Dragonbane RPG from the solo perspective - Overview / Review / Solo campaign set up

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[@shawntomkin]

I am clearly not objective as I worked on the solo stuff for the core set, but I agree it's a great system. Fun and flavorful, and the boxed set is an incredible value. Very solo friendly.

[@davidrath7828]

What? How did I miss the fact that you worked on this? That's awesome. I am currently playing my first Ironsworn campaign and plan to draw from the amazing new bestiary for Dragonbane. Thanks for all that you do for solo players!

[@Sylentmana]

Please pass on my regards to the team and the artist. You all outdid yourselves.

[@chrisdonovan8795]

When Daniel said your HP are based strictly on Charisma, my mind instantly tried to make that work.... "I'm the best! Swords and arrows are nothing compared to my destiny of greatness!"

[@TheDungeonDive]

LOL! I like when mistakes are funny :)

[@angelalvarezcine]

I love this game, it has shelved everything else since I started playing. So easy to homebrew too, but you're right, I hope they add more oracles and tables for encounters and such. Thank you for covering it!

[@xradio19x]

Thank you so much for covering this. I've been eyeballing this as a solo player and this helps so much. You rule !

[@chrisdonovan8795]

The Forbidden Lands box set was such a deal. According to today's practices, it should've cost around $75. I paid 45. Also, the game practically runs itself.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Free League keeps almost all of their price super reasonable. They're just a great company.

[@carlwoods4564]

I was considering forbidden lands as I like the idea of wilderness survival. But wasnt sure about the setting?

[@chrisdonovan8795]

@@carlwoods4564 The basic idea behind the setting is great. There was something called the Blood Mist that ripped people to shreds at night if they left their homes. Hundreds of years later, it began to stop and people began to explore again. Unfortunately, they've foolishly included a loooong, boring history of wars, rulers and religions and occasionally intertwined these facts throughout the very cool randomized tables and events. They made at least one of the included adventures heavily dependent on it to the point where it warns you to read that boring history before you read the adventure. Roleplayers want to make their own stories. They don't want to read someone's PhD fantasy written history. In other words, some people enjoy reading Tolkien's Simarillion, but most don't. It wasn't meant to be published. They should've reduced the history to one page. Other than that, Forbidden Lands is a masterpiece. It really is.

[@carlwoods4564]

@@chrisdonovan8795 What is it about it you like it the most?

[@chrisdonovan8795]

@@carlwoods4564 I like three elements equally. The core system creates an interesting narrative. You can push a roll to succeed, but hurt yourself in the process. The same goes for equipment. The random generation of ruins, dungeons and settlements makes for a unique playthrough with your group. In addition, the layout of the map, the season and the proximity of friendly towns makes travel decisions meaningful. Lastly, the random events while traveling offer mini adventures that could interact with everything else in the game.

[@philmcdowell3968]

So great. I just got this for my first rpg and first ever solo play. Really looking forward to seeing you cover more of this!

[@ike_d5402]

The commentary at the beginning about box sets is spot on. I don't have many, but the new box sets for Starfinder, Runequest, Dragonbane, Twitlight 2000 are awesome. Though, I was a bit disappointed by the Cyberpunk box. I still have an unpunched Marvels box from the early 90s and these take me back to the feeling that gave me when opening it.

[@TheDungeonDive]

There are so many great choices out there.

[@TheFatalT]

Great review. I backed it (mostly because of solo mode and playable ducks, not gonna lie) but haven’t been able to get it on the table yet. Your review has definitely gotten me motivated to play soon. Had to pre-order the upcoming Bestiary book along with new standees. Can never have enough!

[@perplexingruins]

A great look at what I think is a great package! So much value. I share some of the same criticisms as you: 3-4 Encounter tables would have been so easy to add in! wilderness, settlement, dungeon, travel...and yes, the OSE treasure section is still more interesting, alas... regardless, a fully devoted solo kit is awesome, and those standees! Lookingto do some solo DB this winter season - would love to see a follow up on your session, that volcano/event Ud is a brilliant idea!

[@ArkhBaegor]

Wow, love the usage die system, I'll definitely use it for stuff like torches

[@TheDungeonDive]

I love UD systems.

[@sethpeterson8261]

I really Usage die systems too. Quite a few games use it now, but I can't remember which was the first. Burning Wheel from early 2000's is probably the first time I remember seeing it, but they probably got it from an older game (wait... did the old 80's Star Wars games have a similar system too?). More recently Black Hack seems to be what revived it though

[@chrisdonovan8795]

@@sethpeterson8261 Dungeon World/Apocalypse World had ammo boxes. You voluntarily checked one off as a trade off for a bad roll. It's similar in concept.

[@jean-sebastienh.8789]

Thx for the review!!! I agree with the fact that the map in this box is just amazing!!! Also there's a combat mat in the box which was a really nice add! Small, but very useful to materialize your combat sequence! Also..Ducks!!! Reminded me of Bucky O'Hare stuff in a fantasy setting! Agree with you that it would have been nice to have a kind of "book of random encounters and adventures" ! Anyway, thx again!

[@danroberts007]

Thank you for this overview. I backed the Kickstarter and still haven't pulled the shrinkwrap off, but now I'm going to dive in and check it out. Good to know about the Bestiary pre-order. The hardcover rulebook description indicates it's the same rulebook from the box set with an added introductory adventure, so I'm assuming no new/advanced rules in that.

[@pwr41]

Thanks for this video! I purchased Dragonbane right after watching your video. Looks great and I love your character's backstory. So fleshed out with just a few sentences of backstory and I feel the world he's in. Plus, that map reminds me of Greyhawk's old map. Had to buy it.

[@TheDungeonDive]

It's such a great map.

[@BeAHeroGaming]

Great review! Makes me want to get this game out and play. I love the “level up” mechanic - very unique among RPG’s.

[@luffysh]

I completely agree. This game needs ore GM section: travel, magic items, magic schools, GM tools and tables...

[@marcelmartins2377]

I heard good things bout this game before, but was really needing an extra push to jump on it. you made me give a try. And DUCK folk for the win!

[@GasFayce]

Free League is on fire with their products, being a Tolkien geek I love their LOTR RPG, I also bought Bladerunner, cant go wrong with any of their products!

[@christophergough5366]

This is a fantastic review and summary.

[@marccaron6008]

DB has been my favourite solo game since I received by KS starter box. The illustrations are superb. The adventures are fun to solo play even if not written for solo. Bought the Bestiary pre-order with the new standees.

[@TheDungeonDive]

It’s a great solo game.

[@jonathanstutzman7757]

I really like how the solo rules are focused into a specific adventure context. It's a great way to get you playing the game right away. I haven't tried it yet but it seems like the 10 GM adventures could be adapted pretty easily to the point crawl method of the solo play. Obviously there is GM info players shouldn't know but if you played each scene just from the official gm description that is read aloud to the players and use oracles for the rest to create the scenes, it seems like it could work well. Maybe throw in a few 'unknown' rooms to vary things up.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Yeah. It’s a great way to teach them.

[@RichardGaskin]

I believe dungeon crawls are metaphors for our lives, in particular our spiritual development. The monsters we fight are extreme forms of human weaknesses. Our triumph over them is our increasing awareness as we gain experience. XP is maturity. Intentional or not, I think dungeon crawls speak to us because they cut to the essence of the human experience, in elaborately entertaining form.

[@RichardGaskin]

YT's odd UI placed this comment here while I was replying on Rob's Tabletop World. But it works here too, I suppose. Glad someone liked it. :)

[@TheDungeonDive]

I thought it worked well! :)

[@carlwoods4564]

Very interesting. Never thoughg of it like that before. Thanks for this.

[@BeAHeroGaming]

Yes indeed!

[@majdees]

this will go perfectly with Mythic GME 2nd ed for solo play 😍

[@highlevelgaming7893]

I bought the game due to your review of it in another video. I don't regret it all. I think it is best starting kit I've ever purchased. More importantly, character creation and gameplay are outstanding. I really hope they expand the game a little bit more with another adventure book or some further bestiary and standees for characters, NPCs, and more enemies. This was an excellent review of solo game. Thanks.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@Civ2boss]

28:40 I think for the solo heroic abilities you got something wrong, you're supposed to only choose two heroic abilities in total (as opposed to one only in multiplayer play), so you can choose both of those special solo ones (army of one, sole survivor) but then you won't also get one of the ones in the rulebook.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Or I can play it how I want to. :). As a solo RPG the rules are just guidelines. But thanks for pointing that out! There are 37 other mistakes in the video. Can you find them all? But yeah. I think with solo RPGs I tend to like my characters to feel a bit over powered, so I just went with all the powers! :)

[@fightingfortruth9806]

I like the concept here of a lightweight, fast-paced solo RPG. I'm tempted to get this, but I think I can simulate the same thing just using an old-school RPG clone like S&W or OSE. Stoneaxe is a great channel for learning how to run solo RPGs with many systems.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Oh yeah! He and I have many similar videos and styles. I've interviewed Paul here on the channel. Make sure to check out my extensive Solo RPG playlist for tons of information and learning resources!

[@crushingit5128]

Im eagerly awaiting the League Of Dungeoneers 2nd printing as my first foray into solo rpging. Dragonbane's whole starter pack w/ maps and standees reminds me of LoD but lighter with components. Which is great! However, do you think DragonBane is solo friendly for a solo rookie that never played a TTRPG? The solo book seems shallow and the general adventure book doesnt seem to have much direction in the sense of what the GM/Party should be doing next in the game. Just some random non-essential description tables to use at your leisure and its up to the players/GM if they want to utilize any of them. I can see why a solo player would have to combine these books and homebrew something that works for a more solo grand campaign. IDK I might be off here.

[@TheDungeonDive]

You would have to learn how to play a solo TTRPG, and this could be a good one. I still think Scarlet Heroes is best for that.

[@charlieduer3012]

Hey Daniel, I’m new to TTRPGs and Boardgames but I’ve gotten pretty hooked lately. I’ve been enjoying your channel and definitely seem to have similar interests to yours. Just wanted to say thanks and also I was curious where that picture in the beginning with the man making wind comes from?

[@TheDungeonDive]

Hey, welcome to the hobby! The image in this intro is from a collection of old public domain images I got from drive thru rpg.

[@AceSpec]

I was really excited about this game, and utilizing the rules to incorporate other games into this system. Mainly Heroquest…. But then I found out that the bestiary doesn’t treat Orcs, Goblins and Skeletons as monsters… kind of the opposite of Heroquest. 😆

[@omegaomtv]

The adventures book, has the random charts for exploring the land. They should of put that in the main book. As for the treasure card. you can just say some of those card items has a chance to be magical artifact. But believe they will have all that gm stuff in future expansions.

[@TheDungeonDive]

But there are no rules for what a magical thing does in the game.

[@sampokeskitalo3766]

I was going to suggest checking out Ruin Masters, which Dragonbane is atleast a spiritual successor to (uses the same art and standee sheet) but had to reread it myself first (two weeks later, yay). It has tables for large scale exploration (farmlands, woods, hills) and random dungeon crawling which makes solo playing easy even if there aren't official solo rules. The game also has magic items and the whole magic system is based on "spell containers" like rings, potions etc, no "spellcasting" per se. No classes either btw, everyone is an adventurer and advance as they see fit. Ruin Masters suffered from poor translation and the game is very dead, no idea how hard it is to find in states. It has a certain charm to it that only flawed games do and it's not leaving my collection even though I might not ever play it other than solo.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Thanks! That sounds cool. I'll have to keep my eyes open for it.

[@ArkhBaegor]

The artstyle is SO good

[@sethpeterson8261]

It is. Almost all of the art in it is taken directly from the most previous version, Ruin Masters, but that game also has a ton more art as well (and I think the layout showcases the art a bit better too). They're both beautiful books though.

[@johnberry5296]

Really good overview of a brilliant game. I agree on the treasure front and there is a cheap set of 54 additional treasure cards on Drivethru which add some variety (but no magic items), I’m going to rule if I roll a dragon on a d20 when looting I have a 50/50 chance of finding a magic item (that I will fudge at the time). Lastly, Scott Malthouse (writer of Romance of the Perilous Land, Quill, etc) has done another solo campaign for /Dragonbane (also on Drivethru)

[@TheDungeonDive]

They really need to provide at least basic rules for magical items and more unique loot.

[@johnberry5296]

FWIW, I feel Dragonbane is already a stronger proposition than Forbidden Lands (especially solo)

[@TheDungeonDive]

I like it more - it's simpler.

[@Mind_of_MATT]

Once you've played more Dragonbane I wouldn't mind a comparison between it & Scarlet Heroes for solo play, if you're so inclined.

[@marccaron6008]

I get what you are saying about magic items but from what I have read Draka Och Demoner didn't have many magical items. They are super rare and almost always artifacts or legendary. It's not the same vibe as D&D. DoD grognards have told me we have to deprogram our minds. But it's your solo game, you do you! Cheers!

[@TheDungeonDive]

Unique magical items are something I enjoy, and I would hope that a game set in a fantastical world with tons of magic, magical creatures, duck folk and weirdness would have a much more creative loot system. I would understand the lack of magical items and unique loot if this was some kind of low fantasy world where magic is super rare and unique, but it's not, so for me it feels like something is missing in this. But that's just my little opinion in the vast sea of opinions. :)

[@arikwolf3777]

So what game's loot system would you replace Dragonbane's loot system with? I.E. What game has the best loot system (and why) in your opinion? I never heard of the Usage Die system. It sound fantastic. I already decided to incorporate this system to other games I play.

[@TheDungeonDive]

I would just want rules for magic weapons and charts of magical gear. So many games have that. As far back as D&D.

[@ilijaknezevic8370]

The lack of magic items, as well as lack of bestiary "cue" as stated in the video kinda bothers me. How would one defeat a dragon or a giant without them? I suppose that answers to those questions are given in the Bestiary? Would anyone care to share the experience with the Bestiary book, (also if there is more explanation on the loot "drops" ) etc?

[@Rich_H_1972]

Check out the core rulebook and bestiary books coming out. Have the PDFs already and they are awesome. Packed full of stuff.

[@sethpeterson8261]

Trying to decide on the hardbacks myself. I don't like the game much, but I dislike this boxed set and wouldn't mind replacing it with hardbacks just for the collection. Can you tell me if the new core rulebook added the solo rules into it? Also anything else cool in the BEstiary?

[@Rich_H_1972]

@@sethpeterson8261 I'm not seeing anything in the PDF of the hardback rules with regard to solo play. I may be missing them but I've scanned through it and searched and nothing comes up). Best way of finding out may be to contact FL and ask if they are going to release the solo book as a standalone PDF rather than as part of the starter set. The Bestiary is a significant expansion on creatures and monsters though. This is going to look horrid on here, but these are the contents... NIGHTKIN Goblin ......................................................................................6 Hobgoblin ...............................................................................8 Ogre ....................................................................................... 10 Orc .......................................................................................... 12 RARE KIN Cat People ............................................................................ 16 Centaur ................................................................................. 18 Fairy ....................................................................................... 20 Frog People .......................................................................... 22 Harpy ..................................................................................... 24 Karkion ................................................................................. 26 Lizard People ...................................................................... 28 Mermaid ............................................................................... 30 Minotaur .............................................................................. 32 Naiad ..................................................................................... 34 Satyr ....................................................................................... 36 Swan Maiden ...................................................................... 38 Tree Kin ................................................................................ 40 INSECTOIDS Ant People ............................................................................ 44 Beetle Kin ............................................................................ 46 Spider Kin ............................................................................ 48 TROLLS Cave Troll ............................................................................. 52 Forest Troll .......................................................................... 54 Mountain Troll ................................................................... 56 GIANTS Forest Giant ......................................................................... 60 Mountain Giant ................................................................. 62 Sea Giant .............................................................................. 64 Titan ....................................................................................... 66 BEASTS Basilisk .................................................................................. 70 Brook Horse ........................................................................ 72 Calydon ................................................................................ 74 Chimera ................................................................................ 76 Giant Amoeba .................................................................... 78 Giant Octopus .................................................................... 80 Giant Spider ........................................................................ 82 Griffon .................................................................................. 84 Hippogriff ............................................................................ 86 Hydra ..................................................................................... 88 Manticore ............................................................................. 90 Medusa .................................................................................. 92 Pegasus .................................................................................. 94 Roc .......................................................................................... 96 Sea Serpent .......................................................................... 98 Werewolf ............................................................................100 Worg .....................................................................................102 UNDEAD Ghost ................................................................................... 106 Ghoul ...................................................................................108 Living Dead .......................................................................110 Mummy ..............................................................................112 Skeleton ..............................................................................114 Vampire ............................................................................... 116 Wight ...................................................................................118 Will-o’-the-Wisp .............................................................120 DRAGONS Hatchling Dragon ...........................................................124 Young Dragon .................................................................. 126 Adult Dragon ....................................................................128 Ancient Dragon ...............................................................130 Lindworm ..........................................................................132 DEMONS Blood Demon ................................................................... 136 Chaos Demon ..................................................................138 Fire Demon .......................................................................140 Golem ..................................................................................142 Guardian Demon ............................................................144 Shadow Demon ............................................................... 146

[@Rich_H_1972]

Packed with the gorgeous artwork too. So if you like David Brasgalla's style then just getting all the lush pics is worth the price of entry alone.

[@janespright]

Greetings! Somewhat offtopic but Is it me or does the black hack system resemble this one in terms of game mechanics? I play the black hack and variations there of and after i listened to this adventure, it seemed familiar to me and then it clicked. I love me a rules light, crunch light system PS: you were right, i did post this comment in the wrong video, my apologies. Meant to write it for some time now, i just didn't get the right video

[@TheDungeonDive]

I think this is a tad more complex than Black Hat, but not overly so.

[@janespright]

@@TheDungeonDive indeed, i've read a bit more about the system in the meantime. Thank you for your response. Btw i didn't mean this to sound reductionist or anything, i respect each RPG and the work and passion put to create one

[@xpredatorial]

Daniel, great review and overview! How easily do you think the main adventures that come with the game could be adapted to be played solo? (Also, really love the usage die mechanic, I'm definitely stealing that from you for my own campaigns!)

[@TheDungeonDive]

Adapted, not sure. But they can be used to inspire and as ideas for generating quests very easily.

[@xpredatorial]

@@TheDungeonDive Makes sense, thanks!

[@n4tune8]

Daniel, which one do you prefer: Forbidden Lands or Dragonbane?

[@TheDungeonDive]

DB. FL is too complex for me. Too much to keep track of.

[@n4tune8]

@TheDungeonDive To me, FL seemed simpler: 4 stats only instead of 6, Usage die for food, water, ammo and torches... What required so much "keeping track of"? One thing I will say is that I prefer a single d20 roll as opposed to the dice pool that FL used, but I don't like "roll low" systems.

[@sethpeterson8261]

Interesting. I'd think FL is simpler too in many ways. But then again I haven't tried either of them solo which may change things up. I also haven't played or read through them in a side-by-side comparison, so I could simply just be forgetting a lot of extra bits from FL

[@TheDungeonDive]

The books for FL alone are like double the amount of pages. There's way more going on in FL because it's more about survival. DB is more about simple adventuring.

[@n4tune8]

@TheDungeonDive Ok, I see what you mean. The travel (orientation), hunting, foraging, etc. rolls can become quite tedious. For me, these challenges explain why other people do not travel much... why the characters are exceptional, why they are the ones being asked to do stuff. It's part of the adventure. But yeah, that's still a lot of tables to consult when traveling!

[@MattiasWestermark]

Oh, and official commercial from the 1984 2nd edition! kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5PcfGSuh9qVrcksi=UjXjO5F8yOoZbKiE

[@TheDungeonDive]

Oh nice! Thank you.

[@chrisdonovan8795]

I like the inclusion of the solo rules, but it looks like it doesn't utilize the rest of the game's creative story content. I wonder how long the solo content plays for?

[@TheDungeonDive]

I talk about using it all during the 3rd segment of this video.

[@sethpeterson8261]

I really hate that they left the solo rules out of the main rulebook, it isn't even in it's own book but just in the leaflet/adventure as an afterthought. Makes the entire boxset feel incomplete to me

[@TheDungeonDive]

I'm very happy the solo rules are their own thing, and they're anything but an afterthought. They're one of the better set of solo rules I've seen included with an RPG, and most RPGs don't even come with solo rules. They contain everything you need.

[@ajmunzi]

Would you use the cards into another game?

[@TheDungeonDive]

You could, but I wouldn't buy the set just for the cards.

[@user-ff3fi3wz3w]

any more of the free league games that come with solo rules?

[@wilonascave]

Twilight 2000, Vaesen

[@rwentfordable]

Dragonbane (included in the Core Boxed Set) The Walking Dead Universe (included in the Core Rulebook) Twilight: 2000 (included in the Core Boxed Set) Forbidden Lands (available in The Book of Beasts) The One Ring™ (available as a digital PDF from DrivethruRPG) Vaesen - Nordic Horror Roleplaying (available as a digital PDF from DrivethruRPG)

[@carlwoods4564]

Hows this compare to Forbidden Lands?

[@TheDungeonDive]

I don't play FL, so can't really say.

[@jason-sp8nb]

Wheres the dungeon boards for it all you got is the map ☹️

[@TheDungeonDive]

Not sure. Never seen those.

[@marccaron6008]

One last comment. Encounters in Dragonbane are like Old School D&D. They are not supposed to be balanced for the characters. Players should know when to 'run awayyyyy!', and use negotiation or bribery to bypass an encounter without fighting. There is a bit of horror in Dragonbane that is no longer present in modern D&D.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Yep! But as a solo player, I want charts to roll on for encounters for my character so I don't have to stop the game and come up with something. I don't care what it's "supposed to be," because I'm not devoted to any kind of gaming tradition for the sake of tradition. All I care about is how I like to play games, and that's what I look for.