The Dragon's Egg
A System agnostic TTRPG by Larry Heyl
Licensed CC BY
The goal of the game is to steal the dragon's egg.
The game includes exploration, combat, and puzzles.
Exploration
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The DM adjudicates actions and decides when the dragon is going to attack the party.
When not in combat the party travels together to try to find the dragon's lair so they can steal the dragon's egg. The DM chooses the rules for exploration using any published system or their own system. The players make a character sheet for the chosen system.
The players encounter NPCs who can be good or bad on their travels who they can talk to. They also encounter animals or monsters on their travels that are more difficult to talk to. Every encounter should contain clues to the location of the dragon's lair.
The players act in any order saying what they would like to do and the DM adjudicates their success. The DM might use dice rolls to determine the difficulty of the action or the DM might not need dice rolls for this.
The DM just says yes you can do that or they can tell the player what to roll to suceed in the action.
The DM never says you can't do that. Instead they say that will be really difficult. To do that you'll have to roll a critical success and if you don't roll a crit bad things might happen.
And the story begins.
You are all drinking in a tavern called The Dragon's Egg. You've been staying here for over a week partying every night, sleeping in every day. It's already dark when you realize you don't have enough money left to pay for a room for the night. You call the barkeep, Olaf Cranberry, over to the table and explain your situation. You've been good customers and he doesn't really want you sleeping in the common room so he says, "You've been good customers so I'll put your room on the tab for tonight. But on one condition. I'll wake you early in the morning and off you go to steal the dragon's egg. After you sell the egg you'll be rich so you have to promise to come back and settle up with Olaf." You're all drunk so you agree and after one more round you trundle off to bed.
At the crack of dawn there's Olaf, waking you up and putting you out. Oh no, you think, barely remembering what you had agreed to do last night. Once Olaf has you out of his tavern he says, "Go north. All the dragons are in the north."
All of the above are just suggestions. It's totally up to the DM to decide how they are going to run exploration and start the story.
Combat System
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All players start with 5 d6 dice. The dragon starts with 5 plus the number of players d6 dice. Other antagonists will have fewer d6 dice to start with.
A Turn
The players attack in any order. They describe what they are going to do and they roll all of the dice in front of them. If they have n dice left they have to roll 3n to hit. If they hit the dragon puts one die in the middle of the table. If a player hits, the dragon shoots a firebolt at that player. If the dragon rolls n dice, a total of 3n or better hits. If the dragon hits, the player puts one die in the center of the table.
After the players roll the dragon uses her breath weapon. If the dice roll is not critical all players move one die to the center of the table.
Critical success is all sixes. Critical success gives double damage. Two die go into the middle of the table. If there is only one die left a six is a critical success.
Critical failure is all ones. One die goes into the middle of the table. If there is only one die left a one is a critical failure.
Combat ends when either the players have no dice left or the dragon has no dice left.
There is no death in combat. When a player has no dice left they are unconscious. If all the players are unconscious they wake up imprisoned in a dungeon. If the dragon has no dice left she flies away.
Combat with NPCs or monsters is the same except when their turn comes at the end of a round of cambat they attack with whatever weapons or spells they have.
If the players win the NPCs or monsters are unconscious and the players can safely leave without fear or worries about being followed. Their defeated enemies will not strike again because they don't want another whooping.
If the players lose they wake up where they are with no money, food, or weapons except knives, daggers, walking sticks, or other small weapons. Anything from a crossbow up is gone. Magic users still have their staff, books, and scrolls.
Imprisonment
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If the players wake up in a dungeon they must escape the dungeon before they can continue the quest. Every dungeon is a puzzle.
(Sample dungeons should be included. Also a way for people to submit their dungeon puzzles. The dungeons can be as simple as a three room dungeon with a monster guarding the exit to classic logic puzzles or magical runes and lore.)
The End Of The Game
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The final combat is in the dragon's lair. If the players win the dragon flies away, the players steal the dragon's egg, and they win. Now that they have the egg they can Rule The World but they don't really want to do that so they sell the egg and party until they run out of money.
If they play again they are on a quest to steal another dragon's egg.
If the dragon wins the players wake up in the dungeon under the mountain and it's the end of the game.
If they play again they must escape from the dungeon under the mountain, an even harder puzzle. The dungeon under the mountain is a cave with no entrances or exits so when the players solve the puzzle they are teleported to an unknown destination. From there they continue their quest to steal the dragon's egg.
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Mr Blotto and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM CST, at kasu.org.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Live at The Sylvee on 2023-11-30
archive.org/details/jrad2023-11-30.webrip.sbd.flac16/
Mr. Blotto Live at Reggies on 2024-11-19
archive.org/details/mrblotto2024-11-19/
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DJ Hairy Larry Presents Big Creek Band Playing Sing Me Back Home
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2021-12-01
Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear Big Creek Band play some real country music at Blues Fest.
I always say we play all kinds of music at Blues Fest because when you get right down to it, it’s all blues.
Dennis Mathes was the bandleader of Big Creek Band with Sonny Ackerman on guitar and George Hinds on bass. They all played at Blues Fest every year and Dennis and Sonny were out at the park every week helping me build the bandshell.
Also playing on September 16, 2001, were David Pearce, vocals and guitar; Dave Pearson, vocals and guitar; and Mark Hill, drums.
The song we’re playing today features Dave Pearson singing a Merle Haggard song. And it don’t get more country than that.
Now for the interesting part of the story. I was rummaging around in the archives also known as a box of old CDs when I found a DVD labeled Big Creek Band. I looked at that and I thought, this is gold.
The video looks like it was shot on a VHS camcorder and it’s kind of rough with some skips and stops here and there. Fortunately the music was with us and one of the best songs recorded start to finish with no audio issues.
I copied the DVD to my hard drive digitizing it with Handbrake. And I uploaded it to the Something Blue Archives, one of my collections on the Internet Archive.
I used VLC to convert the video to an audio file and then I got the song I wanted from that. There is also a Dennis Mathes original on the video and I’m hoping to find an audio version of that song without the skips and stops. I recorded every show at every Blues Fest so I should have it around here somewhere.
Ok, that was all very exciting but not quite as exciting as this moment, right now, when I get to share this music with you.
Recorded at Blues Fest, on September 16, 2001, Here’s Big Creek Band with Dave Pearson singing the Merle Haggard song “Sing Me Back Home”.
DJ Hairy Larry Presents Big Creek Band Playing Sing Me Back Home
Something Blue Archives
archive.org/details/from-the-archives-of-something-blue-2021-12-01
Something Blue Archives – List Of Concerts
archive.org/details/somethingbluearchives?sort=-publicdate
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Moore’s Code, Joe Henderson, and Mike Stern. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM CST, at kasu.org.
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Something Blue – Conversations – November 23, 2024
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Bruce H. Mccosar, Jesse Spillane, NJHB, Tom La Meche, and Jazoo. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM CST, at kasu.org.
— Permalink
Thanks Marty. Today we’re going to hear jazz from NJHB recorded at the very beginning.
I was planning on starting the New Jazz In Jonesboro concerts at TheArts@311 in 2013. It was Christmas break so I scheduled a session on December 29, 2012, with the founding members on NJHB.
I was rolling tape but I wasn’t really expecting to record an album. Turns out we played pretty good and we did. We recorded live in the studio, with just two mics recording the room, and we did it the NJHB way. We improvised the arrangements. We recorded four songs. I think I was the only musician there who had ever played them before. As I usually do with NJHB songs I made a radio mix for Arkansas Roots.
In our favor we had a room full of outstanding musicians.
Mike Lovell – guitar
Garrett Tyler – drums
Matt Jackson – bass
Hairy Larry – Fender Rhodes
Cody Ballard – tenor sax
and
Joseph Curtis – trumpet and flugelhorn
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Eilen Jewell, Melissa Carper, Anna and the Tanks, Angie Owens, Lady Day and The Prez, and Amy Helm. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM CST, at kasu.org.
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Bebop Beatniks Live At Blues Fest Craighead Forest Bandshell Jonesboro, Arkansas September 24, 2023
Songs
00:00 African Violet 11:24 Thanks Mr. Cloud … 12:14 The Blue Crane 21:20 The dance floor is open … 21:42 Low Earth Orbit 31:08 Honky Tonk Jazz … 31:54 Sail Boats 38:37 In the audience … 39:15 Freddy’s Blues 45:34 Silence … 45:19 Malaysia 55:53 Introducing the band …
All songs by Larry Heyl
Personnel
Tyler Remagen - sax and flute Hairy Larry - piano and vocals Jeremy Jackson - bass Alex Washam - drums Conley Hunt - percussion and vocals
Bebop Beatniks Larry Heyl Composition Recital ASU Band Room September 10, 2023
Songs
00:00 African Violet 14:30 The Blue Crane 23:30 introducing the band … 24:24 Low Earth Orbit 33:32 Sail Boats 42:22 Freddy’s Blues 52:35 Malaysia
All songs by Larry Heyl
Personnel
Rike Robinson - trombone and vocals Tyler Remagen - sax and flute Cody Daugherty - trumpet Sophie Hacker - guitar and vocals Craig Collison - drums Jeremy Jackson - bass Conley Hunt - percussion and vocals Hairy Larry - piano and vocals
Livestreamed to Youtube from my Samsung Galaxy S10
Bebop Beatniks At Beatles Park Walnut Ridge, Arkansas May 27, 2023
Songs
00:00 We are Bebop Beatniks … 00:23 The Blue Crane 08:53 What a wonderful audience … 09:00 Candles 16:43 I’m going to rap … 17:04 African Violet 28:24 When Conley was a percussion student … 28:48 Low Earth Orbit 38:17 OK, here’s a swing song … 38:25 Sailboats 45:11 Crates is the companion piece to Candles … 45:20 Crates 53:36 One more song … 53:46 Malaysia
Personnel
Hairy Larry - piano, vocals Alex Washam - drums Conley Hunt - percussion Rike Robinson - trombone
Bebop Beatniks
On The Twitch Porch
April 2, 2023
Songs
00:00 Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael, public domain
08:27 African Violet
17:05 Sail Boats
24:26 Malaysia
33:37 Low Earth Orbit
42:37 The Blue Crane
Something Blue – Marbles – 2024-12-07 Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Live at The Sylvee on 2023-11-30 This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Mr Blotto and Joe Russo’s … Continue reading →
DJ Hairy Larry Presents Big Creek Band Playing Sing Me Back Home From The Archives Of Something Blue 2021-12-01 Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear Big Creek Band play some real country music at Blues Fest. I always say … Continue reading →
Something Blue – Jigsaw – November 30, 2024 Mike Stern – Jigsaw This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Moore’s Code, Joe Henderson, and Mike Stern. For more … Continue reading →
DJ Hairy Larry Presents Moore’s Code Playing Every Day From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-11-24 Moore’s Code Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear a jazz song written by a former ASU student. Tim Moore would sit in with … Continue reading →
Something Blue – Conversations – November 23, 2024 This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Bruce H. Mccosar, Jesse Spillane, NJHB, Tom La Meche, and Jazoo. For more … Continue reading →
DJ Hairy Larry Presents NJHB Playing Circular Logic From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-11-17 Thanks Marty. Today we’re going to hear jazz from NJHB recorded at the very beginning. I was planning on starting the New Jazz In Jonesboro … Continue reading →
Something Blue – Goodbye – November 15, 2024 Amy Helm – Silver City This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Eilen Jewell, Melissa Carper, Anna and the Tanks, … Continue reading →
DJ Hairy Larry Presents Anna and the Tanks Playing White Rabbit From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-11-10 Anna Lowery Thanks Marty, today we’re going to feature a song from the sixties recorded live at Blues Fest in 2024! Jefferson … Continue reading →
Something Blue – Burning – November 9, 2024 This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Josh Parks, John Shepherd, and Phil Lesh and Friends. For more about the … Continue reading →
DJ Hairy Larry Presents Josh Parks Playing Part Time Love From The Archives Of Something Blue – 2024-11-03 Josh Parks Playing At The King Biscuit Blues Festival Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear an Arkansas Blues Man play a … Continue reading →