Dragon Kings Interview

This past weekend we here at the Dorkland offices sat down with Timothy Brown, creator of the Dragon Kings setting, to ask him a few questions about the setting and project, in general.


Dorkland: First off, congratulations on surpassing your pledge goal! How has the Kickstarter experience been for you so far? Any tips for those thinking of running one in the future?

Timothy Brown: Thank you! Kickstarter is a strange animal. Of course, it’s uplifting that all these people share your vision and would like to make it all happen. Anyone thinking of starting one should be prepared to answer a whole lot of questions.

DL: Why this particular setting? Why not a spiritual successor to 2300AD? Might that happen in the future?

TB: I’ve had the Dragon Kings environment swimming around in the back of my mind for quite awhile now. As I talked about it with other collaborators they encouraged me to move forward. That’s the main thing, I suppose, knowing I had an eager group of collaborators. As for science fiction, in many ways that’s my first love, and I’ve got quite a bit of material already written for that, too, in both game material and music, so, as they say, ‘watch this space.’

DL: What, if anything, are you bringing over from Dark Sun? Anything whole or in part? Any concepts in particular?

TB: There are definitely themes common to all my work that appear in both Dark Sun and Dragon Kings. The notion of a world in flux, especially one in decline for mysterious reasons that present the characters with unique, often difficult choices for survival. Also, the idea that applications of power have consequences, especially role-playing consequences (not just a bad die mod). Want to dabble in sorcery? Be prepared to meet its demands. You can throw unique character races into the mix, as well, exotic creatures that bring truly alien thinking into play.

DL: Having a focus on music, art and the setting is very different from the norm – what unique challenge has this presented for you?

TB: The main challenge has been narrowing the wide focus lens of a complete role-playing setting into a single epic tale to tell musically. Just about every aspect of the game world deserves its own song. Making one tale that holds together as a single musical expression while covering as many diverse pieces of the world has been difficult, but the final work will paint a vivid picture of the Dragon Kings experience.

DL: What is your favorite part of Khitus and why?

TB: I’m an alien race fan. I like envisioning different creatures, where they came from, why they think the way that they do. On Khitus, I’ve developed the elephant centaur Pachyaur, the hive-minded Krikis empries, and the arboreal Penmai, and I’d be excited to play any one of them in a game, myself.

DL: The Krikis are an interesting, hive-based race – what sets them apart as potential PCs?

TB: The Krikis are conflicted by evolutionary progress. Their genetically rigid society gave them the strength to thrive in their pre-intelligent state. But with greater cognizance has come individuality and innovation, valuable assets to an expanding culture, but anathema to the their castes and set roles. Heroes can be at once admired and reviled. Visceral guilt causes them enormous pain and inner conflict.

DL: Most of the places seem quite grim-dark – are there any areas of Khitus left that are still “good”, or will the players have to forge those areas themselves? If so, what was the design decision behind that and why?

TB: The southern hemisphere is the most ravaged by wanton plunder, and this is where the setting ‘begins,’ but there are equatorial regions that are as-yet unmolested. Characters have choices to make: defend and maintain what’s left of their homelands, seek to stop or even reverse the desolation, or flee to better places, either permanently or at least to gain respite.

DL: Magic seems to reflect the darkness of the world – how might this affect game play? Is there a “good” form of magic that PCs would use, or will they use this destructive magic, as well? If it is destructive, why would they want to use it?

TB: Sorcery demands an emotional toll on the caster. How the wizard mitigates that toll is key. An evil wizard deflects it onto unwitting victims. The good wizard either takes it upon himself or somehow tricks sorcery into thinking it has been ‘paid,’ but this is difficult. Perhaps the best answer is to match magic’s power with something that is not exactly magic.

DL: Lastly, what is the story behind the art of the worm with the tied-on wings and mask? Did it affix those itself? (Personal curiosity!)

TB: The Dragon Kings who once held sway over the world have, over the centuries, vanished. Exactly where they have gone and why is open to debate, steeped in legend and rumor … The denizens of the Black Fortress know that the simple races – Cold Skins and Krikis – are easily fooled, and contort themselves awkwardly to further their ends – the Dragon King Pretenders.

We here at Dorkland would like to thank Timothy Brown for taking the time to answer our questions, and we would also like to remind you that Dragon Kings' Kickstarter is still going on and if you want to learn more about the Dragon Kings setting and project you can check it out on their website.

Dragon Kings Kickstarter

Want to wander a desert fantasy landscape using your favorite rules system? Loved the Dark Sun setting and want something like it? Well, good news because the Dragon Kings kickstarter is going on right now and you still have time to get in on it.


Dragon Kings is the creation of Timothy Brown, who you may know as the co-creator of Dark Sun and 2300AD. The setting takes place on the world of Khitus, a world on the brink of destruction, where monsters ravage the land and once great nations struggle to survive. It is up to the players to save Khitus and uncover its mysteries.

And, if defeating baddies and saving worlds isn't enough for you, this setting -- and kickstarter -- has something a bit different to what you may be used to: music. One of the big features that is setting this product apart from other system-less settings is how it is being created and presented, from the kickstarter page: "in fiction, art, and music simultaneously." This isn't something that I've seen done before, so I can't really comment much on it, but I am very interested in seeing where this concept goes.

If all of this seems very interesting to you and you're wondering what it's going to cost you, well, let's take a quick look.

The lower pledge levels are split between the music and the setting material. If all you care about is getting an MP3 copy of the album, you can get that for US$12 (also includes the additional tracks from the stretch goal, should that be reached). If all you want is a PDF of the setting, that starts at US$25. To note on the setting book -- any tier that includes it (in PDF or physical) also includes the free PDF rules supplements for Savage Worlds and Pathfinder (as well as 13th Age and Fate, should their stretch goals be met). Print version of the setting rules (which also includes the PDF) comes in at US$45. And there are more combinations and additions higher up.

As of the writing of this post, the Kickstarter has reached its pledge goal and is working on the first stretch goal, with 24 days still to go. Stay tuned to Dorkland! as we will be bringing you an interview with Timothy Brown about Dragon Kings in the near future.

For more information on the kickstarter and Dragon Kings, you can check out their kickstarter video below, or visit their website.