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Tharen the Damned
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules Subscriber)
Tharen the Damned
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules Subscriber)
The game is in layout now, so it will take some time before it hits the stores.
I was playtester for thi, so I will offer some insights without invalidating my NDA.
The Dragon Age RPG is a fairly old-school game. It is, as Chris Pramas put it, the bastard Child of D&D basic and Warhammer FRP
- It is a boxed set.
- This set, like D&D basic, offers only rules for the first few levels. Later sets will cover higher Levels (like it was in BESM)
- The rules are easy to understand for newbees but complex enough to model most situations. This holds true for combat and non-combat. There are a few Twists in the Rules that are very cool new ideas.
- The Setting is Grim & Gritty like Warhammer. But where Warhammer has a "baroque" feeling, Dragon Age is more "early middle ages".
- No Cards for Powers needed or any other fancy equipment (like for WFRP 3). Dice, Pen & Paper and off you go.
I know from what Green Ronin is saying that there will be a special "dragon dice" that tells how well you accomplish something. So if you succeed on your roll, a dragon dice of 1 means you just scraped by and 6 means you nailed it
There is also a special mechanic that allows a stunt to be added to combat depending on what you roll
There are also, I think, talents
The game is in layout now, so it will take some time before it hits the stores.
I was playtester for thi, so I will offer some insights without invalidating my NDA.
The Dragon Age RPG is a fairly old-school game. It is, as Chris Pramas put it, the bastard Child of D&D basic and Warhammer FRP
- It is a boxed set.
- This set, like D&D basic, offers only rules for the first few levels. Later sets will cover higher Levels (like it was in BESM)
- The rules are easy to understand for newbees but complex enough to model most situations. This holds true for combat and non-combat. There are a few Twists in the Rules that are very cool new ideas.
- The Setting is Grim & Gritty like Warhammer. But where Warhammer has a "baroque" feeling, Dragon Age is more "early middle ages".
- No Cards for Powers needed or any other fancy equipment (like for WFRP 3). Dice, Pen & Paper and off you go.
Can you reveal is it's a D20, d6 or % system or a hybrid of them?
Tharen the Damned
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules Subscriber)
I know from what Green Ronin is saying that there will be a special "dragon dice" that tells how well you accomplish something. So if you succeed on your roll, a dragon dice of 1 means you just scraped by and 6 means you nailed it
Correct. But only the function of the dragon dice is special, not the dice themselves i.e. you can use the dice you already own. They are use for many purposes in the game.
There is also a special mechanic that allows a stunt to be added to combat depending on what you roll
Think of it as the Dragon Age version of Paizos Critical Hits Deck. Without the randomness of the Deck. Dragon dice also feature in this mechanic.
There are also, I think, talents
Think of them as the Dragon Age version of Feats.
Tharen the Damned
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules Subscriber)
Can you reveal is it's a D20, d6 or % system or a hybrid of them?
No secret there, it is on the Dragon Age webpage: 3d6 are used. One of them the "Dragon Die".
I read in an interview that the base box would have rules for levels 1-5, then they would work on upcomming product that would support 5-10, 11-15, and 16-20. I would never buy a game using this strategy so I would like to warn others who feel like I do.
I think that this is a good approach to draw new gamers to the hobby. Compared to D&D 3.5, PFRPG and the New Warhammer 3rd edition or 4th edition, this RPG only needs to two 64 page books.
Most of the older gamers will still remember BESM boxes for D&D Basic. This is the same approach as back then.
EDIT: I have no financial stakes in this game, I just like the old school flavor of it.
I read in an interview that the base box would have rules for levels 1-5, then they would work on upcomming product that would support 5-10, 11-15, and 16-20. I would never buy a game using this strategy so I would like to warn others who feel like I do.
I think the final cost is the same as for three big hardcovers in the end ...
anyone playing this?
I ran the adventure that comes with it.
I like the system, it's similar to d20 is a number of ways.
It is a bit annoying though that character specialisation comes at higher level and you can't plan ahead for that with your character build as there is no information available on the specialisations.
I would like the book of adventures to come out soon as I am too busy to write my own adventures these days.