By Marcus L. Rowland
With Additional Material By Jo Walton
& Art By Sue Mason & Marcus L. Rowland

A Roleplaying Sourcebook For
Jo Walton's
World Fantasy Award-Winning Novel

Rules

Games Material Copyright © Marcus L. Rowland 2008
Material by Jo Walton Copyright © Jo Walton 2003-2008
For Art Copyright Information and Terms of Use See End Notes.

Contents

The Rules of the Game

Role playing games (usually shortened to RPGs) are story-telling games. One player is the referee who runs the game, and has an idea of what is to happen in the story, while the other players run characters in the story. Characters are defined by a name, a description, and a list of characteristics (such as 'MIND') and skills (such as 'Marksman'). Players describe the actions of their characters, while the referee describes everyone and everything they encounter. This may sound like an impossible job for the referee, but it's easy if players are prepared to cooperate.

The Forgotten Futures rules as previously published worked well when dealing with the activities of normal humans, but need numerous changes to deal with the dragons described in Tooth and Claw. While it would be simple enough to limit this section to the changes to the system needed to run dragon characters under the existing rules, this would be unfair to any fans of the book that are running or playing the game for the first time. Instead the rules have been rewritten and to an extent simplified to make them suitable for dragon characters; this version is fully compatible with previous releases of the game, but you should be aware that the character generation system is somewhat different, with some special rules that wouldn't apply to human characters, and that everything that's irrelevant to this setting has been omitted. See the full rules (available free on line) if you want to use them for any other genre.

One aspect of the Forgotten Futures rules may annoy players who prefer high levels of violence; it is easy to get hurt or killed in all forms of combat, even for dragons, it takes a long time to recover if you are wounded, and most wounds require medical treatment. This seems more realistic than the systems offered by some other RPGs, in which a character can be shot three or four times and still come back for more. If you dislike this approach please feel free to amend the injury system, but please DO NOT distribute modified rules.

Experienced Forgotten Futures referees will find a summary of the rules changes and a guide to the new sections at the end of the rules.

Example of Play

The easiest way to understand an RPG is to see it played. In the example below Kim is the referee, Bert and Nikki are playing Respected Paddiah and Respectable Shimmeth, brother and sister dragons from the country, and Jane is playing old Raetha, a faithful (though wing-bound) servant who is accompanying them on their first adult trip to Irieth, where they will stay with relatives whom they haven't met since they were hatchlings. As the scene begins they've spent a couple of hours designing characters, learning a little about the setting, getting ready for the trip, and travelling towards Irieth.

In this example players took on roles of characters of their own sex. This is advisable if they feel uncomfortable playing the opposite sex, but there is no other reason why players shouldn't run characters of different sexes, races, nationalities, or species. The referee needs to take on a wide variety of roles, which will probably take in all of the above as a campaign progresses. At a few points in these rules it has been convenient to use the term "him" or "her" when describing something that is equally applicable to either sex. This is not meant to imply that either sex should be excluded from any activity. However, female dragons are often disadvantaged by the nature of draconic society.

Game Requirements

To use this system you'll need two six-sided dice (preferably two per player), copies of the character record form and a few tables, and some pens and paper. A calculator is occasionally useful. Metal, plastic, or card figures can be used to represent characters, but they are not essential. Some cut-out figures are provided above.

Online resources for referees, mostly HTML pages, can be found at the author's web sites. They include the complete rules, worldbooks and numerous adventures, source material, and a good deal more. The Forgotten Futures CD-ROM, which can be ordered from these sites, adds several hundred megabytes of additional source material, including period fiction, articles, and illustrations.

Game Terms

Most role playing games incorporate specialised terms. Forgotten Futures uses some, as well as a few abbreviations and contractions, as follows:

So You Want To Be A Dragon..?

Each player needs at least one character, whose details should be recorded. Use copies of the form that follows, or write records on scrap paper or file cards. The HTML version of the rules includes links to more records in a variety of formats including spreadsheet templates, but they are designed for human characters, not dragons. Because nearly everything about a dragon character is related to his or her class and sex, you should begin by deciding what they are. Aristocratic dragons tend to be bigger, tougher, and stronger than others, but there are down-sides: increased responsibilities; increased public awareness of your activities; and a probability that any Yarge encountered will react badly to you.

Players should record their names and the name (including any title or rank), sex, and age of the character. They may wish to give their characters military names and rank, academic honours, and the like; the referee must decide if this will cause problems.

Sex (Male or Female, and [optionally] sexual orientation) are important in this setting, which in its attitudes is similar to early Victorian Britain. Unmarried female dragons are essentially second class citizens, considered incompetent to look after themselves; married female dragons are more or less at the mercy of their husbands. Widows and a few adventuresses may be able to transcend the normal limitations of their gender, but there will be frequent obstacles - onlookers will be shocked or scandalized, and there may be legal restrictions that stop the character from doing everything that she wants. For example, a female character may not be allowed to take on the legal responsibilities associated with owning a ship or a business, but must instead find a male figurehead to do it for her. Homosexuality is a taboo subject, rarely discussed publicly, but is extraordinarily scandalous if it becomes known.

Age is usually unimportant for adult characters; exceptionally young or old characters may be at a social disadvantage, otherwise there is no effect in game terms. For dragons "exceptionally young" is anything under 50 or so, "exceptionally old" is anything over 500, so there's room for manoeuvre.

For "profession", write in something appropriate; the referee should tell players if they have made an unsuitable choice. For this setting the choices below have disadvantages:

• Indentured Servant: Your wings will probably be bound most of the time, and you will never get to eat dragon flesh unless you have an unusual master (owner) or somehow escape from your indenture. Escaped servants are outlaws, liable for execution. You will always be poor and probably remain single. This does not apply to normal non-indentured employees, such as clerks and even some servants, although the chances of wealth are still slim at best.
• Parson: (Males only) You are expected to bind your wings unless there is a life-threatening emergency or some other crisis which requires you to fly. You are not allowed to fight, regardless of provocation. If you have been assigned to a parish you will probably be expected to conduct services on Firstday, and carry out other duties at other times in the week, which may cause problems for adventurers. If you are a priest of the Old Religion you will be distrusted by members of the Orthodox Faith and excluded from many social events. For both religions duties include helping the dying and culling the young. The pay isn't particularly good, especially if you belong to the Old Religion, but you get to eat the eyes of the dead and an occasional baby. See above for more on the role of religion in this setting.
• Soldier: (Males only) A military career is mostly spent at lonely border outposts in the middle of nowhere, with no female company and very little to do. The pay isn't particularly good, especially for other ranks and NCOs. Tiamath isn't planning on fighting a war any time soon and the Yarge seem to be keeping fairly quiet, so it may be decades before you see any action; while you're waiting you have to spend a lot of time away from home. If there ever is a war Tiamath's soldiers will probably be ludicrously outnumbered by a technologically superior enemy. Having said that, soldiers tend to acquire interesting skills, get to go on leave, and may be sent on undercover missions. Retired soldiers (especially officers, who can buy themselves out young) should still be fit and strong. See previous sections for more on the pros and cons of a military career.

Most of the other careers are very like those in Victorian England, with similar pros and cons. Any career which requires a character to perform daily duties and doesn't give much leeway should probably be avoided, but it's always possible for a character to be retired, on holiday, or between jobs.

Try to avoid professional ranks that will give players too much power, or restrict them too badly. An aristocrat in charge of a large estate is a good example; you have a lot of authority, especially in your local area, but you're expected to spend most of your time administering the estate, leaving little time for adventures. Wealthy characters are acceptable, but should not be able to buy their way out of every problem. Avoid occupations that restrict character freedom and mobility; an obvious example is an indentured servant, but a clerk with no money, a lawyer with a full roster of clients, or a mother tied down by young dragonets aren't much better off, from a gaming point of view.

While it is possible to play a Yarge in this setting, mixed parties of Yarge and Dragons have a tendency to run into problems; Yarge can't fly or see in the dark, dragons can't fit into many of the places a Yarge can go and tend to dislike even looking at Yarge, and so forth. If you want to work around these problems use any version of the normal Forgotten Futures rules to design your Yarge characters.

Example: Respected Segievel Yepragis (1)
Segievel Yepragis is a 220 year old gentledragon author, writer of several scientific romances including The Annihilation of the Yarge, The Fall of Irieth, and The Belshulath Menace. He genuinely believes (like many other dragons) that the Yarge are a danger to all Dragonkind and ought to be annihilated, if it can be done safely and without inconveniencing him. The referee has no trouble with any of this - his writing career and specism will be a good way to get him involved in adventures. Respected Segievel's adventures will be used to illustrate some aspects of the rules.

The next sections of the record are completed using character points, discussed after the character record which follows.

Character Points

The number of character points given to players depends on the class and age of their dragons. Optionally this can be rolled randomly.

This looks, and is, extremely biased. Servants and the criminal classes are denied most of the opportunities that might lead to them eating dragon meat or getting a decent education, so they are naturally stunted and uneducated. Females lose out by being confined to the home, so lose out to some extent on education and physical development. Most males (commoners and peers) get to live more active lives, and if they live long enough should gain more experience.

Example: Respected Segievel Yepragis (2)
   As a 220 year old Respected male dragon Segievel gets 21+3 = 24 character points

1. To buy characteristics
2. To buy skills
3. To buy special abilities such as flaming, extra strong scales, etc.
4. Doubled and saved as Bonus Points for use in play (Not recommended - points accomplish more during the character generation process, and are often awarded to characters once play begins)

Characteristics

The table to the right shows the cost of characteristics. For comparison, average Yarge characteristics are 3 or 4. 5 is above average, 6 is very good (for example, BODY [6] might be a professional athlete), 7 is extraordinarily unusual and is available only at the referee's discretion. Yarge characteristics can rarely be changed.

For dragons things are very different; BODY is usually higher, is easier to buy, and can be improved at a later date. Average MIND and SOUL are about the same as for Yarge, and cannot easily be improved.

• BODY (B) covers physical strength, toughness, speed, and dexterity, and in dragons also determines length, the amount of armour their skin provides, and minimum flying ability. This characteristic is a good deal cheaper for dragons than for other species. Dragons MUST spend a quarter to a half of their total character points (rounded UP) on BODY. Length is BODY x 3 feet, plus or minus a foot or so. Armour Effect (below) is BODY / 5 (rounded UP). Yarge buy BODY for the same point costs as the other characteristics and gain no armour.
• MIND (M) covers all intellectual capabilities, reasoning, and observation. Dragons can buy MIND 1 through to 6 without problems, MIND 7 if the referee allows it and points are available.
• SOUL (S) covers emotions, charisma, and psychic ability. Dragons can buy SOUL 1 through to 6 without problems, SOUL 7 if the referee allows it and points are available.

There's a space on the record form for a fourth optional characteristic, MAGIC. See the brief note on the use of magic in this setting towards the end of the rules. For most purposes the three standard characteristics are all that will be needed. This characteristic should not be purchased unless the referee has decided to allow its use. See below for full details of the effects of the other characteristics.

Example: Respected Segievel Yepragis (3)
Segievel has 24 character points. His player must spend 6 to 12 points on BODY and purchase other characteristics as desired; Magic will not be used. He chooses to buy BODY 8, making him stronger and tougher than any Yarge; as a writer he will be using the Artist skill, which depends on MIND and SOUL, and chooses to buy MIND 4 and SOUL 3, for a total of 7+5+3=15 points. There will be no magic. He has 9 points left. With BODY 8 he is 24ft long and his thick and scaly skin gives him some armour - the armour Effect is 8/5 (rounded up) = 2.

Skills

The list that follows includes all of the skills available in the Forgotten Futures RPG, including some that are limited or not available to dragons or (in the context of this setting) are not available to anyone, depending on technology that has yet to be invented. Skills which are not available to dragons are marked with a darker shade; skills that are only available to dragons are in bold type. Skills that are limited in some way will show it in the notes.

Skills have a base value derived from one or more characteristics, to which at least one point must be added. For instance, Actor is based on the average of MIND and SOUL; a character whose MIND and SOUL average to 4 gets Actor [5] for one point, Actor [6] for 2 points, or Actor [7] for 3 points. Brawling and Stealth are available at the base values shown without spending points on them. Naturally they can be improved if points are spent. Note that dragons start off with poor stealth compared to Yarge, all those scales etc. make noise, and that some other skills have different base values for dragons and Yarge. Flying is available free at base value for dragons, but indentured servants who have not been able to exercise their wings occasionally must start at a lower value if they are later allowed to fly.

See below for full details of the use of skills, and a more detailed explanation of each skill. Male dragons do not automatically know how to write; it is not listed as a separate skill, but if male characters wish to write they must justify it via one of their other skills.

Forgotten Futures uses very general skills; for example, Scientist covers everything from Archaeology to Zoology, Pilot covers all aircraft, submarines, etc. (but isn't available to dragons). Players may spend up to three points per skill during character generation. If more than one point is used the player can add specialities related to the skill; some skills (such as Scholar and Linguist) automatically have them.

Example: Respected Segievel Yepragis (4)
Segievel has BODY 8, MIND 4 and SOUL 3, and 9 character points left. He doesn't think he needs to improve his athletic skills or brawling - he's a writer, not a warrior - but to be on the safe side, if the Yarge ever do invade, he decides to learn to shoot. He obviously needs to be able to compose prose, for which he needs the Artist skill, and Scholar is essential for research. As a peer he obviously has some business interests, so that skill will also be useful. In the end he chooses:

Artist [6] (writer, penmanship) - 2 pt.
Brawling [8] - 0 pt.
Business [5] - 1 pt.
Flying [8] - 0 pt.
Marksman [6] - 2 pt.
Stealth [2] - 0 pt.
Scholar[6] (The Yarge, Military history, conspiracy theories) - 2 pt.

Male dragons can't usually write without training - holding a pen between claws is difficult. The referee accepts that in order to practice his art Segievel will have received this training as part of the Artist skill.
 Two points are left for other things.

Special Abilities

Dragons may have up to four unusual abilities:

• Flame (cost 6 points) is simply the ability to breathe flame, which is generally acquired comparatively late in life. It produces a blowtorch-like flame up to BODY feet long, spreading out in a narrow cone, aimed using MIND or Marksmanship. The Effect is BODY/2. Using flame is potentially dangerous to the dragon - it drains energy and can cause exhaustion or illness. Note it on the character record by writing "yes" after "flame ~". This ability is NOT available to dragonesses!
  
• Toughness (cost 1, 3 or 6 points) allows dragons to soak up injuries without becoming incapacitated. They must still be healed, but (for example) with this ability a dragon might absorb several bullets before it is so badly injured it has to stop fighting. This is covered in more detail in the combat section, but the costs are as follows:
      1 point   - 1 extra Injury
      3 points - 2 extra Injuries
      6 points - 2 extra Injuries, one extra Critical Injury
  Note it on the character record by writing the number of points after "Tough ~"
• Thick Scales (cost 2 points or more) add to the Effect of armour, reducing the severity of any damage that gets through. 2 points adds 1 Effect, 4 points add 2 Effect, etc. Note it by writing the modifier for "Scales ~" and modifying the armour listed. A disadvantage is that some other skills may be impaired - for example, Stealth may be reduced because they clatter as the dragon moves, they might have some effect on dexterity or abilities such as holding a pen, etc.; the referee should decide. There is always a weakness somewhere in dragon armour - the inside of the mouth is unarmored (and doesn't even have the normal protection of dragon skin), and even with thick scales there are probably chinks where an arrow or dagger can get in if targeted well. Finally, thick scales are more prone to parasites, infections, etc., and dragons who neglect proper care may find that they have health problems. Dragonesses don't have thick scales on the front of their bodies, and any scales protect the back of their bodies, arms, and legs ONLY.
• Fearsome (2 points) simply means that the dragon looks unusually fearsome to Yarge, regardless of his or her true nature. Where appropriate this should give the dragon a +1 bonus in any dice roll related to a contest of personalities or wills, or an attempt to intimidate Yarge, but it will be difficult to persuade Yarge to trust the dragon. It has no effect on other dragons. Tick the "Fearsome" box.

Example: Respected Segievel Yepragis (5)
Segievel has 2 points left. He thinks about getting scales or becoming fearsome but in the end decides to buy Toughness 1. This leaves one point; he considers converting it to two bonus points for use in play, but eventually returns to skills and adds Linguist [5] for 1 point.

Equipment and Notes, Weapons, etc.

These sections should be completed when the character's characteristics, skills, and history have been decided. Players should simply say what they'd like to own, and describe any special status or background details; the referee should decide if this is reasonable, and if it would be useful (or much too useful!) in the game setting. It's reasonable to assume that characters have a home and enough money to live comfortably and pay normal expenses; even indentured servants will live somewhere, at their master or mistresses pleasure. At the referee's discretion characters may be rich if it will help to develop the campaign. All characters should note how much money they normally carry; a Crown is roughly equivalent to ten pounds. See the section on prices above for more on this.

Wounds

The tick boxes in the section marked "Wounds" are left blank for use during play. Any optional boxes that aren't used should be obliterated so that they won't be used accidentally. See the sections on wounds, combat, and non-combat injuries below for more details of this part of the game.

Example: Respected Segievel Yepragis (6)
Segievel is a gentle-dragon of modest means; he receives the income from a few tenants in Irieth, from his writing, and from occasional guest lectures. He lives in a traditional small Draconic town house in the Migantine Quarter of Irieth; he dislikes Yarge and believes in the old saying "Know your enemy," so living where he will occasionally encounter them is one way to be alert for trouble.
 He carries a notepad and pencils at all times, of course, and has about 3000 crowns banked, 100 crowns for his token sleeping chamber "hoard", and routinely carries about ten crowns in gold and change. He owns one antique, a very fine piece of Yarge workmanship, a gold broach representing a dragon curled up around a large ruby, at least a thousand years old and worth a couple of hundred crowns to a collector, which he uses as a hat pin. Other than that he has no special possessions. He has one employee, Sethod Woyime, an elderly widow who comes in three mornings a week to do his accounts and secretarial work, but she is a commoner, not an indentured servant.
 With all of this decided the player has nearly completed the character record. For each skill he writes in any relevant specializations (see the detailed skill descriptions below). Since Segievel has one point in Toughness he leaves the first optional "injury" box open, but crosses off the second optional "injury" and the "critical" box. Since there is to be no magic he writes N/A instead of the value for the characteristic.
 The final parts left are the weapons and portrait.
 The weapons section is used to record all natural weapons (claws etc.), and anything else that the character usually carries or has handy, such as a pistol. The columns list the weapon's name, whether it is capable of multiple attacks, the Effect number which determines how much damage it can cause, and the results of any damage caused. For now it isn't necessary to worry about the use of this system; it's explained in the section on combat below, and the weapons table following it. He puts N/A for "Flame" since Segievel doesn't have this ability. All of a dragon's other natural weapons have Effect based on BODY, as shown on the record sheet. Note that dragonesses get a weaker attack with their front claws, since they are smaller than those of males.
 Lastly, he pastes on a picture found online as a portrait of his character.
 Segievel is now more or less ready to be used, but to add a little more depth the player looks at the list of optional traits below and picks a few that look particularly appropriate; Snob, Rational Fear of Yarge, Nominally Religious and Confirmed Bachelor. Between them these traits should give him plenty of reasons to get involved in adventures. If only to get away from the pretty dragonesses his aunts want him to meet...

Characteristics in Depth

• BODY represents general physique, well-being, stamina, and speed. If characters expect to spend a lot of time in combat, or performing manual labour, BODY should be high. Inanimate objects also have BODY. BODY is NOT necessarily indicative of size or weight; it's possible for something to be physically small or light and still have high BODY (e.g. a bantam weight boxer, a steel key), or big and have low BODY (e.g. a fat invalid, a greenhouse).
• MIND covers all mental skills and traits including intelligence, reasoning ability, common sense, and the like. Anyone in a skilled job probably needs high MIND. MIND is also important in the use of most weapons.
• SOUL covers artistic abilities, empathy, luck, and spiritual well-being. If SOUL is low the character should be played as aloof, insensitive, and unlikeable (as in the phrase "He has no soul"); if high, the character does well in these areas. It is also used for other forms of interaction, such as fast-talking, intimidation, acting ("A very soulful performance"), and other arts. If your SOUL is low better not try to con anyone, and forget about learning ballet (Aerial ballet, naturally!).

Dragon BODY is wildly variable but always high. Normal dragon MIND and SOUL are in the range 1-6, with 1 exceptionally poor, 3 or 4 average, and 6 very good, the top percentile of performance. Player characters may have MIND or SOUL of 7 at the discretion of the referee ONLY; this is freakishly good, far better than normal performance.

MIND and SOUL cannot normally be improved; under really exceptional circumstances changes might be allowed, but this is a once in a lifetime event. BODY may rise any time a dragon eats dragon flesh.

Characteristics may sometimes be reduced. For instance, someone crippled after a fall might lose BODY, someone suffering a severe head injury might lose MIND. SOUL might be damaged by insanity or drug abuse. If any characteristic is reduced, recalculate the values of all skills derived from it.

Using Characteristics

Depending on circumstances, characteristics may be used against other characteristics, against skills, or against an arbitrary "Difficulty". Skills give an edge in most of these situations, as explained in later sections, but it's sometimes necessary to use them directly.

Previous releases have used a lookup table to make it slightly easier to calculate the result of actions, but it gets somewhat cumbersome with dragons whose BODY (after a few good meals) may be 20 or more. To get the same results a small amount of arithmetic is needed:

To do anything roll 2D6:

• Add the characteristic, skill or Difficulty to be overcome if it is 12 or less (otherwise see below)
• Subtract the skill, Effect, or characteristic used if it is 12 or less (otherwise see below)
• If the modified result is 7 or less it's a success. However:
  • Any unmodified roll of 2 ALWAYS succeeds.
  • Any roll of 12 ALWAYS fails, regardless of modifiers, and may have additional unfortunate consequences.

A gravid dragoness of the Old Faith (easily recognisable by her mantilla) takes a last flight before laying her eggs.

If the characteristic, skill or Difficulty to be overcome or the skill, Effect, or characteristic used are over 12, divide both numbers by the smallest number that will reduce both below 12 and round up. e.g., if one is 20 and the other is 7, divide by 2 to get 10 and 4. If one is 32 and the other is 7, divide by 3 to get 11 and 3. Then roll as above.

When any roll is made the referee may prefer to keep the target value a secret, and simply tell the player if the result is a success or failure.

If the result is EXACTLY the number needed to succeed, the attempt has come very close to failure; referees may want to dramatise this appropriately. If the number rolled is much lower than the number needed to succeed, the referee should emphasise the ease with which success was achieved. Similarly, a roll just one above the number needed for success should be dramatised as a very near thing that came within an ace of succeeding, a very high roll as an abject failure. These dramatics aside, any success is a success, any failure a failure.

Example: Breaking down a door
Segievel (BODY [8]) wants to break an unusually strong Yarge door (BODY [10]) by smashing into it. Neither number is over 12 so there is no need to reduce them.
    The first attempt is a roll of 7.
    7 (the roll) + 10 (the door's BODY) - 8 (Segievel's BODY) = 9
    It's a failure, and the door rattles but stays shut.
After a brief rest Segievel runs at the door again. On a 2 the lock breaks. The referee dramatises this by describing the wood splintering, the knob flying across the room and narrowly missing the dragonet Segievel is trying to rescue.

Example: Arm Wrestling
While visiting a low tavern in the Migantine Quarter, Segievel encounters a VERY drunk Yarge railwayman, a stoker who insists that he can "arm wrestle any one of you sons of lizards;" he's already defeated a couple of the other customers, but all of them are commoners, and somewhat smaller than Segievel. Some of Segievel's friends are with him, and urge him to show the Yarge "What a gentledragon can do."
  Unknown to Segievel and friends, the Yarge occasionally supplements his income by performing a strongman act; he has BODY [6]. In each round each should roll BODY as attacker with the other character's BODY as defender:
    Round 1: The Yarge and Segievel both roll 10, much too high to succeed. Nothing happens, apart from a slight flabby quivering of opposed muscles.
    Round 2: The Yarge and Segievel both roll 3, and succeed. Again, nothing happens. Since both succeeded this is described in terms of bulging muscles, a clash of titans.
    Round 3: The Yarge rolls 10 and fails, Segievel rolls 2 and succeeds. He smashes the Yarge's arm to the table and wins - but secretly knows that it was a much tougher contest than it seemed.

All other feats of strength should use BODY to attack BODY. If several characters want to co-operate in a feat of strength, take the character with the highest BODY and add the BODY/2 of each additional dragon aiding.

This system isn't perfect. For example, a dragon with BODY [10] theoretically has an even chance of lifting a BODY [10] elephant; in practice the referee should make this task much harder. Referees should be firm if players want to do something that's physically impossible, or make them tackle the job in smaller chunks. "Pass the saw; I need to cut up this elephant..."

Example: Excuse Me, Where Is the Tiamath Consul?
On a trip to the Yegith Archipelago Segievel is caught in a strong net trap; his wing is damaged, and he won't be able to fly for several days. His captors are Yarge savages who decide that he is their long-awaited god. They have no common language. The referee decides that his SOUL [3] must be used against the native chief's SOUL [5] to make his manner sufficiently forceful, and ensure his release.
  On a 2 the natives build a sedan chair to carry Segievel back to his ship.
  Note: Sadistic referees might prefer to make players act out scenes like this...

Example: It's Up His Sleeve!
On their way back to the ship the native witch doctor decides that Segievel's charismatic presence undermines his authority. He challenges him to a duel of magic (actually conjuring), using his skill Acting [6]. Segievel must use his MIND [4] to spot the Yarge tricks. The witch doctor begins by making a fruit "disappear"; on a 3 Segievel notices that he's tucked it into a fold of his loincloth, and points out the bulge to the audience. This causes so much lewd merriment that the duel ends in the witch-doctor's abject defeat.

Example: I Can Take It...
The wily witch doctor has persuaded the chief that Segievel must be tested again. This time it's a test of endurance; he must put his hand into a jar of stinging insects. Their stings are extremely painful but do no permanent damage. Segievel must use his MIND [4] to attack an arbitrary difficulty of 8.
  This is a tough test; on a 6 he fails, pulling his hand out before the test ends. Fortunately he has the sense to throw some of them at the witch doctor; he also fails. The chief decides that nothing has been proved.
  Incidentally, the referee might instead have asked for a roll of AvB&M, rather than just MIND, to check if the character has the will-power and endurance to overcome the pain, or SOUL to check if the character has the courage to endure it.

Improving the Odds

At the discretion of the referee ONLY, players may spend bonus points to temporarily modify an attacking or defending value as appropriate. Players must declare that they are doing this, and mark off the point(s) used, before the dice are rolled. This rule does NOT mean that you can spend points to perform the physically impossible. No matter how many points are spent, a BODY [1] Yarge will not lift an elephant single-handed. Regardless of points spent, a 12 is still a failure.

Common Characteristic Rolls

• Characters may occasionally need sheer luck. Ask them to use SOUL against a difficulty number.
• If they need to notice things, such as a concealed movement or a faint smell, use MIND against a Difficulty number (incidentally, the skill Detective can be used to improve this ability).
• To get a bright idea use a roll of MIND against a difficulty number.

All of the above situations have something in common; they should not occur frequently, and must not be an essential stage in an adventure. There must always be an alternative which does not rely on the luck of the dice. Sometimes players get unlucky in situations where their characters should succeed; for example, in an early test of this system five adventurers missed hearing a noise at Difficulty 3, and an extra clue was needed to put them back on the right track.

Better Living through Cannibalism

Sometimes a characteristic will change. Usually MIND and SOUL stay constant, unless the character is unlucky enough to suffer brain damage, possession, or some other mishap, but for dragons BODY can change extraordinarily rapidly, as a result of eating dragon flesh.

The benefit gained is based on the BODY of the meat eaten, and on the number of Bonus Points the player is prepared to spend to gain more BODY.

The first step in determining this is to decide how much flesh has been eaten, by any of the following means:

• As evenly as possible on the basis of equal shares for everyone present. Dragons can eat a maximum of half of their own BODY (rounded up) in a single meal.
• By different sized portions and prior agreement, as in the case of a will (although even then there may be some cheating, with a "single bite" interpreted as tearing off the largest possible chunk and bolting it down)
• By intimidation - the largest and most dangerous dragon simply drives off everyone else until he's had his fill, then the next largest takes over, etc.
• By some other contest based on the BODY or Brawling skill of the diners.

Note: The referee need not tell the players exactly how much meat is available; give them an approximation, and let them guess how much meat there will be for each diner.

Sharing is simple; divide the BODY of the dear departed by the number of diners (rounding down), and each diner gets that much meat; any left-over BODY is allocated by vote, or by giving slightly lager proportions to the largest dragons. Alternatively, the dragons can take turns eating until there's nothing left.

Prior agreements should either come from the referee and NPCs - "The will says you get one bite" - or can be hammered out between players before they start dining. Get everyone to say what they intend to eat, then have them actually take meat in whatever order seems fit; in the case of a will the oldest heir will eat first, then others in order of seniority. Cheating - taking more than agreed - adds 1D6/2 BODY to the share taken. This may eventually mean that there is nothing left for the minority heirs, but that's what lawyers are for.

Intimidation simply needs a show of force - claws, flame, etc. - which the other dragons can respect or respond to as they prefer. Once intimidation starts all civilised agreement has probably gone out of the window, so it may end in a fight; see later sections for the combat rules. If things go wrong there may be more meat available than was expected.

Contests can be resolved using the rules for opposed characteristics or opposed skills, or by use of the combat rules. This is best done as a series of rounds in which the winner of each round takes 1D6/2 BODY until there is no meat left.

Note that it is considered good form to say a grace praying for the safe reincarnation of the departed before eating.

Example: Eating Eligas (1)
Padiah and his sister Shimmeth have to eat their cousin Eligas, who has unfortunately been murdered by Keleg the (not entirely reformed) Dragon Slayer. In the fight Shimmeth broke a wing bone; the injury is not yet healed.
  Padiah is BODY 9, Shimmeth is BODY 10, and Eligas was "a little bigger than Shimmeth;" actually BODY 11, but the players aren't told that. They agree that they'll share and share alike, and that Shimmeth will get the extra meat if there's any excess. They decide to take it in turns to take a bite until there's nothing left. The referee decides that it isn't possible for them to do this really accurately; an average bite will take 2 BODY, but an occasional bite will take BODY 1 or 3. To simulate this he has them roll 1D6, with a result of 1 as BODY 1, 2-5 as BODY 2, 6 as BODY 3.
    In the first set of bites Padiah takes 2 and Shimmeth 1.
    In the second set Padiah takes 1 and Shimmeth 3.
    In the third set Padiah takes 3 and Shimmeth 1 (all that is left).
In the end Padiah has eaten meat with BODY 6; Shimmeth has eaten meat with BODY 5. It isn't quite the result they expected, but it's reasonable.

Once all the meat has been eaten, a number of Bonus Points equivalent to the maximum possible gain must be paid BEFORE the result is determined. Note that it is entirely possible to eat more meat than you can pay to absorb - reasons for doing this might include gluttony or an attempt to stunt the growth of a rival.

Once points have been paid the Effect of the meal is determined by rolling the dragon's current BODY against the MAXIMUM possible BODY after eating:

• If the roll is a natural 12 a third (round up) of the possible BODY is added.
• If the modified result is 8 or more, half of the BODY eaten (round up) is added.
• If the modified result is 5-7, two thirds of the BODY eaten (round up) are added.
• If the modified result is 4 or less, or the roll is a natural 2, ALL of the BODY eaten is added.

Example: Eating Eligas (2)
Padiah is BODY 9 and has eaten BODY 6. He pays seven Bonus Points for the chance to grow. If he absorbs all of the meat his BODY will be 15. One of the numbers is over 12 so they are halved to 5 against 8. He rolls 6; 6+8-5= 9. This means that he gains half of BODY 6; BODY 3. His BODY can rise to 12. If it does, he will be roughly 36ft long.
  Shimmeth is BODY 10 and has eaten BODY 5; if she absorbs all the meat she will be BODY 15 - also halved to 5 versus 8 for the next step. She pays the Bonus Points plus an extra Bonus Point to push her luck before rolling the dice. She rolls 3; 3+8-5=6, modified to 5. This means that she gains two thirds of BODY 5, rounded up to 4. Her BODY can rise to 14, which will make her about 42ft long.

Digestion takes at least one hour per point of BODY gained. Optionally this time must be spent sleeping, regardless of any danger.

Cannibalism and Healing

If a dragon has unhealed injuries (Injury or Critical Injury, see below) when he or she eats draconic flesh the first result, before any other benefits, is accelerated healing of wounds. This is not optional, and uses up some or all of the power of the flesh. Use the rules on the previous pages to determine the BODY gained; then make an immediate Recovery roll for the dragon using the modified BODY.

If the result is a failure the wound doesn't heal and 1 point of the new BODY is lost. Repeat the process using the modified BODY until healing occurs (also costing 1 BODY) or all of the new BODY has been lost. Any remaining BODY is retained.

Minor wounds such as Bruises and Flesh Wounds are healed automatically and without any loss of BODY if even one point of BODY has been gained from the meal.

Example: Eating Eligas (3)
Shimmeth is BODY 10 and was going to rise to BODY 14, but she has one unhealed Injury, a broken wing bone that is still in splints. Before she can gain any BODY she must heal the injury. Her first roll is a 2, an automatic success, and the bones start to knit together, although it will still take a day or two for recovery to be completed. One BODY is lost, leaving her at BODY 13, 40ft.

Improving Special Abilities

Optionally BODY gained from dragon meat can instead be traded for a minimal change in one of the special abilities shown above, with one BODY traded for one character point. The cost is the full cost of the ability; for example, even if the dragon already has the 3-point version of Extra Toughness, the 6-point version costs 6 points. All of the BODY needed for the ability must be supplied from food eaten, not from the dragon's existing BODY. No more than one special ability can be changed per corpse devoured, even if it is eaten in several meals; nobody is sure why.

Skills based on BODY do not rise immediately after eating; it takes a few days for reflexes etc. to attune to the new size and weight. Special abilities also take a while to appear.

Example: Eating Eligas (4)
Padiah was BODY 9 and was going to rise to BODY 12, but he decides that instead he will trade two points of BODY for extra scales, and rise to BODY 10 instead. In the morning he is 30ft long. The scales slowly appear over the next few days.

Skills in Depth

If characters have skills the referee should assume that they are reasonably competent. For example, someone who has learned a language should be able to use it under normal circumstances without bothering to roll dice. This applies even if the skill rating is low; someone with Linguist [2] and knowledge of Migantine will still be able to read, speak, and understand it if no specialized vocabulary is needed, but doesn't sound like a native. Referees should decide for themselves the skill level needed for fluency; Linguist [7] or better sounds about right - but it's almost impossible for a dragon to imitate a Yarge perfectly, or vice versa, there are big differences in the pitch and resonance of their voices.

Example: It's All Migantine To Me...
Segievel is visiting Migantil to research his next book. He has the skill Linguist [5] and knows Migantine. He is buying a bottle of ink. No dice roll is required for Linguist, but he's not in a tourist area and it takes him a while to find a Yarge shopkeeper who doesn't run away screaming when a dragon comes into the shop.

Dice rolls should be made if the character is working under unusual or difficult conditions, under stress, or in immediate danger. They are always used in combat. Usually a skill is used against one of the following:

1. An opponent's characteristics, e.g. MIND, BODY, SOUL.
2. An opponent's skills, e.g. Business, Martial Arts, Acting.
3. An arbitrary difficulty number set by the referee (usually when dealing with inanimate objects, puzzles, combination locks, and the like.

Example: Bad Tenants
On his return to Tiamath, Segievel's secretary tells him that one of the buildings he owns - housing a blacksmith - has been burned out. The insurers will pay for repairs, but he'll have to pay the first 200 crowns. Segievel suspects that his tenants caused the fire, and wants them to pay at least 100 crowns towards the repair, but the smith and his family claim that the fire was started by a passing stranger, who was stung by an insect and flamed involuntarily, setting fire to their wood store.
  When he considers this story carefully his knowledge of conspiracies (Scholar [6], overcoming Difficulty 5) tells him that it's highly unlikely that all of them would agree as closely as they do, down to the exact words, unless they spent some time preparing their story. He threatens them with eviction if they don't pay their fair share. Eventually the tenants cave in and admit that the fire was caused by carelessness with a hot poker, and agree to hand over the money.

Bonus points can usually be spent to improve skill rolls, exactly as they are used to improve characteristic rolls.

Temporary Skills

Characters may occasionally want to use skills that they don't possess. This is allowable, if it will keep characters alive or the game moving and there is some way to justify it. The character uses the skill at its lowest possible rating, but must roll for all actions including routine easy jobs, and the Difficulty of all actions is doubled.

Example: Look Deep Into My Eyes (1)
Visiting friends on military duty near the border, Segievel is waylaid by a group of heavily armed Yarge bandits who are planning to hold him ransom. They have him tied up; most of them go off to write the ransom note, leaving one guard on Segievel. After trying to break the ropes and failing miserably, he decides to try mesmerising the guard. He doesn't have this skill so it's used at its lowest possible value, av. M&S = 4
  Normally this skill is used against the victims MIND or SOUL, whichever is higher, but because Segievel is untrained the target value is doubled. Fortunately the bandit's MIND and SOUL are both only 3, so the target difficulty is now 6. On a roll of five Segievel's mesmerism just overcomes the Yarge's resistance, and Segievel quickly orders the guard to release him. Once free Segievel quickly kills the guard - it isn't exactly sporting, but he's desperate - and flies off before the other bandits have time to react.

Bonus points may not be used to help in this sort of situation. Optionally the referee may allow players to acquire the skill as a result of several incidents of this type.

Projects

The skill rolls above are used to resolve short-term problems. Sometimes characters become involved in long projects, such as the creation of a work of art or development of a new invention, which should not be determined by a single roll of the dice.

Some projects simply require routine use of a skill for a prolonged period, with any failure extending the time. For example, the creation of an average quality monolithic sculpture might need five Artist rolls with Difficulty 6 at intervals of a month; any failure leads to major revision of the work, extending the time needed by two months. The project is completed when the fifth successful skill roll is made.

Sometimes practice is all that is needed. This is especially true when learning languages.

Example: Que..?
Segievel doesn't understand Edawoonese. During an adventure in the Edawoon Republic he tries to learn the language; since he already knows some related languages the referee rates this as Difficulty 8 after a week, Difficulty 7 after two weeks, and so forth. A lucky roll of 2 allows Segievel to learn the language in a week, and it's added to the list on his character record.
  NOTE: This considerably underestimates the difficulty of learning a new language. Linguistic problems are not usually much fun to role-play, unless you particularly want to inflict an unreliable translator on characters.

Research projects, such as the development of a new invention, are resolved a little differently. The referee should decide how difficult the work will be, and how long it will take, then require a series of skill rolls of gradually increasing difficulty, repeated until the final difficulty level is reached. The same procedure might also be used for creation of an artistic masterpiece.

Example: The Appliance of Science...
Segievel's friend Respected Professor Gesuthivak is trying to develop a means of sending signals via the electrical fluid. The referee decides that this project will start at Difficulty 5, but will eventually be Difficulty 10, and each stage of the project will take 1D6 months; initially 4 months.
  At the end of 4 months the skill roll fails. Gesuthivak has achieved nothing, apart from shutting off a few dead ends. The referee rolls 1D6 again, and determines that the project will stay at Difficulty 5 for another 3 months. This cycle is repeated until there is a success, then the difficulty is raised to 6 for the next round of attempts. Difficulty continues to escalate until Gesuthivak eventually overcomes difficulty 10 to complete the invention. Most of this occurs off-stage between adventures, but occasionally it impinges on the game; for instance, the referee might tell players that Gesuthivak must spend the next 48 hours in his laboratory to finish the current round of experiments, depriving them of his skills at a vital moment, or that he will need a rare chemical or piece of equipment for the next step. Finding the missing ingredient might be an adventure in itself.

The referee need not say that characters are attempting the impossible, but it's advisable to drop a few hints if serious amounts of time are being wasted on a completely fallacious idea.

Improving Skills

Bonus points can be spent to attempt to improve skill ratings. These improvements are assumed to have been acquired by experience or by training. Each improvement costs the new value of the skill.

To try to improve a skill, use the relevant characteristic(s) to attack the current skill rating:

• If the result is a success, the skill has been improved.
• If the attempt is a failure, but the dice roll is not a 12, the character loses the points but does NOT improve the skill; more training is needed. After some more experience (another adventure) the player can try again. This can be repeated until the skill has been improved. A skill's rating may not be improved more than one point per adventure.
• If the result is a 12 the character has "peaked" with this skill; she loses the points, does not improve the skill, and CANNOT improve it at a later date.

Example: More Evidence of the Conspiracy...
Segievel wants to upgrade his Scholar skill from 6 to 7, reflecting his detailed study of the shadowy Migantine government. This will cost 7 points, and he must roll his MIND [4] against difficulty 7 to gain the improvement. On a 3 he succeeds.
  After another adventure he tries again, spending 8 points for the next improvement. Unfortunately the dice roll is 12; he is beginning to encounter concepts that are incompatible with the dragon mindset, and will never raise the skill past Scholar [7].

Characters with the Linguist skill may add extra languages by practice during the campaign, as described above, or by spending one or more Bonus points per extra language for training between adventures (most will cost one point, something particularly obscure will cost more). Only one language may be added per adventure. Improving the Linguist skill itself costs the new value of the skill, e.g. 5 bonus points to raise Linguist [4] to Linguist [5], as above.

Characters with the Scholar skill may only add new areas of knowledge by improving the skill. Any new area of knowledge must be related to those already known.

Skills and Modified Characteristics

If a characteristic is reduced for some reason (e.g. loss of MIND due to brain damage following an injury) all related skills are reduced immediately. If a characteristic rises (e.g., if BODY rises after eating dragon flesh) skills rise without any points cost, but they do not do so immediately. It takes a few days of practice. Optionally relate the time to the characteristic increase, e.g. a week per point.

Example: Better, Faster, Stronger
Segievel dines out on his beloved late uncle, and as a result his BODY rises to 10. He has two skills related to BODY; Brawling and Flying; he will need to exercise and practice for a few days. The referee lets him improve his flying between one adventure and the next, and improve his Brawling during the next adventure; after fighting for a few rounds at the original values, the reflexes needed for his increased size start to cut in and he proceeds to smite the foe with renewed vigour.

Adding Skills

New skills can be purchased, using the roll described above, but costs are increased.

The referee should decide if a new skill is appropriate for the character; for example, a parson shouldn't normally be allowed to buy the Military Arms skill without a good reason. The new skill is acquired at its lowest possible value.

An attempt to add a new skill costs DOUBLE its rating; e.g., an attempt to add a skill with rating 5 costs 10 bonus points. This represents the considerable investment in time and money needed to learn a completely new skill.

To try to acquire a new skill use the relevant characteristic(s) against the first rating the skill will have:

• If the result is a success, the skill has been acquired.
• If the attempt is a failure, the character loses the points but does NOT acquire the skill; more training is needed. After some more experience (another adventure) the player can try again. This can be repeated until the skill has been acquired, or until a 12 is rolled, indicating that the character is incapable of learning that skill.

Example: I Want To Be an Engine Driver...
The Yarge G'aarden (MIND [4], BODY [3]) has decided that he wants to be an engine driver. This skill (actually Driving) begins with a rating of 5, so it costs ten bonus points. To gain the skill he must use the average of MIND and BODY (4) against Difficulty 5. Unfortunately he rolls a 7, a failure. After his next adventure he pays another ten points, representing more training, succeeds on a 3, and adds Driving [5] to his skill list.
Note: the skill base for driving is MIND only for dragons.

The referee may make things easier for players if a new skill is a natural result of events in the game:

Example: Look Deep Into My Eyes (2)
Segievel has already used his mesmerism successfully once, and thinks that it's probably a useful skill to learn. Since he lives in the Migantine quarter it's actually quite easy for him to find Yarge to practice on, and he gets into the habit of stopping any lone Yarge he encounters, asking them a question or two about Yarge life, and trying to mesmerise them while they are answering. If he's successful he conducts a more detailed interrogation about any Yarge conspiracies against Tiamath (so far he's got a lot of "What conspiracy?" and very little else) then tells them to forget the encounter.
  Normally an attempt to learn the skill would be a roll against difficulty 5, costing ten points; because of his experience the referee reduces the difficulty to 3 and the cost to six points. On a roll of 4 it's an easy success, and he adds Mesmerism [5] to his skill list.

Difficult Skills

Some skills are based on half characteristics or less (Martial Arts, Doctor, Medium, Pilot, Stealth, Thief) so that they are difficult to buy at a high level during character generation. Unfortunately this means that it is easy to acquire them at their lowest level at a later date. The remedy is simple; only let characters have them after intensive training and/or an incident which explains how they have suddenly acquired the skill. They cannot suddenly be acquired between adventures.

Optional Rule: Adding Skills below Base Values

Under the rule above, additional skills based on high characteristics cost more than skills based on low characteristics. Optionally the referee may allow adventurers to add skills at less than base value with an appropriately reduced bonus point cost. By the time the skill reaches base value it will cost much more than the usual method, but this allows players to spread the cost over several adventures. For instance, a character with MIND [5] might add Marksmanship at a low level; just enough to shoot for the pot. In this example the player might choose to take Marksmanship [3] for 6 points, not Marksmanship [6] for 12 points. Once acquired such skills can only be improved by the normal process and one point at a time. Referees are also advised to limit the number of below-base skills acquired to MIND/2; once skills are up to the usual base value they don't count towards this limit. The "difficult skills" described above may not be acquired this way.

Skill List

The list that follows does not represent every possibility; it is just a selection of the most useful skills. Please feel free to add more, to change values and costs, or otherwise mess things up, but DON'T distribute modified versions of this document!

Skills are listed in the following format: Name, basic value (to which the points spent should be added), and explanation. The following abbreviations are used:

B = BODY, M = MIND, S = SOUL, Av = Average, / = Divided by

Actor - Basic Value: AvM&S
  Any form of stage performance. If more than one point is spent you are good enough to earn money from one specialised type of performance, such as Operatic Tenor, Conjuror, Ballerina (aerial ballet, of course). This skill is also useful for confidence tricks. E.g. Actor (Juggler).

Artist - Basic Value: AvM&S
  Any artistic endeavour; also useful for forgery. For more than one point add a specialisation, such as Sculptor, Chef (VERY rare amongst dragons), Jeweller, at professional level. E.g. Artist (oil painter)

Athlete - Basic Value: B
  Swimming, running, etc. The advantage of training over brute strength. For more points mention a speciality such as Circuit Walking, performed at championship level. E.g. Athlete (Rock climbing).

Babbage Engine - Basic Value: M
  Use for control of any type of mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric computer (including player pianos and card- or roll-controlled looms and organs), also for commanding androids, golems, zombies, etc. Currently this setting has no devices of this type, so the skill is not available.

Brawling - Basic Value: B *
  Any form of unarmed combat, apart from martial arts. See the combat rules below. This skill normally has no specializations for dragons. Yarge tend to learn specialized combat styles e.g. Brawling (Wrestling).

Business - Basic Value: M
  Any form of financial or organisational work, dragon-management, politics, etc. Also useful for preparing forged papers and the like. E.g. Business (politics).

Detective - Basic Value: AvM&S
  Trained in the art of observation; good at spotting small details, noticing faint scents, little clues, unusual behaviour, etc. It can be used as an improvement over normal observation rolls, and sometimes in place of an Idea roll, or in place of the Psychology skill. Specialities might include forensics, interrogation, etc. e.g. Detective (claw-mark analysis).

Doctor - Basic Value: M/2
  Detailed knowledge of medicines, minor surgery, etc., and a licence to practice. If more than one point is spent, the character has knowledge of a speciality (such as surgery) and the appropriate qualifications. See the rules on injuries below for use of this skill, but bear in mind that dragon medicine is not very advanced. This skill may NOT be acquired in the course of play, unless several years pass between adventures. E.g. Doctor (Herbalist).

Driving - Basic Value: M
  Operating any ground or water vehicles (car, land ironclad, railway engine, tractor, etc.). This skill does not apply to exotic vehicles (such as aircraft, spacecraft, submersibles) whose operators require a high degree of training. Specialities might include wagons, steam cars, etc., e.g. Driving (Railway engine).
  Dragons can only drive vehicles that have been expressly designed for them! Currently the only such vehicles are wagons and railway engines, and a few steam-launches, all slower than a flying dragon. For this reason car chase rules have been omitted. Yarge base this skill on Av. B&M.

First Aid - Basic Value: M
  Emergency treatment of wounds. See the rules on injuries below. Specialisations might include nursing, midwifery, etc. e.g. First Aid (podiatry - care of damaged claws and feet).

Flying - Basic Value: B (B/2 for formerly bound servants)
  Adult dragons can fly, typically at 40-50 MPH; speed isn't affected much by size, presumably muscles compensate, but small dragons (BODY 5 or less) are slower if they can fly at all, and very large dragons (50ft or longer) are slower and less manoeuvrable (-1 to skill). This skill is used for manoeuvring, for hovering, for flying in difficult conditions (e.g. in a storm or city updrafts) without hitting trees or buildings, and for navigation, which uses a combination of instinct, memory, and observation. Roll to push speed or fly into a headwind, Difficulty +1 per 5 MPH. Endurance is B/2 hours for dragons who fly regularly, B/3 hours for dragons whose wings are normally bound (servants, parsons, etc.), with penalties if the dragon has been pushing speed etc. for extended periods, or if the dragon is carrying something. Once endurance is exceeded the dragon starts to slow and should receive penalties on rolls to manoeuvre, navigate, etc. The maximum that can be carried easily while flying is B/4, the maximum possible is B/2. For example, a BODY 20 dragon can fly carrying a BODY 7 cow, but will tire quickly. Dragon wingspan is typically about the same as length, but flying with less than double this room requires a skill roll.

Linguist - Basic Value: M
  The ability to learn, read, speak and write foreign languages. Initially characters know Linguist/2 languages. More languages can be acquired very easily: see above. Characters automatically know their own native language, and need never roll to use it, without buying this skill. Specialisations are the languages known, e.g. Linguist (Migantine, Samindran).

Marksman - Basic Value: M
  Use of directly aimed projectile weapons (e.g. gun, crossbow, throwing knives, spears, etc.) but not field guns or other specialised militaria. See the combat rules below. E.g. Marksman (Crossbow).

Martial Arts - Basic Value: AvB&S/2
  See the combat rules below. This skill allows multiple hand-to-hand and melee weapon attacks in a single combat round, and can increase the Effect number of some attacks. E.g. Martial Arts (Baritsu)
  Dragons automatically have an equivalent of this skill - they can carry out several simultaneous attacks using their natural weapons, flame, etc. The Yarge have probably developed their own martial arts - especially if they use melee weapons that can harm dragons - and adventurers may do well to be wary if they run into an unarmed Yarge who doesn't seem to be frightened of them. See the full version of the Forgotten Futures rules for detailed martial arts rules for Yarge.

Mechanic - Basic Value: M
  All forms of mechanical work, engineering, building, plumbing, etc.; this covers work on existing machinery and the like, and the use of machine tools and other production equipment, but not innovative equipment design which is covered by the Scientist skill. E.g. Mechanic (Steam engines).

Medium - Basic Value: S/2
  A genuine medium, or otherwise psychically gifted, not a fake. Fake mediums use the Acting skill instead. This skill can be used for contact with the spirit world, séances, and premonitions of impending doom: "I have a bad feeling about this..." e.g. Medium (precognitive).
  There is no reason to believe that there are genuine mediums in this world, but nothing in the source material makes it impossible.

Melee Weapon - Basic Value: AvB&M
  Use of any non-projectile weapon, such as a dagger, sword, or axe. See the combat rules below. E.g. Melee Weapon (Machete).
  Dragons very rarely bother to learn this skill, since they have so many natural weapons.

Mesmerism - Basic Value: AvM&S
  Usable by dragons against Yarge (and possibly animals) only, not against other dragons! The skill is used against a subject's Mind or Soul, whichever is higher, and works via eye contact; the dragon somehow persuades the Yarge to look into her eyes, and then starts to vary the focus rhythmically. If successful, the subject will obey instructions until released, but any command which goes against a subject's natural instincts (especially for self-preservation) may be resisted, requiring another roll with greater Difficulty. There are no specialities. The Yarge are aware that some dragons have this ability, and are often wary of making eye contact with dragons. There must be enough light for the Yarge to see the dragon's eyes clearly. Only one Yarge at a time can be mesmerised.

Military Arms - Basic Value: M
  Use of field guns, mortars, explosives, and other specialised military weapons, but not hand guns and other simple portable weapons. E.g. Military Arms (Explosives).

Pilot - Basic Value: AvB&M/2
  Use for aircraft, spacecraft, submersibles, digging machines, and other vehicles which require a high degree of skill and concentration. Includes the use of parachutes and systems such as radios, sonar, navigation, and meteorology. E.g. Pilot (Bathysphere).
  Only Yarge operate machinery requiring this skill, and it isn't available to dragons.

Psychology - Basic Value: AvM&S
  Use to spot lies, calm hysteria, notice tension, and so forth. This skill does not include hypnosis or Mesmerism; dragons are immune anyway, and Yarge think of it as a special Dragon power and haven't worked out that they can master similar tricks. Specialities might include a particular school of psychology or a specific application, e.g. Psychology (therapy).
  Dragons can't use this skill on Yarge, or vice versa; their mindsets simply aren't compatible enough for deep understanding.

Riding - Basic Value: S (av. B&S for Yarge)
  Riding or training any animal, regardless of its nature. Might include lion taming, dog handling, or running a flea circus. E.g. Riding (Muleteer).
  The skill name has been kept for consistency with other Forgotten Futures supplements; there are no riding animals suitable for dragons, but the other applications of this skill may occasionally be useful. The Yarge have several types of riding animal.

Scholar - Basic Value: M
  Expert knowledge of specific fields such as archaeology, history, philosophy. Scholar/2 related areas of knowledge are known; for example, Scholar [5] might include knowledge of Archaeology, Antiques, and Ancient Migantil. The skill cannot be taken twice to give mastery of two unrelated areas of knowledge, but the term "related" can be interpreted as loosely as the referee permits. For example, expert knowledge of snakes (but not veterinary skills) might be added to the list above because the ancient Migantil peoples worshipped them. E.g. Scholar (Antiques, Migantil art, Migantil history).

Scientist - Basic Value: M
  Use of all sciences. Currently it's possible to be a generalist with a good knowledge of all sciences, since developments are fairly slow. But the pace of scientific development is starting to pick up, and in a few decades it will be impossible for any one dragon to be aware of all of the work going on in all fields. For now even the specialisations are fairly broad. E.g. Scientist (Chemist).

Signals - Basic Value: M
  This skill is simply knowledge of telegraphic and signalling techniques, including simple equipment repairs and adjustments. It also covers semaphore and other common signalling methods. E.g. Heliograph operator.
  In this world heliographs and semaphore are currently the only dragon equipment using transmitted codes, but Yarge and dragon scientists are working on electrical telegraphy.

Stealth - Basic Value: B/2 *
  Hiding, camouflage, sneaking, etc. e.g. Stealth (Disguise) might be an alternative to Actor (Disguise); an Actor tries to look like someone else, while the aim of the Stealth skill is to look inconspicuous and go unnoticed.

Thief - Basic Value: M/2
  Picking pockets, locksmith, forgery, etc. e.g. Thief (Safebreaker). Given the limitations of their hands few male dragons master this skill. Dragons don't use clothing so don't have any natural talent for picking pockets, but Yarge thieves do. Yarge base this skill on AvB&M/2.

Wounds

Wounds B[ ] F[ ] I[ ] I[ ] C[ ]

For Yarge and Yarge-sized animals, aliens, etc. the Wounds record usually has five boxes, indicating the extent of damage, as in the example to the right. Dragons use the same scale, but the "Extra Toughness" ability can add up to two more "I" boxes and one more "C" box, as described below.

• "B" means "Bruised"; if you are hurt to this extent you are stiff and a little slow, but otherwise unharmed, and recover in a day or two. It's possible to suffer multiple bruises without any additional effect, apart from spectacular flesh colours and superficial marks. "Bruised" includes all forms of minor cut and scald.
• "F" means "Flesh Wound". This is a deep cut, concussion, or sprain, a moderately serious burn, and so forth. You are slowed, and may become infected or suffer other long-term medical effects, but there is little risk of death. If a flesh wound isn't treated promptly it may deteriorate and become an Injury (below). Recovery takes at least a week. Additional flesh wounds must be treated separately but have no other effects. Flesh wounds and other injuries to the wings (see hit locations in the next section) require first aid before it is safe to fly again, to prevent the wing membrane from tearing.
• "I" means "Injury". This is nasty; a gaping wound, punctured lung, broken bone, skull fracture, serious poisoning, first degree burns, or the like. You need first aid and reasonably prompt medical attention; without it you will probably suffer serious medical effects. You can only move slowly. If all of your injury boxes are ticked you can barely crawl and cannot fight. Injuries need at least a month to heal, longer if there are medical complications. If all Injury boxes are ticked and you take another injury you are critically injured, as below. Small animals don't have an "Injury" box on their wounds record; any result of "Injury" is automatically "Critical". Really big animals have three or more "Injury" boxes. And dragons, as already noted, vary.
• "C" means "Critical". If there is only one box the victim is unconscious and will die without medical aid. If First Aid or the Doctor skill is used successfully the victim reverts to severely injured status (all injury boxes ticked), otherwise death occurs in a matter of minutes, hours at best.
• If there are two Critical boxes (as in the case of some dragons) and only one is ticked the victim is still unconscious, severely injured, etc., but won't actually be at the point of death unless another Critical injury is received, or all injury boxes have been ticked and another injury is received. Basically, this allows the dragon to soak up a lot of damage even after it is unconscious - for example, if a dragon soldier is being shot at by large numbers of Yarge.

The table shows the effects of wounds. Temporarily reduce the value of BODY and BODY-related skills by the value shown, but not below a minimum of 1.

Example: It's Only A Flesh Wound...(1)
Segievel takes part in a boar hunt. During a sudden storm he is separated from the rest of the hunters. The weather is too bad for flying, so he decides to walk back to their rendezvous.
  As he trudges back he literally trips over a boar and is badly cut by one of its tusks. It's a surprise attack, so he doesn't get a chance to retaliate. In the next round he would normally he would use his Brawling [8] skill for combat; because he has a flesh wound this is reduced to Brawling [7], but that's enough. Bleeding and limping a little, Segievel tucks the boar's body under his arm and heads on to the rendezvous.

Medical Skills, Recovery, and Death

• First Aid stabilises wounds and prevent them getting worse. On a successful roll against the recovery Difficulty of the wound, there is no possibility of deterioration. For example, this might involve splinting a broken leg, disinfecting and bandaging a wound, or putting cold tea (a common remedy) or ice onto a burn. Multiple wounds must be treated separately; for instance, someone with a Flesh Wound and an Injury, or with two Injuries, would need each treated separately.
• Without first aid the wound may eventually deteriorate; roll the recovery Difficulty against the patient's BODY.
  • If the Difficulty overcomes BODY the wound will get worse. Flesh wounds become Injuries and Injuries become Critical (usually as fevers and illnesses such as gangrene) if they get worse. If Critical wounds become worse the patient dies.
• The Doctor skill acts like First Aid, and also speeds healing. If a successful roll is made recovery time is halved. Since the Doctor skill usually begins at a lower level than First Aid, devoted healers may wish to take both skills.
• To recover from wounds without medical help, roll BODY against the recovery difficulty - AFTER the minimum recovery period. If the result is a success, the wound is healed. If the result is a failure, the illness drags on for another period before the roll can be made again.
• Eating dragon flesh can help to speed healing of wounds, as described above.

Example: It's Only a Flesh Wound...(2)
Segievel has a flesh wound. A friend bandages it, using First Aid [5] against recovery Difficulty [4]. On a 9 he doesn't do a good enough job of cleaning the wound and applying pressure to prevent further bleeding.
  Segievel rolls BODY [8] against Difficulty [4]. On a result of 12 the wound gets worse; by the time he reaches competent help he is bleeding severely, and must spend some time off his feet. His doctor fails to help, so his first roll for natural recovery is made after a month. Fortunately he succeeds and finally heals.

Death is death, and is permanent in this setting. There is no reanimation and no resurrection. If you're lucky you reincarnate as a dragon, but you won't know anything about your previous life, although mediums may try to tell you otherwise.

Some examples of common forms of injury follow the combat rules below; they are clearer if you understand some details that are introduced in the combat rules.

Combat

Combat takes up a large chunk of these rules; this does NOT mean that it is the most important aspect of the game - it just means that the rules for combat are more complicated than other sections. DON'T make the mistake of thinking that every adventure must involve several fire-fights!

These rules borrow an idea that is found in some war games. All the events in a combat round occur simultaneously. If ten people are firing guns, all of them fire BEFORE the results are assessed. You can shoot a gun out of someone's hand, but he will have a chance to shoot you before he loses it. Attacks are usually a use of skill against a defence; if the attack penetrates the defence, the damage is determined by use of the attack's Effect against the BODY of the target. All of these concepts are explained in more detail below.

Combat Rounds

A combat round is a period of approximately five seconds in which combat occurs. In this time claws might slash, shots might be fired, and so forth.

The following things can be done in a combat round

If you don't want to move or perform any action apart from the attack itself there is a bonus on the attack, but you do NOT fire first.

Anyone taken completely by surprise CANNOT fight, move, or dodge in the first round of combat, but CAN perform a simple action. For example, intruders would have a round to attack someone who was standing a few feet from an alarm button; he would not have time to get to it first. They could not stop him pressing the button if he already had his hand on it. By definition, someone with a weapon in his hand pointed at an attacker is NOT taken by surprise!

Resolving Attacks

Attacks are resolved in the following stages:

1. All players should state who or what they intend to attack; the referee should explain who NPCs are attacking. This should be done before any attacks are made.
2. Each character and NPC attacks the chosen target. Roll the attacking skill or characteristic against a defending skill or against a difficulty number of 6 if there is no better defence available. There are various modifiers for distance etc.
3. If the roll to hit succeeds, the Effect of the attack is used to attack the BODY of the victim. Damage is calculated according to the success of this roll.

Rolling To Attack

The bonuses and penalties shown on the right should be added to or subtracted from the attacking skill if they are relevant.

Note that there are no fully automatic weapons in this world, and that all rules relating to them have been omitted from FF X; if you want to add them, see the full Forgotten Futures rules.

Example: Shooting for the Pot (1)
  Segievel (Marksman [6]) sees a deer on the other side of a deep crevasse, and decides he wants venison for dinner. The deer will dodge into thick woods if it sees him coming, so he decides to shoot it. It isn't defending itself, so he must fire the shot against a basic difficulty of 6. The deer is immobile (+1) and large (+1), so his skill would normally be modified to 8; unfortunately it's a long way off (-1), and has skin coloration that makes it harder to see (-1), so the skill stays as Marksmanship [6]. On an 8 the shot misses; the deer is startled and runs away.
  In the second round the deer is moving (-1), but Segievel didn't move (+1). The deer is still big (+1) and isn't trying to dodge or hide, and is no longer camouflaged, but it's still a long way off (-1), so Segievel uses an effective Marksman [5] for his next shot. On a 4 it's an easy hit.

Example: Take That You Cad! (1)
  Yarge students P'ob and Jh'arge have decided to settle their differences in a boxing match. Both have BODY [4] and the Brawling [5] skill.
  In the first combat round P'ob dodges and weaves (-1) then tries to punch the immobile (+1) Jh'arge; Jh'arge stays still (+1) and tries to hit the dodging (-2) P'ob when he gets close.
  In this round P'ob has an effective skill of Brawling [5], Jh'arge an effective skill of Brawling [4]. On a 3 P'ob easily breaks past Jh'arge's guard, but on a 2 Jh'arge also hits P'ob.

Some attacks can be used via two or more skills; for example, a longbow might be used via the Marksman or Martial Arts skill, a club via the Brawling or Melee Weapons skill. Use whichever skill is best. If all else fails weapons may be used via characteristic rolls; these are usually poorer than skills.

Defences may also be based on skills or characteristics; for example, someone might try to avoid an arrow by ducking (BODY versus the attacking skill), by hiding (Stealth skill), or by use of the Martial Arts skill to catch it. If no better skill is available, the basic defending value is 6.

If the result of any attack is a success, some damage occurs. Roll for damage as described below.

Damage

Roll to cause damage, using the Effect of the attack (see below) against the victim's BODY.

All attacks have an Effect number. For hand-to-hand weapons, martial arts, and other unarmed combat skills it is either the skill level or the user's BODY plus a bonus; for example, a club gains most of its power from the user's strength, and has an Effect equal to the user's BODY +1. A fencing foil, like all swords and daggers, has an Effect equal to Melee Weapon skill. For firearms the Effect number is usually intrinsic to the weapon, and thus independent of the user's skill or BODY.

Damage is determined by using the Effect number to attack the target's BODY. The result of this roll will sometimes be a failure; this is interpreted as minimal damage for the weapon, from column A of the weapons table. While this is always preferable (for the victim!), many weapons have a flesh wound or worse as their minimal damage.

If the result is a success, but more than half of the result needed for a success, check column B of the weapon table.

If the result is a success, and the dice roll is less than or equal to half the result needed for a success (round DOWN), check column C of the weapon table. If in doubt, use the table to calculate which damage column is used.

Shooting for the Pot (2)
Segievel's hunting rifle has the characteristics shown below.

Weapon	Multiple	Effect	Damage
	Targets		A	B	C
Big Rifle	No	8	F	I	C/K

This means that it can only attack one target, and does the following damage:
  A: Flesh wound
  B: Injury
  C: Roll the Effect against BODY again; if the result is a failure the injury is critical, otherwise it's a kill.
Effect [8] attacking BODY [8] succeeds on a 7 or less.
  If the result is an 8 or more the deer suffers a flesh wound.
  If the result is 5-7 the deer is injured.
  If the result is 2-4 the deer is critically injured or killed.
On 4, then 6, the deer is killed.

Example: Take That You Cad! (2)
Both combatants are using fists, which are rated as follows:

Weapon	Multiple	Effect	Damage
	Targets		A	B	C
Fists	No	BODY	B	B	KO

There is no reason to modify these results, so both must use BODY [4] against BODY [4].
On a 9, Jh'arge just grazes P'ob. On a 2, P'ob catches Jh'arge with a perfect right hook and knocks him out.

Pulling Punches & Aiming To Wound

• Attacking for limited damage; damage effects are limited to column A and B only, column C damage is taken as column B. Skill -1.
• Attacking for minimal damage; damage effect is limited to column A only, column B and C damage are taken as column A. Skill -2.

It isn't possible to limit damage with shotguns, machine guns, or area effect weapons such as explosives or flame throwers, or with ANY attack on multiple targets.

OPTIONAL RULE: Hit Locations

Players may sometimes wish to aim at a specific part of the body. To do so, modify the attacking skill and the damage Effect as on the table to the right. This makes it harder to hit if you are aiming at someone's limbs or head, but increases the likelihood of serious damage from a head injury.

If it is used, someone who rolls to hit a target without trying to hit a specific area should roll 2D6 for a random hit location as indicated above, and modify the Effect accordingly.

It is not possible to attack a specific hit location with area effect weapons such as grenades, or while performing any form of multiple attack. Damage from these weapons should attack random hit locations.

It seems certain that the Yarge train their best marksmen to target their shots for maximum effects against dragons; head shots (into the open mouth if possible) to avoid the scales, wing shots to ground their target and make the fight a little more even.

Armour

All dragons are armoured to some extent by their skin and scales, with the exception of a few vulnerable areas such as the inside of the mouth and the eyes. Yarge also have armour, although it is going out of fashion as firearms get more powerful. Armour can reduce the Effect of weapons, but doesn't modify the roll to hit; in fact, someone wearing heavy armour should theoretically be slower and easier to hit. Only the area covered by Yarge armour is protected; for example, the most common forms of dragon-hide armour were jerkins and leggings which left the rest of the body unprotected.

Chain mail and plate mail are now rarely seen in the field; increasingly the Yarge armour vehicles instead of soldiers. Helmets, however, are still popular, protecting the head and neck against bullets and shell fragments. A version designed to fit dragons is still making its way through Tiamath's army procurement system.

Dragon hide armour was always very rare, and it is believed that any still in circulation must now be at least 200 years old. The border defence forces have a standing reward of a thousand crowns for any Yarge prisoners taken wearing dragon-skin armour, if it can be verified that it is of genuine Yarge manufacture. The last corporal who tried to fake it, using another soldier's remains as the source for the skin, was sentenced to death without consumption.

Traditionally heavy soaked wool overgarments were used to protect Yarge against dragon flame - since the discovery of the properties of asbestos they have been more or less abandoned, and most Yarge military units now have some soldiers trained to fight while wearing layers of wool and asbestos clothing that renders flame almost useless.

Multiple Attacks

Although dragons are generally hugely outnumbered when they fight Yarge, they often make up for it by the range and number of natural weapons they can use, and by a frightening ability to use several of them simultaneously. With the exception of flame all are used via the Brawling skill; Flame is aimed via MIND or Marksmanship, whichever is better.

When a dragon is confronted by several foes in close quarters, his natural instinct is to strike at the most dangerous first, but do as much damage as possible to all of them. The snag, of course, is that it's difficult to coordinate multiple attacks, and the maximum possible for any dragon, regardless of training, is MIND+1 simultaneous attacks. These can be made with either of the front claws (against one or two separate targets), with the rear claws against a single target, by biting, by constricting, by striking with the tail, and by firing a burst of flame.

With the exception of flame, if only one attack is made the dragon uses Brawling skill. If two attacks are made (other than the two front claws against the same target), both are made with Brawling-2; if three are made, both are made with Brawling-4; etc. This penalty is incurred even if they are made against the same target.

Flame is used via MIND or Marksmanship as stated above, but for unknown reasons it can be used with normal accuracy even if the dragon is making several other attacks. It is not possible to use flame and bite or constrict in the same round; biting blocks the mouth, constriction uses the chest muscles normally used for flaming. Effect is reduced by 1D6 outside the radius shown, 2D6 outside twice the radius, etc.

Constriction is a good attack to use against another dragon, since it pinions the wings and (if done right) prevents the victim's claws from being used against the attacker. It can be combined with biting and clawing. But it doesn't do any damage until the round after the attack begins, and for each round that passes the attacker must make a fresh skill roll to maintain constriction.

Finally, tail strikes are more often talked about than done; the dragon swings his or her tail like a whip and (if successful) damages someone trying to attack from behind. It's sometimes useful in crowded conditions, but usually a last resort since it does less damage than most other natural weapons.

Example: Panic Attack
Segievel (BODY [8], Brawling [8], Mind [4]) is cornered by a mob of angry Yarge who have spotted his mesmerism experiments and want to teach him the error of his ways. Amazingly none of them have guns. Eventually four of the largest Yarge (all Brawling [4]) advance on him with improvised clubs. Although he has no combat training he stupidly decides to fight his way out, calculating that if he hurts some at the start the others will retreat. He uses his front claws on one of the attackers, bites at another, and flails his tail at a third. All three attacks are made at Brawling [4]; on rolls of 3, 5, and 8 he connects with his teeth and the claws, but misses with the tail. Both of the Yarge he hits are injured, the attackers manage to bruise him badly without doing much real damage. As blood sprays in all directions and the others retreat a little, Segievel finally shows a little common sense and springs into the air and flies off before they manage to do him some real damage. He resolves to get some combat training!

Weapons

It should be obvious that until the invention of organized armies and gunpowder weapons a really large dragon could take on serious Yarge forces and would probably emerge unscathed.

Yarge can generally only make multiple attacks if they have the Martial Arts skill, or with some weapons such as shotguns. Following is a brief list of the most common weapons and forms of attack in the world of Tooth And Claw; weapons and rules irrelevant to this world have been omitted. For a larger list see the complete Forgotten Futures rules.

Note that most unarmed attacks and some weapon attacks don't show death as a possible outcome; it simply isn't very likely in the course of a fast-moving fight. Referees should feel free to ignore the suggested result in unusual conditions; for example, if someone is attacked by a mob while unable to resist, or is completely outmatched by his attacker.

Melee Weapons Effect is based on BODY or skill.
Weapon	Multiple Targets	Effect	Damage			Notes
			A	B	C
Fist	No [1]	BODY [2]	B	B	KO	Yarge Only
Kick	No [1]	BODY [2]	B	B	F	Yarge Only
Wrestling	No	BODY [2]	B	KO	KO / I	Yarge Only
[1]	Using the Martial Arts skill it is possible to perform one fist and one kick attack in a single round against one target, or against two targets that are close together. Against two targets the attacks are at -2 Effect.
[2]	Users of the Martial Arts skill can use BODY or Martial Arts for Effect in these attacks, whichever is better.
Club	Max 2 [3]	BODY+1	F	F	KO/K	e.g. chair leg
Spear	No	Melee	F	I	C/K	e.g. bayonet on rifle.
Axe	No	BODY+2	F	I	C/K
Sword	Max 2 [3]	Melee+1	F	I	C/K
Dagger	No	Melee+1	F	I	I/K
Whip	No	Melee/2	B	B	F
Chair	No	Brawling	B	F	I/KO
Broken bottle	No	Brawling+1	F	F	I
Staff	Max 3 [3]	Melee+2	F	I	KO/C
Whip	No	Melee / 2	B	B	F
[3]	Targets must be within 5ft. Multiple attacks are at -2 Effect. Multiple attacks are available with the Martial Artist skill ONLY.
Range	For all melee weapons, targets are TOO CLOSE if they block effective use of the weapon; within a couple of feet for swords and axes, within 6 ft for whips (a lousy weapon, despite Indiana Jones), and so forth. If unsure, give players the benefit of the doubt.
Projectile Weapons Effect is usually based on skill (for thrown weapons), on BODY (for longbows and thrown axes), or on the weapon rather than the user for firearms etc.
Weapon	Multiple Targets	Effect	Damage			Notes
			A	B	C
Axe	No	BODY+1	F	I	C/K	Thrown
Dagger	No	BODY+1	F	I	C/K	Thrown
Longbow	No [4]	BODY+1	F	I	C/K	Hunting bow
Crossbow	No	7	F	I	C/K	Military bow
Spear	No	Melee	F	I	C/K	Thrown
[4]	Maximum 2 targets if attacking with Martial Arts skill.
Typical handgun	Max 2 [5]	8	I	I	C/K	Typicak Yarge pistol
Huge handgun	Max 2 [5]	10	I	I	C/K	Typical Dragon pistol
Typical rifle	No	8	F	I	C/K	Typical Yarge rifle
Big rifle	No	10	I	C	K	Large Yarge or small Dragon rifle.
Huge rifle	No	12	I	C/K	C/K	Largest Dragon rifles
Large Shotgun	Max 2 [5]	7	F	I	C/K	One barrel
Large Shotgun	No [5]	14* / 7 * Short range ONLY	I	C	K	Both barrels
Small Cannon	No [6]	16	I	C/K	K	Air-portable by dragons.
Large Cannon	No [6]	22	I	K	K	Towed by drafters.
[5]	Hand guns typically have two barrels and can be used to fire at two targets, or twice at one target. If firing at two separate targets each attack is at -2 to hit. If firing two shots at one target there is no modifier. Each attack is resolved separately. Shotguns can fire twice at one target (no modifier to hit, small effect), fire at two different targets (modifier -2 to hit, small effect), or fire both barrels at once (+1 modifier to hit, big effect at SHORT range ONLY). In all but the last case the two shots are resolved separately. The doubled Effect of firing two barrels simultaneously is felt at short range ONLY! Rifles typically have two barrels but can only be fired once per round, since the recoil prevents aiming.
[6]	Cannon fire one shot per four to five rounds of combat. The only ammunition routinely used is iron balls.
Ammunition	All firearms use percussion caps, paper-wrapped charges, and a separate ball or bag of shot. Loading takes at least a round per barrel. The Yarge are experimenting with pepperpot revolvers and have some working prototypes, but they are still rare and unreliable.
Range	Normal range for all hand-thrown weapons and handguns is 10-20 ft; for bows and rifles 50-100 ft; for cannon 250-500 ft. Anything closer is at short range, anything further away at long range. Targets are too close if they are closer than the end of the weapon!
Area Effect Weapons All explosives damage everything at full effect inside the radius shown, at effect -1D6 to double that radius, at effect -2D6 to three times the radius, and so forth. The effect of these weapons is not reduced if there are multiple targets.
Weapon	Damage Radius	Effect	Damage			Notes
			A	B	C
Barrel Gunpowder	10 ft	14	F	I	C/K
Barrel Oil/Naptha	10ft	7+7/Round	F	I	I/C
Rocket	10 ft	7 [7]	F	I	C/K	Gunpowder rocket.
[7]	Fired in volleys by Yarge and exploding in the air, an anti-Dragon defence.

Non-Combat Injuries

Combat is the main cause of wounds in most RPGs, but characters occasionally run into other problems that can cause damage. For instance:

Falling: The damage hits automatically; the Effect number is 1 plus 1 per storey fallen, to a maximum of 20. For example, someone tripping and falling to the ground risks damage with Effect 2; someone falling 20,000ft takes damage with Effect 20. Note that falls of less than 10ft are a common cause of accidental death in Yarge homes. Needless to say most dragons can avoid damage from falls by flying if there is room to manoeuvre.

Train Crash: Effect 2 plus 1 per 5 MPH. Most dragons will fly clear if they see a crash coming.

Poison: Effects vary with type of poison as below. Most poison gases have an increasing effect with time as shown below.

Drowning, suffocation, etc: Characters (Dragons or Yarge) can hold their breath without harm for BODY x 20 seconds; after that take damage with Effect 1, +1 per 20 seconds submerged. If the character survives, any damage (other than death) is cleared in a few hours, not the days required for other forms of damage.

Fire: Effect varies with severity of fire, starting at 1 (a match) and working up to 7 (a barrel of oil dropped by a dragon) and onwards. The effect increases for each round of exposure after the first.

Execution: Numbers aren't provided for execution methods; it's assumed that they will always succeed unless someone sabotages them or the victim somehow escapes before the execution begins.

Magic

The main Forgotten Futures game includes optional magical rules, with a MAGIC characteristic and a Wizardry skill. The novel Tooth and Claw does not include any obvious use of magical powers; having said that, certain aspects of draconic biology make a little more sense if it's assumed that they are actually magical creatures, but use their magic unconsciously to maintain their own abilities and powers. How else could something the size of a dragon fly? How else could dragons convert the flesh of other dragons into their own so easily? Many dragons believe this to be the case, but have no proof.

If this is true, dragons are already using their powers unconsciously to give them many of the benefits that magicians crave: long life; strength; toughness; flight; etc. Some can breathe fire, or charm Yarge with their gaze. What else do they need magic for? Well, there's a type of mind that seems to think that more is better, and craves power and knowledge for its own sake, for personal gain, or to ensure that it is in "safe" hands. It's possible that some dragons have found the key to unlocking their real magical powers, and are secretly using them in ways most dragons can barely imagine.

If you want to allow players to go this route, you will need the main rules (available as a free download) and especially the Appendix It's a Kind of Magic. Most dragons should be unaware that magic exists; their magic is entirely internalised as BODY, and their MAGIC and Wizardry skill are zero. Certain dragons have learned the truth, and have found ways to use it beyond mere maintenance of their innate abilities. Of course there are snags - lots of them...

Dragon magicians must spend a quarter to a half of their initial character points on BODY and MAGIC. MAGIC is purchased for the same point prices as MIND or SOUL, and has a maximum value of 7. In other words, a dragon wizard is likely to start out unusually small and lacking in non-magical skills. At least one point must be spent on the Wizardry skill, whose base value is av. MAGIC and SOUL.

Every time a spell is cast, the magician must roll their MAGIC against the total value of the characteristics affected, or against the Difficulty of the spell, whichever is greater. If the roll fails the wizard loses BODY; at least BODY 1, optionally more. This is subtracted from the wizard's BODY or from the wizard's food; wizards have to eat dragon flesh to power their spells, or they will slowly dwindle to nothingness. This makes spell-casting a bloody business, and potentially very expensive if the wizard has to splurge on the meat market. There's another snag; because wizards are using their innate powers in ways that nature never intended, they lose out on some of the usual draconic benefits of eating dragon meat. It takes 2 BODY of meat and 2 Bonus Points to add 1 BODY to a wizard. If a meal would normally add only 1 BODY to the wizard, there is no gain. Optionally they may be unusually vulnerable to illnesses caused by diseased or tainted meat.

Want another snag? If magic exists, some Yarge must be wizards; they outnumber dragons at least fifty to one, and some of them will know how to gain magical power by eating dragon flesh. The flesh of dragon wizards is particularly prized, of course.

The spells that are most likely to appeal to dragon wizards include transformation (typically into Yarge form if there seems to be a chance of getting near a princess), teleportation and magical portals (especially into treasure vaults), weather manipulation, and clairvoyance (to find the hiding place of gold, of course). In other respects dragon magic should work much like that of wizards in any other world; for further details see the main rules.

Role Playing

So far these rules have said a lot about rolling dice, but little about the real meat of a role playing game; the opportunity to take on a completely different personality in a world of the imagination. Although the characters are dragons, the behaviour of dragons in this world follows certain Victorian stereotypes which may be useful.

I Know My Place...
Dragons in inferior positions accept that they are underlings. They are happy to be employed: the idea of bettering their position, over and above promotion within their workplace, is somehow abhorrent. This attitude is especially prevalent amongst servants and others in intimate contact with their social "superiors", who are often snobs.

You're A Toff, Guv...
Aristocrats are the cream of society: stern but caring, almost always wealthy and learned, always polite (especially to dragonesses and other inferiors), they are genuinely superior, and even savages know them as such. Even if an aristocrat goes bad he remains noble; if his crimes are discovered he will commit suicide rather than dishonour his family by standing trial.

A Woman's Place Is In The Home...
Dragonesses unfortunately tend to be treated as inferiors, second class citizens who must be protected from physical and moral danger. Campaigners for female rights are treated with great suspicion.

I Say, He's A Bally Foreigner...
Dragons really don't like Yarge much. Enough said?

And so forth...

Traits

Traits are versions of these stereotyped attitudes which can be added to characters to give them a little more personality. They fall into a few broad categories. Players should use some common sense when selecting and using traits - mostly they are just opinions, not psychopathic behaviour or raging phobias. The list that follows can easily be extended. Sometimes a character can hold contradictory opinions; for example, he might support revolutionary reform in the abstract, but still be a snob! Many of these traits, especially those relating to family or inheritance, can be used to generate plots, but referees should beware of getting too bogged down with any one character's problems. Adventures should involve all of the players wherever possible. For much more on traits see the most recent versions of the main Forgotten Futures rules, which include a section on melodramatic role playing.

Class

• Snob: Whether or not you're a peer, you enjoy the company of the aristocracy and cultivate it whenever possible. Non-aristocrats will name-drop if they know (or pretend to know) any peers, aristocrats (who are probably not very high up the social ladder) will seek the company of their betters.
• Social Climber: An extreme case of snobbery, you will do almost anything to become a peer (if not one already) and climb the social tree, and to make sure that any children rise to great things. This might involve marrying for a title, divorcing to avoid disgrace, etc.
• Social Reformer: Regardless of your rank, you recognize that there are injustices to be put right; causes might include the treatment of servants, the rights of dragonesses, prison or hospital reform, the more dubious aspects of the dragon meat trade, etc.
• Egalitarian: You're a peer who tries to treat all dragons on the same basis, regardless of rank, but this may fall apart if someone tries to take advantage.
• Revolutionary: You want to smash the peerage and the attitudes that created it. Usually (but not always) an attitude of commoners and the criminal classes. This is more likely to be an opinion than actual behaviour.

Religion

• Genuinely Devout: You honestly believe in Veld, Jurale, and Camran, professing the Orthodox Faith or the Old Religion. With very few exceptions all members of the Old Religion are genuinely devout; members are often subject to abuse and harassment, and are barred from some professions, so it would be stupid to fake it. Genuinely devout dragons won't fly on Firstday and always defer to their parsons; members of the Old Religion go to confession and females wear mantillas.
• Unthinkingly Devout: A majority of followers of the Orthodox Faith are unthinkingly devout, following the tenets of the religion without giving them much thought, because it's what everyone else does and you wouldn't want to look odd. They probably don't fly on Firstday but this is simply out of habit, not because there's much real belief in the rationale for the ban.
• Obnoxiously Devout: You profess belief (usually in the Orthodox Faith), loudly and often, paying full attention to the letter of the Laws, but not the spirit. For example, a wealthy peer might never fly on Firstday and otherwise follow the teachings of Veld, but he'd use his religious obligations as an excuse to eat one of his tenants' dragonets, claiming that it was "never going to thrive"; whereas the reality might be that he was hungry.
• Pious Hypocrite: Profess a religion, so as to fit in with your peers, but ignore its tenets if they don't suit you. Who does it really harm if you take a flight on Firstday? Pious hypocrites are often the idle rich, but there are also a few parsons with this attitude, who are quite prepared to remove their wing bindings to avoid a long walk, or otherwise disobey the letter or spirit of the Law, if it suits their purpose.
• Non-conformist: Very rare, and always treated with great suspicion, non-conformists either have no religion, or worship in some way that most other dragons would fine upsetting. For example, there are a few groups of dragons who claim to follow the old pre-Subjugation faith, although they are generally regarded as lunatics, criminals, or worse. Members of some of really secretive cults probably fake adherence to the Orthodox Faith to cover their behaviour. Anyone who talks about finding a Yarge princess to sacrifice is probably a member of this camp.
• Superstitious: Regardless of any other religious belief, you follow at least one odd superstition - numerology, astrology, spiritualism, etc. Most seem to derive from Yarge sources, but dragons are entirely capable of coming up with crackpot ideas of their own. Generally considered harmless, provided the belief does not cross the lines of Orthodox doctrine.

The Opposite Sex and Sexual Conduct

General

• Misodrachist: You are a dragon who dislikes other dragons in general and the opposite sex in particular. You are probably single, of course.
• Engaged: You have found the right dragon / dragoness, and currently plan to marry. But do your parents approve? Or your fiancée's? Will there be religious or legal problems? Will the dowry meet expectations? One thing's certain, marriage is a complicated business, and unlikely to go entirely smoothly. That's why it's a useful source of plots and complications.
• Happily(?) Married: Most adult dragons marry sooner or later, and since they generally spend several hundred years married they might as well be happy. But there are many marriages of convenience, where the partners stay together simply because it gives both of them heirs and the veneer of respectability. Participants in such marriages may take lovers or keep mistresses, often with the consent of their partner.
• Divorced: Rare but not entirely unknown. Divorces take years to get through the courts and rarely end happily for either partner or any children. Given the dragon temperament it's rather more common to kill a transgressing partner and argue about the legality afterwards.
    Divorce carries some social stigma, and is definitely not something to do lightly - most divorcees never remarry, and it may take centuries for the circumstances to be forgotten.

Females only

• Virgin: You are unmistakeably gold, not pink, and a virgin. To stay this way you must avoid close contact with any male - just an accidental proximity with someone you find attractive may be enough to trigger blushing, and if contact continues you may easily end up pink, regardless of the circumstances or your intentions. Your behaviour will revolve around the need to avoid such accidents until a suitable husband is found.
• False Virgin: Some dragonesses who become pink accidentally or inappropriately resort to hedge medicine to restore their original gold colour. While this is possible, provided the colour hasn't set in too far, it is frowned upon by both churches and medically inadvisable.
    You can't use this method to fake innocence while leading a promiscuous life; male dragons can't consummate a relationship with a female who isn't pink or red, it's a visual cue that triggers the release of powerful hormones, and there are real risks to the drugs - if taken repeatedly or to excess they block pinkness completely and permanently, and the dragoness will never be able to mate. "Taken to excess" may occasionally mean "Taken once"; there is simply no certainty.
• Pink: A female dragon who has fallen under the influence of a male but may not have married him yet. Provided that marriage is immanent this is an entirely respectable position, but females who are pink without the prospect of marriage risk being regarded with disfavour by most of society.
• Scarlet Dragoness: You are a dragoness who is sexually active (and pink or bright red) without any prospect of marriage. This may be the result of a mishap - accidental close proximity to an attractive male, the death of a fiancée, or sexual assault - or an entirely conscious decision. Generally considered considerably less than respectable, regardless of circumstances, unless the circumstances are unusual and well known. Since conception requires a conscious decision and special diet there are virtually no unmarried mothers or illegitimate children.
• Widow: Mourning is customary, for years or decades after the death of your husband, even if you are privately happy about the loss.
• Presumed Widow: Your husband is missing, believed dead - most likely a victim of the Yarge, or some disaster (for example, a passenger on a ship lost with all hands). The trouble is that there is no proof, and it may take years or decades for the courts to formally decide the issue. And what if they get it wrong?
• False Widow: One way to avoid the stigmata of pinkness or redness is to claim to be a widow; find a dragon that died in obscure circumstances or a remote area and claim to be his bride. This can be the start of a slippery slope; even if the dragoness has no initial intention of profiting from the deception, circumstances can arise in which it becomes necessary to add more lies. For example, it may turn out that a genuine bride would be entitled to a pension or inheritance, and declining it would look very odd. This could lead to blackmail or worse.
    Inventing a spouse is safer, especially if you move to an area where you are not known and seem to be rich and respectable, and someone respectable vouches for you. For best results claim to be the widow of a second or third son of a noble house, or some other minor noble; few dragons can bother to keep track of minor nobility. If status is unimportant, it's always safe to claim to be the widow of a commoner - but doing so defeats the main object of false widowhood, since it will bar you from high society. While such arrangements may seem too complicated to work, they are probably more common than is generally realised; it's a good way for a noble to set up an ex-mistress so that she won't cause problems for him, and most dragons won't dig too deeply for fear that the scandals of their own families will receive similar attention.
• Spinster: Virgin dragons eventually fade from gold to grey. Once this stage is reached they cannot turn pink, and will never lay eggs. You are either grey, or well on the way there.

Males Only

• Confirmed Bachelor: You really don't like the idea of marriage - maybe you just don't want the responsibilities involved, maybe you have a low sex drive or dislike children, maybe your One True Love died before you could propose. Most confirmed bachelors seem to have more than their fair share of married friends and interfering relatives who seem to think that they know the perfect dragoness for them.
• Promiscuous: Males don't have to worry about showing obvious signs of infidelity or promiscuity - it's frowned upon by both churches, but undoubtedly common. Of course this type of behaviour can lead to problems: blackmail; divorce; elaborate revenge schemes; brawls; unpleasant rashes; etc.
• Widower: Mourning is customary, for years or decades after the death of your wife, even if you are privately happy about the loss.
• Bigamist: Most common in males - dragonesses tend to lack the necessary mobility - you have two wives and two households. Given the size of Tiamath's society this is difficult to conceal, but they might be in different cities, or otherwise separated. Juggling these relationships and paying for it all is a permanent nightmare.

Family

• Orphan: You're on your own, or at best have a guardian, a relative or some other associate of your parents. Unless you are reasonably big and competent this can be a dangerous situation, but a good inheritance or dowry can help to soften the blow.
• Indifferent: You have family somewhere, you don't bother them and hopefully they don't bother you. Until one day someone dies and you realise that you have inherited a feud, a lawsuit, several mouths to feed, or some other problem.
  
• Surplus to Requirements: You have a family, and could wish that you didn't. They're a nuisance, or possibly stand between you and an inheritance. Perhaps something could be done about eliminating them:
      "I shot an arrow in the air,
      My aunt came down in Fallro Square..."
  Complicated inheritance problems, and especially elaborate schemes to resolve them in a character's favour, can be a useful mechanism for generating plots, provided that they give all of the players something to do. Remember that most criminal conspiracies fall apart if there are more than two or three conspirators involved.
• Supportive: You have the support of your family, provided that you aren't planning to do anything too illegal or immoral. Since dragons regard cannibalism as moral, this gives considerable scope!
• Unknown: Very rare! You genuinely have no idea who your parents are. Maybe your egg was stolen and hatched by Yarge, or abandoned for unknown reasons before you hatched. Finding out the truth should be a long complicated problem.

The Law

Note: This section relates to character's attitudes to civil law, not criminal - most adventurers will find themselves on criminal ground at some point in their careers, usually in a good cause. Characters who wish to be professional criminals should begin by adding appropriate skills and a back-story that explains their activities.

• To Be Avoided: You fear any involvement in the legal system, and will go to great lengths to avoid it, even if it costs you money or humiliation. Maybe your parents lost a fortune thanks to a biased Judge; maybe one of your friends was torn apart on a Judge's orders. Whatever the reason, any threat of legal action is enough to make you tremble.
• A Necessary Nuisance: You neither love nor hate the law; it's around, and you'll make use of the legal system if you have to, but you don't particularly enjoy the experience. It's best avoided if there are better alternatives.
• Insanely Litigious: For some reason you are much too fond of legal action, and will resort to it for the most trivial problems. Someone knocks a slate off your roof with a wing tip? Sue them! Someone owes you a few crowns? Bring the full weight of the law to bear! Maybe you live in an area where the Judge and potential jurors are in your pocket, maybe you've had a couple of successes and they've gone to your head. Sooner or later a case will end up in front of a court you can't influence, or will end up costing much more than you can hope to gain from it. Worse case, of course, is that you end up fighting for your life.
• Law Bore: You don't have any particular feelings about using the law, but you're fascinated by it and read books about interesting cases, read out law reports from the papers, and otherwise annoy your friends and family. If you're in town while a court is in session you may decide to spend some time watching a trial. Unless you have the Scholar skill with legal knowledge as at least one speciality your views are probably uninformed and inaccurate.
• Lawyer: You have a vested interest in the law, as a lawyer or other officer of the court. You must spend at least one point on Scholar (Law); other useful skills include Business and Acting.

Tiamath

• Your country, right or wrong: Not that Tiamath ever is wrong! You love your country and everything it stands for, and anyone who says otherwise deserves a good thrashing.
• Moderate Patriot: You like Tiamath, within the normal bounds of common sense. Every now and again you wonder what the government can possibly be thinking, or find yourself wishing that they'd get more in tune with the Yarge nations, but if it comes to the crunch you'll support Tiamath against the rest of the world.
• Internationalist: You think that Tiamath's isolationism is wrong, and would prefer to see the country as part of the modern world. You would have to think very carefully before supporting military expansionism or any attempt to exploit the Yarge.
• Cynic: Tiamath is just another country, unique only because dragons live there. You can take it or leave it.
• Disdain: There isn't a patriotic bone in your body. Perhaps you feel betrayed by the government or legal system, or have some other reason to dislike your native land. Whatever the reason, you can rarely find a good word to say for your country or its government, and often compare it negatively to the Yarge lands. This does not mean that you're a traitor, given the right circumstances you would probably be as loyal as anyone else, but others may mistake your loyalties.
• Traitor: (not recommended for player characters) For some reason you hate your land and its government and everything they stand for, and it will take a lot to make you change your mind. You are actively working against the interests of Tiamath, to the extent of betraying state secrets to the Yarge if the opportunity arises.

The Yarge

• 
• Irrational Terror: You've bought in to the idea of the Yarge Peril and believe that hordes of the horrible flat-bodied squishy cloth-wrapped monsters will some day invade again, terrorising the dragons and ready to destroy everything you hold dear. Nothing anyone says will persuade you to change your mind. The very sight of a Yarge is enough to terrify you, so it probably isn't a good idea to visit places where they're common, such as Irieth or the Yarge nations.
• Fear: For some reason you're afraid of the Yarge; maybe they killed someone in your family, maybe something in their shape or movements triggers a phobia. You know that you're over-reacting, but you can't seem to shake your fear. If you have to talk to a Yarge you can do so, with considerable effort, but it isn't easy and you will make an excuse and leave as soon as possible.
• Rational Fear: You're aware that the Yarge outnumber dragons roughly fifty to one, and that their short lifespan and rapid breeding makes it unlikely that they will ever cease to be a problem. You worry about what they might do next, and how long it will be before the dragons are crowded out by sheer Yarge weight of numbers. Your reaction to individual Yarge is caution, not fear; you know that you're more than a match for any individual, it's the threat that the species as a whole poses that's the problem.
• Curiosity: Somehow you've never thought of the Yarge as monsters; instead you're curious about their cultures and technology, and even pay some attention to their arts and fashions. You may have tried cooked food at some time, or gone on the Grand Tour.
• Pity: Imagine the short lives of the Yarge! Imagine not being able to fly! You have to pity them, really. Try to be nice to them if you get the chance, the poor things are so limited.
• Appetite: Yarge smell good to eat, and you'd really love a juicy princess or two. But unless there's another war or something it's just not going to happen.

Money

• Miser: The only good place for money is in your hoard. You spend as much time as you can asleep on piles of the stuff, luxuriating in the coolness of the gold. You spend as little as you can.
• Investor: You hang on to as much gold as you can, but put most of it to work making more money via investments and interest. You spend as much as it takes to keep your family fed and your home in good repair; in the long run that's a better investment than letting things fall to rack and ruin.
• Businesslike: You put your money to work in businesses and other areas, and are prepared to accept short-term losses for a long-term gain. You prefer active management to the more relaxed style of the investor.
• Philanthropist: You actually give money away if the cause seems right, provided that it won't leave you short of funds. You won't die rich, but in the long term you hope to enrich the world.
• Spendthrift: Hoard? What hoard? You can't hang on to gold, it just seems to run through your claws and out into the world. There may be worse things than being in debt in Tiamath, but when your moneylender tells you he wants his pound of flesh he isn't speaking metaphorically...
• Broke: You don't have any money, and if you did you'd probably waste it. No matter what you do, you can't seem to get your claws on cash. No use worrying about it; the time to worry will be if there seems to be a chance of earning some gold, because you know that something horrible will go wrong.

Personality Quirks and Dramatic Developments

• 
• Drunkard / Addict: You drink to excess, or have some other addiction that costs money or causes behavioural problems and inconvenience to those around you.
• Crackpot: You believe in some nonsensical theory that makes little or no sense to most other dragons; for example, you might believe that space travel is possible, that dragons were created magically, or that the world is flat (and yes, there is a Flat World society in Tiamath). In most other respects you're a more or less normal member of society.
• Flamboyant: Whatever you do, it has to be done with style; if you were a Yarge you'd wear a cloak, swing on the chandeliers and swash a mean buckle, as a dragon your options are more limited, but you'll do your best to leave a real impression wherever you go. Often the impression will be "who was that idiot?" of course, but it's better than going unnoticed.
• Shy: You're nervous and hate to be the centre of attention. You probably do your best to avoid flamboyance. Most people will regard you as painfully dull.
• Fashionable: Most common amongst dragonesses, you follow all of the latest dictates of fashion; darling but terrifyingly expensive hats from the finest makers, burnished scales, special diets, cosmetics, and perfumes. Most of it is wasted on males who barely notice the time of day, of course.
• Bad Habit: You have a bad habit that is either annoying to your friends or harmful to you - breathing flame without warning, sharpening your claws on your friends' favourite rocks, chewing your own tail, etc.
• Sense of Duty: You belong to the army, or have some other commitment that takes a lot of your time and is occasionally inconvenient - this could be to your family or a profession, an organization, to Science, whatever seems most appropriate for the character.
• Reborn: Most dragons believe in reincarnation, it's one of the tenets of their religion - it's appropriate for a character to learn (or believe) that he or she is an ancient notable reborn. Whether or not it's true is another matter. This is best combined with strong religious beliefs or a belief in spiritualism.
• Secret: You have a dark secret, if revealed it will mean shame or disgrace. For example, a close relative who is insane but has somehow escaped being killed and eaten.
• Doomed: You're dying, from a long lingering illness, war wound, curse, etc. This will eventually cause death but otherwise has no adverse effects, apart from an occasional discreet cough or momentary incapacitating pain (usually at a point where it helps the plot). This is usually best reserved for short campaigns; if it goes on too long it gets a little silly, but of course dragons live centuries, and may take years to die.

Running Adventures

By now you should understand the rules. Take another look at the example of game play in the introduction, and try to imagine how you would handle things if you were a player or the referee. This section is mainly intended for referees. It goes into more details on the running of games, backgrounds and NPCs, plotting, and the use of handouts and other aids. It's abridged considerably from the version in the main Forgotten Futures rules, and only deals with the world of Tooth and Claw.

Setting the Scene

Players should understand the basic details of Tiamath: the nature of society (or at least how it appears to the characters), the ways in which dragons are expected to behave, and important things that everyone would be aware of. While there's nothing to stop you giving players a long briefing, this can sometimes lead to information overload; players have too many facts to digest, and don't know where to begin. In a world as different as Tooth and Claw this can be a real problem.

It's more fun to establish these details in play. Tell the players about the world as they develop characters, then let characters loose in a non-threatening situation that shows them some more. The introductory scene at the start of the rules was written as an example of this sort of setting - until late in the scene there's actually very little chance of anyone getting hurt, short of one of the players deciding to do something stupid.

An important point in this section is the use of multiple cues to give players a feel for the world:

Soon the train's rattling between smoky-looking buildings, click-clacking over points as it finally slows to a halt in the grand Cupola station. There's a strong smell of smoke, and an interesting smell of freshly-killed muttonwools from the direction of the station food stalls. There are crowds everywhere, dragons of all colours and sizes and even an occasional Yarge, presumably tourists.

In a few words the referee describes the noise of the train, the smells, and what the characters see. If every scene appeals to two or three senses players visualise events more clearly. This is usually good, but don't spend so long scene setting that the players become impatient. Here's another example:

"A sombre plume of grey smoke rises sluggishly from the red brick chimney of the cottage, twisting and billowing over the slates as the breeze blows it towards you. The smoke has a strong aroma of firewood, probably cedar, but something else is added; the sickly miasma of burning flesh."

As descriptions go this isn't bad, but it might be more appropriate in a Gothic novel. Paring it to its essential elements, we get something a little shorter:

"Grey smoke blows towards you from the cottage chimney; it smells of wood, but there's also the sweet aroma of burning meat."

Once the referee has set the scene, good players will react to the description to show their characters' opinions and reactions. In our example Raetha got to show her fear of Yarge, Padiah his lack of sympathy for her and interest in the scene, and Shimmeth her common sense, shown again in the later encounter with Gevon and Keleg. Once the scene is set it's possible to cut back on the descriptions, reserving them for NPCs and important locations, and save a little time - but never omit them completely.

A picture is sometimes worth a thousand words - when it's relevant. If you're an artist, consider sketching some of the scenes the players are likely to encounter, or use newspaper and magazine photographs, downloads, etc. Maps and other plans are also very helpful. A word of warning; if you only prepare pictures of vital scenes, players will soon start to assume that nothing important is happening if they don't see a picture. A few extra pictures, produced to set the scene at less vital moments, can keep them guessing. Google Image Search and Wikipedia Commons are your friends in this; no matter how strange the search string you put in, someone somewhere probably has a picture, making it very easy to produce all the irrelevant imagery anyone could possibly want.

Plot

Most people get up in the morning with a fair idea of likely events in the day ahead and very rarely run into invading Martians, marauding dinosaurs, or deranged serial killers. It seems unlikely that in real life anyone reading this has fought a gun battle on the wings of a biplane, or unravelled a sinister web of deceit to unmask the machinations of an ancient cult and a nameless evil from beyond the stars.

Life is different in a role playing game, and characters don't lead routine lives. They are adventurers, encountering excitement wherever they go. Sinister cultists kill victims on their doorsteps, or decide that an adventurer is the reincarnation of their god. Their airliner is the one that is hijacked, their spaceship the one that picks up a strange alien parasite. They suspect weirdness in the most mundane events, and are usually right. The snag is that the referee has to prepare all this for the players.

The adventures that follow should give you some starting points, but it's important to remember one golden rule - don't micro-manage every detail. It's easy to get bogged down in minutiae. Sometimes a broad sweeping description will advance the plot much faster than precise details. Players rarely need to know the exact length, width and height of every room their characters enter, for example, or a ten-minute description of the ornaments on a shelf. Be ready to produce a little more detail if it's asked for, or if it's important to the plot (but again be ready with some irrelevant details too), but if you find yourself spending hours describing something that does little or nothing to advance the plot there's something badly wrong. For the same reason it's a good idea to get the players used to the idea that you will occasionally move the plot along without going into a lot of detail. But be prepared for the players to do the same thing to you!

The more work you put into planning things in advance, the more likely it is that your lovingly-crafted scene or setting won't be used, your favourite NPC never encountered, because the players have thought of something that bypasses that part of your plot, missed a clue, or gone off at a weird tangent you never expected. Although it isn't obvious, the example of play omits a scene the referee had originally planned; pursuit and capture of the thief at the station. This happened because the referee made noticing the theft too difficult. Never mind; the thief (actually an associate of Gevon) will appear in a later scene. Or not, if the adventure seems to be going too slowly.

Prepare the broad outlines, of course, and have a few important NPCs detailed, but be prepared to invent details and characters on the fly as the story mutates. And don't be afraid to mislead; while it may seem unfair to give players "clues" or "hints" that are likely to lead them off the right track, in real life there are countless distractions. This applies to any clues or pictures you prepare for adventurers, of course; a few spurious or irrelevant details are easily added, and will keep the players guessing.

Adventures set in Tiamath are likely to be driven by the details of draconic society; wills and inheritance, elaborate social conventions, and occasional crimes. It probably isn't the best setting for high adventure or battles against fearsome odds. A typical story might involve a comedy of errors, a country "house" murder as in The Affair at Copper Caverns, or a hunt for a missing will or hoard. There may well be an element of danger, but it will probably arise from the actions of individual NPCs, not monsters, elaborate death traps, or hordes of hostile natives. For that sort of thing adventures should probably visit Yarge territory, as in The Crimson Claw Assurance Society, where there's scope for all of the above.

One final suggestion; don't be afraid to steal plots, provided it's only for your own amusement, but always remember to change things a little. Unless the source is really obscure you can be reasonably sure that at least one of the players will have seen or read it, but a few plot twists or changes in role will do a lot to keep them guessing.

NPCs

Many of the characters encountered in an adventure are essentially spear-carriers, sketched out in the minimum of detail needed by the referee - for example, "Old Goredigis the family's lawyer", "The Yarge Ambassador", "a platoon of Yarge soldiers". It can be useful to have a few statistics prepared for them, but they generally need much less than a player character; the basic stats and any relevant skills and traits. For instance, the lawyer described below might be used in almost any situation - he's been given one speciality, but that can easily be changed.

Goredigis: Solicitor specialising in inheritance cases, 35 ft, age 480, bachelor.
BODY [12], MIND [5], SOUL [2] Acting (pleading) [6], Brawling [14], Business [7], Scholar (law) [8].
Flame, Tough (3 pt), Armour -3
Quote: "It's a tricky point, but historically the courts have favoured this interpretation of the laws of inheritance..."
Possessions: Legal wigs, various law books, secretary. Occasionally employs a member of the city watch (illegally) as a hired investigator.
Notes: Goredigis isn't in business for his health - his aim is to prolong the case as much as possible, so long as he continues to receive the maximum possible fees. He really doesn't give a toss about the rights and wrongs of most cases, and thinks that generally the dear departed must have been a blithering idiot to leave his affairs in such a mess. Naturally he never admits any of this to clients!
Traits: Snob, Pious hypocrite, Lawyer, Miser

Note that it isn't usually necessary to list all attacks for an NPC dragon, since they can easily be extrapolated from BODY and Brawling skill etc. if needed.

Dragon NPCs, in general, should be played much like Victorian and Edwardian ladies and gentlemen (who just happen to have wings, scales and occasional cannibal urges). Focus on motives and personality, and worry about the teeth and claws afterwards. The full Forgotten Futures rules include a wide range of human NPCs whose personalities could easily be used for draconic characters; just raise the BODY and any related skills and add a special ability or two. Players will never know if you don't tell them. The adventures include sample characters and several detailed draconic NPCs; where possible they've been designed for maximum usefulness in a wide range of plots.

Yarge are more of a problem; it's obvious that their cultures aren't much like the traditional Victorians, and they will always be odd outsiders from the dragon viewpoint, and vice versa. It's important to emphasise this when dragons interact with them. They have odd and barely-pronounceable names, eat weird cooked food, have no patience, and look disgusting. See earlier sections and the second adventure for more on their personalities. Dragons should start off thinking that they all look and sound alike, and take a while to appreciate their differences. Similarly, Yarge NPCs will have trouble telling dragons apart; most know that females are gold, pink, or red but that's about it. This can be a running gag; whenever the dragons are in a Yarge area where any dragon has ever committed any sort of offensive act, someone will accuse them of being the dragons in question. Again, it probably isn't necessary to keep a full character record for every Yarge in an adventure; a list of characteristics and the most relevant skills, plus brief notes on their significance, should be all that's needed. For example:

Stross, the Evil Retainer, Age 55, Yarge servant
BODY [3], MIND [5], SOUL [3], Detective [7], Stealth [9], Thief [8]
Quote: "Will that be all..." [pauses and sneers] "...sir?"
Possessions: Heavy pistol, small bottle spirits, lock picks.
Notes: Stross knows at least three damning secrets about his master or mistress, and blackmails guests. An expert at oiliness, materialising just before he is called, skulking in shadows, eavesdropping, and general skulduggery.

For dragon and Yarge alike, the important point is that the referee should be able to "flesh out" such characters with some appearance of a personality as needed. For many minor characters much less is needed; for example, when describing a large group of soldiers it's probably enough to work out what equipment they all carry, and possibly prepare the name and other details of their leader, without going into much detail on individual soldiers. As always, the aim should be to minimise the work you do preparing adventures, and maximise your enjoyment.

Rules Changes Summarised

This version of the rules has been rewritten especially for dragon player characters. If you're already familiar with the Forgotten Futures rules this synopsis of the changes may be helpful. It's recommended that you use the revised rules if you are running a game with dragon characters, the ordinary rules for all other settings. The main changes are as follows:

• There's a special character record sheet for dragons.
• Dragons get variable character points according to their class, age, etc., and pay a lower price for BODY. A quarter to a half of all character points must be spent on BODY. There is no maximum value for BODY. Dragons automatically have BODY / 5 armour
• Various skill changes:
  • Two new skills, Flying and Mesmerism, have been added. They can only be used by dragons.
  • Babbage Engine is not available in this setting.
  • Pilot and Martial Arts are available to Yarge only.
  • Stealth has a low starting value for dragons, BODY / 4.
  • Dragons can only drive vehicles designed for their use. The skill base is MIND, not av. B&M.
  • The Morse Code skill has been replaced by Signals, but use remains unchanged.
  • The skill base for dragon thieves is MIND / 2.
• Dragons can spend character points to buy special abilities including flame, armour and other forms of damage resistance, and.
• The optional rules related to dice rolls for characteristics, skills, etc. have been amalgamated into the main rules and simplified a little. 2 always succeeds unless you are trying to do something physically impossible, the "big numbers" rule is used if either number is above 12. The "attack versus defence" table has been omitted.
• Dragons can gain BODY by eating other dragons, or trade it for special abilities.
• Dragons have natural armour, and use a different hit location table from humans.
• Dragons can use multiple attacks including claws, biting, constriction, flame, etc. No special skills are needed for this, just normal dragon abilities.
• Some changes to weapons reflecting the available technology and abilities of dragons.
• A range of character traits covering various aspects of personality are described.
• Magic is optional; if used it draws power from the magician's BODY, or from dragon flesh consumed by the magician.
• Generic NPCs, examples of animals, and other material not specific to this setting have been omitted.

Use with Other Forgotten Futures Settings

There have been nine previous Forgotten Futures releases, all of them describing at least one game setting. Most of them would not necessarily be improved by the presence of dragons, but that doesn't mean that they can't exist in some form. Perhaps they live in a hidden enclave on the very edge of civilization; perhaps they're around but disguise their presence. Maybe they're just waiting to be found. For example:

FF II is set in a solar system in which antigravity was discovered in 1900, and most worlds are habitable. For this setting it would be very easy to add dragons - Tiamath and the Yarge countries are on Venus! There's a minor difference in the length of the year, which can easily be ignored. The first Terran explorers visited one of the other continents, where they discovered a race of flying humans and concluded that they had never fallen from grace. Because the planet is shrouded in clouds they never saw any other part of the planet, and never realised that there were other intelligent species elsewhere. Later explorers could find them. In this sort of setting it's traditional that the Terran explorers take the human side in whatever war happens to be in progress; unfortunately this may mean that powerful flying warships will be deployed against Tiamath, with possibly catastrophic results. A neat twist on this might be that one of Tiamath's Yarge neighbours is attacked by the Terran invaders (there's ample precedent for this in pulp SF and in the source book A Honeymoon in Space), who have their own evil agenda; perhaps they're stealing beautiful Yarge princesses, or trying to convert the Yarge to their incomprehensibly alien cross religion. Dragons might be able to reach the Terran ships as they rain destruction down on the Yarge; if they don't help, it may only be a matter of time before the alien invaders turn their attention to Tiamath. Of course the Terrans have Maxim guns and other nasty surprises, so this won't exactly be safe or easy...

FF III is based on Doyle's Professor Challenger novels including The Lost World, and deals with some other weird science ideas including the Hollow Earth. Maybe Tiamath and the Yarge countries are somewhere in the Earth's interior, just waiting to be found when a sufficiently powerful subterrene digging machine is invented. The arrival of strange invaders from the Outside is likely to be a mixed blessing.

Finally, FF VIII is based on Nesbit's children's fantasies, and is the only other Forgotten Futures setting with dragons, somewhat different to those of Tiamath. Nesbit's stories include several different types of dragon, and one of the adventures includes a visit to a dragon world modelled on Imperial China. Many of the dragons in this setting can use magic and take human form; some are capable of travel between dimensions. They would undoubtedly regard Tiamath's dragons as primitives, cannibals lacking in many of the skills and arts that they take for granted. On the other hand they would soon realise that the Yarge are everything they hate about the humans of other worlds, violent savages who would think nothing of killing any dragon who gets in their way. Their most likely response is an offer to evacuate any dragon who wishes to make a new home under the Dragon Emperor's rule. Or if Tiamath's dragons can't learn to travel between dimensions, the Emperor may offer military aid. Since he has a large, well-armed and under-utilised army this may be his preferred solution; a few decades of war would get rid of the over-ambitious incompetents. Of course it probably won't do Tiamath much good, especially if the Emperor eventually loses interest and pulls out his troops without giving the dragons an escape route.

Human wizards in FF VIII are usually children, and may be able to reach Tiamath's world under their own power. Dragons ought to regard this as being as frightening, in its own way, as an alien invasion - strange Yarge hatchlings with weird powers appearing out of nowhere are the sort of thing that's usually only seen in the most lurid scientific romances. And in the scientific romances, of course, the plucky dragon hero eventually wipes out the evil little fiends before their invasion succeeds! Humans who have previously visited more welcoming dragon dimensions may be in for a nasty surprise.

Rules Publication History

~ Index ~ Worldbook ~ Adventures ~
~ Single-File Version ~ Contents ~