5 Things Dragonbane Does Better than D&D | Bronze Dragon Inn

Bronze Dragon Inn is a new show where Critical Role writer, Dimension 20 alum, Acquisitions Incorporated Cast member, Seattle by Night vamp and Battle 4 Beyond DM Jasmine "ThatBronzeGirl" Bhullar breaks down icks, tips and musings about Dungeons and Dragons and other TTRPGs. Today, we're talking about mechanics Dragonbane handles better than D&D and a few you can house rule into ANY game you're running at your table right now.

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[EnterTheBreach]

The opposed rolls in Dragonbane are just about the only time we do math at the table. The players still try to roll under their skill to succeed, however, , the winner is based on who has the greatest difference between their skill and their roll. (Ex. PC and NPC are arm wrestling. PC has a STR of 15 and rolls a 13 the NPC has a STR 18 and rolls a 17. The PC would win because they have a difference of 2 as opposed to the NPC's difference of 1.) This made more sense to us than the "lower than or equal to" rule in the book.

[HerrSpenat]

Just a small note: In Dragonbane you can't parry the attack of a Dragon. Or any other monsters attack, really (unless it's explicitly stated that the attack is an exemption to the rule; you can but dodge out of the way).

But your point still stands, you have the same chance to parry an orcish warchief as you have with their goblin hierling.

Also, hard agree on the opposed rolls. Was probably the most discussed mechanic during beta-testing and in the end I think a majority was still a bit dissatisfied with the rule. But like you mentioned, opposed rolls are uncommon in the system.

Overall a great rundown of both some of the strengths, neat features and some of the weaknesses of the system. 👏

[Hounds]

I’ve never really understood the thematic reasons for prepared spells. If we treat spellcasting like cooking there are some recipes that you know by heart, you don’t even have to measure because you have made it so many times. Then with some recipes you need to look at the recipe just to make sure you are making it right. Have a few spells that you know by heart and all the rest of the spells that you have scrolls for, or have added to your spell book, you have to look at to make sure you cast it right.

[ClaudiusPunchinello]

11:00 Another option: whoever succeeds by the highest margin wins; ties could go to the lower roll or the higher roll (a case could be made for each). This weights contests towards the one with a higher stat (as they have a greater range of successes), but still allows someone with a lower stat to sometimes win out when both rolls succeed. A roll of 16 under 18 (succeeded by 2) would win out against a roll of 9 under 10 (succeeded by 1), but lose to a roll of 7 under 10 (succeeded by 3).

[jasonmd]

The card based initiative and the shift ideas are standard in most of Free League's games.

[Sqalman]

Being a long time Drakar och Demoner player/GM (since 1983), I really love the monster attacks system with the rollable table for the different attacks. I gives a very versatile feeling and a more storytelling like style in combat with monsters.

[danielfalberg]

Fun fact, Dungeons and Dragons never got a big foothold in Sweden thanks to Dod/Drakar och Demoner/Dragonbane. It also layed the foundation for Sweden game development. Alot of the survival rules are taken from Forbidden lands/Svärdets sång, who also is in it self a derviate from the old Drakar och Demoner.

[Stephen-Fox]

Thematically I agree with you - Someone of higher skill winning an opposed roll if they roll higher while still succeeding makes it feel like it's the additional skill that's made the difference.
But 'low is good, so lowest roll wins' makes a lot of intuitive sense

[crazy]

I think the roll low system is good, as it eliminates the “You rolled a 26? Well, uh, you needed a 27!” scenarios… The player actually knows the odds and can make decisions based on them, and the GM’s gotta roll with whatever happens (which is fair, considering they called for the roll).

[cruciblegaminggroup]

Love to see more people interested in Dragonbane. It's a sort of OSR style game where things like food, torches, resting etc. matter but with some modern mechanics as well. You are 100% spot on with Opposed rolls and I think I'm going to HR it that the higher roll wins for exactly the reason you outlined - succeeding on a 17 means your character is simply better at the thing.

[paultaylor]

It only took until the 2nd point for me to give this a thumbs up. I'd never considered the possibility of allowing players to take extra time to cast an unprepared spell before. Brilliant idea.

[ericsmith]

MORE Jasmine Bhullar talking about TTRPGs is EXACTLY what I needed in my life! These are some really interesting mechanics. I'll have to look into this "Dragonbane."
As spell preparation goes I've always thought of it as the caster is sort placing a quasi enchantment on themselves, like the caster becomes a living "magic item" with a certain number of "charges" (spell slots) per day, based directly on how powerful a caster they are (character level). I feel like that way of looking at it helps best explain why you can't cast infinite amounts of spells and why you can't cast from your book (for classes that have one). It takes time (Long Rest) to place these "enchantments" on yourself, and then, once done, you can (generally) release them in an instant. But still, I have always liked the idea of wizards being able to cast from their spellbooks!
I would say if you cast from your spell book and take any damage during that same round (especially AOE) you have to save for your book to see if it gets damaged too. Possibly destroyed! The risk of losing a spellbook isn't played upon NEARLY enough in D&D if you ask me! 😈

[obadiah_v]

My first time watching one of your videos. Thanks for all those insights. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Symbaroum (not the 5e one). It has different mechanics and a very cool setting.

[LaurenOboe]

Always excited to hear what you have to say about other TTRPGs out there!

[paavohirn]

I have to mention my favorite rpg and setting: Dolmenwood. It's basically old school D&D perfected and also with a really cool yet easy to run wilderness survival system. Hunting strange animals of the woods, camping, foraging for herbs and shrooms with meaningful uses etc. It was first a setting but evolved into an amazing system. The Kickstarter ended but it's still pre-orderable.

I'm a fan of Free League as well for their amazing games and high production value. Got the Dragonbane box but yet to try it out.

[Sammo]

Been running Drgonbane for my group and they love it. Can't wait for the new DB content next year. Subscribed.

[Johan-vlbi]

RIP name - but you did very good describing the swedish RPG history! ;)

[kurai]

Older versions used to have a table for opposed rolls. You put your score on one axis and the opposing score on the other. Same scores gave a 50/50 chance to succeed, and every score under deducted 5% chance of success and every score over added 5% chance of success. From the forums many seem to still use this method.

[JoelArndt]

I love the camping and survival emphasis. This is something I feel has been overlooked from D&D's roots.

[pagodrink]

It was only about a year ago that I learned that Drakar och Demoner wasnt just a swedish translation of DnD. To be fair, i believe the 80s DnD cartoon was called Drakar och Demoner so its easy to see why I got confused. Havent played Dragonbane, but I love that Fria Ligan worked with Johan Egerkrans again to make the art, his work is amazing!