Age of Dragons: Beast Unbound
Age Of Dragons: Main Page -> Age Of Dragons: Lifepaths -> Beast Unbound
Contents
Overview
The Old Ways Survive
The pack wheeled overhead as the herd of aurochs (sixty-foot long prehistoric cattle normally known for their belligerence) mournfully bellowed their alarm and fear. Claws-Unsheathed roared for his kin to dive, and the Hunter Dragons fell like thunderbolts amongst the beasts. Firebreath deployed to keep the herd panicked and packed tightly, while claws and teeth opened arteries and jugular veins with a placed precision at odds with the apparent fury of the assault.
One auroch dropped, then another, then another. One of the Hunter Dragons foolishly overextended himself, and caught a bull-horn in the ribs for his carelessness. A blast of flame from Claws-Unsheathed drove the angry auroch back, affording the stripling drake time to extricate himself. The rest of the dragons continued their careful hit and run strikes, harrying the aurochs and dropping two more of them before their alpha roared for them to withdraw.
They circled back into the sky, and let the rest of the herd stampede away to safety. Enough aurochs had been killed to feed the pack for a week, and it did not pay in the long run to kill more than they needed to. Already several of the hungry drakes and dragonesses were showing their anticipation of the feast with exuberant puffs of flame, as well as fighting out for a place in the feeding order by pecking and nipping at each other's wingtips.
Any casual observer would have thought that these dragons had devolved into dumb animals, and abandoned their intellect and intelligence. Claws-Unsheathed knew better. He knew that these were brilliant minds and vibrant souls who had simply chosen to live as beasts, and who were revelling in the vitality and joy of the experience. These were dragons who could have had their meals brought to them spiced and prepared by a legion of mortal servants, and who could be sleeping in jewelled palaces if they wanted to. But they chose this life - to hunt and kill for their own food, to sleep in natural lairs open to the sky, because this was the way that dragons were always meant to be. Civilisation shackled instinct and dulled the soul. These were Beasts Unbound.
The Beast Unleashed Lifepath
The Beast Unbound is a lifepath rejected as primitive by many Breeds, yet seen as sacred by others. To be a Beast Unbound is to set aside the trappings of civilisation (be they material, intellectual or moral) and to exist on a simpler, purer level.
That is not to say that all Dragons on this path remain in it forever. Some will visit the Lifepath only for as long as it takes them to "connect to the Beast within", and will return to civilised lifepaths afterwards. Likewise, some come to it late in life, when they have tired of civilised society.
Regardless, the followers of this path are almost all conscious adherents of the way of life, choosing to deliberately reject a more complex existence, and by doing so feel alive in a way that other Dragons cannot imagine.
Milestones
Lifepath Sphere Variations
- Atavism (50 XP)
A dragon who has passed this milestone has truly tapped into his bestial self, though perhaps by sacrificing part of himself along the way. He gains +1 dice on all tasks relating to his bestial traits (sensory perception, hunting, tooth and claw combat) but has -1 dice on tasks relating to civilisation (high etiquette, academic study, tool use, weapon use, etc.). Passing this milestone is a one way trip - the advantages gained and the costs incurred will be with the dragon for the rest of his life, so embracing atavism is rarely taken lightly by the majority of breeds.
Talents
- Attack of Opportunity (3 XP)
A Dragon must first learn the Pack Tactics talent before he can learn this talent. A Dragon with Attack of Opportunity can make a special "opportunity-attack" claw or bite attack at -1 TN, but only against a harried target (see Pack Tactics above). If this attack hits, it is at -1 TN to the damage check.
- Pack Tactics (5 XP)
Pack-hunting takes some practice to master, but once learnt can become almost intuitive. A Dragon with Pack Tactics can make a special "harrying" claw attack at -1 TN. If this attack hits, it is at +2 TN to the damage check, but the target is tagged as being "harried" until the start of the Dragon's next action, which can open him up to other special attacks as described elsewhere in this section.
- Breaking the Shell (3 XP)
A Dragon must first learn the Pack Tactics talent before he can learn this talent. A Dragon with Breaking The Shell can make a special "shell-breaker" claw attack at -1 TN, but only against a harried target (see Pack Tactics above). If this attack hits, it deals no damage, but the target loses a number of points of Armour Rating equal to the successes scored on the attack roll.
- Peregrine Dive (5 XP)
This hunting technique seems easy enough, but actually requires a lot of finesse and self control. The dragon will fly high above his (aerial) quarry, then dive towards the target accelerating with both gravity and controlled wingbeats to achieve considerable velocity. As he moves past his target he will snatch at them, grappling them and digging in his rear talons, before breaking his descent with the air resistance of his wings. Though this technique was initially developed to hunt aerial prey, it is also a battle manoeuvre of some utility. To use this Talent, the Dragon must be at a higher altitude than his target at the start of the tactical movement phase, but otherwise in the same vicinity. He automatically drops to the target's altitude during the tactical movement phase, and then makes an unarmed claw attack at +1 TN during the battle phase. If the attack hits, then the damage check is at -3 TN, and if the Dragon wishes he can automatically grapple the target.
Arcane Lore
- Milestone (20 XP)
Info
Lifepath-specific Milestones
- Milestone (20 XP)
Info
Lifepath Resources
- Resource
25 years.
- Resource
50 years.
- Resource
100 years.
