The Great Dragon Hunt

The Great Dragon Hunt is a Fate Core hack of giant flying lizards in a fight for survival against humanity.

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TGDH Hack

Setting

It is the twilight of a majestic race of giant lizards. Dragons once held dominion over all of the north. The coming of men and other sentient races — originally paying tribute to the mighty dragons — are now harnessing the power of alchemy and ingenuity. They are developing cunning engines of fire and death, and pervert dragon rebels through manipulation against their kin to now challenge the dragons’ dominance of the skies.

The quest of man is to eradicate the last of dragonkind and trade in the fabulous wealth of dragons. In addition to possessing ages-old hoards of silver and jewels, dragons are themselves a manifestation of the raw elements — fire, shadow, cold, and even iron. And the remaining eggs of the mighty dragon matrons — priceless geodes that take an age to incubate and possess riches and exceedingly rare elements — are coveted by man to power airships and machines of war. The surviving eggs now number only in the mere dozens.

The end of the winged lizard kings draws near. Their noble bearings begin now to erode to reveal their raw, untamable and tempestuous natures. They guard their hidden lairs and hoards from mankind, sometimes moving them as needed when their territories fall to pioneers with the courage and grit enough to lay stake further north.

Although each dragon may lair separately, in order to survive, the savage serpents have founded Serpent’s Spire, their last refuge and solitary place of unified strength. They gather in a rivalry-fueled loose unity under the ailing Elder Wyrm — greatest living member of their kind. Without some semblance of solidarity, putting aside differences and territorial disputes, enterprising man would have already hunted them down to extinction.

Through their devious consumption of stolen dragon eggs, mankind is developing numerous marvels, including airborne gasbag powered warships, cruel adamantium harpoons and black powder cannons. Along with these innovations is the empowerment that comes with rising to challenge the dragon’s supremacy.

Dragonkind strives to survive. The threat of man, a dwindling frontier to serve as food and refuge, in addition to the lost dragon eggs that need to be recovered and incubated are not the only threats the species faces. Their own raw natures threatens to spill over their levees to consume them and the world, and their contest to amass the resources necessary to survive the coming hibernation at the end of the age number among their challenges. They must adapt to the cleverness of the human mind or face extinction. And even immediate survival will amount to little if they cannot foster a new generation.

High Concept

Within the loose confederation of dragons, each may take on a specific role. Think of this like a dragon-specific profession. There are egg keepers, lore masters, guardians, skirmishes, first-strikers, lair watchers, hunters, air wardens, among any others that fits in. A good concept may be anything, but is best when it includes a positive or powerful virtue, a prominent physical feature or coloration, and a role. Examples might be Majestic Frilled Hunter, or Sleek One-Eyed Blue Mist-Maker.

Feel free to deviate from the model as long as the Concept conveys some sense of role, ability, or other unique identifier. All characters are assumed to be dragons.

The Nature of Dragons

A dragon’s Nature aspect stands in for Core’s Trouble aspect. It defines both the raw elemental spirit nature of a dragon individual (Terrible Ice King) as well as another negatively-skewed personality trait or flaw writ large (Ponderous Lodestone Lizard). Since dragons are large and destructive, their Natures may still be invoked more than your average Trouble aspect to help in rolls, but with destructive natures, it tends frequently to be associated with dire consequences. This could take the form of compels reflecting negative changes to a territory due to the presence of an influencing dragon during its frequent expressions of power, or other unintended attrition. Additionally, a Nature aspect should always be consulted when seeking options for success costs and should be at the forefront.

A dragon’s lair should always contain an abundance of the material linked to its nature. Without this abundance, a dragon may not successfully stoke its furnace, and may not survive hibernation.

Aspects

Choose three more relevant aspects, including things like a code of honor, a rival relationship, a faction, or a connection with another player dragon.

Anatomy of a Dragon

No two dragons look the same. With the loss of some of the dragons’ majesty and traditions, they have lost much of their ability to speak verbally. Although they can understand spoken speech, dragons communicate amongst one another through a combination of telepathy and bestial sounds and behaviors. Some truly gifted can communicate in one form or another with other specific races or individuals (to do so requires a stunt).

Unfortunately for the survival of the species, they generally mate for life. Rogue dragons who have broken from tradition may occasionally dominate a harem of young females, but such cases are exceedingly rare. Dragon eggs possess an amalgam of the unique mineral makeup of both parents. Young typically take an entire age to incubate and usually hatch at the awakening following a period of hibernation.

Precious metals are indeed part of a dragon’s makeup. This is one reason why dragons will amass wealth, or reside in ore-rich lairs. The magnetic and auric qualities of these important alchemical commodities energizes a dragon during slumber and helps to keep its furnace stoked. A dragon possesses a furnace, the fierce internal force of elemental power that serves as a dragon’s personal talisman. Whether powered by fire or alternative elemental forces or elements it is required not only for their potent and destructive breath, but also to keep them aloft during flight. If their furnace extinguishes by releasing all of their energy in one apocalyptic burst, it is costly in terms of time to re-stoke and leaves them vulnerable. Historically, only when a dragon knows its demise is nigh do they release all their energy.

All dragons, even the young, are heavily armored with an array of fearsome weaponry at their disposal. Aside from their terrible breath, their fanged maw, talons, wings, tail, and even physical girth are all formidable tools of war. They are easily capable of destroying armies, and a single adult dragon can decimate a city.

However, mankind’s ingenuity has tested the dragons’ natural superiority. And now they must adapt or suffer extinction.

Dragons generally are solitary except for their chosen mates and brood. Now they have formed a loose alliance and rally around their chosen elder, who at present suffers a wasting curse that none currently understands nor knows how to combat. Rivalries threaten the dragons’ future as much as the next wave of dragon hunters. Many dragons cultivate relationships with a variety of mortal minions — dwarves to craft more formidable defenses, barbaric northman tribes to serve as lookouts and spies, as well as craftsmen and scribes to do such menial tasks that a dragon could not or would not do.

Skills

All beginning characters are assumed to be adult dragons (Great +4). A dragon’s Age level (see ‘Age’ skill below) also places a cap on its Skill Pyramid.

Core Skills

• Breath (Shoot)
• Conjure*
• Courage (Will)
• Cunning (Burglary, Crafts, Deceive)
• Hoard (Resources)
• Majesty (Provoke, Rapport)
• Prowess (Fight)
• Senses (Investigate, Notice)
• Stealth
• Territory (Contacts, Crafts)
• Wings (Athletics, Drive)
• Wisdom (Empathy, Lore)

AGE (Physique) – this skill is divorced from the skill pyramid and progresses regardless of the others according to the March of Ages which closely influences a dragon’s hibernation cycle (in other words, it is set with a rank from +1 or +8 and does not fit into the skill pyramid). All dragons who successfully prepare their lairs and hoard for the coming slumber and emerge uninterrupted automatically increase their Age skill one step along the following chain:

• Hatchling: Mediocre (+0)
• Very Young: Average (+1)
• Young: Fair (+2)
• Juvenile: Good (+3)
• Adult: Great (+4)
• Mature: Superb (+5)
• Old: Fantastic (+6)
• Ancient: Epic (+7)
• Elder Wyrm: Legendary (+8)

In addition to gaining a ‘Stamina’ stress track and bonus consequence slots as described in Fate Core, it also grants a ‘Furnace’ stress track. A furnace track contains a number of boxes equal to the numeric modifier (thus, an Ancient dragon would have 7 boxes). The boxes are checked whenever a dragon wishes to use its breath weapon (from its lowest available box sequentially to its highest). Thus the stress track controls the number of times a dragon may use Breath (Shoot) to attack. More than one box may be checked at a time, adding its combined value to the roll. For example, a dragon checking its 1- and 2- Furnace boxes in one go adds +3 to the roll.

Dragons may uncheck boxes if they take part in a short slumber in its lair, making a Hoard overcome roll. The number of shifts determines the value of unchecked boxes to be unchecked starting with the highest one. Any excess shifts that cannot be applied immediately to a checked box are ignored. For example, if a dragon with its 1- and 2-stress boxes are checked and it gets 2 shifts on a Hoard roll, that dragon may only uncheck its second box.

If a dragon checks its highest value box in a Breath attack, the dragon’s furnace snuffs out completely. Such a dragon can no longer fly nor use its breath again until it hibernates according to the ‘March of Ages’ (see below). Checking boxes must always occur before a Breath attack roll. Note that dragons may still use Breath for overcome and create an advantage actions without the need to check a Furnace stress box.

• Overcome: Age is used identical to Physique. You can use Age to overcome any obstacles that require the application of brute force—most often to overcome a situation aspect on a zone—or any other physical impedance, like bringing down a cavern ceiling or destroying an iron city gate. Of course, Age is the classic skill for wrestling and other contests of applied strength against other dragons, as well as flying over distance and other endurance-based challenges.

• Create an Advantage: Age has a lot of potential for advantages in physical conflict, usually related to grappling and holding someone in place, making them Pinned or Locked Down. You might also use it as a way of discovering physical impairments possessed by the target—grappling the old dragon tells you that he is Arthritic or somesuch.

• Attack: Age is not used to harm dragons or enemies directly—see the Prowess skill for that.

• Defend: Age also represents dragon hardiness and is the default defense skill for physical abuse, although a dragon may be forced to defend with Wings in certain situations, such as evading rather than taking it. Energy attacks from Breath and the like requires Wings to evade. You can also use it to provide active opposition to someone else’s movement, provided you’re in a small enough space that you can effectively use your body to block access. You might also interpose something heavy and brace it to stop someone from getting through.

Age Stunts

• Mountain Mover. You gain +2 to Age when overcoming obstacles like physical barriers that can be smashed.

• Plated Hide. You gain a Mild Stamina Consequence against physical sources of stress in which armor would be of use.

• Tail Slap. Once per conflict, gain +2 to create a Shaken or similar advantage up to one zone away.

BREATH (Shoot)

This works just like Shoot, however a dragon’s Nature aspect will always color the narrative flavor of the breath. Thus, a dragon with Fires of Rage as a nature aspect will always attack with a flame-themed breath weapon. Also see relevant parts about a dragon’s Furnace in Age, above.

• Overcome: Breath might be a way of overcoming physical barriers, such as castle walls, a tangle of forest concealing a human base, or other such reason. Note that the nature of the breath type must justify making a roll altogether. Making an Overcome roll requires no boxes of the Furnace to be checked.

• Create an Advantage: In physical conflicts, Breath can be used to catch someone On Fire!, get an army Stuck in Mud, or other distraction. Depending on the narrative flavor of the Breath, it may come in handy for a good number of uses in and even outside of combat. Making a Create an Advantage roll requires no boxes of the Furnace to be checked.

• Attack: This skill makes physical attacks. You can make them from up to two zones away, unlike with Prowess. However, to make an attack roll, a dragon must check a minimum of one Furnace stress box. Sometimes the range will change with the nature of the Breath type. Some Breath types may not narratively justify the use of the Attack action.

• Defend: Breath is unique in that it doesn’t really have a defense component to it—you’d use Wings for that. You could use it to lay down some covering flames—which might act as a defense for your allies or provide opposition to someone else’s movement—though it could just as easily be represented by creating an advantage (Raging Conflagration or Brilliant Flashes of Lightning, for example).

Breath Stunts

• Enhanced Breath Gain an additional 'Furnace' stress box.

• Great Reek. Your Breath causes great destruction which produces smoke and other detritus. Use Breath to Defend against missile attacks like harpoons or rain of archery instead of Wings when you are creating clouds of smoke and the like to occur.

• Widen Blast. Once per conflict when you check a 2-stress Furnace box or greater, you gain +2 to attack with Breath and may attack multiple targets within your own zone by splitting shifts between the targets.

CONJURE (Original Skill)*

Conjuration is not one skill, but rather a body of magical skills, each with its unique name and place within a dragon’s skill pyramid. Examples include Domination, the act of cowing a populace, Stonecraft, the act of summoning and manipulating rock and gems, or Stormancy, the art of commanding the weather. Each must be chosen as a unique skill that controls, manipulates, or creates a narrowly defined portfolio of abilities. A special stunt must be taken to add attack or defend to the default actions of the magical skill.

Every dragon has a unique Conjure skill, so the same exact flavor may not be reproduced among any two dragons. However, some dragons must mature in order to manifest their unique skill (in other words, do not put a skill in their initial skill pyramid). A dragon may also take more than one Conjure skill. A dragon must possess a skill at Average (+1) skill rank in order to utilize the skill. A dragon’s Nature is always a good compass for the types of magical powers they might possess.

Note that there are many things dragons cannot do. They cannot speak to non-dragons, they cannot fashion things with tools using their own hands, write text, or create art. This skill will be the go-to for borrowing or creating abilities outside the confines of giant reptilian brutes, filling in gaps, or creating unheard of utilities.

The GM has the final word when it comes to specific Conjure skill abilities.

• Overcome: Just like any utility type magic skill, the defined portfolio of your Conjure skill can achieve numerous outcomes. Most commonly will be the use of the Overcome action. A Conjure (Domination) skill might subjugate a mortal mountain tribe elder as a simple Overcome, while a Conjure (Shadows) skill might create a small region of murky habitat of deeper shadows. The possibilities are endless.

• Create an Advantage: Even more numerous are the ways a Conjure ability can create advantages. This will be the skill’s most frequent of the four actions. Create elemental fields in the form of ghostly lights, of summon undead minions.

• Attack: Conjure doesn’t commonly allow for attacks without a special stunt.

• Defend: Unless the Conjure skill is counter magic, this skill does not commonly allow for Defend actions without a special stunt.

Conjure Stunts

• Beguile (Requires Conjure: Domination). Any mortals you charm through advantages remain for the entire session.

• Hex (Requires Conjure: Curse). You may make mental attacks with Conjure: Curse.

• Negative Field (Requires Conjure: Void). In addition to overcoming other magical effects by dragons, you may Defend with Conjure: Void against magical attacks.

• Telepathy (Requires Conjure: Psion). You may speak to any mortal regardless of tongue if you succeed in placing a positive emotional aspect on a target.

COURAGE (Will)

The Courage skill represents your dragon's general level of mental fortitude, the same way that Age represents your physical fortitude. The Courage skill gives you additional sanity stress boxes or consequence slots. Average (+1) or Fair (+2) gives you a 3-point stress box. Good (+3) or Great (+4) gives you a 3-point and a 4-point stress box. Superb (+5) and above give you an additional mild consequence slot along with the additional stress boxes. This slot can only be used for mental harm.

• Overcome: You can use Courage to pit yourself against obstacles that require mental effort. Puzzles and riddles can fall under this category, as well as any mentally absorbing task, like deciphering a code. Use Courage when it’s only a matter of time before you overcome the mental challenge, and Wisdom if it takes something more than brute mental force to get past it. Many of the obstacles that you go up against with Courage might be made part of challenges, to reflect the effort involved. Contests of Will might reflect particularly challenging games, like riddles, or finding the legal loopholes of knightly challenges. Courage will sometimes be the go-to Skill against magic or psychic abilities.

• Create an Advantage:You can use Courage to place aspects on yourself, representing a state of deep concentration or focus.

• Attack: Courage isn’t really used for attacking without taking a stunt or extra.

• Defend: Courage is the main skill you use to defend against sanity and social attacks from Majesty, representing your control over your reactions.

Courage Stunts

• Force of Will. Use Courage instead of Age on any overcome rolls representing feats of strength.

• Indomitable. +2 to defend against Majesty attacks specifically related to intimidation and fear.

• Resolve. Once per session, immediately remove any negative emotional mild consequence on your turn.

CUNNING (Buglary/Crafts/Deceive)

This is a stand-in for Core's Buglary, Crafts, and Deceive skill, representing the more duplicitous nature common among many dragons. Scale is always a factor in shaping the narrative with massive flying serpents. Make sure to ground action in terms that can be easily justified. For example, a dragon picking the pocket of a person walking on a street is not something this skill will be used for. However, finding the lair of a rival dragon or placating and angry rogue dragon would be. Crafting-type skills would also be very limited in scope by what one can imagine a dragon doing without opposable thumbs and tools.

• Overcome: Use this action to justify bypassing a conjuration glamour in a rival dragon's hidden lair, or convincing the elder wyrm's guardian of your good intentions to get closer.

• Create an Advantage: Use this to sow doubt or erroneous facts in your opponents, or even set snares to guard your hoard.

• Attack: Cunning generally is not useful in attacking an opponent.

• Defend: Defending is not a common action against an attack or advantage, but might justify rolling active opposition in some cases.

Cunning Stunts

• Draconic Treachery. You can use Cunning in place of Majesty to make mind attacks, as long as you have made an opponent believe a lie that you can manipulate.

• Hidden Snares. You can fashion clever snares, traps, or alarms with Cunning to create advantages on your lair. You may justify rolling actively when someone or something tries to penetrate these defenses, even when you’re not there. Once per session, you may roll opposition at +2 in addition to any invokes you wish to take on the advantage.

• It Takes a One to Know One. Use Cunning instead of Empathy to perceive lies and deceit in another dragon.

HOARD (Resources)

Hoard describes your dragon’s cache of unique wealth and the ability to leverage it against certain wants. Note that a hoard is not necessarily in the common coinage and loot in stories, but also resonant minerals and other natural resources in raw form, and may include the physical space in which one lairs. This might not always reflect wealth on hand, it might be tied to land or vassals as much as gold.

This skill is in the default list to give you a basic, easy way to handle wealth as an abstraction without getting into minutiae or bookkeeping. In this game, it also serves as a touchstone for healing, stoking one’s Furnace, and growth during aging.

• Overcome: You can use Hoard to get yourself out of or past any situation where giving up some wealth help, such as bribing a rival dragon to lay off. Challenges or contests might involve auctions or bidding wars. When a dragon has a short rest or a hibernation is called, a Hoard Roll is made to reduce checked Furnace stress or increase in Age.

• Create an Advantage: You might use Hoard to grease the wheels and make dragons or hereditary enemies more friendly, such as representing an actual bribe (I Scratch Your Back...). You can also use Hoard to declare that you have something you need on hand, or can quickly acquire it, which could give you an aspect representing the object.

• Attack: Hoard isn’t used for attacks.

• Defend: Hoard isn’t used to defend.

Hoard Stunts

• Energy Nexus. +2 to your Hoard overcome when you perform a short rest to restore Furnace stress boxes.

• Fresh Plunder. Gain a boost on your next Hoard roll representing a windfall immediately after conquering or destroying a mortal city or realm.

• Money Talks. You can use Hoard instead of Majesty in any situation where ostentatious displays of material wealth might aid your cause.

MAJESTY (Provoke/Rapport)

Majesty is for evoking powerful or subtle emotions in a target, or manipulating behaviors in others. Most often this is done in a big majestic way. Think dragons. Big ones. However, since by nature dragons cannot verbally communicate outside their kind, this limits the shape and form an action takes. On the other hand, 90% of all communication is non-verbal. A pernicious low growl or narrowed eyes can say a tremendous amount.

This skill requires that your target can feel emotions—zombies typically can’t be influenced socially or emotionally.

• Overcome: You can influence someone into doing what you want in a fit of emotional pique. You might intimidate them for information, scare them into running away, get them to venerate you as a god, or convince a rival to do a favor for you. This will often happen when you’re going up against nameless NPCs or it isn’t worthwhile to play out the particulars. Against PCs or important NPCs, you may need to win a contest. They oppose with Courage.

• Create an Advantage: You can create advantages representing momentary emotional states, like '’’Enraged, ’’Shocked, or ’’Awed. Your target opposes with Courage.

• Attack: You can make mental attacks with Majesty, to do emotional harm to an opponent. Your relationship with the target and the circumstances you’re in figure a great deal into whether or not you can use this action.

• Defend: Being good at influencing others doesn’t make you better at avoiding it yourself. You need Courage for that.

Majesty Stunts

• Armor of Fear. You can use Majesty to defend against Prowess attacks, but only until the first time you’re dealt stress in a conflict. You can make your opponents hesitate to attack, but when someone shows them that you’re only human, er, dragon, your advantage disappears.

• Poking the Bear. You can use Majesty in place of Wisdom to learn a target’s aspects, by awing them until they reveal one to you. The target defends against this with Courage. (If the GM thinks the aspect is particularly vulnerable to your hostile approach, you get a +2 bonus.)

• ’’’Revered.’’’ If you’re in an area where you’re respected or revered, you can use Majesty in place of Territory. You may be able to establish your popularity by spending a fate point to declare a story detail, or because of prior justification.

March of Ages

Dragons are powerful manifestations of raw nature. But they are also subject to long periods of dormancy. At the end of a scenario or arc, the GM may signal the time of a hibernation.

This serves a few purposes: (1) to mark the passage of significant time, allowing dragons to grow and age, accounting for large expansions of power in limited relative play time; (2) to measure the long-term outcome of playing to find out what happens, and the effects of human expansion and development; and (3) to impose a new current issue on the game to replace an old one. Thus one of a game’s two issues will always be the March of Ages (current issue). This could be The Three Empires, The Renegade Turncoats, The Great Sky Navy or similar issues.

At the end of an Age, each dragon must roll his current Age level or better on a Hoard roll. Some actions each dragon will invariably take during the game will influence the chances of making the roll. Success at a cost is an option, but may impose a permanent change in terms of modifying a character aspect.

Due to the expansive nature of the setting, much of play will default to “zoomed out” play, with actions, Challenges, Contests, and sometimes even Conflicts drawn out over an epic period of narrative time.

Stunts, Refresh, and Stress

Each dragon has 3 Refresh and 3 free stunts as per Fate Core. These may be spent to add abilities of speech, or augment skills, creating specific maneuvers or abilities. Each dragon has a Sanity, Stamina, and Furnace stress track.

Create the World

Without creating a hugely detailed world, color the setting with specific mortal races, factions of men and/or dragonkind, and empires or cities.