Crimson Dragon Slayer D20

Stronger, Faster, Better!

Welcome to yet another iteration of Crimson Dragon Slayer, forged to resemble the original fantasy
roleplaying game, but house-ruled for stronger, faster, and better sessions online where time, energy,
memory, and patience are in short supply.

I’ve listed the most important things to remember when it comes to running virtual sessions.
That kind of roleplaying is a different animal than face-to-face gaming. Such games require less
bookkeeping, simpler rules, and, as always, an old school approach.

I don’t want to dig through the book. I don’t want players dictating results to me based on what’s
written down in some edition or other.  I don’t want min/max optimized PC superheroes tearing
through everything encountered without fear of death, dismemberment, or loss. Failure should
always be an option.

Old school gaming is about desperate adventurers seeking glory, riches, and power… struggling to
survive a brutal world gone mad. Slay the crimson dragon and win your freedom!

“A true initiation never ends.”

—Robert Anton Wilson

1
Overview
No character sheets.

Instead of using modifiers, I use Advantage (roll 2d20 and take the highest) when
circumstances are favorable and Disadvantage (roll 2d20 and take the lowest) when they’re
unfavorable.

One round is approximately one minute of game-time.  Combat is abstract, not granular.  So,
when it’s your character’s action, they can move, talk, and take one action (in any order).

Instead of rolling initiative, whichever side would logically strike first goes and then the
opposition goes. If there’s no clear victor, a tie goes to the Player Characters (PCs).

Every PC gets one point of inspiration at the beginning of a session (re-roll any die).

Levels go up to 10.  At 10th level, the Player Character (PC) is at their adventuring peak.

PCs gain a level after every other adventure.

At 5th and 10th level, players get to pick a feature, special ability, or feat (kool powerz) that
relates to their character’s class. Either something pulled from a book or made up on your own.

2
Player Characters
Come prepared with a NAME (it cannot be Bob), RACE, CLASS, ALIGNMENT, and
SOMETHING NOTEWORTHY ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER.  That’s it.

Choose a RACE… Human, Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Gnome, or Half-Orc. Your PC has a racial
ability that can be used once per session.

The 4 basic CLASSES… Fighter, Wizard, Cleric, and Thief.

Fighter: cut-throat mercenary or valiant warrior (10 HP / level). Fighters can add their
level to both to-hit roll and damage rolls.

Wizard: arcane scholar or sorcerer (4 HP / level). Wizards can use virtually any spell in
the Player’s Handbook that’s equal to their character’s level, but each spell cast drains the
wizard of HP equal to the spell’s level.

Cleric: spiritual knight or templar (8 HP / level). Clerics get a single invocation (via touch)
that can be used anytime without penalty. At 1st level, clerics can cure wounds, healing
1d6 HP; alternatively, this divine energy can instead be used to harm demons, undead, and
Lovecraftian abominations (no save). This clerical ability goes up to 2d6 at 3rd level, 3d6 at
5th level, 4d6 at 7th level, and 5d6 at 9th level.

Thief: wily rogue or cunning scoundrel (6 HP / level). Thieves can do all the usual thief
abilities… climb sheer surfaces, find and remove traps, listen, hide in shadows, move
silently, pick locks, pick pockets, use device, and backstab.  If it’s routine, it can be done
easily without rolling, as long as, the attempt is described.  Trickier tasks are usually
narrated and rolled (see Skill Checks below).  

To attack, roll a d20 and hit your opponent’s Armor Class or better (if using a magic weapon,
add that to your to-hit roll). 

Natural 20 on an attack roll is a critical hit, resulting in double the maximum damage for that
weapon (no need to roll), plus additional bonuses (magic, fighting ability, etc).

Natural 1 on an attack roll is a critical miss (you’re disarmed, prone, or outmatched), resulting
in disadvantage on your next attack.

3
Armor Class starts at 10 and goes up to a maximum of 20 (without magical aid).  Wizards
cannot wear armor.  Thieves can add their level to AC if not wearing armor.  Leather is +2,
shield is +2, helm is +1, chain mail is +4, scale mail is +5, plate mail is +6.

Weapon type doesn’t matter as much as skill. Fighters do 1d10 damage, clerics do 1d8, thieves
do 1d6, and wizards do 1d4.

There are 4 ALIGNMENTS… Law, Chaos, Neutral, and Unaligned. 

If you choose Law, your PC believes in order, justice, community, and most likely worship
the New Gods, namely the Lords of Light.

Those aligned with Chaos believe in natural selection, revenge, and individualism up to
and including self-deification. They are more likely to honor the Old Gods, such as K’tulu,
Yog-Soggoth, and Uba-Sa’athla.

Those of a Neutral alignment balance Law and Chaos within themselves, recognizing both
the Old and New Gods. 

Unaligned means that the PC doesn’t give a damn about Law, Chaos, or the Gods; they
have their own idiosyncratic philosophy or passion that guides them through the world.

SOMETHING NOTEWORTHY ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER can be a background,

possession, appearance, talent, previous experience, likes, dislikes, or personality quirk.
Anything that is obviously overpowered will be countered by a GM prescribed flaw or weakness.

Instead of automatically rolling a Skill Check, simply describe what your character is doing. 
Perception and interaction (among other things) will be roleplayed.  Otherwise, the GM will let
you know when to roll a skill check.  Success requires a roll of 15 or better on a d20, adding your
character’s level to the roll if attempting something related to the PC’s class.

4
Miscellaneous
If the PC reaches zero HP or lower to negative the PC’s level, the character is simply
unconscious and will recover soon.  Once the PC goes past that (-5 HP if the character is 4th
level), the character is dead.  Create another one and I’ll try to get the new PC back in the game
ASAP.

A short rest of 45-60 minutes can be restorative.  The PCs get one of these per day, recharging
HP at Xd6, where “X” is the character’s level.

All HP refresh after a full 8 hours of rest (interruptions are fine, just make it up by sleeping a
little longer). 

PCs can use their action to assist another character, granting their companion advantage on his
action (must be narrated).

Magic items must be attuned to an individual. It requires at least 15 minutes of uninterrupted

concentration, at which point the item’s owner knows what the item does and how to use it.
Otherwise, the item’s owner can experiment. Certain magic items, such as wands, staves, and
rods can only be used by wizards.

Saving Throws are determined by subtracting a character’s level (or monster’s HD) from 20. 
You need to roll that number or better on a d20 to save.  Natural 20 means you’re completely
unaffected.

Epic Feats of Awesome can be attempted instead of your standard attack.  Subtract the
character’s level from 30 and roll that number or better on a d30 to succeed.  The result is
whatever the player describes.

Legitimate, substantive questions are always

welcome and usually have a 2 in 6
chance for a resounding “Yes.”
Example: Does the robot’s
head still talk after I ripped it
off its body?

5
 Credits
Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 was created by Venger As’Nas Satanis, 2019 ©

Published by Kort’thalis Publishing

Layout by David Guyll

Proofreading by Martin Teply

Artwork by Adobe Stock

Visit my RPG websites:

https://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/

http://draconicmagazine.com/

Get them while they’re hot... and sleazy!