Other D&D Variant Dragonsbane Vs Shadowdark

[TGryph]

I don't see any reason that Dragonbane is any less worthy of a longer campaign than Shadowdark (or most other games really). I have been running a bi-weekly Dragonbane campaign for six months now, and my group is loving it. I also just started an online Shadowdark campaign last week with a different group, and THEY love it!
I guess you would just have to ask yourself...do you prefer something fast and loose that is a strong reminder of old school D&D, or would you prefer a fast, less crunchy version of Runequest?
But...hold a crossbow to my head, and I would probably pick Shadowdark at this point, as it more closely matches the sword and sorcery vibe I prefer. That may change when I get the Dragonbane kickstarter for the new Magic Book, but right now (despite Dragonbane's Boxed set being the Best Value in RPG's right now), I would have to go with Shadowdark...with all the Cursed Scrolls of course!

 

[Retreater]

Do you think Dragonbane lends itself less to campaign play compared to Shadowdark? I don't really see any reason why

In an interview with Tomas Harenstam, the Free League CEO, he suggests between 20-30 sessions (at about the 10 minute mark). "The core game works for short to medium campaigns."

Essentially, what the core of Dragonbane designed similar to the experience as expected by Basic D&D and there isn't an "Expert" equivalent yet. [Even though the original Swedish version had different boxed sets to cover expanded tiers of play.]

For me, it's hard to have long campaigns in a level-less system. You don't really get better gear, more HP, more powerful abilities, or face more dangerous foes. Your character won't see much growth if you've played 1 session or 20. For me, that's not exciting for long-term play. That said, we played through the entirety of the boxed set adventure compilation in 12-15 sessions and had a good time.

Not every game has to last for years like a Paizo Adventure Path to be an excellent time.

Edit: I can't share the link to the YouTube interview. Try searching for Knights of Last Call and Tomas Harenstam.

 

[Vicar In A Tutu]

In an interview with Tomas Harenstam, the Free League CEO, he suggests between 20-30 sessions (at about the 10 minute mark). "The core game works for short to medium campaigns."

Essentially, what the core of Dragonbane designed similar to the experience as expected by Basic D&D and there isn't an "Expert" equivalent yet. [Even though the original Swedish version had different boxed sets to cover expanded tiers of play.]

For me, it's hard to have long campaigns in a level-less system. You don't really get better gear, more HP, more powerful abilities, or face more dangerous foes. Your character won't see much growth if you've played 1 session or 20. For me, that's not exciting for long-term play. That said, we played through the entirety of the boxed set adventure compilation in 12-15 sessions and had a good time.

Not every game has to last for years like a Paizo Adventure Path to be an excellent time.

Edit: I can't share the link to the YouTube interview. Try searching for Knights of Last Call and Tomas Harenstam.

It's interesting how there might be a divide between player interests and GM interests when it comes to this. One of my favorite parts of Dragonbane - as a GM - is that there is no hp bloat and that the player characters don't get so powerful that it turns into a fantasy super-hero game. But if I were a player, I would probably want a bigger power progression for my character.

 

[Aldarc]

Essentially, what the core of Dragonbane designed similar to the experience as expected by Basic D&D and there isn't an "Expert" equivalent yet. [Even though the original Swedish version had different boxed sets to cover expanded tiers of play.]

There have been interviews suggesting that their Expert book may be on the horizon after the City of Arkand and Book of Magic books. It wouldn't surprise me if FL did something like the Box Set and this latest Kickstarter, having both an adventure/campaign book that can be rolled out alongside the mechanics book.

Do you want a D&D variant or a Glorantha variant?

With the caveat that Glorantha back in the day was just a D&D variant itself?

I guess you would just have to ask yourself...do you prefer something fast and loose that is a strong reminder of old school D&D, or would you prefer a fast, less crunchy version of Runequest?

Apart from duck people, there isn't really anything "Glorantha" about Dragonbane. Drakar och Demoner wasn't even originally based on RuneQuest or Glorantha directly. It came out of Chaosium's Magic World from their World of Wonders book, which was basically D&Difying BRP. Though Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying system was developed for Glorantha and published as RuneQuest, Glorantha actually predates BRP. The fact that both Glorantha and Dragonbane has "ducks" may actually be more incidental than anything, due to a Swedish love of Donald Duck, Duck Tales, and Arne Anka.

But...hold a crossbow to my head, and I would probably pick Shadowdark at this point, as it more closely matches the sword and sorcery vibe I prefer. That may change when I get the Dragonbane kickstarter for the new Magic Book, but right now (despite Dragonbane's Boxed set being the Best Value in RPG's right now), I would have to go with Shadowdark...with all the Cursed Scrolls of course!

I was working on two different hacks of Dragonbane earlier this year,* but I put them on hold due to the then upcoming Kickstarter. Among other reasons, I didn't want to work on developing an Alchemy system if Free League was going to include one in their Book of Magic. Unsurprisingly, Alchemy was unlocked as a magic tradition in their Kickstarter.**

* One based on the Iron Age Mediterranean cultures/myths and the other more science-fantasy and based on Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind, Numenera, and Symbaroum.

* Along with Harmonism, Demonology, Necromancy, Witchcraft, Illusionism, Symbolism, and Dragon Magic. In addition to new spells for the existing schools of Animism, Elementalism, and Mentalism.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I have played a couple games of Shadowdark and I love it, despite my normal preference for more rules-heavy games. I really enjoy the classic D&D vibe. That being said, while I have not played Dragonbane, my buddy played a three-session game while we were at Gencon and had nothing but good things to say about it, and I trust his judgment.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The fact that both Glorantha and Dragonbane has "ducks" may actually be more incidental than anything, due to a Swedish love of Donald Duck, Duck Tales, and Arne Anka.

This is Howard the Duck erasure. He was improbably popular in the 1970s.