‘Tales Of Xadia’ is the ‘Dragon Prince’ RPG Experience Of Your Dreams

We sat down with the creators of the Tales of Xadia RPG to take a dive into the new game. Here’s what we found!

Tales of Xadia the Dragon Prince RPG promises the high fantasy adventure of Dragon Prince right alongside a character-driven system. But it does more than that. Tales of Xadia is an RPG that explores its setting, both in terms of theme and tone, as well as the lore of the world. If you’re a fan of the show and want to learn more about the setting, including peering into the corners of the world only hinted at in an episode, this game is perfect for you.

And if you’re a new player, or are looking for a new characterful RPG, this game is perfect for you. It delivers so much with a few very simple mechanics. We had the chance to sit down with the team behind Tales of Xadia the Dragon Prince RPG, and what they had to show was delightful and exciting. Let’s take a look.

Inside Tales of Xadia the Dragon Prince RPG

The heart and soul of any RPG lies in how the mechanics of the game give you an entry point into the world. That can vary a little. In games that are Powered by the Apocalypse, your window to the other world is in Moves and Playbooks. In something like FATE it lies in Aspects. And in Tales of Xadia the heart of the game lies in the character traits.

We had a chance to play through a test session with the folks from Fandom and got to see the system in action. It uses the Cortex Prime ruleset, designed by Cam Banks, with narrative zhuzh from Dan Telfer. If you’ve never played with this system before, it lets you build a character around different beliefs known as “values” that all characters share to differing degrees as well as a set of attributes. As Cortex Prime is a “universal system” these stats and traits vary from setting to setting. In Tales of Xadia you have:

• Agility
• Awareness
• Influence
• Intellect
• Spirit
• Strength

As your attributes. And for values, you have:

• Devotion
• Liberty
• Glory
• Mastery
• Justice
• Truth

Each of these has a rating associated with a type of die. From a humble d4 all the way to the mighty d12. These form the basis of pretty much any roll.

And in Tales of Xadia, players can customize their beliefs. Each Value comes with an associated statement that embodies the belief.

Character is at the heart of this. The above block of Values shows statements like “when honor calls, I do not waver” which is one way a character might think about Justice. But another character might feel differently: “there is a need to right wrongs, but it depends on how I feel.”

Over the course of the game, these will change. They’re your primary lens into your character though.

The Tales of Xadia RPG also lets you pick a set of Distinctions. These are traits that connect you to the world. You might think of them as backgrounds and jobs. Are you an Elf? A knight? An Elf who is a Knight? Those are two sets of Distinctions.

And you can mix and match to your heart’s content.

How the Tales of Xadia RPG explores the world

But perhaps the biggest draw for fans of the show might be the larger glimpse of the world. The team at Fandom worked closely with the creators of the show to establish new canon about the world. Telfer, who heads up the narrative side of Fandom’s RPG wing, was excited to showcase more kinds of dragons.

The world is full of so much promising lore that we never get to see in the show. But the Tales of Xadia RPG explores those corners. It can take you to other lands. Show you whole new monsters. Give you stories that might happen in the background.

Outside of the rules, there’s a whole compendium full of peoples, lands, and adventures just waiting for you. And you’ll want to dive in headlong. Do you want to know more about Katolis? Neolandia? There’s a whole Xadian Gazetteer full of info about these places.

Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince RPG  – $49.99 (Digital Only – $24.99)

Xadia Awaits!

Author: J.R. Zambrano

Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]