New Dragonbane: Trudvang Campaign Goes Big On Kickstarter

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Free League Publishing’s Dragonbane RPG has just launched a new campaign setting that’s also a return to the game’s roots. Dragonbane: Trudvang is a new project running now on Kickstarter that features multiple new books and accessories set in a realm of mist-shrouded forests, wrathful gods and ancient heroes rooted in Nordic mythology.

Notably, Trudvang was first created in the early 2000s for Drakar och Demoner (the Swedish predecessor to Dragonbane) and later evolved into its own separate RPG. This return to the lands of Trudvang, however, features new English-language content, while also tapping into decades of lore, art and previously published content. Below, we take a closer look at what’s included.

What is the “Dragonbane: Trudvang” Kickstarter about?

Dragonbane: Trudvang will consist on four new books that update the setting for the new Free League version of Dragonbane. The books will be available in both English and Swedish and include:

• World Book: A detailed guide to Trudvang’s cultures, peoples and lands, covering everything from the misty Stormlands to the frozen Great Ice Plains.
• Book of Heroes: New professions, abilities and magic systems, including vitner weavers and dimwalkers.
• Jorgi’s Bestiary: A monster compendium featuring classic Trudvang creatures such as draugr, braskelwurm, hrimtursir and yggdras (all inspired from Norse mythology)
• The Black Sun: A massive four-part campaign that was previously published for the Trudvang RPG and is being translated into English for the first time.

The project is lead by lead primarily by veteran TTRPG designer Magnus Seter (who has worked on Cyberpunk 2020 and Forbidden Lands) and, in addition to featuring reprints of classic Trudvang artwork, will also include a brand-new world map by cartographer Francesca Baerald.

What are the Kickstarter backer options for Dragonbane: Trudvang?

• Digital Core Book (~$22 USD): Includes the Dragonbane: Trudvang Core Rulebook PDF (in English or Swedish).
• Core Rulebook (~$45 USD): Includes one Standard Edition hardcover Core Rulebook plus the complete PDF.
• Digital Trudvang Bundle (~$78 USD): Includes PDFs of all four books.
• Collector’s Core Rulebook (~$78 USD): Includes a deluxe faux-leather, gold-foil Collector’s Edition Core Rulebook (which won’t be reprinted) plus the PDF.

• Trudvang Bundle (~$166 USD): Includes Standard Edition print copies of all four books, plus PDFs.
• Stormlander Bundle (~$199 USD): Includes all four Standard Edition books, the Trudvang GM Screen, Dice & Cards Set and all PDFs.
• Collector’s Trudvang Bundle (~$288 USD): Includes all four books in deluxe faux-leather Collector’s Editions, plus complete PDFs.
• Collector’s Stormlander Bundle (~$321 USD): Includes all four Collector’s Editions, GM Screen, Dice & Cards Set and all four PDFs.
• Dimwalker Bundle (~$498 USD): Includes both Standard and Collector’s Editions of all four books, a Trudvang Cloth Map, an honorable mention credit in the Core Rulebook, stretch goal GM Screen and Dice Set and all PDFs.

What is the original Trudvang RPG setting?

The world of Trudvang was first created in the early 2000s by Swedish game designers Theodore Bergqvist and Magnus Malmberg and was published under their imprint RiotMinds. Initially, Trudvang was developed as a campaign setting for the Swedish RPG Drakar och Demoner (known today in English as Dragonbane), but over time, it evolved into its own RPG known as Trudvang Chronicles which was published by the international game company CMON.

Over a dozen books were published Trudvang Chronicles over the years in Swedish and it became extremely popular, thanks to both the setting and the now iconic artwork from British fantasy illustrator Paul Bonner. Notably, the setting also spanwed a popular board game entitled Trudvang Legends which was published in 2022 by CMON following a successful Kickstarter.

What is the Dragonbane RPG?

Dragonbane is a fantasy tabletop RPG published by Free League in 2023 and based on the Swedish game Drakar och Demoner (literally translated as “Dragons and Demons”), which was first released in 1982 and is widely considered Scandinavia’s first and arguably most popular TTRPG, far outselling Dungeons & Dragons.

In its earliest editions Drakar och Demoner was essentially a Swedish-language adaptation of Chaosium’s Basic Role‑Playing system, with character stats and skills listed as percentages and players trying to roll equal to or under their skill value. Over the years the system was further refined and moved between several different publisher, eventually transitioning towards a d20-based system and being renamed as Ruin Masters.

In 2021, Free League bought the rights to the game and made significant rules updates in addition to releasing an English version under the name Dragonbane. Like D&D, you build a character by selecting a species (such as human, dwarf, elf, halfling, wolfkin, or the more unusual duck humanois known as mallards) and a profession (fighter, mage, hunter, thief, artisan, merchant, mariner, scholar, etc.). Your profession determines starting skills and a starting Heroic Ability, but you are not locked into a strict class progression (you can develop your character in any direction). Character advancement emphasizes skills rather than traditional levels.

In terms of gameplay, the core mechanic is a roll-under system using a d20: each skill has a target value (typically between 1 and 18) and you succeed on a roll of that number or lower. Rolling a natural 1 is a critical success (“dragon”), and a natural 20 is a critical fail (“demon”). Combat is fairly simple (with just one action per turn) and initiative is handled via a deck of 10 numbered cards which are drawn each round.

Why is the Dragonbane: Trudvang Kickstarter worth backing?

• A return to RPG roots: The game brings back one of the most beloved Swedish fantasy worlds, while fully integrating it with Free League’s new Dragonbane rulesset.
• Massive campaign Content: The Kickstarter features four full hardback books covering lore, classes, creatures and adventures, offering a ton of material to draw on.
• Unique artwork: Features classic Trudvang art by Paul Bonner and new map work from Francesca Baerald.
• High production value: Free League has set an incredibly high bar when it comes to their production value and so the final products are likely going to be incredibly polished.

Final Thoughts

Over the past year we’ve seen Dragonbane explode in popularity, with more and more players embracing the system and world. Trudvang, however, feels like both a nod to the past and a major next step into the future.

You can learn more and back Dragonbane: Trudvang from now until March 19th on Kickstarter