Dragonbane TTRPG Adventure Book Review

Dragonbane from Free League Publishing, is set for release later this year. I have already reviewed the Core Set of the Dragonbane TTRPG and gave it a huge recommendation. In that review, I left out details of the Adventure Book that comes with that box. I did this on purpose; because I wanted to give the Dragonbane TTRPG Adventure Book its own review. As the Game Master in our plays of Dragonbane I have no idea what it is like to play Dragonbane as a player. So, I collected feedback from my friends, so you can get a player’s point of view of this adventure.

What is The Dragonbane TTRPG Adventure Book?

One thing before I proceed with this review of the Dragonbane adventure book. Rest assured, there will be no spoilers for the story or locations in the book. The Adventure Book is a 112-page campaign guide, that consists of 11 short adventures. These adventures can be stand-alone or, as the book suggests, linked together to run a decent length campaign. The name of the campaign is; The Secret of the Dragon Emperor, and it takes place in the mysterious Misty Vale.

The book is overflowing with content. Over 20 battle maps, pictures of every relevant NPC, unique monsters to fight, roll tables, and awesome guides for running the campaign. If you are planning to run the book as a campaign, you can also make use of the adventure cards and the color map. Both of these come packaged with the core set. The map features illustrations for all the quests, and I should mention the solo mode at this point. Whilst technically separate from the adventure book, the core set also has a solo variant of Dragonbane. If you fancy trying the game out for yourself before taking it to your playgroup, this is no doubt the best place to start.

Player Feedback of the Dragonbane TTRPG Adventure Book

When I asked my friends to help me review the Dragonbane TTRPG Adventure Book, I wasn’t expecting much enthusiasm. We have played a lot of fantasy games together in the past, and I was expecting a lukewarm reception to another one. I was wrong, once I shared some art from the book; they were very eager to try Dragonbane.

Before we began the adventure, we decided to sit and make characters together. My friends had high praise for how simple and streamlined making a character was. One of them commented that the lack of choices in the Kin department was disappointing. While others appreciated the fact there was a more concise list to choose from. Creating characters is so easy, that taking the core box from purchase to first game will be easy, even for an inexperienced group.

I mentioned in my review of the core set that I loathed to compare this game to 5th edition DnD. Alas, I am forced to again after the comments I received from my players. One of the biggest problems we all have with 5e, is power creep. Before you know it, you are all unstoppable juggernauts, that run head first into every danger sword swinging. In Dragonbane, you will never be that powerful because your PCs are much more grounded in reality. This of course makes the game a lot more difficult. My players, loved this and the challenge presented to them every session. They found the experience humbling, and enjoyed the tension the difficult gameplay produced. Like the good players they are, they adjusted quickly, and embraced this change of pace with open arms.

My players are enjoying the adventure book so far, and I would like to thank them for all their help too. Nearly all the feedback I received from them stressed how this adventure is more enjoyable than a published DnD adventure. We are now planning to finish the entire book, and eager to see the future content Free League produces for Dragonbane.

The Dragonbane Adventure Book From the GMs Perspective

From a Game Master’s perspective, preparing games for this review of the Dragonbane adventure book has been an easy ride. The book has some great features, that makes finding what you need a piece of cake. This book can teach a few other adventure publishers out there a few lessons on how to set out their content. In other adventure modules I have read, when describing a dungeon room, it is in the form of a large text dump. In Dragonbane they instead go for a color-coded list of important information. Green text is for things the PCs can find, and red text is for the threats present in the room, etc. This super simple change is so effective at aiding you prepare for your game sessions, and makes referencing much simpler.

The adventure itself is good, there’s nothing groundbreaking about the content within. There’s a threat, and a series of adventures to go on to solve that danger. The strength of this adventure is its presentation, not the content. This book feels to me like a tutorial campaign for both players and GMs. Free league had a clear and easy to recognize design philosophy with this box. Introduce players to the rules and setting of Dragonbane in the most accessible way possible. To me and my players, they have accomplished this mission with flying colors. New GMs, and veterans of the RPG world, can reap great rewards from studying the layout and structure of this adventure.

Thank you for reading my review of the Dragonbane Adventure Book. At the moment, you can only get the adventure book; by purchasing the core set on Drive Thru RPG in PDF format for $24.99. A Physical version of the core set is set to be released later this year, for around $45. I can’t recommend Dragonbane enough, go treat yourself and your game group to a copy to enjoy this summer.