Stefano Buonocore
Today we are pleased to present you the review of the first issue of Dragonzine, a magazine dedicated to the world of Dragonbane. First of all we want to thank Śraddhāpa Shan Welsh di Dragon Cult Games for sending us a copy of the first issue.
Dragonzine is made under the third-party developer license of Free League, designed to encourage extra content for Dragonbane. You can purchase it on Drivethrurpg in digital format at a cost of $8.99. On the page of Dragon Cult Games you can find various other free material, as well as future issues of Dragonzine.
If you are not yet familiar with the world of Dragonbane, you can learn more about it in our review, where you will find all the useful references for purchasing.
Dragonzine Review: the Handbook
As anticipated, the magazine is in digital format only and is composed of 95 pages. The contents are of various nature: they range from interviews to game material, including short adventures. On the second cover, it is specified that this is not official material and that Dragon Cult Games is in no way affiliated with Free League. But it is also it’s important to remember that the Swedish publishing house shared the launch announcement of Dragonzine, a great support.
The quality is quite high. In the background of the pages you can see a light parchment effect which makes reading more restful, and the color for the decorations and paragraph titles is a bright green. The style fully recalls that of Dragonbane, highly thematic. The illustrations are on average of a good standard, credited when used with license or permission from the author. Dragon Cult Games is keen to specify that no content was created through the use of artificial intelligence software.
Interviews
The first volume of Dragonzine firstly get us an interview with Tomas Härenstam, Free League CEO and Dragonbane lead designer. This once again confirms the publisher’s support for these projects born from enthusiasts. The interview takes place as a pleasant chat focused on the creation of this new edition of the Swedish equivalent of Dungeons & Dragons. We won’t spoil the content so as not to ruin the pleasure of reading, but it contains a lot of interesting background on the genesis and finishing of Dragonbane.
The second interview is dedicated to Jonathan Myhre, better known as Mr. Dragonbane. With 503 hours of gameplay accumulated in 163 sessions in 2023 alone, Jonathan is a true ambassador of the game. The story of how he came into contact with it and how he decided to make it his own is certainly interesting. What is truly stimulating, however, is the perspective it gives on the game, the explanation of its approach and how in general it can be useful to propose it to groups who come from other experiences.
Extra Contents’ Review of Dragonzine
Obviously, the interviews are interesting, but what is always most juicy in a product like this is the additional material. In particular, Bloodlines and Professions, significantly expand the options for the player and presents the same care as the official material.
In fact, each playable lineage has a description, a table with some names to choose from, to draw or to be inspired, an associated skill and some possible adventure ideas.
We then find the peaceful Turtlekin, with a culture that is friendly and open to foreigners, but not therefore helpless. They are counterpointed by Bearkin, proud hunters but above all fearful warriors when they feel threatened, and even more so when someone in their family is threatened. Night Elves are shy and ambiguous creatures, at ease in the darkness in which they traffic secrets.
PC, NPC and Monsters
The previous three Bloodlines also have cards for use as NPCs, but they are obviously designed first and foremost to be playable. On the contrary, there are profiles presented exclusively to be moved by the GM.
Bugbears and Gnolls need no introduction; they are cornerstones of the adventure fantasy genre. Stranger is the Arcane Mistake, the result of failed arcane experiments; it is a shapeless masse with semi-liquid flesh constantly searching for prey. Even more disturbing, however, are the Goatman, demonic infesting creatures with the appearance of humanoid goats; initially they were born from demons and goats, but now they reproduce by mating with any other creature.
In addition to the monsters, Dragonzine also offers a skeleton (no pun intended) of NPCs to interact with, the Necromancer. The name says it all: he is an enchanter who uses magic to control the dead and necrotic energies. In particular, this NPC refers to the list of spells present in Necromancy, a dedicated supplement available on Drivethrurpg for free.
Dragonzine Professions’ Review
Fascinating are the four new Professions, which further expand the options for players. The Monk and the Priest are certainly the ones that will sound most familiar to lovers of fantasy games. The former is an oriental-style martial arts expert, the latter a classic cleric. A peculiarity compared to the other Dragonbane Professions is their versatility. The Monk can in fact choose one of several Heroic Skills. The Priest can instead choose only one, but its effect will change depending on what the invoked deity represents. Or, in case of failure, the one who intrudes on his prayers.
The Dragonrider follows one of the most famous archetypes of fantasy heroic, or the knight who fights on the back of a dragon. At the complete opposite end of the fantasy spectrum, the Tavernkeeper, on the other hand, brings particular social interaction skills to the gaming group typical of an innkeeper.
The Right Equipment
A magazine would not be worthy of the name if it did not present a series of objects. Particularly one article focuses on magical items: weapons, armor, and wearable equipment which can give bonuses to Characteristics or other abilities. Nor is there any shortage of cursed objects, with absolutely unwanted properties. In many ways, this equipment recalls that presented in various editions of the most famous game in the world, but recalibrated on the Dragonbane.
Following we have another article featuring firearms. It is even more interesting because not only does it allow you to significantly expand the basic setting of Dragonbane or even to replace it by maintaining only the game rules, but above all because in addition to the related objects it also introduces dedicated mechanics.
Dragonzine Adventures Review
Dragonzine also contains two short adventures. The first one, Taking Sides, it’s more of a scenario for players to encounter. Our reviews are as always free of spoilers, but in this case, we can say that in Misty Vale (or in any other setting you want to place Taking Sides) there are two NPCs with opposing views. The unscrupulous hunter Reynar Callisper and the renegade orc animist Mlok-Dir. Their opposing visions of how to live in the forest have reached a point where the clash is inevitable, and the presence but above all the choices of the characters will be decisive.
Revenge of the Fallen instead it has a slightly broader and at the same time traditional scope, but always based on the choices of the characters in the clashes between factions. In fact, they will snoop on the island of Windheim, populated by the ancient feud between the dwarven realms of Thym Zur and Khal Dhem. Intertwined with this is the rebellion of the human Myhl population against the larger Bastionite empire. In a scenario where everyone has their reasons, identifying who is in the wrong becomes particularly difficult.
Both adventures feature NPC statistics and necessary maps, but the latter for greater convenience are also available in PDFs attached to the first volume of Dragonzine.
News
The last part of the magazine is dedicated to news from the world of Dragonbane. Both for official products and for third-party ones. The choice of the month (the Dragonzine Top Pitch) of the first issue of the magazine is the scenario The Hand’s Hills. It’s a rather concise adventure, heavily focused on exploration. We also find the review of Legends of Cyr-Nul: the Dire Pack, an exciting adventure available in both English and Swedish.
In the middle, a wide panorama of recommended products, divided into paid ones, free ones (or with a pay-what-you-want formula), and Kickstarters currently in progress. A decidedly vast review, confirms the formula of Free League to be a winner, both in terms of the ease with which you can customize or expand the mechanics of Dragonbane and for the management of licenses for third parties.
Conclusions of the Review of Dragonzine
Fanzines and official magazines have been the backbone of the RPG scene since its birth. Player creativity exceeds game designer expectations. Sometimes it ends up surpassing even their creations.
Dragonzine turns out to be an excellent product, well edited editorially but above all inspired. Also thanks to the support that Free League has decided to provide independent developers, a choice that is not obvious but which proves to be successful both at a market and game design level.
This first issue broadens the perspectives of gaming groups and provides new material and scenarios to play with a winning quality-price ratio. Recommended for anyone who is a fan of Dragonbane, but also for anyone who has just approached this role-playing game.
