Character Creation Sessions: Dragonbane and Traveler

So this weekend I got together with my buddy to hang out and make some characters.

He and I played 10 new systems together last year, but even with that, we still looked forward to making even more characters.

I brought over a ton of options and he started off by picking Dragobane purely based off the cover.

Dragonbane is a really interesting system because while it on the surface can seem very similar to other games we played, as we dug in to character creation and then on to general rules we came up against some rules we had experienced in other games that never really aligned with our prefeered play style.

Neither of us really like opposed rolls for combat. While it is fun for skill checks, adding the extra step for each attack resolution feels like while it can help you feel like you have some extra control over defense, it also means longer turns. Now once we realized that this system also has not only dynamic initiative, but also a single action economy that includes reactions, we under stood that that can be the trade off. Ironically it ended up being two systems that my buddy didn't like as individual rules, that came together to make more sense when added together. So I was actually kind of excited to give the game a shot... until we realized the extremely slow burn on character progression. Because it takes so long to get new abilities and the rock bottom low chances to success in the beginning , we felt this wasn't the game for us. We also recently played a game of Shadowdark together, and of course we have played just a shit ton of 5e, and I felt like Dragonbane was in a way, a bridge between the two styles of games. Eventually I am going to be hitting people with the same accuracy as in 5e, but it starts off real rough. Next I felt like as a DM the main level I would be pulling would be in the action economy. More dudes means more chances to go first, and more chances to deny economy.

Lastly it was funny that my buddy really wanted to be a Mallard but that they are the worst option of for his favorite class, magic user. All in all, I like some of the rules of Dragonbane, but I wouldn't gravitate towards the system in its entirely. I think I might want to use the action economy plus the initiative set up in a very specific situations.

Next was Traveler. Now I have to admit that while I have always wanted to try out the system for its historical importance, I also have been very interested in the idea that this system may have inspired both Firefly and the Expanse. I watched videos on character creation a few weeks ago, and I was correct in my assertion that I was going to love it. It's such a good middle ground between complete control in games like 5e, to the completely random creation of a system like Warhammer Fantasy 2e. I feel making broad decisions for the character, but life getting in the way is so poignant .

I decided to start in University and my buddy started in Military academy. We both did pretty well there, and he jumped into Infantry right after. I rolled the psion random event, and never would have picked it, had I not just said during Dragonbane that I need to be more comfortable playing casters. It happended that one of options for that carrier just feels like psychic grad school.

My buddy proceeded to just crush the infantry role for 6 straight terms, ending up as a General with a cybernetic eye.

I kept getting the event where I could manipulate people psychically, after rolling a 5 on 2d6 three out of four chances.

While normally I come into a game with a half baked concept, find some rules to support the idea, and then build my backstory mostly in play, I could see how adding the chance to fail out of a career really adds tension and stakes to taking more terms. We also both got hit pretty hard in the aging rolls, but that again felt more like a funny gamble instead of a pure punishment.

Over all I would love to play Traveller but I would also play some Dragonsbane assuming we could find a way to have us start with some experience and could let us progress a little faster.

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