Dragonbane: A Triumphant Return to Fantasy’s Wild Side

Free League Publishing, known for haunting mood pieces like Vaesen and Mörk Borg, has taken a bold left turn with Dragonbane—a modern reimagining of Drakar och Demoner, Sweden’s oldest and most beloved roleplaying game. What results is a spirited, strange, and deceptively clever RPG that bucks trends in the best ways possible. If Dungeons & Dragons is the suit-and-tie face of tabletop fantasy, Dragonbane is its weird, beer-sipping cousin who still knows how to run a tight game. Clocking in at over 40 years of legacy, Dragonbane isn't just a retro callback—it’s a resurrection. And by leaning into its roots while trimming the fat of modern RPG bloat, it becomes one of the most refreshingly fun fantasy games in recent memory.

 A System for Mayhem, Not Math

Let’s start with the mechanics: Dragonbane is a roll-under, d20-based system where you succeed if you roll equal to or less than your skill value. That’s it. No confusing modifiers. No nested rolls. No degrees of success charts. Just fast, brutal simplicity. At first glance, it may seem too simple, especially to players raised on the multi-layered math machines of Pathfinder or D&D 5E. But therein lies Dragonbane’s hidden genius: it’s built for momentum, not optimization. The system wants you to keep playing, not get bogged down in rules.

A few elements stand out. Boons and Banes need an edge? Roll two d20s and take the better (or worse) result. It’s an advantage/disadvantage with a Nordic twist. You can reroll a failed check, but with a cost. Pushed rolls lead to negative conditions like “Angry” or “Exhausted”—adding storytelling flavor while forcing risk-reward decisions. Instead of tracking dozens of granular stats, the game uses narrative "states" that affect how your character behaves or performs. This isn't just cleaner—it’s funnier and more immersive.

Combat is fast, bloody, and far more tactical than its stripped-down mechanics imply. Every swing can be parried or dodged—but only as long as you have stamina. When you run out (and you will run out), you’re suddenly relying on your party and your prayers. Add in fumbles, critical hits, and optional monstrous attacks that vary round-to-round, and fights become wild, memorable affairs full of desperate rolls and “what just happened?” laughter. Magic is handled through a Willpower system: mages burn WP to cast spells, and regaining it isn’t easy. Casting too often can leave you defenseless, or worse, unconscious. Magic is powerful, but always comes with danger—and that’s exactly how fantasy spellcasting should feel.

Yes, You Can Play a Duck

The playable species list alone should tell you this game has a sense of humor. You’ve got the expected fantasy races—humans, elves, dwarves, halflings—but also Wolfkin (furry warriors with big emotions) and the now-iconic Mallard: a humanoid duck race with big weapons and even bigger attitudes. What sounds like a joke actually has deep roots in Scandinavian RPG history. The Ducks were part of the original Drakar och Demoner, and Free League wisely kept them in, leaning into their oddball charm rather than sanitizing the setting. They embody the tone of Dragonbane perfectly, playful, weird, and earnest all at once. Character creation is fast and story-driven. Choose a kin (species), a profession (class), and a few signature abilities. Your stats are generated quickly, and the game encourages play right away. No need to study feat trees or pore over 400 pages of lore—just roll, equip, and get into trouble.

 

Misty Vale: A Setting That Doesn’t Take Itself Too Seriously

The game’s starter adventure is set in the Misty Vale, a tight sandbox region full of dungeons, secrets, and surprisingly tragic monsters. Think early Greyhawk filtered through a Swedish metal band’s fever dream. But make no mistake: Dragonbane isn’t interested in self-important world-building. The lore is light, modular, and full of opportunity for GMs to stamp their own flavor on it. The tone veers between earnest fantasy and offbeat absurdity—one moment you're talking to a weeping dragon who just wants a friend, the next you're fending off a cult that worships a glowing chicken. That balance of humor and sincerity is where Dragonbane shines brightest. It doesn’t parody fantasy—it celebrates it, quirks and all. You can absolutely run a grim, survivalist campaign with this system… but the game engine is more comfortable when players are laughing mid-combat and giving their Mallard bard a third chance to seduce a vampire.

Everything in the box is thoughtfully designed and clearly presented. The art by Johan Egerkrans is a highlight—expressive, bold, and slightly twisted. It captures the tone of the game better than any paragraph ever could. It’s heroic, but never overly serious. Weird, but never off-putting. This isn’t just a rulebook in a box—it’s an entire game night experience waiting to happen.

 

What Dragonbane Does Right

You can teach it in under 15 minutes, and players will be rolling confidently before the hour is up. It’s a great intro game for beginners, and a breath of fresh air for veterans tired of mechanical bloat. The game encourages dramatic, cinematic moments—success and failure are both opportunities for roleplay. It's as much about how something happens as if it happens. Few fantasy games balance danger, drama, and absurdity so well. Dragonbane wants you to take your characters seriously, but not take the world too seriously. It’s fun first, and that’s a rare and welcome philosophy in 2025. From the layout to the artwork to the sheer volume of useful tools in the box, Free League once again proves why they’re the gold standard of physical RPG publishing.

If you love deep character optimization, Dragonbane might feel light. Characters are relatively simple, and there’s little mechanical differentiation between a level 1 and level 5 fighter beyond a few extra tricks. Some players want their fantasy served straight-faced, with Elvish poems and strict cosmology. Dragonbane’s gonzo moments and tongue-in-cheek NPCs might throw off more serious groups. While the Misty Vale sandbox offers great short-term fun, there’s not a ton of high-level or long-campaign material yet, though Free League is rapidly expanding the line.

Dragonbane is a love letter to fantasy roleplaying that remembers why we all gathered around the table in the first place: to laugh, to tell stories, and to create chaos with friends. It doesn’t chase trends. It doesn’t bog you down with math. It simply wants you to have a good time—and gives you all the tools to do so. If you want crunch, prestige classes, or deeply political lore… maybe look elsewhere. But if you want a game where you can play a sarcastic duck warrior who charges into battle riding a stolen pig, while your elf mage lights trees on fire and your dwarf keeps arguing with ghosts?

Dragonbane is your new favorite fantasy game

Dragonsbane final grade: B 

Fiercely fun, fast to learn, and filled with bizarre charm. A chaotic good comeback for a chaotic good classic.