Rolling the Dice on Dragonbane: Wildlings' Newest RPG Adventure

Something new has been creeping into Dungeon Crawler Friday at Bay Games

” dice that roll low instead of high, character sheets with Ages instead of classes, and a lot of Wildlings asking "wait, why does rolling a 1 mean I just did something amazing?" The answer is Dragonbane, and it's shaping up to be one of the best things we've added to the club calendar this year.

What is Dragonbane?

Dragonbane is a fantasy tabletop roleplaying game from Free League Publishing, the studio behind some of the most acclaimed RPGs on the market. It's actually a modern reimagining of Drakar och Demoner, Scandinavia's original tabletop RPG, first published all the way back in 1982 ” so it's got four decades of pedigree behind a very fresh, very playable ruleset.

The pitch is simple: fast-paced fantasy adventure with almost no prep time. Character creation takes minutes, not hours. Combat is tactical and quick. And the game genuinely earns its tagline of "mirth and mayhem roleplaying" ” there's room for jokes at the table one minute and genuine tension the next.

The mechanics, in brief: Dragonbane uses a skill-based system where every skill is rated 1 to 18, and you want to roll equal to or under that number on a d20 to succeed. Roll low, not high. Roll a natural 1 and you trigger a "Dragon" ” a powerful bonus effect. Roll a natural 20 and you've triggered a "Demon" ” things go badly. It's an easy system for brand new players to pick up in a single session, while still giving experienced roleplayers plenty of tactical depth in combat, magic and exploration.

Characters choose from professions like Fighter, Mage, Hunter, Thief and Artisan, but aren't locked into rigid class rules — you can shape your character however you like as the story develops. The Core Set itself is packed with content too: a full campaign called Secret of the Dragon Emperor, eleven complete adventures, a huge map of the Misty Vale setting, and even rules for solo play if you fancy adventuring without a Game Master.

Why play RPGs at all?

If you've never sat at an RPG table before, it's worth saying why so many of our members who came in as painters and wargamers have ended up hooked. Tabletop RPGs are collaborative storytelling with rules attached ” you're not just moving models around a battlefield, you're building a character, making choices that matter, and reacting to a story that unfolds differently every single session.

• Nothing to buy and paint to get started ” bring yourself and a willingness to make decisions

• A genuinely social, face-to-face hobby that leans on creativity, quick thinking and teamwork

• Low barrier to entry ” Dragonbane in particular is built to teach itself inside one sitting

• A completely different pace and headspace to competitive tournament play, while still being strategic and tense when it counts

• New friendships ” nothing bonds a table quite like surviving (or gloriously failing) a dungeon together

It's also just a brilliant complement to everything else we do at Wildlings. Where our tournaments and Army Painting sessions are about your models and your list, RPG night is about your character and your choices ” a different muscle, but every bit as rewarding.

How our Dragonbane trial has gone so far

We ran our first trial session two weeks ago with six players, and the response was exactly what we'd hoped for ” new players picked up the rules almost immediately, and by the end of the session everyone was already asking when the next one was. That next one is tomorrow, with a second six-player group getting their first taste of the Misty Vale.

From there, Dragonbane is stepping fully into the club calendar: this Friday it'll run as part of Dungeon Crawler Friday at Bay Games, alongside our usual rotation of dungeon crawlers, giving another six players the chance to jump into the game.

Fancy joining in?

Whether you're a long-time RPG player or you've never rolled a d20 in your life, Dragonbane is about as friendly an entry point as you'll find. No experience needed, no character sheet to prepare in advance ” just come along to Dungeon Crawler Friday at Bay Games and we'll get you rolling (under, not over!).

Join us on Discord

Spaces for each session are limited to keep the table manageable, so if you want in, get in touch via Discord and we'll get you booked onto the next available slot. See you at the table, Wildlings.