(Header image by Daisy D on Unsplash)

Gus the Dragon is a simple GMless game for up to three players written by an up-and-coming designer I often have the pleasure of collaborating with. The mechanics are simple:

Together, choose a name and a character, always in the form [Name] the [Creature]. Then choose an inciting incident, something exiting and maybe a little dangerous. Start as close to the action as possible.

The rest of the gameplay loop is simple:

1. Describe the scene and the peril Gus the Dragon finds themself in.
2. Answer the question, “How does Gus make things better?” and roll a D20.
3. Results from 11-20 are a success, and 1-10 are a failure.¹
4. Narrate the outcome of the roll and spin your story until the next moment of peril arises.

I have included a table made by the designer himself to help first time play, but the game should quickly become clear and the tables rendered unnecessary. This is effectively a quickstart.

Characters	Inciting Incidents
Gus the dragon	Stuck in an egg
Peter the Fish	Hiding in the sand from a shark
Honk the Goose	Eating all the food in a castle pantry
Joy the Horse	Standing over rising hot lava on a huge rock bridge
Jan the Duck	Outrunning a tornado
Sam the Snake	Chased by 100 squirrels

This has been one of my favorite games to play over the last several months. We have seen Peter the Fish use an octopus to slingshot out of a deadly current, watched as Joy the Horse spontaneously evolved into a Pegasus to counteract a tornado, and, of course, beheld the majesty of Gus the Dragon as they burst from their egg with the help of 100 of their closest friends. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

-Brett

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1. While technically you could use a coin or any number of even sided dice and get the same probability of success and failures, Gus the Dragon is specifically played with a D20. ↩︎