War & Dragons

The Foundation of battle even relating to dragons is the War & Armies and D6 & Combat rules, Dragon based combat is simply a layer added to the different faces of the system presented on those two pages.

Unlike armies or navies, dragons can maneuver around the battlefield with impunity. They are not fixed to engage any specific sub unit. Before each round of rolls are taken the dragon rider must nominate IF they are attacking and which Commander (army) they are attacking. Against ground units a critical success will apply two wounds for the sheer size and brutality of their targeted attacks. A critical failure will apply one wound to the nearest allied force for a lack of accuracy.

Dragons and their riders can flee during battle at any time, departing battle against a ground force requires no roll. However, fleeing battle against another dragon requires a head to head roll of the attackers presence+Investigation (active perception) vs the fleeing targets agility+acrobatics (riding) the highest roll wins and can be repeated every round in lieu of an attack until successful. This does, of course, open the target up to being attacked during the pursuer's turns.

Every noble army has a certain number of scorpions to combat large forces, shield walls, cavalry, siege engines and the like and these can be used against dragons with similar success as a regular attack.

Actions, Equipment and Defense prepared before a battle is a common theme when building toward war, in the interest of keeping things fair, it is always expected that an enemy will attack, so there's no mechanism for adding to or creating indefensible or overpowering attacks

Prepared defense however is entirely possible, as are opening other paths of attack. In the lead up to battle, player actions through story requests can prepare a defensible position that can negate one successful attack per battle, either from an enemy army, or even the successful attack of a dragon. This prepared defense can be called AFTER a successful attack roll is made to negate the wounds incurred. Opening alternative paths of attack can allow for the possibility of splitting an enemy force to fight on two fronts weakening them against their main target.

If a Dragon is in flight when it is defeated, the rider must roll for ‘landing.’ They will roll Agility+Acrobatics (Riding) at a DC of 15. Critical success on this roll will see them survive the crash landing of the dragon unharmed, and out of range of the enemy army (if the rider chooses,) a standard success they survive the landing with one wound taken, and the rider is within range of the enemy army, failure they will take two wounds from the crash, and critical failure they take four wounds from the long fall to the ground.

If the Dragon has landed prior to its defeat the rider will be able to ‘dismount’ the Dragon as it is wounded without further rolls but will be within range of the enemy army.

This will be processed the same as PVP but with the additional dragon modifiers applied on top of the players own, The dragon riders will roll per PVP with the full pool for their attack and combined rating defense, as well as combining their health with the dragons.

At the end of combat, if the attacker decides not to pursue their target, a defeated rider must flee the battlefield and return to its camp or home. If the attacker pursues the vanquished rider with intent to kill, the defender receives the opportunity to roll to flee, but the next successful attack will kill the dragon.

The defender must then roll to survive the death of the Dragon with the defeat rolls outlined above without the indicated wounds relating to a success, but they will be unconscious on the ground and will need to be rescued by their armies or will be at the mercy of their opponent and their allies at the end of the days battles. If the rolls for surviving the ‘landing’ fail, they will be found dead on the ground having perished with the dragon in the fighting.