I am excited for this book!

Good times ahead. I get to talk about Dragonbane and a new monster book at the same time. I am so happy and grateful to have finally acquired this one.

This is not a review copy. I came into this book using the meager lawn mowing money I earn and digging through the couch cushions. I will admit I am a bit biased toward Free League Publishing. They were the ones who got me interested in Dragonbane and several other RPGs that they make. We have lots of reviews yet to come. I have become a bit of a Dragonbane fan, however. (Thank you again Boel, Arcane PR Wizard at Fria Ligan!)

The PDF is available on DriveThruRPG on my Affiliate Link Here. It’s also on the Free League Website.

New Kin!

There was no question what my first character was going to be out of this new supplement.

That’s really the first most exciting thing I want to discuss. Part of the reason for getting this book is to play around with the new Kin options within. There are nine new options:

  • Goblins
  • Hobgoblins
  • Ogres
  • Orcs
  • Cat People
  • Lizard Folk
  • Karkion (Winged Cat People and/or demon spawned.)
  • Frog People
  • Satyrs.

The appearance of some of these Kin or something adjacent to them in Daggerheart makes me wonder how much inspiration the writers of that game took from Dragonbane. There are a few similarities here and there, especially in regard to Kin. It could just be my imagination. I also think Karkion were a vague attempt at emulating the Tieflings (minus horns) from D&D, but I could be wrong.

The first thing that stands out to me in pretty much all of the entries on the new Kin is the phrase, “If the gaming group agrees to it, (New Kin) can be played…”

My Snoopervisor insisted on Cat People as a solo PC.

In other words, the group has to be cool with allowing Goblins, Lizard Folk, or flying cat/demon people. I love that this phrase is repeated throughout the new Kin. I regularly say, “Do what works best for your group,” on this blog. I have another article coming where I get into how I’m planning to deal with the new Kin for my own games. I do find it fascinating that the writers took the approach of making it a group decision.

Each of the new Kin comes with their own unique ability just as the ones in the core Dragonbane rules. On top of that, some of them move pretty fast. They also have their own name tables. (The name table for the Lizard People is hilarious!) It should also be pointed out that some of these new Kin move differently/better than the average bipedal creature. Ogres are Large in size, which is its own special advantage in my opinion.

Overall, I find the new Kin to be very well balanced and well written. Karkion have to spend Willpower Points in order to fly, for example. The Lizard People are more like geckos or chameleons than what I would consider the more Reptilian beings I usually use in my campaigns or Lizard Folk from Dungeons & Dragons. Be aware that the Night Kin PC’s are still Nocturnal and take d6 damage from exposure to sunlight. None of the Kin or monsters in Dragonbane have any kind of natural night vision as far as I’ve seen.

Overall I find the new Kin to be a refreshing change of pace. I know it would have added length to the book, but I would have preferred them to all be organized together at the front of the book including their base Movement on one table. Having them scattered throughout the book was okay from my perspective as a GM, but looking all over the book was challenging as a player.

The Blood Demon is a perfect example of the 2 page spreads in this tome.

I know the other reviews I’ve seen of the Dragonbane Bestiary spoke extensively about the use of space within the book. A lot of reviewers have said they would liked to have seen less art and more flavor text on all of the entries in terms of culture, habitat, etc. I thought it was nice that the GM is left room to define them according to their own campaign or take on The Misty Vale from the core rule box.

Zooming out for a moment.

Dragon (Drakar) is part of the title. The book would be remiss not to include them.

(*I almost said, “Meow-ment.” Too much obsessing over Cat People.)

The art for the Dragonbane Bestiary continues the tradition of being absolutely phenomenal. The cover carried over the theme from the Core book/box. The cover is done by Dragonbane illustrator Johan Egerkrans, and the Interior Art is mostly by David Brasgalla. I was chomping at the bit for this book before based on the idea of it being a monster book. The really gorgeous art only adds to the experience.

I haven’t mentioned yet that much of the flavor text is written from the perspective of Theodora Sneezewort, a Halfling adventurer. We also get various random quotes from other characters throughout the entries. It’s a really nice touch to the book.

In terms of game entries, stats aside, we get a random encounter and an adventure seed for each monster/NPC. There is a positively huge amount of adventure material here for any game, not just Dragonbane. I think it’s a good addon for any fantasy RPG GM. I would be comfortable adding this book to my collection even if I wasn’t running Dragonbane. The additional encounters and adventure seeds are darn good.

Dragonbane Bestiary comes in at 156 pages for the PDF. It has Full color illustrations. There are 63 new monster entries total including expanding on Dragons and Demons. (Go figure.) I’m thrilled with this book. I think it puts a lot of other monster manuals to shame based on the artwork and extra adventure content.

That’s where I’ll leave it for today. Next time we’ll dig into Nightkin, Rare Kin, and maybe touch on Trolls a little bit. (I mean not physically touch the Trolls because that would just be awkward.) We’ll talk about them, anyway.  They’re Dragonbane Trolls, not the Internet kind. I promise it’ll be good clean fun.

Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.