In the Company of Dragons – A Review

Have you ever wanted to play a Dragon?  Perhaps you already have in the old 2nd Edition Council of Wyrms campaign.  Maybe you are a GM that really wants to offer up some surprising modifications to a Dragon and do not know where to start.  Well, let me tell you, I have a product that you will be interested in come 1 August 2014.  Written by Wendall Roy this book adds to the In the Company of series that Rite Publishing offers for players to take on the roles more traditionally considered monsters.  The book is geared for Pathfinder and/or 3.5 and there would be some work converting to other systems.

I have always been a fan of Dragons and yet have had trouble getting the tone and approach right in game.  I have bought several supplements that take an in depth look at the Dragon type but I have never really been truly satisfied that I get the motivation or approach right.  I was suitably sceptical when I heard that this book was on its way and it offered me some private amusement at the thought of PC’s trying to fill the role of these marvellous menacing creatures.

I now have to apologize for that presumption because from the moment I started reading this book it got me.  The tone of the source book for much of it is from the point of view of Thunders in Defiance a Dragon who is seeking the help of us ephemerals to educate his wards in the ways of the material plane.  I’ll not go into too much detail here but the background given to the formation of the dragons and their current situations and habitats is compelling and brilliant.  The story captivated me, made me laugh and made me intensely curious.  Take for example my favourite paragraph;

In the material plane, dragons are seen as forces of destruction and hoarders of wealth by most ephemerals. I will not disagree with this assessment, but it is a very narrow view of our kind. There are exceptions to the rule, but as a whole ephemeral societies avoid rousing the anger of dragonkind and we have little to do with your settlements unless they encroach upon our territory (or possess something we covet).

The tone that is included in this is fantastic.  It tells me of the nature and the superiority complex that Dragons have as well as their duplicitous nature.  The back-story here is top notch and scary.  Hidden here is the idea of an area completely populated by dragons and a fantastic notion of the Well of Oblivion the home of those that follow the Undragon.  Great stuff that can be woven into existing campaigns or introduced with the idea of playing a dragon.

The presentation of the book is also top notch.  Some great artwork is included and nearly every page has something new and intriguing for you to look at.  The layout is exceptional and it all combines into a nice mini book that is really easy to read on an iPad, tablet or computer.

Rules for Dragons

The rules for playing a dragon offer up the rules as a racial template for a character much like any other.  They then talk about some alternative racial traits and some archetypes for existing classes.  the one thing that I was disappointed with here is the lack of dragon breath.  It is not gone completely, but only one class archetype takes it on (a variant of the Sorcerer).  To me a dragon needs a breath weapon but apart from the archetypes of  the sorcerer and the new class included in the book this is not a staple.  Moving away from the archetypes though they offer up a Racial class called the Draconic Exemplar.  That is a class that basically increases you to be like a dragon as opposed to focussing on a class (though you can multi-class).  It gives breath weapon and modifications to that breath weapon as a possibility and offers a heap of different paths for you to take as a dragon.

You are treated as a taninim (the name the dragons call themselves) and start as a Small creature, likely being a young dragon.  There are some archetypes that have you increase in size over your levels including the Draconic Exemplar and your character may end up a Gargantuan beast by the end of their career which is pretty cool when you come to think about it.  A nice unique race the dragon is actually very well balanced in the long run and I can not think of a single reason why I would say no to having one in my game.

Dragons and the GM

Largely being a GM though I am more excited about the idea of using this book as a tool kit.  A tool kit in which I can create a multitude of alternatives for dragons.  Think of this little 39 paged book as a gold mine of ways to surprise your character with one of the most feared and sought after foes!  From mirrored scales to complex essences you will find this booklet invaluable if you want to mix things up.  In fact it sets my evil GM mind to thinking there are so many possibilities in this little book I do not know where to start…

I wholeheartedly suggest you consider getting this book if you are a GM and dragons figure prominently in your games.  If you are a player and want to play as a dragon grab it and thrust it under your GM’s nose.  then start whining if they say no.  Then if they still say no, tell them to come see me and I will slap them for their stubbornness.  It is dragons for dragon’s sake!  Seriously, I give this a four and a half dragon egg out of five review.  This book is brilliant and cheap at $5.99 so get out there and grab it when it releases on 1 August 2014!