Professional Documents
Culture Documents
4
ForeworD
D R A GONS C ONQUER A MER IC A has been in The background, adven-
the back of our minds for the longest of times. tures, and lore of the
Since we created the RPC Engine mechanics game are being co-
for FAITH: The Sci-Fi RPG, we have wanted to written by JC Obal and
translate them to all sorts of genres, fantasy Carlos Gmez Quintana.
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 fire-
spitting dragon. But things are not always as
simple as they seem.
Just picture 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 couldnt 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 dont we offer
our players the chance to live these events
from both sides of the clash? Why dont we
actively include prejudices such as xenophobia
and class-struggles into the very fabric of the
mechanics?
Now lets 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
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
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 edi-
tion slash promotional item slash first stone in the universe of Dragons Conquer
America. It contains almost everything you need to play an introductory adven-
ture in this setting, including the basic lore, general rules and the relevant pre-
gen characters, NPCs and pieces of equipment. Youll just have to add a bunch
of friends and a poker deck (or a fistful of six-sided dice) and youre good to go.
8
It is also a way to raise awareness of our Having said this, and taking advantage
We are aware of the
upcoming Kickstarter campaign that will of the RPC25s 1 through 6 suits, we have
delicate nature of por-
traying other cultures in fund the Episodes I & II of Dragons Conquer added an optional dice based variation of
media. Thats why we are America, two full blown campaigns that the mechanic. It is possible to play DCA
telling a story we feel will shape the future of the setting. with dice if you prefer to do so.
confident telling, a clash
W HAT DO I N E E D TO PLAY I T? Nonetheless, we do encourage you to dis-
between the Mexica, the
Maya, and the Span- cover the thrill of our card based system.
To play this game you need this docu-
iards (the writer of DCA
ment, a GM, 2 to 4 players, and, to be able
is Mexican and we are whats the prejudice sys-
to use the RPC Engine system, a poker deck.
Spanish ourselves). tem?
What system does it use? The 16h Century, for all its enlighten-
ment, was a pretty dark age for diversity.
Dragons Conquer America uses the RPC
Uncontrolled slavery, rampant xenopho-
Engine system.
bia, ingrained misogyny... All of them and
The RPC Engine uses cards to manage more were part of the different cultures.
luck. Each player starts with seven cards
To reflect this fact, each player will have
in their hand and can choose which value
to select several prejudices during char-
to use in each situation to improve their
acter creation. The GM will at all times be
chances of succcses.
able to trigger these prejudices to test the
THIS SOU N DS FAMI LI AR characters against their inner demons.
We created the RPC Engine system to As the campaigns advance and players
power FAITH: The Sci-Fi RPG. That game bond with each other, they will be able to
uses the RPC54 variant, whereas DCA takes increase their Tolerance skill and get rid
the RPC25 shape. The # refers to the num- of their prejudices one by one, becoming
ber of cards that are used in each flavour. better people in the process.
9
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
HO W L O NG W ILL IT RU N ?
It will run for one month starting
November 1st.
10
11
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
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 during the 16th century. The game setting,
while based on historical fact, is rife with fantastic elements, including power-
ful magic, mystic forces, and mythical creatures such as fairies and dragons. The
story is mostly fictional, but accurately introduces events that took place during
the Mesoamerican War of Conquest, as well as the historical nations and char-
acters at their centre. This of course includes the daring campaigns of Captain
Hernn Corts, and the great domain we know today as the Aztec Empire.
12
Blue skies, black omenS
T H E S PA N I S H E X P E D I T I O N F O R C E
Contrary to the popular belief of future generations, the invading force that just arrived to
the New World is not a sanctioned group of disciplined soldiers under the command of a
duly-appointed general. That is how the Spanish Crown would have liked it, yes; however,
Corts and his crewmates are not soldiers, but adventuring nobles brave and ambitious
thrill seekers and treasure hunters looking to make their fortune in the unexplored land. They
wear no uniform but their mismatched armour suits, and no flag but the Catholic God.
This ragtag mercenary group has just arrived to the coast of the New World, without the
sanction or permission of Corts immediate superior and, recently, sworn enemy the
Governor of Cuba. They are mutineers; they are rebels. If their attempt to settle this land and
plunder its riches fails, Spain will have them imprisoned or worse. Their very lives depend
on the gamble theyve just played, and theyre not about to return home empty-handed.
To quell dissent among his men, Corts has scuttled his ships, tied his dragons and
founded a new settlement in the name of the Castilian Kings: Villa Rica De La Vera
Cruz. From there, he intends to conquer the surrounding lands or die trying.
13
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
14
MAGIC
Magic is real in this world, and the
history we know, while mostly un-
changed, has been sutly influenced
or altered by sorcerous forces.
Ancestral air and thunder spirits ac-
companied the Aryan invasion of the
Tamil at the dawn of history, giving
rise to the Vedic legends. Bearded, hu-
man-faced dragons oversaw the build-
ing of the first pyramids at Sumer
and Egypt. The Age of Philosophy of
the post-Atlantean world gave rise to
mighty priest-wizards, remembered as
gods and demigods in the records of
the Fall of Troy and the Rise of Rome.
The descendants of these Roman wiz-
ards established the Catholic Council
that still rules the world, inspired by
the wisdom of the Prophets of the
Middle East. Faerie kingdoms al-
lied with the warlord Artus, giving
him a magic sword and the title of
Faerie King, to expel the Romans from
Brittany. Norse elves spurred and ac-
companied Leif Erikssons expedition
to Vinland, while the Keltic elf rogue
Robin of the Hood led a resistance
that forced the British Kings to sign
the Carta Magna that would eventu-
ally lead to the return of Democracy.
Thus todays world is shaped by the
historical presence of wizards and
spirits, which have walked hand-
in-hand with humanity, sometimes
more noticeably and sometimes from
the shadows but always there.
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
RELIGION
Magic is inextricably linked to faith;
what one believes in determines
ones access to the Spirit World. Thus
worshippers of fire entities have ac-
cess to fire magic, and war priests
know prayers to inspire armies.
All religions agree that there
is a single divine force above the
world. The Catholic nations call this
force God and see Him as a person
an immortal, unconceivable person,
but one they can name and beg to.
The Mexica of the New World call
it Teotl, which translates as magic
itself. Even miscreants and heretics
acknowledge this force exists, al-
though they assume its just a com-
bination of knowable natural forces.
Those that worship, study or un-
derstand this all-powerful force are
capable of superhuman feats, un-
derstood by others as magic spells
or divine miracles. The greatest of
these priests and wizards are so
powerful in their worship that they
become worshipped in turn, becom-
ing the legendary heroes of myth
and even the deities of polytheis-
tic pantheons. Catholics, who deny
any divinity other than Gods, wor-
ship these individuals as Saints.
16
Dragons only
accepting women as
riders has changed
the way society
treats them.
17
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
DR AGONS
Dragons have been a part of the catholic world for more than
a thousand years, ever since Saint George tamed and con-
verted the legendary Wyrm of Silene in the third century AD.
From that moment, the European dragons that would oth-
erwise have been massacred by human knights and soldiers
became instead a valuable resource of human armies.
For the last millennium, warfare has been shaped by the pres-
ence of dragon riders, and their use has allowed European king-
doms to secure lasting power over their lands. The most famous
examples were the Crusades, where Richard the Lionhearts
catholic dragons defeated Saladins djinn army and sacked
the Holy City; the legendary battle where St. Joan of Arc and
her Holy Dragon defeated Richards descendants, thus end-
ing the so-called Hundred Years War; and the liberation of
Castile from Moorish forces, at the hands of the freedom
force led by Jimena Daz de Vivar, still remembered as La Saida
Campeadora the most famous dragon rider in history.
Now, however, as every army and kingdom owns a manda-
tory dragon force of roughly equal power, European forces
have come to a stalemate. Unable to expand into each others
borders, they have turned to new routes for trade and con-
quest, taking their dragons to previously uncharted lands.
20 years ago, Christopher Columbus found such a land a
whole New World, it seems, waiting to be discovered in the
middle of the Western Sea. European Kingdoms were quick to
send their own ships and dragons to the new territories, look-
ing for new lands to expand into and riches to exploit.
But this land is, of course, inhabited. And Here, too, Be Dragons.
New World dragons differ from their European counterparts
in their sleeker, larger bodies, their lack of lower limbs and the
beautiful plumage that adorns their scales. The most important
difference, however, is that these dragons have never been con-
verted to any religion or allegiance. They are free and wise, and
have many natural abilities that humans would call sorcery and
indeed humans could only imitate by limited prayers and crude
spells. Many of these dragons can even take on human form, and
of course only allow themselves to be mounted by those they
choose. It goes without saying that these dragons do not serve
their human neighbours; in fact, humans often revere them as
divine beings. In return, dragons take care of them, as a shepherd
takes care of his flock; thus New World natives have no dragon
armies, but are under dragon protection. And their gods wont
take kindly to a swarm of lesser lizards invading their land.
Its not just Dragons:
However, even if the catholic dragons of European armies are gen- DCA is chock full
erally less powerful than their New World counterparts, they are of monsters and
mythological beings
far more numerous and better organized. God only knows what will
from both sides of
happen when both forces collide and which side He will favour. the Atlantic. Pictured
above, the Chivo.
18
THE ORIGIN OF THE DR AGON RIDERS
The town had a small lake with a plague-bearing Most dragons are considered evil, snakes of
dragon living in it and poisoning the countryside. Satan, but the progeny of Saint Sabras dragon
To appease the dragon, the people of Silene fed followed Christ. Now, most kingdoms of Europe
it two sheep every day. When they ran out of have a small group of dragons who serve their
sheep they started feeding it their children, cho- King and God (sometimes fighting between
sen by lottery. One time the lot fell on the kings them, as different kings have different perspec-
daughter. The king, in his grief, told the people tives about what God wants). Muslim kingdoms
they could have all his gold and silver and half have dragons of their own, as well, just as evil to
of his kingdom if his daughter were spared; the Christians as Satans (to many, even worse). It is
people refused. The daughter was sent out to the said that Chinas Emperor is a dragon himself.
lake, dressed as a bride, to be fed to the dragon.
There are all kinds of dragons, firebreathers,
Saint George by chance rode past the lake. acid breathers, those who dont breath anything
The princess tried to send him away, but he strange, those who can fly for days straight, drag-
vowed to remain. The dragon emerged from ons who are small as horses and dragons large as
the lake while they were conversing. Saint mountains. But they all have one thing in com-
George made the Sign of the Cross and charged mon: if tamed, they will only follow orders from a
it on horseback, seriously wounding it with female human - never a male. It is not clear why.
his lance. He then called to the princess to
throw him her girdle, and he put it around the Dragons only accepting women as riders has
dragons neck. When he did so, the dragon fol- changed the way society treats women in some
lowed the girl like a meek beast on a leash aspects, mostly in that they are allowed to serve
in the military and gain ranks within it, but for
The princess and Saint George led the dragon some farmer folks it only means that in addi-
back to the city of Silene, where it terrified tion to being able to marry their daughters off or
the populace. Saint George offered to kill the send them away to be nuns, they can also send
dragon if they consented to become Christians them to the military - while keeping most of their
and be baptised. Fifteen thousand men includ- other views on the subject. If dragons were wildly
ing the king of Silene converted to Christianity. common, a large percentage of women could be
trained to be their raiders and this would cre-
When George was about to kill the creature as ate a change in the balance of power, which
promised, the kings daughter stood on his way would then change the roles of all women, even
and said that if the dragon were to consent and those who would never become riders. This is
become Christian as well, he should pardon its life what the Dragon Breeders Society intents, per
as well. George was thunderstruck, but agreed. example. But for now, women in Europe, with
the exception of noblewomen and dragon rid-
The dragon converted out of love for the kings ers, are treated as second rated citizens at best.
daughter, rather than love of its own life. Thus,
the dragon became Silenes protector and the first
of the dragons to protect the Christian faith. It
fell in battle many years later against the her-
etics in Palestina, the kings daughter died riding
it. Her name now immortal, the first dragon rider,
venerated by all women who followed her steps
and rode the dragons progeny for the greater
glory of Christ: Saint Sabra, the first of her kin.
19
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
20
21
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
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.
22
Tools to plaY
Conflict D C A C A N BE played either with cards
or with dice. It is possible for differ-
ent people in the same group to use either,
TH E H AND OF C ARDS
In DCA, all players but the GM have a
hand of cards. Nobody can have more than
or to change at any time what you use to seven cards in their hands, if somehow
play, if the GM agrees to it. someone drew over that many, they must
discard down to seven.
The playing cards Players can only use cards from their
When playing with cards you can either hands, unless specifically stated otherwise
use the custom DCA cards or cards from a - and whenever a player uses a card from
regular poker deck. Youll only need the his hand he can choose which card to use.
cards numbered 1 through 6 and one of the Players cannot look into the deck or the
Social jokers, set aside the rest of cards. discard pile, nor shuffle or mix previously
It is recommended to have one deck per used cards into the deck. Whenever a card
player and never mix cards with each oth- is used, it is placed in the discard pile, usu-
ers decks, which will give you even odds. ally set up next to the deck, face up. When
the last card of the deck is drawn, the dis-
If you dont have enough decks for that, card pile must be shuffled to set up a new
you can shuffle as many decks as youve got deck.
and everyone will draw from it; alterna-
tively, set one deck for the GM and anoth- Players cannot look at other players
er for the players (the deck for the players hand of cards, nor can they tell each other
should be composed of half as many decks the values of the cards in their hands. They
Exploration shuffled together as players there are in can only tell each other how they feel about
the game). their luck based on their hand of cards.
E.g. I am feeling lucky today, I can
THE SU ITS
keep doing this all day long, I dont
The cards have four suits: Conflict, think I can survive another encoun-
Exploration, Social and Divine. DCA cards ter, I feel like I should crawl to a
have unique symbols for these four suits, corner and make myself into a tiny,
but if you are playing with regular poker tiny ball until danger has passed.
cards you can use the following correlation:
Conflict is Spades, Exploration is Clubs, Players must always follow the rules
Social is Hearts, and Divine is Diamonds. to play, discard, and draw cards during
Divine confrontations.
Conflict: This suit is relevant to fights,
chases, duels, and such. USI NG C ARDS
Exploration: This suit is relevant to ex-
ploring, finding clues, climbing, swim- PLAY
ming, following tracks, etc. Cards are played to resolve actions
Social: This suit is relevant to any type during confrontations. When a PC plays a
of social interaction with other characters. card, it must come from his hand of cards.
When an NPC or TSE plays a card it will
Divine: This suit is relevant to using come from the top of the deck.
magic, or communicating with the
Joker supernatural.
23
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
C oo
Discarding a card is used to resolve
o
While the rules are written using cards
s
check, but it can also be triggered by spe-
m n!!
as the basic mechanic, alternatively, you
cial abilities or rules. Why, when and how
in
can play DCA with D6 (D6 are dice with 6
many cards are discarded is something de- faces). Whenever a rule establishes that
g
termined by whatever ability or rule estab- you should do something with a card, in-
lished that the discarding has to happen. A stead youll do it with a die. When you use
character is obliged to do it. a card, you can choose which card to use,
which allows you to select both the suit and Conflict
Certain abilities will specify if the cards
discarded must come from the PCs hand or the value; but when you are using dice, you
the top of the deck. If an ability does not can only select the suit, as a die has to be
specify, the cards must be discarded from rolled to be used.
w
the PCs hand by default. While playing with dice you will still
draw new dice as you would have when
ip
When discarding from their hands, PCs
can choose which card to discard (unless playing cards.
the ability specifies which card must be You need to have dice of 5 different col-
discarded, e.g. to trigger a joker you must ours. four of them to represent the each of
discard a joker). the four suits, and the fifth to represent
TSE never have to discard cards. If an jokers. It is recommended to have 3 dice Social
NPC has to discard cards, instead he suffers of each colour per player for the suits, and
that many disadvantages towards his next one for the joker; it is best if the dice are of
confrontation. the same type and cannot be distinguished
at touch.
w
JOKERS
TH E P OOL OF DI C E
ip
Jokers are drawn as normal cards, but
Similarly to the hand of cards, players
they cannot be played as normal cards.
using the dice mechanics have a pool of
After declaring the successes and failures seven dice. If you are playing with dice and
of a confrontation in which you have taken a rule involves the hand of cards, consider
part, you may discard a Joker to remove or that it involves your pool of dice instead. Exploration
add one positive or negative consequence
Although dice are rolled when used,
to an action. If the Joker is played on behalf
youll still need to randomise how play- C oo
of an NPC or Time-Sensitive Event (TSE),
ers obtain them, so they cannot choose the o
the GM determines what to do with it. You
s
suit of the dice they draw. Similarly to the m n!!
can discard as many jokers as you want
deck, there will be dice that are not in any in
from your hand for the same action.
players pool, that is called the reserve - it g
If a Joker is played at any point from the is shared among all players. The reserve of
top of the deck randomly, the character dice should be put in a place easily acces-
who played that card gains the effects of sible to all the players but that somehow
the Joker for the action he was performing, doesnt let them see the dice themselves, Divine
discards it, and then plays another card. such as an opaque bag.
NOTE: If the last card in your hand is a Joker, you Whenever a die is used it is put back in
C oo
wont be able to play it until the end of the confronta- the reserve, and whenever a dice is ob-
o
tion when the results are being declared. tained, it is taken from the reserve without
s
m n!!
24
SceneS
TIME
A T T H E B EGINNING of each scene,
everybody draws cards from the
deck until they have seven cards in
inside. They encounter two tem-
ple guards, and after fighting them,
they get the gold and make a run for
it. This can be played out as a sin-
their hand.
gle scene, or be broken down by the
In DCA there are A scene is a sequence of events dur- GM into several scenes, for example
several key con- ing which the GM narrates what the entering the temple without being
cepts about time characters find and what happens to seen in one scene, fighting the guards
and gameplay struc- them. During this, characters are con- in the next scene, and lastly escap-
ture. These are stantly performing actions, with little ing to safety during a final scene.
Session, Scene, and to no rest periods in between, and usu-
Round. ally within the same location. TIP: Making scenes longer (challenging) or shorter
S E S S I O NS Scenes are the main building blocks
(easy) is a good way for the GM to adjust the
difficulty of the game.
Sessions are the of the story, like the scenes of a film.
allocated time They are an important concept be- During a scene, the characters will
frame for playing cause they determine when the play- be constantly performing actions. If an
the game during a ers and the GM replenish their hands action does not trigger a Round or it is
day in real life. of cards. not confronted, it is considered an un-
A players hand of cards represents confronted action, and therefore it is
E.g. that Sunday af-
their PCs stamina, so PCs with a full successful by default.
ternoon when you all
have agreed to meet hand are fresh and eager, while PCs When performing unconfronted ac-
and play. with very few or no cards in their tions, the mood around the table
hands are exhausted and probably de- should be relaxed and conversational.
Within a session moralised. Therefore, when the char- The GM must ensure that all players
you will usually acters take a break long enough to re- enjoy a similar amount of time in the
play one or more store their energy, it usually means spotlight, and allow everyone to de-
scenes (although it they have reached the end of the scene. scribe what their characters do during
is possible to finish
NOTE: There is no set duration or type of event that period of time.
a session in the mid-
that unequivocally determines the end of a
dle of a scene and If there is some kind of conflict
scene, and it is up to the GM to determine when
resume playing it in a scene ends.
within the game - such as a fight, an
your next session). argument, a chase, or any other type
E.g. The players characters plan of fast paced or competitive situation
to enter a temple in the city of when some characters try to outper-
Tenochtitlan. They wait for nightfall form others - it is the time for a Round,
to avoid the crowds, silently enter the which sets the order in which charac-
building, and search for the treasures ters declare actions, and use counter-
actions to confront them.
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
ActionS
P E R FOR 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,
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
dodging, bartering, etc.
action is CANCELLED, and the character may suf-
Everything a character performs actively is an ac- fer the effects of trying the impossible. The char-
tion, from shooting a bow to singing. All actions are acters player may appeal, but he must be remind-
performed using a Skill that represents the characters ed that off-limit actions can break the gameplay.
knowledge in that area, and take into consideration his The GMs judgment and dissuasive power must
level. lead the gameplay forward.
In DCA, actions are successful by default with a criti- E.g. A character not aided with magic can-
cal success unless one of the following criteria are met: not lift a one ton stone or jump from a moun-
1. If the action targets or directly affects another tain to escape from giant eagles; if he tries to
character who is aware that the action is being do so, he can suffer damage or even die.
performed, that character can choose to counter-
act it, triggering a CONFRONTATION. Counteractions
NOTE: During a combat all enemies are considered aware of actions
by the player characters who have been discovered, and therefore A counteraction is any action performed to prevent
can counteract against whatever they do against them. or avoid another characters action during a confronta-
tion. It follows the same rules and has the same effects
A counteraction can be any action that could as an action.
make the triggering action fail, or allow the char- E.g. shooting your bow or slashing with your
acter to avoid its effects. sword as a successful counteraction will deal
E.g. Make the triggering action fail: A charac- damage as if it had been a triggering action.
ter can shoot back at someone shooting or at-
tacking him (and if successful he will be the one Characters can confront any number of actions that
dealing the damage!); he can affect their senses target or directly affect them during each Round.
or capacities; he can throw dust into someones However, performing one or more counteractions caus-
eyes when they are trying to grapple him, etc. es a character to become Spent and forfeit their turn, if
E.g. Avoiding the effects of the triggering ac- they have not taken it yet.
tion: He can dive behind cover; he can dodge the
sword swing; he can outrun his opponent; etc.
26
Action Value E.g, advantages: Standing over a wall to fence off
some assailants; catching someone by surprise;
The action value is a numerical value used to deter- causing an impression on everyone on the table
mine the result of a characters action during a con- by using all the right words and ideas in a speech
frontation. There are several things that can modify the before playing to see its result, convincing some-
value of an action and its final value will affect the out- one you are speaking to the spirits of his family
come of the confrontation and determine its winner. if you know secret details of their relationship.
SKILLS
E.g., disadvantages: shooting a character who is behind
Every time a character performs an action he is using cover; fighting while having your hands tied; fighting
one Skill to do so. The Skill is the initial action value of in the dark; trying to impress someone while wearing
that character during a confrontation. poorly made clothes and being dirty; convincing some-
Additionally, if the Skill value of a character is 0, he one of something when you can only communicate
will suffer one disadvantage. with signs because you dont speak the same language.
LEV E L ( PL AY I N G CAR DS) There can be things that are not very clear if they
would give an advantage or a disadvantage (e.g. you
Each Skill has an associated Level, which determines:
could argue that you have an advantage for dodging
If he is a PC, how many cards he can play per ac- while behind cover, or that your opponent suffers one
tion from his hand to add their values to their disadvantage to shooting at you while you are behind
initial action value set by their Skill. cover), the effects are the same either way, it is just im-
For an NPC or TSE, how many cards they can play portant not to duplicate the importance of something
from the top of the deck to add their val-ues to by applying both solutions.
their initial action value.
NOTE: Characters can only perform one action each per Round, but TIP: When performing an action, do not simply state what it is that
they can perform any number of counteractions. 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
A D V AN T AGE S AN D DISADV AN TAGES that action, taking into consideration your surroundings and be
creative and fun - make it easy for the GM to give you that valuable
Advantages (sometimes represented by a + symbol) advantage!
represent having a form of upper hand over an oppo-
nent, while disadvantages (sometimes represented by a
- symbol) represent difficulties or hindrances a char-
acter can have when trying to perform an action. PCs, EXHAUSTION
NPCs, TSEs and Checks can be affected by advantages Characters suffer a disadvantage every time
or disadvantages. they use again a Skill they have already used
Each advantage adds 3 points to the characters start- during the current Round. It stacks.
ing value, and each disadvantage subtracts 3 points to
the characters starting value.
Confrontations
NOTE: A starting value can be a negative number from suffering
disadvantages. A Confrontation takes place when a character per-
Both advantages and disadvantages can be gained forming his action is challenged and has a chance of
through equipment, talents, other abilities that grant failing and/or being affected by counteractions or a
them, or through roleplaying the situation. A character Time Sensitive Event.
can gain advantages from several sources at the same NOTE: The character performing the action that triggers a confronta-
time or even several advantages from the same source tion is called the triggering character and his action is called the trig-
if the benefit it provides is very strong. There are so gering action with the purpose of distinguishing it from other actions.
many possibilities that it is the job of the GM to deter-
mine how and when to grant advantages or disadvan- Normally an action or event can only target or af-
tages to characters. fect one character, to reflect a realistic scenario within
the short amount of time that these usually represent.
27
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
However, there are things that may target 5. The character with the lowest action E.g. Aapo cuts
or affect several characters, such a cannon value can either play a card or pass. Once a down the end of
or an avalanche falling on a group of char- character has passed, he cannot play any- the inca bridge he
acters. In those cases, all the affected char- more cards during this confrontation, even just crossed while
acters might be able to perform their re- if he has not reached his limit. Once a char- being chased by a
spective counteractions. acter reaches the limit of cards he can play conquistador and
NOTE: The main difference between an action and a he must pass. a crossbowman.
counteraction, is that counteractions cannot affect NOTE: If there is more than one character with the They try confront-
anyone else but the triggering character - and there- lowest action value, all the characters tied for the ing it by running
fore a counteraction will never trigger counteractions lowest action value play their cards face down and back to the other
or Time Sensitive Events itself. If a character performs reveal them simultaneously (or roll their dice at the side. In the ensu-
an action that would normally target or affect several same time). ing confrontation,
characters, during a counteraction, that action will the crossbowman
only affect the triggering character. TIP: In order to keep gameplay streamlined, it is achieves the high-
important that each participant of a confrontation est action value,
S T E PS O F A CON FRON TATION says the current value of their action out loud each
followed by Aapo,
time they play a new card. This way, nobody is forced
To resolve a confrontation, players must to calculate the value of the action of their opponent and the conquista-
always follow the same steps: every time he plays a card. dor has the lowest
action value. The
1. The triggering character declares his crossbowman man-
6. The previous step is repeated until all
triggering action, explaining which Skill he ages to get out of
characters have passed.
will be using, and he declares its target or the bridge before it
targets, if there are any. 7. Counteractions with a equal or lower falls down, but the
action value than the triggering action fail, conquistador drops
2. The GM declares the level of the con-
while those with a higher action value than to his death. Had
fronting TSE if there is one; as well as its
the triggering action are successful. the crossbowman
nature and the consequences that will hap-
pen if the TSE wins the confrontation. The triggering action completely fails if chosen to shoot at
there were any counteractions with a high- Aapo and gotten
3. Any affected characters who are aware
er action value that would make it fail, as the same results, he
of the triggering action and wish to con-
opposed to simply avoid its effects. If there would have dam-
front it declare valid counteractions, and
were none, it is successful only against aged Aapo mak-
explain which Skill they will use.
those who counteracted with an equal or ing his action fail,
NOTE: Counteractions cannot target or affect charac- lower action value. the bridge would
ters other than the triggering character. However, they have fallen an the
are as effective as actions, countering an attack with NOTE: If a TSE achieves a higher action value than the
triggering action, the reason for failure determined by conquistador would
one of your own and being successful is as good as still be alive.
attacking during your turn. the TSE that was declared comes true and the success
or failure of all other counteractions is determined as
usual.
4. Check who receives advantages and/
8. Depending on the levels of success the
or disadvantages and why. Players may de-
actions might have consequences (See page
scribe their plans, and any reasons why they
XXX).
think they deserve advantages or their op-
ponents deserve disadvantages. Then, the
GM decides what applies and what doesnt.
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.
28
CheckS
E.g. Complete ex-
ample of a check
COMING SOON!
A C H E C K T E S T S A characters skill in
an effort to overcome a hidden chal-
lenge, or a reactive and unconscious reflex
2. The GM, taking into account the na-
ture of the check, determines its dif-
ficulty and which Skill will the PCs
use. The GM can choose to maintain
or realization. A check does not require in-
in secret any or all the information
tent and it is not an action.
related to the check.
A check is usually requested by the GM to
E.g. An NPC is waiting ahead of the PCs
test whether a PC should be given certain
preparing an ambush, if the PCs are percep-
new information or not. E.g:
tive they might discover the ambush in time
Request the PCs to perform a Survival - the difficulty of the check is determined
check to find out if they see a hidden by the NPCs abilities and the GM decides
NPC ambushing them. that it is a Survival check. The GM requests
a check from the PCs but she does not want
Request the PCs to perform a Rites
them to suspect they are in danger, so she
check to find out if they sense dark
decides not to tell them whats the check
magic coming out of a ruin.
about nor the Skill they ll be using. The
Request the PCs to perform a PCs therefore only know that they have
Charisma check to find out if they re- to perform a check, but what is it about?
alize that someone is lying to them
from their nervous gestures. 3. The PCs involved in the check must
Certain abilities will also request a check, discard as many cards as the level
each of them will specify why and how to of the Skill they are using from the
resolve it. top of the deck. The PCs check value
is his Skill plus the highest card he
A check is not an action, it can be per- discarded.
formed at any time the GM declares it is
NOTE: A check does not count as performing an
necessary (alternatively, it can be request-
action, it does not cause exhaustion nor does the PC
ed by a player I look for clues). Any num- become Spent after performing a check.
ber of checks can be requested, and they do
not represent any time passing nor charac- 4. The PC is successful if his final check
ters become Spent after performing them. value is equal or higher than the
checks difficulty.
Resolving a check
5. The GM reveals to the PCs involved
A check is resolved in the following what she sees fit according to the re-
manner: sults. Because the PCs are unaware of
the result of the check, if they failed
1. At any time, the GM declares that a they can be provided with false infor-
PC or PCs must perform a check, or mation which they could believe to
a PC or PCs declare that they would be true.
like to perform one - in which case,
the GM must approve it before mov- NOTE: The PCs might never find out the results or the
ing to the next step. reason for the check.
29
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
30
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 actions
final value, its level of success will be different.
Regular success
When successful by 2 to 4 points higher than its con-
fronting action, the action achieves a regular success:
It has the corresponding regular effect as determined
Pyrrhic success by the gear used (or by the GM, if there are not specific
rules for it).
When successful by up to 1 point higher than its con-
fronting action, the action has its regular effect as de-
Critical success
termined by the gear used (or by the GM, if there are
not specific rules for it) with negative consequences. When successful by 5 or more points than its con-
Negative consequences can be anything the GM sees fronting action, the action achieves a critical suc-
fit and that makes sense for the story and the action cess and it will successful with positive consequences,
taking place. somehow amazingly effective as determined by the GM
(the more points over, the more amazing).
A few examples of things that could be considered
negative consequences are: A few examples of things that could be considered
positive consequences are:
If the character was using a weapon or tool, that
piece of equipment suffers one or two points of When dealing damage (or any other numerical ef-
deterioration. fect) duplicate the damage dealt.
If the character was moving he could fall, and be Your opponent falls down or somehow else ends
in a disadvantageous position for the next action. up in a disadvantageous situation.
If he was shooting at a target, that target then The person you were bartering with enjoyed your
moves behind cover (or if he was a target the PCs company and gives you something small as a
wanted to interrogate and he was only shot to be present.
wounded, he might fall over a wall to his death) The person you were talking to, or someone else
If the character was lying to someone, another present, falls for you and will go over what he
character detects the lie (e.g. If the character was should to help you out (e.g. Yes, I could take you
pretending to be from another tribe, the chief be- myself to see the relic... If we go alone, pss, my
lieves him, but the shaman realises that his hand master is lying to you, hes prepare a trap, run!).
gestures when speaking are foreign, what will the Your opponents weapon flies off his hand, he is
shaman do with the information?). unarmed until he gets it back somehow.
The opponent is tackled down as intended but he While you stealthily look for a specific treasure
makes enough noise to raise the alarm. in someones room, you find something else too...
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.
31
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
Drawing cardS
P LAY E R C H ARA C T E RS C A N draw cards
in several instances.
When a character plays a card, he may
Beginning of a Scene
At the beginning of each scene, all play-
ers will keep their current hand of cards
Complete ex-
ample of how
to draw cards.
be subject to drawing new cards from the and draw back up to a total hand of seven COMING SOON!
deck to his hand. There are two instances cards.
when this can happen and if both of them
occur simultaneously only the most benefi- Running out of cards
cial takes place.
If at any time a player or the GM does not
NPCs cannot draw cards, as they do not have any cards in their hand, they must
have their own hand of cards. draw a card. If that card is drawn during
a confrontation, it cannot be played until
Playing with the suit that confrontation has been resolved.
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 Skills
level, he immediately draws a card. This
represents that the character is very ca-
pable in this area and the low effort cor-
responding to playing a low card does not
tire him out.
32
The rounD
Overview: During a Round characters take turns to perform one Spent characters lose their turn during the current
action each in the order established by their Initiative. Performing Round if they have not taken it yet; but they can still
actions can trigger confrontations, usually when the action is against perform further counteractions.
someone - a confrontation must be fully resolved before continuing
to resolve the Round.
Steps of a Round
One important aspect is that if you take part in a counteraction
Overview: During a Round, Ready characters take turns performing
before taking your turn, youll become Spent and lose your turn this
one action each. After every character has become Spent, the Round
Round. Its also worth mentioning that attacking back is a possible
ends. If the conflict is still ongoing, begin a new Round.
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
Once the GM has explained the conflict, it is time to
against the target you initially had in mind, attacking back at a char- determine who gets to act first and what happens next.
acter forces him to focus on you. To do so, follow these steps:
1. The order in which characters take their turn
A Round represents a few seconds during which char- to perform their actions is determined by their
acters rapidly perform actions. They are the game me- Initiative, from highest to lowest value.
chanic that establishes the order of play of all the char-
acters trying to outperform each other. In case of a tie, player characters will always go
first, followed by the NPCs in the order of the
E.g. The team enters the inca tomb, feeling re- GMs choosing. In case of a tie between player
laxed after having avoided the trap in the entrance. characters, they must come to an agreement or
However, they were not expecting soldier mum- tell their actions in secret to the GM, who will de-
mies to be guarding inside. Now, before any charac- termine who goes first.
ter performs any actions begin a Round to see who
acts first, and resolve the ensuing Confrontations 2. Players can Rush. Following the Initiative order,
to determine who succeeds and who fails. each player can choose to discard one card from
his hand, adding that cards value to his Initiative
All timed actions during a conflict must be declared to calculate the Initiative order during the ensu-
and resolved within the context of a Round. Declarations ing Round.
before the Round are not valid nor binding. NOTE: NPCs cannot rush.
E.g. Following the previous example, as soon as he TIP: Discarding cards does not trigger card drawing mechanics.
hears about the soldier mummies, Mark, playing Jose,
3. A Ready character taking his turn can choose ei-
a priest, declares that he turns around and runs away.
ther (1) to perform his action, and then become
But the GM is forced to stop him there, Joses action
Spent and end his turn; or (2) to wait, allowing
must be performed during his turn during the Round
the next character to take their turn before his
- it is the characters Initiative what established the or-
own. He can wait several times, letting any num-
der of play. If Jose is fast he might get to run away be-
ber of characters go first. Other Ready characters
fore the mummies do anything, but otherwise he might
may choose to wait as well; and if all characters
get caught up in the conflict (perhaps he ll end up
choose to wait, the last one that can do so must
performing a different type of action to save his skin).
perform an action.
Ready & Spent characters 4. When a Ready character chooses to perform an ac-
At the beginning of a Round all characters in the area tion on his turn, he declares his action. This may
caught up in the conflict are Ready. During a Round a trigger a confrontation against a Time Sensitive
character can become Spent in the following instances: Event (TSE) or another character, which must be
resolved before resuming the Round.
He performs a counteraction when being the tar-
NOTE: If the action does not trigger a confrontation, it is considered
get of an action.
an unconfronted action and therefore can have the level of success
He performs an action during his turn. of his choice (pyrrhic, regular, or critical).
33
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
34
Game masters
guidE
Complete exam-
ple of how to to
use an NPC
T H E S E A RE RE S O UR C ES to aid GMs in
their endeavours to create challeng-
ing and interesting stories.
of the group. Using a higher level NPC in-
stead of several low level NPCs can be used
to add variety. Varied encounters will force
the players to play smart and try to gain
COMING SOON! advantages through role playing to rise
Non-player characters victorious.
(NPCs)
This is, of course, just a very rough guide-
Non-player characters (NPCs) are charac- line; you should plan your encounters
ters controlled by the GM. They are the key based on your story needs. We recommend
to many stories, and they can be friends, that you allow for different resolution
foes, or simply neutral. They can be as sim- paths other than the classical team-death-
ple or as complex as the GM wants: she is match resolution; this will also allow you
in charge of developing their backstories, to create unbalanced encounters that need
if they need them. While with many NPCs an additional step to be resolved
most interactions will consist of talking or
E.g. have the players fight an over-
trading, others might perform actions and
whelming force, forcing them to use
engage in confrontations.
other means to obtain victory. Perhaps
NPC cards represent simplified charac- they need to lure the strongest oppo-
ters with the information needed to use nents into a trap, or use the environ-
them in a quick encounter. Additionally, ment as a weapon: using fire or bringing
they can be used as a base for the GM to down walls and ceilings - or any other
create a more elaborate character if the cool ideas your players come up with!
story requires it. SKI LLS
LE V E L NPCs do not have the same Skills as the
player characters. Instead, they have a
The level of an NPC determines the num-
Competent and a Mediocre Skill. It is up to
ber of cards it can play every time it per-
the GM to decide which of the two Skill the
forms an action.
NPC uses for each action and it is also up
NPCs do not have a hand of cards to play to her to determine how many areas they
during confrontations. Instead, whenev- cover. I
er they can play a card, they play the first
In any case, the GM is always free to
card from the top of the deck, which never
modify the values of the NPC Skills to
triggers any drawing card mechanics.
serve the story better, but she should in-
Additionally, you can use the NPC level form the players beforehand to avoid any
as a guide to determine the difficulty of misunderstandings.
an encounter. A recommended encounter
E.g. A warrior might use the Competent
has a number of NPCs which added level
Skill for Shooting, Melee and Athletics;
is at least equal to the added level of all
but the Mediocre Skill for Charisma and
the PCs. Adding or removing NPCs can be
Knowledge. But it will all depend on what
used to balance the difficulty to the taste
the GM thinks that fits best that specific
35
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
character - a warrior can be charismatic, the task, the Skill and level of the charac- Complete exam-
and a priest can be good at running. ters and the needs of the story to decide ple of how to
HE AL T H how long it takes them. to use a TSE.
Most NPCs who are not important for the E.g. Pachacuti has Survival 3. She is trek-
COMING SOON!
story can be considered dead once they are king through the inca mountains with
Bleeding Out or Traumatised. enough supplies for one month, and the
GM determines it would take a skilled
NPCs can suffer generic injuries, each trekker two weeks to travel this route.
gives them one disadvantage. Pachacuti is only an average traveller, so
FR I E N D L Y N PCS the GM determines she can do it with-
out a confrontation, but it takes her a
Not all NPCs must be enemies. Most will whole month, exhausting her supplies.
be neutral, but a few might be friendly or
even allies. Some NPCs might act as friend- Otherwise, if the characters are in a hurry
ly NPCs even though they are not, because or are using a Skill with a value of 0, a TSE
they are pretending, they are forced to do will confront them as if it was an NPC, play-
so, or other reasons. Regardless of the rea- ing a number of cards against them equal
son, when the GM declares a friendly NPC to its level and with an initial action value
joins the group, she can give control over of 0. TSEs do not have a Skill value and they
him to any of the players (or to the team as do not suffer a disadvantage because of it.
a whole). The GM can retake control over
an NPC at any time for any reason E.g. If Pachacuti were in a hurry (per-
haps she does not have a month worth
E.g. The players are not playing them of supplies, or she has somewhere to be),
correctly, they are abusing their she could push her luck and trek through
power, the NPC has different ideas the steppes faster. In this case, the
about what should happen, etc. GM determines that Pachacuti is con-
fronted by a TSE. If she loses, she could
While having an NPC under his control, a end up delayed, lost, or even worse, as
PC will control him exactly as the GM con- determined by the GM; but if she suc-
trols her NPCs - the friendly NPC will play ceeds, she completes the trek faster.
his cards from the top of the deck.
TSEs do not have a hand of cards to play
Time-sensitive events during confrontations. Instead, whenev-
(TSEs) er they can play a card, they play the first
card from the top of the deck, which never
Time-sensitive events (TSEs) are time triggers any drawing card mechanics.
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 deter-
mine when such obstacles should be con-
sidered TSEs for the purpose of confronta-
tions, and to establish their level.
It is recommended that in order to pre-
sent a minor challenge, a TSE should play
as many cards as the PC, a moderate chal-
lenge 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
37
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
CharacterS
E AC H PLAY E R C O N T RO L S a single character and
develops who that person is and what their mo-
tivations are what are their dreams and struggles?
alogues, making the decisions their characters would
make, and using the relevant mechanics of the game to
determine whether their characters rise victorious, or
The more compelling a character is, the more reward- fail miserably.
ing the experience of playing will be. The GM should encourage the other players to talk
The players who are not the GM play the protagonist about the backstory of their characters and how they
characters of the story. They are in charge of play- imagine them. Together, they can become an amazing
ing the role of their characters: performing their di- group of characters who will live great adventures.
LEVEL AFFI NI TY
Tick the suit of your Affinity.
I NI T I AT I V E SPI RI T &
EXP ERI ENC E
S KI L L S H EALTH
Write down the Skills
Write down your Health in the
value in the diamond,
heart shape, and take note of the
black out as many cards
damage you have suffer in the
as the Skills level. The
diamond next to it.
body part icon, tells
Whenever you suffer an injury,
you which injuries cause
take note of it in the corresponding
disadvantages to which
diamond next to the body part.
Skill. Write down any
Skill Talents in the space
next to it. TRAI TS
Write down here your personality
traits and your prejudices.
AB I L I T I E S GEAR
Write down any addi- Write down here the gear you
tional abilities, spells, and carry. Tick the circles to keep track
curses here. If you have of your gears deterioration.
an advanced class, write it
down here as well.
38
HealtH
Health States Damage
Depending on the amount of damage a character has To keep track of the damage a character or device has
suffered, a character can be in three different health suffered, mark the corresponding space in his charac-
states or even dead. ter sheet or use a suitable token or counter.
At the end of each Round, a bleeding out character Unless specified by the reason of the injury, the GM
will suffer one unpreventable damage. A character determines the type of injure. She can either choose
who does not stop being bleeding out by the end of the the body part, or discard a card from the top of the
scene dies. deck and use the value to decide: 1 head, 2 torso, 3 right
arm, 5 left arm, 5 right leg, 6 left leg.
NPCs will generally ignore characters that are bleed-
ing out until they have taken care of all other threats. Most Skills relate to one of the following body parts:
Legs, arms, or head. Characters suffer one disadvan-
T R AUM AT I S E D tage when using a Skill related to an injured body
The character is unconscious and will not regain con- part. Torso injuries do not affect any Skill, but
sciousness until he receives enough medical attention they will make healing harder as any other injury.
to recovers enough health to be in the normal health NPCs can only have generic injuries, each gives them
state. one disadvantage towards their Competent Skill.
D EA D ARMOUR
A character who dies is removed from the game, if Some pieces of equipment and other effects provide
that character was a PC, the player who played him their users with an armour value. Whenever the char-
should make a new character and discuss with the GM acter is about to receive physical damage from an
how his new character should join the party to contin- external source, subtract its armour from the base
ue playing. It is recommended to make this new charac- damage.
ter with as much experience as his previous character.
A character can also die of starvation, drowning, ex- UNPREVENTABLE DAMAGE
cessive mutilation, etc. The effects of these possibili- Unpreventable damage cannot be reduced, cancelled
ties are left for the GM to determine. or prevented in any way.
39
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
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 situation-
al 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 re-
moves 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 calculat-
ing how many cards the wound plays.
First aid
A first aid action takes a turn to perform.
A successful first aid action stops the char-
acter 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 unprevent-
able damage to the patient.
40
SkillS
All actions use one Skill or another. Each Skill has a Rites
value and a level, which determines how many cards
you can play each time you use it. You use Rites to use Spells and for religion and magic
based Checks.
If an action cannot relate to any Skills in the follow-
ing list, you can still try to perform the action with a Perception
value of zero and using your general level to determine
how many cards you can play when using it. You use Perception to see hidden things or charac-
ters, or to read peoples emotions and intentions in
Shooting their faces and gestures.
41
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
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
C O NS U MM ATE D ACTOR
REACTION: When pretending to be people other than
yourself, gain one advantage towards making others
believe your character is real.
Rites M
an
PR I E S T H O O D SCR IPTU RE S y
m
You know all the Miracles from the Priesthood o
Scriptures.
so r e
OL D T E S T AM E N T SCRIPTU RE on Co
! m
You know all the Miracles from the Old Testament in
Scriptures. g
Perception
EA GL E Y E
REACTION: When trying to Search for something in
the distance, gain one advantage.
Discipline
FE AR
REACTION: After you attack a character for the first
time, hell suffer one instance of Fear.
FI GH T T H E U N N ATU R AL
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
OPE N M I ND E D
Remove one of your Prejudices.
42
Character traitS
personality traits I NDOMI TABLE
Each character has between two and four Personality You have a iron forged will that resists any form of
Traits that roughly define that characters personality. manipulation. But you are also headstrong and wont
Personality Traits can be positive, neutral, or negative. listen to reason other than your own.
Characters can gain or lose personality traits if they REC KLESS
start to be part of that characters behaviour, they lose
Like a Spanish miura bull towards the red cape, thats
the drive to behave that way, or if they overcome their
how you launch yourself forward, with full abandon, no
shortcomings.
matter what, no matter whom.
Both the GM and the player must keep track of his per-
sonality traits. The PC can justify his actions through ADDI C TED ( X)
them, and the GM can request a PC to act in a certain You feel its clenching fist around your neck, but also
way to act accordingly to his personality. If the PC does the liberating experience of just giving it another go.
not want to act that way, he can perform a Discipline It takes control and slowly tears you apart. You depend
Check to keep himself under control. on it to live.
E.g. A Character with the Coward personality trait is in
C AREFUL
front of a cavalry charge of the Spanish conquistador
force. The GM says that he should act like a coward The world is full of danger; you can never be too
and make a run for it, leaving his friends behind. The careful. Youve seen one too many reckless fool race
player controlling the PC claims he will try to control towards an early grave, and you aint gonna travel that
himself and keep his ground. He performs a normal well trodden path.
Discipline check (+3), if he success he stays, but if he
fails he loses control over the character and the GM
BEAUTI FUL
decides what he does to get himself out of harms way. You have been born with remarkable beauty
and charm. Those whose gaze rests upon you are
Usually, the Checks difficulty should be normal, but
thunderstruck.
all kinds of circumstances can make the check easier
or harder. APOSTATE
E.g. In the previous example, being part of a larg- Theres nothing for you on the other side. This lifes
er force in top of a hill could give one advantage more than enough (enough death, enough disease), and
to the PC, while being alone, wounded, or suf- you aint gonna pretend otherwise.
fering other type of hindrances could make him
suffer a number of disadvantages instead.
C UR I O U S
If you see something interesting and irresistible (e.g.
the entrance of a cave, an open drawer, etc) you are Many more COMING SOON!
lured to it like a moth to flames.
A V AR I C I O U S
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.
B R AVE
Valorous, forthright and determined, you press on
when others turn tail. You do not avoid danger but
fight it straight on.
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46
The geaR
I N D C A, C H AR AC T E RS can carry and use any kind
of gear they might acquire, find, or craft. Some of
the most important pieces of equipment are represent-
Reload: REACTION: After you shoot this, it can
no longer be used until a character spends an action
cleaning it.
ed on cards containing all the important information Poisonous X: REACTION: After being success-
needed to use them. However, we encourage players to fully attack by this, every time a round ends, use
create their own gear if they find the need for it. Athletics to confront a level X TSE, if you fail, suffer X
unpreventable damage. Remove this once after being
Level the target of a successful Medical action.
Non-weapon gear can be of one of these three types: Armour: Armour can be Soft or Hard. Both armours
reduce the damage you take from each source by their
Normal: Nothing special.
value. Piercing weapons ignore Soft armour.
Magical: It has the keyword magical (certain
abilities require these keywords to work). Weapons
Legendary: It has the keywords magical and Weapons can either attack in Melee or Shooting. Both
legendary (certain abilities require these keywords to can deal certain damage and they can provide advan-
work). tages or disadvantages when used.
Weapons can be of one of these three levels: Melee weapons can attack anyone within your sight
Primitive: Every time this is used, successfully in Melee reach, usually up to 2.5 meters away from you;
or not, it gains one deterioration. while Shooting weapons can attack anyone within your
sight in Shooting reach, usually up to 100 meters away
Forged: Nothing special. from you. Certain weapons provide further reach, or
Legendary: It has the keywords magical and more advantages or disadvantages depending on the
legendary (certain abilities require these keywords to distance.
work).
Common Characteristics
Some pieces of equipment have commonplace char-
acteristics 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.
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Deterioration FAULTY
Deterioration is an advance rule that Forced reaction: After it gains this, suffer
a group of players can use to add another one disadvantage when using it.
layer of interest to their games. It is rec-
ommended when playing adventures based BLUNT
around a survival theme, but it might be Forced reaction: After it gains this, it deals
cumbersome and unfocused when playing one less damage than usual.
campaigns more based around diplomacy.
STUC K
Certain pieces of gear can gain deteriora-
tion. Deterioration is gained through using Forced reaction: If this was triggered by
or being affected by abilities. Each gear has suffering a Melee attack, your opponent
a track of its deterioration that goes up to performs a normal Melee Check (+3), if he
10. You can track the deterioration in sev- fails, his weapon is stuck in this and neither
eral ways: this nor his weapon can be used.
44
ReligioN
W H E N T W O O P P O S E D 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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48
SpiriT
THE SUPERNATURAL IS a fickle and incomprehensible thing.
Some brave men and women try to control it, to study it and
to understand it; but all they can achieve is to let it flow
through them. And while it is empowering like nothing else,
it is also dangerous, and it can turn against you as fast as it
was helping.
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Spells
MAGI C R E S I S TAN CE
For each point of Magic Resistance, a
character gains one advantage for confron-
tations against someone using a Spell.
C E R E MO NY
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.
50
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ChristianitY
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH is an old and powerful religion that
was born in Europe under the romans and now finds itself
with the possibility of expanding into a whole New World.
The Christian faith does not consider its abilities magic;
au contraire, it finds magic to go against God. Christian
believers consider their abilities as Godsend powers given
by their Lord to expand their faith, conquer the unfaith-
ful, and turn them to God and salvation.
52
Miracles
He (Jesus) replied,
Because you have
so little faith. Truly
I tell you, if you
M I RA C L E S A RE C HR ISTIA N Spells.
All Christian characters can use the
Pater Noster and the Ave Maria Miracles.
AVE MARI A
All the other Christian Miracles are divided Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is
have faith as small
in Scriptures. with thee; blessed art thou amongst
as a mustard seed,
women, and blessed is the fruit of
you can say to this
mountain, Move Ordained characters thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother
of God, pray for us sinners, now
from here to there, Characters need to be ordained in the and at the hour of death. Amen.
and it will move. Church to gain Scripture Talents. The only Cost: 2 Spirit.
Nothing will be way to be ordained is by being the willing
impossible for you. target of an Ordain Miracle. REACTION: After starting your
- Matthew 17:20 turn, gain one Magic Resistance
Ordained characters belong to one until the end of the Scene. It does
Christian order. Each order has its own not stack.
rules of behaviour and interests. Ordained
characters must follow the rules of the
order, or be expelled. Priesthood Scriptures
E XPE LLE D CHAR AC TERS
ABSOLUTI ON
Using a Miracle costs an additional Spirit
May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you; and
point for an expelled character.
by His authority I absolve you from every
bond of excommunication and interdict,
Scriptures so far as my power allows and your needs
Every Miracle but Pater Noster and Ave require. Thereupon, I absolve you from
Maria belong to an Scripture. A character your sins in the name of the Father, and
who has an Scripture Talent knows all the of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Miracles that belong to that Scripture. 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 con-
PATE R N OSTE R fession. Then, you will assign them a pen-
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be ance and absolve them. The GM must listen
closely to all of this.
your name. Your kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is Based on what she is heard, the GM then
in heaven. Give us this day our daily decides by how much shell reduce the sin-
bread. And forgive us our debts, as ners Corruption - which she does in secret.
we also have forgiven our debtors. In general, if everything was done correct-
And do not bring us to the time of ly, she should reduce it as much as the sin-
ners Rites.
trial, but rescue us from the evil one.
Cost: 1 Spirit. If the sinner forgets or avoids mention-
ing some of his sins or if the penance does
REACTION: After declaring an ac- not seem strong enough - as determined
tion use this ability to gain one by the GM - the GM can consider that
advantage. the Absolution failed completely or par-
tially, and not reduce at all the sinners
Corruption or just reduce it a few points,
also in secret. Additionally, if the sinner
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
does not complete his penance in a rea- Rites. If after that he does not have any
sonable time hell suffer twice as much Corruption he is immune to magic, and
Corruption as his Rites. therefore he cannot be the target of necro-
mancers or other creatures of evil who use
B APT I S M the dead.
This is life eternal, that they may
know thee the only true God, and WORD OF GOD
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Now the whole world had one language
Cost: 0 Spirit. Ceremony. and a common speech. - Genesis 11:1
You convert a willing character to Cost: 2 Spirit.
Christianism (it cannot be perform to a INSTANT: Use this at any time to be able
character how had been Christian or is al- to speak in a foreign language until the end
ready a Christian). From now on that char- of the Scene.
acter will consider Christianism his reli-
OR
gion and will be banished from all others,
his Spirit will be reduced to zero, but he REACTION: After declaring an intimida-
will keep his Corruption. tion action against a Christian use this abil-
ity to gain one advantage. It does not stack.
Performing a Baptism allows you to ob-
tain Spirit through the Ritual of Conversion. EXP EL DEMON
If the character being converted was lying
about his intentions and was protected by Then a demon-possessed man who was
a spell from another religion, the Baptism blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and
is a failure without you knowing so - it He healed him, so that the mute man spoke
also means that the Ritual of Conversion and saw. All the crowds were amazed,
automatically fails as if you had tried to and were saying, This man cannot be the
Transcend and failed with a critical. Son of David, can he? Matthew 12:22-32
Cost: X Spirit. X is the target demons
EU C AR I S T I A level.
For I received from the Lord what I also ACTION (Rites): Target a demon within
delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on your sight and up to 10 meters away from
the night when he was betrayed took you. Hell confront you with his Competent
bread, and when he had given thanks, he Skill. If you are successful, hell suffer one
broke it, and said, This is my body which disadvantage towards all his actions until
is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. the end of the Scene. If successful by a crit-
Cost: 3 Spirit. Ceremony. ical, additionally, hell suffer as much un-
preventable damage as your level.
All other willing Christian characters
near you are the target of this Ceremony,
and after taking part in it they can use one Old Testament Scriptures
Pater Noster and one Ave Maria without
cost. It does not stack. EXODUS SERP ENT
Youll gain one Corruption for each char- So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and
acter who benefited from this and had did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron
Corruption. cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his
servants, and it became a serpent. Then
R E Q UI E M Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the
sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt,
May his soul and the souls of all
also did the same by their secret arts. For
the faithful departed through the
each man cast down his staff, and they
mercy of God rest in peace.
became serpents. But Aarons staff swal-
Cost: 1 Spirit.
lowed up their staffs. - Exodus 7:10-12
Use it over the dead body of a Christian Cost: 2 Spirit.
to reduce his Corruption as much as your
54
Invoke a huge serpent that will follow all of your For I will restore you to health And I will heal
commands, and will disappear when killed or at the you of your wounds, declares the LORD, Because
end of the Scene. they have called you an outcast, saying: It is
Zion; no one cares for her. - Jeremiah 30:17
Cost: 2 Spirit.
exodus serpent ACTION (rites): Target a character in physical contact
with you or choose yourself as the target - but, you can-
level 1 initiative 4 not choose a character who already has been the target
COM PE TE N T Mel. , A th . , S t ea l th 6 of this Miracle during this Scene.
ME D I OC R E 2 The action is confronted by the wound as if it was an
NPC with a Skill equal to the amount of damage and
attack plays as many cards as the number of injuries on the
ME L E E P ie rc ing , mag i ca l , p o i s o n o u s II 2+ target. If successful, remove one injury from the target
or remove one Poison.
RA N G E D 0
MOSESS BLESSI NG
Health 4
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went
AR M OUR S of t 1 out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three
MAG I C R E S I S TA N C E 1 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 command-
ments, 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
Cost: 1 Spirit. Ceremony.
AG G R E S S I V E ME S O A ME RI C A N
M O V : 5m W E I G H T : 68kg H E I G H T : 167cm Turn wood and dust into food and water enough for a
day for as many people as your Rites.
OR
S A M S O N S T R EN G TH
Perform a Rites Check to make as many meals as your
Then Samson went down with his father and mother
Rites free of poison, disease and any other illnesses. If
to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah.
the food was good to begin with the Check is always
And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring.
successful, otherwise its difficulty is set by the charac-
Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and al-
ter who made it bad.
though he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in
pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his LI ST C URSE
father or his mother what he had done. - Judges 14: 5-6
Cost: 2 Spirit. But God said to Balaam, Do not go with them.
You must not put a curse on those people, be-
REACTION: After declaring an unarmed Melee ac- cause they are blessed.Numbers 22:12
tion gain one advantage and if successful deal one ad-
ditional damage, additionally the attack is considered Cost: 2 Spirit
Magical. It stacks.
ACTION: Choose a target who has a Curse within your
D IV I NE H ANDS sight up to 20 metres away, and perform a Rites Check
against the curser, if successful, the curse is cancelled.
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
Christian Corruption mal Rites Check (+3) will realise that hes been pos-
sessed or that he is in front of a possessed character.
Corruption represents the influence of the Devil in
the characters. Satan works in mischievous ways and You can use Ill Fortune for free in a character pos-
even the most pious Christians can suffer his influence sessed by a Level 2 Demon. Additionally,
if they are not careful. Characters cannot know exactly
how much the Holy Father has blessed them, as God LEVEL 3 DEMON
does not create in straight lines. Therefore, inadvert- Being possessed by a level 3 Demon is absolutely obvi-
ently, it is possible for a character to spend Spirit that ous: the characters complexity will change complete-
is not given to them by God. When that happens it is the ly, hell grow horns, claws, his skin will expel black
Devil who provides the energy, mimicking Gods mira- steam and hell be completely mad.
cles to fool his followers and entering into the mind of
the Christian, corrupting his soul. The player loses control over the character com-
pletely. The player will gain back control if the Demon
Players are unaware if they have any corruption at all is destroyed. The character is now consider an NPC
(but they can suspect it). Only the GM keeps track of it under the control of the GM with the trait Demonic (It
in his GM sheet. The GM can and should use the charac- ignores one damage from non-magical attacks), with
ters corruption against him. Every Session, the GM can an advantage towards all actions and knows all of the
use Corruption Curses against a character with a total Spells from the Necronomicon.
Corruption as that characters Corruption. Corruption
is not spent by this, a Christian must get rid of his LEVEL 4 DEMON
Corruption himself as best as he possibly can.
When a character is possessed by a level 4 Demon
I LL F O R T U NE he is ripped apart from the Evil force going through
him and will automatically die, spawning a powerful
1 Corruption.
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.
PO S S E S S 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 disad-
coming soon!
vantage to the character when Checking against this
ability OR increase the Demons level by one (it has an
starting level of 0).
LEVEL 1 DEMON
Being possessed by a level 1 Demon does not show ex-
ternally, and only if a character success in a hard Rites
Check (+6) he will realise that hes been possessed or
that he is in front of a possessed character.
You can use Ill Fortune for free in a character pos-
sessed 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-
56
DEMONIC
It ignores one damage from non-magical attacks.
NECRONOMICON
It knows all the Spells from the Necronomicon.
wandering soul
level 1 initiative 4
CO M PE TE N T Me l. , A t h . , S t ea l th 6
MED I OC R E 2
attack
MEL E E P ie rc ing , ma g i c a l , p o i s o n o u s II 2+
RAN G E D 0
Health 4
A R M O UR S of t 1
MA G I C R E S I S TA N C E 1
wr ight
It cannot be damaged by non-magical attacks.
AG G R E S S I V E M E S O A ME RI C A N
M O V : 5m WEI G H T : 68kg H E I G H T : 167cm
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58
CC by Lacambalam, Own Work based on Aztec cosmological drawing.
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
Mesoamerican
religioN
WORK IN PROGRESS
EXTR A CONTENT
At the time of writing, we are working on
the Mesoamerican Religion segment.
60
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E P I S O D E 0 , I N T R O D U C T O R Y ADVENTURE
62
IntroductioN
D UR I N G TH I S A DV E N T U RE , the PCs discover the
existence of a hidden treasure a gigantic precious
stone, which turns out to be the egg of a Xiuhcoatl
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
dragon. However, the egg lies inside a dangerous, trap- undiscovered Olmeca ruin that many Nahua explorers
filled temple, in the lands of an isolated tribe with no and travellers claim to have seen or heard about during
allegiance to either natives or invaders. Plus, a Spanish their travels through the Eastern Roads. According
expedition has arrived into the area, intending to to legend, the Coatli Temple was built by an ancient
plunder its riches; they are bound to find out about the caste of Olmeca wizard-priests that one day turned
egg and compete with the PCs to recover it. The PCs into dragons and flew away from the mortal world.
must race against time, go around the temples traps The many versions of the story variously hold that the
and beat a fully-armed Spanish force to the prize, also Coatli priests were the first tribe to breed and rear
dealing and the temples zealous guardians, which may Xiuhcoatl dragons, or that they hunted dragons and
help or hinder their quest. used their blood to give themselves long life, or that
they were descendants of dragons themselves. Many a
The adventure consists of three main chapters during
legend exists about the Coatli ruin and its priests, but
which the action takes place.
thats all it has ever been a legend.
Chapter 1 has the PCs arriving to the territory of
Things changed when Father Gaspar Hernndez, one
the Atlaca tribe, guardians of the Coatli Temple.
of the first European missionaries to arrive to The West
Chapter 2 has the PCs entering the ancient Indies, heard the tales and decided to go look for the
temple and facing an ancient spirit that protects Coatli Temple. It is assumed that Father Hernndez
the egg. did find the Coatli Temple, for such is the claim of
his personal diary, which later explorers found in
Chapter 3 introduces the Spanish expedition
a market at Hispaniola. The diary also holds that
force, and determines whether the PCs keep the
the temples purpose was to guard a kind of gigantic
egg or lose it to the Spanish.
stone or jewel, likely worth a kings ransom. Mentions
After the climax is resolved, the PCs have either of such a gem, which Father Hernndez called The
acquired the egg or lost it, be it to the Spanish Coatli Stone honouring the legends about the old ruin,
expedition or the zealous Atlaca natives. The PCs may sparked the greed and imagination of many a Spanish
also have allied with or against the Spaniards or the trailblazer and opportunist. However, the secret of the
Atlaca, kept the egg for themselves or been forced to Temples exact location seems to have died with Father
flee empty-handed. Whatever the PCs choose, the Hernndez, who apparently was caught and flayed
outcome of the adventure will influence the future of alive by some Mayan or Nahua tribe that didnt take
DCA, as the Xiuhcoatl hatched from the egg serves kindly to foreign looters, even if they were pious and
either the Natives or the Invaders in the upcoming war. free of sin.
Heres where the legend becomes interesting, and
Adventure Background where it crosses into the present. According to the
The people known as Olmeca, the Rubber People, diary, Hernndez did draw a map to the Coatli Temples
were an unknown, ancestral tribe that lived centuries location on his skin. He claimed he had the map
ago in the Eastern Coasts of the New World, near the tattooed to avoid it falling on the wrong hands. It
area where the Spaniards first landed. Nobody knows was an interesting passage, but one not worth much
what was the Olmecas true name or nature, but attention, as the Fathers body was never recovered.
hundreds of ruins and relics from their culture remain Or so it was believed.
in the jungles and beaches of their former territory.
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
Three years ago, during the first killed Quixum for treason, but she had
skirmishes between Natives and Europeans, already managed to gather a small band of
a small Huastec city fell to a combined force freelancers and deserters, giving them her
of Spanish invaders and Maya allies, and own directions to the Coatli Temple. With
the many treasures of its temple became Quixums indications, these mercenaries
the raiders loot. This loot included a fold have overtaken De Medina and are about to
of cured human skin European skin beat the Spanish force to the Temple. What
with a tattoo, a Maya-style drawing, on it. they will find there remains to be seen.
The drawing described a hidden temple, a
precious stone and the way to find it.
At first nobody made the connection
between this bizarre relic and the tale of
Father Hernndez, 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 Player Character
troop of more-or-less loyal mercenaries Background
and gentlemen of fortune. With no
patrons or backing other than his own The PCs that play this adventure are
military experience and considerable mercenaries with no allegiance to any
fortune, De Medina is a bit of a wild card Native culture or Spanish explorer; a
among European invaders; nobody likes motley crew of mixed-race adventurers
him, but hes made no enemies either. He that serve no side but their own.
hired a couple dozen Natives as guides However, they may end up allied with
and added protection, and started two or either the Natives or the Spaniards,
three unsuccessful expeditions into the which will alter the course of the war.
mainland. Hes stepped in no toes so far, As the adventure begins, the PCs
but he intends to become powerful and are arriving to the Coatli Temple area
recognised as quickly as possible. some time before De Medinas main
After his last failed inland trip, De force, expertly guided by Quixums
Medina came across the flayed skin of instructions. Whether they will be able
Father Hernndez with the Coatli Treasure to find the treasure and leave with it is
map, and he immediately began preparing entirely in their hands.
for a new excursion to find it. This time, he You may read aloud any or all the text
thinks, he will succeed. contained in the Adventure Background
What De Medina didnt count on section to the PCs; just be sure to make it
was Quixum, one of his Native guides, clear that they are the mercenary band that
recognising the area shown on the map. Quixum managed to gather before she died.
Quixum, a Huastec woman, knew the Coatli As soon as youre ready to start the
ruins only from legend, but she identified adventure, proceed to Chapter 1: The Lost
some of the landmarks, and decided to People.
mount her own hunt for the treasure,
even convincing some of De Medinas
men to betray him for her. The Captain
64
Chapter 1:
the lost PeoplE
O N C E Y O UR P L A Y E RS are ready to begin and have
understood their PCs backgrounds, read the fol-
lowing aloud:
To understand the Atlaca language, ask the PCs to
perform a Knowledge or Perception Check (+3 if they
are Nahuatl speakers; +6 if they dont speak
Nahuatl). If the check fails catastrophically, you may
give the PCs opposite information, such as the Atlaca
Theres a cacophony of complaining ma- being openly hostile, wanting the PCs for ritual
caws as you step out of the jungle shrubbery mating or anything you want to come up with.
and into a heavily wooded slope. Down the slope
you can see a winding river, beyond which theres The guards motion the PCs to follow them; if the PCs
the smoke and thatched houses of an inhabited comply, proceed to Encounter 2: Ixcahuina.
village. This at least proves part of the legend true If the PCs refuse or attack, they must fight.
there are indeed people living this deep into the
jungle. FI GH TI NG TH E ATLAC A GUARDS
But the definitive confirmation that youre on The Atlaca guards try to subdue the PCs if possible,
the right track is what appears beyond this sur- and dont fight to kill. If a PC falls to 0 health, they
prising view. Just behind the village, perhaps 600 leave him traumatised, not bleeding out. If the PCs
metres into the woods, the mists mark the sil- begin winning, the guards fly back into the town to call
houette of a building: An ancient pyramid, com- for reinforcements.
pletely overgrown with moss and vines, engraved
If the PCs win the battle, the Atlaca call for
with the ancient spirits of lost peoples the Coatli
reinforcements:
Temple.
Create a normal encounter using a combination of
Native Warriors, Native Archers and Native Warrior
Leaders.
Whether the PCs try to avoid the village or approach
it directly, a group of Atlaca scouts walk up to them; AFTER TH E ENC OUNTER
proceed to Encounter 1.
If the PCs win both battles in a row, they are
now free to explore the Atlaca village, while all the in-
Encounter 1: The Atlaca habitants have locked themselves up in their huts, ter-
rified of the invaders.
You see a group of squat, muscular men, The Atlaca guards carried strange inscribed,
filled with tattoos and ceremonial piercings, jade-tipped stone spears, the PC may keep them
walking towards you. One of them raises his hand as weapons. Their gathered jewellery is worth
and talks to you in a language you dont recog- around 2 to 4 quachtli.
nise at first.
If the PCs stay at the village, they eventually
The Atlaca guards want the PCs to identify them- come across the chief priests hut; proceed to
selves, but they of course dont speak any common lan- Encounter 2.
guage. The Atlaca language is an ancient variation of If the PCs leave the village, nobody stops them
Nahuatl, but it otherwise doesnt resemble any from reaching the temple now. Proceed to
language spoken today. Chapter 2: The Coatli Temple.
65
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
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 bleed- Ixcahuina; he is fluent in Nahuatl, Maya, Spanish
ing out), tie them up and take them to their leader. and the extinct Mokaya tongue. Let the PCs
Proceed to Encounter 2. conduct the conversation as they wish, asking and
answering as they go, and using the following as
Encounter 2: Ixcahuina excerpts from Ixcahuinas dialogue:
66
After talking to Ixcahuina, ask the PCs Encounter 3:
to perform a Knowledge Check (+3). If the The Sacrifice Pit
check succeeds, they identify the Mokaya
as the ancient dwellers of the East Coast, This encounter only takes place if the PCs
a millennia-old, extinct culture that the failed to befriend Ixcahuina at the village
Nahua call Olmeca. If the check is a criti- and were defeated by the Atlaca natives in
cal failure, you may give the PCs deliber- battle. The PCs spend the night as Atlaca
ately wrong information; for example, that prisoners, during which their wounds are
the Mokaya were ritual cannibals and the tended and they may draw cards and re-
Atlaca surely inherited this custom. cover all damage and an injury of their
choice.
G M TI P Ixcahuina is a peaceful man; he will only
If y ou want attack if provoked. Then, just before dawn the following day,
to tes t the a group of village guards come for the PCs,
lim i ts of th e FIG HTIN G IXCAHUI NA bind their hands and feet and take them
pr eju d i c es of If the PCs provoke Ixcahuina into a outside the village; surprisingly, towards
yo u r gr ou p, the Coatli Temple.
fight, create a very hard encounter using
tr y tr i g ger -
in g a xeno- Ixcahuina and a combination of Native They dont reach the main pyramid struc-
phobi a c hec k Warriors, Native Guardians, Native ture, but stop at a stone-paved court some
of one of the Leaders, and Native Priests. 100 metres away from the central build-
PC s towar d s ing. The court is overgrown with vines and
Ixcahuina and his guards dont strike to
Ixc ahu i na. If grass, just like the rest of the temple.
fai l ed , the P C
kill. If the PCs lose the fight, they are trau-
m ay d o or s ay matised, not bleeding out; the guards im- Theres a four-metre deep pit in the mid-
som eth i ng prison them and set them aside for sacri- dle of the court; the guards throw the PCs
that of f en d s fice. Proceed to Encounter 3: The Sacrifice down the pit. Every PC must perform an
the l ead er . Pit. Athletic action confronted by a level 2
AFTE R THE E N CO UNTER TSE (the fall itself). If the PC loses the con-
frontation, he suffers 1 point of damage
If the PCs befriended Ixcahuina, he lets for every point of difference between his
them go on their way to the Temple; as he result and the TSEs result, and automati-
sees it, if the PCs are intruders, the Temple cally gains an injury.
will kill them on its own. He even offers to
let them dine and rest at the village; after After throwing the PCs down the pit, the
all, the Temple wont open unless they Atlaca guards leave them there and return
prove themselves worthy (see Encounter to their village.
4: Opening the Temple). The bottom of the pit is filled with dried
If the PCs ask for more details on
bloodstains and bleached human bones:
Haahiu and the history of the Coatli many people have died here.
Temple, Ixcahuina shares the information Theres nobody watching below, so the
on History of the Temple. PCs are free to declare actions once they
If the PCs defeated Ixcahuina and his
are left alone.
guards, they may explore Ixcahuinas hut; The PCs may try to cut their bonds with
besides a 47-quachtli loot of assorted jew- a jagged piece of rock or bone; this suc-
ellery and arcane reagents, they find an ceeds automatically and requires no check.
ancient codex carved in stone, detailing
The PCs may try to bind their wounds
how the Temple door works (as described
through the Medicine skill, correcting in-
in Chapter 2, Encounter 4: Opening the
juries and regaining health lost from the
temple).
fall.
If the PCs killed Ixcahuina, the other
The PCs may try to climb outside; how-
villagers wont dare exit their homes until
ever, as soon as any of the PCs tries to
the PCs have left the village.
climb out of the pit, something happens...
Once the PCs leave the village, proceed
to Chapter 2: The Coatli Temple.
67
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
As the sun shines over the edge of the pit, the shad-
ows 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
Haahiu 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 con-
fronted by a level 2 TSE.
A F T E R T H E E N COU N TE R
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 magi-
cal 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 hes impressed that they managed to escape the pit.
If the PCs fight Ixcahuina again, this time its to
the death they are not taken prisoners again.
If the PCs manage to befriend Ixcahuina, he re-
turns 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
After a few minutes, you notice the ter- Mokaya kings or saints.
rain is slowly sloping upward. Only its not the
Any PC can recognise these symbols without a check;
terrain. The earth, roots and undergrowth cover
calendar divisions and cardinal directions are a com-
actual carved stone steps. The jungle grew over a
mon element of most Mesoamerican cultures, and have
large stairway, and you are ascending it.
been for centuries.
There is a smaller, hand-sized dial on the wall beside
As your climb ends, you reach a great pyrami- the disc, marked with 52 notches. By rotating this dial
dal structure, with carved spirits and monsters on one notch, each of the four circles in the larger disc ro-
every side and a half-dozen, half-eroded columns tates independently by one notch.
marking the way to its main staircase.
Other than this contraption, theres no way into the
Theres an eerie silence, as if even the jungle pyramid; the PCs must decipher how to open the disk
creatures had learned to be quiet in the buildings to enter the temple.
presence.
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
Let the PCs explore around the temple as they wish; (your choice) of the following facts:
its all Olmecatl (Mokaya) architecture, which some PCs
may recognise based on their skills, while most may The notches in the circles are slightly misaligned;
not. As soon as the PCs climb the staircase to the top of its clear they must be aligned for the disk to open.
the pyramid, proceed to Encounter 4. To align a circle, it must make only full rota-
tions; that is, turn the exact number of notches it re-
Encounter 4: quires to complete its full count. A partial rotation will
Opening the Temple misalign the circle again.
The only way to align all four circles is to find a
As the PCs reach the top of the stairs, they find a
large stone chapel in the shape of a huge dragon head. number of turns that causes each disk to complete a
There seems to be no entrance to the building, but the number of full rotations.
dragon heads mouth seems to be holding a time disk, To make all the circles make exact full rotations
wider than a mans height. with the same number of turns, the PCs must find a
The disc consists of four concentric circles. Each cir- common multiple to all four circle notch divisions (4,
cle is divided in a different number of notches, marked 13, 20 and 52), and turn the dial that number of notch-
as follows: es, so that the four circles turn by a number of notches
that causes them to complete full rotations.
The inner circle has 4 notches, marked with the 4 directions.
The right answer is 260, which is also the number of
The second circle has 13 notches, marked with the 13 cal- days in the Aztec ritual calendar. By turning the small-
endar signs. er dial 260 notches, all four circles will make exact full
The third circle has 20 notches, marked with the 20 days rotations: the inner circle will make 52 rotations, the
of the lunar count. second circle 20 rotations, the third circle 13 rotations
and the outer circle 4 rotations.
69
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
When they think they have the right answer, they The PCs are under attack by shadow demons. Create
must press the dial to open the stone disk that will lead an easy encounter using shadow demons.
them into the temple. However, each time they press
before they align the circles properly will spawn a vio- AFTER TH E ENC OUNTER
lent Shadow Demon right next to them. If the PCs survive the fight, they may continue de-
If the PCs are stuck with the solution to the puzzle, scending the stairs until they reach the bottom a long
ask them to perform a Knowledge, Perception or stone passage leading deeper into the pyramid.
Rites check (+6). If the check succeed, you may give The stairs and the passage are filled with stone en-
them a clue such as how many days are in a ritual gravings of men and monsters in sequence. This is ac-
year? or what do you do when you need to find a com- tually a codex, and its telling a story. If the PCs stop
mon number with no fractions? to examine the engravings, they learn the information
contained in the History of the Temple sidebar.
A F T E R T H E E N COU N TE R
At the end of the passage there are three paths; one
Once the disk is open, the PCs may enter the Temple.
goes straight ahead, another goes left and another goes
Read the following aloud as they go inside:
right.
The inside of the Temple is dark, but not If the PCs take the left path, proceed to Encounter 6.
entirely as might have been assumed of such If the PCs take the right path, run Encounter 7.
an ancient, forgotten building; you notice there
If the PCs continue ahead, proceed to Encounter 8.
are small lighted censers, cleverly placed behind
columns and crevices to give a dim light to the in-
terior chambers. It might be assumed the villagers Encounter 6: The Second Test
keep the censers lit.
The path ends in a closed stone door a few metres
The walls are carved with strange monster faces later. The door may be pushed inward with some effort
and naked human Saints, made monstrous by the (it is an automatic success).
shifting shadows from the flickering flame of the
Read the following as the PCs enter the chamber:
censers.
As you step into the inner chamber, the floor This is a bare stone room, with no furni-
shifts slightly, and another mechanism slowly re- ture other than the familiar, flickering torches
veals a descending staircase. hidden in the corners - and a large stone statue at
the centre. The statue, as tall as a man, represents
As the PCs reach the stairs, proceed to Encounter 5. an upright snake.
When your eyes adjust to the dim light, you
Encounter 5: The Temple Stairs notice the snakes jaws hold a metal object that
glints by the torchlight: an engraved half-disc
As the PCs descend the temple stairs, they begin see- made of gold.
ing things and hearing voices.
The shadows seem to move unnaturally. At If the PCs approach the snake, ask them to perform
first you assume they are the flickering projec- a Perception check (+3) to notice that the floor tiles
tion of the lighted censers, but soon realise they are shifting plates, and there are suspicious slits on the
seem to move on their own, as if the light both- walls.
ered, rather than create, them. Then there seems
to be someone speaking at the edge of your hear- If the PCs fail the check or willingly step on the shift-
ing, a low and rasping voice. You cant understand ing plates, a barrage of darts comes out from the slits.
the words, but they seem to be something like Ask the PCs to perform an Athletic action, confront-
kaya Haahiu Quum kaya Haa Haa kaya ed by a level 2 TSE. For every point below the needed
result, the PCs suffer 1 point of damage.
The PCs may avoid the darts by crawling close to the
floor as they approach the statue.
Then one of the shadows takes on the full form of a
monster, and strikes at you.
70
HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE
The Coatli Temple was once a religious centre of the Mokaya civilisation, pri-
mal ancestors to the Olmeca and every other culture in the continent. They even
predated the Aztlan culture, although no Nahua will accept it. And their tem-
ple was not called Coatli, but nobody remembers what its true name was.
This temple was not part of any city, but a stop for religious pilgrims and journey-
ing kings or diplomats. Here, the ancient priests gave blessings, food and water to
travellers, or made the trip themselves to sanctify a building or a new royal birth.
The head of the priests was Haa hiu, the Chanter Man; they said
it was him who first learned and taught others how to pray and
give worship to the spirits and Saints of the otherworld.
Once Haa hiu fund a strange stone, the size of a large water gourd, but
polished as a gem and heavy as a boulder. Haa hiu ordered the stone
brought to the temple, and it took three men to carry it back.
The first night after the stone was carried to the temple, thunder rumbled
and the skies parted, and a dragon flew down to the pyramid. It was the Old
Dragon, the Heaven Snake, which the Nahua call Mixcoatl; and he had come to
talk to Haa hiu, for the stone was one of his eggs and he wanted it back.
Haa hiu didnt return the egg, but instead threatened the Old Dragon;
he said that Mixcoatl and his kin should serve mortals from that day on-
ward, or else Haa hiu would kill the egg and Mixcoatls son.
The Old Dragon accepted the deal, but on the condition that mortals sacrificed
their children to the dragons, just as Mixcoatl had sacrificed his child to mortals.
Thus, the covenant was sealed, and the Mixcoatl dragons came down to hu-
man cities and blessed and protected them, and in exchange mortals fed them
with their children. And the Dragon Stone, the Ancient Stone, remained in the tem-
ple as a witness of the pact; and the egg never hatched, and the dragon never
was born, because it was a witness to the pact between dragons and mortals.
But one day there would come warriors, Haa hiu knew; warriors that would break the
covenant between dragons and mortals. When that happened the egg would break and
the dragon would be born, and he would be like his father in glory and godlike might,
and he would serve the warriors that came for him. So Haa hiu didnt die, but remained
a living shell, a deathless guard, watching over the temple for centuries after centu-
ries, until the age of the breaking of the covenant; until the warriors came that could
reclaim the egg of Mixcoatl and summon the Child of the Old Dragon to battle.
71
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
If the PCs avoid the darts, they lodge on the stone The disc may be dislodged from the ceiling by a
snake, precisely hitting matching slits on the statues ranged weapon. If the PCs want to try, ask them to per-
body. The darts are feather-shaped obsidian knives, form a Shooting action, confronted by a Level 2 TSE.
and when they hit the snake body it looks like they are
If the PCs try to find a secret exit or mechanism,
covering it in feathers.
ask them to perform a Perception or Rites Check (+3).
If the PCs reach the snake without being hit by the If the check succeeds, they notice there are shifting
darts, be it by crawling or by defeating the trap with plates on the floor, one in front of each of the four
an Athletic action, the snake, now covered in obsidian dragon carvings on the walls.
feathers, animates and attacks the PCs. Create an en-
In three turns, the room will become entirely
counter against one Itztlicoatl.
flooded and the PCs will start drowning.
If some of the obsidian darts hit the PCs, they dont
The PCs may reach and grab the golden disc from
reach the snake and the statue doesnt activate.
the second turn.
If the PCs defeat the snake or reach it without animat-
If a PC kneels in front of one of the dragons, the pres-
ing it, they may take the golden half-disc on its mouth;
sure plate causes a mechanism behind the wall to open
it is one half of the key required to enter Encounter 8.
the dragons mouth, letting the water drain through.
Encounter 7: The Third Test The pressure plates in front of each dragon
carving are only activated by kneeling; not standing or
The right path leads to a stone arch. pressing in any other way.
Read the following aloud when the PCs cross the At least two of the plates must be kneeled on, and
threshold: two of the drains activated, for the water to actually
recede; otherwise it will flood the chamber anyway.
This chamber of white stone is complete- After the first turn, kneeling on a plate requires
ly empty, save for bas-reliefs of the four drag- diving against the water pressure. If a PC wants to
ons on the walls: the Sun Dragon of the East, the kneel after the first turn of flooding, ask them to per-
Storm Dragon of the North, the Heaven Dragon of form a Athletic action, confronted by a Level 1 TSE.
the West and the Earth Dragon of the South.
The only way to exit the chamber is to drain the
There are symbols asking visitors to kneel be- water away. If the PCs succeed at doing this, the stone
fore the Four Dragons; Seems whoever built this slab blocking the exit raises, and any PC trapped in the
temple worshipped them too. chamber may now come out.
There is also a glint that catches your eye and The golden half-disc dangling from the ceiling is one
makes you look up. half of the key required to enter Encounter 8.
Theres a half-disc made of gold, dangling from
the ceiling some 10 metres above you. Encounter 8: The Tomb of Haahiu
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 story: how the
As soon as the PCs enter the chamber, a stone slab head priest of this temple was buried alive, and alive he
falls behind them, closing the exit, and water begins would remain, waiting below the stone for centuries.
raining from holes in the ceiling. The room is flood-
After the PCs have walked about thirty metres down
ing quickly.
the passage, they reach a stone slab with the symbols of
The PCs need only wait until the water level hits the a priest, a dragon and a precious stone. There seems to
ceiling to float and reach for the golden disc; however, be no way to move the slab, but as the PCs approach it,
eventually the room will become completely flooded they notice a small circular depression at the centre, as
and drown the PCs. if it was missing a disc-shaped piece.
Let the PCs state their actions and intentions. The door to the chamber can only open if the PCs
bring the two key halves from Encounters 6 and 7.
The stone slab that blocks the exit cannot be moved,
not even by any PCs that may have stayed outside the If the PCs survive those encounters and bring both
chamber. halves of the key, they fit the depression and open the
door.
72
Read the following aloud as the PCs enter the AFTER TH E ENC OUNTER
chamber:
If the PCs survive the battle against Haahiu, they
have defeated the most dangerous creature in the re-
This square chamber is flanked by four gion and the power that maintained the curse of the
censers in full view, and so its monstrous carv- Coatli Temple.
ings are both better illuminated and scarier than
the rest of the pyramid. Theres a stone slab on The Haahiu mummy owned jewellery with a total
the floor, just like the one on the entrance, except value of 50-100 Quachtli.
this one doesnt slide on its own. As soon as the PCs defeat Haahiu, they hear some-
Theres a small, moon-shaped pedestal on a side. thing has shifted in the pyramid above. Something has
An inscription on the slab reads when the moon changed about the area they came from.
turns red, the Priest shall rise to his final death. As soon as the PCs go back up to see whats changed,
proceed to Encounter 9.
The only way to open the stone slab and continue the
Encounter 9: The Coatli Stone
adventure is for one PC to sacrifice a bit of their own As the PCs go back upstairs and reach the top of the
blood and drip it on the moon-shaped pedestal. If the pyramid again, they notice theres something at the
PCs dont think of this solution, they have no choice entrance something that wasnt there before. A ped-
but to turn back and proceed to Chapter 3. estal has risen at the platform just outside the Temple
If at least one of the PCs sacrifices blood to the moon- entrance, past the mechanical door with the time disc.
shaped pedestal, they suffer 1 point of damage and the And on that pedestal, theres an oval-shaped stone,
stone slab swings open, thick billowing shadow pour- shining under the rays of the midday sun.
ing out of it as if it was a barrel of smoke. The PCs lis- The stone is about the size of a large gourd, but
ten to Haahiu again in their heads, and must succeed its incredibly heavy to move. It requires a combined
on a Courage Check (+3) or suffer a disadvantage for Athletic value of 5 or greater to lift and carry. More
the rest of the encounter (those that suffer a critical than one PC may pool their efforts to lift the stone if
failure will run out of the temple as fast as they can). needed.
FI G H T I N G H AA HIU Whether the PCs take the Coatli stone or not, as
soon as they look around, they realise theyre not
After the cloud of smoke, a mummy comes out of the
alone; proceed to Chapter 3: The Spanish Force.
tomb on the ground, half-crawling and half-floating;
this is Haahiu, the undead priest that sealed this tem-
ple and the deal for the servitude of dragons more than
2000 years ago.
Haahiu doesnt offer any diplomacy. Hes 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 sum-
mons 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 Haahiu and shadow
demons.
73
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
Chapter 3: the
spanish forcE
As soon as the PCs come out from the temple at the If the PCs survive the battle, regardless of the side
pyramid summit, they realise they can see the ocean they took, De Medina in person arrives to the bat-
from here and they see a ship moored at the coast. tle site and faces them. Proceed to Encounter 11.
The ship of Captain Lorenzo De Medina.
If the PCs want to take advantage of the confusion
The Spanish expedition has arrived. to slip unnoticed, they must all succeed on a Stealth
Action, Confronted by the Spanish Soldiers medio-
Let the PCs decide what to do now.
cre skill.
If no more than a full day has passed (that is, the PCs
If even one PC fails the check, the Spanish
havent rested more than once since they entered the
Explorers find them; run Encounter 11.
Temple), De Medina has not yet reached the Temple.
Right now, the PCs have a very short window to flee If the check succeeds, they have all escaped no-
before the Spanish expedition overtakes them. If they tice and may now flee the area. Proceed to Ending
choose to make a run for it, or to warn the Atlaca vil- the Adventure.
lagers of the Spanish arrival, proceed to Encounter 10.
If the PCs are or wish to be in good terms with Encounter 11: Captain De Medina
De Medina, they may actively seek the Spanish explor- The PCs come face to face with a squad of Spanish
ers; proceed to Encounter 11. explorers. They demand the PCs stop and give them a
If the PCs have been in the temple for more than chance to surrender.
one full day, De Medina is already reaching the sum- If the PCs resist, they must fight. Create a normal
mit. Proceed to Encounter 12. encounter using a combination of Spanish conquista-
dors and Spanish gunners.
Encounter 10: the Battle
If the PCs win the battle, or go peacefully with the
As the PCs walk down the Temple stairs, they notice soldiers, they are approached by Captain Lorenzo De
smoke coming out of the Atlaca village. Its too late for Medina himself.
a warning; the Spanish have engaged the Natives in
If the PCs attacked the Spanish soldiers but surren-
battle.
der to the Captain, they may attempt a Charisma ac-
The PCs may run to the battle to help either side; tion, confronted by De Medinas competent skill.
they reach the village in a matter of minutes, where
If the PCs win the confrontation, they get on De
the carnage is still going strong. De Medinas favourite
Medinas good side and may parley.
butcher, the mercenary known only as Aguirre, is lead-
ing the attack. If the PCs lose, they are taken prisoner; proceed
to Ending the Adventure.
If the PCs side with the villagers, Create a nor-
mal encounter using Aguirre and a combination If the PCs are in good terms with Captain De Medina,
of Spanish conquistadors and Spanish gunners. or present themselves as their allies, he accepts their
word and lets them join his troop. Let the PCs conduct
If the PCs side with the Spanish, Create an easy
the negotiations as they wish, using any or all the fol-
encounter using Ixcahuina (if the PCs havent
lowing excerpts as part of De Medinas dialogue:
killed him already) and a combination of Native
Warriors, Native Warrior Leaders and Native
Priests.
74
If the PCs win on a confronted Charisma action
Twas the will of God that we met here. against De Medinas competent ability, he prom-
The Natives didnt want to listen to reason. ises them a valuable share of the gems profits,
seeing as how it was them who secured the stone.
They insisted that we were interrupting a kind He is an honourable man, and intends to fulfil the
of test of theirs, or ceremony, and attacked us. promise.
They said we were interrupting the test of If the PCs havent finished Encounter 8, they, De
worth, whatever that meant. That we had to wait Medinas men or a mix thereof must wait until the next
for the worthy ones to die first. midday and go back downstairs. Run any encounter the
Be as it may, hast thou been inside the Temple? PCs havent completed between 6 and 8, except now
en to the Temple? Hast thou seen it from the in- the PCs have the backup of a troop of Spanish soldiers.
side? Hast thou found the stone? If the PCs finished Encounter 8 but hadnt yet se-
cured the Coatli Stone, Medinas men have already re-
If the PCs dont have the Stone, they may re-
moved it from the pedestal and are hauling it on Baque
turn to the Temple and try to secure it again; proceed to transport it back to the ship.
to Encounter 12. If the PCs agree to let De Medina have the Coatli
If the PCs have the Stone, its unlikely they can hide
Stone, proceed to Encounter 13.
it; Captain De Medina demands they give it to him as If the PCs refuse to give De Medina the Stone
his right of conquest. or want to take it from him they must fight, as the
If the PCs win on a confronted Charisma action Captains guards rush to stop the PCs. Create a hard
against De Medinas competent ability, he prom- encounter using a combination of Spanish conquista-
ises them a valuable share of the gems profits, see- dors and Spanish gunners.
ing as how it was the PCs that secured the stone. If the PCs survive the fight, proceed immediately to
He is an honourable man, and intends to fulfil the Encounter 13.
promise.
If the PCs have the Stone and strike a deal with De Encounter 13: The Mad Dragon
Medina, they have nothing else to do here; proceed to
Read the following aloud as the PCs prepare to attack
Ending the Adventure.
Captain De Medina or to go down the Temple Stairs
If the PCs resist De Medinas men or try to attack having allied with him:
him, create a hard encounter using a combination of
Spanish conquistadors and Spanish gunners. Wait.
If the PCs survive this battle, De Medina has fled to- Somethings not right.
wards the Temple. If the PCs wish to pursue him, pro-
ceed to Encounter 12. Otherwise, they may escape at Baque, De Medinas black dragon, begins fuming
last; proceed to Ending the Adventure. at the nostrils, and swaying its head erratically.
La Gaditana, its rider, tries to calm the beast
Encounter 12: The Summit down, but the monster swaps her aside with a cas-
ual flick of its tail and sends her flying over the
This encounter only takes place if the PCs return to edge of the pyramid.
the top of the Coatli Temple after the Spanish soldiers
have massacred the Atlaca village. The other soldiers immediately draw swords, as
Captain De Medina takes a couple of steps back-
At the pyramid summit, the PCs encounter Captain ward, looking sideways at his ship, moored at the
Lorenzo De Medina, escorted by many of his soldiers. beach a kilometre away.
Waiting for them at the summit is a black dragon
the size of a large bull; its Baque, De Medinas drag- While you and De Medina, it seems consider
on, along with his rider, the woman known only as La your options, the crazed dragon starts a carnage
Gaditana. among the soldiers. What is happening?
If the PCs have already secured the Coatli Stone,
De Medina demands they give it to him as his right of
conquest.
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Ending the
adventurE
T H E R E AR E M A N Y ways the PCs can finish this adventure.
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78
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
Non player
characterS
FIND HERE THE NPCS you will need to run this adventure.
82
Ixcahuina Native archer
level 2 initiative 1 level 1 initiative 3
CO M PE TE N T R it . , K n o w . , Ch a r. 7 C OMPETENT Sho o t., Ste., Ath. 4
ME D I O C R E 2 MED IOC R E 2
attack attack
ME LE E 1- MELEE 1+
RA N G E D 0 R A NGED P i erc i ng 2+
Health 3 Health 3
A R M OUR 0 A R MOUR 0
MAG I C R E S I S TA N C E 2 MA GIC R ESISTA NC E 0
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.
dr agons conquer a mer ic a
attack attack
M E LE E 2+ MELEE Co nc ussi o n 4+
R AN G E D P ie rc i n g 3 R A NGED 0
Health 4 Health 5
AR M O UR S of t 1 A R MOUR So ft 1
M AG I C R E S I S T A N C E 0 MA GIC R ESISTA NC E 0
Strong attack
REACTION: After declaring a strong attack, he
gains blunt and causes three deterioration to his
targets weapon or armour. If the target was an
NPC, hell gain either blunt or ripped instead.
84
p!
i
w
attack attack
ME LE E 1- MELEE P i erc i ng, ma gi c a l 2+
RA N G E D 0 R A NGED 0
Health 3 Health 7
A R M OUR 0 A R MOUR 0
MAG I C R E S I S TA N C E 1 MA GIC R ESISTA NC E 1
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
p!
i
w
Itztlicoatl Haahiu
level 2 initiative 1 level 2 initiative 2
C O M PE TE N T M el. , S t e. , R i t. 6 C OMPETENT M el., Sho o t., Ri t. 8
MEDIOCRE 2 MED IOC R E 5
attack attack
M E LE E P ois ono u s , ma g i c a l , 4+ MELEE Fea r, ma gi c a l 2+
R AN G E D 0 R A NGED C ONC USSION, FEA R , MA GIC A L 2+
Health 5 Health 8
AR M O UR H a r d 2 A R MOUR So ft 1
M AG I C R E S I S T A N C E 1 MA GIC R ESISTA NC E 2
AG G R E S S I V E MY T H I C A L C RE A T U RE C UNNING MYTHIC A L C R EA TU RE
M OV : 10m W E I G H T : 150kg H E I G H T : 150cm MOV: 5m W EIGHT: 45kg HEIGHT: 164cm
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Spanish Spanish gunner
conquistador level 1 initiative 2
level 1 initiative 2 C OMPETENT Sho o t., Ath., Di s. 5
ME D I O C R E 2 attack
attack MELEE 2
RAN G E D 0 Health 4
Health 4 A R MOUR So ft 1
MAG I C R E S I S TA N C E 0
Strong attack
REACTION: After declaring a strong attack, he
gains blunt and causes three deterioration to his
targets weapon or armour. If the target was an
NPC, hell gain either blunt or ripped instead.
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
attack attack
M E LE E P ie rc ing , mag i ca l 3++ MELEE M a gi c a l 2+
R AN G E D P I E R C I N G , F E A R, RE L O A D 3 R A NGED 0
Health 5 Health 3
AR M O UR H a r d 2 A R MOUR 0
M AG I C R E S I S T A N C E 1 MA GIC R ESISTA NC E 1
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La Gaditana
level 2 initiative 4
CO M PE TE N T Mel. , S h o o t . , A th . 7
ME D I O C R E 4
attack
ME LE E P ie rc ing , ma g i c a l 3++
RAN G E D P I E R C I N G , F E A R, RE L O A D 3
Health 4
A R M OUR H a r d 2
MAG I C R E S I S TA N C E 1
AG G RE S S I V E S PA N I S H
M OV : 5m W E I G H T : 71kg H E I G H T : 170cm
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
BAQUE
EXTR A CONTENT
NPC stats for Baque ( will be part of a
wave two DLC package, which will be
made available on November 1st (the first
day of Kickstarter campaign for DCA).
90
Gms outline
and pre-gen
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.
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
92
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
ME LE E p ie r c in g 3++
Strong attack II
Co Point attack
REACTION: After declaring an action with this weapon,
suffer one disadvantage to ignore hard armour.
Conquistador armour
REG UL AR 80 QU A C H T L I
o n!
g So
m i n
Co
Har d ar mour 2
You suffer one disadvantage towards Dodging actions.
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
ME LE E p ie r c in g 3++
Strong attack II
Co Point attack
REACTION: After declaring an action with this weapon,
suffer one disadvantage to ignore hard armour.
Soft armour
RE G ULAR 15 Q U A C H T L I
o n!
g So
m i n
Co
Soft ar mour 1
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
ME LE E c on c us s ion 4+
Strong attack II
Co
Sling FOR GED 2 0 Q UACHT L I
RA N G E D c on c us s i o n 3
o n!
g So
m i n
Co
Soft armour
REG UL AR 15 QU A C H T L I
o n!
g So
m i n
Co
Soft ar mour 1
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
RA N G E D p ie r c in g 3+
o n!
g So
m i n
Co
Steel dagger FOR GED 6 Q UACHT L I
MEL E E 2
o n!
g So
m i n
Co
Soft armour
RE G UL AR 15 QU A C H T L I
o n!
g So
m i n
Co
Soft ar mour 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 through-
out the course of their adventure.
ME LE E 2+
R each
m i n
Co
Spear wall
REACTION: If you have allies on both your left and right
sides within 2.5 metres, gain one advantage.
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
ME LE E c on c us s ion , mag i ca l 4 +
Co
Magical stone spear PR IMITIVE 24 Q UACHT L I
ME LE E m a g ic a l 2+
R each
m i n
Co
Spear wall
REACTION: If you have allies on both your left and right
sides within 2.5 metres, gain one advantage.
Leather shield
REG UL AR 15 QU A C H T L I
o n!
g So
m i n
Co
Shielding II
REACTION: After losing a confrontation against an at-
tack, 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 opponents action fails.
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
So whats 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 journey
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
T H I S D O W N L O A D A B L E D O C U M E N T has many purposes, chief among
them our need to gather your insights to make the best possible game. You have
many ways to take part in this process as you can see below. Whichever you
choose, well be eternally grateful.
discord.gg/FqBe4pk
goo.gl/forms/ciCdwls2KXdVHepk2
goo.gl/forms/arbtXlQmFbdvIkPJ2
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
Changing historY
S TAGE 1 C R E DIT
Shoutout in the November DCA Kickstarter campaign.
S TAGE 2 C R E DIT
Collaborator credit in Episodes I & II book.
S TAGE 3 C R E DIT
Playtester credit in Episodes I & II and the future
Core Book.
S TAGE 4 C R E DIT
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
KEY DATA
PL E D GE LE V E L: 45
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
EPISODE I:
THE EIGHT
OMENS
It is the year 12-House of the
Tenochtitlan calendar. The Triple
Alliance of the Mexica, Acolhua
and Tepanec has ruled over the
Anahuac and most of its surround-
ing lands for a hundred years, and
is well in the way to doing so for
another hundred.
EPISODE II:
CORTES PLOY
It is the year of our lord 1519 and
a ragtag mercenary force lead by
Hernando Corts has just arrived
to the coast of the New World,
without the sanction or permis-
sion of the Spanish Crown.
106
Pioneer seT kickstarter november 1st
I
clusive
Kickstarter ex
bo x
F Y OU W AN T something truly special and unique, we have you two-sided
covered. This Kickstarter exclusive deluxe set contains many
cool artifacts designed to immerse you in the action.
Contents:
KS exclusive two-sided box.
Episodes I & II book.
8 pre-gen character folios.
GM screen.
Two NPC decks.
Two player decks.
Map of Tenochtitlan.
PL E D GE L E V E L: 100
ap
l a n m BD)
it T
cht gn
e no desi
T al
(fin
een D)
Scr n TB
GM desig
al
(fin
k
oo
Ib
s I&I
ode
Epis
en
-g s
p re olio
8 rf
e
ct
a ra
ch
108
This is just the
beginninG
T H E W O RL D O F DRAGONS CONQUER AMERICA WILL EXPAND IN UNEXPECTED WAYS. WITH
YOUR HELP, WE WILL BE ABLE TO EXPLORE IT IN FULL.
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dr agons conquer a mer ic a
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