Dragonewts
The following was first printed in "Rack & Rune" #2, a 'zine by me
(Peter Maranci) which appears regularly in "The Wild Hunt" APA.
I may be reached in the following ways:
Voice: (617) 397-7958 after 6 PM EST
Post: 81 Washington St., Apt. #2, Malden MA 02148, USA
Net: rune@trystro.uucp or trystro!rune@think.com
DRAGONEWTS
The Chaosium claims that non-rebel dragonewts are unmanageable as
PCs. I believe otherwise; at least three different players that I know
of have successfully played dragonewts, and every time it's been a
hell of a lot of fun. Though styles of play did vary somewhat, there
were certain things all players had in common:
- A sense of quirkiness. Dragonewts have a totally alien logic of
existence. While players, being human, may not be able to understand
dragonewt philosophy, a penchant for bizarre and (in human terms)
insane practices can make a convincing simulation. Needless to say,
they should not behave so all of the time; that in itself would be
predictability, which is the antithesis of the Dragon Way.
- Roleplaying above powergaming. Dragonewts possess a far greater
potential for power than an ordinary character. They are, in fact,
unbalanced as PCs; after all, they may die any number of times, and be
reincarnated as long as they remain on the Dragon Path (though there
are occasional exceptions). This imbalance must be corrected by good
roleplaying (refusal to accept human magic, for example), combined
with GM supervision. In crude terms, a player must be willing to screw
himself and the party for the sake of the character. If
immortality/rebirth is being used as an unfair advantage by the
player, then the dragonewt is off the Dragon Path -- and will no
longer be reborn. Q.E.D.
- Gamemaster supervision. This is perhaps a more controversial idea:
I believe that in GMing for dragonewts, the GM's gut feeling is a
better controller than any mechanical system (in fact, that may apply
to many areas of gaming). While there are certain obvious indicators
of deviance from the Dragon Way (such as overuse of dragon effects
and/or frequent human-logical behavior), the GM should rely chiefly on
his/her own judgement as to the dragonewt's Dragon Path status,
including advancement from scout to warrior stage, etc. Needless to
say, a dragonewt should not be advanced to Warrior status until all
other players are at high Initiate standing. The dragonewt section of
the RQII book also gives some useful skill & POW minimums for
advancement in stage.
Below is a table which was used for dragonewt PCs. Keep in mind that
Warrior dragonewts generally have a POW of 12 - 14, and that use of
these effects can cause deviation from the Dragon Path. Death may
often be preferable.
DRACONIC EFFECTS TABLE: WARRIOR STAGE
- Dragon Armor. See RQIII Glorantha book.
- Dragon Claw. See RQIII Glorantha book.
- Dragon Strength. See RQIII Glorantha book.
- Firebreath. See RQIII Glorantha book.
- Growth. See RQIII Glorantha book.
- Sprout Wings. See RQIII Glorantha book.
- Alertness. Stay awake/alert for 1MP/hour cost. Each MP expended
increases all Perception abilities by 5%.
- Dragon Dread. The dragonewt's eyes seem to glow and whirl. Costs
1MP/rd, and must be maintained for 10 rounds. While in effect, newt
gains ability to cause Befuddle effect at a glance. Can gaze at one
victim + attack & defend, or can replace either action with additional
gaze (up to 3 per round).
- Dragon Roar. A deafening, terrifying sound, causing a Demoralize
effect in all with the area of a sphere centered on the dragonewt with
a radius equal in meters to the number of MPs spent by the newt. A 5
MP Roar would cause all within 5 meters of the dragonewt to resist a
POW vs. POW attack or be Demoralized for 20 - INT minutes. The minimum
duration is 1 round.
- Dragon Tail. At will, dragonewt's tail becomes 2x larger. The
Tails hit points are doubled, and the dragonewt gains a sweep attack
vs. rear foes. 10% base + attack bonus, SR 0 + DEX for first attacker,
1 + DEX for second, etc.. Damage is 1D6 + Damage bonus. This attack is
in addition to normal front attack and parry, but newt's Dodge is
halved for duration of effect. Skill may be gained in Tail attack as
per normal.
- Sharing Dream. The dragonewt performs a bizarre ritual upon
another individual. On completion, the dragonewt must overcome the
targets MP with his own -- the target cannot help but resist. If
successful, both immediately enter a deep coma. In that time, one-half
of all damage received by the target will be transferred to the newt.
Armor does not protect against this damage, but the Dragon Armor
effect may be used by the newt on himself. The coma lasts for as many
hours as points of damage are transferred. Violent stimulation
(damage) may awaken either party before the effect is complete, in
which case the newt takes damage equal to the damage of the target,
without curing the target at all.
- Forced Rapport. The dragonewt touches a spell-afflicted object or
person, and resists the MP of the caster at the time he/she cast the
spell. If successful, the spell is negated. If not the dragonewt is
affected by the spell himself, probably in some adverse way (GM's
choice).
- Dragon Heart. For as long as desired, the dragonewt's CON is 1.5 x
original.
- Swallow. The dragonewt may swallow any object up to 1/2 his own
SIZ, without taking damage. This includes living things, sharp
objects, etc.. The material may be disgorged later. A living thing
will continue to breathe, but extra food must be Swallowed for its
consumption. If the dragonewt is killed, any living creature inside
will suffer drowning effects as per World Book until released (cut
out).
- Destruction. This effect destroys enchantments. The dragonewt
sacrifices a number of Power points. The enchantment then makes a
resistance roll, using the points used in its creation vs. the point
sacrificed by the dragonewt. If it fails the enchantment is destroyed.
If it succeeds, the enchantment survives and the dragonewt suffers a
Backfire effect from the Sorcery table. Note: overuse of this effect
is a known cause of the extremely rare dragonewt de-evolution, in
which the dragonewt is reincarnated at the next lowest stage!
- Dragon Sleep. By paying a cost of 1MP/hour/day/season, the
dragonewt may suspend its animation. During this time, it need not eat
nor breathe, and indeed cannot. It can endure any temperature or
condition that does not destroy its body.
- Death. The dragonewt dies at will, and may be reborn normally.
- Dragon Jaws. Gain Bite attack, damage 1D10 + 1 + Damage bonus.
Base attack chance = 20%. The SR is 2. May be increased by experience
and training (from who?).
- Dragon's Mark. By expending a permanent point of POW, the
dragonewt may place an invisible mark that will enable it to locate
the object desired, even after it has died and been reincarnated. The
object marked may be a person, spirit, place, or thing. If the
dragonewt is able to touch and freely handle the object/person/item in
question for its POW in minutes, it will be able to locate the object
to within 1 - 100 meters. Every minute or fraction thereof less which
the dragonewt spends increases uncertainty by a further 1 - 20 meters.
If the dragonewt cannot touch the item, but can see it, it may mark it
nonetheless. In this case, however, the accuracy drops to 1 - 1000
meters. If the dragonewt is marking its' own skin, it is automatically
successful at the 1 - 100 range. No extra time need be spent. Within
the range of uncertainty, the dragonewt can only sense that the item
is within range.
Note: overuse of this effect is a known cause of the extremely rare
dragonewt de-evolution, in which the dragonewt is reincarnated at the
next lowest stage!
20) Elemental Shield. When invoked, all elementals must overcome the
dragonewts' POW to attack it in any way. The dragonewt may also
survive in hostile environments by spending 1 MP per 10 points of
damage it would normally take.
GAINING A NEW EFFECT: Upon first attaining Warrior status, a dragonewt
possesses none of these effects. Once each week, the dragonewt may
attempt to roll percentiles equal to or beneath its POW. If the number
is below, it gains a randomly rolled Effect. This Effect is permanent;
it may be used over and over again. In the case of duplication, there
may be no increase, a reroll, or an increase in the effectiveness of
the Effect in question, at the GM's whim. If the number rolled by the
dragonewt is equal to it's POW, it may experience a conversation with
a True Dragon, summon a Dream Dragon, or experience some other bizarre
manifestation.
Finally, the easiest way to keep a dragonewt with a party is to simply
have a Noble order it to observe the group for a while. Let a Scout
scout out the human frontier!
--
(c) Copyright 1992 Peter Maranci. This version is freely
redistributable as long as this copyright message is included.
Commercial rights for derivative works are retained by the author.
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: Fri 10 Oct 2003 - 01:54:09 EEST