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2015-12-18, 05:21 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
There's also Firelight and Jennifer Scales, also interesting. The third book of Jennifer Scales (Silver Moon Elm) is incredibly bleak, though past that point the series seemingly was trying to wrap itself up as quickly as possibly due to the publisher giving no extensions for additional books. The former book, Firelight, I also adored incredibly as well.
If you want to read a book about dragons being dragons, without any of the shapoeshifty elements to it, read The Age of Fire by E. E. King. It discusses all sorts of interesting things.
I like my dragons, suffice to say. Still haven't read Talon or Heartstrikers yet. Still need to finish the second half of the Dragonbound series and the seemingly endless books from the Requiem series (Which is now at the "Requiem for Dragons" stage, so you can guess what's probably going to happen).
Seraphina is interesting too, and rather unique as well.
Enkindling seems like the (now removed) Rampage mechanic of Beast the Primordial rather than the Lunacy trait that Therianthropes possess. I don't think that's a good mechanic, that mechanic was scrubbed from Beast the Primordial due to the massive backlash that it got. You might want to look for ways to differentiate them from Heroes from Beast the Primordial, which right now they're essentially identical and that's probably not a good thing. The game already runs dangerously close to Beast the Primordial, so I think it probably needs reasons to differentiate itself. Slayers might be a place to start?
In a way I kind of don't like that, it kind of seems to detract from it being part of there inherent nature. Less of a part of who they are at their core and more of an ability they possess that happens to manifest that way.
Again seems to detract from the whole "dragon blood" thing. That's what I think it's a problem, it's not really an inherent part of their being, they gotta jam the square peg into the round hole. I dunno, seems to ring hollow to me and distracts from the flavor.
I find Beast rather non-functional. It'd have been more interesting if the Beasts were created by the heroes and not the other way around. I read a couple posts about Beast and I liked them quite a lot.
The Hero needed someone to fight, so the narrative, a corona of violence and self-righteousness and one-sided narrative focus, picked you out of the crowd, declared you someone who Belongs Dead, and warped you, inflicted a hunger for pain and fear upon you, molded you to look like something a Hero could face. But what they forgot, when they gave you scales and black sweat and burning eyes, is that they gave you teeth and claws and radioactive breath, and they made them things you could own. You're living the Monomyth, but this is real life -- and when the Heroes come to kill you in your Lair, you'll be ready.
You wanted a monster? You're getting one.Beasts are people ruled by lust for power over others, who must either embrace them or sublimate them into socially acceptable forms (dominating others in sporting contests for example). They are so well-entrenched that their enemies can only be mentally disturbed, enemies, who include lonely nerds, stay-at-home mothers, and young women defying abusers.
It's a surprisingly good metaphor for the normalisation of violence in society.
Well if it's inherited like it's supposed to be, might that be a reason to remain together? Firelight goes over this in detail, dragons stick together to protect each other and prevent their offspring from risking turning into a dragon on the big screen. Those that have lost their ability to change into a dragon (For example, the protagonist's mother refused to turn into a dragon for so long that her dragon died, so that she could better understand her second daughter who never had the gift and resented everyone because of it) or those who never shown the capacity, would be able to leave and go join with the normal human world. In this sense you're a dragon from the get-go, it's been part of you your whole life. You know they exist, you know you have the blood in your veins, it's just not your time... yet. That's how it operates in Firelight. Some can change from a very young age, others not until they reach puberty, and some just... never do.
That does make me wonder though, if someone considers themselves a dragon as a part of their first identity, how does that work?
Sounds identical to mages. The thing though is that you're not answering if "draconic blood" actually means anything or not. Though, if what you're saying is accurate, then it sounds like draconic blood and heritability is a non-factor. Furthermore, if it was the case that a dragon that hadn't had the chance to receive it's inheritance could become a slayer, then how do Spurned work? What's the difference between a Spurned and a Slayer? There doesn't seem to be a good distinction and I believe that's a big problem I think that might need to be looked into.
If a child is born in it's Drakonos, then how would that work mechanically within the game? Say if you wanted to play one.
From what I'm reading it seems to be very much the case that dragons are a variant of mage.
Why not work on some ways to differentiate them? Also who's Xallace? I don't recognize them, do they not post on here?Last edited by Reshy; 2015-12-18 at 05:28 PM.
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2015-12-18, 10:09 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Xallace is the other author. He's in the earlier posts. He does other side projects every now and again.
I possess the Addicted to Editing flaw. I have edit my posts 3 seconds after posting them for 10 minutes.
Current Projects:
Backing Dragon: the Inheritance - World of Darkness Fan game where you play a dragon
Mutant - Be a horrible abomination of a player character. Comes in a variety of flavors.
Proprietor - Bring a House to a Sword fight! Be the adventuring interior/exterior decorator. Use siege weapons, customize your hour.
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2015-12-18, 10:51 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Xallace came up with the idea for the game in the first place. He also doesn't have internet in his apartment (which was a deliberate choice he made), so he doesn't come around here much any more.
We're not particularly interested in changing aspects of the game to avoid being like Beast, especially since the aspects in question were thoroughly set in before Beast was even announced.
Another reason Inheritance works the way it does, is to support the usual CoD assumption that the characters were generally raised as normal humans, not knowing about their true nature until later on. If the children of dragons reliably became dragons, then those dragons would not have much reason to remain hidden amongst humanity. Independent long-term dragon settlements would become feasible, which isn't something we wanted for this game. Not by default, anyway. That would be something for a Shard game; a setting with secret dragon cities secreted away in the far reaches of the world.
Basically, I'm not going to answer as to whether "Draconic blood" really matters or not, at least not more than I already have. To wit: dragons believe it matters, but aren't 100% sure.
I'm going to write a sidebar about characters who were born as dragons directly after the spell in question; stay tuned.
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2015-12-19, 12:10 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Oh, I didn't know that. Oh well. Sounds like it's hard to get a hold of him.
Well, why would dragons stop hiding from humanity if they could reasonably figure out who would become dragons?
Also I dunno about the draconic blood thing, it seems that currently it's sitting in this weird position between Mage and Beast and it doesn't seem to know quite what it wants to be? It comes off as inconsistent to me, trying to have an "everything's open" attitude leaves it without a sense of direction. Mage already holds the niche for "All humans have the potential to wield magic" and Beast already holds the niche for "Anyone can become a monster". So I just feel that it's not really presenting anything new, I get that it's partly because beast came out afterwards but still it doesn't seem like even before hand it was doing enough to set itself apart. Personally speaking I'd rather something akin to Firelight/Seraphina/Jennifer Scales/Weredragon, but that's probably just me being biased from other books. I have yet to play the game myself, so I cannot tell first hand. Just from the way it's described it feels... off? It runs into the same problem that Beast has in that you aren't actually different, it's just your soul gets screwed up and you become different. I mean, in a way I really liked the Demon book Heirs to Hell describing the whole demonic ancestry thing and the lack of the whole heritability element kind of destroys the idea of a "Heir" to me. Sorry if I am rambling though.
I would definitely like to see a description of how it would happen or what changes it would impose on a character.Last edited by Reshy; 2015-12-19 at 12:40 AM.
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2015-12-21, 01:23 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
I really don't see the "randomness" thing as an indication that Dragon blood doesn't matter; if they're right, it's been long enough since the Empire fell that every human alive would have some draconic ancestry, just only a few have the right spiritual qualities to activate it, or don't have it in sufficient quantity. That's my take, at least.
Spurned don't seem to detract from it at all; they had the potential, and missed their chance. Dragons can't change instinctively, because being human is something that is not natural to them, so of course they don't have instincts to cover it, and the Great Spell didn't want to take a chance that they'd break cover by accident. Basically, Reshy, I think you're jumping to conclusions that really don't follow naturally from the text.
Interesting and slightly disturbing thought; what if ALL Slayers are potential dragons, whose nascent Kauchomai was repurposed by Fate into self-loathing instead of self-confidence?
A couple thoughts on mechanics. What about Academics, or Science, as the key skill for Sovereign of Storms? All about understanding weather patterns, and making just the right nudge to manipulate them. Also, shouldn't lightning bolts cause Lethal damage, not Bashing? Or is that just a concern for not taking away from fire breath?
Earlier in the thread, the amount of armor provided by Hide of Iron was being discussed. If 5 armor really isn't that impressive, especially given the damage numbers that real giant monsters can throw out, why not increase it? Say, every odd-numbered dot gives 2 points of armor instead of 1, for a total of 8 at HoI 5?
I feel like either Heads of Wise Council, or the fourth dot of Immortality of Lerna, should have something that adds Autofire to your Brawl attacks. More heads, more bites, right? Seems to make as much sense as putting it in Bones of the Mountain.
There's typo in the Auxiliary Legacy, Adroitness of the Multitude:Your head can easily track multiple targets at the same time. You do not take penalties to your Defense until you have been attack by a number of attacks equal to your number of heads.Last edited by WarDragon; 2015-12-21 at 01:54 AM.
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2015-12-21, 02:21 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Yeah, that's my take on it too, but I kept not managing to get it into words completely while talking about it.
Interesting and slightly disturbing thought; what if ALL Slayers are potential dragons, whose nascent Kauchomai was repurposed by Fate into self-loathing instead of self-confidence?
A couple thoughts on mechanics. What about Academics, or Science, as the key skill for Sovereign of Storms? All about understanding weather patterns, and making just the right nudge to manipulate them. Also, shouldn't lightning bolts cause Lethal damage, not Bashing? Or is that just a concern for not taking away from fire breath?
It's meant to be Bashing because getting hit by actual lighting also inflicts Bashing. I added in the damage bonus a while ago to buff it up, but to be honest it still feels like it could use some buffing. As is, it is generally weaker than a lot of mundane weapons, which doesn't feel right for a 3 dot Auxiliary.
Earlier in the thread, the amount of armor provided by Hide of Iron was being discussed. If 5 armor really isn't that impressive, especially given the damage numbers that real giant monsters can throw out, why not increase it? Say, every odd-numbered dot gives 2 points of armor instead of 1, for a total of 8 at HoI 5?
I feel like either Heads of Wise Council, or the fourth dot of Immortality of Lerna, should have something that adds Autofire to your Brawl attacks. More heads, more bites, right? Seems to make as much sense as putting it in Bones of the Mountain.
There's typo in the Auxiliary Legacy, Adroitness of the Multitude:
Once I get a break in prepping stuff for my Pathfinder game, I'll try and stat up some more characters at different experience levels, to try to get a feel for things.
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2015-12-21, 04:43 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
My problem is that it's no different if they're from a parent of two Heirs, or have never known a Heir in recorded history. The lack of difference bothers me. Furthermore is the awkward thing that Tin Soldier said which is that their children can be enkindled and turned into dragon-slaying loons just as easily as anyone else. That also bothers me. You ever read Heirs to Hell? I liked how that operated.
I guess for a game that's supposed to be about Inheritance, the lack of biological inheritance bugs me.
I wonder what happens when a Spurned awakens, since they have a dot of Kauchaomai. I guess I don't like it because it seems too artificial? Stilted? The Great Spell just seems too convenient an excuse for things to never go wrong.
I had assumed that due to them having a dot of Kauchaomai. What I don't like about slayers is how they're made and how they operate. The premise for them is rather bad in that "Oh, you saw a scary dragon and now you're an almighty badass on par with said dragon just because." I don't really like that, or buy it. It feels artificial and doesn't give slayers really any meat to them other than being a Clock Roach. Slayers in general feel out of place in how they operate in both fluff and mechanics. Aggravated damage from a glass bottle? Really? Anything you put in a slayer's hand becomes an adamantine weapon for the purposes of dragonflesh.
Worth noting that Aggravated damage in any amount destroys limbs utterly and ignores any durability.
Arm Wrack ( God-Machine Chronicle -- Page 206 )
Your arm burns with pain and then goes numb. It could be dislocated, sprained, or broken: Whatever's wrong with it, you can't move your limb.
Effect: If your arm's broken or otherwise busted, you drop whatever you're holding in that arm and can't use it to attack opponents -- unless you've got the Ambidextrous Merit, you suffer off-hand penalties for any rolls that require manual dexterity. If this effect spreads to both limbs, you're down to a chance die on any rolls that require manual dexterity, and -3 to all other Physical actions.
Causing The Tilt: Some supernatural powers can cripple a victim's limbs or break bones with a touch. A character can have his arm knocked out by a targeted blow to the arm (-2 penalty) that deals more damage than the character's Stamina. A targeted blow to the hand inflicts this Tilt if it does any damage.
Ending The Tilt: If the Tilt is inflicted as a result of an attack, mark an 'x' under the leftmost Health box inflicted in that attack; the Tilt ends when the damage that caused it has healed. If aggravated damage inflicts this Tilt, the character loses the use of his arm (or straight up loses his arm) permanently.Blinded ( God-Machine Chronicle -- Page 207 )
The character's eyes are damaged or removed, or the character is placed in a situation where eyesight is eliminated (a pitch-black room or a supernatural effect).
Effect: The character suffers a -3 penalty to any rolls that rely on vision -- including attack rolls -- and halves his Defense if one eye is blinded. That penalty increases to -5 and losing all Defense if both eyes are affected.
Causing The Tilt: The most common means of inflicting the tilt is to severely impair the target's eyesight (using a blindfold, etc). An attacker can inflict temporary blindness by slashing at her opponent's brow, throwing sand into his eyes, or kicking up dirt. This requires an attack roll of Dexterity + Athletics with a -3 penalty; the victim's Defense applies to this attack. If it succeeds, the target is Blinded for the next turn.
Blindness can also be inflicted by dealing damage to the target's eyes -- a specified attack with a -5 penalty. A successful attack normally damages one eye. It takes an exceptional success to totally blind an attacker.
Ending The Tilt: If an attack against the character's eye does any points of damage, mark an 'x' under the leftmost Health box inflicted in that attack. If the damage inflicted is aggravated the character loses vision in that eye permanently. Otherwise, the condition ends when the damage that caused the Tilt is healed.
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2015-12-21, 12:29 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
I also really like Heirs to Hell, but it's for a different game. Ultimately, the Inheritance doesn't refer to what your character inherits from their biological ancestors. It refers to what they inherit from their mentor.
I wonder what happens when a Spurned awakens, since they have a dot of Kauchaomai. I guess I don't like it because it seems too artificial? Stilted? The Great Spell just seems too convenient an excuse for things to never go wrong.
I had assumed that due to them having a dot of Kauchaomai. What I don't like about slayers is how they're made and how they operate. The premise for them is rather bad in that "Oh, you saw a scary dragon and now you're an almighty badass on par with said dragon just because." I don't really like that, or buy it. It feels artificial and doesn't give slayers really any meat to them other than being a Clock Roach. Slayers in general feel out of place in how they operate in both fluff and mechanics. Aggravated damage from a glass bottle? Really? Anything you put in a slayer's hand becomes an adamantine weapon for the purposes of dragonflesh.
Worth noting that Aggravated damage in any amount destroys limbs utterly and ignores any durability.
Slayers do gain other abilities, based on what powers the dragon that Enkindled them possesses. They're called Aretes, and they generally work to counteract that dragon's abilities. So if the dragon has put a lot into Wings of the Heavens and Hide of Iron, their Slayer will have abilities based around immobilizing or keeping up it the dragon and piercing their defenses. The thing is, the vast majority of these abilities only function against dragons. It's not that they suddenly become huge badasses, it's that the playing field is evened.
And no, Aggravated damage dealt targeting a specific limb will destroy it (or render it useless), and then only if it is in excess of the dragon's Stamina. The "any amount" only applies to targeted attacks against eyes or hands. A weapon held by a Slayer won't ignore Durability, because they only deal Aggravated damage to the dragon. Against an object or anyone that's not an Heir, it's just a normal weapon. It will "pierce" any mundane armor the dragon has, but only because Fate guides it to the armor's weak points.Last edited by One Tin Soldier; 2015-12-21 at 12:30 PM.
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2015-12-21, 02:51 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
I dunno, it just occurs to me that the whole "You gotta be taught how to dragon" seems to detract from the whole "You're a dragon" aspect. Because it's not something you are, not an intuitive part of your being, but something you have to learn. Feels too similar to mages, again, and even then... Mages can self-teach themselves. Heirs are completely incapable of self-teaching themselves this skill, but mages can do still do so even if it's more difficult. As for the Heirs thing, I made something similar to that for the dragons to see if I could make something compelling.
That's strange though, you said that when their will hardens it becomes Kauchaomai. So a Spurned loses that dot of Kauchaomai?
It seems incredibly excessive to me. Aggravated damage weapons should be uncommon. Slayers just "Automagically" having a Hunter-Killer loadout from the Godmachine kind of makes my eyes roll. Personally speaking, I'd tone it down. If they got Rote Action on attacks versus dragons, then that'd be fine, because then it's actually modifying fate (Eg. Dice rolls). But 100% Aggravated damage from a pebble makes it hard to take seriously, because it's blowing limbs off. Might fit in an over-the-top anime or the Fallout franchise, but I don't find it fits World of Darkness too well.
Still feels too artificial, they just gain these abilities because they saw a dragon. How can you even play a slayer with these rules? A lot of the abilities don't specifically work against dragons, for instance:
The Slayer no longer suffers from Wound Penalties, and cannot be knocked unconscious by Bashing damage. When their Health bar is full of Lethal, they may roll Stamina + Kauchaomai to remain conscious.Last edited by Reshy; 2015-12-21 at 02:52 PM.
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2015-12-21, 03:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Well, how would you do Slayers, then? You're objecting to a lot of the very basic stuff about them, where changing it would ripple out to affect large parts of the game. Most notably, the fact that dragons create their own worst enemies. Slayers are antagonists, bent by fate into being a weapon to kill dragons, they're not really meant to be Player Characters.
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2015-12-22, 08:27 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Honestly the problem I have with Slayers is that they're artifical in nature. Yes it's kind of interesting that dragons create their own worst enemy, however, it does so in a very direct and artifical manner. Rather than being a product of poor behavior and poor choices, it's the direct result of someone seeing you, that's it, that's enough to turn someone into an engine of dragon death. It just doesn't feel right.
As for how I would do it, well let's just see how Slayers are handled in the various dragon-books I have read.
Age of Fire (E. E. Knight): Dragonslayers are inidividuals who have drank dragon blood to enhance their own powers to fight against dragons. The one that plagues the protaginists has their own family and own wishes and can do things other than just killing dragons. However, that's what they're known for. They reach an agreement with one of the protagonists to give up dragon hunting, though one member of the family was power hungry and decided to keep going and was eventually killed by another protagonist for the betrayl. Dragon's blood is shown to keep someone healthy despite their years, and enhance their own physical prowess. However, given over time long enough, it causes the offspring to begin to resemble dragons. One of the protagonist befriended some Vampire Bats, and let it drink from his "Rich Blood" and over the course of his life they stopped being seen as bats and started being seen as "Grotesque Gargoyals" of the protagonist. At some point, the dragons consider selling vials of their blood to the humanoid races for profit.
Firelight (Sohpie Jordan): Slayers are employed by beings called the "Enkros" humans who have coveted the gifts of the dragons, they're described as such "Hunters aren’t big on mercy. They see us only as prey, a subspecies to be broken and sold to our greatest menace—the enkros. Since the dawn of man, the enkros have been hungry for the gifts of our kind, obsessed with tearing us apart or holding us captive for their use: the magical properties of our blood, our armorlike flesh, our ability to detect gems beneath the earth. We’re nothing to them. Nothing with a soul or heart." It is demonstrated in the book that injecting a human with dragon's blood gives them access to some of the abilities of dragons, the more blood they have and the more varied it is, the better. Though, conversely, this seems to causes them to start to empathize with the Draki, which means they start to see them as people and not monsters, so most of them can no longer really hunt them any more than most people could hunt a person for their skin and bones. This is why they appear to employ Hunters. In Firelight, the shapeshifting nature of the Draki are unknown, and it is assumed that if a Draki is ever captured that they are to *never* show that they can assume human form. Even if it means they get stuck forever as a dragon, because likely, they won't live long anyway. Hunters are shown to see dragons as little more than prey to hang from their mantle-place like any other animal trophy. Most don't realize that they can become human.
Seraphina (Rachel Hartman): Slayers in Seraphina are a knighthood that uses magically imbued armor called "dracomachia" to combat dragons, it provides protection against the dragon's claws, teeth, and most importantly, their infernal breath. The knighthood trains individuals either from youth, or those who were in the military from a young age in the art of dragon slaying. During the Human-Dragon war, they were humanity's ace in the hole, but after the peace treaty was signed they fell out of favor, some having decided to take it upon themselves to continue slaying dragons during the peacetime when they wore their human forms.
Requiem (Daniel Arenson): There are no conventional slayers in the first trilogy, though those who can wear the dragon's skin are universally reviled among human societies, being used as scapegoats for disaster, famine, etc. There however, is a sect of druids that says they can "cure" dragons of their curse, by using a special plant they can change weredragons back into their human form (often use these as nets) and when they consume enough of said plant, the poison seeps in and kills the draconic soul. However, while the body lives on, they often feel empty, much like the Souless condition in World of Darkness. They feel invigorated by the loss, until they eventually crumble from the loss. The druids are almost all former weredragons, having rejected their "curse" but eventually get themselves wiped out after a demonic incursion comes and they realize that without their curse, they cannot defend themselves.
Jennifer Scales (Mary Janice): Slayers are called "Beaststalkers" and are supernaturally empowered much like other major templates. "Beaststalkers—so we call them—act out of religious fervor. Barbara is their patron saint, and they seek us out in an effort to smite evil. Beaststalkers often have swords as you suggest, but they do not need them. They are masters of the duel, walking weapons that use light and sound to subdue even the most powerful of Allucina’s other children. Their very voice can paralyze their foe." Strangely in the setting, no weredragon has seen a Beaststalker for quite some time, but perhaps that's because they do their job well. When they do show up in the series, they're shown to have the capacity to sit at the table and talk, but relations are always strained on both ends. The relationship between the Beaststalkers and the Weredragons are presented as almost a kind of Family Feud, think the Hatfields and McCoys.
Dragonbound (Rebecca Shelley): Slayers are fairly mundane individuals, much like WoD hunters in almost all respects. However, many of those who are extremely good at hunting dragons tend to be Naga-Blooded, humans with telepathic abilities that allow them to feel out draconic minds and possibly even bond with one. Most don't even know what this really means, though some get bonded either accidentally or not and become entwined with the dragon who's blood they have shared. Most of the dragon-hunters are motivated by ideas of wealth and power, or out o a sense of duty to protect. They kill dragons to protect themselves, or to gain riches that the dragons supposedly keep. Each dragon has a large flawless gem nestled on it's forehead which is claimed as a trophy on each dragon's death in tradition. Some hunters go out and destroy nests to make sure that the next generation of dragons will not come about to harm humanity. Most hunters are, however, driven by aspirations of glory and wealth.
Alright, so you've seen how they've been done elsewhere. What do you think of those examples? To me, I find all of those far more compelling than the way Slayers are currently implemented in Dragon: the Inheritance.Last edited by Reshy; 2015-12-23 at 02:46 AM.
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2015-12-26, 07:19 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Question, is there any chance of a "Dragons in different parts of the world chapter" like all the other 2e gamelines have (though Demon has it as a separate book)?
Last edited by Milo v3; 2015-12-26 at 07:20 AM.
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2015-12-26, 11:37 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
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2016-01-18, 11:47 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Just to give this a little bump, in preparation for statting up some characters, I've made a Google Docs character sheet for Inheritance. Feel free to use it, or point out anything I missed on it. The first page is for numbers, the second page on the doc has the Five Questions and other backstory stuff. It's modified from a sheet my ST in a Beast game made for our group, but I think I got everything to fit pretty well.
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2016-01-19, 12:34 AM (ISO 8601)
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2016-02-03, 02:04 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
As I promised, here's five sample characters I whomped up, one of each Heritage, at various stages of their careers, from just starting out to near-Elder. I gave them about half as much draconic xp as regular, and used a slightly buffed chargen build that we're using in my current CofD group, but that'd be easy enough to modify. Needless to say, I'd be honored (and more than willing to tweak or expand on their backstories) if you wanted to use them in the book. The first one is actually a reskin of my current Beast character.
Blaze (Warren Sylvanus Blackstone IV)
A thin, nervous looking young man crouches on the fire escape above you. He's dressed in battered jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie that may have started out grey but is now stained nearly black; a backpack stuffed to bursting is strapped securely to his back, with a can of spraypaint in the side-netting, and another in his hand. What you can see of his hair is a nondescript brown, and his face would be unremarkable, if it weren't for the signs of hunger and close calls. He looks at you curiously, trying to decide between fight and flight, after you've interrupted him while painting a complex design on the side of the building.
There's a gust of wind behind you; you turn, and see something impossible. A long, lean... reptile of some kind has alighted delicately in the middle of the empty street. The creature is the size of a small horse, built along greyhound lines, with a graceful neck, fanged and frilled head, and a pair of gloriously colorful, bat-like wings that span twice its body length spreading from its shoulders. Dragon, your stunned mind supplies the word, as the monster looks at you with the same curious expression as the boy from the alley last night.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing
Eros'atar (Richard Johnson)
He's too handsome, is your first thought, and he damn well knows it. The kind of looks that make women flock to him, and other (straight) men hate him on sight. From the perfectly styled hair, to the almost-pretty face, to the manicured nails, the clothes that cost more than most houses, and the lean body that's obviously put in just enough time in the gym, he looks like the sex symbol he's made a career of being. The arrogant swagger and habitual cocky smirk only complete the picture. You wonder what poor girl he abandoned on the curbside this morning, and hate yourself for taking the sleazebag's money as he walks into your office.
The harsh white light fades, but seems to leave an afterimage through the room; an... echo of the light, if that weren't nonsense. At its center, where Richard stood, is an enormous serpent, like a python or something, only covered in reddish-gold feathers. A pair of wings spread from just below its head, where a cape might be if it had arms. It - no, he, the snake is visibly, almost frighteningly, male - is one of the most beautiful, even majestic, things you've ever seen. He reclines into a lazy coil and looks at you with Richard's eyes. Your overwhelming awe is quickly mingled with returning disgust; even without lips, the bastard somehow manages to smirk.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing
(Yeah, I dunno where this one came from. He just popped in my head almost fully formed, and I wrote him down mainly to get him out of there. If you read his fluff page and find him contemptible, it's working as intended.)
Valeregon (Cole Parker)
The swimmer breaks the surface, and wades up onto the beach, shaking out his blond hair. Clad only in a pair of trunks and a cord necklace hung with shark's teeth and chunks of obsidian, he has the sculpted, muscular figure of a supremely dedicated athlete (or a Greek god). On his guileless, boyishly handsome face is the wide smile of of a man who lives life to the fullest and wrings every scrap of enjoyment he can from it. His green eyes almost glow in the bright sun as he jogs up the beach. He's also carrying a fish under his arm, nearly the size of his leg, which he apparently caught with his bare hands. He digs a smartphone from the bag on the beach, and asks you to take his picture with his catch.
It has to be the strangest animal you've ever seen; it's terrifying and unnatural, and you feel you should be running away, but it doesn't look the least bit aggressive, despite its predatory features. In fact, it seems almost... friendly, as you stare at it in dumbfounded amazement. It has the furry, striped body of a tiger, supported on four scaled, muscular legs with the claws of an eagle. The wings of an owl sprout from its shoulders, and a crocodile's thick, scaly tail waves behind it. Most bizarre of all, it looks about and sniffs the air with two canine heads; one resembles a wolf, the other (of all bloody things) a golden retriever. It gets closer, and you realize you've misjudged its size, the thing is freaking huge. All four ears perk up, and it turns towards the waves crashing on the beach; the chimera puts itself protectively between you and the water, as something tentacled begins to rise from the deeps...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing
Kalamainu'u Mo'o (Makana Haumea Jones)
The luau's hostess comes by to check on you, and just as you have been every time since you first met her earlier in the week, you're stunned by her grace, poise, and effortless control of the situation. The fact that she's gorgeous doesn't hurt either; she has the smooth brown skin, rounded features, and midnight hair of Hawaii's native people, with a lithe, toned figure from the surfing and swimming that she enjoys. You can't help but be impressed at how the traditional grass-skirted costume, the conservative pantsuit from her office earlier, and the surf suit from the photos on her desk all look equally natural and comfortable on her. And then, she smiles, and asks you about that donation you hadn't decided whether to make, and suddenly you can think of nothing at all except those eyes, dark and deep enough to drown in...
You're part of a silent crowd, gathered around a kind of platform, or altar maybe, in some old ruins hidden deep in the jungle. Makana climbs up on to it, and the others gathered around start chanting something, you have no idea what they're saying, and don't even try to follow along. You're wondering how you got here, when the lovely woman's form blurs in the torchlight, like you were seeing her through several feet of water. The blur expands, and then snaps back into focus. Where she stood, is now a huge, serpent-like creature. The dim light shimmers off its blue-green scales, and it maneuvers itself around the altar on four stubby legs. The head, like the rest of it, isn't quite a snake's, and not quite a lizard's, but its fangs are plentiful and sharp, even as the eyes gleam and draw your attention. It looks something like a Chinese dragon... and even more like a painting you saw in Makana's home before the party. Unable to help yourself, you fall to your knees with the rest of the dragon's congregation.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing
Baalathrax (Viktor Mikhailov)
You sit down across the table from the most frightening man you've ever met. Nevermind the fact that he's seven feet tall, slabbed with muscle, with scarred knuckles and elaborate mob tattoos peeking out of the collar and sleeves of his custom suit. His face seems carved from granite, all planes and sharp angles, with more scars, and a five-o'-clock shadow that no razor could erase, and set in a studiously blank expression. But that's not the scariest part either. Nor is it his eyes, an odd, almost reddish shade of brown, that seem to be tallying up the value of everyone he looks at. The terrifying part is the reputation that precedes him. Viktor Mikhailov is an extreme case of the classic Russian hardass; anyone who goes against him and can't be bought off is either killed memorably, or simply never seen again. As you clear your throat, Viktor's lips curl briefly in a small, cruel smile; with everything you've heard, you wouldn't be surprised if he could smell fear.
A monster of nightmare tears through the warehouse wall, bursting out onto the street to a chorus of terrified screams. Longer than a pickup and far more massive, everything about it screams "predator." It is shaped something like a gigantic bat, in the way that a Smilodon resembles a Persian kitten. Every inch of its long body ripples with muscle covered in crocodilian armor, with two powerful legs and a long, lashing tail at one end, and vast wings that double as clawed forelimbs at the other. The beast's head looks like nothing so much as that of a Tyrannosaurus rex, except for the wicked, ram-like horns that curl over its skull and up under the deadly jaws. The dragon's eyes glow a baleful crimson as it roars fury into the night, and exhales a blast of white-hot flames into the fleeing gang members. One stands his ground, pulling a pistol and aiming for the eyes, only to be swallowed whole for his trouble. The other side of the brief turf war are prostrating themselves; the monster snorts over them, as if accepting their fealty.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing
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2016-02-04, 12:34 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2010
- Location
- Where there be dragons
- Gender
Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
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2016-02-04, 08:20 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
- Gender
Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Glad you like them, and I'd love to see more. I have to wonder what the Zalciai queen's stats look like...
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2016-03-09, 06:19 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
- Gender
Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Anything still happening with this?
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2016-03-09, 06:27 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2010
- Location
- Where there be dragons
- Gender
Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
It was requested, and it has (finally) been given.
Queen Sahya of the Zalciai (Dalia Petkus)
The woman looks like perfection. Her tan skin is flawless, her white hair long and smooth, her dress perfectly fitted to accentuate her natural beauty. Every inch of her radiates majesty and authority. Perhaps too much – you've nearly given up on trying to talk to her twice now. Just as you begin to contemplate it for the third time, she approaches you. Your palms are slick with sweat with anticipation, but as soon as the first word leaves her mouth you relax. She is no one to be feared; on the contrary, you can't even imagine coming to harm in her presence.
"How can I help you today?"
The metal door shrieks as something outside slams into it, and a bolt flies past you. It won't withstand another blow, and by all rights you should be terrified. But you aren't. You are under her protection. Another crash, and the monster leaps through, taking a significant portion of the wall with it. You are alone in the room with a beast capable of killing you as easily as breathing. Everything is going perfectly.
"It's here, Sahya," you call, standing tall on the far side of the room. A blinding light fills the space in front of you, before dimming to reveal your savior. A gigantic white serpent coils before you, its head nearly brushing the roof of the warehouse. A mantle of shimmering rainbow feathers run down from the back of its head to its wings, which are spread out, sheltering you from the beast.
"You are not welcome here," she says, and the monster flinches at her voice. As she roars and moves forward to engage it, you realize that at some point you fell to your knees. And, for your Queen, you wouldn't accept anything less.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing
EDIT: Somehow I just knew that someone else would come and revive this thread at the same time I was typing this post.Last edited by One Tin Soldier; 2016-03-09 at 06:42 PM.
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2016-03-09, 10:33 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
- Gender
Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Wow, that's some freaky timing. What are the odds?
Man, the Queen is a social beast. And... pretty good at keeping things in her area of expertise, too. Not really a normal combat build, but it would take something pretty dedicated to get past her defenses nonetheless.
Did you build her off a certain xp total, or just go with what seemed appropriate?Last edited by WarDragon; 2016-03-09 at 10:36 PM.
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2016-03-10, 02:58 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2010
- Location
- Where there be dragons
- Gender
Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
I just built her as seemed appropriate, though I do want to go through and tally up how much XP worth of stuff she has. It'll be at least 100, possibly even up to 300. EDIT: After counting it up, Sahya has 318 XP worth of abilities.
And yeah, she's not really a combat powerhouse, though as you mentioned it would take a lot of effort to get through her defenses. Actually taking out enemies is the job for her bodyguard. Maybe I could stat him up next...Last edited by One Tin Soldier; 2016-03-10 at 03:33 AM. Reason: Mental math fixing
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2016-03-12, 04:50 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
- Gender
Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Of course, there's always Tyranos. She could easily max out Bones and Hide with that.
Viktor would probably do so if he were going after her... though just how buff is her bodyguard?
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2016-03-12, 06:27 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2011
- Gender
Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
I bet he looks at Alduin and goes "I'm about to school your ass so hard, you'll end up with a doctorate.".
Open the lid and snatch a homebrewed treat from Cookie's Jar
Ponytar by Dirtytabs
Originally Posted by DudeWhyAreAllTheNamesTaken(Imgur)
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2016-03-12, 06:52 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2010
- Location
- Where there be dragons
- Gender
Re: nWoD fansplat: Dragon: the Inheritance
Actually, he isn't nearly as powerful as Sahya. Not even close, really; I'd probably give him an XP budget of 50 or so. He just has more actual offensive abilities than his Queen does.