Dragonbane

Overview

Dragonbane is a classic fantasy tabletop roleplaying game published by Free League Publishing in 2023. It is a modern English translation and reimagining of
Drakar och Demoner
Drakar och DemonerDrakar och Demoner ("Dragons and Demons," commonly abbreviated DoD) is Sweden's first and longest-ru...Beginner-friendlyRules-lightLow-Fantasy
, Scandinavia's first and longest-running TTRPG, originally released in 1982. The game carries over four decades of Swedish gaming heritage into a sleek, accessible package designed around the philosophy of "mirth and mayhem": fast-paced adventures with minimal prep, where danger is real, luck matters, and even a humble merchant can become a legend. Unlike many modern fantasy RPGs, Dragonbane deliberately avoids the power-escalation treadmill of level-based systems. Characters are capable but mortal from session one, and the game works equally well for a single one-shot evening or a sprawling long-term campaign. It was a strong contender for TTRPG of the year on release, praised widely as one of the most accessible entry points into tabletop fantasy roleplaying.

Description

In Dragonbane, players take on the role of adventurers in the Misty Vale, a hidden mountain valley, ancient and full of ruins from fallen kingdoms, only recently cleared of orc and goblin occupation. The world is shaped by the eternal cosmic struggle between two great powers: the Dragons and the Demons, rival godlike forces whose conflict bleeds into mortal life. Players choose from six playable Kins: Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, the duck-like Mallards, and the feral Wolfkin and one of ten Professions (Fighter, Mage, Hunter, Thief, Artisan, Merchant, Mariner, Scholar, and others), each providing a distinct set of skills and heroic abilities. One player takes the role of the Game Master (GM), who builds the world, voices NPCs, and runs the dangers the adventurers face. The tone balances genuine peril and dark fantasy with moments of levity and absurdity.

Key features

Roll-Under D20 Skill System

Dragonbane uses a clean roll-under mechanic. Every skill has a rating from 1 to 18, and to succeed, the player must roll equal to or below that number on a D20. There is no adding up bonuses or consulting modifiers, a skill of 14 means you need a 14 or lower. This keeps the math fast and intuitive while still creating meaningful differences between a trained and an untrained character.

Rolling a Dragon & Rolling a Demon

Natural 1s and 20s are not just successes and failures, they're narrative events. Rolling a 1 is "Rolling a Dragon": a critical success that triggers powerful, flavourful special effects. Rolling a 20 is "Rolling a Demon": a critical failure with immediate consequences. This naming convention ties the dice directly into the world's mythology and gives every roll dramatic weight.

Push Your Luck

If a skill roll fails, the player can choose to Push it, picking up the dice and rolling again. But every die that fails a second time inflicts a Condition. Characters can become Exhausted, Sickly, Dazed, Angry, Scared, or Disheartened, each imposing a specific mechanical penalty. Pushing is rarely free, and the decision of whether to push adds meaningful tension to every uncertain roll..

Willpower Points & Heroic Abilities

Each character has a pool of Willpower Points (WP), a resource spent to activate their Profession's Heroic Abilities. A Fighter might spend WP to make a devastating counterattack; a Mage burns it to cast spells. Willpower represents the spark of exceptionalism that separates adventurers from ordinary folk, and managing it carefully is central to play.

Card-Based Initiative

Combat initiative is determined by drawing from a shuffled deck of initiative tokens. One per character and one per monster group. This creates a genuinely unpredictable turn order every round, keeping both players and GM on their toes and preventing the predictability of fixed initiative lists.

Kin & Profession, Not Class & Level

Character creation is fast: pick a Kin, pick a Profession, assign starting skills. After play begins, advancement is open: characters grow by spending experience on skills of their choice, unconstrained by class restrictions. This avoids the feeling of "wrong builds" and keeps development tied to what the characters actually do in play.

Active games and players

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DND5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5E
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San Francisco
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Dan
37m. I have a backgound in several Tabletop Wargames, and have always wanted to participate in TTRPG Campaigns, but never found a consistent group.
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Posted 19 hours ago
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DND5.5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E (2024)
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Dallas
Online
Bryan
I'm a new player to table top RPG's and interested in learning D&D using the 2024 ruleset. I have never really played any table top RPG's before but played RPG video games. I live in the Dallas Texas area and are also open to in-game sessions as well. I dont have any reservations as I dont fully know what to expect but interested in learning everything.
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Savage Worlds
Savage Worlds
CoC
Call of Cthulhu
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Marlon
Hello, fellow gamers. My name is Marlon, but everyone calls me Jay-long story there that I won’t get into. Anyways, I’m the forever DM in my family, and I run weekly podcast games for my wife. We’ve designed a tabletop RPG called Prosperon: A Bio‑Cyberpunk RPG, and we’re actively looking for more playtesters. If that interests you, shoot me a message and we’ll make it happen. With that being said, I’m also an active player in several games. I’m currently in a Blades in the Dark campaign every Thursday, which is absolutely amazing, and I have a few open biweekly days where I can commit to another game-as long as it’s the right game, the right crew, and the right day and time. That’s all for now. Take care, and don’t forget-have fun at your table.
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DND5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5E
DND5.5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E (2024)
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Online
Michelle
The storyteller Narrative minimalist
Let’s go on an adventure together! I'm looking for a free, cooperative, consent-based, story-focused TTRPG table. I enjoy character-driven games with party relationships, meaningful combat, exploration, mystery, downtime, and earned emotional moments. Ideal balance: about 40% roleplay, 20% combat, 40% exploration. I like sincere games with humor, but not constant bits, edgelord behavior, or main character syndrome. I fit best with players who share spotlight, cooperate, respect boundaries, and care about everyone’s character mattering. Consent and safety are important to me. Heavy themes, PvP, romance/flirting, sexual content, intense character conflict, or major effects on another PC should be discussed first. Lines and veils should be respected. I’m in Hawaiʻi Time / UTC-10. Weekends are best, and I prefer 2–3 hour sessions. I’m open to voice, PBP, or hybrid formats. Not a good fit for bigotry, disruptive rules-lawyering, non-cooperative play, unconsented PvP/romance/sexual content, trauma dumping, or using RPGs as therapy.
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CoC
Call of Cthulhu
DB
Dragonbane
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Duncan
Jon
I played white box D&D as a kid, fell awayv from the hobby for decades, and came back to it as an old man. I like collaborative world-building, letting the dice tell the story, and meeting new people.
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DND5E
Dungeons & Dragons 5E
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Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E (2024)
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St. Thomas
Nick
Tone chameleon The storyteller
I enjoy trying new systems, I typically GM but would also like to join games as a player. I often host in-person one-shots where other GMs and I try out new systems, if you're in the area and interested to run or play something let me know! I'm not interested in online or paid games.
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