Dragon Warriors RPG: eFanzine

Good news for any of you Dragon Warriors RPG fans, or those of you who like your fantasy a little more proto-historical.

The new Dragon Warriors RPG eFanzine, Ordo Draconis, is available, as a free download, over at RPGnow.com.

I just recently downloaded it, so I have not had a chance to review it in detail, but you can read the write-up here.Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/dragon%20warriors
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Dragon Warriors RPG: Magic Users

On Monday, I posted regarding Magic User fantasy tropes. I like the fantasy tropes in Magic Realm, as they seem grounded in common understandings of what each magic user type represents in fantasy fiction and common word usage.

I should preface this post by saying that I like Dragon Warriors RPG. I remember seeing it back in the mid-to-late 80's, as a friend's aunt would send him this kind of stuff all the time from the UK. Back then, I thought Dragon Warriors was fresh and innovative. While I don't have quite the same feeling about it today, I still like the atmosphere, and the different take on combat and magic items.

The approach to defining magic user classes leaves me cold, however.

For one thing, the name-classes of magic user seemed neither accurate nor terribly familiar. Perhaps they were going for unfamiliar. I don't see that as a particularly effective way to draw new players: at least at the beginning, I presume you want the game to be immediately appealing, familiar and intuitive, to encourage buy-in by the players and referee. After achieving that, it makes sense to mix things up a little. Of course, i'm no game designer so what do I know?

Dragon Warriors RPG has four classes of magic users. Elementalist, Sorcerer, Mystic and Warlock.

In DWRPG, Warlocks are defined as magic users who use their magic to enhance their combat prowess. I presume this is akin to the more aptly-named Swordmages of D&D 3.5. But common usage and fantasy tropes surrounding the term Warlock define it as a male witch, imagined to have special powers derived from the devil.

In DWRPG, Mystics are defined as magic users who are attuned to nature, or to the power of the mind. Again, in D&D, these characters might by Druids or Psionicists. Common usage of the term Mystic however, has overtly religious connotations, often meaning someone who practices occult rights or has knowledge of religious mysteries, which seems more suited to a Priestly or Clerical class.

DWRPG defines Sorcerers as those who draw energy from other dimensions to fuel their spells. This might seem like a run-of-the-mill magic user, but the term Sorcerer again has a definite "black magic" connotation that do not mesh with the definition for the class used in DWRPG.

Finally, the Elementalist class is a very specialized magic user class, that harnesses the raw elements (fire, water, air, earth, darkness) to cast spells. I suppose this could be the pyromancers and other elemental based magic users of the more modern fantasy gaming. This is a fantasy trope that I have little familiarity with, and it therefore failes to evoke any imagery for me, which is important for me as a fantasy tropes enthusiast.

I like Dragon Warriors RPG. It has an interesting, if perhaps too derivative, gameworld, and great atmosphere, to name just a few of the features that I find appealing.

I'm no fan of its magic user classes, however.Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/dragon%20warriors
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Spell-casters and Fantasy Tropes

I like fantasy tropes, as they tend to create a shorthand that allows players to immediately understand character and context, without going into a great amount of detail.

Fantasy tropes can be tricky though, as sometimes what you think is a clear fantasy trope is not necessarily shared by all RPG players.

The Magic Realm game has several magic-using characters to choose from. Those include the Sorcerer, the Wizard, the Witch King, the Magician, the Witch, the Woodsgirl, the White Knight, the Elf, the Pilgrim and the Druid.

To me, there is a clear shorthand (fantasy trope) attached to each of those magic using characters. I'm not so sure that shorthand is shared by others, however. Here are the Magic Realm fantasy tropes, as I see them.

The "Wizard" is your typical Gandalf Character.
The "Elf" is a woodland sprite, playing sometimes deadly tricks on passers-by.
The "Sorcerer" is akin to the Sorceress in Sleeping Beauty.
The "Witch King" (Warlock) is attuned to the demonic, infernal powers.
The "Witch" is the same, but is the female equivalent, and has a black cat and flying broom.
The "Magician" is a dabbler in magic, doing simple tricks and occasionally stumbling onto powerful magic.
The "Woodgirl" is a friend to the woodland sprites, and is given access to their magic.
The "White Knight" is a Paladin, deriving holy power from on high, when he earns it.
The "Pilgrim" is a Cleric, who takes up a weapon to defend the faith when the need arises.
The "Druid" carries a sickle or dagger to harvest herbs, and derives his power from the natural world.

I find each of those characters to be clear fantasy tropes.

On the other hand, the Dragon Warriors RPG has four magic using characters. I find the magic using characters in that game to lack clarity as fantasy tropes, compared to the Magic Realm magic characters. Those Dragon Warriors RPG magic-using characters are Elementalist, Sorcerer, Mystic, and Warlock.

What do those four words mean to you, in terms of fantasy tropes? Interestingly, Dragon Warriors RPG has no Cleric-equivalent character (just in case you were thinking the Mystic was some kind of holy person!)Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/dragon%20warriors
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