Dragonbane
Dragonbane is a classic fantasy tabletop roleplaying game full of magic, mystery, and adventure. It is designed from the ground up to facilitate fast and furious play, with very little prep time and adventures that are a breeze to run. This is a game with room for laughs at the table, while still offering brutal challenges for the adventurers. Free League Publishing calls this playstyle “mirth and mayhem roleplaying” – great for long campaigns, but also perfect for a one-shot. Dragonbane is a translation of Drakar och Demoner, Scandinavia’s first and biggest tabletop RPG, originally launched in 1982. This new and reimagined edition has one foot firmly planted in the heritage of decades of Swedish gaming and the other in the modern and innovative game design for which Free League Publishing is known worldwide.
Originally created by Tomas Härenstam, Andreas Marklund, Krister Sundelin
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Exploring the World of Dragonbane
Ellinor from Free League Publishing walks you through the world of Dragonbane and the kinds of things your characters might encounter on their adventures.
Create Your First Dragonbane Character
Ellinor from Free League Publishing walks you through how to make a character in Dragonbane!
Combat in Dragonbane
Fighting is just part of life for any adventurer in the world of Dragonbane, and you better know what you're doing or you'll be dead within seconds! Luckily for you, Ellinor from Free League Publishing is here to give you a brief overview of what can go down and how you best prepare for sticky situation!
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Explore Dragonbane Profession
Artisan
With a decent hammer, a trowel, and mortar, a skilled artisan can astonish even the gods. They are proud individuals, these tamers of nature and physical matter. Whether they be builders, bricklayers, wainwrights, blacksmiths, tanners, or coopers, the artisans are driven by a solemn mission to bring order and structure out of chaos. They construct bridges, houses, and fortifications, forge weapons and tools, mold pots and jugs, make barrels, and craft leather armor from tanned animal hides. Every village needs capable artisans, and they are often greatly respected for their practical and extremely useful expertise.
Bard
The memory of ancient deeds and riches is kept alive by the bards. They are singers, musicians, and entertainers. Many travel between inns and marketplaces where they earn their keep through the telling of ballads and fairy tales; others perform at princely courts, reciting glorious poems of dragons and heroic kings. Many bards see themselves as chroniclers responsible for preserving contemporary deeds in the memory of future generations. They are always on the lookout for people and achievements worthy of being immortalized in epic verse, and any bard worth their salt is always working on at least a few masterpieces of song, music, or poetry.
Fighter
Warriors earn their living by following the way of the sword. It may of course also be the way of the spear or crossbow, but a warrior's specialty is always weapon proficiency and violence. But this is not to say that all warriors are driven by bloodlust. For some it is a matter of professional pride to achieve the maximum effect with minimal bloodshed; others are lazy and prefer saber-rattling to actual combat. Many warriors are troubled souls, haunted by nightmares and bad memories of a life spent in the company of death. They can therefore be surprisingly sentimental, prone to tears and compassionate embraces.
Hunter
Snaring hares, knifing boars, and silently stalking deer in the depths of the forest with arrows on their bowstrings. Hunters live for the hunt and the catch. Killing one's prey in a respectful manner and making use of all its parts - for food, clothes, tools, and weapons - is a sacred calling for all true hunters. Their home and destiny are in the wilds; the magnificent, untamed, and cruel. That is where they find peace of mind and gather their strength. That is where their ruthless gods dwell. Many hunters are therefore quite solitary and sometimes find it difficult to behave properly among people.
Knight
Knights are warriors who have sworn fealty to a higher power, such as an order of knights, a liege lord, or a god. This oath of fealty lies at the heart of their worldview and existence. It always includes rules and principles the knight must obey in thought and deed. Demands for chivalry and a noble mind are often combined with an implacable hatred for anything deemed contrary to the spirit of the oath. Many knights are part of an order, but there are also lone knights who have devoted their lives to defending something specific - perhaps a person or a place - that gives their lives a higher purpose.
Mage
Mages have learned to control the ancient forces that permeate nature and the primordial structures of the world. It is not a uniform profession, but includes a motley crew of individualists and headstrong eccentrics. There are several schools of magic with different views of what magic is and how it works. In the core game you can choose between Animism, Elementalism, and Mentalism. Animists believe that everything in the world has a spiritual presence and see magic as a power lent by nature's spirits. Elementalists describe magic in terms of four elements that constitute the essence of all things. Mentalists say that magic comes from within, and that it can be manifested through self-control and discipline.
Mariner
Foaming waves and ships sailing fearlessly through dark waters are the domain and calling of the mariner. Some seafarers are forever sworn to the high seas; others stick to rivers and lakes. But all of them have one thing in common: a symbiotic relationship with the element of water- often a specific lake, river, or bay. This relationship is always complicated, based on love, respect, and mortal dread in equal measure. Otherwise, the seafaring profession is wide and varied, covering everything from coastal pirates, privateers, and surly ferrymen to whalers, explorers, and authoritative captains of maritime trade expeditions.
Merchant
Buying cheap and selling dear is the golden rule of merchants. No commodity is too commonplace, no deal too small or insignificant. Inside every piece of copper is a future gold coin, and inside every creature - living or undead - is a customer with needs and dreams of luxury. The only thing more important than the customer's wishes is the sweet clatter of gold and silver pouring into the coffers. Some merchants run permanent shops in towns, villages, and other settlements. Others travel with trade caravans and adventuring companies in constant search of exotic luxury goods, new customers, and marketable artifacts.
Scholar
Scholarly individuals gather knowledge about the nature and shrouded history of the world. They seek the truth in order to understand the unseen forces and deep structures that hold the universe together as a single entity. Some are specialists with specific areas of expertise such as monsters, plants, or dead languages. Others pride themselves in avoiding limitations and dedicating themselves to an all-encompassing, non-dis- criminatory pursuit of knowledge where the mating calls of dragons, the foaming of beer, and the inner workings of minerals are all covered by the same academic system. Scholars are often well-versed in myths, legends, and folklore, and have learned to decipher ancient languages and forgotten scripts.
Thief
Thieves see themselves as professional experts specialized in the acquisition of other people's property. It is a proud and surprisingly principled profession. They like to refer to solemn principles of honor and honesty among thieves something that is often hard to take seriously for theft victims and other outsiders. Many thieves organize themselves into guilds; others take pride in working independently and walk alone through the night and the shadows. Some are discreet specialists whose only method is guile, but the thief profession also includes brutal brigands who do not hesitate to use weapons to achieve their ends.