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Svärdets sång/Forbidden Lands
Forbidden Lands Gamemaster's Guide
Forbidden Lands RPG
Raiders & Rogues in a Cursed World
In the sandbox survival roleplaying game Forbidden Lands, you and your friends will be playing raiders and rogues bent on making your own mark on a cursed world. Discover lost tombs, fight horrifying monsters, wander the wilderness and build your own stronghold to defend.
Forbidden Lands is a legacy game, in which your actions will permanently change the game map, turning it into a living chronicle of your adventures. The unique rules for exploration, survival, base building and campaign in the game play can easily be ported to any other game world.
The tabletop RPG Forbidden Lands was named one of the most anticipated RPGs of 2018 by EN World. The crowdfunding campaign raised over a quarter of a million dollars and was the third most successful RPG Kickstarter in the world 2017.
With art by the internationally acclaimed artists Simon Stålenhag and Nils Gulliksson, lore by fantasy author Erik Granström, scenarios by esteemed game writers Patrick Stuart, Ben Milton and Chris McDowall and game design by Free League that created the award-winning RPGs Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon, Symbaroum and Tales from the Loop.
Raiders & Rogues in a Cursed World
In the sandbox survival roleplaying game Forbidden Lands, you and your friends will be playing raiders and rogues bent on making your own mark on a cursed world. Discover lost tombs, fight horrifying monsters, wander the wilderness and build your own stronghold to defend.
Forbidden Lands is a legacy game, in which your actions will permanently change the game map, turning it into a living chronicle of your adventures. The unique rules for exploration, survival, base building and campaign in the game play can easily be ported to any other game world.
The tabletop RPG Forbidden Lands was named one of the most anticipated RPGs of 2018 by EN World. The crowdfunding campaign raised over a quarter of a million dollars and was the third most successful RPG Kickstarter in the world 2017.
With art by the internationally acclaimed artists Simon Stålenhag and Nils Gulliksson, lore by fantasy author Erik Granström, scenarios by esteemed game writers Patrick Stuart, Ben Milton and Chris McDowall and game design by Free League that created the award-winning RPGs Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon, Symbaroum and Tales from the Loop.
264 pages, ebook
First published December 6, 2018
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65 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 13, 2019
After reading the Player’s Handbook, I was really looking forward to the GM Guide for Forbidden Lands. I really like a lot of what this system does differently, and was hoping to see more of the authors’ original application. The GM Guide was, sadly, a bit of a disappointment in that sense.
First, although the production of the book itself is still above average for the industry, there are issues with editing and translation that were much more apparent and annoying in this book than in the PH.
Second, the chapters on kin and the history of the setting are... underwhelming. The kin are so stereotypical, it hurts. Here are aloof elves, industrious and fruff dwarves, and primitive and barbaric orcs that are a mockery of civilization. Really? The implicit racism and the unicultures a la Tolkien have been done and re-done so many times, this is just trite and boring. The history also contributes next to nothing: wave after wave of ignorant, disrespectful humans wage wars of extermination against aloof, incomprehending natives, whilst an evil sorcerer conjures demons to crush everyone. Magic is evil and drives you insane, except for “nature” magic which is the province of elves and druids. There is literally *nothing* new in this presentation, and although I get that the authors’ avowed goal was an “old-school” fantasy feel, I was ardently hoping they would’ve taken a few more risks away from the LotR/DnD bizarro clone model.
The monsters are along these lines as well, rescued by the rules for monster attacks, which make them feel both different and really threatening.
The system for generating encounters and adventure sites is thoroughly coherent with the rest of the system’s rules and made for interesting reading, and it reminded me of why I wanted to play this when I read its companion volume.
I would have loved to see a chapter on adapting all the amazing rules of the Forbidden Lands system to other settings (something that is hinted at in the PH, but never even mentioned in the GMG).
All in all, the Forbidden Lands game has solid, innovative rules and an interesting take on how to play a tabletop RPG with a realistic, fantasy feel, and I really want to try the ruleset out. I am disappointed that the authors chose to stay in the well-trod path as far as setting, choosing to imitate and exaggerate the most tired tropes of the genre. I won’t hold my breath for the option to adapt to other settings, though, since it is completely absent from the material, so I’ll just have to try to homebrew my own.
First, although the production of the book itself is still above average for the industry, there are issues with editing and translation that were much more apparent and annoying in this book than in the PH.
Second, the chapters on kin and the history of the setting are... underwhelming. The kin are so stereotypical, it hurts. Here are aloof elves, industrious and fruff dwarves, and primitive and barbaric orcs that are a mockery of civilization. Really? The implicit racism and the unicultures a la Tolkien have been done and re-done so many times, this is just trite and boring. The history also contributes next to nothing: wave after wave of ignorant, disrespectful humans wage wars of extermination against aloof, incomprehending natives, whilst an evil sorcerer conjures demons to crush everyone. Magic is evil and drives you insane, except for “nature” magic which is the province of elves and druids. There is literally *nothing* new in this presentation, and although I get that the authors’ avowed goal was an “old-school” fantasy feel, I was ardently hoping they would’ve taken a few more risks away from the LotR/DnD bizarro clone model.
The monsters are along these lines as well, rescued by the rules for monster attacks, which make them feel both different and really threatening.
The system for generating encounters and adventure sites is thoroughly coherent with the rest of the system’s rules and made for interesting reading, and it reminded me of why I wanted to play this when I read its companion volume.
I would have loved to see a chapter on adapting all the amazing rules of the Forbidden Lands system to other settings (something that is hinted at in the PH, but never even mentioned in the GMG).
All in all, the Forbidden Lands game has solid, innovative rules and an interesting take on how to play a tabletop RPG with a realistic, fantasy feel, and I really want to try the ruleset out. I am disappointed that the authors chose to stay in the well-trod path as far as setting, choosing to imitate and exaggerate the most tired tropes of the genre. I won’t hold my breath for the option to adapt to other settings, though, since it is completely absent from the material, so I’ll just have to try to homebrew my own.
December 5, 2022
Looks like an interesting game system, but cosmetically the book is let down a bit by the old-fashioned illustrations and graphic design. I get that they're going for an "old school" look, but it just looks rough and dated, especially when compared to Free League's other game lines.
Read
February 1, 2023Weirdly miffed that this has the same cover as the player's handbook, but nevertheless I continue to be impressed with the game as a whole. This book itself has some good generic GM advice, and more for this game in particular, love that it emphasises that you really shouldn't be spending that much time on prep.
I skipped most of the lore, as I have no doubts about my ability to come up with that myself; what I need is tools and mechanics that lessen my workload and contain pieces that make the game more fluid and interesting. And this has quite a lot of that! I like the limited monster list (how many monsters do you really need, anyway?) and at first blush the semi-randomised actions they take in combat is very cool. But read too many of them in a row and you start to notice most of the monsters have a sweeping attack that knocks PCs down, a roar that induces fear, a swallowing attack, and so on. It's still a cool system, I just wish it had a bit more variety in its tables.
Again the artifacts list is admirably limited, and each comes with its own legend that precedes it. This, combined with the rarity of magic items, really makes them feel special and unique. Carskenfoot's Boots are the only copy of that item in existence; the guy only had two feet, after all.
Then we get a plethora of really excellent random tables. Look, I've read a lot of random tables since I started getting into TTRPGs, and these are up in the top tier. Varied by terrain, not all mindless combats, and each interesting in themselves, containing no set outcome but many possibilities depending on how the players approach each one. The tables for constructing adventure sites (including villages, castles, dungeons, etc.) are similarly excellent. Even the name generator is really good!
And then the book rounds out with three prebuilt adventure sites. There's some stuff in this book that's superfluous to my needs personally, but most of that isn't a slight on the book itself, it's still a fantastic resource both for this game and for games like this, with that emphasis on exploration and discovery, where any monster is a terrifying sight, where a new castle on the horizon could mean months and months of sessions. Having a greater view of the game as a whole now, after reading both core books, I think I'd simplify a few things (as is ever my desire), but nevertheless I do think it's a very good system, and I'd very much like to get it, or some version of it, to the table.
I skipped most of the lore, as I have no doubts about my ability to come up with that myself; what I need is tools and mechanics that lessen my workload and contain pieces that make the game more fluid and interesting. And this has quite a lot of that! I like the limited monster list (how many monsters do you really need, anyway?) and at first blush the semi-randomised actions they take in combat is very cool. But read too many of them in a row and you start to notice most of the monsters have a sweeping attack that knocks PCs down, a roar that induces fear, a swallowing attack, and so on. It's still a cool system, I just wish it had a bit more variety in its tables.
Again the artifacts list is admirably limited, and each comes with its own legend that precedes it. This, combined with the rarity of magic items, really makes them feel special and unique. Carskenfoot's Boots are the only copy of that item in existence; the guy only had two feet, after all.
Then we get a plethora of really excellent random tables. Look, I've read a lot of random tables since I started getting into TTRPGs, and these are up in the top tier. Varied by terrain, not all mindless combats, and each interesting in themselves, containing no set outcome but many possibilities depending on how the players approach each one. The tables for constructing adventure sites (including villages, castles, dungeons, etc.) are similarly excellent. Even the name generator is really good!
And then the book rounds out with three prebuilt adventure sites. There's some stuff in this book that's superfluous to my needs personally, but most of that isn't a slight on the book itself, it's still a fantastic resource both for this game and for games like this, with that emphasis on exploration and discovery, where any monster is a terrifying sight, where a new castle on the horizon could mean months and months of sessions. Having a greater view of the game as a whole now, after reading both core books, I think I'd simplify a few things (as is ever my desire), but nevertheless I do think it's a very good system, and I'd very much like to get it, or some version of it, to the table.
Read
July 26, 2020I find it hard to rate an RPG without having played it. I’m familiar with, and like, the system. It’s basically the same system as Mutant Year Zero.
Unfortunately, like MY0 with Forbidden Lands you get a great system and an inspiring sand box to play with; however and but, the books are poorly edited. I think much of it is a literal lost in translation deal (original games are Swedish). Little things. Both books make reference to chapter numbers, for instance “read more about Magic in chapter 5”, BUT, someone made the decision during the design process to scrub chapter numbers and go with just chapter titles. It’s minor, yes I can count chapters, but I should not have to.
Little buggy rules are littered throughout the text of the books. A rule is mentioned that you have to find, or go back to. Page reference numbers being more frequently cited would have helped plus a complete appendix of both books.
Bitches and gripes aside, I’m eager to try the game out. This is a game that begs to be played on the table and not virtually (although, to be fair you could). I now need COVID-19 to go fuck itself so I can get my friends together to play.
Unfortunately, like MY0 with Forbidden Lands you get a great system and an inspiring sand box to play with; however and but, the books are poorly edited. I think much of it is a literal lost in translation deal (original games are Swedish). Little things. Both books make reference to chapter numbers, for instance “read more about Magic in chapter 5”, BUT, someone made the decision during the design process to scrub chapter numbers and go with just chapter titles. It’s minor, yes I can count chapters, but I should not have to.
Little buggy rules are littered throughout the text of the books. A rule is mentioned that you have to find, or go back to. Page reference numbers being more frequently cited would have helped plus a complete appendix of both books.
Bitches and gripes aside, I’m eager to try the game out. This is a game that begs to be played on the table and not virtually (although, to be fair you could). I now need COVID-19 to go fuck itself so I can get my friends together to play.
March 11, 2021
History, monsters, magical items, adventure randomizers, and a few detailed adventure sites. The history was a bit boring but most of the stuff here is usable, although you get just the barest of randomizors. If you are going to play this game for very long you are going to habe to seek out more from other sources.
July 2, 2019
En fed fed verden. Historien virker næsten uoverskuelig men det gør ikke noget hvis man husker at holde overblikket med spillet😃
February 18, 2020
This is an excellent OSR rpg for those who want the feeling of D&d 1st edition while enjoying modern rules systems. I cannot wait to run this system!
May 31, 2023
Bit wonky at times, but overall a great book and a very interesting system.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews