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Yesterday, I attended a demo game of a product called DragonStorm, from Black Dragon Press. (Don't worry, they're better at game design than website design.) It was originally presented to me as "a role-playing collectible card game".

DragonStorm is (or hopes to be) a standard fantasy RPG which uses collectible cards as the primary mechanic. (One also needs 2d6 per player.) The world, Grandilar, is populated by standard fantasy races and critters (with some unique additions). Owing to some serious magical warfare in the distant past, the land is now ravaged by the Warp Storms, which wreck physical property and also transform ordinary beings into shapeshifters. Each race will gain a different shifting ability when transformed by the storms: humans to dragons and werewolves, dwarves to gargoyles, elves to pegasi (and dragons in later sets), and so on.

Some shapeshifters have banded together to form the Valarian Champions, a group which is a force for Good. The Valarians are opposed by the Necromancers, who drain the life from shapeshifters and other magical beings to power their spells. The world history indicates that the necromancers, in an attempt to seize power from the dragons, tainted the world with evil magic (Warp) and caused the current nasty state of affairs. Now, Valarians (i.e., PCs) travel the land seeking to end the rule of the necromancers and cleanse the world.

When I sat down at the table, I was asked to pick a race, alternate form, and character class. This ended up as Human/Dragon/Wizard's Apprentice. By setting the race and form, you get a certain number of points and gold with which to buy other advantages and equipment for a character. These are all placed together into a character deck, and that's it. Characters here were pre-packaged, but as long as one doesn't wish to minimax too much over equipment and skills (which can often be altered between sessions anyway), the creation process is fast.

The demo adventure is a simple matter of determining which direction to travel in, encountering one NPC, surviving one combat, and reaching the destination to be declared Valarian Champions. The NPC encounter was ordinary role-playing with a single skill roll when our bard decided to try singing a song. The combat system is also quite simple; all actions are resolved via 2d6 + skill + modifiers, with each card having attack and defense values. We had a twelve-year-old girl sitting at the table, and she was able to comprehend the system with no trouble. The combat system is hardly designed for realism, but it provides the appropriate fantasy feel.

Overall, the card mechanic worked very well. It's easy to see what both you and the other characters can do and when. The cards themselves are all laminated, a useful protection against the slings and arrows of gaming munchies. The art on them is very nice; some have interesting flavor text. I certainly enjoyed having all these nice colorful things to represent me rather than a sheet of numbers. On the other hand, I do wonder about how this system would hold up for a longer campaign. The company will sell you any single card at reasonable prices, so this isn't likely to go the way of Magic. Still, character improvement is limited by what cards you own, so that both players and GMs must continue to shell out money in order to advance.

For a single one-shot game, DragonStorm is a good choice because of the low learning curve and simple mechanics. In the hands of a good group, it may well work as a vehicle for serious campaigns. I found it interesting and enjoyable enough that I'd certainly play again if given the chance; it remains to be seen whether or not they'll suck me into buying more cards. If you can find someone in your area who has a bunch of cards, or if you can convince your friends to pay $10 each for starter decks, I'd recommend giving it a try.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

DragonStorm
Author: Susan Van Camp Category: game Company/Publisher: Black Dragon Press Line: DragonStorm Cost: $9.95 (for one starter deck) Page count: n/a ISBN: n/a SKU: #6000 (starter deck) Playtest Review by Alik Widge on 04/23/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	Yesterday, I attended a demo game of a product called DragonStorm, from Black Dragon Press. (Don't worry, they're better at game design than website design.) It was originally presented to me as "a role-playing collectible card game". DragonStorm is (or hopes to be) a standard fantasy RPG which uses collectible cards as the primary mechanic. (One also needs 2d6 per player.) The world, Grandilar, is populated by standard fantasy races and critters (with some unique additions). Owing to some serious magical warfare in the distant past, the land is now ravaged by the Warp Storms, which wreck physical property and also transform ordinary beings into shapeshifters. Each race will gain a different shifting ability when transformed by the storms: humans to dragons and werewolves, dwarves to gargoyles, elves to pegasi (and dragons in later sets), and so on. Some shapeshifters have banded together to form the Valarian Champions, a group which is a force for Good. The Valarians are opposed by the Necromancers, who drain the life from shapeshifters and other magical beings to power their spells. The world history indicates that the necromancers, in an attempt to seize power from the dragons, tainted the world with evil magic (Warp) and caused the current nasty state of affairs. Now, Valarians (i.e., PCs) travel the land seeking to end the rule of the necromancers and cleanse the world. When I sat down at the table, I was asked to pick a race, alternate form, and character class. This ended up as Human/Dragon/Wizard's Apprentice. By setting the race and form, you get a certain number of points and gold with which to buy other advantages and equipment for a character. These are all placed together into a character deck, and that's it. Characters here were pre-packaged, but as long as one doesn't wish to minimax too much over equipment and skills (which can often be altered between sessions anyway), the creation process is fast. The demo adventure is a simple matter of determining which direction to travel in, encountering one NPC, surviving one combat, and reaching the destination to be declared Valarian Champions. The NPC encounter was ordinary role-playing with a single skill roll when our bard decided to try singing a song. The combat system is also quite simple; all actions are resolved via 2d6 + skill + modifiers, with each card having attack and defense values. We had a twelve-year-old girl sitting at the table, and she was able to comprehend the system with no trouble. The combat system is hardly designed for realism, but it provides the appropriate fantasy feel. Overall, the card mechanic worked very well. It's easy to see what both you and the other characters can do and when. The cards themselves are all laminated, a useful protection against the slings and arrows of gaming munchies. The art on them is very nice; some have interesting flavor text. I certainly enjoyed having all these nice colorful things to represent me rather than a sheet of numbers. On the other hand, I do wonder about how this system would hold up for a longer campaign. The company will sell you any single card at reasonable prices, so this isn't likely to go the way of Magic. Still, character improvement is limited by what cards you own, so that both players and GMs must continue to shell out money in order to advance. For a single one-shot game, DragonStorm is a good choice because of the low learning curve and simple mechanics. In the hands of a good group, it may well work as a vehicle for serious campaigns. I found it interesting and enjoyable enough that I'd certainly play again if given the chance; it remains to be seen whether or not they'll suck me into buying more cards. If you can find someone in your area who has a bunch of cards, or if you can convince your friends to pay $10 each for starter decks, I'd recommend giving it a try. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)