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Dragon

A Little Game for Little Dragons

by
John W ick
CHAPTER 1
A HUMAN POINT-OF-VIEW A DRAGON POINT-OF- Awareness (1 Point per
VIEW Rank)
Listen well, child. Listen to the story. For there
is a lesson at the end of it. And if we are wise, Dragons have a supernatural Awareness,
we will learn something before the tale is done. Bah! Puny mortals! What do they know? sensing all things around them. Using their

CREATING A
superior senses, Dragons can even smell
You see, a long time ago, this land your home- Dragons are big! Dragons are powerful!
things like magic and invisible creatures.
land called Shanri was not ruled by saga- Dragons rule the world! Thats all little
Every Rank of Awareness gives you anoth-
cious men as it is today. No, once upon a time, mortals need to know. All theyre good for
the land was ruled by terrible creatures with
powers so vast, not even mortal imagination
is stomping! DRAGON er die to roll when trying to sense things.
This Trait costs 1 point to increase.
could grasp them. Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
Dragons have many Traits, each of which Claws (1 Point per Rank)
These creatures these dragons ruled See?
Shanri with their might and power, with sorcery has some mechanical benefit. All Dragons A Dragons claws rip, tear and rend mortal
most foul. They used this sorcery to change their (Oh, and we eat your socks!) begin with one point in each Trait. You also armor like paper. For every 1 Point you
shape, making them appear as beatific men and have seven points to allocate to your Traits invest in Claws, you may roll an additional
***
women, walking the world, forcing their wills on to make your Dragon your own. die when using your talons to slash foolish
others. Welcome to Dragon, a little roleplaying game mortals. This Trait costs 1 point to
for a dear friend of mine, Danielle Hildebrandt. Traits cost different amounts of points to
But Dragons did not just quell humanity; they increase.
She loves Dragons. So much so that I just had to increase, meaning you will have to spend
warred with each other. For when you are as
mighty as they were, the only true enemy is one
write a roleplaying game specifically for her. A more points to increase some Traits than Gullet (2 Points per Rank)
game all about stomping puny mortals and eat- others. For example, it costs 5 points to
who matches your might. And so, the Dragons ing their socks. Deep down in a Dragons gullet, she grinds
increase your Dragons Age Rank by 1, but
quarreled and fought amongst themselves for the up stones shes swallowed, turning those
rights of land and leisure. They treated men like If youre a fan of Dragons, you can play it, too. only 2 points to increase her Armor Rank
by 1. You cannot increase any Trait by diamonds, rubies and sapphires into deadly
cattle, as little more than property. When anoth- In fact, Danielle is very happy to share her game
with the world (I asked her). Just as long as you more than 3 Ranks at this time. You have and dangerous breath weapons. For every
er dragon killed a man or woman in your
domain, you declared war because the other understand the rules: 15 points to allocate to your Dragon. point of Gullet you have, your breath
Dragon destroyed your property. weapon is more powerful.
1) Dragons always win. Age (5 Points per Rank)
For a thousand years the land of Shanri was as
Okay, more like The Rule than the rules Hoard (3 Points per Rank)
such. Ruled by the Dragon-Kings, we humans A Dragons age is her most important Trait;
lived under the fear of their wings and talons Dragon is a game simple enough to play with the older she is, the more powerful she Mortals hoard gold so Dragons can take
and fire. It was only because of the wars just about anyone of just about any age. You can becomes. For every 100 years of Age, a it away. Hoard represents the amount of
between their own kind that they were made play it with a Narrator and a single player, or Dragon rolls 1 die on all her actions. All wealth youve accumulated over the years.
weak. Weak enough that brave bands of heroes you can play it with many players, all taking the Dragons start with one point of Age, mak- See the Hoard chapter (below) for how to
could join together, slay the Dragons, and liber- roles of Dragons-Who-Rule-the-World. use your Hoard. This Trait costs 3 points to
ing them approximately 100 years old. This
ate mankind once and for all. increase.
Chapter 1 has all the rules for making Dragons. Trait costs 5 points per Rank to increase.
They say there are Dragons still in the world,
but no-one has seen a Dragon for hundreds of Chapter 2 has all the rules for your Dragons Age has other benefits. A Dragon cannot Lair (1 Point per Rank)
years. Some say they are sleeping. Others say Hoard. have any Trait more than triple her Age. A Dragons Lair is where she spends his
they used their magics to pass into the world of Chapter 3 has all the rules for stomping mortals. Also, a Dragons Wounds are based on her time between torching foolish mortals.
dream. Still others say they made a bargain with Age. See Wounds, below. Every point you spend on Lair makes it a
the elemental powers and became a part of the Chapter 4 has some GM advice and stats for
little more secure. See Lairs, below, for
earth, sky, sea, and fire. Who knows? All we other folks in the land of Shanri. Armor (2 Points per Rank) more information.
know now is that they once were, but are now There is no Chapter 5. A Dragons hide protects her from the silly
gone.
So, get some pencils and photocopy the sheet weapons mortals use to harm her. For every
Oh, but the tales you could tell of their adven- out of the back and get playing! point of Armor a Dragon has, an attacker
tures! Of mighty Dragon-Kings walking the must lose one die from his attack. This
world as gods, taking what they wanted because Trait costs 2 points to increase.
they could, living lives of freedom and high
adventure!
1 2
CHAPTER 2
Shape (1 Point per Rank) Copper (Necromancy) Intermediate
Dragons are shape-shifters, able to take any Dragons use Copper for Necromancy, the By spending one Mercury Hoard Point, the
form they wish. For every Point you allo- magic of the dead. These rituals may only Dragon may automatically dodge one
cate to your Shape-shifting, you may take be cast at or near a cemetery or battlefield attack for the next hour.
an alternate form. The first form you learn or some other place where buried bodies Advanced
is Human. Thats your free form. This Trait
costs 1 point to increase.
HOARD can be found.
Basic
By spending one Mercury Hoard Point, the
Dragon moves so quickly, she turns invisi-
ble for one hour.
Tail (1 Point per Rank) A Dragons Hoard is always filled with By destroying one Horde Point of copper,
gold, jewels and gemstones. Why? Because the Dragon may summon 10 skeletal war- Platinum
Your Tail is a powerful weapon, capable of riors. The warriors serve the Dragons
wiping out entire squadrons of foolish men these things power a Dragons magic.
every command and fight until they are Dragons are already terrifying creatures,
who try to steal your Hoard. For every 1 Precious metals and gemstones allow a
destroyed. but by using platinum, they become awe-
Point you invest in Tail, you may roll an Dragon to do some pretty amazing things.
some.
additional die when using your Tail to Intermediate
smash those idiot mortals. This Trait costs
Hoard Points Basic
By destroying one Hoard Point of copper,
1 point to increase. A Dragons Hoard is represented by Points. the Dragon summons 5 zombies. Zombies For every Platinum Hoard Point the Dragon
Every Hoard Point represents a certain are a little tougher than skeletons, but not destroys, she adds one die to any intimida-
Teeth (2 Points per Rank) amount of treasure in your cave. Dragons as fast. tion tests.
Your Teeth are not only used to much mor- use treasure to power their magic, so pro-
Advanced Intermediate
tals, but gems and precious metals as well. tect your Hoard!
Finally, by destroying one Hoard Point of For every Platinum Hoard Point the Dragon
For every point you spend on your Teeth, For every Hoard Point your Dragon has,
copper, the Dragon summons up to 20 destroys, she adds two dice to any intimida-
you may roll an additional die against mor- you may have 3 Points of metals and/or
skeletal warriors and/or zombies; Dragons tion tests.
tals. Also, you may eat a new kind of pre- stones; Dragons choice.
cious metal, jewel or gem. Eating jewels, choice. Advanced
gems, and metals is how Dragons acquire Each type of magic (associated with a
metal or stone) requires a certain degree of Iron For every Platinum Hoard Point the Dragon
Breath Weapons. See more in the Hoard destroys, she adds three dice to any intimi-
Chapter, below. This Trait costs 2 points to Mastery. All young Dragons (thats you) Iron acts as a ward against magic, protect-
dation tests.
increase. begin with all the Basic powers listed ing the Dragon from harmful spells. For
below. In order to gain the Intermediate and every Hoard Point of Iron destroyed, the
Wings (3 Points per Rank) Advanced powers, youll have to spend Dragon may ignore one spell effect until
experience points (see Making Your sunset.

a
Wings allow a Dragon to fly. For every
Dragon Better, below).
Rank of Wings, your Dragon rolls an addi- Mercury
tional die. This Trait costs 3 points to Metals Mercury is the messenger of the Gods,
increase. See Flying, below.
Dragons use metals to power magic. The fastest creature on Earth except for a
Wounds (5 + Age) Dragon holds the metal in her hand, Dragon. When a Dragon uses Mercury
squeezes, and it melts as she steals the Hoard Points, she moves faster than the
A Dragons Wounds cannot be increased human eye.
power from it. The material left behind is
with Points. Rather, a Dragons Wounds are
soft, molten lead. Basic
based on her Age. Your number of Wounds
is equal to your Age + 5. Gold By spending one Mercury Hoard Point, the
Gold is the purest of all metals and a Dragon may gain an additional attack every
Dragon may use it to empower any rituals round for the next hour.
listed here.

3 4
CHAPTER 3
Silver Advanced Emerald (3 Strength)
Silver is the Moons metal, the metal of the For every Steel Hoard Point the Dragon In a Dragons gullet, emeralds munch down
unconscious, of emotion. Using it, Dragons destroys, she adds three dice to any into a thick, sticky mist that clings to any-
manipulate the emotions and dreams of strength tests. thing it touches. This mist is poisonous,
foolish mortals. causing almost certain and sudden death. If
Stones
Basic
Dragons use stones in a different way from
a mortal is caught in the cloud, he must roll
a die; if it comes up even, he lives. If it CRUSHING
For every Silver Hoard Point the Dragon metals; instead of melting them down and comes up odd, he dies. This roll continues
destroys, she can change a foolish mortals
emotional state. She must change it in an
stealing their essence, Dragons eat stones.
Sitting in her belly, she absorbs the power
each round until the mortal dies. FOOLISH MOR-
extreme way: from happy to sorrowful, Opal (2 Strength)
TALS
of the stone, condenses it down to its pri-
from cuddly to cold, or curiosity to ennui. mal energies, and then regurgitates it in a Opals are very rare and highly valuable to
The state lasts until sunset. powerful spray of deadly damage. Dragons because they may substitute for
Intermediate any other stones effect. An opal always
Dragons can swallow a number of similar No matter how kind, generous, and sweet
uses its own Strength rather than the
By destroying a Silver Hoard Point, the stones, but they cannot swallow different she may be, there are times that a Dragon
Strength of the stone it is substituting.
Dragon can cause a foolish mortal to fall stones. In other words, a Dragon can swal- just has to crush foolish mortals. The rules
asleep. She must gaze into the mortals low five diamonds, but not three diamonds, Onyx (1 Strength) below are for doing just that.
eyes as she destroys the Hoard Point. If she an onyx and a sapphire. A Dragon can
does so, the mortal falls fast asleep until the swallow a number of stones equal to her
When a Dragon eats onyx, she develops a Combat Steps
black, boiling acid in her stomach. Any
next sunrise. Age x 3. After swallowing the stone, it Now, we know about a Dragons patience
mortal so foolish to get in the way of her
must sit in her stomach for a day before she tolerance, but in order to crush mortals, we
Advanced weapon is instantly melted.
can regurgitate it. must do it in steps.
For every Silver Hoard Point the Dragon Ruby (4 Strength)
destroys, she can enter the dreams of a tar- The strength of a breath weapon is based Step 1: Initiative
get mortal as long as she knows that mor- on the Dragons Gullet Trait (above). Add Rubies in a Dragons belly make its most
feared weapon: a cloud of blistering fire Dragons always go first. Who goes next
tals name. Because most mortals are stupid the strength of the stone to the Dragons
that can destroy anything in its path. really doesnt matter does it? If its a ques-
when they dream (not being skilled dream- Gullet Trait; the sum is the number of dice
tion about which Dragon goes first, an
ers as Dragons are), Dragons have great the Dragon rolls when she uses her breath
weapon. For example, a Dragon has a
Sapphire (3 Strength) older Dragon always goes before a younger
power and influence there. If a mortal dies Dragon and a flying Dragon always goes
Gullet of 2 and has eaten a Diamond. Eating sapphires not only gives a Dragon a
in his dreams, he dies in real life, too. before a non-flying Dragon. If two Dragons
Diamonds have a Strength of 2, so Gullet lightning breath weapon, but also makes
Steel her electrical to the touch. If she touches are tied in age, their actions are simultane-
(2) + Strength (2) = 4 dice rolled for the
anything, it is struck with a lightning blast. ous.
Steel is the metal of strength, and when a breath weapon.
Dragon destroys steel, she steals its power. The blast takes the form of bonus dice Step 2: Dragon Movement
Diamond (2 Strength) equal to the Strength of the lightning blast
Basic (Strength 3). After Initiative has been determined,
When looking at a diamond, some may say
Dragons may move. Because Dragons are
For every Steel Hoard Point the Dragon it contains a tiny bit of frozen snow storm.
They couldnt be more right (silly mortals
Pearl (5 Strength) so huge, they can move just about any-
destroys, she adds one die to any strength
In a Dragons gullet, pearls transform into a where on the board. A Dragon may choose
tests. dont even know when theyre right).
thick, pearly mist that puts foolish mortals fly as its movement, lifting itself into the
Eating diamonds gives a Dragon her Frost
Intermediate to sleep until the next sunrise. air. Also, see Special Attacks, below.
breath weapon. If her attack is successful,
For every Steel Hoard Point the Dragon she freezes anyone caught in the blast, turn- Step 3: Stomping
destroys, she adds two dice to any strength ing them to frozen statues. Its just a matter Socks
tests. Dragons get 3+Age attacks per attack
of stomping on them after that Dragons eat socks. They love to eat socks.
opportunity (see below).
If you eat a mortals socks, he becomes
your thrall. Hell do anything for you for
the rest of his life. Thats it.
5 4
Breath Weapon Claws: Stomp When you stomp peasants, every pip on a Wounds
A Dragon using her Breath Weapon counts die is one peasant you can effect. So, if
Stomping not only crushes the mortals Heroes and Dragons have Wounds. When
as three attacks. youre breathing fire and roll a 27 on your
under your feet, but also knocks all the you run out of Wounds, you are defeated.
dice, you can effect 27 peasants with your
Left Claw other mortals around you off their feet. When a Hero runs out of Wounds, he is
fiery breath.
A Dragon using her Left Claw counts as Teeth: Swallow defeated.
When dealing with nobility, you can only
one attack. Instead of biting, you can swallow a mortal A Dragon has a number of Wounds equal to
count dice that roll evens. The total of the
Right Claw if you like. Swallowing the mortal heals dice that roll evens is how many nobles his Age + 10.
A Dragon using her Right Claw counts as one Wound. you can effect. This is because nobles are A Hero has a number of Wounds equal to
one attack. uppity and dont know their place, so your his Hero Trait + 5.
Tail: Swipe powers have less effect on them.
Tail With a swipe, a Dragon can knock a mor- When a Dragon attacks a Hero, he rolls his
A Dragon using her Tail counts as one tal all the way out of a fight a clear mile Heroes Attack and the Hero rolls his Defense. If
attack. away if necessary. The landing is not Heroes are a different matter entirely. When the Dragon gets more successes than the
friendly. you deal with Heroes, they have Traits like Hero, the Hero takes a number of Wounds
Teeth equal to the pips on the even dice. The
you do.
A Dragon using her Teeth counts as one Puny Mortals same goes for a Hero attacking a Dragon.
attack. Every Hero has a Hero Trait (usually from
Puny Mortals come in three varieties:
1 to 5). This is how many dice he rolls Defeating a Hero
Wings Peasants, when he deals with you. Heroes also have If a Dragon defeats a Hero, she is automati-
A Dragon can use her Wings to cause a Skills which are bonus dice they can roll cally gains one point of Age. Likewise, if a
Nobility, and
windstorm, stunning foolish mortals. A under specific circumstances. For example, Hero defeats a Dragon, he gains one Hero
stunned mortal cannot take an action this Heroes if a Hero has a Sword Skill 3, that means Rank..
round, but must spend it recovering. he can roll three additional dice when using
Peasants and Nobility are pretty much the
his sword (thats in addition to his usual
Step 4: More Movement same: you stomp or eat or burn them as you
Hero dice).
see fit. Heroes, on the other hand, are dan-
Dragons may move again after attacking if
gerous and must not be underestimated! When fighting Heroes, you only get to keep
they are flying. Foolish mortals may move
Heroes can find your Weak Point. Some your even numbered dice (like nobles), but
now, too.
Heroes have even been known to instead of counting pips, you just count the
Step 5: Pathetic Mortals Attack (ahem)
even-numbered dice. So, if you roll:
Mortals may now choose to attack if they 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 6
havent been squashed or terrified into pud- slay a Dragon or two.
you count each die that rolled an even
dles of whimpering pathetic slime. I know, I know, its difficult to believe, but
number as a success. So, youd count the 2,
its true! So, pay close attention. What you
Step 6: Dragons Attack Again 2, and 6 for a total of three successes.

j
learn may just save your life one day.
One more set of attacks for Dragons, if Heroes roll their dice the same way, keep-
they wish. Peasants and Nobility ing only evens and counting the dice rather
These are pretty much the same thing than the pips.
Special Attacks except nobles are in charge. You can do
Whoever rolled the most dice Hero or
Each Dragon weapon has a special attack. with peasants as you see fit, but nobility
Dragon succeeds in what he was trying to
A Dragon may use a weapons special think they have something to say every
do.
attack in lieu of its normal attack. All spe- once in a while.
cial attacks count as two of a Dragons Oh, Heroes also get a number of actions
attacks during a combat round. equal to their Hero Trait. So, a Hero with a
3 Hero Trait gets three actions per round.

5 6
CHAPTER 4
Power Game Does that mean youll have to recruit help? Mage Powers
Yes, it does. Youll have to find other
Go run around with your keen Dragon Mages can use magic just like Dragons,
Dragons who are just as young as you and
powers and smash things. You can smash just not as well. A Mage can use any of the
surrounded by just as many older Dragons
mortals, monsters, Heroes, or even other magical powers (not breath weapons) listed
as you. Maybe you can protect each other.
Dragons. above, but he can only use one kind of
NARRATOR
Or, maybe you can make a deal with a few
magic for every Hero Rank he has. For
Adventure Game Heroes to go up to that other Dragons lair
example, a Rank 2 Hero can use two kinds
As a Dragon, you have the ability to and clear it out even if they fail, theyll
of magic. Mages must have both hands free
ADVICE. change into mortal form. You can walk
around the kingdoms of men completely
steal weaken that Dragon up so youll be
able to sweep in and take out whats left.
and the ability to speak to use their magic.
If they cannot do these things, their magic

NO DRAGONS
undetected if you wish. Or, if you want to More Hero Rules will not work.
appear beautiful, angelic and perfect , you
can do that, too. Have fun with the mortals, While Dragons are pretty indescriminate Priest Powers

ALLOWED!) go out on adventures, and gather new treas-


ure for your hoard.
about Heroes, believing theyre just like
every other puny mortal, there are actually
Priests are a strange phenomenon on
Shanri; they only just arrived, bringing
four different kinds of Heroes: Knights, their strange pantheon with them. Gods of
The Many Ways to Political Game Mages, Thieves, and Priests. Battle, Gods of Love, Gods of Wisdom
Burninate There are other Dragons in the world and Each kind of Hero has a number of powers as if Dragons werent enough for these
the thing about Dragons is: the older they he can invoke. A Hero can have one Hero puny mortals to worship! Priests have some
Dragon is a pure power game: a game get, the more they want. As your neighbor powers, but they also have the same armor
Power per Hero Rank he has. Each power
about stomping. And chewing and other- Dragons get older, theyll want more land. rules as Knights (see above). A priests
may only be used once per duel with a
wise messing with mortals who frustrate Yes, this means you. That means youll armor only takes two hits before it is
Dragon (or another monster).
your day with their whining and crying and have to protect your land and your Hoard ruined.
crops and cities. The game is really the best you can even from Dragons Knight Powers
designed to accommodate the players Healing Hand
much older than yourself. While knights appear big and bad (in all
whims. What do you want to do? Youre A priest can heal a number of Wounds
that armor), theyre really just puny mortals
the most powerful creature in the world! equal to his Hero Rank.
in pretty metal shells. However, armor does
Go have fun!
have its uses. Any Hero in armor gets to Turn Undead
With that in mind, here are the different subtract the highest damage die from any A priest can turn away walking corpses
kinds of ways to play Dragon. attack. Armor can do this three times before summoned by necromancy. He rolls a num-
its ruined and is no longer effective. ber of dice equal to his Hero Rank; the sum
Heal Thyself of the dice is the number of undead turned
away.
The knight heals all his Wounds.

k
Divine Protection
Mortal Blow
A priest can protect a number of Heroes
The knight deals a double number of
equal to his Hero Rank from one attack.
Wounds.
This effect requires that he hold up his holy
Inspire Courage symbol and call upon the power of his
The knight rolls his Hero Trait and turns a Gods. If he cannot do these two things, the
number of Peasants into Nobility for a sin- power will not work.
gle Dragon attack. They dont actually turn
Thief Powers
into Nobility, but your attacks affect them
as if they were. In many ways, thieves are the most danger-
ous kind of Heroes: they can steal from
your Hoard without you ever knowing its
gone.
7 8
CHAPTER 5
Dragon
Cunning Escape
The Hero may make a daring and unex-
pected escape. This will take many differ-
ent forms, but it will always involve him
escaping your wrath a moment before you
deal a crushing blow. (In other words, if the
Hero is about to be defeated by a blow, he LAST WORDS
can use this power to escape by some unex- A Little Game for Little Dragons
pected means.) Okay, I lied. There is a Chapter 5.
Move Silently Dragon is one of the simplest games Ive Age (5 Points per Rank) Hoard (3 Points per Rank)
The Hero can move without being seen. ever designed. I still think its a little too
This power remains active until the Hero complicated in parts, but it does what its
picks something up or speaks. supposed to do: give Dragon fans unlimited Armor (2 Points per Lair (1 Point per Rank)
power to do what they want. If you need
Find Weakness Rank)
more rules for Dragons, go check out
This is the most dangerous power a Hero Dungeons & Dragons. Theyve got thou- Shape (1 Point per Rank)
can have. He can look upon a Dragon and sands of pages of rules. Hope you have fun.
find a weak spot in the Dragons defenses.
Awareness (1 Point per
Once he uses this power, he can tell other In the meantime, go stomp some mortals, Rank) Tail (1 Point per Rank)
Heroes about it. burn down their houses, and eat their socks.

A Hero can invoke a Dragons weakness as And Danielle: I miss you.


Claws (1 Point per Rank) Teeth (2 Points per Rank)
if it was one of his powers (he can do it
once and it counts toward his total Hero
Powers for the day). Once a Dragons Take care, Gullet (2 Points per Wings (3 Points per Rank)
weakness has been invoked, the very next John Rank)
hit the Hero makes on the Dragon (if his
attack hits) causes Wounds as if the Dragon
was a noble. For example, if a Hero

Hoard
invokes the Dragons weakness and suc-
ceeds on his next attack roll, he counts all
his evens together and adds up the values
on the dice. The total sum is the number of
Wounds the Dragon takes.

i 9
Socks Eaten Wounds (5 + Age)
Hoard Gold!
Remember the Boogie Man?
He remembers you.
Burn villages!
Remember Bloody Mary?
She still waits in the mirror.
Scare villagers!
Remember the Monster Under the Bed? Eat Their Socks!
He waits for your foot to fall off.
And theres more. So many more.
Monsters youve never seen.
But theyve seen you. They know you very, very well. Theres nothing better
They know your name.
than being a Dragon!
And the only thing standing between them and you...
... is Mister Whiskers.

Cat
Dragon is a little roleplaying game for at least two players of
just about any age. The system is fast, easy and simple with
enough depth to keep the adults interested and enough good-

l
hearted fun to keep younger players occupied for hours.

If you are looking for a younger players


A Little Game About Little Heroes
first roleplaying game, this is it.
by
John Wick

Brewed at the Source!

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