Dragons of the Great Game

[Skidrow]

“Ages ago, during the Time of Dragons, the land of Xavnor was in peril. The dragon-goddess Tiamat came to the land, bringing her hordes of evil dragons and spawn to conquer the world as her own. Brave Bahamut retaliated, asking his metallic dragons and noble dragonborn to aid him in his crusade against evil. Soon, the land was sundered, as the Dragonfall War began.


“For millenia it was fought, dragonborn against dragonspawn, metallic against chromatic, and god against goddess. Soon, to the calls of both armies, came the common races, ushering in a new era to the war. Cities were built and destroyed, civilizations born and obliterated. Mountains rose and mountains fell. Forests grew and were burned. Rivers formed and filled with blood. Shortly, all the denizens of the world played a part in the war. And so, Xavnor began to die.


“When the world was on the brink of destruction, a slayer of dragons both good and evil, Xorvintaal, rose to end the senseless killing. Xorvintaal beckoned to both Tiamat and Bahamut, fearing neither of the gods. 'Our world will soon be a dead one,”'he cried out to the heavens, 'because of this pointless war that you fight.' At this point, he drew a magnificent sword, its blade gleaming brilliantly. All the dragons of the world came to Xovintaal, his call reaching far and wide. Soon, both gods arrived, their terrible power overwhelming all other beings. Xorvintaal plunged his sword into a rock at the base of the mountain the gods perched on. 'I propose a game, for even I grow tired of this senselessness. A great game, where dragons cannot battle one another, so as our world may not be rent and hurt anymore.'


“The two gods listened to the proposal for the game, where the mighty dragons would be stripped of their magical abilities, yet would grow physically more powerful. Exarchs, beings that allied themselves with a specific dragon, would do wage the war, reducing the scale. The dragons themselves would be similar to generals, ordering their exarchs where to move. After making a decision on the immensely complicated rules, Bahamut, Tiamat, and Xorvintaal made a pact; the game would be the way in which dragons resolved their conflicts. So ended the Dragonfall War.


“Around Xorvintaal's gleaming sword grew the metropolis Braeldyroc, “The City of Games.” A great cathedral was built around his sword, in honor of the hero. Braeldyroc grew, as did the rest of Xavnor. Within an age, a world had nearly died, and healed itself. Xorvintaal, for his great deeds, ascended to godhood. Here ended the Time of Dragons, and began the Age of Mortals.”


-The Legend of Xorvintaal


The legend is thousands of years old, and many (even some of Xorvintaal's own church) believe that the legend is merely that; a legend. In fact, most people haven't heard the legend, and thus it has little to no effect on their lives. Yet there are those who believe that the great game is still played, though now for personal gain (for treasure and reputation), rather than war. Are you one of the few who believe?


Character Creation Rules

Characters begin with an Effective Character Level of 6. Characters begin with 10,000 starting gold, half of which may be spent on magic items, the other half on mundane items.
Races: Human, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half-elf, Half-orc, Halfling, Elans, Xeph, Bugbear, Drow, Githyanki, Gitzerai, Gnoll, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kobold, Ogre, Orc, Tiefling, Aasimar, Chaond, Zenythri, Changeling, Shifter, Warforged, Warforged Scout, and Dragonborn. Templates include Half-dragon (+3), Draconic Creature (+1), and Xorvintaal Exarch (+2). Information on these templates will be provided for everyone's use.
Classes: Core, as well as any class presented within all of the Complete books, and the Expanded Psionics Handbook. If you would like to play as a class not within those books, PM me with information on the class; chances are I'll allow it.
Sources: Core, Monster Manual, Monster Manual II, Monster Manual III, Monster Manual IV, Monster Manual V, Complete Adventurer, Complete Arcane, Complete Champion, Complete Divine, Complete Mage, Complete Psionic, Complete Scoundrel, Complete Warrior, Expanded Psionics Handbook, Unearthed Arcana.The World
Xavnor is a damn near entire blank slate on my part. I have a map outline, some mountains and forests placed, and the location of Braeldyroc. If you, the player, wish to contribute to this world in any way, let me know. This means if you want an oriental themed location, I'm all for it. Want something resembling steampunk? Shoot for it. A psionic empire? No problem.


I have a few deities made up, though more would be nice to have. Also, organizations, guilds, are currently none, so if you have one made up that you particularly like, I'm sure we could find a place for it somewhere.


I hope for this to be a continent spanning campaign, but seeing as I have little continent, that's kind of out of reach right now.


The Game
Players will likely become involved in the Great Game somehow, whether it is as exarchs who serve a dragon directly, or adventurers who simply stumble upon a dragon's lair. Because players are interested in different things, I may have to organize this game into “groups of like-minded players.” What I mean by this is that if there are certain players who wish to serve Glyndrath the Gold as exarchs, I'd clump them together. The same goes for a group of players who wish to serve Tusenmaug the Blue.

Seeing as how the players have a lot of freedom, I may have to put some restrictions here and there. For example, if I have an army of kobold characters, I may have to put a restriction on them. If I have a shitload of evil characters, and one good character, I may have to restrict how many people can play evil characters. So on and so forth. Basically, I want to run a "balanced" game, where every side has a likely chance to succeed.

Essentially, the game is very open ended, and players really have the run of the world. It's up to you how you affect the Great Game. Feel free to ask questions. Looknig for 4-16 players.

[Benicus]

Evil Kobold Cleric/Dragon Shaman of Evil Red Dragon goodness it is!

Who can turn out an evil kobold? They're like kittens, only...sadistic.

Sources: Core, PHB2 maybe more as time goes on.

[Linklegacy77]

I've got the MM5, so count me in.

[LuneMoonshadow]

I'm leaning towards a "death" character serving the black dragon, hoping to become a general one day.

Is most of this information on the dragons (and templates) in the MM5? One of the books I don't have, so I may need to go grab it.

On another note, is 1st level appropriate if we're supposed to be serving a dragon directly?

[Skidrow]

If you are serving a dragon, it is likely a dragon who is new to the game. However, if you (and others) would like to serve a more powerful dragon, I could raise the level for a particular group.

Some of the information (that concerning kobolds and dragonborn) are in the Races of Dragon (those are the only things I'm allowing from it). The information on the dragons themselves are contained within the Monster Manual 5. However, I will provide all relevant templates in a thread once the game has a forum.

Also, it is possible to serve any dragon that I have access to, including Gem dragons and Steel (Greyhawk) dragons.

[Linklegacy77]

Damn, and I was hoping to convince you to allow a Drow swordsage following a Deep Dragon Great Wyrm.

Ah! I've got it! How about a gnome/chimera cross with a lame leg and a speech impediment working for a wyrmling prismatic dragon?

[Skidrow]

Link, that may just work, as long as the speech impediment is him not being able to pronounce his "r"s.

[Linklegacy77]

Are you saying you will permit it?

How about if he is obessed with killing Spiderman, and thinks he's the hulk when he's happy (and thus not mad), but thinks he is Raven (from Teen Titans) when he's mad?

And his front left kneecap looks like Michael Moore, and his back left ankle is actually a tennis ball?

[Skidrow]

Sorry, forgot the [/sarcasm].

[Linklegacy77]

*snaps finger*

[zoran_tilbiri]

I'm interested. Count me in! So we can be evil? HA! Take that Lawful Good clerics of Pelor!!!! I'm so sick of it. I want to bash things!!! Ha ha! Or if someone else wants to be a tank I guess I can be a Kobold sorcerer.:evil: In other words... who is what? And I'm also interested by the "Dragonborn" race. But Benicus won't let me read up on it tonight, so I don't know if I really do.

[Skidrow]

Depends. Did you read my post?

[Linklegacy77]

I'm considering a kobold rogue going for Trapsmith and Combat Trapsmith.

[zoran_tilbiri]

I'm interested. Count me in! So we can be evil? HA! Take that Lawful Good clerics of Pelor!!!! I'm so sick of it. I want to bash things!!! Ha ha! Or if someone else wants to be a tank I guess I can be a Kobold sorcerer.:evil: I'm also interested in the dragonborn, but Benicus won' let me check it out tonight, so I'll read up some other time.

[Skidrow]

Um, double post? Wierd...

[Skidrow]

Added a section to "The Game" that I though may become a problem. I want this game to be rather varied (see above new section).

[zachol]

Beguiler.


Kobold, or... heh.
I could have a gnome beguiler in a party primarily consisting of kobolds and similar types... hee hee...

[Anori]

Hmmm... I'll be a Dex-based High Elf, Xorvintaal-worshipping cleric girl. XD Deal?

[Skidrow]

Updated the Character Creation Rules. The changes are:

Characters begin with an Effective Character Level of 6. Characters begin with 10,000 starting gold, half of which may be spent on magic items, the other half on mundane items.
Races: Human, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half-elf, Half-orc, Halfling, Elans, Xeph, Bugbear, Drow, Githyanki, Gitzerai, Gnoll, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Kobold, Ogre, Orc, Tiefling, Aasimar, Chaond, Zenythri, Changeling, Shifter, Warforged, Warforged Scout, and Dragonborn. Templates include Half-dragon (+3), Draconic Creature (+1), and Xorvintaal Exarch (+2). Information on these templates will be provided for everyone's use.

[Skidrow]

Also note that I don't want you to create your characters just yet, as I may be switching around rules here and there that could effect the build of your character.

[LuneMoonshadow]

I will now tap into the fountain of knowledge that this forum possesses. Is there an undead dragon (dracolich) in one of the books? I could have sworn I've either seen a death dragon or a template you can apply to one somewhere, but I can't seem to locate it.

[Skidrow]

The only Dracolich I know of is in the Forgotten Realms Campaign setting. If someone who has wants to shoot it my way, it'd be much appreciated.

[LuneMoonshadow]

Some things...

1. Exarchs aren't automatically immune to their patron's dragon fear ability?
2. I assume that if we perform well our Exarch favor tokens will be replenished like it describes in the sidebar?
3. Do clerics participating in the game need to worship Tiamat/Bahamut? I don't mind worshiping Tiamat, it's just she doesn't have the domains I want.
4. If we wish to use material from another manual may we provide you the information (and then you decide upon it, of course)?

[Fulmen]

I'm interested and would like to go evil. Not sure what to play yet though.

[Thanos]

I might be interested in playing an Elvin Wizard serving a Gold Dragon.

[Fulmen]

Xavnor is a damn near entire blank slate on my part. I have a map outline, some mountains and forests placed, and the location of Braeldyroc. If you, the player, wish to contribute to this world in any way, let me know. This means if you want an oriental themed location, I'm all for it. Want something resembling steampunk? Shoot for it. A psionic empire? No problem.

My vote goes for steampunk.

[Skidrow]

Some things...

1. Exarchs aren't automatically immune to their patron's dragon fear ability?
2. I assume that if we perform well our Exarch favor tokens will be replenished like it describes in the sidebar?
3. Do clerics participating in the game need to worship Tiamat/Bahamut? I don't mind worshiping Tiamat, it's just she doesn't have the domains I want.
4. If we wish to use material from another manual may we provide you the information (and then you decide upon it, of course)?

1. They will be immune to their patron's frightful presence.
2. Yes.
3. No, they may worship whatever deity they wish (though so far only the deities are Tiamat, Bahamut, and Xorvintaal, unless we would all rather use core.
4. Yes.

And keep tossing those ideas around. I do want the game to be somewhat balanced, as in amount of good characters vs. evil characters. Seeing as how evil characters outnumber the good, I would like to have more people willing to play as good characters.

And a touch of steampunk may be nice. However, I would like to wait until we have the actual forum for it. And seeing as how I have so many people interested already, I'll put in the forum request momentarily.

[LuneMoonshadow]

I can switch to neutral if need be. I have a fairly interesting idea, though I'd prefer to be evil.

Another cleric question: May we "worship" the ideals of our dragon patron and select appropriate domains from that?

Will Exarchs be immune to other dragon's frightful presence? I assume not. Just have to make sure.

[Skidrow]

Possibly. I'll have to toss around the idea of cleric's worshipping their patron dragon.

And exarch's are only immune to their patron's frightful presence.

[LuneMoonshadow]

With so many dragons to choose from it seems fairly unlikely that most of the PCs will have a similar patron. Will you simply allow PCs to travel alone or should the "evil" group try to find a suitable patron and the "good" a patron as well?

And when I said worship I really meant the ideals, not worshiping the dragon. Worshiping anyone but Tiamat is heresy. =P

Edit: And when do you want basic character concepts? I'd like to keep mine semi-private since we might be facing other PCs.

Edit2: What level do you see us getting to?

[Fulmen]

I'm currently leaning towards an Evil Bugbear Cleric or possibly some sort of Evil Drow Paladin. I won't make any decisions though until I see those Template options though, because I am not familiar with them.

Also, I'd be willing to play good if you NEED me to. I just want to play evil because it is a nice change of pace from the good that most parties are.

[Merbak]

I'd be willing to play a good character.

[Thanos]

*Cheers for Merbak!*



OR we could all just be eViL....

[Skidrow]

Okay, I put in the forum request. However, I would still like to have more players join in, as I think it would make the game much more interesting.

And in case you haven't guessed it yet, I intend to run this game similar in style to LuneMoonshadow's Factions at War game.

[Noocytx]

Two questions ...

How much knowledge do you need of the information from MMV?

Since you plan to run the game similar to Factions at War, do you plan on letting people run more than one character at a time?

[Palanthias]

Sounds good. or uh eViL... I would love to play. I would love to play a Necromancer with a Dracolich parton.... Is that possible?

[Skidrow]

You don't need to have any knowledge from the MMV. I'll be providing templates from different sources (Draconomicon, Races of Dragon, MMV), so you won't need to have any books save for the core.

As for multiple characters, I'm undecided on that.

And there is a single Dracolich that I have plans for, so yes, it is possible to play as a necromancer serving a Dracolich.

[Linklegacy77]

I like the concept of a psionic empire. Maybe play a psionic character working for a gem dragon?

[Skidrow]

That is very possible Link. I have three gem dragons that I intend on using.

[Thanos]

If I had any of the books I would be so into Psionics as the 2nd edition guys were cool. Alas, my 3.5 books only include the Players Handbook and DMG so I am vastly limited in what I play and use.

[Skidrow]

Well, I'm going to leave for a few hours. I ask that you do not post in the forum if it is created while I'm gone.

[Fulmen]

If I had any of the books I would be so into Psionics as the 2nd edition guys were cool. Alas, my 3.5 books only include the Players Handbook and DMG so I am vastly limited in what I play and use.

www.d20srd.org (http://www.d20srd.org) They have info on the base psionic races and classes and have a psionic "spell list". Apparently some of the psionic stuff falls under the SRD.

They also have info and stats for just about all the races available here. And any they don't have can be found here: http://www.crystalkeep.com/d20/rules/DnD3.5Index-Races.pdf

[Jextur]

I'd be willing to play one of the good guys. I'm thinking Gnome Illusionist that plans to advance into Geometer or some other bizarre prestige class (effigy master might be fun) from the complete arcane (maybe Fatespinner eventually).

Probably be a follower of a gold dragon if there is one or a dragon that has a big sense of humor :)

[LuneMoonshadow]

I can help you out as well, Thanos. I have access to most of the manuals and would be glad to funnel some information your way.


Skidrow: As a bit of DM'ly advice. You need to *very* organized for this game to save yourself a headache in the end. Running Factions has been a bitch, to say the least. Some things I recommend...

1. Once you have a list of acceptable material, keep it static. Do NOT change it mid-game. Also make this decision early. When players want to do something just point to the list. If it's in there, it's allowed, if not, then no. Saves you from deciding things for all 20 characters.

2. Keep lists. Make a list of NPC names, who they interact with, and a sentence of who they are. That way you can just use ctrl+f and look them up. This helps when you have a lot of NPCs with names you need to remember.

3. Do not over commit yourself. Updating Factions takes me about 2 hours if all the threads have been updated. That may have dropped a bit now that I have a DM who runs combats (might be good to get one?). Posting on a static schedule is also a good thing.

4. Keep it fun. I know this may sound obvious but with so many threads you inevitably get better storylines in some than in others. It's impossible not to pick favorites, so instead just try to keep every thread moving and entertaining to come degree. You'll probably find yourself spending more time/thought on the ones you enjoy, but perhaps that is the benefit of the player being a good RP'er.

5. I do not recommend allowing players to make multiple characters. It doubles your workload, and with a game that big it can be horrible. Stick to one character at creation then if you find you have plenty of time/energy, allow a second to made.

6. Always be ready to take a break. Running a multi-faction game is a good bit of work and at times you don't feel like doing it. Take breaks every so often (skip an update or take a week of vacation) to avoid burnout. Also limiting workload helps on this too.


I hope I wasn't overstepping my bounds, just wanting to give you some of the knowledge I've acquired over my year of running Factions. Good luck with the DMing - it'll be a challenge. I'm looking forward to playing in this very interesting game you've created.

[Anori]

What Alignment is crazygodguythatmadethe game, whose name I forget?

[LuneMoonshadow]

Probably LN, since he both created a game with rules (not a game of chance) and he slays good and evil dragons.

[Skidrow]

Thanks for those tips, LuneMoonshadow. I was actually hoping that you would give me some pointers, seeing as how Factions has been running for a year. Again, muchly appreciated.

As for Xorvintaal, yes, he is Lawful Neutral.

And there is a gold dragon for you to follow, Jextur.

[Palanthias]

I did not see the Libris Mortis on your acceptable ref. list. I may have to change my mind about playing the Necro. If it is not on board. There are two reasons. One the summon undead spells, and two the True Necromancer Prestige Class. Now if you just allow the Undead summoning spells I suppose a Mystic Thurge could be fill the bill in a pinch. I have tossed around both Ideas. At level 6 it would not matter yet I would still just be 3clr and 3nec. But level 7 is when all the magic happens. So when ever you are ready to do some serious character gen. I am too.

[omni-roach]

3. Do not over commit yourself. Updating Factions takes me about 2 hours if all the threads have been updated. That may have dropped a bit now that I have a DM who runs combats (might be good to get one?). Posting on a static schedule is also a good thing.

Oh, is that why you were asking me to co-DM this with you Skid? When you asked, I didn't realize that it was going to be run similar to Factions. I've only seen a bit of how Factions is run, but I can tell that it's going to be pretty tough. I would gladly aid you in this endeavor, Skiddy. :)

[Skidrow]

Thank you. Ignore my last PM then.

[LuneMoonshadow]

Do you know when we'll see a final version of the allowed sources/character creation rules?

Edit: And what forum will "neutral" dragons be playing in?

[Fulmen]

Yeah, neutral is sounding sort of appealing to me as well. The sound kind of like enforcers.

[Skidrow]

I'm working on the final version of allowed sources, though I'm not quite finished yet.

Neutral characters will play in the "Xorvintaal's Followers" sub forum. They are part enforcer, part moneygrubber. Indeed, their is a Greyhawk (Steel) Dragon who is known as the "Gamekeeper," who insures that the rules of the game are not somehow broken. Then there are Gem dragons who want nothing more than treasure.

[Linklegacy77]

Will you have any shadow dragons? Fang Dragons?

I'm just trying to figure out the options.

[Skidrow]

All the options will be listed in the universal (that is, open to everyone) section of the forum. There will be a fang dragon, though, I'm not sure about shadow dragons. There will also be a few planar dragons.

Until we have the forum, I ask that you wait to solidify your plans.

[Linklegacy77]

Understood. How about prismatic and force dragons?

[Merbak]

LOL! It may be that it's 2 am, or it may be true but the last few posts read like this to me:

Son: Will there be trees at the cabin?
Dad: Yes there will be trees at the cabin.
Son: Will there be a lake?
Dad: Yes there will be a lake. Please just wait 'til we get there and you'll see.
Son: Ok, Dad... So, will there be fish in the lake?


"Son" and "Dad" are original works of fiction and are not meant to represent real people. Should either character resemble anything from real life, please don't tell Skid + Link that I posted a 2 am parody of them.

[Anori]

Okay, that made me laugh. XD Thanks a bunch, Merbak.

[Palanthias]

Funny Merbak, I was thinking the same thing. Mostly because I was supressing an urge to pester "Dad" as well.

Skid it looks like you have plenty of intrest. So get this damn ball rolling, yeah?

[Skidrow]

I put in the forum request, it's only a matter of time before one of the admins decide to tackle it.

[omni-roach]

I am proud to announce that we have a forum, and you may find it here. (http://online-roleplaying.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=1383)

(pay no attention to the sub-forum descriptions for now)

[Seer]

In case it's not too late, I'm posting interest! I'm thinking a LN wizard with a specialization in necromancy... or maybe abjuration, I'm still working on it.

[Skidrow]

It's all good, you can play.