Age Of Dragons: Game Systems
Age Of Dragons: Main Page -> Age Of Dragons: Game Systems
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:
Non-conflict Action / Standard Action / Reflexive Action / Effects
An Action is something a character does, which may or may not require a dice roll.
A Non-Conflict Action is one that is performed outside of a Conflict. Outside of conflicts, there is no need to precisely determine initiative orders or timing of actions, so generally each action is resolved as soon as it is declared. As their name suggests, this type of action cannot be used during a Conflict.
A Standard Action can be used during a Conflict. Characters can only take Standard Actions during their own turn. Generally, you achieve Standard Actions by expending dice from your dice pool (see below). Some Standard Actions can be used outside of Conflict situations as well. For example, making a melee attack is a Standard Action, as is breathing fire. Most Standard Actions are only applicable in certain types of Conflict - for example, melee attacks are only applicable in physical conflicts, not in mental conflicts.
A Reflexive Action can also be used during a Conflict. Characters can only take Reflexive Actions during another character's turn, and only when a Trigger Condition occurs. For example, dodging an attack is a reflexive action. Some reflexive actions have costs, and these costs are detailed in each action's description.
An Effect is not an action, but is anything else that may result from the games rules or character activity. For example, rerolling dice is an effect. Importantly. effects do not take up your turn.
Dice Pool
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 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:
- Battering down a castle gate - Soma.
- Shaking off the effects of the Red Scab Contagion - Soma.
- Researching histories in the carved libraries of the White Archives - Sophis.
- Recalling the name of an elvish diplomat you spoke to just once, four centuries previous - Sophis.
- Singing a tearful lament for a fallen brother - Pneuma.
- Waking to the footfalls of the knight who is creeping up on you in your lair as you sleep - Pneuma.
An important game concept is that if a player wants to perform multiple actions on a single round that relate to different Spheres, he uses the lower sphere rating.
For example, a dragon that wants to cast a spell (Pneuma) and fight in melee combat (Soma) in the same round would have his dice pool determined by the lower of Soma and Pneuma.
Once you have determined your dice pool, roll that many six sided dice.
Rerolling Dice
After the dice have been rolled, the character may choose to activate any reroll effects he has access to.
All rerolls occur at the same time, or not at all.
For example, if a dragon has a power that lets him reroll 3 dice, and another that lets him reroll 2 dice, and he wants to use both to full effect, then he must pick up and reroll 5 dice at once. If he opts to reroll less dice initially, he cannot then go back to use his remaining rerolls.
One consequence of this rule is that any single die can only ever be rerolled once in a dice pool.
Spotting Dice
Spotting is when you see numbers in your dice pool.
For example if you were to roll...:
2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6
...then you would be able to spot two "2s", two "3s", one "4", two "5s" and one "6".
Spotting dice lets you trigger certain effects.
Each die can only be spotted once, for the purposes of triggering effects.
For example, if you had the above roll and you had two effects that trigger with the condition "spot two "3s"", then you would only be able to trigger one of the effects, not both.
Spotting always takes place after the reroll step, but before the expend step.
Effects triggered by Spotting generally take place immediately, before you even reach the expend step.
Expending Dice
Expending is when you remove dice from your pool to achieve an effect or action. Often, you will have to expend dice of a certain value to achieve that effect or action.
For example, in normal melee combat, you may expend any 4+ dice on a Soma-based roll to deal 1 point of damage an enemy in melee.
Any single dice can only be expended once. Once it is expended it is removed from the dice pool for that turn and cannot be used again.
Note that expending dice always takes place last, after both the reroll step and the spotting step.
Importantly, expending a dice doesn't negate any previous effects based on that dice. For example, if your dice rolled a "6", you could use it first to "spot a 6" and then later to "expend a 6", and achieve both effects.
Note also that the nature of the system allows you to achieve multiple actions on your turn, so long as you have enough dice to expend.
GMing the system: task resolution
A degree of judgment call is required for using this system, especially in freeform situations. A GM must decide what sort of dice pool the player must use to achieve certain actions, and also the conditions required to achieve that action.
Generally a GM will ask for a specific sphere, and say how many dice of what value a player will need to expend to achieve an action. By default, expending 4+ dice is a reasonable target, with the GM adjusting the number of dice needed according to the difficulty.
Levels of challenge
- Expend one "4+" dice
This is the default TN for tasks that present little challenge to dragons, but are moderately challenging for humans.
For reference, the odds of getting at least one 4+ on even just seven dice is 127/128, so even young dragons rolling their worst attribute with no modifiers will succeed at simple tasks like this most of the time.
On the other hand, for a mortal (who normally have Sphere ratings of 2) a task of this sort will only be successfully performed 75% 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;
- Expend two "4+" dice
This represents tasks that a Dragon will occasionally (though rarely) fail at, but which are deeply challenging to 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 professional mortal composers; Distilling a herbal medicine for a new plague; Tipping over a fully loaded cart;
- Expend three "4+" dice
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 one hundred feet up;
- Expend four "4+" dice
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; Recalling word for word a page of text you saw only for a second;
- Expend five "4+" dice
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: Smashing down a thick castle wall; Counting the numbers a swarm of ants as you fly over them at full speed;
- Expend six "4+" dice
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; 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;
External modifiers
External modifiers are crcumstances that make a task easier or harder or easier to complete. They increase or decrease number of expended dice required accordingly.
For example, composing a serene and competent poem about a mountain valley is only an "expend two "4+" dice" task. Given an hour or two of peace, a few books of poetry to inspire you, and good weather, it will become "expend one "4+" dice". On the other hand being forced to do so in a few minutes, in the middle of driving rain and sleet, might increase it to "expend three "4+" dice". Trying to form the poem over a few seconds while fighting for your life against a trio of snapping wyverns might be "expend four "4+" dice" 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 8 normally rolls 8 dice on Sophis dice pools. If he is exhausted from staying up all night (-1 internal modifier) he would roll 7 dice. If he had been poisoned by a mind-dulling drug (-2 internal modifier) he would roll 6 dice. If he were poisoned and tired (-2 and -1 internal modifier) he would roll only 5 dice.
Internal modifiers reflect the individual rather than the environment. For example, poison, hunger and thirst are all internal modifiers.
Open tasks
Open tasks have no set number of expended dice required, but instead more dic expended relates to a better result.
For example, a dragon seeking to show his charisma with an impressive dragonsong might be looking to expend any 4+ dice on a Pneuma roll. A single dice expended would be only adequate, with likely watchers commenting that a human could sing as well, while expending six dice would likely lull listeners into a state of entrancement, and likely reduce them to tears with its sheer beauty.
Competed tasks
Competed tasks are made when two characters act in direct opposition to each other. Both characters make rolls, again usually looking to expend 4+ dice.
The character that expends more dice wins the contest.
If equal test results are achieved, then neither character wins the contest.
The purpose of this system is for short and easily resolved competitions. For more extended and dramatic oppositions, it is recommended that the conflict system is used instead.
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, requirng 30 dice at 5+ to be expended. If the player accumulates these expended dice over time, then he has flown free of the storm into calmer skies. If ever he fails a roll (i.e. rolls no 5+ dice), 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 number of dice required be reduced with each attempt.
For a task where repeated failure will make it harder to succeed, it is suggested that the number of dice required with each attempt. For example, if you are trying to rally fleeing troops, the target might start at two dice at 4+, but then be increased by one extra dice needed with each consecutive attempt as your lack of authority becomes clear and panic spreads.
