''Dragonroar'' is a fantasy role-playing game published by Standard Games in 1985 that was the first of its kind published in the UK.

Description

''Dragonroar'' is an introductory level miniatures-oriented fantasy system, emphasizing combat between heroes and monsters. The game includes a rulebook, an introductory adventure, 25mm-scale floor plans, and a cassette tape introducing the game (side one) and the scenario (side two). The centre of the rulebook contains a map of "Home" (the ''Dragonroar'' campaign world). Each character in ''Dragonroar'' can either be a Warrior or Wizard, and has statistics measured as five characteristics: Strength, Speed, Willpower, Knowledge and Endurance. Characters can gain honour points, which players can use to improve the characters and advance their Life Level. The skills system is organized into a series of hierarchies which become increasingly specialized as the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...

progresses on a hierarchy.

Publication history

Standard Games was best known for the board wargame game '' Cry Havoc'' (1981), but like many game publishers, decided to enter the lucrative role-playing game market in the mid-1980s. ''Dragonroar'' was designed by Peter O'Toole and was published by Standard in 1985 as a

boxed set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

with cover art by Peter Dennis. It contained a rulebook, a cassette tape, 24 character/monster sheets, four

cardstock Card stock, also called cover stock and pasteboard, is paper that is thicker and more durable than normal writing and printing paper, but thinner and more flexible than other forms of paperboard. Card stock is often used for business cards, po ...

sheets, cardstock miniatures, a scenario map, and dice. ''Dragonroar'' was the first significant original fantasy role-playing game from the UK.

Reception

In Issue 68 of the British games magazine ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...

'', Paul Mason felt that "As a beginner's game, ''Dragonroar'' is clear and simple, but narrow in scope and restricting to those who want more out of game than combat: experienced role-players will find it about five years out of date. It may be the first British fantasy rolegame, but it isn't anything to be proud of." Mason concluded by giving the game a rating of 5 out of 10. In Issue 32 of the French games magazine ''Jeux et Stratégie'', Fabrice Cayla noted, "Let's point out right away, before saying more, that humor and simplicity are in the spotlight in Dragon Roar." Cayla concluded, "this game, with a very professional presentation, is aimed primarily at very young people for its simplicity; or to those who either want to play 'not very seriously', or parody a certain game." In Issue 83 of the British magazine ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...

'', Wayne B. Gamer commented " tandard Games hascome up with a product which is simple to play, easy to learn and very enjoyable." Gamer liked the included cassette, noting, "The cassette is very well recorded and includes everything from interesting sound effects to a nifty piece of music, which bides your time whilst you get everything together." Gamer concluded, "So, if you are contemplating entering the fantastic world of Fantasy Role Playing, ''Dragonroar'' is definitely the game for you." In his 2023 book ''Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground'', RPG historian Stu Horvath noted the presence of war hedgehogs and killer penguins, and commented, "Not everything is going to be a classic. Sometimes the absurd deserves a little celebration. ''Dragonroar'' is pretty absurd." Horvath concluded, "The hell with orcs, give me a fantasy world full of homicidal mutant penguins and giant ax-wielding hedgehogs any day."

References

{{reflist British role-playing games Fantasy role-playing games Role-playing games introduced in 1985