Dragonbane general thread [+]

[Swanosaurus]

That's the turn-off for me. I don't feel like we are somehow lacking Norse-inspired fantasy TTRPGs in the hobby. I'm at the point in my life where things with "Vikings" are generally a pass for me.

That's pretty much what makes me sitting up here on the fence. I kind of like the idea of a slightly more serious, full-blown setting for DB, and I was aware of Trudvang before and thougt it looked kind of cool ... but the norse vibes kept me from checking it out. Not that I'm against them on principle, but they have become something like the Cthulhu mythos in RPGs to me: Great stuff, but give me something else once in a while.

 

[Ringtail]

...the norse vibes kept me from checking it out. Not that I'm against them on principle, but they have become something like the Cthulhu mythos in RPGs to me: Great stuff, but give me something else once in a while.

I get it. I don't agree because I love Norse stuff, but I get it.

I'm particularly interested in this because its not just "Some American or British person's idea of Norse," its the real deal, coming from Sweden. I wanna see how it differs when its not passed through some American game dev's lens. Plus, there's plenty of "Viking D&D" that has the aesthetic, but not the feel. Will it feels like the old myths and sagas that inspired works like Tolkien?

 

[Swanosaurus]

I get it. I don't agree because I love Norse stuff, but I get it.

I'm particularly interested in this because its not just "Some American or British person's idea of Norse," its the real deal, coming from Sweden. I wanna see how it differs when its not passed through some American game dev's lens. Plus, there's plenty of "Viking D&D" that has the aesthetic, but not the feel. Will it feels like the old myths and sagas that inspired works like Tolkien?

I'd say chances are good! As far as I am concerned, I'll probably need a few more years of abstinence from all things norse before I'll savour anything along those lines again.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I bought the whole Trudvang for 5e when that kickstarted, but never actually used it...partly because I moved away from 5e. But reading/skimming through it I never really got a Viking vibe. At least, not a stereotpyical Hollywood Viking vibe. I got more of a sense of witches and trolls in the deep, dark woods. Maybe that's more authentic Scandinavian?

I'll have to dig out those books (I think I know where they are...) and take another look.

 

[Aldarc]

I'm particularly interested in this because its not just "Some American or British person's idea of Norse," its the real deal, coming from Sweden. I wanna see how it differs when its not passed through some American game dev's lens. Plus, there's plenty of "Viking D&D" that has the aesthetic, but not the feel. Will it feels like the old myths and sagas that inspired works like Tolkien?

You can check for yourself. DriveThruRPG has the Trudvang Chronicles Player's Book for less than 5€. My feeling for this setting has kind of always been "meh."

 

[Staffan]

I get it. I don't agree because I love Norse stuff, but I get it.

I'm particularly interested in this because its not just "Some American or British person's idea of Norse," its the real deal, coming from Sweden. I wanna see how it differs when its not passed through some American game dev's lens. Plus, there's plenty of "Viking D&D" that has the aesthetic, but not the feel. Will it feels like the old myths and sagas that inspired works like Tolkien?

I wouldn't get my hopes of Norseness up too high. My recollection of Trudvang from back when it was released in Drakar och Demoner 6 is that it was pretty basic fantasy with a bit of a Norse touch to it, but not going for any kind of authentic viking/norse stuff. It's probably closer to later Scandinavian folklore, with inspiration from artists like John Bauer.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

They're not mutually exclusive. I've always thought it more silly and childish to insist on the purest black grimdark without a hint of irony or glee than to have goofy elements like ducks and wolfkin and halflings.

We know they're not mutually exclusive. We just like a different tone, we have different sensibilities. I don't think whimsy and duck characters are childish. I just like darker, political, grounded campaigns. And I'm not complaining, I didn't buy Dragonbane because I expected monsters and setting to follow the same tone. But if they have a different setting with a different tone, I might be interested.

 

[Aldarc]

We know they're not mutually exclusive. We just like a different tone, we have different sensibilities. I don't think whimsy and duck characters are childish. I just like darker, political, grounded campaigns. And I'm not complaining, I didn't buy Dragonbane because I expected monsters and setting to follow the same tone. But if they have a different setting with a different tone, I might be interested.

Not really. There are far more "whimsical" monsters in D&D 5e (2014 or 2024) than in Dragonbane. And the implied setting of the Misty Vale leans more towards old school Law vs. Chaos and Sword & Sorcery.

 

[Aldarc]

I get it. I don't agree because I love Norse stuff, but I get it.

I'm particularly interested in this because its not just "Some American or British person's idea of Norse," its the real deal, coming from Sweden. I wanna see how it differs when its not passed through some American game dev's lens. Plus, there's plenty of "Viking D&D" that has the aesthetic, but not the feel. Will it feels like the old myths and sagas that inspired works like Tolkien?

Maybe this would be of greater interest to you: KVAD - The Viking Roleplaying Game. It comes out of Norway.

 

[Ringtail]

I wouldn't get my hopes of Norseness up too high. My recollection of Trudvang from back when it was released in Drakar och Demoner 6 is that it was pretty basic fantasy with a bit of a Norse touch to it, but not going for any kind of authentic viking/norse stuff. It's probably closer to later Scandinavian folklore, with inspiration from artists like John Bauer.

Perhaps "Norse" isn't the write word to use, I don't want to lump everything Scandinavian as "Norse." The later folklore does sound interesting to me! I want to get a greater feel for Scandinavian Myth and Legend and Culture, more than just the distilled "viking fantasy" we get here in the States.

Its kind of like The Witcher. It was pretty basic sometimes, with Elves and Dwarves and what not. But there was a lot of Eastern and Northern European stuff mixed in and being an American most of that was unfamiliar to me and it really stood out from its somewhat cliche set dressing. I find even in "standard fantasy" different cultures portray them in different ways. Subtle cultural elements slipping through. Honestly that's half of what made Dragonbane so interesting to me in the first place, and now Trudvang. I'm getting a glimpse of things that I previously couldn't due to the language barrier. I just think that's neat.