Age Of Dragons: Game Systems
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Overview of Task Resolution
Age of Dragons aims to keep dice-rolling systems as simple as possible, to keep the emphasis on storytelling and to make the game easy to learn.
The game system uses pools of six sided dice. Generally half a dozen six-sided dice per player should be more than enough to start off. The rules henceforth refer to these as D6.
The following game concepts are core to the Age of Dragons system:
Standard Action / Reflexive Action
Dice Pool
Rerolling Dice
Spotting Dice
Expending Dice
Determining Dice Pools
The number of dice you roll for task resolution is determined by several factors, but primarily by your Spheres. The three Spheres are Soma, Sophis and Pneuma.
Soma, Sophis and Pneuma
Soma is "body" - the clay from which a dragon's physical body is formed. Those with strong soma are brutally powerful, resilient and physically adept. They tend to be more agile when on the wing, and can achieve greater feats of strength and endurance.
A Dragon's Soma attribute sets the dice pool for any tasks relating to pure physical prowess.
Sophis is "mind" - the intellect and will that governs and guides the Dragon. A strong sophis indicates keen intelligence, good memory, strong logic and great force of will. Dragons with well-developed sophis are not easily dissuaded from their chosen course, and are more adept at intellectual pursuits of all sorts. A Dragon's Sophis attribute sets the dice pool for any tasks relating to mental strength or mental agility.
Pneuma is "breath" - the mystical force which the Mother Goddess animated the first Dragons, and the living energy that accounts for all movement and change in the world, be it the burning of a candle, the flow of a river, or the flight of a dragon.
A Dragon's Pneuma attribute sets the dice pool for any tasks which relate to social charm, using magic, artistic creativity, environmental awareness or acting with grace and fluidity. Essentially any task that doesn't easily fit under the auspices of Soma or Sophis can be handled using Pneuma.
Example tasks, for a Dragon with Soma 3, Sophis 4 and Pneuma 5:
- Battering down a castle gate - Soma, 3D6.
- Shaking off the effects of the Red Scab Contagion - Soma, 3D6.
- Researching histories in the carved libraries of the White Archives - Sophis, 4D6.
- Recalling the name of an elvish diplomat you spoke to just once, four centuries previous - Sophis, 4D6.
- Singing a tearful lament for a fallen brother - Pneuma, 5D6.
- Waking to the footfalls of the knight who is creeping up on you in your lair as you sleep - Pneuma, 5D6.
Assigning Difficulties
The Target Number is the test number you must equal or exceed to succeed at a given task.
This number is set by how hard the task is.
Target Number is usually abbreviated to TN.
Note that TN is independent of who is attempting the task. Two dragons of different capabilities who attempt the same task will face the same difficulty.
Levels of challenge
- TN 5 - Easy
This is the default TN for tasks that present little challenge to dragons, but are difficult for humans.
For reference, the odds of getting at least 5+ on even just four dice is 107/108, so even young dragons rolling their worst attribute with no modifiers will succeed at TN 5 tasks almost of the time.
On the other hand, for a mortal (who normally have Attributes of 1) a TN 5 task will only be successfully performed 1/3 of the time. Dragons are quite simply better than mortals at all tasks - physical, mental, magical and social.
Example tasks: Searching a messy room for a dropped key; Smashing down a wooden door; Lifting a crate full of rocks off the ground;
- TN 10 - Fairly Easy
This represents tasks that a Dragon will occasionally (though rarely) fail at, but which are beyond all but the most specialised and skilled mortals.
Its worth noting again - Dragons are better at almost all tasks than humans. They are not just brutish monsters, but are capable of enhanced tasks of dexterity, greater mental agility and greater creativity as well.
Example tasks: Composing a symphony to the standard of the greatest mortal composers; Distilling a herbal medicine for a new plague; Tipping over a fully loaded cart;
- TN 15 - Mildly Challenging
These are tasks that lie beyond mortal capability, and are not altogether easy for dragons either.
An average dragon with no special advantages will succeed on tasks of this difficulty about half of the time.
Example tasks: Lifting a castle portcullis; Spotting a face in a crowd of a thousand from three hundred feet up;
- TN 20 - Significantly Challenging
Even Dragons find these tasks of this level a real challenge, and usually either expert training, natural aptitude or good luck are required to pulls these tasks off.
Example tasks: Tearing a steel portcullis apart with your claws; Recognising a passing ant is the same one as the one you saw a week ago;
- TN 25 - Hard
Even skilled and powerful dragons cannot count on completing these tasks consistently. Good preparation, diligent persistence or excellent fortune are needed to succeed at these tasks.
Example tasks: Tearing a steel portcullis apart with your claws; Recognising a passing ant is the same one as the one you saw a week ago;
- TN 30 - Very Hard
Even skilled and powerful dragons cannot count on completing these tasks consistently. Good preparation, diligent persistence or excellent fortune are needed to succeed at these tasks.
Example tasks: Instantly translating a language that you have no prior knowledge of; Throwing a pebble so that it strikes a falling raindrop at one hundred feet distance;
- TN 35 - Legendary
These tasks are the stuff of legend, even for Dragons - the sort of thing that they describe their mythological culture heroes doing. Most Dragons aren't even capable of tasks of this magnitude, and those that are may push themselves this far maybe once or twice in their lives.
Example tasks: Convincing a dozen hungry Wyverns to serve you rather than fight you; Coming up with a revolutionary new system of politics that shakes the world's societal foundations; Dodging a lightning bolt in open skies; "Solving" chess;
External modifiers
External modifiers are crcumstances that make a task easier or harder or easier to complete. They increase or decrease TN accordingly.
For example, composing a serene poem about a mountain valley is only a TN 5 task. Given an hour or two of peace, a few books of poetry to inspire you, and good weather, it will become TN 0. On the other hand being forced to do so in a few minutes, in the middle of driving rain and sleet, might increase the TN to 10. Trying to form the poem while fighting for your life against a trio of snapping wyverns might be TN 15 or even higher.
External modifiers reflect the environment rather than the individual. Anybody coming into the task would face the same external modifiers. For example, weather and equipment are external modifiers.
Internal modifiers
Internal modifiers are circumstances that affect the dragon's ability levels. They increase or decrease dice pool accordingly.
For example, a Dragon with Sophis 4 normally rolls 4 dice on Sophis related tasks. If he is exhausted from staying up all night (-1 internal modifier) he would roll 3 dice. If he had been poisoned by a mind-dulling drug (-2 internal modifier) he would roll 2 dice. If he were poisoned and tired (-2 and -1 internal modifier) he would roll only 1 dice.
Internal modifiers reflect the individual rather than the environment. For example, poison, hunger and thirst are all internal modifiers.
Permutations
Open tasks
Open tasks have no set TN, but instead higher test results equate to better outcomes.
Competed tasks
Competed tasks are made when two characters act in direct opposition to each other. Both characters make rolls.
If one character that achieves a higher test result, they win the contest.
If equal test results are achieved, then neither character wins the contest.
Extended tasks
These are tasks which take more than one roll to succeed. The GM could rule that a certain total test result is needed to complete the task. Failing a single roll along the way could indicate that the player makes no progress towards his goal, or that he has to give up the task altogether.
For example, flying out of a storm to safety could be an extended task, at TN 15. If the player accumulates 150 points of success over time, then he has flown free of the storm into calmer skies. If he fails a roll, then he is forced to land, and cannot take off again safely.
Trying Again
It is up to the GM whether a task can be attempted again, and if so what bonuses or penalties might apply.
For a task where repeated failure will bring you closer to success, it is suggested that the TN be reduced with each attempt. For example, if you are trying to uproot a small tree, the TN might start at 15, but then be reduced by 3 with each consecutive attempt as the roots work loose.
For a task where repeated failure will make it harder to succeed, it is suggested that the TN be increased with each attempt. For example, if you are trying to rally fleeing troops, the TN might start at 10, but then be increased by 5 with each consecutive attempt as your lack of authority becomes clear and panic spreads.
