Short: Cool simple system Quickstart does showcase mostly dungeon crawling, but system itself seems quite flexible in terms of supported gameplay.

Long: I will say that the system in quickstart is quite fun and does allow for interesting choices despite it's simplicity (even if resource management isn't everyone's cup of tea). Also, one of the players brought up how all characters felt kinda same-y due to not having many unique moves and such I will say that the biggest problem for this quickstart is that it's a sole quickstart - the game's website points at the system accomodating for non-combat gameplay too, but this is the only quickstart and it's a dungeon crawl. Not everyone's cup of tea, even the crawl included was interesting. So yeah, nice system, but it could use a quickstart showcasing other gameplay styles it can be used for. It sure seems less focused rules-wise on dungeon crawling than dnd5e (even though i suspect this game is more suited for dungeon crawls than dnd5e, despite this).

A good solid quick start for a super game. Dragonbane is now my go to Fantasy RPG. Try this and then you'll want to buy the full game. Just do it, its great. :)

Dragonbane Quickstart

To test the Swedish fantasy role-playing game Dragonbane, there is a free quickstart rulebook that presents the basic rules in a condensed form. It also includes one of the adventure locations, the Riddermound, from the Core Set as a playable adventure.

Of course, the quickstart comes without character creation and development rules, but offers five pre-made characters instead. Also providing a playable setting, the quickstart is clearly limited to the essential rules, which were compressed into about 20 pages.

The quickstart thus offers everything necessary to play the demo scenario, but no more. For example, only the spells available to the corresponding pre-made character are described.

The Dragonbane Quickstart is therefore an ideal starter booklet to try out the game and get a first impression of the roleplaying game without having to buy the excellent Core Set (see review at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product_reviews_info.php?&reviews_id=912416&products_id=418106 )– not only because the quickstart is available for free. Furthermore, the condensed rules summary may also be suitable for players, provided they can resist the temptation to peek into the adventure that is part of the Misty Vale campaign.

(Björn Lippold)

Dragonbane puede parecer difícil y muy aterrador (como todo juego de rol), pero a medida que comprendes las reglas, descubres que puedes y que no hacer, verás que este basto mundo, estará abierto para ti en todo sentido. Ya seas experto en esto de Juegos de Rol, o simplemente quieras aprender y emprender una aventura nueva y fresca. Creo que este TTRPG será el indicado para esta gran experiencia.

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Dragonbane Quickstart

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- Dragonbane Quickstart System- Dragonbane Producer- Free League Publishing Price- FREE here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/409397/Dragonbane-Quickstart?cPath=27806_43182?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- DnD 5e, The Dark Eye, Call of Cthulhu, and for some reason Savage Words had an awesome baby! 91%

Basics- Time for something different! Dragonbane is a new edition of an older Scandinavian RPG. Let’s look at this new yet old RPG!

Base mechanics- This is the mix of 5e and The Dark Eye. Everything is a d20 roll where you try to roll under a skill. More skill ranks mean more likely to succeed. The solid 5e parts are the notions of advantage/boon and disadvantage/bane. It functions just like in 5e! But even more fun is pushing the roll. That's exactly like Call of Cthulhu. You failed a roll? You can reroll, but things get worse if you fail.

Combat, turns, and reactions- Time for Savage Worlds to stride in! Combat initiative is a deck of cards numbered 1 to 10, so not a perfect copy, but high card goes first instead of high roll goes first. Players on their turn take an action and move like DnD, BUT you can instead interrupt another action to dodge or parry an attack. You roll a d20 vs a skill level to attack or dodge and if you succeed, you deal damage or jump out of the way. Damage is rolled like DnD, but armor reduces damage instead of adding to an AC. When you act, you turn your card over until the next round starts. When anything hits zero HP it's down.

Willpower and magic- In addition to hit points, you also have will power. Will power is kind of like MP in any other RPG. You spend will power to cast spells and to do special abilities. Some abilities and spells have levels where you spend more power you hit even harder. And just like above, you roll vs your own skill to do the ability.

Ok, thats the basics! Time for the review.

Mechanics or Crunch- The mechanics here are all the things I love. Roll under is an amazing mechanic! Advantage and disadvantage and d20 dice for fantasy are always a solid addition. Cards are a fun way to do init that is not crazy hard to do, but different enough to be novel. I love Final Fantasy and adding magic points in is a fun way for me to do something just a bit different. I love what’s here for mechanics! 5/5

Theme or Fluff- This is the hard part for me about this book. The pictures are good, the book has a simple adventure AND sample characters. The worlds looks interesting, BUT there isnt any real discussion of the world and environment. I like what I see, but I just wish I knew what it was about more. 3.75/5

Execution- This is a free, hypertext, PDF with an adventure, MAPS, characters, character art, and solid layout. THIS IS WHAT I LOVE! 5/5

Summary-Just go get this. It’s free and it’s well done. This is all the toys I love in an RPG oneshot. It's got all the things I want in a solid book. My one major issue is I want more worldbuilding. That’s a problem I hope is solved in the complete book, so I can’t suggest this enough! 92%