Dragon and the Thief by Creighton Broadhurst is a free role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License with some parts being considered Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available from RPGNow and consists of a PDF, in two versions, one optimised for desktop and print and the other for screen and mobile. There are also two jpeg files of the game board, one is an A4 size greyscale image at 300 dpi and the other an A3 size line drawing at 600 dpi. The PDF has twelve pages, two of which are Raging Swan’s standard plain front and rear covers, one page is an ad for other products, two pages are the front matter and one page is the Open Game License and another ad.
The first page is the Contents and Foreword. The Foreword discusses why the game is free and the game from the Middle Ages on which it is based, Glückshaus.
The next page is How to Play, which explains the rules of the game, and How to Use Dragon and the Thief. Given that half the page is taken up with stock art, this is a pretty simple game to play. Two six sided dice are used, together with the game board. Coins are placed on, or taken from, the game board depending on the dice roll and the result. Rolling 7, for example, always adds a coin to that number, 4 does nothing, everything else, bar 2 and 12, takes a coin from that number if one’s present or places a coin otherwise, rolling 2 takes all the coins bar those on 7 and rolling 12 takes everything.
The next two pages are the line art and greyscale game boards.
Then there is a d12 table of events, all related to the game – usually people causing problems.
The final page is a d12 table (although it says d20) of NPCs who the game can be played against.
The PDF is decently bookmarked with the various sections linked. Sadly, some of the bookmarks seem to point to the wrong places. The Contents is to a similar level of detail. Navigation is not as good as it should have been.
The text maintains a two column format and the only error noticed was that in the NPC table. Bar the game board, there are a number of what appear to be stock black and white illustrations. Presentation is decent.
Dragon and the Thief is an in-game game that can be played by characters – probably in a tavern – who want something different that a skill roll to determine the result of a game. There are other supplements of this type available (such as Assassin’s Breach: Tavern Gambling Game) but really, more would be good. Certainly, normal board and card games could be incorporated, but simple, easy to manage games that are thematically appropriate are always welcome. This is certainly an easy game to play, and will be appreciated by players who like props, especially with some counters for coins. The two jpegs mean that bigger boards than the one on the book can be printed out; it’s suggested that the game board be laminated after printing.
The two tables of events and NPCs provide a number of adventure hooks (there is a relationship between one entry on each table as well) and the possibility of starting a brawl – there’s probably a reason why Barroom Brawls is the supplement advertised at the back.
This is a great little supplement for a game that makes tavern gambling a bit more interesting, all at the great price of nothing. In addition, it may be stated as being for Pathfinder, but it is easily adaptable to any other system – the only game stats are NPC levels, races and classes. Dragon and the Thief can be downloaded for free by clicking here.
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