Dragonbane vs Forbidden Lands: Which Fantasy RPG Suits You?

Quick answer

Choose Dragonbane if you want a fast, approachable fantasy RPG that plays well in short sessions and welcomes new groups. Choose Forbidden Lands if your table wants a grimdark survival sandbox where travel, resource management, and base building drive the campaign. Dragonbane is easier to teach; Forbidden Lands rewards long-term commitment.

Tone and setting: heroic adventure vs grimdark survival

Dragonbane leans into classic fantasy adventure with a lighter, more heroic tone. It supports one-shot delves and short campaigns without demanding heavy bookkeeping, so you can run it on a weeknight and still feel like you accomplished something. Forbidden Lands sits at the grimdark end of the spectrum: the world is dangerous, resources are scarce, and survival itself is a core part of play. If your group enjoys tension, scarcity, and morally grey decisions, Forbidden Lands delivers that mood out of the box. If you want fantasy that feels adventurous rather than oppressive, Dragonbane is the easier sell.

Rules weight and teaching time

Dragonbane is built to be picked up quickly. Character creation is fast, the core mechanic is consistent, and you can hand a new player a pre-generated character and start playing in the same session. Forbidden Lands has more moving parts: travel procedures, survival rolls, stronghold management, and a combat system that can punish poor planning. Neither is a rules-heavy simulation, but Dragonbane asks less of the group on night one. If your table includes players who bounce off thick rulebooks, Dragonbane will get you to the table faster.

Campaign structure: episodic vs sandbox

Dragonbane works well as an episodic game. You can run a self-contained adventure, then pick up again weeks later without losing the thread. That flexibility makes it a strong choice for groups with irregular schedules. Forbidden Lands is designed as an open sandbox where the map itself is a discovery tool and the campaign grows out of where the players choose to go. It rewards players who take notes, plan routes, and invest in a shared home base. The trade-off is real: Dragonbane is easier to run casually, while Forbidden Lands gives more payoff to a dedicated, consistent group.

What you need to start playing

Dragonbane is sold as a core set that gives you the rules and starting materials in one purchase, which is ideal if you want a single box to begin. Forbidden Lands is also available as a boxed set with the core books and campaign materials, but the line expands with additional books if you want more options. If you already own a fantasy RPG and are deciding what to add, check whether your group prefers a complete starter experience or a game you can grow into over multiple purchases. The catalog does not list every expansion for either line, so treat the core set as your baseline and add supplements only after your table commits to a long campaign.

Trade-offs at a glance

• Dragonbane: accessibility vs long-term depth: Dragonbane is fast to teach and easy to run in short sessions, but it offers less mechanical depth for groups that want years of character progression. Pick Dragonbane if your priority is getting everyone playing quickly.
• Forbidden Lands: depth vs commitment: Forbidden Lands rewards long campaigns with travel, survival, and base building, but it demands more prep and consistent attendance to shine. Pick Forbidden Lands if your group meets regularly and enjoys resource management.
• Grimdark tone vs heroic tone: Forbidden Lands delivers grimdark survival by default; Dragonbane supports a more heroic, adventurous feel without extra work. Match the tone to what your players actually want to feel at the table.

Product facts

• Cold and Dark Core Rulebook: Cold and Dark Core Rulebook is a sci-fi RPG set in the Sirius galaxy, a greedy industrial society run by corporations and the Governmental Industrial Complex, where strip-mining has stirred something terrible best left buried. If your group likes grimdark survival but wants a science-fiction setting instead of fantasy, this is a direct alternative to Forbidden Lands.
• Star Trek Adventures - Second Edition - Core Rulebook (Sciences Limited Edition): Star Trek Adventures - Second Edition - Core Rulebook (Sciences Limited Edition) is a webstore exclusive with a smaller than usual print run that will not be reprinted once sold out. If your group is weighing a licensed RPG instead of a fantasy sandbox, this limited edition is worth deciding on before it disappears.

Which should you choose?

Best for

• Groups with new players or irregular schedules who want fast, approachable fantasy sessions
• GMs who prefer episodic adventures over long-term campaign tracking

Not for

• Tables that want a grimdark survival sandbox with heavy travel and resource management
• Groups that meet weekly and want a campaign built around exploration and base building