Welcome to Arkand: Our Next Dragonbane Campaign

Pack your bags, sharpen your blades and don't forget your swimming gear – our next Dragonbane campaign is setting sail. We're heading to Arkand – City of Waves and Flames, the brand-new city sourcebook from Free League Publishing, and we'll be running it at two tables so more of you can join the adventure.

Two Tables, One City

The campaign runs in two places, with two separate groups of adventurers:

• Bay Games, Whitley Bay: every two weeks, starting on 17 November. This table is run through Bay Games, so please book your place directly with them.

• West Allotment Community Centre: the first Friday of every month, starting on Friday 4 December, as part of our Wildlings sessions. This table has space for five players, and we're looking for five adventurers to fill it.

Both tables explore the same city, so expect plenty of stories to swap between groups – and possibly a rumour or two about what the other party got up to.

Welcome to Arkand

Arkand sits on the easternmost edge of the known world, an island city that acts as a gateway to distant shores. Think part fortified medieval city, part rough-and-ready harbour town – a place where pirates, priests, merchants and sorcerers all rub shoulders, and where the sea is never far away.

High above the rooftops, the Citadel of Broken Wings and the Temple of True Fire crown the great crag of Dragonrock. Far below, in the slums known as the Dung, you'll find the Witless Unicorn tavern, the Cracked Pearl gambling den and a great many people who would rather you didn't ask questions. In between lie gladiator games with monstrous beasts, master craftsfolk, shady deals and the buried remains of an ancient draconic empire.

The book describes five districts and twenty adventure sites, and Arkand has a long and storied past. Not everything the locals tell you about their city is true – and some of its real history lies buried deep beneath the streets.

What Can You Expect?

This is a city campaign with a sandbox heart. Rather than marching from one dungeon to the next, your party will make Arkand its home, pick up rumours, make friends and enemies, and decide which trouble to chase. Along the way, you can expect:

• A fierce power struggle in the city's criminal underworld, where choosing a side has consequences

• Demon hunting, as the party is drawn into investigating supernatural threats lurking in the city

• Lost treasures, from draconic artefacts to forgotten pirate hoards

• Secrets about Arkand's past that could change the city forever

• Plenty of water – harbours, docks and flooded places mean your Swimming skill might matter more than ever

It's still Dragonbane at heart, so expect what Free League calls "mirth and mayhem": plenty of laughs around the table, but also genuine danger. Arkand has sharp teeth, and not every adventurer makes it home.

Your Characters

You'll create your own adventurer using the Dragonbane rules, choosing from the six kin of the core game:

• Humans – adaptable and found everywhere, from the docks to the Citadel

• Halflings – small, quick and much harder to catch than they look

• Dwarves – stubborn, sturdy and never short of an opinion

• Elves – long-lived and keen-eyed

• Mallards – the famously short-tempered duck folk, who may feel very much at home in a city of waves

• Wolfkin – fierce hunters with sharp senses

Then pick a profession: artisan, bard, fighter, hunter, knight, mage, mariner, merchant, scholar or thief. In a bustling port full of guilds, gangs and grudges, every one of them has a part to play – a smooth-talking merchant or a sea-hardened mariner can be just as valuable as a sword arm.

Never played Dragonbane before? That's absolutely fine. The rules are quick to learn – you roll a d20 and try to roll under your skill – and we'll help everyone build their characters and get started.

Sign Up

For the Bay Games table, please book through Bay Games.

For the Wildlings table at West Allotment Community Centre, head over to the Wildlings Discord and send Stephen a direct message to claim your place. There are only five spots, and they're first come, first served – so don't hang about. The first session is on Friday 4 December.

The gates of Arkand are open, newcomers. Fortune, glory and probably a few demons are waiting. We'll see you at the table.