Age Of Dragons: Core Framework

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Age Of Dragons: Main Page -> Age Of Dragons: Hatchery Overview -> Age Of Dragons: Core Framework

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Overview of Core Framework

CORE FRAMEWORK:

• Framework: Select Draconic Breed
• Framework: Determine Age
• Framework: Select Lifepath, or Lifepaths
• Framework: Determine Experience Level in each Lifepath

Select Draconic Breed

In the default Age of Dragons setting there are twelve Dragon Breeds to select from:

• Pure Dragons are white-scaled, and believe themselves to be the most blessed children of the Mother Goddess, and with the most divine blood. They are filled with holy purpose and grace, and are greater in faith and purity of purpose than any others.

• Argent Dragons are silver-scaled, militaristic and hierarchical. They are strong advocates of the rule of law, and strongly dislike disobedience and anarchy. They consider themselves to be the noblest and most disciplined of all dragons.

• Solar Dragons are gold-scaled, and are dedicated to the precepts of harmony and prosperity through peace. They enjoy resolving conflicts through peaceful means, and have the most skilled ambassadors of dragonkind in their number. Despite this, they are not afraid to defend themselves and their allies, and have many skilled warriors in their number.

• Hunter Dragons are bronze-scaled, feral and barbaric. They prefer an older, more-primal way of life and have nothing but disdain for the civilised fops of the more cerebral breeds. Instinct and the way of the predator rule their culture and behaviour.

• Forest Dragons are green-scaled, spiritualist and insular. They have humility enough to recognise that dragons are merely one facet of the world's complex web of life, and pride enough to accept responsibility as life's guardians and masters.

• Storm Dragons are blue-scaled, and for the most part dwell beneath the horizon in the depths of the ocean. Their lifestyle makes them seem alien and enigmatic to other breeds, as their aquatic realm is a mystery to skybound dragons.

• Ashen Dragons are dark grey-scaled, haughty and imperialistic. They consider themselves to be better-bred, more intelligent and superior to all other breeds, and take pride in standing alone and apart from Dragonkind.

• Velvet Dragons are purple-scaled, and are the most beautiful and sensuous of all dragons. They are renowned for their ability to seduce and persuade, but also have a reputation as masters of lies.

• Chimerical Dragons are rainbow-scaled, ephemeral and enigmatic. They are the Dragons of Dream, and have a complexity of agenda and motivation that is positively labyrinthine. Others respect their mystical wisdom, but often see them as lacking in solidity and greater significance.

• Ghost Dragons are pale grey-scaled, and are well known as master scholars, but are often seen as eerie and unsettling by other breeds. Their numbers have been decimated by the Ascendancy, and the breed has been reduced to little more than enclaves of scattered survivors and refugees.

• Blood Dragons are red-scaled, and dedicated to the perfection of war and slaughter. Their bloodlust and aggression is second to none, and their dragonbreath burns as hot as their fiery tempers. They live to kill, and would rather destroy than create, and all fear them.

• Sable Dragons are black-scaled, and are recognised as being ambitious, intellectual, magically potent and strong leaders. They have a certain darkness in their soul, however, and it is a rare Sable who does not have a touch of immorality and spite within him.

You can select any one of the Draconic Breeds for your dragon, but players should be aware of several caveats:

• The default assumption is that player characters are with the Alliance, and certain breeds are better represented in this faction. However, this is not an absolute limitation, and dragons of all breeds can be found in all factions. The occasional Sable Dragon has found his way to the Alliance, just as heretical Pure Dragons sometimes ally with the Ascendancy.

• Under the official metaplot, certain breeds have very dark destinies. Every Breed will face certain unique trials and tribulations, but the most dramatic upheavals are reserved for the Ashen, Chimerical and Ghost breeds. Players who choose these options should be aware that the future may take them and their breeds in unexpected directions.

Before you select your Breed, it is advisable to refer to the Chapter on the Twelve Dragon Breeds.

Determine Age

The default assumption for the game is that the players are depicting dragons that are fairly young, but out of childhood. Players can either agree a certain age with the GM for their characters, or determine their ages randomly.
It is suggested that you use the random method - though the difference in age can result in some disparity in initial power, sooner or later every player character will die, and have to be replaced by another, and every player will gain the roleplaying experience of playing a weaker or stronger dragon at different times.

• To determine age randomly, roll three six sided dice, total the scores, multiply the result by ten, and add fifty. This will give you an age in years between 80 years and 230 years.

Older dragons tend to have stronger attributes, and will of course have greater life experiences to draw upon. On the other hand, thanks to a phenomenon known as the "Birthing Sickness", dragons who have had offspring will tend to be weaker than other dragons of a similar age. This is covered in more detail on a separate page, but the effects can be summarised as follows:

• At 250, 500 and 750 years of age, add +1 to the dragon's Soma, Pneuma and Sophis.
• For every egg that the Dragon has been parent to (either as mother or father), deduct -1 from the Dragon's Pneuma attribute.
• At 1000 years of age, deduct -1 from the dragon's Pneuma attribute, and continue to do so each 50 years thereafter.

Note that dragons of course grow stronger with age gradually, and that the attribute increases at 250, 500 and 750 years are loose representations of growing power over time, rather than sudden acceleration in growth.
See the section on Legacies for more details on the Birthing Sickness.

Select Lifepaths and Lifepath Milestones

Assign the years of your Dragon's life to one or more Lifepaths.

The full list of Lifepaths can be found here: Link to Lifepaths

The first fifty years of your dragon's life must be assigned to the Neonate Dragon Lifepath, and beyond this first 50 years, you cannot remain on or return to the Neonate Dragon Lifepath.

Beyond this you are generally free to select any Lifepaths you choose.

A few special Lifepaths have entry prerequisites that you must fulfil before pursuing this Lifepath, which are normally story-related goals.

List your Lifepaths chronologically on the character sheet. For example, if your Dragon is 160 years old, your timeline to date may appear as follows:

• Birth to 50 years (50 years total): Neonate Dragon
• 50 years to 112 years (62 years total): Warmaster
• 112 years to 160 years (48 years total): Farsky Ranger

New players should aim to have their characters spend at least 50 years on a single lifepath before changing to a new one. Lifepaths pursued for less than 50 years tend to offer little mechanical benefit in-game, so it is best to optimise characters with longer periods.

More experienced players may want to play around with the different options to suit their character concepts and long term plans.

You then need to select your dragon's Lifepath Milestones, which determine what specific talents you have picked up on your Lifepaths. Refer to the individual pages for each Lifepath for lists of Milestones available. You can "spend" your years learning whichever Milestones you choose from that Lifepath's list, meeting any prerequisite requirements as needed.

For example, if you were a Warmaster for 30 years, you might select three Milestones that each took ten years to achieve.

If you can't use up the years in a Lifepath exactly don't worry - unspent years can be "banked" for now, and spent if and when you return to that Lifepath.

For example, if you were a Warmaster for 30 years, but only want to buy 8 years worth of Warmaster Milestones, then 22 years are banked, and can be put aside for when you later return to the Warmaster lifepath.

However, you can't gain Milestones from a Lifepath while you're not on that Lifepath, even if you have "banked" years. For example, if you have 22 years of "banked" Warmaster experience, and you are currently a Farsky Ranger, then you can't spend those banked years until you return to the Warmaster path.


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