Friday Fantasy: Underworld

In the cool of the ‘Underworld’ lurk spiders, centipedes, lizards, beetles, and bats—and of course, things much, much worse. It is a rougher, quieter place than the surface world, colder too with no light to shine in its caverns or over the black waters of its deep lakes. Adventurers venture deep underground perhaps looking for resources, hunting for threats to the surface world and its inhabitants, or even searching for lost treasure. Yet stray too long in the dark of the Underworld and anyone venturing below may be overwhelmed by the constant blackness and lack of light, their imaginations formulating things that they can see the edge of their vision, even horrors that can even unreal can work at their minds and composure. This is what might lie below the world of Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying, the roleplaying game published by Free League Publishing, and is explored in the supplement, Underworld.

Underworld is a mini-supplement and anthology of scenarios for Dragonbane which can easily be added to the Game Master’s own campaign or used to expand the ‘Misty Vale’ campaign setting detailed in the Dragonbane Core Set—not outwards, but downwards. Besides its three adventures, it gives an overview of what the ‘Underworld’ is like and describes several features, some of which can work with the three adventures. These include the bronze bridges which regularly cross three particular rivers in the ‘Underworld’ and if walked over or under trigger a dream-like vision in the walker, something that denizens take advantage of to ambush the momentary dreamers, and the Black Swans found on the three rivers that supposedly bring death to any demon that touches them, but which are hated by Goblins. There are some nice little elements here, odd enough to stand out, but with room to add more alongside them if the Game Master wants to. In terms of the Misty Vale, Underground details four different entrances via which the Player Characters enter the ‘Underworld’ and begin to explore part of its depths.

Each of the three ‘Underworld Quests’ has its own reward and the more the Player Characters complete, the more they will be rewarded. Each of the three also involves a demon and each also has a link to the ‘Secret of the Dragon Emperor’, which lies at the heart of the ‘Misty Vale’ campaign. In ‘Lair of Kavor’, the Player Characters descend to a subterranean Dwarven fort, perhaps in search of herbs or looking for something that might have been preying on local farmstock. It is occupied by a band of goblins and contains several demonic shrines and there are several puzzles that the Player Characters can poke at for various odd effects, including triggering some roleplaying. The demon is a Kavor Demon, a scraggy, four-armed thing with a vertical, many toothed mouth and eyes on either side which revel in carnage, can be distracted by fresh meat and blood. As a former Dwarven fortress, there is a lovely sense of the former occupants’ boredom when posted there, but as an ‘Underworld’ location and adventure site, it is underwritten. There is no explanation why the demon shrines are there and what the relationship is between the Goblins and the demon. So, the Game Master is likely going to want to develop that, as well as deciding where the herbs are located.

The second scenario is ‘Lair of Rumej’. A wealthy noble hires the Player Characters to collect monster parts as trophies for his room or a ghost calls out to one of the Player Characters to whom it is related, for release. Either way, this leads the Player Characters into a series of caves at the end of which can be heard singing of the glory of demonic immortality. The Rumej demon is spherical in shape and has eight tentacles, each of which ends with a sucker which contains an eye in. It is also hovers in the air. The ‘Lair of Rumej’ is obviously more straightforward, but does not suffer from that simplicity. In fact, ‘Lair of Rumej’ is easier to use because it is simple and the Game Master does not have to develop any details herself.

The third scenario is ‘Lair of Vekar’. The Player Characters are hired to scout out an old mine to see whether it is safe and is still viable today or simply they fall into a sinkhole! What they find is a former Wolfkin-operated mine, though no real signs of anything worth salvaging or that the mine is viable. However, it is the lair of a Vekar-Demon, bony and humanoid shaped with the soul of a mortal burning in its chest and bat wings either side of its eyeless head. Again, it feels underdeveloped, but not quite as much as Lair of Kavor’.

Rounding out Underworld are three random maps that the Game Master can develop as is her wont, though suggestions are given. There is also a pair of ‘Magic Items & Treasure’ tables that the Game Master can use with the supplement or her campaign in general. They are all good magical items and the Game Master will likely want to flesh them out a bit to make them stand out.

Physically, Underworld is rough and does need an edit. The maps are blocky and not the easiest to use. There are versions for both player and Game Master, but those for the Game Master are not numbered which means that they are not as easy to use from the page as they should be. The artwork for the demons is decent though.

Underworld is a bit rough and ready and in places will require some development upon the part by the Game Master to really flesh the locations out. The demons are decently done and have an entertaining range of attacks—though more for the Game Master than her players—so will surprise both players and characters. Overall, Underworld is something to work with rather than being quite ready to play.

Friday Fantasy: The Lost & Found Forest

Villagers have been disappearing from Amber, one of the hamlets known as the Sisters Three that stand on the shore of Loch Maeglen, and nobody knows why. Only one has reappeared, the florist, Mirabel Gobel, and she is unable to recall where she went and what happened to her. Only now she can hear a mysterious woman’s voice calling to her to “Find me! Find me and longer taste sorrow,” and go to the nearby Lost & Found Forest and she fears for her life. What kind of danger is she in and where have the other villagers gone? Perhaps the Player Characters are hired to investigate by a previous employer, like Kelvin Belmont from the adventure The Alchemist’s Fire: A Sisters Three Adventure, or they are camping in the area when they come across Mirabel Gobel walking towards the woods in a trance, or they come across a tumbledown cottage on the edge of the woods from which can be heard muffled cries of a woman. However the Player Characters get involved, this is the mystery and set-up at the heart of The Lost & Found Forest: A Sisters Three Adventure. This is a scenario for Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying, the roleplaying game published by Free League Publishing.

The Lost & Found Forest: A Sisters Three Adventure is published by Gallow’s Tomes as part of Free League Publishing’s Free League Workshop community content programme. It is part of the same series as The Alchemist’s Fire: A Sisters Three Adventure and can be run as an indirect sequel since both are set in the same area. This setting is the Bailwick of Fenwick and the three hamlets—Amber, Burgundy, and Lapis—which stand on the shores of Loch Maeglen, which can be used as or adapted to fit the Game Master’s own setting, or it can be slotted into the Misty Vale setting as detailed in the Dragonbane Core Set. To that end, it is suggested that they be placed around the unnamed lake in the Misty Vale just south of the Temple of the Purple Flame and the Magna Woods. Alternatively, they can be placed on the other side of the Drakmar Pass from where the ‘Secret of the Dragon Emperor’ campaign begins. Each of the three hamlets is associated with and named for a statue of a woman, collectively known as The Sisters. In the case of Lapis, the starting point for The Alchemist’s Fire: A Sisters Three Adventure, the statue is of lapis, whereas for Amber, the starting points for The Lost & Found Forest: A Sisters Three Adventure, the statue is of amber. Amber is decidedly bohemian in nature, home to artists and craftsmen of all kinds, as well as the Honey Well Playhouse, the region’s only theatre. The Player Characters can speak to various villagers most of whom have an interest in the arts or crafts, picking up clues and rumours, some the latter actually being repeated from The Alchemist’s Fire: A Sisters Three Adventure to give the whole region a cohesive feel and to connect to other adventures.

Eventually, the Player Characters will decide to investigate the woods and this where The Lost & Found Forest: A Sisters Three Adventure gets interesting. This is because there is no map of the forest, but rather a set of nine forest sites and one end site, called the Hovel Site. The nine forest sites are divided into three bands reflecting how far they are into the forest, but as the Player Characters try and move from one site to the next, they may find themselves returning to the site they just left or another site that they previously visited. There is guidance for the Game Master when to make the Hovel Site accessible narratively or there is ’Hovel Dice’ mechanic which she can roll to determine when the Player Characters discover the Strange Tracks that lead towards the Hovel Site and when they reach the Hovel Site itself. Either way, the aim here is make the search for the cause of the disappearances from Amber a cross between a search and chase, following a set of strange tracks. The encounters in the forest are often creepy and odd, and dangerously soporific.

The final confrontation with the witch behind the mystery is a tough, two-stage battle. First against the Hovel which she makes her home and is actually mobile and whose strange tracks the Player Characters have been following, then against the witch herself. This is the first encounter proper that they will have with one of the ‘Sisters Three’ of the series’ title and if there is an issue, it is that her motivation is underwritten. The Game Master may want to strengthen it and make it more obvious in the Player Characters’ interactions with her.

The Lost & Found Forest: A Sisters Three Adventure can be run as a standalone adventure, but it can be a sequel to The Alchemist’s Fire: A Sisters Three Adventure. There is advice to set up the adventure either way, but like the latter scenario, The Lost & Found Forest: A Sisters Three Adventure still leaves numerous questions answered. Hopefully, future scenario releases will address them, especially when the Player Characters encounter the other of the titular ‘Sisters Three’.

Physically, The Lost & Found Forest: A Sisters Three Adventure is well laid out in the style of Dragonbane. It does feel heavier in its use of colour and art style, even a little cartoonish. That said, the artwork works, whilst the maps are decent.

The Lost & Found Forest: A Sisters Three Adventure does bring the hamlet of Amber to life and give a very different feel and tone to that given for Lapis in The Alchemist’s Fire: A Sisters Three Adventure. The set-up is strong and it has a dark fairy tale atmosphere, backed up with some decent encounters and a big finale, but the motivation behind the adventure and the villainess’ actions are underwritten.

Mystery & Monsters?

One of the great things with the Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying – Core Box from Free League Publishing is that it comes with everything necessary to play. The means to create Player Characters, the rules, a solo adventure, pre-generated Player Characters, a setting in peril in the form of the Misty Vale, and a complete hexcrawl campaign set within the Misty Vale. A reimagining of Sweden’s first fantasy roleplaying game, Drakar och Demoner, originally published in 1982, Dragonbane combined modern rules and mechanics with an Old School Renaissance sensibility. Plus, with the ‘The Secret of the Dragon Emperor’ campaign, it offers multiple sessions’ worth of play. However, beyond the box, the options for Dragonbane are a little more limited. There is the Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying – Rulebook and a new campaign, Path of Glory, an update of the original campaign for Drakar och Demoner. One definite issue with Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying – Core Box and the Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying – Rulebook is the limited options in terms of monsters. Certainly, enough for the ‘The Secret of the Dragon Emperor’ campaign, but not necessarily enough for long term play.

The Dragonbane Bestiary introduces some sixty-three new monsters for the roleplaying game. Not just monsters, but creatures and beasts and undead and dragons and demons, and more. Every entry includes a description, some stats, and an illustration just like a bestiary for any other roleplaying game, but the Dragonbane Bestiary does more than that. In addition, every entry includes a random encounter that the Game Master can run as and when as well as an adventure seed that the Game Master can develop into something longer than the simple random encounter. Yet that is not all, because unlike any other bestiary for any other roleplaying game, the Dragonbane Bestiary includes content that can be used by the players as well as the Game Master. Plus, it is superbly illustrated by David Brasgalla giving the creatures and beings it depicts a Scandinavian sensibility to all of the entries.

Although the world beyond the Misty Vale is not all that developed, there is some world building written into the Dragonbane Bestiary. This is because it is written as the journal entries of the Halfling adventurer and researcher, Theodora Sneezewort, who often has derisory opinions of her fellow scholars. She provides the commentary on each and every monster, often as the counterpoint to a more parochial point of view about the entries. The latter is given as a quote, whilst she provides the bulk of the entry description. This is followed by the monster stats and the options that add variety to combat in Dragonbane.

The sixty-three entries are catalogued into nine categories—Nightkin, Rare Kin, Insectoids, Trolls, Giants, Beasts, Undead, Dragons, and Demons—by Theodora Sneezewort and in each case, she explains why. For example, she notes that the Nightkin, those kin that are uncomfortable in the sun, are often regarded as being under the thrall of darkness and evil, and history is rife with stories of the battles between Elves and Orcs, Humans and Goblins. That they have a short temper and an often deserved reputation for burning and pillaging the lands of others, but she offers hints that Orcs can be scholarly, that Nightkin can want peace, and their heroes fought oppression, and wights and ghosts, all to better their future. Thus, what we get here is two sides to the argument about a broad category of so-called monsters, in this case dominated by negatives as much perceived wisdom, but hinting too that there might be more to the individual kin. Similarly, the Rarekin live on the margins and are often regarded as legends and if not legends, as fairies responsible for child abductions, but Theodora Sneezewort condemns such views, saying that they are far from the truth.

What the Dragonbane Bestiary does for the player is offer further choice in terms of Kin beyond those—Human, Halfling, Dwarf, Elf, Mallard, and Wolfkin—detailed in the Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying – Core Box. The new Kin are Orc, Ogre, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Frog People, Karkion, Cat People, Lizard People, and Satyr. They are treated in two ways in the supplement. First, they are listed as ‘Non-Monsters’ meaning that they are treated as NPCs and handled as Player Characters rather than as traditional monsters. Second, they can be selected as the Kin for Player Characters if everyone at the table agrees. Each has their own Ability. For example, the Goblin has ‘Resilient’ which gives them a Boon to resist poison and disease and enables them to make camp without a Bushcraft skill roll; Ogres have a ‘Slam’ attack rolled with a Boon that inflicts damage, cannot be parried, and normal size targets are knocked prone; and Cat People have ‘Nine Lives’ which grants a Boon on Death rolls and can reduce falling damage. Perhaps the one that players will pick is the Catkin as their ability is both fitting and given how lethal Dragonbane can be, but all of the abilities are kept simple and add flavour to each Kin.

That said, there is some replication between Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying – Core Box and the Dragonbane Bestiary. The Adult Dragon, Ghost, Giant Spider, Goblin, Griffon, Harpy, Manticore, Minotaur, Orc, Skeleton, and Wight are repeated from the Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying – Core Box, but in keeping with the rest of the Dragonbane Bestiary, their entries are expanded with the descriptions by Theodora Sneezewort, the random encounters, and the adventure seed. Further, the Goblin and Orc are presented as Kin rather than just threats.

Elsewhere, the Dragonbane Bestiary draws on myth for creatures such as Mermaids, Naiads, Minotaurs, Basilisks, and Chimera. There are tweaks though, such as the Medusa being able to fly and able to pummel foes with her fists as well as the snakes that are her hair that bite and her terrifying gaze which is capable of turning anyone to stone within meters. A few are more clearly drawn from Scandinavian folklore, such as the Brook Horse and the Lindworm. There are also different types of similar monster. So, under Trolls there is the Cave Troll, the Forest Troll, and the Mountain Troll; the Dragon is categorised as the Hatching Dragon, Young Dragon, Adult Dragon, and Ancient Dragon; and the Demon category includes write-ups of the Blood Demon, Chaos Demon, Guardian Demon, and Shadow Demon. The oddest entries in the Dragonbane Bestiary are the Karkion and the Insectoids, with even Theodora Sneezewort noting how odd and alien the latter are. The Karkion is a ‘Non-Monster’ Kin, almost cat-like, but with wings like a bat. They are scholars and mages that hunt for lore about demons, but there is little more to them than that. The Insectoids include the Ant People, Beetle Kin, and Spider Kin. Of these, Ant People will communicate with outsiders and even Beetle Kin can be found employed as bodyguards by the wealthy. The Spider Kin are definitely the most mysterious, spinning strange webs that capture magic rather than prey.

Physically, the Dragonbane Bestiary is superbly presented. The writing is engaging and the artwork is a delight, evoking senses of wonder and fright in equal measure. The Giant Spider bearing down upon the Elf in its web is scary, whilst the Skeleton slamming open a door makes you want to jump.

The Dragonbane Bestiary and Theodora Sneezewort get to the point of these creatures quickly, meaning that they simple to use in play. The random encounters are easier to use than the adventure seeds and that is not just because the Game Master has to develop them. There is not a great deal of information in the write-ups of these creatures and monsters for the Game Master to work with and what there is, tends to be more flavour than definitive fact. On the one hand, this leaves plenty of room for the Game Master to develop more her own details about the creature, on the other, it leaves the Game Master with more to develop than just the adventure seed. Certainly, in comparison to other bestiaries far less attention is paid to the ecologies and life cycles of these creatures. In places this leaves the player adrift, such as with the Karkion, which are different enough that more information is needed.

The Dragonbane Bestiary is a book that the player is going to want for more character options and the Game Master is going to want to develop her Dragonbane campaign beyond the pages of ‘The Secret of the Dragon Emperor’ campaign in the Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying – Core Box with new threats and new Kin. As much as the content is useful to that end, it does lean into the mystery of both monster and Kin a little too much, leaving details to be developed by the Game Master. What that means is that whilst the Dragonbane Bestiary is useful and easy in bringing encounters with its entries into play, it is harder to use beyond that in campaign development than it ideally should be. The Dragonbane Bestiary is a very lovely book, but not quite as useful as it should have been.

Friday Fantasy: The Alchemist’s Fire

The alchemist, Kelvin Belmont, is distraught and distracted, and in need of help. He has received a letter from his brother, Solomon, begging for his help in dealing with a dangerous threat which seems to be hounding him. This is strange, for the brothers had a falling out and neither has spoken to the other in almost a decade. The question is, what is the nature of the threat such that one pair of estranged siblings would seek out the aid of the other? Fortunately, Kelvin does want to help his brother, but he is old and weary, ill-suited to such tasks. So, he decides to hire some doughty adventurers to check on his brother and to deliver the package that he requested. This is the core hook—though several other hooks are included to get the Player Characters to meet Kelvin—for the scenario, The Alchemist’s Fire: A Sisters Three Adventure. This is a scenario for Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying, the roleplaying game published by Free League Publishing.

The Alchemist’s Fire: A Sisters Three Adventure is published by Gallow’s Tomes as part of Free League Publishing’s Free League Workshop community content programme. The setting is the Bailwick of Fenwick and the three hamlets—Amber, Burgundy, and Lapis—which stand on the shores of Loch Maeglen. This can be used as or adapted to fit the Game Master’s own setting, or it can be slotted into the Misty Vale setting as detailed in the Dragonbane Core Set. To that end, it is suggested that they be placed around the unnamed lake in the Misty Vale just south of the Temple of the Purple Flame and the Magna Woods. Alternatively, they can be placed on the other side of the Drakmar Pass from where the ‘Secret of the Dragon Emperor’ campaign begins. Each of the three hamlets is associated with and named for a statue of a woman, collectively known as The Sisters. In the case of Lapis, the starting point for The Alchemist's Fire, the statue is of lapis. The hamlet is described in broad detail, noting its most important business and their colourful proprietors and patrons, including the inn with a Dwarven innkeeper with an ear for ‘Dad jokes’, a grumpy Mallard sailor wanting to return to the sea, an overly curious Halfling cartographer, and a baker with a line in hot buttered muffins. Besides talking to the inhabitants, which may earn the Player Characters some rumours, divided between those pertinent to the scenario and those left for the Game Master to develop or ignore as is her wont, can of course, do a bit of shopping.

Eventually, the Player Characters will make their way to Ravenhook Tower, the home of Kelvin Belmont. Once they get past his cagey manner, he will employ them to deliver a cart, which he will provide, full of flasks of a blue liquid that ignites upon impact when thrown—Fire Flasks. The alchemist’s brother has asked him to deliver to his tower, Coralholm, which lies to the east. The journey is not without its dangers as the Blue Root Mountains are full of Worgs and Goblins—and worse. Plus, the Player Characters are essentially driving a bomb on wheels, and if anything goes wrong, there is the chance of a massive explosion. In fact, a really, really big explosion which is going to leave them at a disadvantage later in the scenario.

However, by the time the Player Characters reach Solomon Belmont’s tower of Coralholm, it is too late. Someone has already broken in and when the Player Characters find him, they also find an army of frogs harassing him. This is after a nasty encounter with a Giant Slime that can shoot ooze-coated skulls out of its gelatinous depths and make weapons protrude from its body. Of course, this fight can be eased with the application of a Fire Flask or two. Once the fight is over, Solomon is pleased to see the Player Characters—in complete contrast to his brother—but he fears that the frog men will be back and asks the Player Characters to mount what is effectively, a ‘tower defence’. The players and their characters have time to set up defences and they are encouraged to lay traps and build defensive points as well as prepare the ballista on the roof. The fight comes with its own maps and feels like a cross between the Battle of Helm’s Deep and the destruction of Isengard in The Two Towers of The Lord of the Rings, but with the Player Characters and Solomon Belmont as the defenders in both cases. Of course, this is on a very much smaller scale in either case. It does include a ‘Squad Dice’ mechanic for handling when more squads of Frog Men appear on the battlefield.

The scenario does end with some unanswered questions. This includes the cause of the estrangement between the brothers and the identity and aims of an antagonist—hopefully to be detailed in another scenario. That said, if the Player Characters never find out, it is no great loss. Rounding out The Alchemist’s Fire: A Sisters Three Adventure is another table of encounters should the Player Characters venture into the woods near the hamlet of Lapis and some full page pieces of artwork. These are actually quite good, especially that of the Briar Mawr, the malign walking tree carrying a platform of Frog Men in its branches (which the Player Characters can attempt to topple).

Two points arise from the setting. One is that the author cannot decide whether the setting for The Alchemist’s Fire—Lapis—is a hamlet or a town. The other is the name, ‘Bailwick of Fenwick’. Putting aside the rhyming, it does sound very much like the Duchy of Grand Fenwick from the Peter Sellers’ film, The Mouse That Roared.

Physically, The Alchemist’s Fire is well laid out in the style of Dragonbane. It does feel heavier in its use of colour and art style, even a little cartoonish. That said, the artwork works, whilst the maps are decent.

If the plot to The Alchemist’s Fire is straightforward, its details are colourful and detailed, and all together, the whole affair is easy to run and easy to slot into a campaign. Offering a good mix of roleplaying with some surprisingly nasty and challenging encounters, The Alchemist’s Fire: A Sisters Three Adventure is an impressively sturdy little adventure that should play through in two or so sessions.

[Free RPG Day 2025] Dragonbane – The Magistrate’s Gambit

Now in its eighteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2025 took place on Saturday, June 21st. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Thanks to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham, Reviews from R’lyeh was able to get hold of many of the titles released for Free RPG Day.

—oOo—

Dragonbane – The Magistrate’s Gambit is a preview of, and a quick-start for Dragonbane, the reimagining of Sweden’s first fantasy roleplaying game, Drakar och Demoner, originally published in 1982. Funded via a Kickstarter campaign by Free League Publishing in 2022, Dragonbane promises to be a roleplaying game of “mirth and mayhem”. It includes a basic explanation of the setting, rules for actions and combat, magic, the adventure, ‘The Sinking Tower’, and five ready-to-play, Player Characters.

‘The Magistrate’s Gambit’ scenario is designed as a tournament style adventure and can be played in two hours. This means that it is intended to be run for multiple groups and their scores at the end collected and compared to determine a winner. However, this does not mean that it cannot be added to an ongoing campaign, but rather that it includes a scoring sheet to determine how well one group of players fared compared to another. That said, two hours is tight for the scenario and outside of a tournament, the Game Master can easily prepare the scenario and run it in a single session. The Game Master will need a timer of some kind. The scenario includes everything necessary to play—pre-generated Player Characters, maps, puzzles, and more. If the scenario is being run as part of a standard campaign, a Rogue and a Wizard are recommended Player Characters. The scenario setting also suggests that it is located near a large town or city.

The five pre-generated Player Characters include a Human Wizard (Fire Elementalist), an Elf Hunter, a Mallard Knight (yes, a duck knight!), a Halfling Thief, and a Wolfkin Warrior. All five Player Characters are given a double-sided sheet with one side devoted to the character sheet whilst the other gives some background to the Player Character, an explanation of his abilities, and an excellent illustration. One issue is with the Human Wizard, whose player will need to refer to the magic section of the rules in Dragonbane – The Magistrate’s Gambit to find out how his spells work. It would have been far more useful for them to be at least listed along with costs for the benefit of the Wizard’s player.

A Player Character has a Kin, which can be human, halfling, dwarf, elf, mallard, or wolfkin. He also has six attributes—Strength, Constitution, Agility, Intelligence, Willpower, and Charisma—which range in value between three and eighteen, as well as a Profession. Both Kin and Profession provide an ability which are unavailable to other Kin and Professions. Various factors are derived from the attributes, notably different damage bonuses for Strength-based weapons and Agility-based weapons, plus Willpower Points. Willpower Points are expended to use magic and abilities derived from both Kin and Profession. A Player Character has sixteen skills, ranging in value from one to fourteen.

To have his player undertake an action, a player rolls a twenty-sided die. The aim is roll equal to or lower than the skill or attribute. A roll of one is called ‘rolling a dragon’ and is treated as a critical effect. A roll of twenty is called ‘rolling a demon’ and indicates a critical failure. Banes and boons are the equivalent of advantage and disadvantage. Opposed rolls are won by the player who rolls the lowest.

If a roll is failed, a player can choose to push the roll and reroll. The result supersedes the original. In pushing a roll, the Player Character acquires a Condition, for example, ‘Dazed’ for Strength or ‘Scared’ for Willpower. The player has to explain how his character acquires the Condition and his character can acquire a total of six—one for each attribute—and the player is expected to roleplay them. Mechanically, a Condition acts as a Bane in play. A Player Character can recover from one or more Conditions by resting.

Initiative is determined randomly by drawing cards numbered between one and ten, with one going first. A Player Character has two actions per round—a move and an actual action such as a melee attack, doing first aid, or casting a spell. Alternatively, a Player Character can undertake a Reaction, which takes place on an opponent’s turn in response to the opponent’s action. Typically, this is a parry or dodge, and means that the Player Character cannot take another action. If a dragon is rolled on the parry, the Player Character gets a free counterattack!

Combat takes into account weapon length, grip, length, and so on. The effects of a dragon roll, or a critical hit, can include damage being doubled and a dragon roll being needed to parry or dodge this attack, making a second attack, or piercing armour. Damage can be slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning, which determines the effectiveness of armour.

Armour has a rating, which reduces damage taken. Helmets increase Armour Rating, but work as a Bane for certain skills. If a Player Character’s Hit Points are reduced to zero, a death roll is required for him to survive, which can be pushed. Three successful rolls and the Player Character survives, whilst three failures indicate he has died. A Player Character on zero Hit Points can be rallied by another to keep fighting. Dragonbane – The Magistrate’s Gambit also includes rules for other forms of damage such as falling and poison, plus darkness and fear. Fear is covered by a Willpower check, and there is a Fear Table for the results.

A Wizard powers magic through the expenditure of Willpower Points. Typical spells cost two Willpower Points per Power Level of a spell, but just one Willpower Point for lesser spells or magic tricks. Spells are organised into schools and each school has an associated skill, which is rolled against when casting a spell. Willpower Points are lost even if the roll is failed, but rolling a dragon can double the range or damage of the spell, negate the Willpower Point cost, or allow another spell to be cast, but with a Bane. Rolling a demon simply means that the spell fails and cannot be pushed. A spell cannot be cast if the Wizard is in direct contact with either iron or steel.

Three spells and three magical tricks are given in Dragonbane – The Magistrate’s Gambit. These are all fire-related, designed for the Wizard Player Character. The magical tricks include Ignite, Heat/Chill, and Puff of Smoke, whilst the full spells are Fireball, Gust of Wind, and Pillar.

The scenario in Dragonbane – The Magistrate’s Gambit is ‘The Magistrate’s Gambit’. This takes place in Archmage Kalisial’s palace where each year she meets an old friend, Magistrate Stalomer, for a game of smickleboard. When they were young, they were adventurers, and together they found a magical necklace. Both wanted to wear it, but to decide who would for the following year, they decided to play the game, with the winner getting to wear it. Magistrate Stalomer has never won a single game despite his having studied smickleboard for years, and as he nears the end of his life, he just wants to wear it the once. Yet he suspects that Archmage Kalisial, his old friend, is cheating by using three magical artefacts. These are a wig, a pair of gilded spectacles, and an onyx game board and if he can replace them, he thinks that for once, he will prevail in the annual game. To that end, he hires the Player Characters and instructs them to attend the party, find each of the suspect artefacts and replace them with replicas he has made.

So what the Player Characters have to do is sneak away from Archmage Kalisial’s party and explore the rest of her palace for the location of the three artefacts. Given that they only have an hour to explore the palace, it is actually quite large, with eleven rooms that they will probably want to examine. There is a strong emphasis on puzzles and interaction, with the possibility of a little combat along the way, and the puzzles are actually supported by handouts that the Game Master can cut out and present to her players. All of the locations are highly detailed and there is usually a lot to examine and interact with in each room. The Player Characters will also find plenty of treasure to take away with them, which they will, as this is how Magistrate Stalomer plans to pay them. The Game Master will need to keep track of the Player Characters’ actions as they have the potential to first arouse Archmage Kalisial’s suspicions and eventually alert her to their activities. Her initial suspicions will make it increasingly difficult for the Player Character to sneak about and act surreptitiously, and will ultimately result in her sending servants to investigate if she becomes too concerned.

Eventually, a bell will ring (in other words, the timer set by the Game Master will go off) and the party proper will begin. This will be followed by the game itself being played between Archmage Kalisial and Magistrate Stalomer. How well he does will depend upon how successful the Player Characters have been in substituting the three items. In game terms, the Player Characters earn points for various objectives achieved throughout Archmage Kalisial’s palace, whilst her vigilance level is substracted from this and a twenty-sided die is rolled against the resulting value. If the roll is equal to, or below the value, then Magistrate Stalomer wins!

Physically, Dragonbane – The Magistrate’s Gambit is clean and tidy. The cartography is excellent, but the artwork and illustrations are superb. The handouts are also very good. They are done by Johan Egerkrans, who also illustrated Vaesen and possess a grim, if comic book sensibility.

Dragonbane – The Magistrate’s Gambit is a well done tournament adventure, packed with puzzles and secrets that the players and their characters need to discover and solve before the time limit of the scenario. It is effectively, an anti-heist scenario that is till played out with all of the stealth of a classic heist scenario. As a standard adventure, it can be played out at a more leisurely place and will be no less challenging, though without the time limit. Either way, Dragonbane – The Magistrate’s Gambit is a tightly designed and impressive little scenario, which not only has the potential to be a lot of fun, but which also feels refreshingly different from other scenarios for Dragonbane.

Screen Shot XV

How do you like your GM Screen?

The GM Screen is a essentially a reference sheet, comprised of several card sheets that fold out and can be stood up to serve another purpose, that is, to hide the GM's notes and dice rolls. On the inside, the side facing the GM are listed all of the tables that the GM might want or need at a glance without the need to have to leaf quickly through the core rulebook. On the outside, facing the players, can be found either more tables for their benefit or representative artwork for the game itself. This is both the basic function and the basic format of the screen, neither of which has changed all that much over the years. Beyond the basic format, much has changed though.

To begin with the general format has split, between portrait and landscape formats. The result of the landscape format is a lower screen, and if not a sturdier screen, than at least one that is less prone to being knocked over. Another change has been in the weight of card used to construct the screen. Exile Studios pioneered a new sturdier and durable screen when its printers took two covers from the Hollow Earth Expedition core rule book and literally turned them into the game’s screen. This marked a change from the earlier and flimsier screens that had been done in too light a cardstock, and several publishers have followed suit.

Once you have decided upon your screen format, the next question is what you have put with it. Do you include a poster or poster map, such as Chaosium, Inc.’s last screen for Call of Cthulhu, Sixth Edition or Margaret Weis Productions’ Serenity and BattleStar Galactica Roleplaying Games? Or a reference work like that included with Chessex Games’ Sholari Reference Pack for SkyRealms of Jorune or the GM Resource Book for Pelgrane Press’ Trail of Cthulhu? Perhaps scenarios such as ‘Blackwater Creek’ and ‘Missed Dues’ from the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Screen for use with Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition? Or even better, a book of background and scenarios as well as the screen, maps, and forms, like that of the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack also published by Chaosium, Inc. In the past, the heavier and sturdier the screen, the more likely it is that the screen will be sold unaccompanied, such as those published by Cubicle Seven Entertainment for the Starblazer Adventures: The Rock & Roll Space Opera Adventure Game and Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space RPG. That though is no longer the case and stronger and sturdier GM Screens are the norm today.

So how do I like my GM Screen?

I like my Screen to come with something. Not a poster or poster map, but a scenario, which is one reason why I like ‘Descent into Darkness’ from the Game Master’s Screen and Adventure for Legends of the Five Rings Fourth Edition and ‘A Bann Too Many’, the scenario that comes in the Dragon Age Game Master's Kit for Green Ronin Publishing’s Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5. I also like my screen to come with some reference material, something that adds to the game. Which is why I am fond of both the Sholari Reference Pack for SkyRealms of Jorune as well as the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack. Which is why the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen is perhaps the most disappointing screen in some years.

The Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen is the Game Master’s Screen for Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying. Published by Free League Publishing, best known for Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying, The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, and Alien: The Roleplaying Game, this is a reimagining of Sweden’s first fantasy roleplaying game, Drakar och Demoner, originally published in 1982. It promises to be a ‘deluxe’ Game Master Screen and it fulfils that description and it certainly showcases Johan Egerkran’s fantastic artwork for the roleplaying game on the front, facing the players where they can see it. Published in sturdy, thick card, it consists of three panels. On the left-hand panel, there is the ‘Typical NPCs’ table accompanied by spot rules for NPCs and skills, initiative, attributes, and being at zero Hit Points. The middle panel is all about combat. So, there is an ‘Actions’ table, listening possible actions as well as free actions and the effects of rolling a Demon in both melee and ranged combat. There are no tables for weapon damages, armour rating, or the like. On the right-hand panel is the ‘Fear Table’ and the tables for ‘Leaving the Adventure Site’ and ‘Pathfinder Mishaps’. This is it, so what is missing? There is no listing for ‘Special Attacks’ or ‘Conditions’ that the Player Characters are likely to suffer, or no ‘Magical Mishaps’ table. These are important omissions and so the Game Master and her players are going to need to refer to the ‘Dragonbane Rules’ book on a regular basis during play as a consequence.

The Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen is undeniably, a sturdy, attractive looking Game Master’s screen. However, its usefulness is questionable since it omits a number of tables that are commonly referred to in play, and perhaps a fourth panel with those omissions on it might have negated this issue. Then there is the matter of what accompanies the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen. In the case of so many other Game Master screens, there have scenarios, forms, and books for the Game Master, but for the Game Master who has the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen, there is nothing. Which only exacerbates its lack of utility.

Most Game Master’s screens are useful and do help the Game Master run the game that she wants and anything beyond that is a bonus. The Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen is of limited use and there is no bonus, so where a good Game Master’s screen is always worth purchasing, the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen simply is not.

Which begs the question, what should, or rather, could have been included along with the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen? One option might have the Dragonbane Monsters Standee Set. One of the great extras in the Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying core box is a set of standees, which depict in full colour, the pre-generated Player Characters and the monsters they will face over the course of the campaign, and are, of course, designed to be used with the maps in the box. Each is done on thick cardboard and is illustrated front and back so that they are easily identifiable from any angle. The Dragonbane Monsters Standee Set adds another sixty-four monster standees done in the same style and to the same standard as those that come in the Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying core box. They include cat people, ghouls, a hippogriff, a Pegasus, a giant octopus, and a whole lot more. In addition, there is also a battlemat, double-sided, on stiff, glossy paper, that they all designed to be used with. Further, they are designed to be used with the Dragonbane Bestiary as well. The artwork on the standees is excellent, the standees are all done on sturdy card, and lastly, they standees that can be used as Player Characters, which may be useful if the Game Master is allowing some of the entries from the Dragonbane Bestiary that can be used as Kin. In whatever way the Game Master decides to use the Dragonbane Monsters Standee Set, it will enhance the play and look of her game and is very nice addition to the Dragonbane roleplaying game. (And yes, it would have made an excellent accompaniment to the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen, but is actually sold separately.)

Ultimately, an accessory like a Game Master’s Screen is not needed to play, but in a great many cases , they can be useful and they can help the Game Master run a game. The Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen is not one of them, not being as helpful it should have been. Whereas, if the Game master is using the roleplaying game’s standees in her game and has the Dragonbane Bestiary, the Dragonbane Monsters Standee Set is definitely a useful accessory, greatly expanding her threats to throw into the path of the Player Characters.

Old Swedish Renaissance

It has been eight hundred years since the fall of the mythic Dragon Empire and ten years since mankind returned to the Misty Vale, the remote valley known for the thick haze that often lies over its deep forests, hemmed in by the Kummer Mountains to the south and the Dragonfang Peaks to the north. Adventurers brave the broken imperial road over the high pass to enter the Misty Vale to explore the extent of the valley, search out its secrets, and hopefully come away with the great treasures that might still remain unplundered from the Dragon Empire. They are not the only ones interested in the secrets that the Misty Vale. There rumours of Demon-worshipping cultists moving quietly to work to bring about the revival of their vile masters of Chaos and their priests, Orcs and Goblins are seen patrolling the Misty Vale more regularly, and monks and knights of religious order that reveres the great Dragons of Law have been seen entering the valley. This is the set-up for Dragonbane, and more specifically, the Dragonbane Core Box, a fantasy roleplaying game which promises “Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying”. Published by Free League Publishing, best known for Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying, The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, and Alien: The Roleplaying Game. It is reimagining of Sweden’s first fantasy roleplaying game, Drakar och Demoner, originally published in 1982.

Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying, funded by successful Kickstarter campaign, comes as boxed set which contains a ‘Getting Started’ sheet which tells the reader what is in the box, a one-hundred-and-twelve ‘Dragonbane Rules’ book, a one-hundred-and-sixteen page ‘Dragonbane Adventures’ book, the twelve-page ‘Alone in Deepfall Breach’ solo adventure, two maps, including one of the Misty Vale, five pre-generated Player Characters, five blank character sheets, and forty-one full colour standees with plastic stands. Plus, there is a set of polyhedral dice in crystal green, including two twenty-sided dice, and illustrated decks of cards for combat initiative, improvised weapons, adventures, and treasure. The roleplaying game includes rules for creating Player Characters, but whether the players create their own or use the pre-generated ones, with ‘The Secret of the Dragon Emperor’ campaign that lies at the heart of the boxed set, Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying offers multiple sessions of play.

A Player Character is defined by six attributes, Kin, and his Profession. The six attributes are Strength, Constitution, Agility, Intelligence, Willpower, and Charisma, which range in value between one and twenty, but the highest they can be at the start of play, is fourteen. The Kin are Human, Halfling, Dwarf, Elf, Mallard, and Wolfkin. The Professions are Artisan, Bard, Fighter, Hunter, Knight, Mage, Mariner, Merchant, Scholar, and Thief. In addition, a Player Characters has Heroic Abilities. These come from the Player Character’s Kin and Profession, although not for the Mage, who starts play with the ability to cast magic. A Player Character has sixteen skills, ranging in value from one to eighteen. Various factors are derived from the attributes, notably different damage bonuses for Strength-based weapons and Agility-based weapons, plus Willpower Points. Willpower Points are expended to use magic and abilities derived from both Kin and Profession.

To create a character, a player can chose the options or roll for them, except for attributes, which are rolled for and trained skills, which are chosen. These include the Kin, Profession, Age, Name, weakness, gear, memento, and appearance. A Player Character will have scores in all of the skills in Dragonbane, but his age will determine the number he is trained in and have greater scores in.

First Name: Tym ‘Halffinger’
Kin: Human
Profession: Thief
Age: Old
Appearance: Balding

ATTRIBUTES
Strength 14 Constitution 11 Agility 15 Intelligence 17 Willpower 14 Charisma 11

Damage Bonus: +1d4
Willpower Points: 3
Hit Points: 11

SKILLS
Acrobatics 12, Awareness 14, Bartering 10, Bluffing 10, Evade 12, Knives 12, Languages 14, Myths & Legends 14, Sleight of Hand 12, Sneaking 12, Spot Hidden 14, Swimming 12

HEROIC ABILITIES
Adaptive (3), Backstabbing (3)

GEAR
Knife, lockpicks (simple), torch, flint & tinder, D6 food rations, D10 silver

MEMENTO
A ragged old journal

Mechanically, to have his player undertake an action, a player rolls a twenty-sided die. The die is marked with a ‘Dragon’ on the one face, and a ‘Demon’ on the ‘twenty’ face. The aim is roll equal to or lower than the skill or attribute. A roll of one is called ‘rolling a Dragon’ and is treated as a critical effect, such as giving an impressive performance, rolling double damage, the action takes less times, and so on. A roll of twenty is called ‘rolling a Demon’ and indicates a critical failure, possible effects including damaging yourself, someone else, or an object, making a lot of noise, and more. Banes and boons are the equivalent of advantage and disadvantage, meaning that the player has to roll more twenty-sided dice, counting the lowest one if there are more Boons than Banes, and the highest one if there are more Banes than Boons. Opposed rolls are won by the player who rolls the lowest.

If a roll is failed, a player can choose to push the roll and reroll. The result supersedes the original. In pushing a roll, the Player Character acquires a Condition, for example, ‘Dazed’ for Strength or ‘Scared’ for Willpower. The player has to explain how his character acquires the Condition and his character can acquire a total of six—one for each attribute—and the player is expected to roleplay them. Mechanically, a Condition acts as a Bane in play. A Player Character can recover from one or more Conditions by resting.

Initiative is determined randomly by drawing cards numbered between one and ten, with one going first. A Player Character has two actions per round—a move and an actual action such as a melee attack, doing first aid, or casting a spell. Alternatively, a Player Character can undertake a Reaction, which takes place on an opponent’s turn in response to the opponent’s action. Typically, this is a parry or dodge, and means that the Player Character cannot take another action. If a Dragon is rolled on the parry, the Player Character gets a free counterattack! If the damage inflicted would exceed the durability of the weapon, it is damaged and requires repairing.

Combat takes into account weapon length, grip, length, and so on. The effects of a Dragon roll, or a critical hit, can include damage being doubled and a Dragon roll being needed to parry or dodge this attack, making a second attack, or piercing armour. Damage can be slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning, which determines the effectiveness of armour. Armour has a rating, which reduces damage taken. Helmets increase Armour Rating, but work as a Bane for certain skills. If a Player Character’s Hit Points are reduced to zero, a death roll is required for him to survive, which can be pushed. Three successful rolls and the Player Character survives, whilst three failures indicate he has died. A Player Character on zero Hit Points can be rallied by another to keep fighting. Fear is covered by a Willpower check, and there is a Fear Table for the results.

Mages power their magic through the expenditure of Willpower Points (similarly, Heroic Abilities cost Willpower to activate). Typical spells cost two Willpower Points per Power Level of a spell, but just one Willpower Point for lesser spells or magic tricks. Willpower Points are lost even if the roll is failed, but rolling a Dragon can double the range or damage of the spell, negate the Willpower Point cost, or allow another spell to be cast, but with a Bane. Rolling a Demon simply means that the spell fails and cannot be pushed, although there is an optional ‘Magical Mishap’ Table to roll on if that happens. A spell cannot be cast if the Wizard is in direct contact with either iron or steel. There are three schools of magic, each with an associated skill, plus General Magic. These are Animism, Elementalism, and Mentalism. A beginning Mage has only been able to study the one school, but the General Magic spells are available to him as well.

The ‘Dragonbane Rules’ book includes a short bestiary of sixteen creatures. Each is given a page that includes an illustration, a short description, its stats, and its attacks. There are always six attacks per monster, such as “Threatening Cackle! The harpies shower the adventurers with terrible descriptions of what they will do to them. Everyone within 10 meters must make a WIL roll to resist fear (page 52).” Or “Excrement Attack! The Harpies open their cloacae and mouths and release a rain of vomit and excrement on the player characters. Everyone within 10 meters must choose a condition. The attack can be parried with a shield.” for the Harpy. The Game Master can chose or roll which attack the creature uses, but they are never repeated twice in a row. Plus, they always hit, so it up to the players to decide to have their characters dodge an attack (or parry when an attack allows it). This feels very similar to the monsters in Forbidden Lands – Raiders & Rogues in a Cursed World, also published by Free League Publishing. The result is that monsters are tough and brutal and a player needs to take more care in how he decides his character will engage with them. The only entries in the bestiary which differ from this are for Orcs and Goblins, which are treated like normal NPCs, complete with their own aims and the capacity to be interacted with. The latter is an important aspect of the campaign in the ‘Dragonbane Adventures’ book.

The ‘Dragonbane Rules’ book is rounded out with rules for travel, basic advice for the Game Master, creating NPCs, and a quick guide, including tables, for creating adventures. These are built around ‘adventure sites’ and travelling to them, much like the play of Forbidden Lands – Raiders & Rogues in a Cursed World. The advice and the guide to creating adventures are basic, but sufficient to serve as starting points.

The ‘Alone in Deepfall Breach’ booklet provides the means to play Dragonbane in solo mode, enabling a player or prospective Game Master get an idea of how the game plays before the full campaign. This is not the traditional ‘choose your own adventure’ style adventure, but instead a set of tables for generating delves into a scar in the land—Deepfall Breach, and for generating the randomness needed for solo play. This includes a ‘Fortune Table’ for determining the answers that a Game Master would normally give, random effects for rolling a ‘Dragon’ or a ‘Demon’, and how an NPC attacks the Player Character. Categorised as either a melee, ranged, sneaky, or magic attacker, this is similar to the monster attacks in the bestiary section of the ‘Dragonbane Rules’ book. Given the often-brutal nature of play in Dragonbane, the solo adventurer is also given some help. Primarily, this consists of being allowed an extra Heroic Ability with two being given for this purpose. ‘Army of One’ lets a player draw two Initiative cards instead of one, whilst ‘Sole Survivor’ lets him push a roll without suffering a condition.

As well as the means to create custom missions, ‘Alone in Deepfall Breach’ includes a complete solo mini-campaign of five missions. Each of the missions in ‘The Reforged Shard’ consists of a series of way points which the adventurer must pass and then return to the surface. Not only that, but each mission has its own looming threat that the player keeps track off and will happen if triggered, whether through delay, inaction, or failure. Both the means to generate missions and ‘The Reforged Shard’ are intended to be played solo, but ‘Alone in Deepfall Breach’ also suggests that a small group of players could use or play both as an alternative. In addition, there is nothing to stop the Game Master from using the tables to generate her own adventures for normal play or add Deepfall Breach as a specific location to the Misty Vale.

The ‘Dragonbane Adventures’ book contains a total of eleven adventures, which together form the ‘The Secret of the Dragon Emperor’. Apart from ‘Isle of Mist’, which is the campaign finale, these can be tackled in any order, although the Game Master can give nudges via rumours, represented in play by cards from the roleplaying game’s Adventure Deck. These are great handouts, reminding the players of what their characters might have heard so far. The Player characters will be based in the village of Outskirt, interacting with the various NPCs and picking up rumours before journeying to one of the adventure sites that they have heard off. Threading through this is the hunt for four items, which together unlock the resting place of an ancient magical sword. From the start, the Player Characters learn that someone is looking for “four pieces” which will reveal the “secret of the dragon emperor!” and soon after arriving in Outskirt, will be asked to look for the missing items. So initially, the campaign will be player driven as they decide which locations to visit and explore, but as they learn more, they will be drawn into the search and come into contact with the various factions that are part of that search. Of course, not all of them can be trusted, but surprisingly, there are some that can be in a way that runs counter to their traditional depiction in this roleplaying game’s style of fantasy.

The ‘Dragonbane Adventures’ book also includes a detailed description of Outskirt and its inhabitants, tables of random encounters to use in conjunction with the journeying rules in the ‘Dragonbane Rules’ book, and a table of ‘Demonic Omens’ which the Game Master can use to building the impending sense of doom that pervades the Misty Vale as the campaign continues apace. It also includes the general background to the campaign. It describes how a vile demon, Sathmog, entered the world and established a demonic realm, before a hero arose and summoned the ancient dragons that protect the world from demonic presence, before leading his dragon-riding knights to defeat Sathmog and imprison his high priest. The hero established the Dragon Empire, but in old age spurned the dragons and, on his death, the empire collapsed as his sons squabbled. It is very broad and although it obviously applies to the wider world, it is very specific to the Misty Vale and ‘The Secret of the Dragon Emperor’ campaign, which leaves the wider world unmentioned, let alone developed. Some information would certainly have been useful, at least to help the players get a feel of the wider world and the place of their characters in that world, rather than simply dropping them into start of the campaign at the entrance to the Misty Vale as ‘The Secret of the Dragon Emperor’ does.

Lastly, the Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying core box includes a set of standees and several decks of cards. The standees are done in full colour and depict the pre-generated Player Characters and the monsters they will face over the course of the campaign, and are, of course, designed to be used with the maps in the box. The various decks include the ‘Initiative Deck’, an ‘Adventure Deck’, a ‘Treasure Deck’, and an ‘Improvised Weapons Deck’. The ‘Initiative Deck’ is used in combat, whilst the others are used throughout the game and play. In particular, the ‘Improvised Weapons Deck’ is a lot of fun to use, the items being depicted potentially doing a lot more than being smashed over the head of another brawler before breaking. They will make the Game Master want to run a classic barroom brawl!

The Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying core box is undeniably a great package, but there are perhaps two areas where it might have been improved. One is the aforementioned inclusion of a wider background to help give a bit more context to the Misty Vale location and the accompanying campaign. The other perhaps is its possible use as an introductory roleplaying game. It is not an introductory roleplaying game in the sense that it designed to be played by those new to the hobby, but it has a simplicity in its mechanics which suggest that it could have been. Certainly, that simplicity is why Dragonbane is so very easy to learn to play for anyone with roleplaying experience. So, it is a pity that this opportunity was missed. That said, the simplicity of the rules do make Dragonbane easy to teach, so it can be used to introduce new players that way.

Physically, Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying is incredibly well presented. All of the books are clean and tidy, and really easy to read. The cartography is excellent, but the artwork and illustrations are superb. They are done by Johan Egerkrans, who also illustrated Vaesen and possess a grim, if comic book sensibility.

Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying is comprehensive, but not complex. In fact, the core box not only gives you everything you need to play a complete campaign, but also makes everything easy to play as well. The rules are so straightforward and so easy to pick up, and thus so easy to teach, that when combined with the familiarity of its classic fantasy, Dragonbane is all but begging itself to brought to the table. Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying combines the ‘Old School’ style of play with challenging monsters and adventures with slick, fast-playing rules for exciting game play that absolutely makes classic fantasy roleplaying fun again.

[Free RPG Day 2024] Dragonbane – The Sinking Tower

Now in its seventeenth year, Free RPG Day for 2024 took place on Saturday, June 22nd. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Thanks to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham, Reviews from R’lyeh was able to get hold of many of the titles released for Free RPG Day.

—oOo—

Dragonbane – The Sinking Tower is a preview of, and a quick-start for Dragonbane, the reimagining of Sweden’s first fantasy roleplaying game, Drakar och Demoner, originally published in 1982. Funded via a Kickstarter campaign by Free League Publishing in 2022, Dragonbane promises to be a roleplaying game of “mirth and mayhem”. It includes a basic explanation of the setting, rules for actions and combat, magic, the adventure, ‘The Sinking Tower’, and five ready-to-play, Player Characters.

‘The Sinking Tower’ scenario is designed as a tournament style adventure and can be played in two hours. This does not mean that it cannot be added to an ongoing campaign, but rather that it includes a scoring sheet to determine how well one group of players fared compared to another. That said, two hours is tight for the scenario and outside of a tournament, the Game Master can easily prepare the scenario and run it in a single session. One aspect of the scenario the Game Master will want to include if it is not run as a tournament scenario, is have treasure cards on hand. In the tournament version, the discovery of treasures is handled in the abstract as a means to add to the point total for the players at the end of the scenario.

The five Player Characters include a Human Wizard (Fire Elementalist), an Elf Hunter, a Mallard Knight (yes, a duck knight!), a Halfling Thief, and a Wolfkin Warrior. All five Player Characters are given a double-sided sheet with one side devoted to the character sheet whilst the other gives some background to the Player Character, an explanation of his abilities, and an excellent illustration. One issue is with the Human Wizard, whose player will need to refer to the magic section of the rules in Dragonbane – The Sinking Tower to find out how his spells work. It would have been far more useful for them to be at least listed along with costs for the benefit of the Wizard’s player.

A Player Character has a Kin, which can be human, halfling, dwarf, elf, mallard, or wolfkin. He also has six attributes—Strength, Constitution, Agility, Intelligence, Willpower, and Charisma—which range in value between three and eighteen, as well as a Profession. Both Kin and Profession provide an ability which are unavailable to other Kin and Professions. Various factors are derived from the attributes, notably different damage bonuses for Strength-based weapons and Agility-based weapons, plus Willpower Points. Willpower Points are expended to use magic and abilities derived from both Kin and Profession. A Player Character has sixteen skills, ranging in value from one to fourteen.

To have his player undertake an action, a player rolls a twenty-sided die. The aim is roll equal to or lower than the skill or attribute. A roll of one is called ‘rolling a dragon’ and is treated as a critical effect. A roll of twenty is called ‘rolling a demon’ and indicates a critical failure. Banes and boons are the equivalent of advantage and disadvantage. Opposed rolls are won by the player who rolls the lowest.

If a roll is failed, a player can choose to push the roll and reroll. The result supersedes the original. In pushing a roll, the Player Character acquires a Condition, for example, ‘Dazed’ for Strength or ‘Scared’ for Willpower. The player has to explain how his character acquires the Condition and his character can acquire a total of six—one for each attribute—and the player is expected to roleplay them. Mechanically, a Condition acts as a Bane in play. A Player Character can recover from one or more Conditions by resting.

Initiative is determined randomly by drawing cards numbered between one and ten, with one going first. A Player Character has two actions per round—a move and an actual action such as a melee attack, doing first aid, or casting a spell. Alternatively, a Player Character can undertake a Reaction, which takes place on an opponent’s turn in response to the opponent’s action. Typically, this is a parry or dodge, and means that the Player Character cannot take another action. If a dragon is rolled on the parry, the Player Character gets a free counterattack!

Combat takes into account weapon length, grip, length, and so on. The effects of a dragon roll, or a critical hit, can include damage being doubled and a dragon roll being needed to parry or dodge this attack, making a second attack, or piercing armour. Damage can be slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning, which determines the effectiveness of armour.

Armour has a rating, which reduces damage taken. Helmets increase Armour Rating, but work as a Bane for certain skills. If a Player Character’s Hit Points are reduced to zero, a death roll is required for him to survive, which can be pushed. Three successful rolls and the Player Character survives, whilst three failures indicate he has died. A Player Character on zero Hit Points can be rallied by another to keep fighting. Dragonbane – The Sinking Tower also includes rules for other forms of damage such as falling and poison, plus darkness and fear. Fear is covered by a Willpower check, and there is a Fear Table for the results.

A Wizard powers magic through the expenditure of Willpower Points. Typical spells cost two Willpower Points per Power Level of a spell, but just one Willpower Point for lesser spells or magic tricks. Spells are organised into schools and each school has an associated skill, which is rolled against when casting a spell. Willpower Points are lost even if the roll is failed, but rolling a dragon can double the range or damage of the spell, negate the Willpower Point cost, or allow another spell to be cast, but with a Bane. Rolling a demon simply means that the spell fails and cannot be pushed. A spell cannot be cast if the Wizard is in direct contact with either iron or steel.

Three spells and three magical tricks are given in Dragonbane – The Sinking Tower. These are all fire-related, designed for the Wizard Player Character. The magical tricks include Ignite, Heat/Chill, and Puff of Smoke, whilst the full spells are Fireball, Gust of Wind, and Pillar.

The scenario in Dragonbane – The Sinking Tower is ‘The Sinking Tower’. This is Magdala’s Tower, a malign lighthouse built and named by her sorcerer brother in remembrance of his sister, topped by a magical eye that was intended to draw the pirates who killed her to their deaths on the rocks below. In time, many more ships foundered on the rocks than the sorcerer intended and after his death, it sank beneath the sea. Every twenty years since, on the anniversary of her death, Magdala’s Tower rises again for a few hours. It gives adventurers courageous enough to row out to the tower, explore its extents and plunder its treasures, just about enough time to do so. The Player Characters are asked to recover a green emerald by a one-eyed and promised reward in return. The tower consists of seven levels, one a cellar, but each a large, single room filled with secrets and puzzles which need to be winkled out and solved before the Player Characters can proceed to the next level. In effect, the whole of the tower is a puzzle that the players will need to solve and almost everything is a clue to a puzzle somewhere in the tower. Players looking for more than a combat challenge—and there are a reasonable number of combat encounters—will enjoy the adventure as a whole.

Physically, Dragonbane – The Sinking Tower is clean and tidy. The cartography is excellent, but the artwork and illustrations are superb. They are done by Johan Egerkrans, who also illustrated Vaesen and possess a grim, if comic book sensibility.

Dragonbane – The Sinking Tower is a decently done tournament adventure, packed with puzzles and secrets that the players and their characters need to discover and solve before the time limit of the scenario. As a standard adventure, it can be played out at a more leisurely place and will be no less challenging, though without the time limit. Either way, Dragonbane – The Sinking Tower is a tightly designed, eerie dungeon adventure that pleasingly showcases DragonBane.

Quick-Start Saturday: Dragonbane

Quick-starts are a means of trying out a roleplaying game before you buy. Each should provide a Game Master with sufficient background to introduce and explain the setting to her players, the rules to run the scenario included, and a set of ready-to-play, pre-generated characters that the players can pick up and understand almost as soon as they have sat down to play. The scenario itself should provide an introduction to the setting for the players as well as to the type of adventures that their characters will have and just an idea of some of the things their characters will be doing on said adventures. All of which should be packaged up in an easy-to-understand booklet whose contents, with a minimum of preparation upon the part of the Game Master, can be brought to the table and run for her gaming group in a single evening’s session—or perhaps two. And at the end of it, Game Master and players alike should ideally know whether they want to play the game again, perhaps purchasing another adventure or even the full rules for the roleplaying game.

Alternatively, if the Game Master already has the full rules for the roleplaying game the quick-start is for, then what it provides is a sample scenario that she still run as an introduction or even as part of her campaign for the roleplaying game. The ideal quick-start should entice and intrigue a playing group, but above all effectively introduce and teach the roleplaying game, as well as showcase both rules and setting.

—oOo—

What is it?
The Dragonbane Quickstart is the quick-start for Dragonbane, the reimagining of Sweden’s first fantasy roleplaying game, Drakar och Demoner, originally published in 1982. Funded via a Kickstarter campaign by Free League Publishing in 2022, Dragonbane promises to be a roleplaying game of “mirth and mayhem”.

It includes a basic explanation of the setting, rules for actions and combat, magic, the adventure, ‘Riddermound’, and five ready-to-play, Player Characters.

It is a forty-four-page, full colour, 11.45 MB PDF.

The layout is clean and tidy. The cartography is excellent, but the artwork and illustrations are superb. They are done by Johan Egerkrans, who also illustrated Vaesen and possess a grim, if comic book sensibility.

How long will it take to play?
The Dragonbane Quickstart can be played through in a single session.

Who do you play?
The five Player Characters include a Human Wizard (Fire Elementalist), an Elf Hunter, a Mallard Knight (yes, a duck knight!), a Halfling Thief, and Wolfkin Warrior. All five Player Characters are given a two-page spread. One page is devoted to the character sheet whilst the other gives some background to the Player Character, an explanation of his abilities, and an excellent illustration. One issue is with the Human Wizard, whose player will need to refer to the magic section of the rules in the Dragonbane Quickstart to find out how his spells work. It would have been far more useful for them to be at least listed along with costs for the benefit of the Wizard’s player.

How is a Player Character defined?
A Player Character has a Kin, which can be human, halfling, dwarf, elf, mallard, or wolfkin. He also has six attributes—Strength, Constitution, Agility, Intelligence, Willpower, and Charisma—which range in value between three and eighteen, as well as a Profession. Both Kin and Profession provide an ability which are unavailable to other Kin and Professions. Various factors are derived from the attributes, notably different damage bonuses for Strength-based weapons and Agility-based weapons, plus Willpower Points. Willpower Points are expended to use magic and abilities derived from both Kin and Profession. A Player Character has sixteen skills, ranging in value from one to eighteen.

How do the mechanics work?
To have his player undertake an action, a player rolls a twenty-sided die. The aim is roll equal to or lower than the skill or attribute. A roll of one is called ‘rolling a dragon’ and is treated as a critical effect. A roll of twenty is called ‘rolling a demon’ and indicates a critical failure. Banes and boons are the equivalent of advantage and disadvantage. Opposed rolls are won by the player who rolls the lowest.

If a roll is failed, a player can choose to push the roll and reroll. The result supersedes the original. In pushing a roll, the Player Character acquires a Condition, for example, ‘Dazed’ for Strength or ‘Scared’ for Willpower. The player has to explain how his character acquires the Condition and his character can acquire a total of six—one for each attribute—and the player is expected to roleplay them. Mechanically, a Condition acts as a Bane in play. A Player Character can recover from one or more Conditions by resting.

How does combat work?
Initiative is determined randomly by drawing cards numbered between one and ten, with one going first. A Player Character has two actions per round—a move and an actual action such as a melee attack, doing first aid, or casting a spell. Alternatively, a Player Character can undertake a Reaction, which takes place on an opponent’s turn in response to the opponent’s action. Typically, this is a parry or dodge, and means that the Player Character cannot take another action. If a dragon is rolled on the parry, the Player Character gets a free counterattack!

Combat takes into account weapon length, grip, length, and so on. The effects of a dragon roll, or a critical hit, can include damage being doubled and a dragon roll being needed to parry or dodge this attack, making a second attack, or piercing armour. Damage can be slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning, which determines the effectiveness of armour.

Armour has a rating, which reduces damage taken. Helmets increase Armour Rating, but work as a Bane for certain skills. If a Player Character’s Hit Points are reduced to zero, a death roll is required for him to survive, which can be pushed. Three successful rolls and the Player Character survives, whilst three failures indicate he has died. A Player Character on zero Hit Points can be rallied by another to keep fighting. The Dragonbane Quickstart also includes rules for other forms of damage such as falling and poison, plus darkness and fear. Fear is covered by a Willpower check, and there is a Fear Table for the results.

How does magic work?
A Wizard powers magic through the expenditure of Willpower Points. Typical spells cost two Willpower Points per Power Level of a spell, but just one Willpower Point for lesser spells or magic tricks. Spells are organised into schools and each school has an associated skill, which is rolled against when casting a spell. Willpower Points are lost even if the roll is failed, but rolling a dragon can double the range or damage of the spell, negate the Willpower Point cost, or allow another spell to be cast, but with a Bane. Rolling a demon simply means that the spell fails and cannot be pushed. A spell cannot be cast if the Wizard is in direct contact with either iron or steel.

Three spells and three magical tricks are given in Dragonbane Quickstart. These are all fire-related, designed for the Wizard Player Character. The magical tricks include Ignite, Heat/Chill, and Puff of Smoke, whilst the full spells are Fireball, Gust of Wind, and Pillar.

What do you play?
The scenario in the Dragonbane Quickstart is ‘Riddermound’. This describes a burial mound called the Riddermound located in the forests of the Misty Vale and reputed to be haunted by a death knight who was once in the dragon emperor’s service. The Player Characters have come to the region in search of glory and riches, only to discover that someone has got there before them and unsealed the tomb entrance. The dungeon itself is relatively short, just nine locations in total, and being a tomb, fairly linear in nature. The dungeon has a fairly creepy atmosphere and the Game Master is encouraged to play this up in her descriptions of the various rooms. There is opportunity for a little roleplaying, but the scenario is primarily one of exploration and combat. The two major threats in the scenario each have a table of random attacks which the Game Master rolls on each time.

Is there anything missing?
In terms of what you play and how you play it, no. However, the Dragonbane Quickstart could have done with a little background on the setting with its differing ages of the land being ruled by demons and dragons. It is difficult to get this setting across to the players and perhaps some kind of briefing could have been included. Plus, it does leave players and Game Master alike to wonder about the nature of the Dragonbane world.

Is it easy to prepare?
The Dragonbane Quickstart is presented in a straightforward fashion and a Game Master should have no difficulties in readying it for a session. It could be prepared and be ready to run if a gaming group needs a last minute game in a relatively short space of time.

Is it worth it?
Yes. The Dragonbane Quickstart features clearly explained rules that most roleplayers will understand having seen similar mechanics used elsewhere. It combines this with a solid set of pre-generated Player Characters—everyone is going to want to play the Mallard Knight—and decent, grim, dungeon-bash style adventure. All of which is neatly packaged with some fantastic artwork. Where it fails is in selling the setting, but otherwise it does a very good job of explaining the core rules, and the Dragonbane Quickstart is easy to grasp and easy to play and easy to bring to the table.

Where can you get it?
The Dragonbane Quickstart is available to download here.