Burning Games Dragons Conquer America the Coatli Stone V1.3

Ta T able of contentS A new wo rl d, to ge th eR FOREWORD GETTING STARTED

Th T he Setting

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BLUE SKIES, BLACK OMENS

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Th T he (b eta) mech anic S

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TOOLS TO PLAY

The playing cards The suits The hand of cards Using cards Play Discard Joo k e r s J The dice The pool of dice

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23 23 23 23 23 24 24 24 24

SCENES

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TIME

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SESSIONS

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ACTIONS

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Counteractions Exhaustion Action Value Skills Level (Playing Cards) Advantages & Disadvantages CONFRONTATIONS

Steps of a Confrontation

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ADVANCED RULES

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Collaborative Actions Permanent Action as an ability Reaction Instant

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GAME MASTER’S GUIDE

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Non-player characters (NPCs) Level Skills Health Friendly NPCs Time-sensitive events (TSEs)

CharacterS HEALTH

Health States Normal Bleeding Out Traumatised Dead Damage Injuries Armour Unpreventable damage Recovering damage Natural rest Medical actions SKILLS

Injury disadvantages

35 35 35 36 36 36

38 39

39 39 39 39 39 39 39 39 39 40 40 40 41

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ReligioN

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SPIRIT

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Corruption

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SPELLS

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MAGIC RESISTANCE

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CHRISTIANITY MESOAMERICAN RELIGION

52 60

Th T he coatli stonE

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INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: THE LOST PEOPLE

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CHAPTER 2: THE COATLI TEMPLE

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CHAPTER 3: THE SPANISH FORCE

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ENDING THE ADVENTURE NPCS

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Ixcahuina Native archer Native Warrior Native warrior leader Native priest Shadow demon Itztlicoatl Haa’hiu Spanish conquistador Spanish gunner Lorenzo de Medina Aguirre La Gaditana

CHECKS

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TALENTS

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LEVELS OF SUCCESS DRAWING CARDS

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CHARACTER TRAITS

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GM’S OUTLINE A ND

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PRE-GEN CHARACTERS ADDITIONAL GEAR

Playing with the suit Affinity Proficiency Beginning of a Scene Running out of cards THE ROUND

Ready & Spent characters Steps of a Round Moral Actions during a Round

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Th T h e g eaR Level COMMON CHARACTERISTICS

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WEAPONS DETERIORATION

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Repairing actions

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So what’s next?

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Earning credit

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EPISODES I & II BOOK

credits

89 99

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FEEDBACK

KICKSTARTER NOV 1

81 81 82 82 83 83 84 84 85 85 86 86 87

ST

105 105

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Ta T able of contentS A new wo rl d, to ge th eR FOREWORD GETTING STARTED

Th T he Setting

4 6 8

12

BLUE SKIES, BLACK OMENS

13

Th T he (b eta) mech anic S

22

TOOLS TO PLAY

The playing cards The suits The hand of cards Using cards Play Discard Joo k e r s J The dice The pool of dice

23

23 23 23 23 23 24 24 24 24

SCENES

25

TIME

25

SESSIONS

25

ACTIONS

26

Counteractions Exhaustion Action Value Skills Level (Playing Cards) Advantages & Disadvantages CONFRONTATIONS

Steps of a Confrontation

26 27 27 27 27 27 27

28

ADVANCED RULES

34

Collaborative Actions Permanent Action as an ability Reaction Instant

34 34 34 34 34

GAME MASTER’S GUIDE

35

Non-player characters (NPCs) Level Skills Health Friendly NPCs Time-sensitive events (TSEs)

CharacterS HEALTH

Health States Normal Bleeding Out Traumatised Dead Damage Injuries Armour Unpreventable damage Recovering damage Natural rest Medical actions SKILLS

Injury disadvantages

35 35 35 36 36 36

38 39

39 39 39 39 39 39 39 39 39 40 40 40 41

41

ReligioN

47

SPIRIT

49

Corruption

49

SPELLS

50

MAGIC RESISTANCE

50

CHRISTIANITY MESOAMERICAN RELIGION

52 60

Th T he coatli stonE

62

INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: THE LOST PEOPLE

63 65

CHAPTER 2: THE COATLI TEMPLE

69

CHAPTER 3: THE SPANISH FORCE

74

ENDING THE ADVENTURE NPCS

77 80

Ixcahuina Native archer Native Warrior Native warrior leader Native priest Shadow demon Itztlicoatl Haa’hiu Spanish conquistador Spanish gunner Lorenzo de Medina Aguirre La Gaditana

CHECKS

29

TALENTS

42

LEVELS OF SUCCESS DRAWING CARDS

31 32

CHARACTER TRAITS

43

GM’S OUTLINE A ND

45 45

PRE-GEN CHARACTERS ADDITIONAL GEAR

Playing with the suit Affinity Proficiency Beginning of a Scene Running out of cards THE ROUND

Ready & Spent characters Steps of a Round Moral Actions during a Round

32 32 32 32 32 33

33 33 34 34

Th T h e g eaR Level COMMON CHARACTERISTICS

45

WEAPONS DETERIORATION

45 46

Repairing actions

46

So what’s next?

103

Earning credit

104

EPISODES I & II BOOK

credits

89 99

102

FEEDBACK

KICKSTARTER NOV 1

81 81 82 82 83 83 84 84 85 85 86 86 87

ST

105 105

111

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d r a g o n s c o n qu e r a m e r i c a

The new world, togetheR WELCOME, FELLOW ADVENTURER. Every journey has its own origins story, and this time you’ve showed up right in time to play it. Fl ick through the pages of this journal and start shaping a New Wor ld with us. It’s in your hands. 4

ForeworD D R A G O N S C O N Q U E R A M E R I C A has been in

the back of our minds for the longest of times. Since we created the RPC Engine mechanics for FAITH: The Sci-Fi RPG, we have wanted to translate them to all sorts of genres, fantasy being chief among them, and the “16th Century with magic” scenario was just too good to be confined to a corner of our brains; it just had to come out, bursting like the flames of a firespitting dragon. But things are not always as simple as they seem. Just pic tur e it: a century of rapid change, incredible discoveries, intrepid adventurers, awesome cultures and epic battles. Wow, right? But flip the coin and you have genocide, war, pestilence, theft, plunder and degradation. How can you make justice of such a convoluted and, do not be fooled, tragic time, in an RPG format? Eventually we came up with what we think is a fair answer, but it took some time. As Spanish developers, we are not outsiders to this matter. Our “cultural ancestors” were active part in the colonization of vast regions of America - and other parts of the world -, and we couldn’t just tell a tale of “intrepid” conquistadors going from one “glorious” battle to another. We wanted to do something better. And then it hit us: why don’t we offer our players the chance to live these events from both sides of the clash? Why don’t we actively include prejudices such as xenophobia and class-struggles into the very fabric of the mechanics? Now let’s take it one step further. What if history could be altered? What if players could shape, with their actions, an alternative take on the events that transpired in our real universe? As you may know from our other games, we do not shy away from new concepts, both in shape and execution, and DCA could not be different. We really hope you will like it. Oh, and yes, there are Dragons. The team of Burning Games

The background, adventures, and lore of the game are being cowritten by JC Obal and Carlos Gómez Quintana.


Getting starteD T H E F I L E Y O U H A V E D O W N L O A D E D is a pre-Kickstarter beta edition slash promotional item slash first stone in the universe of Dragons Conque r America. It contains almost everything you need to play an introductory adventure in this setting, including the basic lore, ge neral rules and the relevant pre gen characters, NPCs and pieces of equipment. You’ll just have to add a bunch of friends and a poker deck (or a fistful of six-sided dice) and you’re good to go.

F

IRST

THINGS

F I R S T : role playing

games are meant to be played, so take a deep breath and prepare yourself to really discover not only a new setting but a whole new set of mechanics as well. Fear not, you will not be alone: we have already gathered a group of hundreds of people to play the game, and ourselves will be available through our various outlets at all times (we favour Discord. Follow this link to chat with us real time, even if - or specially if you are in t he mid dle o f a game). Having said this, let’s assess the situation, one question at a time.

What is Dragons Conquer America? Dragons Conquer America (aka DCA) is a living fantasy role playing setting that is currently under development. It will take you back to the 16th Century when European invaders reached American soil and unleashed a genocidal conquest.

dragons, magic... what’s going on here? Even though we take into consideration real world events and cultures, DCA is a fantasy setting. Magic is real and used in everyday life, and fantastic beasts such as Dragons and Feathered Serpents exert true influence in societies. The magical elements will find their way to the mechanics of the game, and you, as a player, will be able to perform awesome supernatural deeds.

The events that transpire during Episode 0: The Coatli Stone will affect the power dynamics of the factions towards the future core book of the setting. Your actions will shape the course of history.

What is “the coatli stone”? The Coatli Stone is the file you are reading now. It’s also episode “zero” of Dragons Conquer America, an introductory adventure that will serve as a prologue to the setting AND as a way for us to playtest the mechanics.

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We are aware of the delicate nature of portraying other cultures in media. That’s why we are telling a story we feel confident telling, a clash between the Mexica, the Maya, and the Spaniards (the writer of DCA is Mexican and we are Spanish ourselves).

It is also a way to raise awareness of our upcoming Kickstarter campaign that will fund the Episodes I & II of Dragons Conquer America, two full blown campaigns that will shape the future of the setting.

Having said this, and taking advantage of the RPC25’s 1 through 6 suits, we have added an optional dice based variation of the mechanic. It is possible to play DCA with dice if you prefer to do so.

WHAT DO I NEED TO PLAY IT?

Nonetheless, we do encourage you to d iscover the thrill of our card based system.

To play this game you need this document, a GM, 2 to 4 players, and, to be able to use the RPC Engine system, a poker deck.

What system does it use? Dragons Conquer America uses the RPC Engine system. The RPC Engine uses cards to manage luck. Each player starts with seven cards in their hand and can choose which value to use in each situation to improve their chances of succcses.

THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR We created the RPC Engine system to power FAITH: The Sci-Fi RPG. That game uses the RPC54 variant, whereas DCA takes the RPC25 shape. The # refers to the number of cards that are used in each flavour.

As the campaigns advance and players bond with each other, they will be able to increase their Tolerance skill and get rid of their prejudices one by one, becoming better people in the process.

Yes. As DCA uses the RPC25 variant, you’ll just need cards 1 t hrough 6 from each s uit, plus one joker. You can remove the rest. O N E POKER

DECK?

There are several options: one deck for all; one deck for the players and one for the GM; one deck for each player; and other combinations. Luck distributes differently in each of them.

WHY NO DICE? There are plenty incredible dice-based systems out there. We want to do something that is both wonderful and different. The beauty of our system, if we may say so, is that it makes you feel ultimately responsible for all your actions. At each juncture you must decide what effort to make, how much to risk, what value to play. You may have a bad hand (everyone has bad days) but know that its up to you to make the best of what you have. You are not a the mercy of a renownedly merciless die.

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The 16h Century, for all its enlightenment, was a pretty dark age for diversity. Uncontrolled slavery, rampant xenophobia, ingrained misogyny... All of them and more were part of the different cultures. To reflect this fact, each player will have to select several prejudices during character creation. The GM will at all times be able to trigger these prejudices to test the characters against their inner demons.

ANY POKER DECK WILL DO?

We will publish custom decks to play DCA, but don’t feel forced to get them: a standard poker deck will do just fine.

what’s the “prejudice system”?

Why do you say that DCA is a “living” setting? We want to create this setting with you, hand in hand. That’s why, starting with this Epi sode 0: the Co atli Stone , your actions will shape the future of this New World. This concept of “legacy” decisions will be at the core of the first DCA book we’ll release on Kickstarter November 1st. The book will contain Epi sode I: The Ei ght Omens & Episode II : Cort es’ Pl oy of the setting, acting as the origins story of the New World. The two episodes (campaigns) will be told from opposing perspectives: one from the American side of the clash, and the other from the Spanish point of view. Eventually, by playing Episodes 0, I and II, your adventures and outcomes will form the groundwork of a future core book of the setting.


HOW WILL ALL THIS WORK? You, as players, will be able to play any and all DCA adventures you want. We will assign a value (positive or negative) to certain events and the ending you reach. You’ll be able to send your results to us using the forms that you’ll find in each of the adventures (for instance, you’ll find Episode 0’s form at the end of the adventure) and we will compile them. The aggregated results will shape the future core book of the s etting.

POSSIBLE OUTCOMES? The fantasy setting of DCA means that the power balance is very different to that in real life - American cultures have very powerful allies in the shape of Feathered Serpents and more. Thus, the events do not have to mimic those in the real world.

There will be some limited pledge levels. Most likely, there will be a few spots available for those who want to create NPCs for our setting. We’ve done this before with FAITH and it’s a very rewarding experience.

How can i share my feedback/outcome? The final pages of the adventure section of this document are devoted to this. There you’ll find all the information to stay in touch with us and help us improve the game. Thanks in advance should you choose to use them.

can i start now? Yes. You can now read the Setting, the Beta Mechanics, or go straight ahead to the Epi sode 0: The Coatl S ton e adventure.

The options are many: ■ Will Spanish colonialists prevail? ■ Will the Conquistadors be expelled from

the continent? ■ Will the opposing sides reach a power

balance?

tell me more about the kickstarter campaign The first Kickstarter of DCA will launch this coming November 1st.

WHAT WILL IT AIM TO FUND? The Kickstarter will fund the first two episodes of DCA, the ones that will lay the foundation of the future Core Book. The two campaigns will come in a hardbound book along with detailed rules and overall setting. A KS exclusive deluxe box will also be available for backers.

HOW LONG WILL IT RUN? It will run for one month starting November 1st.

WILL IT HAVE EARLY BIRDS? No. We like things to be as fair as possible to everyone involved. All our backers will get the same treatment irrespective of their order in line. 10

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The settinG D R A G O N S C O N Q U E R A M E R I C A is a game of historical fantasy based on the European invasion of America dur ing the 16th century. The game setting, while based on historical fact, is rife with fantastic elements, including powerful magic, mystic forces, and my thical creatures such as fairies and dragons. The story is mostly fictional, but accurately introduces eve nts that took place during the Mesoamerican War of Conquest, as well as the historical nations and characters at their centre. This of course includes the daring campaigns of Captain Hernán Cortés, and the great domain we know today as the Aztec Empire.

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Blue skies, black omenS

I

T I S T H E yea r 1519 of t he Christian Er a, and C e Ac atl

(1 Reed) of the Mexica Calendar Cycle. It’s a time of great changes and portents, marking the prophesied return of the Lords of Tollan to the Valley of Anahuac. Columbus died years ago, forgotten after making his famous discovery of the West Indies - or the New World, as most people call this unexplored land now, since they learned it isn’t another side of Asia as previously thought, but a whole new continent. As European governments decide what to do with the discovery and its potential riches, their first settlers, armed with transoceanic ships, guns – and dragons – have ruled over the New World’s easternmost islands for almost thirty years now. However, the invaders have not yet discovered what lies beyond their island domains. The Hispaniola outposts, long established as the beachhead of European power in the New World, have already determined there is a larger continent to the West, and sailed its coasts – but so far no major mainland expedition has managed to overcome their warlike tribes and treacherous terrain.

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Beyond these unwelcoming coasts, still unknown, lies the Valley of Anahuac, home to the Excan Tlahtoloyan – the Triple Alliance of the Aztec peoples. It is one of the oldest and best organised empires the world has ever known, encompassing hundreds of city-states, all of which pay tribute to the mightiest civilization in the planet: the Mexica of Tenochtitlan. For nearly a hundred years, the Mexica have ruled over the land of the Fifth Sun unchallenged, striking fear in the hearts of their enemies thanks to the divine power of their priests and the help of their mixcoatl dragon allies, which terrorise and astonish the peoples under Mexica domain. This is all about to change. A single man – persecuted by the law, estranged from the Crown of Spain and followed by a band of sellswords and adventurers – is poised to start the most significant war of conquest the world has ever known. The opposition he will face, though, is far beyond what he can expect...


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Magic and religion go hand in hand in DCA. Each belief will grant a special set of powerful abilities.

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Dragons only accepting women as riders has changed the way society treats them. 17


It’s not just Dragons: DCA is chock full of monsters and mythological beings from both sides of the Atlantic. Pictured above, the Chivo.

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The (beta) mechanicS W H A T F O L L O W S I S a detailed overview of the 0.5 rules of DCA. With your help, we will bring a super-polished experience later this year to Kickstarter.

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Tools to plaY Confict

D

CA CAN BE played either with cards

or with dice. It is possible for different people in the same group to use either, or to change at any time what you use to play, if the GM agrees to it.

The playing cards

Social

When playing with cards you can either use the custom DCA cards or cards from a regular poker deck. You’ll only need the cards numbered 1 through 6 and one of the jok ers, set aside t he rest of cards. It is recommended to have one deck per player and never mix cards with each other’s decks, which will give you even odds.

Exploration

If you don’t have enough decks for that, you can shuff le as many decks as y ou’ve got and everyone will draw from it; alternatively, set one deck for the GM and another for the players (the deck for the players should be composed of half as many decks shuffled together as players there are in the game).

THE SUITS

Divine

The cards have four suits: Conflict, Exploration, Social and Divine. DCA cards have unique symbols for these four suits, but if you are playing with regular poker cards you can use the following correlation: Conflict is Spades, Exploration is Clubs, Social is Hearts, and Divine is Diamonds. Conflict: This suit is relevant to fights, chases, duels, and such. Exploration: This suit is relevant to exploring, finding clues, climbing, swimming, following tracks, etc. Social: This suit is relevant to any type of social interaction with other characters.

Joker

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Divine: This suit is relevant to using magic, or communicating with the supernatural.

THE HAND OF CARDS In DCA, all players but the GM have a hand of cards. Nobody can have more than seven cards in their hands, if somehow someone drew over that many, they must discard down to seven. Players can only use cards from their hands, unless specifically stated otherwise - and whenever a player uses a card from his hand he can choose which card to use. Players cannot look into the deck or the discard pile, nor shuffle or mix previously used cards into the deck. Whenever a card is used, it is placed in the discard pile, usually set up next to the deck, face up. When the last card of the deck is drawn, the discard pile must be shuffled to set up a new deck. Players cannot look at other players’ hand of cards, nor can they tell each other the values of the cards in their hands. They can only tell each other how they feel about their luck based on their hand of cards. E.g. “I am feeling lucky today”, “I can keep doing this all day long”, “I don’t think I can survive another encounter”, “I feel like I should crawl to a corner and make myself into a tiny, tiny ball until danger has passed”.

Players must always follow the rules to play, discard, and draw cards during confrontations.

USING CARDS PLAY

Cards are “played” to resolve actions during confrontations. When a PC plays a card, it must come from his hand of cards. When an NPC or TSE plays a card it will come from the top of the deck.


DISCARD

The dice

Discarding a card is used to resolve check, but it can also be triggered by special abilities or rules. Why, when and how many cards are discarded is something determined by whatever ability or rule established that the discarding has to happen. A character is obliged to do it.

While the rules are written using cards as the basic mechanic, alternatively, you can play DCA with D6 (D6 are dice with 6 faces). Whenever a rule establishes that you should do som ething wit h a card, instead you’ll do it with a die. When you use a card, you can choose which card to use, which allows you to select both the suit and the value; but when you are using dice, you can only select the suit, as a die has to be rolled to be used.

Certain abilities will specify if the cards discarded must come from the PC’s hand or the top of the deck. If an ability does not specify, the cards must be discarded from the PC’s hand by default. When discarding from their hands, PCs can choose which card to discard (unless the ability specifies which card must be discarded, e.g. to trigger a joker you must discard a joker). TSE never have to discard cards. If an NPC has to discard cards, instead he suffers that many disadvantages towards his next confrontation. JOKERS

Joker s are drawn as normal car ds, but they cannot be played as normal cards. After declaring the successes and failures of a confrontation in which you have taken part, you may discard a Joker to remove or add one positive or negative consequence to an action. If the Joker is played on behalf of an NPC or Time-Sensitive Event (TSE), the GM determines what to do with it. You can discard as many jokers as you want from your hand for the same action. If a Joker is played at any point from the top of the deck randomly, the character who played that card gains the effects of the Joker for the action he was performing, discards it, and then plays another card. NOTE: If the last card in your hand is a Joker, you won’t be able to play it until the end of the confrontation when the results are being declared.

While playing with dice you will still draw new dice as you would have when playing cards. You need to have dice of 5 different colours. four of them to represent the each of the four suits, and the fifth to represent jok ers. It is recom mended to have 3 dice of each colour per player for the suits, and one for the joker; it is best if the dice are of the same type and cannot be distinguished at touch.

THE POOL OF DICE Similarly to the hand of cards, players using the dice mechanics have a pool of seven dice. If you are playing with dice and a rule involves the hand of cards, consider that it involves your pool of dice instead. Although dice are rolled when used, you ’ll still need to randomise how players obtain them, so they cannot choose the suit of the dice they draw. Similarly to the deck, there will be dice that are not in any player’s pool, that is called the reserve - it is shared among all players. The reserve of dice should be put in a place easily accessible to all the players but that somehow doesn’t let them see the dice themselves, such as an opaque bag. Whenever a die is used it is put back in the reserve, and whenever a dice is obtained, it is taken from the reserve without looking. When a rule instructs to “play a card from the deck”, instead draw a random die from the reserve and roll it. REMEMBER: Whenever a rule says card, if you are playing with dice, you should read it as dice. The only main difference is that you cannot choose the value of the dice you use, you’ll have to roll it.

C o s o m i o n n g ! ! Confict

w i p Social

w i p Exploration

C o s o m i o n n g ! ! Divine

C o s o m i o n n g ! ! Joker

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SceneS A

T T H E B E G I N N I N G of each scene,

everybody draws cards from the deck until they have seven cards in their hand. A scene is a sequence of events during which the GM narrates what the characters find and what happens to them. During this, characters are constantly performing actions, with little to no rest periods in between, and usually within the same location. Scenes are the main building blocks of the story, like the scenes of a film. They are an important concept because they determine when the players and the GM replenish their hands of cards. A player’s hand of cards represents their PC’s stamina, so PCs with a full hand are fresh and eager, while PCs with very few or no cards in their hands are exhausted and probably demoralised. Therefore, when the characters take a break long enough to restore their energy, it usually means they have reached the end of the scene. NOTE: There is no set duration or type of event that unequivocally determines the end of a scene, and it is up to the GM to determine when a scene ends.

E.g. The players’ characters plan to enter a temple in the city of Tenochtitlan. They wait for nightfall to avoid the crowds, silently enter the building, and search for the treasures

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inside. They encounter two tem ple gu ards , an d af ter fi ghting them , they get the gold and make a run for it. This can be played out as a sin gle scen e, or be broken down by the GM into several scenes, for example entering the temple without being seen in on e scen e, fighti ng the gu ards in the next scene, and lastly escaping to safety during a final scene. TIP: Making scenes longer (challenging) or shorter (easy) is a good way for the GM to adjust the difficulty of the game.

During a scene, the characters will be constantly performing actions. If an action does not trigger a Round or it is not confronted, it is considered an unconfronted action, and therefore it is successful by default. When performing unconfronted actions, the mood around the table should be relaxed and conversational. The GM must ensure that all players enjoy a similar amount of time in the spotlight, and allow everyone to describe what their characters do during that period of time. If there is some kind of conflict within the game - such as a fight, an argument, a chase, or any other type of fast paced or competitive situation when some characters try to outperform others - it is the time for a Round, which sets the order in which characters declare actions, and use counteractions to confront them.


ActionS P

E R F O R M I N G A N A C T I O N represents an active and

conscious activity that spans during a period of time (i.e. a turn); such as attacking, running, talking, dodging, bartering, etc. Everything a character performs actively is an action, from shooting a bow to singing. All actions are performed using a Skill that represents the character’s knowledge in that area, and take into consideration his level. In DCA, actions are successful by default with a critical success unless one of the following criteria are met: 1. If the action targets or directly affects another character who is aware that the action is being performed, that character can choose to counteract it, triggering a CONFRONTATION. NOTE: During a combat all enemies are considered aware of actions by the player characters who have been discovered, and therefore can counteract against whatever they do against them.

A counteraction can be any action that could make the triggering action fail, or allow the character to avoid its effects. E.g. Make the triggering action fail: A character can shoot back at someone shooting or attacking him (and if successful he will be the one dealing the damage!); he can affect their senses or capacities; he can throw dust into someone’s eyes when they are trying to grapple him, etc. E.g. Avoiding the effects of the triggering action: He can dive behind cover; he can dodge the swo rd swin g; he ca n ou trun his op po ne nt; etc.

3. If the action is considered impossible to perform in the current situation by the GM regardless of the amount of effort, will or desire to do so, the action is CANCELLED, and the character may suffer the effects of trying the impossible. The character’s player may appeal, but he must be reminded that off-limit actions can break the gameplay. The GM’s judgment and dissuasive power must lead the gameplay forward. E.g. A character not aided with magic cannot lift a one ton stone or ju mp from a mountain to escape from giant eagles; if he tries to do so, he can suffer da mage or even die.

Counteractions A counteraction is any action performed to prevent or avoid another character’s action during a confrontation. It follows the same rules and has the same effects as an action. E.g. shooting your bow or slashing with your swo rd as a su cc essf ul coun teract io n will deal damage as if it had been a triggering action.

Characters can confront any number of actions that target or directly affect them during each Round. However, performing one or more counteractions causes a character to b ecome Spent and forfeit their turn, if they have not taken it yet.

2. If the action is considered something that the character could eventually perform successfully if he had enough time or if he had any number of tries, BUT he has limited time or aims to do it on the first attempt, he is confronted by a TIME SENSITIVE EVENT (TSE) (See page XXX), triggering a CONFRONTATION. E.g. A thief is capable of climbing into an i nca fortress if given any amount of time or any amount of tries, but because he needs to do it quick before the daylight comes and without falling once, he is confronted by a TSE.

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Action Value The action value is a numerical value used to determine the result of a character’s action during a confrontation. There are several things that can modify the value of an action and its final value will affect the outcome of the confrontation and determine its winner.

SKILLS Every time a character performs an action he is using one Skill to do so. The Skill is the initial action value of that character during a confrontation. Additionally, if the Skill value of a character is 0, he will suffer one disadvantage.

LEVEL (PLAYING CARDS) Each Skill has an associated Level, which determines: •

If he is a PC, how many cards he can play per action from his hand to add their values to their initial action value set by their Skill.

•

For an NPC or TSE, how many cards they can play from the top of the deck to add their val-ues to their initial action value.

NOTE: Characters can only perform one action each per Round, but they can perform any number of counteractions.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES Advantages (sometimes represented by a “+” symbol) represent having a form of upper hand over an opponent, while disadvantages (sometimes represented by a “-” symbol) represent difficulties or hindrances a character can have when trying to perform an action. PCs, NPCs, TSEs and Checks can be affected by advantages or disadvantages. Each advantage adds 3 points to the character’s starting value, and each disadvantage subtracts 3 points to the character’s starting value. NOTE: A starting value can be a negative number from suffering disadvantages.

Both advantages and disadvantages can be gained through equipment, talents, other abilities that grant them, or through roleplaying the situation. A character can gain advantages from several sources at the same time or even several advantages from the same source if the benefit it provides is very strong. There are so many possibilities that it is the job of the GM to determine how and when to grant advantages or disadvantages to characters.

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E.g, advantages: Standing over a wall to fence off so me as sa ilan ts; ca tch in g so meon e by su rp rise; causing an i mpression on everyone on the table by using all the right words and ideas in a speech before playing to see its result, convincing someone you are speaking to the spirits of his family if you know secret details of their relationship. E.g., disadvantages: shooting a character who is behin d cover; fighting while having your han ds tied; fighting in the dark; trying to impress someone while wearing poorly ma de clo thes an d be in g dirty ; convin ci ng so meone of something when you can only communicate with signs because you don’t speak the same language.

There can be things that are not very clear if they would give an advantage or a disadvantage (e.g. you could argue that you have an advantage for dodging while behind cover, or that your opponent suffers one disadvantage to shooting at you while you are behind cover), the effects are the same either way, it is just important not to duplicate the importance of something by applying both solutions. TIP: When performing an action, do not simply state what it is that you intend to do, explain how you do it and why in order to gain advantages through role playing. Look for the best way to perform that action, taking into consideration your surroundings and be creative and fun - make it easy for the GM to give you that valuable advantage!

Confrontations A Confrontation takes place when a character performing his action is challenged and has a chance of failing and/or being affected by counteractions or a Time Sensitive Event. NOTE: The character performing the action that triggers a confrontation is called the triggering character and his action is called the trig gering action with the purpose of distinguishing it from other actions.

Normally an action or event can only target or affect one character, to reflect a realistic scenario within the short amount of time that these usually represent.


However, there are things that may target or affect several characters, such a cannon or an avalanche falling on a group of characters. In those cases, all the affected characters might be able to perform their respective counteractions. NOTE: The main difference between an action and a counteraction, is that counteractions cannot affect anyone else but the triggering character - and therefore a counteraction will never trigger counteractions or Time Sensitive Events itself. If a character performs an action that would normally target or affect several characters, during a counteraction, that action will only affect the triggering character. STEPS OF A CONFRONTATION

To resolve a confrontation, players must always follow the same steps: 1. The triggering character declares his triggering action, explaining which Skill he will be using, and he declares its target or targets, if there are any. 2. The GM declares the level of the confronting TSE if there is one; as well as its nature and the consequences that will happen if the TSE wins the confrontation. 3. Any affected characters who are aware of the triggering action and wish to confront it declare valid counteractions, and explain which Skill they will use. NOTE: Counteractions cannot target or affect characters other than the triggering character. However, they are as effective as actions, countering an attack with one of your own and being successful is as good as attacking during your turn.

4. Check who receives advantages and/ or disadvantages and why. Players may describe their plans, and any reasons why they think they deserve advantages or their opponents deserve disadvantages. Then, the GM decides what applies and what doesn’t.

5. The character with the lowest action value can either play a card or pass. Once a character has passed, he cannot play anymore cards during this confrontation, even if he has not reached his limit. Once a character reaches the limit of cards he can play he must pass. NOTE: If there is more than one character with the lowest action value, all the characters tied for the lowest action value play their cards face down and reveal them simultaneously (or roll their dice at the same time). TIP: In order to keep gameplay streamlined, it is important that each participant of a confrontation says the current value of their action out loud each time they play a new card. This way, nobody is forced to calculate the value of the action of their opponent every time he plays a card.

6. The previous step is repeated until all characters have passed. 7. Counteractions with a equal or lower action value than the triggering action fail, while those with a higher action value than the triggering action are successful. The triggering action completely fails if there were any counteractions with a higher action value that would make it fail, as opposed to simply avoid its effects. If there were none, it is successful only against those who counteracted with an equal or lower action value. NOTE: If a TSE achieves a higher action value than the triggering action, the reason for failure determined by the TSE that was declared comes true and the success or failure of all other counteractions is determined as usual.

E.g. Aapo cuts down the end of the inca bridge he ju st cros se d wh ile being chased by a conquistador and a crossbowman. They try confronting it by run ning back to the other si de . In th e en su ing confrontation, the crossbowman achieves the highest action value, followed by Aapo, and the conquistador has the lowest action value. The crossbowman manages to get out of the bridge before it falls down, but the conquistador drops to his death. Had the crossbowman chosen to shoot at Aa po an d got te n the same results, he would have damaged Aapo making his action fail, the bridge would have fallen an the conquistador would st ill be alive .

8. Depending on the levels of success the actions might have consequences (See page XXX).

NOTE: During a multiple confrontation, a character may be have advantages or disadvantages against some characters but not against others. In that case, calculate the advantages against each character separately and determine the action values, winner, and final level of success of each pair of confronted characters separately.

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CheckS E.g. Complete example of a check COMING SOON!

A

character’s skill in an effort to overcome a hidden challenge, or a reactive and unconscious reflex or realization. A check does not require intent and it is not an action. CHECK TESTS A

A check is usually requested by the GM to test whether a PC should be given certain new information or not. E.g: •

Request the PCs to perform a Survival check to find out if they see a hidden NPC ambushing them.

•

Request the PCs to perform a Rites check to find out if they sense dark magic coming out of a ruin.

•

Request the PCs to perform a Charisma check to find out if they realize that someone is lying to them from their nervous gestures.

Certain abilities will also request a check, each of them will specify why and how to resolve it. A check is not an action, it can be performed at any time the GM declares it is necessary (alternatively, it can be requested by a player “I look for clues”). Any number of checks can be requested, and they do not represent any time passing nor characters become Spent after performing them. Resolving a check

A check is resolved in the following manner: 1. At any time, the GM declares that a PC or PCs must perform a check, or a PC or PCs declare that they would like to perform one - in which case, the GM must approve it before moving to the next step.

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2. The GM, taking into account the nature of the check, determines its difficulty and which Skill will the PCs use. The GM can choose to maintain in secret any or all the information related to the check. E.g. An NPC is waiting ahead of the PCs prep arin g an am bu sh , if the PC s are pe rce ptive they might discover the ambush in time - the difficulty of the check is determined by the NPC’s abilities and the GM decides that it is a Survival check. The GM requests a check from the PCs but she does not want them to suspect they are in danger, so she decides not to tell them what’s the check about nor the Skill they’ll be using. The PCs therefore only know that they have to perform a check, but what is it about?

3. The PCs involved in the check must discard as many cards as the level of the Skill they are using from the top of the deck. The PC’s check value is his Skill plus the highest card he discarded. NOTE: A check does not count as performing an action, it does not cause exhaustion nor does the PC become Spent after performing a check.

4. The PC is successful if his final check value is equal or higher than the check’s difficulty. 5. The GM reveals to the PCs involved what she sees fit according to the results. Because the PCs are unaware of the result of the check, if they failed they can be provided with false information which they could believe to be true. NOTE: The PCs might never find out the results or the reason for the check.


Calculating the difficulty of the check If the check relates to an NPC, discard from the top of the deck as many cards as the level of the NPC. The NPC’s check value is his Skill (Competent or Mediocre as determined by the GM) plus the highest card he discarded. If the check relates to something inanimate, discard the card from the top of the deck and apply the following modifier:

EASY (+0) Something very mundane. Failing it would only be explained as a complete failure or an extraordinary lack of skill. E.g. The rotten, wooden floor of a lost ruin in the middle of the jungle will collapse if anyone on heavy armour steps on it, only a fool would do it; but perhaps a character with 0 Survival cannot tell the difference or lacks in self conservation instinct. NOTE: It is only recommended to ask PCs to perform an easy check if they completely lack on the Skill being tested (i.e. Characters with Skill 0).

NORMAL (+3) Something that would only go over the head of someone untrained, not paying attention or who was not aware it was possible.

HARD (+6) Something that requires fairly advanced training or knowledge.

VERY HARD (+9) Something that requires to be a specialist in the subject to be achieved, and perhaps a fair amount of luck.

EPIC (+12) To be able to achieve this a character’s capacity has to be among the best in the known world.

When to repeat a failed Check TIP: If you find hard to decide the difficulty of the Check using these concepts, don’t use these difficulty levels. Instead, think of the different hindrances that apply to the situation, and give one disadvantage to the PC for each important hindrance or difficulty.

E.g. When searching, if it is dark, or if the ambusher is hidden in a very good spot, give disa dva nta ges. When trying to remember something, if the subject is from a foreign culture, if it relates to a very obscure su bjec t, if the character isn’t in the right state of mind or didn’t pay attention when it was happening; give disadvantages.

You should not repeat a failed Check unless the circumstances surrounding said Check have changed drastically. E.g. A character cannot repeatedly try to see what awaits for him at the end of a da rk tunnel in a Temple unless he uses a Spell to help him, or throws a torch to lit the area.

Telling a check apart from a confrontation The GM should be the one determining when something is resolved as a check or as a confrontation, but here you can find some cues to help you figure it out: The rule of thumb is that in a confrontation both parties are aware of what is happening and are actively doing what’s being put to the test. While a check is only done when the GM wants to keep the nature of what is happening secret, or she believes it is something that shouldn’t necessarily tire the PCs out (remember that a PC’s hand of cards represents their stamina). This means that is possible to test something as a check or a confrontation depending on circumstantial information. E.g. If a PC is being ambushed, it is best to test if he realises in time of the danger by making him perform a check - that way if he fails he does not know what went on; if he was to resolve it as a confrontation the GM would need to provide him with information about the NPC to resolve it, which would make the PC, at the very least, suspicious. In the other hand, if the PC is the one ambushing a group of NPCs, the GM can declare that he has to confront them using Stealth - the situation is the same as the previous one, but the awareness about what is happening has shifted and therefore the GM sees it fit to resolve it as a confrontation (also, it can be argued that hiding is something you do actively, while seei ng so me thin g be hind the bu shes is no t).

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Levels of succesS D

E P E N D I N G O N T H E difference between the final

value of an action and its confronting action’s final value, its level of success will be different.

Pyrrhic success When successful by up to 1 point higher than its confronting action, the action has its regular effect as d etermined by the gear used (or by the GM, if there are not specific rules for it) with negative consequences. Negative consequences can be anything the GM sees fit and that makes sense for the story and the action taking place. A few examples of things that could be considered negative consequences are: •

If the character was using a weapon or tool, that piece of equipment suffers one or two points of deterioration.

• •

•

When successful by 2 to 4 points higher than its confronting action, the action achieves a regular success: It has the corresponding regular effect as determined by the gear used (or by the GM, if there are not specific rules for it).

Critical success When successful by 5 or more points than its confronting action, the action achieves a critical success and it will successful with positive consequences, somehow amazingly effective as determined by the GM (the more points over, the more amazing). A few examples of things that could be considered positive consequences are: •

When dealing damage (or any other numerical effect) duplicate the damage dealt.

If the character was moving he could fall, and be in a disadvantageous position for the next action.

•

Your opponent falls down or somehow else ends up in a disadvantageous situation.

If he was shooting at a target, that target then moves behind cover (or if he was a target the PCs wanted to interrogate and he was only shot to be wounded, he might fall over a wall to his death)

•

The person you were bartering with enjoyed your company and gives you something small as a present.

•

The person you were talking to, or someone else present, falls for you and will go over what he should to help you out (e.g. “Yes, I could take you myself to see the relic... If we go alone”, “pss, my master is lying to you, he’s prepare a trap, run!”).

•

Your opponent’s weapon flies off his hand, he is unarmed until he gets it back somehow.

•

While you stealthily look for a specific treasure in someone’s room, you find something else too...

If the character was lying to someone, another character detects the lie (e.g. If the character was pretending to be from another tribe, the chief believes him, but the shaman realises that his hand gestures when speaking are foreign, what will the shaman do with the information?).

•

The opponent is tackled down as intended but he makes enough noise to raise the alarm.

•

The character shots straight, but then realises he has ran out of ammo.

•

The action is successful, but the confronting character manages to do something about it and does not lose his turn.

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Regular success


Drawing cardS P

LAYER CHARACTERS CAN draw cards

in several instances.

When a character plays a card, he may be subject to drawing new cards from the deck to his hand. There are two instances when this can happen and if both of them occur simultaneously only the most beneficial takes place. NPCs cannot draw cards, as they do not have their own hand of cards.

Playing with the suit

Beginning of a Scene At the beginning of each scene, all players will keep their current hand of cards and draw back up to a total hand of seven cards.

Complete example of how to draw cards. COMING SOON!

Running out of cards If at any time a player or the GM does not have any cards in their hand, they must draw a card. If that card is drawn during a confrontation, it cannot be played until that confrontation has been resolved.

If a player character plays a card, and the suit matches the type of action that he is performing the action, he can immediately draw a card from the deck to his hand. This represents the player character acting effectively, resulting in less exhaustion. E.g. Achcauhtli is a guide trying convince so me sp an ish explorer s to go in a different direction, as he does not want them to reach his village. He confronts the explorer’s leader trying to deceive him. If he plays a social cards during this confrontation, he’ll draw a new one.

Use your cards/dice wisely before its too late.

AFFINITY Additionally, each player character has Affinity to a suit. When he plays a card that matches the suit of the type of action he is performing AND it is his Affinity, he draws two cards instead of one, keeps one of them, and puts the other back on top of the deck or the discard pile.

Proficiency Whenever a player character plays a card with a value equal to or less than his Skill’s level, he immediately draws a card. This represents that the character is very capable in this area and the low effort corresponding to playing a low card does not tire him out. 32

The rounD Overview: During a Round characters take turns to perform one action each in the order established by their Initiative. Performing actions can trigger confrontations, usually when the action is against someone - a confrontation must be fully resolved before continuing to resolve the Round. One important aspect is that if you take part in a counteraction before taking your turn, you’ll become Spent and lose your turn this Round. It’s also worth mentioning that attacking back is a possible counteraction. Though you lose your turn when you do so, it is still as effective as an attack action and though your attack may not be against the target you initially had in mind, attacking back at a character forces him to focus on you.

A Round represents a few seconds dur ing which characters rapidly perform actions. They are the game mechanic that establishes the order of play of all the characters trying to outperform each other. E.g. The team enters the inca tomb, feeling relaxed after having avoided the trap in the entrance. However, they were not expecting soldier mummies to be guarding inside. Now, before any character performs any actions begin a Round to see who acts first, and resolve the ensuing Confrontations to determine who succeeds and who fails.

All timed actions during a conflict must be declared and resolved within the context of a Round. Declarations before the Round are not valid nor binding. E.g. Following the previous example, as soon as he hears about the soldier mummies, Mark, playing Jose, a priest, declares that he turns around and runs away. But the GM is forced to stop him there, Jose’s action must be performed during his turn during the Round - it is the character’s Initiative what established the order of play. If Jose is fast he might get to run away before the mummies do a nything, but otherwise he might ge t ca ug ht up in the co nf lict (per ha ps he’ ll en d up pe rformin g a different ty pe of ac tion to save his skin).

Ready & Spent characters At the beginning of a Round all characters in the area caught up in the conflict are Ready. During a Round a character can become Spent in the following instances: •

He performs a counteraction when being the target of an action.

•

He performs an action during his turn.

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Spent characters lose their turn during the current Round if they have not taken it yet; but they can still perform further counteractions.

Steps of a Round Overview: During a Round, Ready characters take turns performing one action each. After every character has become Spent, the Round ends. If the conflict is still ongoing, begin a new Round.

Once the GM has explained the conflict, it is time to determine who gets to act first and what happens next. To do so, follow these steps: 1. The order in which characters take their turn to perform their actions is determined by their Initiative, from highest to lowest value. In case of a tie, player characters will always go first, followed by the NPCs in the order of the GM’s choosing. In case of a tie between player characters, they must come to an agreement or tell their actions in secret to the GM, who will determine who goes first. 2. Players can Rush. Following the Initiative order, each player can choose to discard one card from his hand, adding that card’s value to his Initiative to calculate the Initiative order during the ensuing Round. NOTE: NPCs cannot rush. TIP: Discarding cards does not trigger card drawing mechanics.

3. A Ready character taking his turn can choose either (1) to perform his action, and then become Spent and end his turn; or (2) to wait, allowing the next character to take their turn before his own. He can wait several times, letting any number of characters go first. Other Ready characters may choose to wait as well; and if all characters choose to wait, the last one that can do so must perform an action. 4. When a Ready character chooses to perform an action on his turn, he declares his action. This may trigger a confrontation against a Time Sensitive Event (TSE) or another character, which must be resolved before resuming the Round. NOTE: If the action does not trigger a confrontation, it is considered an unconfronted action and therefore can have the level of success of his choice (pyrrhic, regular, or critical).


5. The next Ready character in the initiative order takes his turn. Repeat this step until there are no more Ready characters remaining.

MORAL If during the Round abilities that cause Fear were used, or if the GM sees it necessary, at the end of the Round certain character will need to perform a normal Discipline Check (6) modified by the following: •

If the sum of the level of the characters in their side of the conflict is higher than the opponent’s, they gain one advantage towards the Check. If it is the opposite, they suffer a disadvantage instead.

•

By each instance of Fear they were affected by they suffer one disadvantage.

Characters who fail the Moral Check lose control and will do anything in their power to get away to safety as fast as possible. The GM will take control of PCs until they are in safety or have a change of heart E.g. The GM might allow the player to pe rf or m the Chec k ag ai n if so me ga me changing thing takes place, such as seeing his best friend be struck down).

Actions during a Round During Rounds, actions should only need one verb to be described. If the word “and” is included, the character is probably trying to perform two or more actions linked to each other and he will probably need several turns to be able to do that. Here is a basic template to describe actions: “I [verb] [preposition if needed] [target]” E.g. I attack the guard. I move behind cover. I dodge towards the door.

To keep the game realistic and organic, characters are allowed to move up to 2.5 metres (~8 ft) while performing an action. E.g. I enter the room and then I attakc the guard. I jump on my horse and I gallop away.

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Game master’s guidE Complete exam ple of how to to use an NPC COMING SOON!

T

HESE ARE RESOURCES to aid GMs in

their endeavours to create challenging and interesting stories.

Non-player characters (NPCs) Non-player characters (NPCs) are characters controlled by the GM. They are the key to many stories, and they can be friends, foes, or simply neutral. They can be as simple or as complex as the GM wants: she is in charge of developing their backstories, if they need them. While with many NPCs most interactions will consist of talking or trading, others might perform actions and engage in confrontations. NPC cards represent simplified characters with the information needed to use them in a quick encounter. Additionally, they can be used as a base for the GM to create a more elaborate character if the story requires it.

LEVEL The level of an NPC determines the number of cards it can play every time it performs an action. NPCs do not have a hand of cards to play during confrontations. Instead, whenever they can play a card, they play the first card from the top of the deck, which never triggers any drawing card mechanics. Additionally, you can use the NPC level as a guide to determine the difficulty of an encounter. A recommended encounter has a number of NPCs which added level is at least equal to the added level of all the PCs. Adding or removing NPCs can be used to balance the difficulty to the taste

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of the group. Using a higher level NPC instead of several low level NPCs can be used to add variety. Varied encounters will force the players to play smart and try to gain advantages through role playing to rise victorious. This is, of course, just a very rough guideline; you should plan your encounters based on your story needs. We recommend that you allow for different resolution paths other than the classical “team-deathmatch” resolution; this will also allow you to create unbalanced encounters that need an additional step to be resolved E.g. have the players fight an overwhelming force, forcing them to use other means to obtain victory. Perhaps they need to lure the strongest opponents into a trap, or use the environment as a weapon: using fire or bringing down walls and ceilings - or any other cool ideas your players come up with!

SKILLS NPCs do not have the same Skills as the player characters. Instead, they have a Competent and a Mediocre Skill. It is up to the GM to decide which of the two Skill the NPC uses for each action and it is also up to her to determine how many areas they cover. I In any case, the GM is always free to modify the values of the NPC Skills to serve the story better, but she should inform the players beforehand to avoid any misunderstandings. E.g. A warrior might use the Competent Skill for Shooting, Melee and Athletics; but the Mediocre Skill for Charisma and Knowledge. But it will all depend on what the GM thinks that fits best that specific


character - a warrior can be charismatic, and a priest can be good at running.

HEALTH Most NPCs who are not important for the story can be considered dead once they are Bleeding Out or Traumatised. NPCs can suffer generic injuries, each gives them one disadvantage.

FRIENDLY NPCS Not all NPCs must be enemies. Most will be neutral, but a few might be friendly or even allies. Some NPCs might act as friendly NPCs even though they are not, because they are pretending, they are forced to do so, or other reasons. Regardless of the r eason, when the GM declares a friendly NPC joins the group, she can give control over him to any of the players (or to the team as a whole). The GM can retake control over an NPC at any time for any reason E.g. The players are not playing them correctly, they are abusing their power, the NP C has different id ea s about what should happen, etc.

While having an NPC under his control, a PC will control him exactly as the GM controls her NPCs - the friendly NPC will play his cards from the top of the deck.

Time-sensitive events (TSEs) Time-sensitive events (TSEs) are time sensitive problems that pose an obstacle to the characters. There is a wide range of events and things that can generate a TSE, such an avalanche in a mountain, or a trap going off. It is the job of the GM to determine when such obstacles should be considered TSEs for the purpose of confrontations, and to establish their level.

the task, the Skill and level of the characters and the needs of the story to decide how long it takes them. E.g. Pachacuti has Survival 3. She is trekking through the inca mountains with enough supplies for one month, and the GM determines it would take a skilled trekker two weeks to travel this route. Pachacuti is only an average traveller, so the GM determines she can do it without a confrontation, but it takes her a whole month, exhausting her supplies.

Complete exam ple of how to to use a TSE. COMING SOON!

Otherwise, if the characters are in a hurry or are using a Skill with a value of 0, a TSE will confront them as if it was an NPC, playing a number of cards against them equal to its level and with an initial action value of 0. TSEs do not have a Skill value and they do not suffer a disadvantage because of it. E.g. If Pachacuti were in a hurry (perhaps she does not have a month worth of supplies, or she has somewhere to be), she co uld pu sh her luck an d trek throug h the steppes faster. In this case, the GM determines that Pachacuti is confronted by a TSE. If she loses, she could end up delayed, lost, or even worse, as determined by the GM; but if she succeeds, she completes the trek faster.

TSEs do not have a hand of cards to play during confrontations. Instead, whenever they can play a card, they play the first card from the top of the deck, which never triggers any drawing card mechanics.

It is recommended that in order to present a minor challenge, a TSE should play as many cards as the PC, a moderate challenge should play one card more, and a hard one, two more. TIP: If you consider a TSE easy enough to overcome that it should play less cards than the PCs, simply let them perform the action without a confrontation.

The GM should consider the difficulty of 36

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CharacterS E

ACH PLAYER CONTROLS a single character and

develops who that person is and what their motivations are — what are their dreams and struggles? The more compelling a character is, the more rewarding the experience of playing will be. The players who are not the GM play the protagonist characters of the story. They are in charge of playing the role of their characters: performing their di-

LEVEL

alogues, making the decisions their characters would make, and using the relevant mechanics of the game to determine whether their characters rise victorious, or fail miserably. The GM should encourage the other players to talk about the backstory of their characters and how they imagine them. Together, they can become an amazing group of characters who will live great adventures.

AFFINITY Tick the suit of your Affinity.

INITIATIVE SKILLS Write down the Skill’s value in the diamond, black out as many cards as the Skill’s level. The body part icon, tells you which injuries cause disadvantages to which Skill. Write down any Skill Talents in the space next to it.

ABILITIES Write down any additional abilities, spells, and curses here. If you have an advanced class, write it down here as well.

SPIRIT & EXPERIENCE HEALTH Write down your Health in the heart shape, and take note of the damage you have suffer in the diamond next to it. Whenever you suffer an injury, take note of it in the corresponding diamond next to the body part.

TRAITS Write down here your personality traits and your prejudices.

GEAR Write down here the gear you carry. Tick the circles to keep track of your gear’s deterioration.

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HealtH Health States

Damage

Depending on the amount of damage a character has suffered, a character can be in three different health states or even dead.

To keep track of the damage a character or device has suffered, mark the corresponding space in his character sheet or use a suitable token or counter.

NORMAL

INJURIES

The health state of a character is normal for as long as he has more Health than damage.

Any time a character suffers damage he might also suffer an injury. An injury represents a hindrance of some kind.

When a character has equal or less Health than damage he becomes Bleeding Out - unless the character who damaged him last wishes to knock him out instead, in that case the character becomes traumatised instead (The GM can determine that certain attacks cannot traumatised even if intended, e.g. shooting an arrow, setting him on fire, etc).

BLEEDING OUT A bleeding out character cannot act, but he might speak if the GM sees it fit. At the end of each Round, a bleeding out character will suffer one unpreventable damage. A character who does not stop being bleeding out by the end of the scene dies. NPCs will generally ignore characters that are bleeding out until they have taken care of all other threats.

TRAUMATISED The character is unconscious and will not r egain consciousness until he receives enough medical attention to recovers enough health to be in the normal health state.

A character takes an injury when the amount of damage suffered from a single source is higher than his level. Additionally, other rules might also cause injuries for other reasons. Characters can be injured any number of times in the body, but only once in each arm, leg and in the head. If they are injured a second time in the same limb, the limb is severed; and if they are injured a second time in the head they are traumatised. Unless specified by the reason of the injury, the GM determines the type of injure. She can either choose the body part, or discard a card from the top of the deck and use the value to decide: 1 head, 2 torso, 3 right arm, 5 left arm, 5 right leg, 6 left leg. Most Skill s relate to one of the following body parts: Legs, arms, or head. Characters suffer one disadvantage when using a Skill related to an injur ed body part. Torso injuries do not affect any Skill, but they will make healing harder as any other injury. NPCs can only have generic injuries, each gives them one disadvantage towards their Competent Skill.

DEAD

ARMOUR

A character who dies is removed from the game, if that character was a PC, the player who played him should make a new character and discuss with the GM how his new character should join the party to continue playing. It is recommended to make this new character with as much experience as his previous character.

Some pieces of equipment and other effects provide their users with an armour value. Whenever the character is about to receive physical damage from an external source, subtract its armour from the base damage.

A character can also die of starvation, dr owning, excessive mutilation, etc. The effects of these possibilities are left for the GM to determine.

UNPREVENTABLE DAMAGE

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Unpreventable damage cannot be reduced, cancelled or prevented in any way.


RECOVERING DAMAGE NATURAL REST

While in normal health state, one physical damage point can be recovered per good night’s rest of in-game time after it has been suffered; and one injury of your choice per week of in game time. NOTE: If the characters are being chased, they are crossing the ocean d uring a storm or somehow else are s uffering disturbances they might see their natural rest recovery delayed as much as the GM sees fit.

Complete example of how to perform Medical actions. COMING SOON!

SEVERED LIMBS When you have a limb severed, you have one short time effect and a long time effect that lastS forever: The short time effect is that you’ll suffer one unpreventable damage at the end of every round until you are the target of a successful Medical action. The long time effect is that your limb is always considered to be injured, it cannot be healed, and it cannot be longer be selected to be injured or severed again.

MEDICAL ACTIONS

Characters can use their Medical Skill to heal themselves or other players. A wound confronts a Medical action as if it was an NPC with a Skill equal to the amount of damage on the character and plays as many cards as the number of injuries on the character. Additionally, certain situational effects might give disadvantages to the medic as determined by the GM. Here are some examples: The character performing the action does not have any gear for it. The character is performing the action on himself. There are two types of Medical actions: Surgery

A surgery action takes as many hours to complete as the number of cards played by the wound. A successful surgery action removes all the damage on the character. The character performing the surgery action can forfeit any number of injured limbs of the patient, if he does, the injuries on those limbs do not count when calculating how many cards the wound plays. First aid

A first aid action takes a turn to perform. A successful first aid action stops the character from dying from bleeding out, and from suffering unpreventable damage from being bleeding out or from a severed limb. A fail first aid action, deals one unpreventable damage to the patient. 40

SkillS All actions use one Skill or another. Each Skill has a value and a level, which determines how many cards you can play each t ime y ou use it. If an action cannot relate to any Skills in the following list, you can still try to perform the action with a value of zero and using your general level to d etermine how many cards you can play when using it.

Shooting You use Shooting with ranged weapons, or throwing things.

You use Melee when attacking with close quarters combat weapons, or when attacking with your body or improvised weapons.

Crafting You use Crafting to repair things or creating smallscale items.

Athletic You use Athletic to perform activities that involve physical strength, speed or endurance; such as running, climbing, swimming, etc.

Stealth You use Stealth to try to move or act without being noticed.

Riding You use Riding when you are tr ying to sit on or control the movement of an animal or a transport.

Charisma when

performing

social

Knowledge You use Knowledge to recollect your memory about any type of information.

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You use Rites to use Spells and for religion and magic based Checks.

Perception You use Perception to see hidden things or characters, or to read people’s emotions and intentions in their faces and gestures.

Medical You use Medical to care for wounds.

Melee

You use Charisma interactions.

Rites

Survival You use Survival to find things like food or resources in hostile environments, to orient yourself in a new location, or know how to act in the wild.

Profession You use Profession to represent your ability in an area of knowledge or craft, and your status and prestige between those people.

Discipline You use Discipline to test your self control and capacity to keep your cool in d angerous situations.

Tolerance You use Tolerance when trying to control your Prejudices.


TalentS Talents are specialist or unique abilities that relate to a specific Skill. You can obtain one Talent of a Skill when its value is 3 or higher, a second Talent when it is 5 or higher, a third when it is 7 or higher, and a fourth when it is 9. Each Talent has its own cost in experience points.

Charisma CONSUMMATED ACTOR REACTION: When pretending to be people other than you rself, gain one advantage tow ards making others believe your character is real.

Rites PRIESTHOOD SCRIPTURES You know all the Miracles from the Priesthood Scriptures.

OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE You know all the Miracles from the Old Testament Scriptures.

M a n y m o r s o e o n C o ! m i n g

Perception EAGLEYE REACTION: When trying to Search for something in the distance, gain one advantage.

Discipline FEAR REACTION: After you attack a character for the first time, he’ll suffer one instance of Fear.

FIGHT THE UNNATURAL REACTION: Ignore the first time per Scene that you are going to be affected by an instance of Fear from a non-human character.

Tolerance OPEN MINDED Remove one of your Prejudices.

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Character traitS personality traits

INDOMITABLE

Each character has between two and four Personality Traits that roughly define that character’s personality. Personality Traits can be positive, neu t ral, or negative.

You have a iron forged will that resists any form of manipulation. But you are also headstrong and won’t listen to reason other than your own.

Characters can gain or lose personality traits if they start to be part of that character’s behaviour, they lose the drive to behave that way, or if they overcome their shortcomings.

RECKLESS

Both the GM and the player must keep track of his personality traits. The PC can justify his actions through them, and the GM can request a PC to act in a certain way to act accordingly to his personality. If the PC does not want to act that way, he can perform a Discipline Check to keep himself under control. E.g. A Character with the Coward personality trait is in front of a cavalry charge of the Spanish conquistador force. The GM says that he should act like a coward and make a run for it, leaving his friends behind. The player controlli ng the PC clai ms he will tr y to control himself and keep his ground. He performs a normal Discipline check (+3), if he success he stays, but if he fails he loses control over the character and the GM decides what he does to get himself out of harms way.

Usually, the Check’s difficulty should be normal, but all kinds of circumstances can make the check easier or harder. E.g. In the previous example, being part of a larger force in top of a hill could give one advantage to the PC, while being alone, wounded, or suffering other type of hindrances could make him su ff er a nu mb er of disa dvan tag es in stea d.

Like a Spanish miura bull towards the red cape, that’s how you launch yourself forward, with full abandon, no matter what, no matter whom.

ADDICTED (X) You feel its clenching fist around your neck, but also the liberating experience of just giving it another go. It takes control and slowly tears you apart. You depend on it to live.

CAREFUL The world is full of danger; you can never be too careful. You’ve seen one too many reckless fool race towards an early grave, and you ain’t gonna travel that well trodden path.

BEAUTIFUL You have been born with remarkable beauty and charm. Those whose gaze rests upon you are thunderstruck.

APOSTATE There’s nothing for you on the other side. This life’s more than enough (enough death, enough disease), and you ain’t gonna pretend otherwis e.

CURIOUS If you see something interesting and irresistible (e.g. the entrance of a cave, an open drawer, etc) you are lured to it like a moth to flames.

AVARICIOUS Your want is a bottomless pit, a hole that cannot be filled. The insatiable need to fill the gaps of ownership guides you in a quest for material gain and wealth.

BRAVE Valorous, forthright and determined, you press on when others turn tail. You do not avoid danger but fight it straight on. 45

Many more COMING SOON!


PREJUDICE TRAITS

RACIST

A character’s prejudices are an important part of who he is, and may play pivotal roles in the story. Most often than not, prejudices will be inner obstacles in the character’s adventure, making him act to satisfy his personal bias rather than doing what is best in each given situation. But, sometimes prejudices might prove useful, as it might allow the character to bond with similar minded individuals.

You are prejudiced against people of other races.

At any time a character can act upon his prejudices (how tastefully or gracefully he does it is to be part of the group’s discussion on how comfortable you are with it), but generally the player won’t want to, as it usually means getting in trouble or in the bad side of other characters.

SEXIST

E.g. You might need help from the native scout you despise so much.

Playing the character’s prejudices is resolved the same way you resolve the personality traits, but performing Tolerance Checks. Both the GM and the player must keep track of the PC’s prejudices, and when they could be triggered, the GM can request a Check - which, if failed, forces the player to act upon his beliefs, even if it they are wrong or go against his actual needs in the current situation. But, if the player is successful, the character can swallow his bias for this one time. A regular failure will make you show you r prejudice in a passive aggress ive way. You are more likely to offend, lie and boycott any social interaction with them; you’ll be happy denounce them, exaggerate their weaknesses and flaws, etc. A critical failure will represent you completely lose control over yourself and act like a madman: You will go out of your way to act against them, you will physically attack them, you’ll plot against them, etc. Your actions can be as crazy as throwing stuff at them during peace negotiations, or attacking them even if they are stronger and in a better position...

XENOPHOBE You are prejudiced against people of other nationalities and cultures.

IMPERIALIST You are prejudiced against people from other outside your nation’s control. Choose a gender. You are prejudiced against people of that gender.

HOMOPHOBIC You are prejudiced against characters you believ e t o be homosexu al.

CLASSIST (X) Choose one or more Status (Pariah, Peasant, or Noble). You are prejudiced against people of that Status.

ELITIST You are prejudiced against people whose highest Skill is lower than your highest Skill.

RELIGIOUS ZEALOT You are prejudiced against characters you believ e t o be of other relig iou s.

TRADITIONALIST You are prejudiced against new things or themes, technology, advancements of all kinds, etc.

MODERNIST You are prejudiced against old things or themes, traditions, etc.

Please keep in mind that a character does not have be happy with his own prejudices; many prejudiced people are not, and fight a constant battle against ideas they cannot get rid of. You can, with a change of perspective, turn your character’s prejudice into the struggle that defines his personality.

E.g. Marco is a homo ph ob e, he has gro wn in a society in which same sex lov e is a sin an d a crime. Marco has seen this since his childhood, with no one to offer him an alternative per spec tive, so to him this is the truth. As a teenager, Fernando, his best friend, was accused of being feminine a nd a homosexual. Marco could see that it was true in his friend’s eyes. He broke all ties with Fernando, joining the other kids that mocked and bullied him. Fernando simply took it in, and when he turned 15 he left in a ship to the Americas. Ten year s later Ma rco also ju mp ed in a ship to tr y luck in the New World. Now that he is here, he cannot stop thinking of his childhood friend, and although he still believes Fernando to be a sinner, he feels terrible about how things went. He hopes to find Fernando and make pe ac e with hi m. Who knows, maybe Marco is hiding something from himself? Maybe he is what he despises.

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The geaR I

N DCA, CHARACTERS can carry and use any kind

of gear they might acquire, find, or craft. Some of the most important pieces of equipment are represented on cards containing all the important information needed to use them. However, we encourage players to create their own gear if they find the need for it.

Level Non-weapon gear can be of one of these three types: ■ Normal: Nothing special.

■ Reload: REACTION: After you shoot this, it can no longer be used until a character spends an action cleaning it. ■ Poisonous X: REACTION: After being successfully attack by this, every time a round ends, use Athletics to confront a level X T SE, if you fail, suffer X unpreventable damage. Remove this once after being the target of a successful Medical action. ■ Armour: Armour can be Soft or Hard. Both armours reduce the damage you take from each source by their value. Piercing weapons ignore Soft armour.

■ Magical: It has the keyword magical (certain

abilities require these keywords to work). ■ Legendary: It has the keywords magical and

legendary (certain abilities require these keywords to work). Weapons can be of one of these three levels: ■ Primitive: Every time this is used, successfully

or not, it gains one deterioration. ■ Forged: Nothing special. ■ Legendary: It has the keywords magical and legendary (certain abilities require these keywords to work).

Common Characteristics Some pieces of equipment have commonplace characteristics that are only described on the card if there is enough space, otherwise you can find them here: ■ Piercing: It ignores soft armour. ■ Concussion: When calculating if an attack with

this weapon causes injuries, consider that the damage was not reduced by armour. ■ Magical: It has the keyword magical (certain abili-

ties require this keyword to work). ■ Fire: Enemies within your Melee range suffer

one disadvantage towards Moral checks. ■ Fear: REACTION: After being successfully attacked

by this, you must perform a Moral check with one disadvantage. 43

Weapons Weapons can either attack in Melee or Shooting. Both can deal certain damage and they can provide advantages or disadvantages when used. Melee weapons can attack anyone within your sight in Melee reach, usually up to 2.5 meters away from you; while Shooting weapons can attack anyone within your sight in Shooting reach, usually up to 100 meters away from you. Certain weapons provide further reach, or more advantages or disadvantages depending on the distance.


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ReligioN WHEN TWO OPPOSED world views clashed, religion was usually at the centre of the struggle. The rules of DCA are designed to reflect this fact.

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SpiriT T H E S U P E R N A T U R A L I S a f i c k l e a n d i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e t h i n g . Some brav e men and women t ry to control it , to study it and to understand it; but all they can achieve is to let it flow through the m. And while it is empower ing like nothing e lse, it is also dange rous, and it can t urn against you as fast as it was help ing.

S

P I R I T I S T H E abstract concept that

encompasses all the different forms of power granted by belief, magic, spirits and everything supernatural and divine. What grants spirit to characters depends on their religion. Characters can spend Spirit points to use powers that they know. Characters can spend or lose more Spirit than they have, but they can never have less than zero Spirit. Instead, each point they spend when they already have 0 Spirit gives them 1 Corruption without them knowing.

Gaining Spirit Characters can gain Spirit from achieving or performing their religion’s Rituals. Every time a character completes a Ritual he can choose between the following: ■ Gain one Spirit. ■ Transcend.

TRANSCEND Every time a character Transcends, he must perform a hard Rites Check (+6) and regardless of the Check’s result, the GM must discard a card from the top of the deck and tell the player the result, that is how much Spirit the player should write down he has gained on his character sheet.

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But that is not necessarily the truth, the result of the Check will say how much Spirit he has truly gained - which will only be known to the GM, who will take note of it on the GM’s sheet. The difference between both values represents the character’s lack of understanding of the supernatural and the grander schemes behind the magical powers; a lack of understanding of the rites and foolishness can drive characters to use more Spirit than they have and they’ll pay the price for it. With a critical success, he’ll gain double the card’s value spirit; with a regular success, he’ll gain as much as the card’s value; with a pyrrhic success, he’ll gain one less than the card’s value; with a failure, he’ll gain zero; and with a critical failure, he’ll lose instead of gain the card’s value. REMEMBER: Only the GM should know the true result of the Check and the true Spirit of each character. NOTE: A character might lose more Spirit points that he gains from a Check, reducing his Spirit pool accordingly.

Corruption Both the GM and the player should keep track of how much Spirit a character spends. The GM will know when the character has truly ran out of Spirit, but she must not let the character know.


When a character spends or loses a Spirit point he does not have, he gains a Corruption point. A character never knows how many Corruption points he has, these are written down only in the GM’s sheet. They allow the GM to use terrible abilities against the character and his companions depending on the character’s religion.

Spells MAGIC RESISTANCE For each point of Magic Resistance, a character gains one advantage for confrontations against someone using a Spell.

CEREMONY Certain spells require a Ceremony, which may vary in length from minutes to hours, and complexity from requiring a single person to a whole congregation depending on the Spell. The most important thing to know about a Ceremony is that it cannot be started while resolving Rounds.

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ChristianitY THE CHRISTIAN FAITH is an old and powerf ul relig ion that was born in Eur ope under the r omans and now fi nds itself with the pos sibility of expanding in to a whole New Wor ld. The Christian faith does not consider its abilities magic; au contraire, it finds magic to go against God. Christian believe rs consider the ir abilitie s as Godsend powers giv en by their Lord to expand their faith, conquer the unfaithful, and turn them to God and salvation.

Rituals Christians can gain Spirit in the following instances:

If you try to Transcend, gain one advantage if you converted more than one or any of them were important to another religion (e.g. a Priest).

FIGHTING HERESY

PROTECTING THE FAITHFUL

Gain Spirit at the end of a Scene in which non-Christian characters have died due to damage dealt by you or because of your influence (e.g. you order them killed, you plotted for their death).

Gain Spirit at the end of a Scene in which you saved other Christians from Her etic or Demonic characters (the majority of the Christians present must survive for this to trigger).

If you try to Transcend, gain one advantage if several non-Christian characters were killed, if any of them were important to another religion (e.g. a Priest), or if any of them had the trait Demonic.

PRAYING

CONVERSION Gain Spirit at the end of a Scene in which you converted characters to Chr istianis m. Not every christian can convert other characters; a character must be Baptized to become a Christian, which is a Miracle of the Priesthood Scriptures.

Spend a whole day praying and repenting to perform a Transcend Check with one disadvantage. Praying will automatically fail with a critical if you had any Corruption.

VOWS If you have a vow and you stay true to it you might gain Spirit as determined by that Vow.

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Miracles He (Jesus) replied, “Because you have so litt le faith. Tru ly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you ca n say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to th ere,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matthew 17:20

M

IRACLES ARE CHRISTIAN Spells.

All Christian characters can use the Pater Noster and the Ave Maria Miracles. All the other Christian Miracles are divided in Scriptures.

Ordained characters Characters need to be ordained in the Church to gain Scripture T alents. The only way to be ordained is by being the willing target of an Ordain Miracle. Ordained characters belong to one Christian order. Each order has its own rules of behaviour and interests. Ordained characters must follow the rules of the order, or be expelled.

EXPELLED CHARACTERS Using a Miracle costs an additional Spirit point for an expelled character.

Scriptures Every Miracle but Pater Noster and Ave Maria belong to an Scripture. A character who has an Scripture Talent knows all the Miracles that belong to that Scripture.

Priesthood Scriptures ABSOLUTION May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you; and by His authority I absolve you from every bond of excommunication and i nterdict, so far as my power allow s an d your ne eds require. Thereupon, I absolve you from your sins in the na me of the Father, an d of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Cost : 0 Spirit. Ceremony.

You must listen to another Christian character, who willingly and repented must reveal to you all his sins since his last confession. Then, you will assign them a penance and absolve them. The GM must listen closely to all of this. Based on what she is heard, the GM then decides by how much she’ll reduce the sinner’s Corruption - which she does in secret. In general, if everything was done correctly, she should reduce it as much as the sinner’s Rites. If the sinner forgets or avoids mentioning some of his sins or if the penance does not seem strong enough - as determined by the GM - the GM can consider that the Absolution failed completely or partially, and not reduce at all the sinner’s Corruption or just reduce it a few points, also in secret. Additionally, if the sinner 53


does not complete his penance in a reasonable time he’ll suffer twice as much Corruption as his Rites.

BAPTISM This is life eternal, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesu s Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Cost: 0 Spirit. Ceremony.

You convert a willing character to Christianism (it cannot be perform to a character how had been Christian or is already a Christian). From now on that character will consider Christianism his religion and will be banished from all others, his Spirit will be reduced to zero, but he will keep his Corruption. Performing a Baptism allows you to obtain Spirit through the Ritual of Conversion. If the character being converted was lying about his intentions and was protected by a spell from another religion, the Baptism is a failure without you knowing so - it also means that the Ritual of Conversion automatically fails as if you had tried to Transcend and failed with a critical.

EUCARISTIA For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.


All other willing Christian characters near you are the target of this Ceremony, and after taking part in it they can use one Pater Noster and one Ave Maria without cost. It does not stack. You’ll gain one Corruption for each character who benefited from this and had Corruption.

REQUIEM May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

Cost : 1 Spirit.

Use it over the dead body of a Christian to reduce his Corruption as much as your

Rites. If after that he does not have any Corruption he is immune to magic, and therefore he cannot be the target of necromancers or other creatures of evil who use the dead.

WORD OF GOD Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. - Genesis 11:1

Cost: 2 Spirit.

INSTANT: Use this at any time to be able to speak in a foreign language until the end of the Scene. OR REACTION: After declaring an intimidation action against a Christian use this ability to gain one advantage. It does not stack.

EXPEL DEMON Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” Matthew 12:22-32

Cost: X Spirit. X is the target demon’s level. ACTION (Rites): Target a demon within you r sight and up to 10 meters away from you . H e’ll c onfront you wit h his Competent Skill. If you are successful, he’ll suffer one disadvantage towards all his actions until the end of the Scene. If successful by a critical, additionally, he’ll suffer as much unpreventable damage as your level.

Old Testament Scriptures EXODUS SERPENT So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servan ts , an d it be ca me a se rpen t. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerer s, an d they, the ma gician s of Eg ypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. - Exodus 7:10-12

Cost: 2 Spirit.

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Invoke a huge serpent that will follow all of your commands, and will disappear when killed or at the end of the Scene.

‘For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your woun ds ,’ declares the LOR D, ‘B ec au se they have called you an outcast, saying: “It is Zion ; no on e ca res for her.”’ - Jeremiah 30 :17

Cost: 2 Spirit.

exodus serpent level 1

initiative 4

C O M P E T E N T M e l . , A t h . , S t e a l t h

6

M ED I OCR E

2

at tack MELEE Piercing, magical, poisonous II

2+

RANGED

0

A R M O U R Soft

1

M AG I C R ESI S TAN C E

1

AGGRESSIVE ‡ MESOAMERICAN MOV: 5m ‡ W E I G H T : 68kg ‡ H E I G H T : 167cm

SAMSON STRENGTH Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they ca me to the vineyards of Timnah. An d be hold, a youn g lion ca me toward hi m roar in g. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, an d although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in piec es as on e tear s a youn g go at. Bu t he did no t tel l his father or his mother what he had done. - Judges 14: 5-6

Cost : 2 Spirit.

REACTION: After declaring an unarmed Melee action gain one advantage and if successful deal one additional damage, additionally the attack is considered Magical. It stacks.

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The action is confronted by the wound as if it was an NPC with a Skill equal to the amount of damage and plays as many cards as the number of injuries on the target. If successful, remove one injury from the target or remove one Poison.

MOSES’S BLESSING

Health 4

DIVINE HANDS

ACTION (rites): Target a character in physical contact with you or choose yourself as the target - but, you cannot choose a character who already has been the target of this Miracle during this Scene.

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” Then he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them. And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.” Exodus 15:22-27


Turn wood and dust into food and water enough for a day for as many people as your Rites. OR Perform a Rites Check to make as many meals as your Rites free of poison, disease and any other illnesses. If the food was good to begin with the Check is always successful, otherwise it’s difficulty is set by the character who made it bad.

LIST CURSE But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”Numbers 22:12

Cost: 2 Spirit

ACTION: Choose a target who has a Curse within your sight up to 20 metres away, and perform a Rites Check against the curser, if successful, the curse is cancelled.


Christian Corruption Corruption represents the influence of the Devil in the characters. Satan works in mischievous ways and even the most pious Christians can suffer his influence if they are not careful. Characters cannot know exactly how much the Holy Father has blessed them, as God does not create in straight lines. Therefore, inadvertently, it is possible for a character to spend Spirit that is not given to them by God. When that happens it is the Devil who provides the energy, mimicking God’s miracles to fool his followers and entering into the mind of the Christian, corrupting his soul. Players are unaware if they have any corruption at all (but they can suspect it). Only the GM keeps track of it in his GM sheet. The GM can and should use the character’s corruption against him. Every Session, the GM can use Corruption Curses against a character with a total Corruption as that character’s Corruption. Corruption is not spent by this, a Christian must get rid of his Corruption himself as best as he possibly can.

ILL FORTUNE 1 Corruption.

mal Rites Check (+3) will realise that he’s been possessed or that he is in front of a possessed character. You can use Ill Fortune for free in a character possessed by a Level 2 Demon. Additionally, LEVEL 3 DEMON

Being possessed by a level 3 Demon is absolutely obvious: the character’s complexity will change completely, he’ll grow horns, claws, his skin will expel black steam and he’ll be completely mad. The player loses control over the character completely. The player will gain b ack control if the Demon is destroyed. The character is now consider an NPC under the control of the GM with the trait Demonic (It ignores one damage from non-magical attacks), with an advantage towards all actions and knows all of the Spells from the Necronomicon. LEVEL 4 DEMON

When a character is possessed by a level 4 Demon he is ripped apart from the Evil force going through him and will automatically die, spawning a powerful Demon.

REACTION: After playing the cards for a Check in which this character is participating, use this to gain the effects of a Joker against him.

POSSESS

demon

All Corruption. INSTANT: At any time, ask the character to perform an easy Rites Check (+0) to see if he is possessed by a Demon. For each point of Corruption you can give one disadvantage to the character when Checking against this ability OR increase the Demon’s level by one (it has an starting level of 0).

coming soon!

LEVEL 1 DEMON

Being possessed by a level 1 Demon does not show externally, and only if a character success in a hard Rites Check (+6) he will realise that he’s been possessed or that he is in front of a possessed character. You can use Ill Fortune for free in a character possessed by a Level 1 Demon. LEVEL 2 DEMON

Being possessed by a level 2 Demon shows certains signs, such as ill temper, black veins in the upper arms and chest, sores, etc. A character who success in a nor-

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DEMONIC

It ignores one damage from non-magical attacks. NECRONOMICON

It knows all the Spells from the Necronomicon. FLYING

It can move flying.

WANDERING SOUL 1 Corruption. REACTION: After this character spends a whole day dead his soul will get lost, tricked by demons and spirits. He’ll become a Wright under the control of the GM, that will haunt his old friends who let him die without the appropriate Requiem.

wandering soul level 1

initiative 4

COMPETENT M e l . , A t h . , S t e a l t h

6

ME DI O CR E

2

at tack MELEE Piercing, magical, poisonous II

2+

RANGED

0

Health 4 ARMOUR S o f t

1

MAG I C R ES I ST AN CE

1

wr ight

It cannot be damaged by non-magical attacks. corruption outpour

REACTION: After successfully attacking a character, the GM discards a card in secret and reduces that character’s Spirit by the card’s value. Soul of the departed

It will keep one ability from the character it was of the choice of the GM.

AGGRESSIVE ‡ MESOAMERICAN MOV: 5m ‡ W E I G H T : 68kg ‡ H E I G H T : 167cm

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CC by Lacambalam, Own Work based on Aztec cosmological drawing. 59


Mesoamerican religioN WORK IN PROGRESS

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EPISODE 0, INTRODUCTORY ADVENTURE

The coatli stonE T H E C O A T L I S T O N E is a short adventure for the Dragons Conquer America. It’s intended to introduce a group of new players to DCA’s setting and rules, pitting them against greedy Spanish explorers, mysterious Nahua locals and the dark magic creatures that lurk behind the visible veil of the Mesoamerican world.

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IntroductioN D

U R I N G T H I S A D V E N T U R E , the PCs discover the

existence of a hidden treasure – a gigantic precious stone, which turns out to be the egg of a Xiuhcoatl dragon. However, the egg lies inside a dangerous, trapfilled temple, in the lands of an isolated tribe with no allegiance to either natives or invaders. Plus, a Spanish expedition has arrived into the area, intending to plunder its riches; they are bound to find out about the egg and compete with the PCs to recover it. The PCs must race against time, go around the temple’s traps and beat a fully-armed Spanish force to the prize, also dealing and the temple’s z ealous guardians, which may help or hinder their quest. The adventure consists of three main chapters during which the action takes place. •

Chapter 1 has the PCs arriving to the territory of

the Atlaca tribe, guardians of the Coatli T emple. •

Chapter 2 has the PCs entering the ancient

temple and facing an ancient spirit that protects the egg. •

Chapter 3 introduces the Spanish expedition

force, and determines whether the PCs keep the egg or lose it to the Spanish. After the climax is resolved, the PCs have either acquired the egg or lost it, be it to the Spanish expedition or the zealous Atlaca natives. The PCs may also have allied with or against the Spaniards or the Atlaca, kept the egg for themselves or been forced to flee empty-handed. Whatever the PCs choose, the outcome of the adventure will influence the future of DCA , as the Xiuhcoatl hatched from the egg serves

either the Natives or the Invaders in the upcoming war.

Adventure Background The people known as Olmeca, the ‘Rubber People’, were an unknown, ancestral tribe that lived centuries ago in the Eastern Coasts of the New World, near the area where the Spaniards first landed. Nobody knows what was the Olmeca’s true name or nature, but hundreds of ruins and relics from their culture remain in the jungles and beaches of their former territory. 63

Mexica explorers have already found and named some of these ruins, but many remain hidden or mythic. One such myth is the Coatli Temple, a legendary and undiscovered Olmeca ruin that many Nahua explorers and travellers claim to have seen or heard about during their travels through the Eastern Roads. According to legend, the Coatli Temple was built by an ancient caste of Olmeca wizard-priests that one day turned into dragons and flew away from the mortal world. The many versions of the story variously hold that the Coatli priests were the first tribe to breed and rear Xiuhcoatl dragons, or that they hunted dragons and used their blood to give themselves long life, or that they were descendants of dragons themselves. Many a legend exists about the Coatli ruin and its priests, but that’s all it has ever been – a legend. Things changed when Father Gaspar Hernández, one of the first European missionaries to arr ive to The West Indies, heard the tales and decided to go look for the Coatli Temple. It is assumed that Father Hernández did find the Coatli Temple, for such is the claim of his personal diary, which later explorers found in a market at Hispaniola. The diary also holds that the temple’s purpose was to guard a kind of gigantic stone or jewel, likely worth a king’s ransom. Mentions of such a gem, which Father Hernández called The Coatli Stone honouring the legends about the old ruin, sparked the greed and imagination of many a Spanish trailblazer and opportunist. However, the secret of the Temple’s exact location seems to have died with Father Hernández, who apparently was caught and flayed alive by some Mayan or Nahua tribe that didn’t take kindly to foreign looters, even if they were pious and free of sin. Here’s where the legend becomes interesting, and where it crosses into the present. According to the diary, Hernández did draw a map to the Coatli Temple’s location – on his skin. He claimed he had the map tattooed to avoid it ‘falling on the wrong hands’. It was an interesting passage, but one not worth much attention, as the Father’s body was never recovered. Or so it was believed.


Three years ago, during the first skirmishes between Natives and Europeans, a small Huastec city fell to a combined force of Spanish invaders and Maya allies, and the many treasures of its temple became the raiders’ loot. This loot included a fold of cured human skin – European skin – with a tattoo, a Maya-style drawing, on it. The drawing described a hidden temple, a precious stone and the way to find it.

killed Quixum for treason, but she had already managed to gather a small band of freelancers and deserters, giving them her own directions to the Coatli Temple. With Quixum’s indications, these mercenaries have overtaken De Medina and are about to beat the Spanish force to the Temple. What they will find there remains to be seen.

At first nobody made the connection between this bizarre relic and the tale of Father Hernández, until a Spanish explorer by the name of Cuesta sold it to the Governor of La Isabela as ‘the map of the Coatli treasure’. The Governor then gave it to one of his captains as part of a reward, and thus the ‘map’ changed hands for several months, until it reached Lorenzo De Medina. Captain Lorenzo De Medina, a Spanish hidalgo and explorer, arrived two years ago, looking for land, treasure and a power base in The Indias, along with a small troop of more-or-less loyal mercenaries and gentlemen of fortune. With no patrons or backing other than his own military experience and considerable fortune, De Medina is a bit of a wild card among European invaders; nobody likes him, but he’s made no enemies either. He hired a couple dozen Natives as guides and added protection, and started two or three unsuccessful expeditions into the mainland. He’s stepped in no toes so far, but he intends to become powerful and recognised as quickly as possible. After his last failed inland trip, De Medina came across the flayed skin of Father Hernández with the Coatli Treasure map, and he immediately began preparing for a new excursion to find it. This time, he thinks, he will succeed. What De Medina didn’t count on was Quixum, one of his Native guides, recognising the area shown on the map. Quixum, a Huastec woman, knew the Coatli ruins only from legend, but she identified some of the landmarks, and decided to mount her own hunt for the treasure, even convincing some of De Medina’s men to betray him for her. The Captain

Player Character Background The PCs that play this adventure are mercenaries with no allegiance to any Native culture or Spanish explorer; a motley crew of mixed-race adventurers that serve no side but their own. However, they may end up allied with either the Natives or the Spaniards, which will alter the course of the war. As the adventure begins, the PCs are arriving to the Coatli Temple area some time before De Medina’s main force, expertly guided by Quixum’s instructions. Whether they will be able to find the treasure and leave with it is entirely in their hands. You may read aloud any or all the text contained in the Adventure Background section to the PCs; just be sure to make it clear that they are the mercenary band that Quixum managed to gather before she died. As soon as you’re ready to start the adventure, proceed to Chapter 1: The Lost People.

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Chapter 1 : the lost PeoplE O

NCE YOUR PLAYERS are ready to begin and have

understood their PCs’ backgrounds, read the following aloud:

To understand the Atlaca language, ask the PCs to perform a Knowledge or Perception Check (+3 if they are Nahua tl speakers; +6 if they don’t speak Nahuatl ) . If the check fails catastrophically, you may

give the PCs opposite information, such as the Atlaca being openly hostile, wanting the PCs for ritual mating or anything you want to come up with. The guards motion the PCs to follow them; if the PCs comply, proceed to Encounter 2: Ixcahuina . If the PCs refuse or attack, they must fight.

FIGHTING THE ATLACA GUARDS The Atlaca guards try to subdue the PCs if possible, and don’t fight to kill. If a PC falls to 0 health, they leave him traumatised, not bleeding out. If the PCs begin winning, the guards fly back into the town to call for reinforcements. If the PCs win the battle, the Atlaca call for reinforcements:

Whether the PCs try to avoid the village or approach it directly, a group of Atlaca scouts walk up to them; proceed to Encounter 1 .

Encounter 1: The Atlaca

The Atlaca guards want the PCs to identify themselves, but they of course don’t speak any common language. The Atlaca language is an ancient variation of Nahuatl , but it otherwise doesn’t resemble any language spoken today. 65

Create a normal encounter using a combination of Native Warriors, Native Archers and Native Warrior Leaders .

AFTER THE ENCOUNTER ■ If the PCs win both battles in a row, they are

now free to explore the Atlaca village, while all the inhabitants have locked themselves up in their huts, terrified of the invaders. •

The Atlaca guards carried strange inscribed, jade- tip ped stone spears , the PC may keep them as weapons. Their gathered jewellery is worth around 2 to 4 quachtli.

•

If the PCs stay at the village, they eventually come across the chief priest’s hut; proceed to Encounter 2 .

•

If the PCs leave the village, nobody stops them from reaching the temple now. Proceed to Chapter 2: The Coatli Temple.


■ If the PCs lose one of the battles, the guards spare

■ If the check succeeds, the PCs may parley with

them (that is, leave them traumatised instead of bleeding out), tie them up and take them to their leader. Proceed to Encounter 2.

Ixcahuina; he is fluent in Nahua tl , Maya, Spanish and the extinct Mokaya tongue. Let the PCs conduct the conversation as they wish, asking and answering as they go, and using the following as excerpts from Ixcahuina’s dialogue:

Encounter 2: Ixcahuina This encounter begins when the PCs walk around the Atlaca village, whether they are following or caught by the Atlaca guards, or roaming freely after defeating them.

This man is Ixcahuina, the priest of the Atlaca people. Regardless of whether the PCs arrived peacefully or by force, he looks at them with disapproval, squints his eyes and then yells in their language: ‘What do they seek? Why are t hey here?’

Let the PCs conduct the encounter as they wish. ■ If they wish to parley with Ixcahuina, ask them

to perform a Charisma action against Ixcahuina’s Competent Skill . The PCs suffer 2 disadvantages if they attacked the guards previously. ■ If the PCs directly confess that they wish to sack

the Temple, they actually get 1 advantage on the action, as the Atlaca are tired of guarding the Temple generation after generation. The Atlaca actually hope that someone will take away the Coatli Stone, kill the Temple’s undead master and finally relieve them from their duty. ■ If the check fails, or if they attack Ixcahuina, they

must fight; proceed to Fighting Ixcahuina . If the PCs were prisoners already, they are set aside for sacrifice. Proceed to Encounter 3: The Sacrifice Pit .

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After talking to Ixcahuina, ask the PCs to perform a Knowledge Check (+3) . If the check succeeds, they identify the Mokaya as the ancient dwellers of the East Coast, a millennia-old, extinct culture that the Nahua call Olmeca. If the check is a critical failure, you may give the PCs deliberately wrong information; for example, that the Mokaya were ritual cannibals and the Atlaca surely inherited this custom. Ixcahuina is a peaceful man; he will only attack if provoked.

FIGHTING IXCAHUINA If the PCs provoke Ixcahuina into a fight, create a very hard encounter using Ixcahuina and a combination of Native Warriors, Native Guardians, Leaders, and Native Priests .

Native

Ixcahuina and his guards don’t strike to kill. If the PCs lose the fight, they are traumatised, not bleeding out; the guards imprison them and set them aside for sacrifice. Proceed to Encounter 3: The Sacrifice Pit.

AFTER THE ENCOUNTER ■ If the PCs befriended Ixcahuina, he lets them go on their way to the Temple; as he sees it, if the PCs are intruders, the Temple will kill them on its own. He even offers to let them dine and rest at the village; after all, the Temple won’t open unless they prove themselves worthy (see Encounter 4: Opening the Temple ). ■ If the PCs ask for more details on Haa’hiu and the history of the Coatli Temple, Ixcahuina shares the information on History of the Temple . ■ If the PCs defeated Ixcahuina and his

guards, they may explore Ixcahuina’s hut; besides a 47-quachtli loot of assorted jewellery and arcane reagents, they find an ancient codex carved in stone, detailing how the Temple door works (as described in Chapter 2, Encounter 4: Opening the temple ). ■ If the PCs killed Ixcahuina, the other

villagers won’t dare exit their homes until the PCs have left the village. ■ Once the PCs leave the village, proceed

to Chapter 2: The Coatli Temple . 67

Encounter 3: The Sacrifice Pit This encounter only takes place if the PCs failed to befriend Ixcahuina at the village and were defeated by the Atlaca natives in battle. The PCs spend the night as Atlaca prisoners, during which their wounds are tended and they may draw cards and recover all damage and an injury of their choice. Then, just before d awn the following day, a group of village guards come for the PCs, bind their hands and feet and take them outside the village; surprisingly, towards the Coatli Temple. They don’t reach the main pyramid s tructure, but stop at a stone-paved court some 100 metres away from the central building. The court is overgrown with vines and grass, just like the rest of the temple. There’s a four-metre deep pit in the middle of the court; the guards throw the PCs down the pit. Every PC must perform an Athletic action confronted by a level 2 TSE (the fall itself). If the PC loses the confrontation, he suffers 1 point of damage for every point of difference between his result and the TSE’s result, and automatically gains an injury. After throwing the PCs down the pit, the Atlaca guards leave them there and return to their village. The bottom of the pit is filled with dried bloodstains and bleached human bones: many people have died here. There’s nobody watching below, so the PCs are free to declare actions once they are left alone. ■ The PCs may try to cut their bonds with

a jagged piece of rock or bone; this succeeds automatically and requires no check. ■ The PCs may try to bind their wounds through the Medicine skill, correcting in juries and reg aining health los t from the fall. ■ The PCs may try to climb outside; how-

ever, as soon as any of the PCs tries to climb out of the pit, something happens...


As the sun shines over the edge of the pit, the shadows begin to move… only they move unnaturally, like they were not following the light, but bothered, stirred, by it.The shadows are moving. These are shadow spirits conjured by the magic of Haa´hiu the Mokaya Priest ; the PCs must fight them. Create a normal encounter using shadow demons . The PCs have no weapons or equipment during this fight. Trying to get out of the pit during the combat is confronted by a level 2 TSE.

AFTER THE ENCOUNTER If the PCs survive the fight, they may now exit the pit with no problems. There are enough ancient weapons among the pit bones to outfit every PC in the team, as replacement for their lost equipment; every PC may take a magical macuahuitl or magical stone spear and an ancient leather shield . ■ If the PCs continue to the Temple, proceed to

Chapter 2. ■ If the PCs return to the village to recover their

equipment, run Encounter 2 again, except that the priest is much more likely to parley with them now, as he’s impressed that they managed to escape the pit. •

If the PCs fight Ixcahuina again, this time it’s to the death – they are not taken prisoners again.

•

If the PCs manage to befriend Ixcahuina, he returns their equipment to them (besides giving them the information detailed in the encounter).

Due to budgetary constraints, Episode 0 uses several illustrations that belong to Episodes I & II and thus their depictions may not accurately match the NPCs described in the text. 68

Chapter 2: the coatli templE The outer circle has 52 notches, marked with 52 ancient Mokaya kings or saints.

Any PC can recognise these s ymbols without a check; calendar divisions and cardinal directions are a common element of most Mesoamerican cultures, and have been for centuries. There is a smaller, hand-sized dial on the wall beside the disc, marked with 52 notches. By rotating this dial one notch, each of the four circles in the larger disc rotates independently by one notch. Other than this contraption, there’s no way into the pyramid; the PCs must decipher how to open the disk to enter the temple.

Let the PCs explore around the temple as they wish; it’s all Olmecatl (Mokaya) architecture, which some PCs may recognise based on their skills, while most may not. As soon as the PCs climb the s taircase to the top of the pyramid, proceed to Encounter 4. Encounter 4: Opening the Temple

As the PCs reach the top of the stairs, they find a large stone chapel in the shape of a huge dragon head. There seems to be no entrance to the building, but the dragon head’s mouth seems to be holding a time disk, wider than a man’s height. The disc consists of four concentric circles. Each circle is divided in a different number of notches, marked as follows: The inner circle has 4 notches, marked with the 4 directions. The second circle has 13 notches, marked with the 13 calendar signs. The third circle has 20 notches, marked with the 20 days of the lunar count. 69

To understand how the disk works, ask the PCs to perform a Knowledge, Perception or Rites check (+3). If the check succeeds, give them one or more (your choice) of the following facts: The notches in the circles are slightly misaligned; it’s clear they must be aligned for the disk to open. ■

■ To align a circle, it must make only full rotations; that is, turn the exact number of notches it requires to complete its full count. A partial rotation will misalign the circle again.

The only way to align all four circles is to find a number of turns that causes each disk to complete a number of full rotations. ■

■ To make all the circles make exact full rotations with the same number of turns, the PCs must find a common multiple to all four circle notch divisions (4, 13, 20 and 52), and turn the dial that number of notches, so that the four circles turn by a number of notches that causes them to complete full rotations.

The right answer is ‘260’, which is also the number of days in the Aztec ritual calendar. By turning the smaller dial 260 notches, all four circles will make exact full rotations: the inner circle will make 52 rotations, the second circle 20 rotations, the third circle 13 rotations and the outer circle 4 rotations.


When they think they have the right answer, they must press the dial to open the stone disk that will lead them into the temple. However, each time they press before they align the circles properly will spawn a violent Shadow Demon right next to them. If the PCs are stuck with the solution to the puzzle, ask them to perform a Knowledge, Perception or Rites check (+6). If the check succeed, you may give them a clue such as ‘how many days are in a ritual year?’ or ‘what do you do when you need to find a common number with no fractions?’

AFTER THE ENCOUNTER Once the disk is open, the PCs may enter the Temple. Read the following aloud as they go inside:

The PCs are under attack by shadow demons. Create an easy encounter using shadow demons.

AFTER THE ENCOUNTER If the PCs survive the fight, they may continue descending the stairs until they reach the bottom – a long stone passage leading deeper into the pyramid. The stairs and the passage are filled with stone engravings of men and monsters in sequence. This is actually a codex, and it’s telling a story. If the PCs stop to examine the engravings, they learn the information contained in the History of the Temple sidebar. At the end of the passage there are three paths; one goes straight ahead, another goes left and another goes right. If the PCs take the left path, proceed to Encounter 6. If the PCs take the right path, run Encounter 7. If the PCs continue ahead, proceed to Encounter 8. Encounter 6: The Second Test

The path ends in a closed stone door a few metres later. The door may be pushed inward with some effort (it is an automatic success). Read the following as the PCs enter the chamber:

As the PCs reach the stairs, proceed to Encounter 5. Encounter 5: The Temple Stairs

As the PCs descend the temple stairs, they begin seeing things and hearing voices. If the PCs approach the snake, ask them to perform a Perception check (+3) to notice that the floor tiles are shifting plates, and there are suspicious slits on the walls. If the PCs fail the check or willingly step on the shifting plates, a barrage of darts comes out from the slits. Ask the PCs to perform an Athletic action, confronted by a level 2 TSE . For every point below the needed result, the PCs suffer 1 point of damage.

Then one of the shadows takes on the full form of a monster, and strikes at you.

The PCs may avoid the darts by crawling close to the floor as they approach the statue.

70

71


If the PCs avoid the darts, they lodge on the stone snake, precisely hitting matching slits on the statue’s body. The darts are feather-shaped obsidian knives, and when they hit the snake body it looks like they are covering it in feathers. If the PCs reach the snake without being hit by the darts, be it by crawling or by defeating the trap with an Athletic action, the snake, now covered in obsidian feathers, animates and attacks the PCs. Create an encounter against one Itztlicoatl. If some of the obsidian darts hit the PCs, they don’t reach the snake and the statue doesn’t activate. If the PCs defeat the s nake or reach it without animating it, they may take the golden half-disc on its mouth; it is one half of the key required to enter Encounter 8 .

Encounter 7: The Third Test The right path leads to a stone arch. Read the following aloud when the PCs cross the threshold:

■ The disc may be dislodged from the ceiling by a ranged weapon. If the PCs want to try, ask them to perform a Shooting action, confronted by a Level 2 TSE . ■ If the PCs try to find a secret exit or mechanism,

ask them to perform a Perception or Rites Check (+3) . If the check succeeds, they notice there are shifting plates on the floor, one in front of each of the four dragon carvings on the walls. ■ In three turns, the room will become entirely flooded and the PCs will start drowning. ■ The PCs may reach and grab the golden disc from the second turn.

If a PC kneels in front of one of the dragons, the pressure plate causes a mechanism behind the wall to ‘open’ the dragon’s mouth, letting the water drain through. ■ The pressure plates in front of each dragon carving are only activated by kneeling; not standing or pressing in any other way. ■ At least two of the plates must be kneeled on, and

two of the drains activated, for the water to actually recede; otherwise it will flood the chamber anyway. ■ After the first turn, kneeling on a plate requires

diving against the water pressure. If a PC wants to kneel after the first turn of flooding, ask them to perform a Athletic action, confronted by a Level 1 TSE.

The only way to exit the chamber is to drain the water away. If the PCs succeed at doing this, the stone slab blocking the exit raises, and any PC trapped in the chamber may now come out. The golden half-disc dangling from the ceiling is one half of the key required to enter Encounter 8 .

Encounter 8: The Tomb of Haa’hiu

As soon as the PCs enter the chamber, a stone slab falls behind them, closing the exit, and water begins raining from holes in the ceiling. The room is flooding… quickly. The PCs need only wait until the water level hits the ceiling to float and reach for the golden disc; however, eventually the room will become completely flooded and drown the PCs. Let the PCs state their actions and intentions. ■ The stone slab that blocks the exit cannot be moved,

not even by any PCs that may have stayed outside the chamber.

The tunnel ahead of the stairs is, like the rest of the temple, carved with figures of monsters and people. However, the carvings here tell another s tory: how the head priest of this temple was buried alive, and alive he would remain, waiting below the stone for centuries. After the PCs have walked about thirty metres down the passage, they reach a stone slab with the symbols of a priest, a dragon and a precious stone. There seems to be no way to move the slab, but as the PCs approach it, they notice a small circular depression at the centre, as if it was missing a disc-shaped piece. The door to the chamber can only open if the PCs bring the two key halves from Encounters 6 and 7 . If the PCs survive those encounters and bring both halves of the key, they fit the depression and open the door. 72

Read the following aloud as the PCs enter the chamber:

AFTER THE ENCOUNTER If the PCs survive the battle against Haa’hiu, they have defeated the most dangerous creature in the region and the power that maintained the curse of the Coatli Temple. The Haa’hiu mummy owned jewellery with a total value of 50-100 Quachtli. As soon as the PCs defeat Haa’hiu, they hear something has shifted in the pyramid above. Something has changed about the area they came from. As soon as the PCs go back up to see what’s changed, proceed to Encounter 9.

The only way to open the stone slab and continue the adventure is for one PC to sacrifice a bit of their own blood and drip it on the moon-shaped pedestal. If the PCs don’t think of this solution, they have no choice but to turn back and proceed to Chapter 3 . If at least one of the PCs sacrifices blood to the moonshaped pedestal, they suffer 1 point of damage and the stone slab swings open, thick billowing shadow pouring out of it as if it was a barrel of smoke. The PCs listen to Haa’hiu again in their heads, and must succeed on a Courage Check (+3) or suffer a disadvantage for the rest of the encounter (those that suffer a critical failure will run out of the temple as fast as they can).

FIGHTING HAA’HIU After the cloud of smoke, a mummy comes out of the tomb on the ground, half-crawling and half-floating; this is Haa’hiu, the undead priest that sealed this temple and the deal for the servitude of dragons more than 2000 years ago. Haa’hiu doesn’t offer any diplomacy. He’s waited centuries for a warrior to be proven worthy of taking his duties away from him, and worth is measured by spilling blood – his own or that of the PCs. He summons a group of demon shadows – indicating it was he who sent the others after the PCs before – and attacks immediately. Create a hard encounter using Haa’hiu and shadow demons.

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Encounter 9: The Coatli Stone As the PCs go back upstairs and reach the top of the pyramid again, they notice there’s something at the entrance – something that wasn’t there before. A pedestal has risen at the platform just outside the Temple entrance, past the mechanical door with the time disc. And on that pedestal, there’s an oval-shaped stone, shining under the rays of the midday sun. ■ The stone is about the size of a large gourd, but

it’s incredibly heavy to move. It requires a combined Athletic value of 5 or greater to lift and carry. More than one PC may pool their efforts to lift the stone if needed. ■ Whether the PCs take the Coatli stone or not, as

soon as they look around, they realise they’re not alone; proceed to Chapter 3: The Spanish Force .


Chapter 3: the spanish forcE As soon as the PCs come out from the temple at the pyramid summit, they realise they can see the ocean from here – and they see a ship moored at the coast. The ship of Captain Lorenzo De Medina. The Spanish expedition has arrived. Let the PCs decide what to do now. ■ If no more than a full day has passed (that is, the PCs haven’t rested more than once since they entered the Temple), De Medina has not yet reached the Temple. Right now, the PCs have a very short window to flee before the Spanish expedition overtakes them. If they choose to make a run for it, or to warn the Atlaca villagers of the Spanish arrival, proceed to Encounter 10 . ■ If the PCs are – or wish to be – in good terms with

De Medina, they may actively seek the Spanish explorers; proceed to Encounter 11 . ■ If the PCs have been in the temple for more than one full day, De Medina is already reaching the summit. Proceed to Encounter 12 .

Encounter 10: the Battle As the PCs walk down the Temple stairs, they notice smoke coming out of the Atlaca village. It’s too late for a warning; the Spanish have engaged the Natives in battle. ■ The PCs may run to the battle to help either side; they reach the village in a matter of minutes, where the carnage is still going strong. De Medina’s favourite butcher, the mercenary known only as Aguirre, is leading the attack.

•

•

If the PCs side with the villagers, Create a normal encounter using Aguirre and a combination of Spanish conquistadors and Spanish gunners. If the PCs side with the Spanish, Create an easy encounter using Ixcahuina (if the PCs haven’t killed him already) and a combination of Native Warriors, Native Warrior Leaders and Native Priests.

•

If the PCs survive the battle, regardless of the side they took, De Medina in person arrives to the battle site and faces them. Proceed to Encounter 11.

■ If the PCs want to take advantage of the confusion

to slip unnoticed, they must all succeed on a Stealth Action, Confronted by the Spanish Soldiers’ mediocre skill . •

If even one PC fails the check, the Spanish Explorers find them; run Encounter 11 .

•

If the check succeeds, they have all escaped notice and may now flee the area. Proceed to Ending the Adventure .

Encounter 11: Captain De Medina The PCs come face to face with a squad of Spanish explorers. They demand the PCs stop and give them a chance to surrender. ■ If the PCs resist, they must fight. Create a normal

encounter using a combination of Spanish conquistadors and Spanish gunners. ■ If the PCs win the battle, or go peacefully with the soldiers, they are approached by Captain Lorenzo De Medina himself. ■ If the PCs attacked the Spanish soldiers but surren-

der to the Captain, they may attempt a Charisma action, confronted by De Medina’s competent skill . •

If the PCs win the confrontation, they get on De Medina’s good side and may parley.

•

If the PCs lose, they are taken prisoner; proceed to Ending the Adventure .

■ If the PCs are in good terms with Captain De Medina,

or present themselves as their allies, he accepts their word and lets them join his troop. Let the PCs conduct the negotiations as they wish, using any or all the following excerpts as part of De Medina’s dialogue:

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■

If the PCs win on a confronted Charisma action against De Medina’s competent ability , he promises them a valuable share of the gem’s profits, seeing as how it was them who secured the stone. He is an honourable man, and intends to fulfil the promise.

■ If the PCs haven’t finished Encounter 8 , they, De Medina’s men or a mix thereof must wait until the next midday and go back downstairs. Run any encounter the PCs haven’t completed between 6 and 8, except now the PCs have the backup of a troop of Spanish soldiers. ■ If the PCs finished Encounter 8 but hadn’t yet se■ If the PCs don’t have the Stone, they may return to the Temple and try to secure it again; proceed to Encounter 12 . ■ If the PCs have the Stone, it’s unlikely they can hide

it; Captain De Medina demands they give it to him as his right of conquest. If the PCs win on a confronted Charisma action against De Medina’s competent ability, he promises them a valuable share of the gem’s profits, seeing as how it was the PCs that secured the stone. He is an honourable man, and intends to fulfil the promise.

■

■ If the PCs have the Stone and strike a deal with De

Medina, they have nothing else to do here; proceed to Ending the Adventure . ■ If the PCs resist De Medina’s men or try to attack him, create a hard encounter using a combination of Spanish conquistadors and Spanish gunners. ■ If the PCs survive this battle, De Medina has fled towards the Temple. If the PCs wish to pursue him, proceed to Encounter 12 . Otherwise, they may escape at last; proceed to Ending the Adventure .

Encounter 12: The Summit This encounter only takes place if the PCs return to the top of the Coatli Temple after the Spanish s oldiers have massacred the Atlaca village. At the pyramid summit, the PCs encounter Captain Lorenzo De Medina, escorted by many of his soldiers. Waiting for them at the summit is a black dragon the size of a large bull; it’s Baque, De Medina’s dragon, along with his rider, the woman known only as La Gaditana. ■ If the PCs have already secured the Coatli Stone,

De Medina demands they give it to him as his right of conquest. 75

cured the Coatli Stone, Medina’s men have already removed it from the pedestal and are hauling it on Baque to transport it back to the ship. ■ If the PCs agree to let De Medina have the Coatli

Stone, proceed to Encounter 13 . ■ If the PCs refuse to give De Medina the Stone –

or want to take it from him – they must fight, as the Captain’s guards rush to stop the PCs. Create a hard encounter using a combination of Spanish conquistadors and Spanish gunners. ■ If the PCs sur vive the fight, proceed immediately to

Encounter 13 .

Encounter 13: The Mad Dragon Read the following aloud as the PCs prepare to attack Captain De Medina or to go down the Temple Stairs having allied with him:


Ask the PCs to perform a Knowledge or Rites Check (+3) to understand what’s happening. Any PC that succeeds at this check realises there are strange black fumes coming out of the Stone. The ancient enchantments preserving the egg are too powerful for the mind of a smaller, weaker European dragon, and the presence of the egg’s spirit is dr iving Baque crazy. The dragon is slaughtering Medina’s soldiers; the PCs have a quick window of opportunity to decide what to do. ■ The dragon is too powerful for the PCs to defeat; if

they try to attack it, it sweeps them away easily, and the soldiers yell at them to run away. ■ If the PCs decide to flee, they may now leave the Temple with Captain De Medina. Proceed t o Ending the Adventure . ■ The PCs may take advantage of the confusion to escape with the Coatli Stone; proceed to Ending the Adventure. ■ The PCs may try to use the distraction created by

Baque to intercept De Medina; create an encounter against Captain Lorenzo De Medina. If the PCs win this battle, they may take the Coatli Stone and attempt to flee on their own. ■ The PCs may try to actually stop the d ragon’s fren-

zy. This requires the PCs to perform a Charisma action to calm the dragon, a Rites action to take over the egg’s magic effects, or a Riding action to submit the dragon into cooperation. Any of these actions is confronted by Baque ’s Competent skill of 6 and plays three cards. If the PCs win the confrontation, they make Baque docile and subservient again. ■ If the PCs survive the encounter, with or without Baque on their side, proceed to Ending the Adventure .

76

Ending the adventurE T

77

HERE ARE MANY ways the PCs can finish this adventure.


You made iT! If you made it this far, you can consider yourselves true pioneers of this New World. Whatever the ending you reached, no matter the choices you made, they will be transported to future books of this setting. In order to get the wheels turning, jump to the next page and send us your play-report (Stage 4 feedback). Along with dozens of travellers, you will start making history.

78

81


Non player characterS FIND HERE THE NPCS you will need to run this adventure.

D

U R I N G T H E A D V E N T U R E , you have fou nd in-

structions to create a variety of encounters using the NPCs found in this appendix. These encounters are classified as easy, normal, hard, and very hard. These keywords determine how many NPCs you should use to create the encounters.

Then consider the difficulty of the encounter. An easy encounter has NPCs whose added level is one lower than the added level of the PC group, a regular encounter has the same level, a hard encounter has NPCs whose added level exceeds the added level of the group of PCs by one, and a very hard encounter exceeds the added level of the PCs by two.

First off, add together the levels of the group of PCs playing the adventure (the pre-gen characters are all level 1, so the sum should equal the number of players in the game). 82

Native archer

Ixcahuina level 2

initiative 1

level 1

initiative 3

COMPETENT Rit., Know., Char.

7

COMPETENT Shoot., Ste., Ath.

4

M ED I OCR E

2

MED I OC RE

2

at tack

at tack MELEE

1-

MELEE

1+

RANGED

0

R A N G E D Pie rci ng

2+

Health 3

Health 3 ARMOUR

0

ARMOUR

0

M AG I C RES I ST AN CE

2

MAG I C R ESI S T ANC E

0

Curse of the flesh

ACTION: He chooses a target within his sight up to 20 metres away. The target must perform a Rites Check against Ixcahuina, if he fails, the target gains “REACTION: At the end of each Round, suffer one random injury.” Judge of char acter

Characters trying to lie to him suffer one disadvantage. C U N N I N G ‡ M E S O A M E R I CA N

CAUTIOUS ‡ MESOAMERICAN

MOV: 5m ‡ W E I G H T : 60kg ‡ H E I G H T : 168cm


Due to budgetary constraints, this Episode 0 uses several illustrations that belong to Episodes I & II and thus their 83 depictions may not accurately match the NPCs described in the text.


Native Warrior level 1

Native warrior leader

initiative 3

level 1

initiative 3

COMPETENT Mel., Shoot., Ath.

4

COMPETENT M e l . , A t h . , D i s .

5

M ED I OCR E

2

ME DI O CR E

3

at tack

at tack

MELEE

2+

MELEE Concussion

4+

R A N G E D Pie rci ng

3

RANGED

0

Health 4

Health 5

ARMOUR Soft

1

ARMOUR S o f t

1

M AG I C RE SI ST AN CE

0

MAG I C R ES IS T AN CE

0

Strong attack

REACTION: After declaring a strong attack, he gains blunt and causes three deterioration to his target’s weapon or armour. If the target was an NPC, he’ll gain either blunt or ripped instead.

AGGRESSIVE ‡ MESOAMERICAN

AGGRESSIVE ‡ MESOAMERICAN

M O V : 5m ‡ W E I G H T : 65kg ‡ H E I G H T : 166cm


84

! p i w

Native priest level 1

Shadow demon

initiative 2

level 2

initiative 2

COMPETENT R i t . , S t e . , M e d .

5

COMPETENT M e l . , S t e . , R i t .

6

M ED I OCR E

1

ME DI O CR E

4

at tack

at tack

MELEE

1-

MELEE Piercing, magical

2+

RANGED

0

RANGED

0

Health 3

Health 7

ARMOUR

0

ARMOUR

0


1

MAG I C R ES I ST AN CE

1

Curse of the flesh

Shadow

ACTION: She chooses a target within her sight up to 20 metres away. The target must perform a Rites Check against the Native priest, if he fails, the target gains “REACTION: At the end of each Round, suffer one random injury.”

REACTION: After successfully attacking a character, that character must perform a normal Discipline Check (+3). If he fails, he is under the control fo the Shadow demon until he succeeds in the same check at the start of his turn, or until the Shadow demon dies.

C U N N I N G ‡ M E S O A M E R I CA N

AGGRESSIVE ‡ MYTHICAL CREATURE


MOV: 5m ‡ W E I G H T : -kg ‡ H E I G H T : 160cm

85


! p i w Itztlicoatl level 2

Haa’hiu

initiative 1

level 2

initiative 2

COMPETENT M e l . , S t e . , R i t .

6

COMPETENT M e l . , S h o o t . , R i t .

8

M ED I OCR E

2

M ED I OCR E

5

at tack

at tack

MELEE Poisonous, magical,

4+

MELEE Fear, magical

2+

RANGED

0

R AN GE D C ON CU SS IO N, FE AR , M AG IC AL

2+

Health 5

Health 8

ARMOUR Hard

2

ARMOUR Soft

1


1


2

Stone body

Demonic

All weapons suffer one deterioration when used against it, even if their attack fails. Piercing weapons suffer one additional deterioration.

It ignores one damage from non-magical attacks. Summoner of shadows

ACTION: Discard one card from the top of the deck. If it is a 4 or higher, a Shadow demon appears next to it.

AGGRESSIVE ‡ MYTHICAL CREATURE

CUNNING ‡ MYTHICAL CREATURE



86

Spanish conquistador level 1

Spanish gunner level 1

initiative 2

COMPETENT M e l . , A t h . , D i s .

5

M ED I OCR E

2

at tack

initiative 2

COMPETENT Shoot., Ath., Dis.

5

MED I OC RE

2

at tack MELEE

2 4

MELEE Piercing

3++

RAN G ED PI ER CI N G , F EAR , R ELOAD

RANGED

0

Health 4

Health 4 ARMOUR Hard

2

M AG I C RES I ST AN CE

0

ARMOUR Soft

1

MAG I C R ESI S TA NC E

0

Strong attack


87

AGGRESSIVE ‡ SPANISH

CAUTIOUS ‡ SPANISH




Lorenzo de Medina level 2

initiative 3

Aguirre level 2

initiative 3

COMPETENT Mel., Shoot., Dis., Char.

6

COMPETENT R i t . , M e l . , D i s .

6

M ED I OCR E

4

M ED I OCR E

3

at tack

at tack

MELEE Piercing, magical

3++

MELEE Magical

2+

R AN G ED PI ER CI N G , F EAR , R ELOAD

3

RANGED

0

Health 5

Health 3

ARMOUR Hard

2

ARMOUR

0


1


1

Charismatic

Divine hands

He gains one advantage when trying to convince someone of something.

A friendly character in physical contact with him has one injury and one poisonous effect cured.

Strong attack


STRATEGIST ‡ SPANISH

CUNNING ‡ SPANISH



88

La Gaditana level 2

initiative 4

COMPETENT Mel., Shoot., Ath.

7

M ED I OCR E

4

at tack MELEE Piercing, magical

3++

R AN G ED PI ER CI N G , F EAR , R ELOAD

3

Health 4 ARMOUR Hard

2


1

AGGRESSIVE ‡ SPANISH MOV: 5m ‡ W E I G H T : 71kg ‡ H E I G H T : 170cm

89


90

Gm’s outline an a n d p r e - g e n characterS U S E T H E F O L L O W I N G pre-gen characters to run the story. Create their backstories as needed, taking into account the general setting and the ragtag nature of the PC group.

91


92

93


Sword MELEE piercing

FORGED ‡ 40 QUACHTLI 3 ++

! n o o S g n i m o C

Strong attack II

REACTION: After declaring an attack with this weapon, suffer one deterioration to cause two deterioration to your target’s weapon or armour. If the target was an NPC, he’ll gain blunt or ripped instead. Point attack

REACTION: After declaring an action with this weapon, suffer one disadvantage to ignore hard armour.

Conquistador armour REGULAR ‡ 80 QUACHTLI

n ! o o S g n i m o C

Hard ar mour 2

You suffer one disadvantage towards Dodging actions.

94

95


Sword MELEE piercing

FORGED ‡ 40 QUACHTLI 3 ++

! n o o S g n i m C o

Strong attack II

REACTION: After declaring an attack with this weapon, suffer one deterioration to cause two deterioration to your target’s weapon or armour. If the target was an NPC, he’ll gain blunt or ripped instead. Point attack

REACTION: After declaring an action with this weapon, suffer one disadvantage to ignore hard armour.

Soft armour REGULAR ‡ 15 QUACHTLI


Soft armour 1

96

97


Quauhololli mace MELEE concussion

4+

! n o o S g n i m o C Sling RANGED concussion

PRIMITIVE ‡ 10 QUACHTLI

Strong attack II

REACTION: After declaring an attack with this weapon, suffer one deterioration to cause two deterioration to your target’s weapon or armour. If the target was an NPC, he’ll gain blunt or ripped instead.

FORGED ‡ 20 QUACHTLI 3

! n o o S g n i m o C Soft armour REGULAR ‡ 15 QUACHTLI

n ! o o S g n i m o C

Soft armour 1

98

99


Ahtlatl RANGED piercing

FORGED ‡ 20 QUACHTLI 3+

! n o o S g n i m o C Steel dagger MELEE

FORGED ‡ 6 QUACHTLI 2

! n o o S g n i m C o Soft armour REGULAR ‡ 15 QUACHTLI


Soft armour 1

100

Additional geaR G I V E T H E F O L L O W I N G gear to the characters when they find it t hroughout the course of their adventure.

Stone spear MELEE

PRIMITIVE ‡ 8 QUACHTLI 2+

! n o o S g n i m o C 101

Reach

You can attack enemies just outside your Melee range as if they were in Melee range. They won’t be able to counter with Melee unless they have Reach. Spear wall

REACTION: If you have allies on both your left and right sides within 2.5 metres, gain one advantage.


Magical macuahuitl


MELEE concussion, magical 4 +


Strong attack III

REACTION: After declaring an attack with this weapon, suffer one deterioration to cause three deterioration to your target’s weapon or armour. If the target was an NPC, he’ll gain blunt or ripped instead.

Magical stone spear MELEE m a g i c a l


2+


Reach

You can attack enemies just outside your Melee range as if they were in Melee range. They won’t be able to counter with Melee unless they have Reach. Spear wall

REACTION: If you have allies on both your left and right sides within 2.5 metres, gain one advantage.

Leather shield REGULAR ‡ 15 QUACHTLI


Shielding II

REACTION: After losing a confrontation against an attack, cause up to 2 deterioration to this item to add that many points to your action value. If you could have won the confrontation with your modified action value, your opponent’s action fails.

102

103


So what’s next? kickstarter november 1st D R A G O N S C O N Q U E R A M E R I C A will continue its journ ey on Kickstarter. Starting November 1st, we will fund the first book of this setting, a book that will shape the events to come. 104

FeedbacK THIS DOWNLOADABLE DOCUMENT has many purposes, chief among them our need to gather your insigh ts to make the best possible game. You have many ways to take part in this process as you can see below. Whichever you choose, we’ll be eternally grateful.

The rights and wrongS Stage 1: troubleshooting WE HAVE A PRETTY active community on Discord.

It’s the best place to give us general recommendations and shoot us any lingering questions you may have on the mechanics, the lore or the Kickstarter: ■ discord.gg/FqBe4pk

Stage 2: spelling and grammar TYPOS ARE EVER-PRESENT in printed material but

that doesn’t mean the are OK. If you want to help us get rid of them, please s hare them through this form: ■ goo.gl/forms/ciCdwls2KXdVHepk2

We will open access to the plain text documents at a future date.

Stage 3: rules and mechanics P L A Y I N G T H E G A M E and breaking it apart; that’s the

kind of feedback we need the most. What works and what doesn’t? What flows and what stalls? What do you lov e and what could you live wit hou t? The mor e specific your comments, the more we can improve the game. For this purpose we have created a form that you ’ll be able to fil l as many times as you need : ■ goo.gl/forms/arbtXlQmFbdvIkPJ2

79


Changing historY

Y

OUR

ACTIONS

WILL shape the Universe of

Dragons Conquer America, starting NOW.

Stage 4: campaign results THE JEWEL OF THE CROWN of Dragons Conquer

America. As you may have read elsewhere, we want to create a living, breathing setting where your choices are transported to future books. This initiative starts right now with Episode 0: the Coatli Stone . Send us your results and tip the power balance between Natives and Spaniards. YOU WILL CHANGE HISTORY.

■ goo.gl/forms/rWsbYwCmZjETLlE82

Giving credit where credit is duE We will make sure your help will not go uncredited:

STAGE 1 CREDIT Shoutout in the November DCA Kickstarter campaign.

STAGE 2 CREDIT Collaborator credit in Episodes I & II book.

STAGE 3 CREDIT Playtester credit in Episodes I & II and the future Core Book .

STAGE 4 CREDIT Your actions will impact the future Core Book of the setting. You are part of the game now.

80

Episodes i & II booK kickstarter november 1st

T

HE CORE OF the Kickstarter cam-

paign, starting November 1st, will be the Episodes I & II book. This book will lay the foundation of the setting of Dragons Conquer America. The actions you take in these two campaigns will create the groundwork for a future core book of the game. The campaigns will allow you to live this epic clash between cililizations from the perspectives of both sides, Native Americans and Spaniards.

105


106

Pioneer seT

I

kickstarter november 1st

F Y O U W A N T something truly special and unique, we have you

r e xclu sive Kick s tar te bo x two- sided

covered. This Kickstarter exclusive deluxe set contains many cool artifacts designed to immerse you in the action.

p m a ) n a D t i t l g n T B h c o s i T e n n a l d e ( f i

Two NPC decks. 108 NPC cards in total.

107

Two player decks. 54 cards in total.


e n ) c r e T B D S G M d e s i g n a l ( f i n

k o o b I I s I & e d i s o E p

e n - g i o s e r l 8 p r f o t e a c r a h c

108

This is just the beginninG T

HE WORLD OF DRAGONS CONQUER AMERICA WILL EXPAND IN UNEXPECTED WAYS. WITH

YOUR HELP, WE WILL BE ABLE TO EXPLORE IT IN FULL.

REMEMBER: KICKSTARTER NOVEMBER 1ST

109


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Burning Games Dragons Conquer America the Coatli Stone V1.3

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