The Game of Wings And Scales

Even before we came to this shore, there have been dragons, and tales of dragons; we could see their fire illuminating the night from across the straits. Even when the dragons seemed to retreat, away from houses and walls, away from steam and smoke, there were dragons in the hearts and minds of those who lived there.

Each island, as we journeyed from one to another, seemed to bring some new form, some new warping, some flowering of our notion of “dragon”.

So, even before we set foot on any of the islands of this archipelago, to see the wings spread wide above them, to feel the earth shake as a dragon moved in its slumbers, to have the night sky disrupted by a gust of flame, there has been the Game of Wings and Scales.

At times, it has been a teaching-tool, to teach the young about the dragons they might encounter. At times, it has been a history-tool, that great events be not forgotten.

And always, it has been a way for the people of the valley to confront their fears, and become the creators of dragons rather then merely their prey, or part of the damage they do in passing, unthinking. To enter the heads of the dragons, and (perhaps) the heroes aligned against them. 

The Game of Wings and Scales lets 2-n players (though if n is much more than 5, people may get impatient between turns -- best to split and build two dragons) build a dragon and its story, all intertwined.

It was inspired by a challenge, years ago, to envision what RPGs might look like, if they had grown out of something other than wargames. The original (which will soon be here as well) was the Game between Wind and Water, about the stories shipbuilders tell in the Ayrvind archipelago -- but that game, as so many games do, inspired others, and when I was asked to bring a fantasy game to a convention, this was born.

Thank you to the fine folks at RainbowCon, who inspired me to do this, and I hope you enjoy playing it!