Review: Dragonbane & Zoo Mafia!

PDM Reviews two NEW RGPS--Zoo Mafia and Dragonbane! Dragons, ducks, owls, giraffes, cotton-top tamarins and more! (Ep. 355)
ZOO MAFIA! www.kickstarte...
DRAGONBANE! freeleaguepubl...
DEATHBRINGER RPG! www.drivethrur...
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DEATHBRINGER TEE!! dungeoncraft.c...
DUNGEONCRAFT FACEBOOK: / 1620296361377654
THEME MUSIC: "Fury of the Dragon's Breath" by Peter Crowley Bandcamp: petercrowley.ba...

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Love these games!

[@MisterWebb]

Hate these games - anthropomorphic animals are damaging kids’ mental health

[@snakeoi1sean]

I backed the Dragonbane Kickstarter, and I love it! I've been playing it with my group for a couple of months now, and I'd give it at least an 8 out of 10 just for the system mechanics. The setting for the campaign is kind of generic, but the booklet does include about 11 scenarios (each good for a single session) and is a great basis for building a larger campaign on. 👍

[@Mr.RobotHead]

I missed the KS, but jumped on the pre-order as soon as it was available. I've been GMing for two groups for the past couple of months, and (I think) everyone is having a good time. The system is so easy to run that I might use it for other settings.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks for sharing.

[@lordbahj]

Dragonbane is my new jam! Peace out WOTC!

[@odinulveson9101]

So agree!

[@antigrav6004]

Do you know if that system is at all compatible with the older stuff made for the previous editions? In Sweden it was known as Dracar och Demoner (dragons and demons) which only really came over to the US as Trudvang, which was specifically a Norse setting for it. I own all the books I've been able to find for that, but I don't know if I can use them 1:1 with dragonbane.

[@Skelfi]

@@antigrav6004 It's not exactly the same, but quite close. So it's easy to convert old stuff. I think lot of people are doing fan conversions of old stuff.

[@Skelfi]

@@antigrav6004 DoD 1 was Magic World. DoD 2-4 Was basically Runequest rules. This for many is the most classic version. Often in the Ereb Altor setting. DoD 5 Was Chronopia, a city setting DoD 6-7 Was Trudvang setting DoD 8 Was a flop, it was basically a sloppy made worse version of 2-4 DoD 9 Is the new version, and I think it's the best version yet. Some cool stuff could be added from versions 2-4, and it seems that a a lot of fans are translating old stuff to the newer rules system.

[@antigrav6004]

Nice, I was hoping trudvang would live on since Cmon purchased it. We were supposed to get a new bestiary and the Into The Wild adventure, but we haven't heard much.

[@neilhenderson6602]

Dragonbane looks really nicely produced. And yes, why DID D&D never include some card monsters with their sets?

[@snifflindrake3283]

The 90s D&D black Starter Box, the three other big box adventures, and the Thunder Rift adventures had thin card standup adventurers and monsters.

[@neilhenderson6602]

@@snifflindrake3283 That was after my time 😂👌🙏

[@drillerdev4624]

To sell minis

[@AbelMcTalisker]

@@drillerdev4624 Does Wotc have anything to do with Wizkids other than allowing them to make figures under license? What you`re thinking of is more the Games Workshop business model. Personally, I like using stand-ups as it`s easy to make them myself using my home PC and printer. A lot cheaper than any mini as the only cost is a good graphics program and printer ink.

[@cruciblegaminggroup5471]

I love that the Dragonbane box has everything needed to play (except pencils), including a small gridded playmat. It's the perfect example of what a boxed set should be.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I totally agree.

[@Mattluke23]

Thank you for covering Dragonbane! It’s a beautiful game system that more people should know about!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Share this video and let's make it happen!

[@wingusryu8289]

I am sad I missed the Dragonbane kickstarter as I wasnt into the animal kin. But after learning about it I bought it when it was on the market. Once I started playing I instantly fell in love with the system. No levels. Weapons do a lot of damage, so combat is scary. You will die if you are stupid. Roll to cast. Fumble tables. Fear tables. Combat is super quick. I didnt know how I would feel about cards for initiative, but the way you can trade initiative with players or delay your move to line up a parry is nice. Non humanoid monsters always hit and have a hit matrix. so each round something interesting will happen besides the troll hits you with a club. The way they write adventures is great, just enough info for the GM without a backstory on the spoon in the cupboard. And dont forget the art. If you are on the fence they have a free quickstart. Free League is now my current go to(I still love shadowdark and ezd6 thou)

[@snakeoi1sean]

I love the game on a whole, but I specifically enjoy the card based initiative because it does away with ties and makes for faster rounds of combat. (in my opinion)

[@bobbyellis5006]

I ran Dragonbane at Gen Con this past year and I have to say, as a massive Free League fan, it's probably the game that I think will probably pop off the most for them once it starts getting its name out there a bit more. Is it my favorite system from Free League? No. In terms of lore and world building, it's not my favorite either. In terms of system, I think Alien and One Ring are tied for that, Symbaroum is my favorite for lore. But, Dragonbane fills a super specific niche that I think is going to make it insanely popular based on running it and talking with the people who I ran it for. It's like a bridge between D&D 5e and Pathfinder 2e. Combat is intuitive and quick, but feels slightly more tactical than 5e, but it doesn't fall into the "mathfinder" side of things with a ton of different modifiers. The movement and combat action system, mixed with parrying and dodging really forces players to think about what they're going to do on their turn but it doesn't slow things down and allows for the action to stay cinematic. Character creation and advancement is really easy and intuitive, and the way that you're able to level up your skills can lead to a lot of varieties with just a few base "classes." You aren't going to get the amount of choices when you make a character that you will with Pathfinder, but you are going to get something a bit more unique than you will with 5e, and because the hit points are so low for your character, and stay that way, you're likely going to end up dying at some point forcing you to try something new. It's not as brutal as DCC but you certainly aren't as safe as you are in 5e. The skill leveling also gives you a silver lining for rolling a total failure so you still get something out of it. It's just a really well designed game that, in my mind, gives players and GMs a much more accessible option to move away from 5e without having to deal with a 400+ page corebook (I'm not knocking PF2e, I've read the whole book, it's impeccably designed and just plain works and the book itself isn't that daunting once you get into it). The combat feels both more free flowing than PF2e and more strategic than 5e. I don't think this is a D&D killer, by any means. Call me crazy, but I do think that this has the potential to challenge Pathfinder though, especially with so many people looking for friendly alternatives to D&D at the moment.

[@mrmaat]

Thanks this gives more information than the video about why someone should consider playing this version of D&D/BRP.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

[@nerdwerfer]

Dragonbane is wonderful. Being essentially a rules light d20 roll under version of Chaosium’s BRP opens up a lot of adventures created for that system. Conversions are easy and can be done almost on the fly, very hackable. Using it for my Cthulhu Dark Ages campaign.

[@mrmaat]

It certainly looks very well-produced but the contents seem to be the same OSR D&D or BRP mechanics that have been rehashed by everyone and their mom by now. Is there anything mechanically unique about the system?

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks for watching!

[@galinor7]

@@mrmaat Exactly. The boxed set is also incomplete. very incomplete. Yes it is beautiful. Yes it has cards. I can lose cards. There are no treasure tables in the rule book. There are no rules for castles, There is no brigandine armour, There's no rules for sailing or stats for boats ... it's a long list. It's gentle D&D meets simple BRP, very nice and nothing new. Somebody's mum didn't finish the rule book. I enjory the game, but it isn't Mythras, Runequest or a 500 page OSR, is it?

[@cruciblegaminggroup5471]

@@galinor7 It's not meant to be a 500 page tome. For less than $50 in many places you get everything you need to play a campaign for a dozen or so sessions (more with a good group of players and GM) and it's super easy to homebrew.

[@Skelfi]

Dragonbane > Wotc D&D

[@matthewmcguigan4293]

Zoo mafia looks wacky enough to have some real fun. It's grand theft auto with owls and bunnies!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Was a great time!

[@yobgodababua1862]

Hey, "Bunnies and Burrows" was published in 1976. The rabbits have a right to be here. I still have some old bunny warrior minis from way back when.

[@qarsiseer]

I think Dragonbane is a lot better than 5e, though it did remind me of it a lot. The box set is incredible though. Love Zoo Mafia! Looks really fun!

[@ThomasStell]

Check out Chaosium's BRP then. It is the percentile version of Dragonbane.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

It was!

[@qarsiseer]

@@ThomasStell I was more referring to the unclear pass-fail tests and the somehow both too specific and too vague rules for combat. I kind of prefer d20 roll under to percentile.

[@StatsScott]

I recently got the Dragonbane starter set and have enjoyed it. I mostly play solo RPGs when I can’t GM for my kids and really appreciated that Dragonbane had included a solo variant in the box. It is a great way to get the hang of the rules.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Very cool.

[@ratatatuff]

Sorry, long comment ahead ... 1: Dragonbane looks so awesome. I love Free League's stuff. Everything comes in a full box and is pretty much complete from the start. 2: Fun fact: the German publisher Uhrwerk Verlag (which is publishing the German version of Dragonbane) is publishing an add-on using the ELF license (the German variant of the ORC license) to make Dragonbane compatible with Aventuria, the world of "Das Schwarze Auge" (en: The Dark Eye) which is by far the most known RPG in the German speaking area (published by Ulisses which also developed ELF after Paizo announced ORC). Even if a lot of people play 5e now, the world of Aventuria is still highly popular. It's just that A LOT of people dislike the official rules and choose to play with conversions, just using the setting. And as far as I can see Dragonbane even pretty much hits the tone of early "Das Schwarze Auge". So, on one hand publishing the conversion add-on seems like a really smart move by Uhrwerk and it actually seems as if a lot of former and recent "Das Schwarze Auge" players are looking forward to it. On the other it might take away players from Splittermond, Uhrwerk's in-house RPG, which started as an alternative to "Das Schwarze Auge" as well and despite making quite an impact it's been slowing down and we don't see as many publications for it as we used to. I actually only wrote this to long paragraph to highlight how important ORC/ELF can be for the hobby and are also used without having anything to do with 5e. 😂 3: I'm actually thinking of backing the German version of Dragonbane which is in crowdfunding now. It's just that I already run two time intensive groups (Warhammer & Shadowrun) and have about a dozen different systems on my list that I want to play as well. So I know I won't have time to play it anytime soon.

[@Sammo212]

I've been running my group through the Drgonbane campaign and they love it, they really wish the next campaign was ready to go for when we're done (Kickstarter coming next year and the new Bestiary with enemies and playable kin is in beta release right now/pre-order). I actually think its a bit more serious than your review might let on but the mirth is certainly there. There will 100% be more schools of magic added as they continue. Dragonbane 2E ended up with like 10-15 schools. The nice thing about the campaign is the adventures can all be run as one shots or they can strung together to a logical campaign that lasts as long as the GM wants it to be as the group is looking for pieces of a statue and those pieces can be in almost any of the adventure locations you want (or you can randomize it).

[@bjornh4664]

My old friend Krister Sundelin worked on the magic system for Dragonbane, and his design philosophy is to make mechanics simple and fun without sacrificing the wow factor. He just picked up some awards for the German edition of his RPG "The Troubleshooters", the latest of several games he has designed or been heavily involved in.

[@Sammo212]

@@bjornh4664 Very cool! I had never played any of the older, or original, DB content but have been really enjoying the system. I've enjoyed it so much I've thought about attempting to import Forgotten Realms into the system (which would definitely require more magic schools).

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Glad you like it.

[@btshire]

Both these games look fun! Dragonbane could be a good alternative to 5e for those looking to move to something fresh!

[@Naren25]

Neither of these games are for me, but that doesn't detract from the quality, fast-paced reviews. Thanks!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks. I personally find reviews too long. SIskel and Ebert reviewed films in 3 minutes!

[@WhatIfBrigade]

To be fair to the Professor, playing anthropomorphic animals with Deathbringer rules would probably traumatize people. "And then the bunny wizard exploded," the Professor probably.

[@tonipalmen]

Dragonbane became THE system for our group of childhood friends getting back to rpg's (after almost 20 years of hiatus), as well as for running an rpg for my kids for the first time. At the time of the kickstarter I was looking for a fast and intuitive system to run with my friends that have no interest learning complex rules, but also having more crunch and tactical options than most rules-lite systems of today (and I've looked at several so far). I used to play RuneQuest with my childhood friends back in the late 80's & early 90's and this game captures the nostalgic feel I have from those times, but with smooth modern rules. We've played our first games using Dragonbane and I feel it has everything I want from a fantasy game, in a really incredibly illustrated and designed package. Me, my friends and my kids just love it.

[@trynda1701]

Dragonbane looks really interesting. Seems to be giving a similar vibe to how PDM runs his games? And the art! That Mallard thief jumping on the cover looks like the Mirror Universe version of Daffy Duck! A doomed Bugs Bunny lies below just out of the picture! 😂😂😂😂

[@normanlennox4949]

One of our GMs at our Con on Sunday ran Dragonbane, and was raving about it.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Cool@

[@pi8chyt]

I also bought the dragonbane box set and it's a benchmark of what a starter box should/could be. Very good product indeed!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Oh yeah.

[@galinor7]

It wasn't advertized as a starter set though. It was advertized as the RPG and it is only a starter set.

[@pi8chyt]

@@galinor7 it contains everything you will ever need. Anything else would be on top or extension byond the base rules. All other Starter sets I know (DnD, WFRP etc) only contain a subset. So in this case it's a starter box (everything you need already included) and the full rpg in one.

[@amianderson8866]

🖤Dark drama goes really well with cutie patooties. Zoo Mafia!!!

[@ogremark5]

Ive been a big fan of Chaosium RPGs since the 80s and I hoping to play some Dragonbane soon. The box set seems to be pretty good value. There will be a hardcover available soon covering most of the same material but without the map, standees, etc. I'm also interested in playing OSE and Shadowdark but most excited to try Dragonbane.

[@genghisgahan9623]

Got i hate cat people and duck people and any other furry related people in RPGs. I can tolerate a few tieflings as long as they are rare and unusual (baldurs gate 3 seemed to have more tieflings than humans). Humans are vanilla, dwarves are solid, elves are exotic. Thats it, no furrie-orc hybrids in my games thank you very much.

[@sterlingpratt5802]

Big fan of RQ here, and the DB implementation of the system looks really clean. Looking forward to checking it out!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Very clean. Exactly.

[@sterlingpratt5802]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 Hey! Love your stuff. Keep up the good work.

[@MotiviqueStudio]

Owl Capone got me.

[@odinulveson9101]

Thank you for covering DB! 😄 A heads up!!! Long read further down⚠️Awesome new hardcover Bestiary, Rulebook+intro adventure, great standees are set to release ( well Free League get the copies in store ) in January, February! The Core set and GM screen is top tier No usless space uptaking by map/ images on the GM screens Dragonbane/ Drakes and Demons ( Drakebane/ Drakar och Demonar ) IS my solidified favorite rpg. Easy to homebrew for, seemingly simple combat and character setup but owweeyeah its deep and tactical. A few examples. You got 12 Constitution? Then you got 12 health! Armor Class? Nonsense! Armor IS armor, different types subtracts different dmg types, movement and aspects like acrobatics, athletics are separate from armor. No fatty modifiers. Combat is 1 Action + movement. Or if not using the action on your turn, you can use it to parry/ dodge etc when its the opponents turn. Monsters ( not humanoids like goblins, orks )ALWAYS hits and can use 2 initiative cards, their Ferocity! Alot of feats, skills. Its a SKILL based system! Only thing I despise is... facial haired female dwarfs! The darned Discworld/ LotR beard fetish seeped into this fantasy setting! Whats the point of having females and males? Unless a VERY good explanation evolutionary Im anti such nonsense. Wonder if its the 3 main race symmetry going on. Male/ Female Elves cant have facial hair, m/ f Humans where only females have and dwarfs where both f/ m have. Oh well! Cheers for Dragonbane and a new bright and resurgent future! Skål! 🍻

[@Mind_of_MATT]

Thanks for the info.

[@88Grabarz]

Zoo Mafia is a funny idea, Imagine this must be fun pallete-clenser between two main campaings ;) Dragonbane looks fun too and I'd agree about standies - those should be a standard part of any box set and most adventure books!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

It is a lot of fun.

[@dustincoopermusic]

I have Dragonbane and recommend it a lot! It is a perfect substitute for Dungeons & Dragons (light crunch, but still robust rules, and a setting you can modify easily)

[@jothewerewolf]

I don't think my Grognard Pride has ever been as wounded as when you described Drakar och Demoner as "Basically Runequest".

[@SteveDahlskog]

Yeah, when it was based on the draft of BRP Magic World and extended by Anders Blixt. ❤

[@bamboozledgreatcrowd8982]

Think about what WOTC really has done. Wizkids make the miniatures and a bunch of other products. GF9 used to make products like cards, which would have been better than the deck of many things messing up. All the really do is books, and they have screwed those up as well. They have had good ideas but never follow through with the potential.

[@scottmckay9049]

Love the art in Dragonbane think its Johan Egerkrans same guy did Vaesen Ive still to read it but think it could be a good world to introduce kids to gaming (probably need to simplify system for really young though).

[@bregalenonodrim543]

Its kind of amusing ending the video with the traditional "May all your rolls be 20" after reviewing a roll under game system...

[@harkejuice]

I am awaiting my Dolemnwood Kickstarter and my players are super-excited about it. So excited they've all made characters already... half are the Grimalkin, (Puss in Boots) and the other two are goat people. People love being weird animals if the setting is right I'm all for it.

[@Patrick-nl4zp]

PROFESSOR! With all the kickstarters rolling out every day I'd love more breakdowns like this. Get the PDF, play a game and write a full review

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Problem is review videos do very poorly. I have a couple more lined up but may phase them out. We'll see.

[@Gopher86]

Running my 6th session of Dragonbane tonight and right after the first one I remember thinking "Wow, this felt soo effortless and everyone had so much fun.... why can't it always be like that?" Also just backed the German edition of it. Having it twice in two different languages is worth it for me since I'm running multiple groups and Dragonbane very likely being the go to Fantasy TTRPG in the near future and long term.

[@robandtina]

Free League is the current champions of RPG design!

[@Rhidcully]

They never disappoint. I have 5 systems from them...

[@JemyM]

Dragonbane (2023) have the same roots as Mutant Chronicles, Mutant Year Zero and Cult. It's the 11th edition of the Swedish Dragon and Demons first released 1982 as a Dungeons & Dragons clone based on the Basic Roleplay ruleset. The crap PC game Dragonfire: The Well of Souls (1999) is set in the same universe. The presence of ducks have been a persistent (and questionable) inclusion ever since the original, but it left them out for awhile. The original series got sidetracked in the 6th edition (1994) when the maker (Target Games) tried to make a new campaign world (Chronopia) that failed. After that various attempts were made to revive the franchise with the strongest attempt was in 7th edition. This "Trudvang" was a very different game, based primarily on nordic mythology without ducks involved. The tenth edition (2016) returned to the last classic version prior to Chronopia which Dragonbane (2023) thus continues.

[@cruciblegaminggroup5471]

Dragonbane has a lot of OSR vibe and is a ton of fun to run/play. I ran it at a con and it's super easy to pick up. The mechanics are simple but really lean in to the "rulings not rules". If I had to come up with "how does this work" I'd just assign a skill roll, maybe with a boon or a bane and move on. Combat can be deadly (monsters always hit so your tanks needs to dodge or hope their armor absorbs the blow) but there's room for tactics. It's pretty easy to convert old modules to as well but the provided adventure has about 10-11 adventure sites and plenty of hooks for more adventures.

[@MrOmega-cz9yo]

You just gotta love a game that has a character named Owl Capone! 😜

[@EvilLPS]

Funny that you mentioned the PBTA mechanic of "success but with consequences." This is the part that, for me, is the gold in their design because there are lots of times when I want to add more drama and have the dice help me. For me, it's awesome. I agree that sometimes it can be difficult to see success with consequences, but it's similar to determining what a critical success or failure does too. Nowadays I kinda find it boring when there is only the "all or nothing" mechanic.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

That's cool. Glad you like it and thanks for sharing your perspective. I like this show to be a dialogue.

[@CausticCatastrophe]

Thanks for highlighting these! Sometimes you just want a quick, fun "popcorn" RPG. I agree with how difficult pbta can be for the success with a consequence. That faction die mechanic is great, and i can see that being stolen for other games that are high on faction importance. Goofy/serious anthro shenanigans isnt for everyone, but its def for me! Imagine that edgelord character cloaked in shadow in the corner, but the dude's a duck. Whats not to like!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Lots of fun!

[@Garakh]

Been playing Dragonbane since I was a wee youngster back in the 80's and early 90's. Always played a black pirate duck with a chip on my shoulder. Short but violent lives. Roll a new character next session? Yes, please. And make that another duck! :D

[@KimKhan]

The original Swedish name of the game (as Dragonbane is the translated export variant essentially), was "Drakar och Demoner", or "Dragons and Demons" to check in on that sweet d&d abbreviation - despite being using the Runequest rules under a license. So that is the origins of the "Dragon" and "Demon" on natural 20's and 1's! Duck people were also in Runequest. One joke in Sweden is that the game became a boost to its popularity for this reason, because everyone reads (and adores) Donald Duck comics. Mutant: Year Zero has the same pedigree of popularity in Sweden - back when it was just called "Mutant", and in the various editions up until 2006 it did use the Runequest rule system as well!

[@risusrules]

I appreciate you have time constraints, and the fact that Dragonbane was even showcased on Dungeon Craft at all is a win! But I'll confess I was a tad let down with the gloss over of some of it's hidden mechanical chops that, in my personal opinion, make it great. For example; Monsters always hit and are MONSTERS! and other humanoid types are just NPCs, defending uses your action so it has a non-bogging you down tactics to your turns, fun initiative, skills play off attributes, and advancement, to name a few. Ducks, yeah I was kind of put off by that, but the art makes them work, and in retrospect - why are Mallards 'goofy' but we don't blink twice at dragon people, tieflings or other odd D&D races?

[@kylelinn1384]

LMAO my first ever character when I was little kid was a talking beaver, inspired by works of fiction including Chronicles of Narnia and Redwall. I was playing in my friend's family game, in which his dad was the DM. My beaver was destroyed in 2 hits from the very first Orc band we ran into.

[@johnmyers8921]

I did the Dragonbane Kickstarter. It is an amazing box set. Great video and review. In the future I'd love to see more reviews like this, especially with some game systems that are not fantasy based. Super Heros, SciFI, and so on... there are so many amazing non-fantasy games out there.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks. Sadly, review videos do not get a lot of views.

[@wilonascave]

Dragonbane my No. 1 Solo RPG system

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Nice!

[@feuerstrassen9446]

Sir, what's with the "Click here" in the thumbnail? You don't need that.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I removed it in the latest thumbnail.

[@StretchPig]

I love Dungeon Craft!!!!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I love you watching it!

[@shallendor]

Palladium was the 2nd RPG i got after AD&D 1E, so i was introduced to anthropomorphic animal characters in 83!

[@HexeterBanzai]

Ayy! I sold you that copy of Dragonbane at GenCon lol. Was cool getting to meet you even if just for a second at the Free League Booth!

[@artblockonthefrontlawn6701]

Oh man this is giving me after the bomb and tmnt feels. I love it

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Glad.

[@LostWhits]

I really liked the layout of that book. And the way you said "Heroic Abilities, like backstabbing" deserves a thumbs up. I enjoyed this review video more than some of the previous kickstarter videos you've done. I wish i could say why, but it must be a subconscious thing.

[@dnaseb9214]

I am younger and I dont like em either. Its wierd. Unless its a beastman from warhammer, those are acceptable and cool.

[@russelljacob7955]

Such a fun vid! I think this well ties into your previous vids and about monopoly. Take away the animal side? Still sounds like an amazing fun game just for a straight up mob RPG. Something to play chained one offs like Cthulhu. The animal zoo side giving a fun theme. Bring character, lets play and then see you next week to see what the crew will do. Dragonbane though would be a tougher sell. Mechanically similar, but tough to convince somebody to change an accessible or already invested system. How does one sell the gameplay as being a different experience vs being just a different way of reading the dice?

[@Clem68W]

I saw a "click here" button and was drawn inexorably to this video. I am disappointed there are no special gifts for people who clicked the button.

[@thefellownerd399]

Good morning Professor DM. I was wondering if you could make a Video on pact magic and how you handle it in your games. I thought about it after watching your Magic and Cleric videos. Great content by the way, you have helped me a bunch.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks. We don't use much pact magic in my games. Any other ideas for videos?

[@thefellownerd399]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 I was watching a video from Matt Colville about the style of play of games and how DND does not really have one. But I don't what possible styles of play are. Apart from high magic, grimdark and horror. Could you give a few examples of these things?

[@aaronhumphrey3514]

I honestly can't get over my hate of the furry craze in fantasy rpgs these days. It annoys me so much.

[@rontalkstabletop]

Dragonbane is excellent!

[@TheDiceMatrix]

I really hope to see you do an expansive Dragonbane review. That sampling was very enticing indeed.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Glad you liked it.

[@DougVehovec]

I helped with really early development for Zoo Mafia and this review made my day!

[@matthewconstantine5015]

I'm excited to check out Dragonbane. You can still see the Basic Roleplaying in its DNA, and BRP has always been one of my top games.

[@Abumustard6364]

Drakar och Demoner (Dragonbane) was pretty much *the* roleplaying game here in Sweden since it released in 1982, only losing out to DnD much later, especially with 5e. Fun to see it being modernised and released for other languages. One of the founders of Target Games who created Drakar och Demoner rented a room from Steve Perrin (one of the creators of Runequest) and got to playtest Call of Cthulhu and Stormbringer. The influences on Drakar och Demoner are pretty obvious. :)

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks for sharing.

[@ogremark5]

Rules wise, Stormbringer is RQ without hit locations and strike ranks.

[@99zxk]

D&D history is full of spells that no one ever uses. One Ring is another well done RPG product by Free League. The production quality is amazing.

[@underwms]

Dragonbane is dope! I love roll under systems. The quality of the product is just superb, I also enjoy playing as Duck kin.

[@timothyyoung2962]

The Dragonbane box set looks really nice. I love the artwork in the book, it gives me Labyrinth or The Dark Crystal feels sometimes. Especially with the monster illustrations. The goblin looks like one of the Goblin King's incompetent henchman for sure.

[@f.a.santiago1053]

I REALLY like Dragonbane!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Great!

[@SplotchyInk]

Alright, I was interested in Zoo Mafia And then I saw "Powered by the Apocalypse" and was immediately turned off. Like... *any other* ruleset would have been great, but PbtA is just... lets say... a PbtA game is a dime a dozen... a *good* PbtA game is one in a million. First, the fact that 'what' you are doesn't make a difference? Are you saying I cant be a bat and not have some sort of cool echo location mechanic, or be a snake and have a fun 'Grapple' ability. The 'boss' mechanics is unique though, would like to see that in a different game. Kind of rings similar to the 2D12 system DaggerHeart uses. I just wish, 1, custom printed dice is always a pain in the butt when a game starts becoming 'hard to get' unless its physically packed in the book, 2, the icons are way too messy to get a good 'read' on what you rolled if it wasn't for the fact they gave the dice bright 'red yellow green' colors. My counter argument. Do you want an amazing, well fleshed out, animal mafia game that has light but crunchy mechanics? Where you get fun little abilities and quirks depending on 'what' you play as? A very quick and lethal combat system that is tactical? And a very nice and fleshed out section of lore and world building that make it easy to build a campaign around. Play Urban Jungle, by Sanguine Games, it uses their 'cardinal system' where your stats 'are' your dice sizes, and if you want a kind of 'renaissance fantasy' setting with slightly heavier rules, look up their older game "IronClaw". Dragonsbane looks good though, feels like a 'resto modded' game, which might sound like OSR, but its more like an old 'feeling' game but the bolts are ground down and now welded and smooth, the quirks are there, but its as good as you remember, not how it actually was.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks for commenting.

[@valorin5762]

Us Germans still make fun of a game-master box for our native The Dark Eye (Das Schwarze Auge) rpg that came out in the 80s, which included cardboard stands for monsters. Seeing those again in a different game, I gotta admit, I don't like them much better. :D

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thank you for sharing!

[@VosperCDN]

Picked up Dragonbane on the KS, looking forward to a chance to play it later this year or next - just doing a Trudvang 5e game right now. Really liking the Scandinavian rpg style lately. Grabbed Symbaroum (original and 5e) for that reason.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks for sharing.

[@Ryotbh]

Got Dragonbane on launch, was so impressed by the system that I just bought the Foundry unlock. The Foundry version has been expertly crafted and is a blast! I've been running through things solo but cannot wait to unleash it upon my players! I think they'll love it!

[@kslique]

Agreed! I have been running on Foundry and it is a dream. It has helped with learning the rules because it automates a lot for you, but you see what it is doing so you will remember. Great module. And if you get the Year Zero combat module, it will run initiative for you as well!

[@Caitlin_TheGreat]

I've been eyeballing Dragonbane. I do wish that Free League did a better job of explaining the mechanical nature of a game and not only the theming. I mean, theming matters, for sure, but I like to know what nature of gameplay to expect as well. Hearing that it has Runequest roots is certainly a selling point for although I've not as yet played RQ, I'm familiar with it and have wanted to find an excuse to get it before my players. I've also wanted something along those lines that could take the place of D&D-feeling games. So it certainly sounds like something I should be very seriously considering getting. And the breadth of classes is great. Scholar, merchant, those are great options beyond just being a fighter, wizard, or thief. Zoo Mafia sounds good for what it is... but it also seems a bit too much on the goofy side for me. And this coming from a person who also has designs for running a Watership Down-based game. Some light-heartedness is good, but I don't want to get too far into the "Saturday morning cartoon" side of things where it's all slapstick and puns. Some people love that, but it isn't really my thing.

[@SteveDahlskog]

I wouldn’t really call it RQ but rather a distant cousin. DB 1ed was based on BRP and Magic World (draft version) by Chaosium. After the 2e of DB it got an extension (Expert rules) and the D20 was introduced. DB that Free League launched is more like DB 8th edition (counting the strange DoD2016 edition). It incorporates designs and mechanics from many other TTRPG trying to solve the problems with its previous editions.

[@Slit518]

Dragonbane looks really cool. I may have to check that out.

[@jackcleveland1175]

I'm playing Dragonbane rules in the Speljammer setting. So far, so good. It was a very easy crossover.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Cool! That's what dungeon crafting is about!

[@inkedvader813]

I know this is unrelated to this video, but I was thinking about your UDT, and thought that a round LCD that could display multiple different themes would make for an interesting product.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

It could, for sure.

[@КостяКлючников-з6у]

It's unfair that your's review of the other TTRPG and painting guide get worst views during this year! We must up those!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thank you. More coming.

[@sherizaahd]

Roast Mallard, Deathbringer does it again!

[@Oyster_Man]

Great couple of reviews! Thanks for introducing me to these systems. At 6:40 you do have an editing error though, where you say the she thing twice. Still, your content is great as always!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Glad you liked it!

[@CarlosRodriguez-dd4sb]

Dragonbane seems like a great option!

[@johnberry5296]

Why didn’t you mention or show that Dragonbane comes with a complete separate book of solo rules with a solo campaign?

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Because I screwed up. I just forgot about it.

[@LordOz3]

I'm using Dragonbane to run a Conanesque low-magic campaign, and my players and I are enjoying it. Because of the setting, all the characters are human - the only humanoids (they know of) are neanderthal-like 'brutes'.

[@simontmn]

Me too! Been running Dragonbane in the Xoth setting. It's brilliant for fairly gritty lower magic settings.

[@robertdobie3400]

"Dynamism"!

[@DigitalinDaniel]

As I commented last time, a full book of Egerkrans art is just phenomenal! Any book where art can be cohesive all the way through just adds so much more. Now I gotta wait for a full Wayne Reynolds RPG :') haha

[@BeAHeroGaming]

I picked up Dragonbane after seeing it at GenCon. Lots of content in a small box. Can’t wait to play.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Beautifully produced. Let me know how it goes!

[@andrewparkin8222]

So you been Critter-cal of this sort of thing. 😄 Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Lo good one.

[@felipmoral3969]

What do i think? I think you should play the game before you review it.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I did. I played both of them. And?

[@hawkthetraveler6344]

this should be called an unboxing video, not enough actual play for a review.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I think reviews are too long in general. I do it like SIskel and Ebert.

[@MemphiStig]

1. Thanks for mentioning Tony DiTerlizzi. I didn't know who he is. 2. I read in the comments your reviews don't do well. Disappointing. Your reviews are among the best on yt. Organized, brief, incisive, and you don't spend the whole time talking with your hands. Please keep them coming if possible. 3. Zoo Mafia does remind me of games like Honey Heist, which like you say exist mostly just to have fun.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I just read a comment where the guy said my reviews are TOO short. So thanks. I want to watch reviews that are succinct and try to make mine that way.

[@MemphiStig]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 As long as you cover all the parts that you feel are relevant to what the game's trying to do, that's all that's needed, imo.

[@thedabblingwarlock]

Here's a tip for improvising complications and benefits (if you're playing a game that has a band of you fail but something good happens or need to come up with something for that critical success.) There's this idea in writing called Yes, But/No, And. It's a writing technique to build interest and introduce complications for the characters. We can expand that out a bit for running TTRPGs. Critical Success - "Yes, and..." Success - "Yes" Partial success - "Yes, but..." Partial Failure - "No, but..." Failure - "No" Critical Failure - "No, and..." To fill in the part after the And or the But, think about what would be advantageous or disadvantageous to the characters involved in the current situation. If a character is being pushed into a crevasse and they roll a partial failure to avoid that happening, then maybe they manage to slow their fail and only take partial damage, or maybe they pull the enemy that pushed them down into the crevasse with them. Maybe the wizard escapes the troll's bearhug, but lost his spell components or dropped his wand in the process. Maybe the priestess gets tackled by a vampire, but now has her holy symbol in the bloodsucker's face. If all else fails, use a fumble chart to help kickstart the process. Maybe the result you rolled makes no sense, but the one right next to it does. Study literature and don't be afraid to take a moment to breath and think. You can even outsource the complications that PCs and NPCs suffer to your players. There's almost always that one guy in the group who's willing to be the chaos goblin and if you're lucky, there's two of them that bounce ideas off each other. If you're really lucky/unlucky, your whole group's filled with them. Let them do the creative heavy lifting. Point is, improvisation is a skill that can be learned, and you're players don't care if it takes you fifteen seconds to work out what's happening and decide what the dice are saying. They care about having fun and if you need a little bit to come up with an awesome idea, then they'll remember the awesome idea, not the few seconds it took you to come up with it.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks for commenting.

[@thedabblingwarlock]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 Thanks for the video. I think I need to take a look at Dragonbane and Zoo Mafia sounds like it'd be perfect for the two groups I'm in at the moment.

[@mikecarson7769]

The creativity in Dragonbane is super awesome! the game mechanics are easy to use or to modify, and personally i prefer to modify

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Yeah I agree

[@Oraxsis]

Thank you for this review. I have been seeing Dragonbane pop up alot and I was on the fence about it. I went ahead and got the Bundle set and the Bestary. This seems like a good break from DnD. I absolute love the art. Also thanks for reviewing Zoo Mafia, another game that has cropped up a couple of times, but you said the magic words, 'Powered by the Apocalypse'. I loathe PbtA games.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Well, Zoo Mafia is the best of them. The extra die makes it.

[@Oraxsis]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1That, begrudgingly, does throw in a mechanic that I found interesting.

[@lukasz88888888]

Dragonbane looks mechanically like something I've been playing with since May. It also looks like a good Christmas gift.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Tis the season.

[@sherizaahd]

Dragonbane's box set looks amazing. Great stuff for a starter set.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

It really is!

[@NemoOhd20]

The duck was never going to be safe around Deathbringer. Christmas would be a great time for a Beast (edit: BEST) of Deathbringer.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

No, he wasn't! Hmmmmm

[@NemoOhd20]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 Best of DB. Not Beast, though Beast might work too.

[@jasonGamesMaster]

Johan's art is amazing. One of my favorite artists of all time, easy top 5. You should check out Vaesen. Very Brothers Grimm meets Call of Cthulhu. I don't love the Year Zero Engine, but its easy to transfer to New World of Darkness for a slightly more robust system but with a similar feel. The setting and mysteries are generally top notch, but its Free League, so that's kind of a given

[@einCAA]

The kickstarter for the german translation of Dragonbane just started. I'm kinda sorry to say: you did a way better job advertising it, than the publisher Uhrwerk

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

SMH

[@macoppy6571]

Deathbringer, is there any better way of learning a new culture than by eating it? 😋

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Nope!