Note that the Core Set isn't a starter, but a full game as the character creation is included unlike the D&D or RQ starters. The box art is a homage to the Michael Whelan illustration used for the 1987 box set; Johan Egerkrans is an acclaimed fantasy artist here in Sweden, inspired by greats like Arthur Rackham, Brian Froud and our own John Bauer. In its heyday when the original publisher, Äventyrsspel ("Adventure Games") ran it, it sold some 100,000 copies in a country of c. 8.5 million people. I was never into it, as I was more into D&D back then, but it dominated the market to such an extent that the Swedish translation of Basic D&D never stood a chance. Anyway, great review. Subbed.
Creators take note. This is how you do an RPG review. Touch on the mechanics, character creation, magic system, support etc. Compare and Contrast! But don't do it like a tech manual. But also don't give us 30min of "how it feels" with no explanation of how it's played. 99% of RPG reviews on UA-cam are useless. This is a 1%er. Finally earned my subscription.
That because many of those UA-cam'ers are straight up shills wanting free stuff or a paycheck from the publisher thus sanitized and overly positive without any motivation as to why, no negatives or any direct comparisons to other games. And then you have bottom of the barrel, the low effort ones that just reads straight from the Wikipedia description that might as well be an AI text to speech and often is.
Great video. I’ve loved Forbidden Lands for years, which is grim/gritty and more complete in terms of worldbuilding and mechanics (but won’t hit the table as easily as Dragonbane). Finally, Free League have Ellinor DiLorenzo doing a couple of recent videos on Dragonbane that are worth a watch just for the laughs.
Dude, Dragonbane is my favorite RPG system. I wish they had a few more character options... but the system is FREEKING SOLID!! Also, I am STOKED to know that you will be making content for this game. I tend to REALLY enjoy your design philosophy.
Did one session of this as a 1on1 with one of my dnd group, by the end she was 100% set on moving our dnd game to this system, and I think I agree. It is a wonderful balance of everything I love at the table, with just enough crunch in the places I like crunch. The book really feels like it needs just a bit more meat on the bones though, there is a lot of page turning, and it feels a little empty in some spots. Like it is a beginner guide or something. I think I read on reddit somewhere that they mentioned an 'expert' set or something, I really hope something like that comes to fruition, otherwise I think I am going to be writing my own up soon and changing my long standing B/X dnd group to this. Love the system, so happy to see more people talk about it. On a side note, a million other youtube ttrpg people have sung hi praises of the system, then never did anything else. I am excited to see you make some more videos about it, the system deserves some more love. Thanks!
Favorite rpg hands downs! Been going through the whole adventure book and 3/4 done. Also ran the solo game a couple times. New bestiary is great. All games should feature a monster attack matrix!
Great review. I've been playing in a Dragonbane game for a couple of months now. Like you, I thought I was going to hate the combat system, but it turns out I really like it. Next to Shadowdark, this is my favorite new system.
Great video :) Btw Im chimeing in because I too was first confused with the harpy situation. Turns out if you read its size being a swarm that its a single 25mm or 1inch size "figure" that symbolizes 3 of them at once. Their hp-s are rolled into 1 big hp bar that makes them drop attacks when certain amounts have been slashed off. Most swarm monsters do work in this same way where they can be "hit" in this exact place that their figure is, but their attacks are usually effecting a whole area around them (hence them being a swarm of something). Its a bit confusing at first but makes a lot of sense with creatures that attack in numbers. Also on the hitting an ally and having mishaps. Just roll with it. Its part of the mayhem. My groups mage got his teeth knocked out by falling into a trap, got a golden teeth instead, fumbled a spell and got OLD, just to fumble a spell and get YOUNG 2 session later. I ruled that also made his teeth regrow so now he has his own keepsake golden tooth.
The spells of Magic Seal, Permanence, and sometimes Charge can bind a non-instant duration spell to an object and turn it into a magic item. Charge can provide a WP battery but an bearer can also burn their own WP to make it work.
I really dig this game! I also appreciate how clear but comprehensive your video is. I have some folks that I want to switch from another system to this one. I think it's worth it though.
I jumped on Dragonbane as soon as I discovered it. I started the starter campaign with my group about a year ago and we finished it last summer. We started with the first beta version of the pdf, so we had to make some rules changes as we went along. Now I’m running a homebrew campaign until either the Ereb Altor kickstarter delivers or the Path Of Glory campaign is released by Free League, whichever comes first. (Yes, Free League has plans to release multiple new campaigns and expand the setting) I feel the game runs perfectly when you play it RAW. Some of the more punishing features you mentioned work just fine. You just need to trust the process. If everyone at your table can be down with it, those more punishing rules make encounters a lot more exciting.
It's a credit to your skill as a critic that despite the fact that we have very different tastes in games and genres I do find your reviews to be helpful
Punishing friends is a part of the Mayhem. You strike at the orc with your longsword and fabulously miss and hit your friend to the left instead. They now get to duck/parry. It's like friendly fire in Helldivers (1 & 2) that are also made by Swedish developers
Drakar och demoner (dragonbane), yay!! My first rpg.. 1985? I will follow about your homebrewing with interest. And as an answer regarding drakar och demoner Expert, so was it often the preferred system but the adventures were often written for the base game. And Free leagues next adventure path is going to be "Ärans väg" -Honours road, and the first part is the dead woods my favorite adventure for Drakar och Demoner (I've seen the cover from Mr. Egerkrantz)
2ND ED WAS IN 1984... the "Expert" was in 1985. The 1987 editiion is a variaety of the 1984 version....the first Mutant (post apocalyptic gamma world insipred with a nordic twist) was released 1984-... the mutant you showed was released in 1989 and is not a post apoc game, but more of a cyberpunk one....trying to catch the hype/trend of "cyberpunk" in the US ;)
@@Indestructoboy Iv mostly been using the random creator that was included to make some McGuffin quests. Example Refugees were forced out of there woodland home be awakened spirits from an old tower deep in the wood. Party need to find an item to seal them back.
There are plans for a magic expansion. I'd guess it'll be the next one after the Path of Glory campaign. The magic box that was released in 1990 had 13 different schools of magic. It'll be interesting to see which ones they choose to reintroduce.
Excellent review. I'm playing in my first Dragonbane game tonight. Can't wait. I backed the kickstarter and also picked up the hardcover rules and monster manual. But for this go-round, I'm just playing as a character. Looking forward to it.
Cool video, here in Sweden Drakar och Demoner is definately the choice RPG for older generations while D&D 5e is more popular with ”younger people” (me included). im really impressed with the art and visuals of this new version, happy it seems to be succesfull.
I've definitely noticed a generation gap. I'm 41 and grew up with the 1991 edition of Drakar och Demoner. To me, Dungeons and Dragons was that American game that flopped in Sweden in the 80's. It simply wasn't on my radar until a few years ago when I was invited to play D&D 5e (and later Pathfinder 1e) with a group of younger Swedes. They had discovered D&D through internet memes and popular media and weren't even aware of the long and rich history of Swedish TTRPGs.
Funny thing, Forbidden lands is actually a derivat from Drakar och Demoner. It was created from the illustrations of Nisse Gullriksson who did alot of illustrations from the orgiginal Dod back in the 80s and 90s. Dod has defined fantasy gaming in Sweden for a long time so both Forbinnen Lands and Symbaroum. Acutally Symbaroum was Free Leagues grim dark version of Dod when they did not have the rights to Dod. Some of the rules are orginal or inspired by the original rules. Some come from Dnd and Free leagues Year Zero Engine. And some are it's own. Alot of people like the new game. And some old wolves dosen't like it at all. The good part is that it's a great game that's back to stay.
Respectfully, Dragonbane starter kit is Leagues (pun intended) ahead of pathfinder. Free League doesn't change the rules for their starter kits like Paizo does, meaning when you buy a starter kit you're actually learning the game rather than becoming familiar with a lower-complexity ruleset and needing to relearn the game if you play the full game of Starfinder or Pathfinder.
What i think the idea of the Harpy is that it's like a "mini swarm". Kinda "One piece on the board represents multible creatures" sort of deal. They fly together as a flock and co-operate in attacking their targets. The reason i make this assumption is that there is a creature in the Beastary book that follows a similar principle (the Hydra).
Thanks for the review. I just bought Dragonbane but haven't quite played yet,,,will definitely introduce the game to my weekly group son though. As a professional printer, I have to say the quality of the physical product by Free League are second to none.
That sounded like a pretty good bit of history to me. I have a list of comments but, please don't take them as a critique of the video.You referred to the boxed set as a starter set, which it isn't, it's the complete game. I'm sure you knew this and it was a minor glitch. Also...a parry deflects all damage but the weapon might be damaged causing later attacks to be made with a bane. Experience checks don't just come from skill use, training via a teacher is also possible (p.29), overcoming a Weakness also gives checks. According to Free League there won't be a Worldwide setting book. And finally, because Harpies attack as a flock you will only ever need one standee; unless you throw two flocks at your characters, which would be cruel. 🙂Outstanding video; thanks.
The combat feels so tactical in a way ive never experienced from an rpg... perhaps you hold your turn to dodge an incoming attack... perhaps youre the wizard acting first, so you swap your initiative with the knight so he can charge in. Perhaps the enemy swings first so you all gang up on them as they wont be able to parry. Its so good
I love these videos and the bits! Is it just me, or is there a quarter-second delay between audio and video, though? Audio seems to be a bit faster than video? It might me an issue of my computer though.
It really needs a few more magic domains than the intial three. There's all these Magic World, Runequest and other BRP spell lists that could be ported over with just a little balancing. I just wish I knew a 3rd party games designer that I could throw money at if he created such a thing....
I met the authors of the original Kult, Gunilla Jonsson and Michael Petersén, at a gaming convention earlier this year when I was one of the Keepers for the CoC scenario they had written. Actually, when I went to my first convention back in 1984, I ended up at the same AD&D table as them. When you see this elderly couple now, it is hard to imagine them as the authors of one of the most controversial RPGs of the 1990s.
Even though the Mallard is featured in Glorantha it's not the reason it's in Drakar och Demoner. It's from a Swedish cartoon artist about a duck called Arne Anke. A skeleton Duck was featured on a early adventures cover called Dimön (who's in the campain of the box) and the rest is history regarding the Mallard. Regarding the magic items and such. We have to remeber that us Swedes played Drakar och Demoner as another type of game. D&d has influenced Americans as much as DoD has Swedes. The magic items are few and far between. The world is mystic and such. We don't have the superhero adventurer as in dnd and not as much focus on dungeon crawling. We have to remeber that dnd never got a foothold in sweden thanks to Drakar and demoner an that has defined our type of gaming. We usually call old drakar KSR = Classic Role Playing. Instead of OSR. I'm really exited for the new Ereb Altor campain coming. I hope it gets an international release.
Sorry! I'm afraid you got the timeline wrong. Not that I blame you. It's hard even for us Swedes. One reason is that no one can agree on what counts as a separate edition or how to number them. I've seen the latest edition by Free League being call the 10th, 11th and 12th edition. We often refer to them by year instead. The second edition was released in 1984, that at least everyone can agree on. The 1985 version is seen by some as a reprint and not it's own edition. Expert was also released in 1985. There's a book called "Outside the box" coming out in English in September about the history of Swedish TTRPGs. Hopefully, it'll contain a timeline of all the different editions of Äventyrsspel's three original games: Drakar och Demoner, Mutant and Kult.
Yes. Outside the box is written by Magnus Seter. Could be useful to know because there is another book with the same name which is about neoliberal capitalism
The Trudvang IP was sold to Cmon when Riotminds finally tossed in the towel after years of mismanaging it and Dragonbane so odds are it's in IP hell. Even tho i have an axe to grind when it comes to Riotminds incompetence in the last decade they did do one thing "right" and it was to release scans of all old editions and adventures as PDF's for free tho they conveniently forgot they did not own half of those rights so they had to take them down again tho you can still find them online if you know where to look and many old grognards keep em horded like dragons sitting on gold as some booklets are quite the rare and fragile collectors items with a price to match so preserving them is important.
Low Magic is a wide term with a range of meanings but it tends to mean magic, and it's users, are more rare in the world. Especially the amount of magic items floating around. Those magic items which are around tend to each be unique with their own history and named. Characters who can use magic are often shunned or illegal and believed to be potential trouble by the general populace. They tend to live in isolation or secrecy by default. With reason as magic is dangerous if done incorrectly or abused. There isn't "magitech" stuff around, for example magical flying ships, teleporters, etc being used. In other words, magic is unusual, mysterious, and something of exceptional note when you encounter it. Which the PCs surely will, being the protagonists. I prefer the "Sword & Sorcery" style of low magic setting in which it's a gritty cutthroat world with dangerous monsters, evil sorcerers, and wicked people calling upon demonic outsiders to further their goals. It's also human-centric so there aren't elves and other humanoids in that society. If they exist then they're the kind of devious outsiders from their own plane up to no good or, at best, with their own conflicting goals. i.e. Non-PCs.
I was ready to dislike Dragonbane but after having played it, it is quite good. The system is like a cleaned up Symbaroum, and the tone is kind of perfect (although as a swede I have somewhat of an Johan Egerkrans-fatigue, he illustrate most every fantasy thing that is produced in swedish)
I loved this box, but ended up not loving the game. It basically felt like if D&D 5e was good, which is great but I still ended up having a lot of the gripes I had with 5e. I’ve been on to better pastures for long enough that I wasn’t interested. I recommend it all the time though! Especially if someone is interested in playing D&D, it’s just the best box to buy if you want to play something like it.
I am trying to make Dragonbane my main game that I run, and I honestly just love its simple rule set. I think the only problem I have with it, is the magic system. It feels very bloated (to be fair this is a problem with a lot of ttrpgs though).
Just want to point out that this is very well edited for understanding the game. Really appreciate that aspect of it :). Would love to hear your take on the Rally action in the game. It’s been awhile since we did a 10 session campaign, but I remember combat in my group getting to a point where the Rally action started to take the drama out of the combat. Yes people could get knocked around, but someone could Rally them back up and just keep them going. Also, I loved what the initiative system did in terms of conceptual vibe, but my players never truly loved it. They felt like the choices weren’t truly that deep. It was either evade or get knocked out, so don’t attack for a lot of characters.
Also, my players were at first pumped with the “roll for improved Skills after every session” at first, but they soon became very bored with it. This is probably an issue of all of them coming from 5e/PF2 or 4e games where you have lots of Powers and Features to choose from. Only 1 Heroic Ability and then your skills slowly going up was underwhelming for them. But they fit the theme of the game very much. They just aren’t used to that style of game
I will also point out that the mechanisms or hard coded improvised items for encounters was awesome. Having that specific deck, and idea that there are pretty powerful items laying around to be used was fun. It almost brought in “tactical points” from more miniatures games. I, as the GM, would have the NPCs compete with them for getting access to these items often
Really liked the video, maybe not a system for me since magic is really a make or break part of every ttrpg. It would be nice if you took 10 or 15 minutes to show an encounter on the system like you did when showing off Vagabond since that would be the best way to demonstrate how the game works and with editing and pre-planning you can make sure that it is fast and don't take half the video.
I don't find ally punishment THAT terrible. If anything it opens up RP opportunities after. Or you can turn it into a humour s event. Arrow in the butt cheek. Setting a wolfkins tail on fire etc. Maybe just tone down the damage.
@@Indestructoboy the rights to the images are owned by Chaosium for their Stormbringer (Elric fifth edition) RPG but I wouldn't be surprised if Chaosium allowed the guys to use the art for free or low cost.
Rolling initiative every round is a time sink. This game doesn't seem flexible enough to support all the character concepts I like to play around with.
Please add credits for the soundtrack you are using: Music by Andreas Lundström @rpgpodcaster Great video! And you did a good job with the history of Drakar och Demoner!
Sorry! I'll get that added. I thought Free League's soundtracks for these games come with permissions to use them on videos and streams without a problem. My bad.
@@Indestructoboy no problem what so ever. Yes they are free to use for any streaming/podcasting etc, just with proper crediting 😊 No offense taken. Again - great video 👌
The Almighty Algorithm brought me here! I've been running Dragonbane for over half a year now, and I think it _might_ be my favorite system.
As someone who just picked up Dragonbane as a 5e replacement, I can't tell you how awesome this video was! Thank you so much!
Note that the Core Set isn't a starter, but a full game as the character creation is included unlike the D&D or RQ starters. The box art is a homage to the Michael Whelan illustration used for the 1987 box set; Johan Egerkrans is an acclaimed fantasy artist here in Sweden, inspired by greats like Arthur Rackham, Brian Froud and our own John Bauer.
In its heyday when the original publisher, Äventyrsspel ("Adventure Games") ran it, it sold some 100,000 copies in a country of c. 8.5 million people. I was never into it, as I was more into D&D back then, but it dominated the market to such an extent that the Swedish translation of Basic D&D never stood a chance. Anyway, great review. Subbed.
Always a joy to see more Dragonbane, and looking forward to seeing your other up-coming videos about it too!
And Monster ferocity can give them more than one attack per turn…they’re SCARY and I love it!
Creators take note. This is how you do an RPG review. Touch on the mechanics, character creation, magic system, support etc. Compare and Contrast! But don't do it like a tech manual. But also don't give us 30min of "how it feels" with no explanation of how it's played. 99% of RPG reviews on UA-cam are useless. This is a 1%er. Finally earned my subscription.
That because many of those UA-cam'ers are straight up shills wanting free stuff or a paycheck from the publisher thus sanitized and overly positive without any motivation as to why, no negatives or any direct comparisons to other games. And then you have bottom of the barrel, the low effort ones that just reads straight from the Wikipedia description that might as well be an AI text to speech and often is.
Great video. I’ve loved Forbidden Lands for years, which is grim/gritty and more complete in terms of worldbuilding and mechanics (but won’t hit the table as easily as Dragonbane). Finally, Free League have Ellinor DiLorenzo doing a couple of recent videos on Dragonbane that are worth a watch just for the laughs.
I just started running the starter campaign for my brother, niece and another friend. We're two sessions in and everyone is really enjoying it so far.
Dude, Dragonbane is my favorite RPG system. I wish they had a few more character options... but the system is FREEKING SOLID!! Also, I am STOKED to know that you will be making content for this game. I tend to REALLY enjoy your design philosophy.
Welp, guess it’s finally time to add Dragonbane to the collection
Did one session of this as a 1on1 with one of my dnd group, by the end she was 100% set on moving our dnd game to this system, and I think I agree. It is a wonderful balance of everything I love at the table, with just enough crunch in the places I like crunch. The book really feels like it needs just a bit more meat on the bones though, there is a lot of page turning, and it feels a little empty in some spots. Like it is a beginner guide or something. I think I read on reddit somewhere that they mentioned an 'expert' set or something, I really hope something like that comes to fruition, otherwise I think I am going to be writing my own up soon and changing my long standing B/X dnd group to this. Love the system, so happy to see more people talk about it. On a side note, a million other youtube ttrpg people have sung hi praises of the system, then never did anything else. I am excited to see you make some more videos about it, the system deserves some more love. Thanks!
Watched this this morning. Bought the box set this evening. Thanks for the great review.
Favorite rpg hands downs! Been going through the whole adventure book and 3/4 done. Also ran the solo game a couple times. New bestiary is great. All games should feature a monster attack matrix!
I really love these reviews. Cypher system also has a reduced action economy which is great as it makes rounds so much faster as well, so I like that
Great review. I've been playing in a Dragonbane game for a couple of months now. Like you, I thought I was going to hate the combat system, but it turns out I really like it. Next to Shadowdark, this is my favorite new system.
Great video :) Btw Im chimeing in because I too was first confused with the harpy situation. Turns out if you read its size being a swarm that its a single 25mm or 1inch size "figure" that symbolizes 3 of them at once. Their hp-s are rolled into 1 big hp bar that makes them drop attacks when certain amounts have been slashed off. Most swarm monsters do work in this same way where they can be "hit" in this exact place that their figure is, but their attacks are usually effecting a whole area around them (hence them being a swarm of something). Its a bit confusing at first but makes a lot of sense with creatures that attack in numbers.
Also on the hitting an ally and having mishaps. Just roll with it. Its part of the mayhem. My groups mage got his teeth knocked out by falling into a trap, got a golden teeth instead, fumbled a spell and got OLD, just to fumble a spell and get YOUNG 2 session later. I ruled that also made his teeth regrow so now he has his own keepsake golden tooth.
Awesome!
More Dragonbane please.
The lack of magic items was the only one negative for me
Great review
I’m so glad to see this amazing game getting more attention! As you said, I think it really has potential to be a huge game in this space.
The spells of Magic Seal, Permanence, and sometimes Charge can bind a non-instant duration spell to an object and turn it into a magic item. Charge can provide a WP battery but an bearer can also burn their own WP to make it work.
Yeah, you can also use Permanence to make it cast the same spell repeatedly. So this is a kind of magic item crafting (Like a wand, for example).
I'm working on a low magic ttrpg, and after spending days alone in my cave writing, this was a breath of fresh air!
I really dig this game! I also appreciate how clear but comprehensive your video is. I have some folks that I want to switch from another system to this one. I think it's worth it though.
Great video! Dragonbane sounds really cool! The card draw-based initiative system is fascinating and I'd love to try it out!
I jumped on Dragonbane as soon as I discovered it. I started the starter campaign with my group about a year ago and we finished it last summer. We started with the first beta version of the pdf, so we had to make some rules changes as we went along. Now I’m running a homebrew campaign until either the Ereb Altor kickstarter delivers or the Path Of Glory campaign is released by Free League, whichever comes first. (Yes, Free League has plans to release multiple new campaigns and expand the setting)
I feel the game runs perfectly when you play it RAW. Some of the more punishing features you mentioned work just fine. You just need to trust the process. If everyone at your table can be down with it, those more punishing rules make encounters a lot more exciting.
It's a credit to your skill as a critic that despite the fact that we have very different tastes in games and genres I do find your reviews to be helpful
Punishing friends is a part of the Mayhem. You strike at the orc with your longsword and fabulously miss and hit your friend to the left instead. They now get to duck/parry.
It's like friendly fire in Helldivers (1 & 2) that are also made by Swedish developers
I love all Indestructoboy videos!!
Drakar och demoner (dragonbane), yay!! My first rpg.. 1985?
I will follow about your homebrewing with interest. And as an answer regarding drakar och demoner Expert, so was it often the preferred system but the adventures were often written for the base game. And Free leagues next adventure path is going to be "Ärans väg" -Honours road, and the first part is the dead woods my favorite adventure for Drakar och Demoner (I've seen the cover from Mr. Egerkrantz)
The English title for "Ärans väg" is "Path of Glory".
2ND ED WAS IN 1984... the "Expert" was in 1985. The 1987 editiion is a variaety of the 1984 version....the first Mutant (post apocalyptic gamma world insipred with a nordic twist) was released 1984-... the mutant you showed was released in 1989 and is not a post apoc game, but more of a cyberpunk one....trying to catch the hype/trend of "cyberpunk" in the US ;)
Iv been using it for solo RP and been having a blast. I hope Free League expands more on there magic schools and lore.
What adventures have you been using, if any?
@@Indestructoboy Iv mostly been using the random creator that was included to make some McGuffin quests. Example Refugees were forced out of there woodland home be awakened spirits from an old tower deep in the wood. Party need to find an item to seal them back.
There are plans for a magic expansion. I'd guess it'll be the next one after the Path of Glory campaign. The magic box that was released in 1990 had 13 different schools of magic. It'll be interesting to see which ones they choose to reintroduce.
I have dragonbane on my wish list! Everything about it looks amazing.
Great content IB. You’re a huge boon to this hobby.
Excellent review. I'm playing in my first Dragonbane game tonight. Can't wait. I backed the kickstarter and also picked up the hardcover rules and monster manual. But for this go-round, I'm just playing as a character. Looking forward to it.
Cool video, here in Sweden Drakar och Demoner is definately the choice RPG for older generations while D&D 5e is more popular with ”younger people” (me included).
im really impressed with the art and visuals of this new version, happy it seems to be succesfull.
I've definitely noticed a generation gap. I'm 41 and grew up with the 1991 edition of Drakar och Demoner. To me, Dungeons and Dragons was that American game that flopped in Sweden in the 80's. It simply wasn't on my radar until a few years ago when I was invited to play D&D 5e (and later Pathfinder 1e) with a group of younger Swedes. They had discovered D&D through internet memes and popular media and weren't even aware of the long and rich history of Swedish TTRPGs.
Monster attacks CAN be dodged (and some can be parried too).
Great and fair review of DragonBane! 🤓👍
Funny thing, Forbidden lands is actually a derivat from Drakar och Demoner. It was created from the illustrations of Nisse Gullriksson who did alot of illustrations from the orgiginal Dod back in the 80s and 90s. Dod has defined fantasy gaming in Sweden for a long time so both Forbinnen Lands and Symbaroum. Acutally Symbaroum was Free Leagues grim dark version of Dod when they did not have the rights to Dod. Some of the rules are orginal or inspired by the original rules. Some come from Dnd and Free leagues Year Zero Engine. And some are it's own. Alot of people like the new game. And some old wolves dosen't like it at all. The good part is that it's a great game that's back to stay.
Respectfully, Dragonbane starter kit is Leagues (pun intended) ahead of pathfinder. Free League doesn't change the rules for their starter kits like Paizo does, meaning when you buy a starter kit you're actually learning the game rather than becoming familiar with a lower-complexity ruleset and needing to relearn the game if you play the full game of Starfinder or Pathfinder.
Logical hp point advancement! Lower HP creates better gameplay.
What i think the idea of the Harpy is that it's like a "mini swarm". Kinda "One piece on the board represents multible creatures" sort of deal. They fly together as a flock and co-operate in attacking their targets. The reason i make this assumption is that there is a creature in the Beastary book that follows a similar principle (the Hydra).
Dragonbane looks awesome
Dodge give you 2 meters of movement (1 square) not 2 squares of movement. Good stuff overall! Welcome!
Thanks for the review. I just bought Dragonbane but haven't quite played yet,,,will definitely introduce the game to my weekly group son though.
As a professional printer, I have to say the quality of the physical product by Free League are second to none.
That sounded like a pretty good bit of history to me. I have a list of comments but, please don't take them as a critique of the video.You referred to the boxed set as a starter set, which it isn't, it's the complete game. I'm sure you knew this and it was a minor glitch. Also...a parry deflects all damage but the weapon might be damaged causing later attacks to be made with a bane. Experience checks don't just come from skill use, training via a teacher is also possible (p.29), overcoming a Weakness also gives checks. According to Free League there won't be a Worldwide setting book. And finally, because Harpies attack as a flock you will only ever need one standee; unless you throw two flocks at your characters, which would be cruel. 🙂Outstanding video; thanks.
The combat feels so tactical in a way ive never experienced from an rpg... perhaps you hold your turn to dodge an incoming attack... perhaps youre the wizard acting first, so you swap your initiative with the knight so he can charge in.
Perhaps the enemy swings first so you all gang up on them as they wont be able to parry.
Its so good
Thanks for covering ttrpgs that aren't D&D!
I love these videos and the bits!
Is it just me, or is there a quarter-second delay between audio and video, though? Audio seems to be a bit faster than video? It might me an issue of my computer though.
I noticed that after the upload to UA-cam, which also seems to have done some odd compression to the color.
Nice video, man
It really needs a few more magic domains than the intial three.
There's all these Magic World, Runequest and other BRP spell lists that could be ported over with just a little balancing. I just wish I knew a 3rd party games designer that I could throw money at if he created such a thing....
Ducks or frogs... :| this is the question.
Ah yes, Kult, aka hellraiser rpg.
I met the authors of the original Kult, Gunilla Jonsson and Michael Petersén, at a gaming convention earlier this year when I was one of the Keepers for the CoC scenario they had written. Actually, when I went to my first convention back in 1984, I ended up at the same AD&D table as them. When you see this elderly couple now, it is hard to imagine them as the authors of one of the most controversial RPGs of the 1990s.
Even though the Mallard is featured in Glorantha it's not the reason it's in Drakar och Demoner. It's from a Swedish cartoon artist about a duck called Arne Anke. A skeleton Duck was featured on a early adventures cover called Dimön (who's in the campain of the box) and the rest is history regarding the Mallard.
Regarding the magic items and such. We have to remeber that us Swedes played Drakar och Demoner as another type of game. D&d has influenced Americans as much as DoD has Swedes. The magic items are few and far between. The world is mystic and such. We don't have the superhero adventurer as in dnd and not as much focus on dungeon crawling.
We have to remeber that dnd never got a foothold in sweden thanks to Drakar and demoner an that has defined our type of gaming. We usually call old drakar KSR = Classic Role Playing. Instead of OSR.
I'm really exited for the new Ereb Altor campain coming. I hope it gets an international release.
Cool vid, cool recommendation.
Sorry! I'm afraid you got the timeline wrong. Not that I blame you. It's hard even for us Swedes. One reason is that no one can agree on what counts as a separate edition or how to number them. I've seen the latest edition by Free League being call the 10th, 11th and 12th edition. We often refer to them by year instead. The second edition was released in 1984, that at least everyone can agree on. The 1985 version is seen by some as a reprint and not it's own edition. Expert was also released in 1985.
There's a book called "Outside the box" coming out in English in September about the history of Swedish TTRPGs. Hopefully, it'll contain a timeline of all the different editions of Äventyrsspel's three original games: Drakar och Demoner, Mutant and Kult.
Yes. Outside the box is written by Magnus Seter. Could be useful to know because there is another book with the same name which is about neoliberal capitalism
You can take the robot...
..Fuu..!
😂
The Trudvang IP was sold to Cmon when Riotminds finally tossed in the towel after years of mismanaging it and Dragonbane so odds are it's in IP hell. Even tho i have an axe to grind when it comes to Riotminds incompetence in the last decade they did do one thing "right" and it was to release scans of all old editions and adventures as PDF's for free tho they conveniently forgot they did not own half of those rights so they had to take them down again tho you can still find them online if you know where to look and many old grognards keep em horded like dragons sitting on gold as some booklets are quite the rare and fragile collectors items with a price to match so preserving them is important.
I want to try this.
Tell the witch to keep it down!
Dumb question: what makes it low magic? I think you still can make their version of wizards, so is it the lack of magic in every day life thing?
Low Magic is a wide term with a range of meanings but it tends to mean magic, and it's users, are more rare in the world. Especially the amount of magic items floating around. Those magic items which are around tend to each be unique with their own history and named. Characters who can use magic are often shunned or illegal and believed to be potential trouble by the general populace. They tend to live in isolation or secrecy by default. With reason as magic is dangerous if done incorrectly or abused. There isn't "magitech" stuff around, for example magical flying ships, teleporters, etc being used. In other words, magic is unusual, mysterious, and something of exceptional note when you encounter it. Which the PCs surely will, being the protagonists.
I prefer the "Sword & Sorcery" style of low magic setting in which it's a gritty cutthroat world with dangerous monsters, evil sorcerers, and wicked people calling upon demonic outsiders to further their goals. It's also human-centric so there aren't elves and other humanoids in that society. If they exist then they're the kind of devious outsiders from their own plane up to no good or, at best, with their own conflicting goals. i.e. Non-PCs.
All hail free league
I was ready to dislike Dragonbane but after having played it, it is quite good. The system is like a cleaned up Symbaroum, and the tone is kind of perfect (although as a swede I have somewhat of an Johan Egerkrans-fatigue, he illustrate most every fantasy thing that is produced in swedish)
I loved this box, but ended up not loving the game. It basically felt like if D&D 5e was good, which is great but I still ended up having a lot of the gripes I had with 5e. I’ve been on to better pastures for long enough that I wasn’t interested.
I recommend it all the time though! Especially if someone is interested in playing D&D, it’s just the best box to buy if you want to play something like it.
My biggest issue is roll-under.
Maybe I just need a d20 with dragon and demon symbols in place of the 20 & 1.
I am trying to make Dragonbane my main game that I run, and I honestly just love its simple rule set. I think the only problem I have with it, is the magic system. It feels very bloated (to be fair this is a problem with a lot of ttrpgs though).
Just want to point out that this is very well edited for understanding the game. Really appreciate that aspect of it :). Would love to hear your take on the Rally action in the game. It’s been awhile since we did a 10 session campaign, but I remember combat in my group getting to a point where the Rally action started to take the drama out of the combat. Yes people could get knocked around, but someone could Rally them back up and just keep them going. Also, I loved what the initiative system did in terms of conceptual vibe, but my players never truly loved it. They felt like the choices weren’t truly that deep. It was either evade or get knocked out, so don’t attack for a lot of characters.
Also, my players were at first pumped with the “roll for improved Skills after every session” at first, but they soon became very bored with it. This is probably an issue of all of them coming from 5e/PF2 or 4e games where you have lots of Powers and Features to choose from. Only 1 Heroic Ability and then your skills slowly going up was underwhelming for them. But they fit the theme of the game very much. They just aren’t used to that style of game
I will also point out that the mechanisms or hard coded improvised items for encounters was awesome. Having that specific deck, and idea that there are pretty powerful items laying around to be used was fun. It almost brought in “tactical points” from more miniatures games. I, as the GM, would have the NPCs compete with them for getting access to these items often
Really liked the video, maybe not a system for me since magic is really a make or break part of every ttrpg. It would be nice if you took 10 or 15 minutes to show an encounter on the system like you did when showing off Vagabond since that would be the best way to demonstrate how the game works and with editing and pre-planning you can make sure that it is fast and don't take half the video.
I don't find ally punishment THAT terrible. If anything it opens up RP opportunities after. Or you can turn it into a humour s event. Arrow in the butt cheek. Setting a wolfkins tail on fire etc. Maybe just tone down the damage.
Did Cirith Ungol (the band) play the old game, or were the designers fans of the band? 😅
12:24
I see they pinched Stormbringer art. I wonder if that cost them a bit of legal action?
My understanding is Moorcock gave them the go-ahead.
@@Indestructoboy the rights to the images are owned by Chaosium for their Stormbringer (Elric fifth edition) RPG but I wouldn't be surprised if Chaosium allowed the guys to use the art for free or low cost.
Rolling initiative every round is a time sink. This game doesn't seem flexible enough to support all the character concepts I like to play around with.
EXCELLENT review. Just bought the boxed kit from this review! ~d.fx
Hi! I just want to be disliked, so I gotta point out that you have to declare DODGE BEFORE a the enemy rolls to hit.
Please add credits for the soundtrack you are using:
Music by Andreas Lundström @rpgpodcaster
Great video! And you did a good job with the history of Drakar och Demoner!
Sorry! I'll get that added. I thought Free League's soundtracks for these games come with permissions to use them on videos and streams without a problem. My bad.
@@Indestructoboy no problem what so ever. Yes they are free to use for any streaming/podcasting etc, just with proper crediting 😊
No offense taken. Again - great video 👌