Monday 3 September 2018

Dragons for You, Not Me

Bastionland is essentially built on a single infinite dungeon, but Dragons have never been a part of it.

In Electric Bastionland there's the implication that some alien beings have settled in Deep Country as petty gods or monsters of legend, but I don't think I'd ever put a straight up Dragon into that slot.

Which is a shame, because Dragons embody a lot of what makes for a great fight.
  • Mobility: Usually flight.
  • Ability to take on groups: Multiple melee attacks and an area-effect breath weapon.
  • Environmental links: Even the standard D&D colours mostly have something that takes them beyond being a big dumb monster disconnected from its surroundings.
Roll d6 three times to get a Dragon that might not make much sense in Bastionland. Assign it an Environment based on where you need it to be. Mountaintop, dungeon, jungle, ocean, they all work. 

Basic Dragon Template
STR 18, 15hp, Armour 2. 
Claws and Tail (d10, targets all surrounding opponents) or Bite (d12). 

Mobility
  1. Glide on giant bat wings, but can only crawl clumsily on land.
  2. Burrow through ground like a landshark.
  3. Slither into shadows, popping out from any other shadow large enough.
  4. Charge around like a juggernaut, smashing through anything.
  5. Float gracefully through the air with perfect control.
  6. Climb and leap great distances.

Breath Weapon
  1. FIRE but roll again because that's not enough.
    1. Green fire that can be manipulated into shapes and illusions.
    2. Black fire that only harms living matter.
    3. Blue fire that holds you in place while it burns you (STR Save to escape)
    4. Pink fire that sticks to you and cannot be extinguished unless the dragon wills it. 
    5. White fire that only burns non-living matter.
    6. Golden fire that causes all the pain of burning, but no physical damage.
  2. Choking smoke that makes the air unbreathable. Lost d6 STR each turn you stay in.
  3. Clouds that stick around and flash with lightning (d10, ignore Armour)
  4. Dirt, mountains of it. No damage but you're buried.
  5. Sonic blasts that throw things away (d8 damage) and shatter hard objects. 
  6. Lava that pools around (d12 damage)

Environmental Link
  1. Animates the bulk matter of its environment into animated servitors. 
  2. Devours its environment, always seeking its next home. 
  3. Literally made out of its environment, born out of nature as its avatar.  
  4. Trapped in it. Everything about its environment will fight to keep the dragon there. 
  5. Worships it, despite its indifference, and fiercely fights any perceived threat. 
  6. It was all created by the dragon. In addition to its normal breath it can conjure up whatever matter is needed to make more of its environment.

1 comment:

  1. Don't feel bad. I've never thrown a straight dragon-fight in a proper game, ever. I should do that, and soon.

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