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Dragon Fist is Wizard of the Coast's Chinese marital arts and sorcery variant of AD&D. Much of the game will be familiar to anyone that has played AD&D only streamlined and improved in interesting and creative ways. Dragon Fist is worth a look for anyone that is interested in games dealing with martial arts and Chinese fantasy, AD&D variant rules, and, just maybe, Wizard's proposed d20 system. Best of all, it is free off of the web.

Dragon Fist is set in the mythical land of Tianguo set on the eastern shores of an unnamed and undefined continent in the southern hemisphere of an otherwise undefined world. Tianguo is comprised of nine provinces that are isolated from the western lands of the continent by high mountains, bordered on the north by mountains and the tropical forests of the Neeg barbarians, and bordered on the south by the steppes of the nomadic Yi barbarians.

Tianguo's history goes back more than a thousand years to the first of three legendary emperors. The current emperor has been corrupted by demonic magic, and his ruthless rule is enforced by the imperial army and eunuch sorcerors. The emperor is opposed by nine secret societies of martial artists and magic users. Each player character comes from one of these secret societies.

Character generation in Dragon Fist is similar to AD&D. A player chooses a class (fighter, wizard, shaman, or thief); rolls 4d6, dropping the lowest, for the six attributes; selects a secret society kit; selects an alignment; and records level bonuses. Character levels go from 1-10, with 3d level as the default starting level. All fairly standard to AD&D. From here, things get interesting.

Each character receives a certain number of martial arts maneuvers. These maneuvers are, like spells, grouped into ranks and allow characters to increase their armor class, increase their martial arts damage, and to perform a variety of heroic and/or flashy maneuvers, such as leaping 20 feet, disarming an opponent, or running on air. At 3d Level, fighters begin with three Rank 1 maneuvers and two Rank 2 maneuvers. Wizards begin with two Rank 1 maneuvers and one Rank 2 maneuver.

In addition to the basic six attributes, each character also has Stunt Bonuses that are linked to the attributes and that increase with each level. These Stunt Bonuses are central to Dragon Fist and are its biggest departure from AD&D. Might is paired with Strength, Acrobatics with Dexterity, Fortitude with Constitution, Savvy with Intelligence, Insight with Wisdom, and Charm with Charisma. Attributes of 11 and above provide bonus dice, progressing from 1d3-1, 1d3, 1d4, 1d6, etc. The Stunt Bonuses begin equal to the Attribute Bonuses. Then, at each level increase one Stunt Bonus may be increased.

Each character class is assigned one primary, two secondary, and three tertiary attributes. For example, Fighters have Str primary, Con and Dex secondary, and Int, Wis, and Cha tertiary; and Thieves have Dex primary, Str and Cha secondary, and Con, Int, and Wis tertiary. At 2d Level, a character's stunt bonus for the primary attribute increases; at 3d Level, one of the secondary bonuses increases; at 4th Level, one of the tertiary bonuses increases; at 5th Level, the primary bonus increases; etc. These Stunt Bonus increases allow Dragon Fist to retain AD&D's unchanging attribute scheme while providing for increases to the Stunt Bonuses.

Stunt Bonuses are used perform Stunts and Feats. Stunts are used in combat to make dramatic and tactically advantageous maneuvers. Feats are used as a default skill system and are added to a d20 roll against a Target Number ranging from 10 (Easy) to 25 (Absurd). This allows for a free-form skill system that is easily implemented and that is, for the most part, genre appropriate. The only complication is that Dragon Fist also partially retains AD&D's skill system for Thieves, and the two systems do not work well together.

Dragon Fist's magic system includes spells for wizards and shamen through 5th Level. The spells are wuxia oriented and geared to Tianguo with names like Iron Scarf, Terra Cotta Warrior, Scuttle of the Centipede, Ancestral Vengeance, and Oracle Bones. The only real issue of dispute is whether Swordsman Yen from A Chinese Ghost Story is a wizard (as described in Dragon Fist) or one of the more combat-oriented shaman.

A list of magic items, scrolls, and potions is included; however, magic items are rare in Tianguo and that each item should have a unique history. Although an NPC in the scenario provided with Dragon Fist describes making potions, no rules for making potions are included.

The chapter on Dragon Fist campaigns describes three potential campaign orientations and a "villain tree" that can be used to structure a campaign. The "villain tree" is a device for structuring and outlining a campaign, escalating the player character's adventures as they move from opponent to opponent, from a city magistrate, to a low-level eunuch sorceror, to a provincial governor, to one of the Emperor's principal lieutenants, to the Emperor himself. Dragon Fist explicitly states that overthrowing the corrupt emperor and restoring the mandate of heaven should be the ultimate objective of any campaign. Rules are also included for variant campaigns, including AD&D Forgotten Realms. Although, one of the more significant differences between Dragon Fist and AD&D is that Dragon Fistdoes not include any non-human characters.

Stats are provided for a variety of "monsters" native to Tianguo such as Hopping Vampires, Local Spirits, Ox-headed Demons, and forest dwelling ogres. Stats are also provided for the secret societies principal adversaries: Emperor Jianmin and Kuan Taojun, Lord of the East Wing and 10th Level eunuch sorceror.

Dragon Fist concludes with a scenario that sends a party of characters across Tianguo to a remote province and serves as a good introduction to the world of Dragon Fist. Unfortunately, the scenario concludes in a temple with a brief, but traditional, dungeon crawl.

For a web published game, Dragon Fist's production values are excellent. The art is high quality, the layout is very professional, and, but for multiple grammatical errors, the game is well written.

Dragon Fist is a great game for the price. My first choice for a Chinese fantasy RPG would still be Feng Shui using the Thorns of the Lotus supplement. But, if you are interested in a wuxia-style game, or a more cinematic-style sword and sorcery game, and don't have Feng Shui and don't want to buy it (and why not!), Dragon Fist is definitely the game for you.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Dragon Fist
Author: Chris Pramas Category: game Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Line: Dragon Fist Cost: Free! Page count: 139 Capsule Review by Jeb Boyt on 04/24/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Anime Asian/Far_East	Dragon Fist is Wizard of the Coast's Chinese marital arts and sorcery variant of AD&D. Much of the game will be familiar to anyone that has played AD&D only streamlined and improved in interesting and creative ways. Dragon Fist is worth a look for anyone that is interested in games dealing with martial arts and Chinese fantasy, AD&D variant rules, and, just maybe, Wizard's proposed d20 system. Best of all, it is free off of the web. Dragon Fist is set in the mythical land of Tianguo set on the eastern shores of an unnamed and undefined continent in the southern hemisphere of an otherwise undefined world. Tianguo is comprised of nine provinces that are isolated from the western lands of the continent by high mountains, bordered on the north by mountains and the tropical forests of the Neeg barbarians, and bordered on the south by the steppes of the nomadic Yi barbarians. Tianguo's history goes back more than a thousand years to the first of three legendary emperors. The current emperor has been corrupted by demonic magic, and his ruthless rule is enforced by the imperial army and eunuch sorcerors. The emperor is opposed by nine secret societies of martial artists and magic users. Each player character comes from one of these secret societies. Character generation in Dragon Fist is similar to AD&D. A player chooses a class (fighter, wizard, shaman, or thief); rolls 4d6, dropping the lowest, for the six attributes; selects a secret society kit; selects an alignment; and records level bonuses. Character levels go from 1-10, with 3d level as the default starting level. All fairly standard to AD&D. From here, things get interesting. Each character receives a certain number of martial arts maneuvers. These maneuvers are, like spells, grouped into ranks and allow characters to increase their armor class, increase their martial arts damage, and to perform a variety of heroic and/or flashy maneuvers, such as leaping 20 feet, disarming an opponent, or running on air. At 3d Level, fighters begin with three Rank 1 maneuvers and two Rank 2 maneuvers. Wizards begin with two Rank 1 maneuvers and one Rank 2 maneuver. In addition to the basic six attributes, each character also has Stunt Bonuses that are linked to the attributes and that increase with each level. These Stunt Bonuses are central to Dragon Fist and are its biggest departure from AD&D. Might is paired with Strength, Acrobatics with Dexterity, Fortitude with Constitution, Savvy with Intelligence, Insight with Wisdom, and Charm with Charisma. Attributes of 11 and above provide bonus dice, progressing from 1d3-1, 1d3, 1d4, 1d6, etc. The Stunt Bonuses begin equal to the Attribute Bonuses. Then, at each level increase one Stunt Bonus may be increased. Each character class is assigned one primary, two secondary, and three tertiary attributes. For example, Fighters have Str primary, Con and Dex secondary, and Int, Wis, and Cha tertiary; and Thieves have Dex primary, Str and Cha secondary, and Con, Int, and Wis tertiary. At 2d Level, a character's stunt bonus for the primary attribute increases; at 3d Level, one of the secondary bonuses increases; at 4th Level, one of the tertiary bonuses increases; at 5th Level, the primary bonus increases; etc. These Stunt Bonus increases allow Dragon Fist to retain AD&D's unchanging attribute scheme while providing for increases to the Stunt Bonuses. Stunt Bonuses are used perform Stunts and Feats. Stunts are used in combat to make dramatic and tactically advantageous maneuvers. Feats are used as a default skill system and are added to a d20 roll against a Target Number ranging from 10 (Easy) to 25 (Absurd). This allows for a free-form skill system that is easily implemented and that is, for the most part, genre appropriate. The only complication is that Dragon Fist also partially retains AD&D's skill system for Thieves, and the two systems do not work well together. Dragon Fist's magic system includes spells for wizards and shamen through 5th Level. The spells are wuxia oriented and geared to Tianguo with names like Iron Scarf, Terra Cotta Warrior, Scuttle of the Centipede, Ancestral Vengeance, and Oracle Bones. The only real issue of dispute is whether Swordsman Yen from A Chinese Ghost Story is a wizard (as described in Dragon Fist) or one of the more combat-oriented shaman. A list of magic items, scrolls, and potions is included; however, magic items are rare in Tianguo and that each item should have a unique history. Although an NPC in the scenario provided with Dragon Fist describes making potions, no rules for making potions are included. The chapter on Dragon Fist campaigns describes three potential campaign orientations and a "villain tree" that can be used to structure a campaign. The "villain tree" is a device for structuring and outlining a campaign, escalating the player character's adventures as they move from opponent to opponent, from a city magistrate, to a low-level eunuch sorceror, to a provincial governor, to one of the Emperor's principal lieutenants, to the Emperor himself. Dragon Fist explicitly states that overthrowing the corrupt emperor and restoring the mandate of heaven should be the ultimate objective of any campaign. Rules are also included for variant campaigns, including AD&D Forgotten Realms. Although, one of the more significant differences between Dragon Fist and AD&D is that Dragon Fistdoes not include any non-human characters. Stats are provided for a variety of "monsters" native to Tianguo such as Hopping Vampires, Local Spirits, Ox-headed Demons, and forest dwelling ogres. Stats are also provided for the secret societies principal adversaries: Emperor Jianmin and Kuan Taojun, Lord of the East Wing and 10th Level eunuch sorceror. Dragon Fist concludes with a scenario that sends a party of characters across Tianguo to a remote province and serves as a good introduction to the world of Dragon Fist. Unfortunately, the scenario concludes in a temple with a brief, but traditional, dungeon crawl. For a web published game, Dragon Fist's production values are excellent. The art is high quality, the layout is very professional, and, but for multiple grammatical errors, the game is well written. Dragon Fist is a great game for the price. My first choice for a Chinese fantasy RPG would still be Feng Shui using the Thorns of the Lotus supplement. But, if you are interested in a wuxia-style game, or a more cinematic-style sword and sorcery game, and don't have Feng Shui and don't want to buy it (and why not!), Dragon Fist is definitely the game for you. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)