Category:Episode 0: The Coatli Stone

Dragons Conquer America (DCA) is a game of historical fantasy based on the European invasion of America during the 16th century. The game setting, while based on historical fact, is rife with fantastic elements, including power-ful magic, mystic forces, and mythical creatures such as fairies and dragons. The story is mostly fictional, but accurately introduces events that took place during the Mesoamerican War of Conquest, as well as the historical nations and char-acters at their centre. This of course includes the daring campaigns of Captain Hernán Cortés, and the great domain we know today as the Aztec Empire.

The Setting: Blue Skies, Black Omens
It is the year 1519 of the Christian Era, and Ce Acatl (1 Reed) of the Mexica Calendar Cycle. It’s a time of great changes and portents, marking the prophesied return of the Lords of Tollan to the Valley of Anahuac.

Columbus died years ago, forgotten after making his famous discovery of the West Indies - or the New World, as most people call this unexplored land now, since they learned it isn’t another side of Asia as previ-ously thought, but a whole new continent.

As European governments decide what to do with the discovery and its potential riches, their first settlers, armed with transoceanic ships, guns – and dragons – have ruled over the New World’s easternmost islands for almost thirty years now.

However, the invaders have not yet discovered what lies beyond their island domains. The Hispaniola outposts, long established as the beachhead of European power in the New World, have already determined there is a larger continent to the West, and sailed its coasts – but so far no major mainland expedition has managed to overcome their warlike tribes and treacherous terrain.

Beyond these unwelcoming coasts, still unknown, lies the Valley of Anahuac, home to the Excan Tlahtoloyan – the Triple Alliance of the Aztec peoples. It is one of the oldest and best organised empires the world has ever known, encompassing hundreds of city-states, all of which pay tribute to the mightiest civilization in the planet: the Mexica of Tenochtitlan. For nearly a hundred years, the Mexica have ruled over the land of the Fifth Sun unchallenged, striking fear in the hearts of their enemies thanks to the divine power of their priests and the help of their mixcoatl dragon allies, which terrorise and astonish the peoples under Mexica domain.

This is all about to change.

A single man –  persecuted by the law, estranged from the Crown of Spain and followed by a band of sellswords and adventurers – is poised to start the most significant war of conquest the world has ever known.

The opposition he will face, though, is far beyond what he can expect...