.

Compare the Technique of the attacker (acting character) with the Technique of the defender (target character).

• If the attacker has higher technique, then the attacker has advantage. This means that an action is considered successful if at least one dice rolls 4+.
• If the attacker has equal technique to the defender, then neither has advantage. This means that an action is considered successful if at least one dice rolls 5+.
• If the defender has higher technique, then the defender has advantage. This means that an action is considered successful if at least one dice rolls 6+.

Advantage in combat is very important, as it makes a big difference to your odds of a successful action!

6. Roll the Dice

Next, roll the dice!

Age of Dragons uses six-sided dice.

The number of dice you roll is determined by your level of exertion in the action. To recap:

• Mild exertion = 1 dice.
• Moderate exertion = 2 dice.
• Full exertion = 3 dice.

You then look to see if you have succeeded. As noted in the previous step:

• Attacker Advantage = Succeed on a 4+.
• Neither Advantage = Succeed on a 5+.
• Defender Advantage = Succeed on a 6+.

Note that you only need a minimum of one of the dice you roll to be in the success range, and the action is considered a success.

If no dice rolled are in the success range, then the action is not a success.