Swedish Roleplaying-games

The first real roleplaying game in Swedish to be released on the market was Drakar och Demoner (Dragons and Demons). Note that despite the name it is not a Dungeons & Dragons clone. The game system is that of Steve Perrin, basic roleplaying, used in Runequest and Call of Cthulhu. The first edition of Drakar och Demoner came in 1982 in a blue box and was a straight translation of Perrin's Magic World which was released together with Future World and Super World in the boxed set Worlds of Wonder (1982). The rules were not complex by themselves but the misses in translation and bugs in the game-system made it hard to learn the rules.
After several years, and a total remake of the game, in 1984, Drakar och Demoner was re-released, with a reprint in 1985. These two, 2nd and 3rd, editions were a great step forward. The rules being more flexible and powerful still simple enough to give a winning formula. When speaking about roleplaying games to a non-gamer in Sweden, most people don't know what a roleplaying game is unless you mention Drakar och Demoner. The only thing the game still lacked was a campain world of it's own. Some published adventures was played against one fantasy setting, others against a another. In one adventure, Havets Vargar (Wolves of the Sea), the players found themselves in medieval fantasy Norway/Sweden. Here the setting was a great mix of vikings and mythic creatures but still there wasn't a real consistent world. Not until Kandra, a city of adventure, came, there seemed like there would be one. Kandra was well written and many roleplayers today agree that it was one of the best supplements ever made for the game. Around the city grew countries and eventually a world. The greatest problem was the writers. Too many writers made up their own explanations about the different corners of the world and soon the world Ereb Altor looked like a patchwork. Never the less it was the only campain world many roleplayers knew.
The basic set of rules, by many referred to as the black box, was later expanded by Drakar och Demoner EXPERT in 1985. Introducing several new occupations, skills and lots of magic, it also got rid of the d100 and used a d20 for all skill rolls. Now Drakar och Demoner was a game of it's own, bearing little resemblence with that of Steve Perrins.
To the basic set, a new expansion box was released in 1987: Drakar och Demoner Samuraj. The rules were almost like those of EXPERTs but the setting was different: a feudal fantasy Japan. This was set in the same world as the other companion games, but on a different continent. Else there was little new except for expanded rules for martial arts later to appear in GIGANT. Unfortunately this expansion set never hit, and disappeared a few years later.
Drakar och Demoner Ivanhoe was the second offspring of EXPERT. This one had more new material concerning alchemy and feudal society. It was almost divided into two parts, one fictitious fantasy setting and one based on medieval Europe. After a few years it disappeared.
Drakar och Demoner GIGANT introduced high level campaigning like players running their own provinces, great battles pitching armies together and building castles. It also expanded the magic system, introducing new types of magic and also new professions.
In 1987 a 4th edition was released, but except for a new design of the box and the inclusion of two introductory adventures, not much changed. Many gamers do not think of this as a new edition.
Other expansions for the game were Monsterboken and Monsterboken II essentially two bestiaries, sooner replaced by Drakar och Demoner Monster/Monsterboxen (coll. the Monsterbox) and Drakar och Demoner Magi. Where the two first bestiaries were, almost too, flexible the boxed, and expanded, version had more of the next generation of Drakar och Demoner in it. Now there were standard stats for monsters making it harder for players to play monsters not intended to be played. Drakar och Demoner Magi was a collection of all previously printed rules about magic, revised and improved, and new material added.
After several years the game needed to be reprinted and maybe revised. What had already begun in Drakar och Demoner Monster continued 1991. The rules were again changed; combining the original first two boxes Drakar och Demoner and Drakar och Demoner EXPERT, deleting obsolete rules and changing the character generation process. This new game was not 100% downward compatible and several players and groups made their own house rules, combining the 2nd/3rd and 5th edition rules and supplements. The 5th edition was supposed to introduce new players to the game and several handbooks was published. These handbooks made it more fun to play that specific occupation or race described in the handbook. Unfortunately with each handbook that occupation got more powerful and more rules were added. Soon it was hard to get an overview of the rules and the rules got unbalanced.
In 1994 the 6th edition of the rules were published, Drakar och Demoner Chronopia. No new rules really but a new campaign world, Chronopia, written by Bill King. Many old gamers believe this world bear too many similarities to those of Games Workshop and TSR, thus never buying the game. Still it is an improvement, for the first time Drakar och Demoner have a consistent world and the layout of the rules, now in a book, is great although maybe a little overdone.
For younger gamers though, which haven't experienced the changes in the game, it is a well thought-out game with a lot of consistent companion books.

Over the years Drakar och Demoner have sold more than 100.000 copies, thats a lot, considering it being only released on the Swedish market (it was actually published in Norwegian and Danish but without success). It is the first and biggest Swedish roleplaying game.

The Products

Product	Category	Year	Design	# pages
______________________	____________________	____	_____________	__________
Drakar och Demoner 1.0 (1 ed)	Basic rules	1982	Blue box	48
Drakar och Demoner 2.0 (2 ed)	Basic rules	1984	Black box	68
Drakar och Demoner 2.1 (3 ed)	Basic rules	1985	Black box	68
Expert	Rule expansion	1985	Boxed	80, 48
Drakar och Demoner 3.0 (4 ed)	Basic rules	1987	Black-green box	80
Gigant	Rule expansion	1987	Boxed	96, 48
Samuraj	Rule exp. & Camp. mod.	1987	Boxed	72, 56, 20
Ivanhoe	Campaign module	1988	Boxed	96, 72, 16
Magi	Rule expansion	1990	Large box	72, 64, 48
Drakar och Demoner 4.0 (5 ed)	Basic rules	1991	Large box	64, 64, 48, 16
Drakar och Demoner 5.0 (6 ed)	Basic rules	1994	US Letter, Soft/hardback	240
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Svartfolk	Rule exp. & Camp. mod.	1991	G5	88
Kopparhavets kapare	Rule exp. & Camp. mod.	1991	G5	88
Krigarens handbok	Rule expansion	1992	G5	96
Tjuvar & Lönnmördare	Rule expansion	?	G5	?
Kaos väktare	Rule exp. & Camp. mod.	1993	G5	64
Magikerns handbok	Rule expansion	1993	G5	96
Alver	Rule exp. & Camp. mod.	1993	G5	64
Hjältarnas handbok	Rule expansion	1994	G5	64
Vapen och rustningar	Rule expansion	1996	US Letter	80
Magi i Chronopia	Rule expansion	1996	US Letter	80
Dvärgar i Chronopia	Rule expansion	1996	US Letter	80
Svärd och svartkonst	Rule expansion	1996	US Letter	80
Mörkrets väktare	Rule expansion	1996	US Letter	80
Alver i Chronopia	Rule expansion	1997	US Letter	80
Mörkrets krigare	Rule expansion	1997	US Letter	80
Svartblod i Chronopia	Rule expansion	1997	US Letter	80
Väsen i Chronopia	Rule expansion	1997	US Letter	80
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Monsterboken	Campaign module	1985	A5, Hardback	96
Monsterboken 2	Campaign module	1987	A5, Hardback	112
Monster	Campaign module	1990	Large box	64, 64, 64, 64
Kandra	Campaign module	1986	G5	48
Trakorien	Campaign module	1988	Adhesive binding	112
Ereb Altor	Campaign module	1989	Large box	104, 64, 64, 32
Monturerna	Campaign module	1989	G5	48
Monster och män i Ereb Altor	Campaign module	1989	G5	64
Torshem	Camp. mod. & Adv.	1989	Adhesive binding	96
Barbia	Adventure	1989	G5	128
Magilre	Adventure	1990	G5	64
Krilloan	Campaign module	1991	Boxed	96, 48
Spindelkonungens pyramid	Adventure	1983	A5	28
Dimön	Adventure	1984	A5	36
Havets vargar	Adventure	1985	A5	40
Döda skogen (ÄV 1)	Adventure	1985	A5	36
Maktens portar (ÄV 2)	Adventure	1985	A5	40
Mörkrets hjärta (ÄV 3)	Adventure	1986	A5	64
Svart duell + Skönheten & odjuret	Adventures	1986	A5	48
Rösten från forntiden	Adventure	1986	A5	40
Novastenen + Jeraz	Adventures	1987	A5	48
Svavelvinter (SV 1)	Adventure	1987	Boxed	84, 32
Marsklandet	Adventure	1988	Boxed	96, 40
Djupets fasor	Adventure	1989	G5	48
Shoguns vrede	Adventure	1989	G5	48
Dödens väg	Adventure	1989	G5	48
Enhörningshornet	Adventure	1990	G5	64
Oraklets fyra ögon (SV 2)	Adventure	1990	Adhesive binding	112
Handelsfursten (HS 1)	Adventure	1990	G5	48
Tempelherren (HS 2)	Adventure	1990	G5	48
Demonprinsen (HS 3)	Adventure	1990	G5	48
Helvetesfortet (NR 1)	Adventure	1991	G5	48
Melindors återkomst (NR 2)	Adventure	1991	G5	48
Nidland (NR 3)	Camp. mod. & Adv.	1991	Boxed	72, 56
Kristalltjuren (SV 3)	Adventure	1992	G5	96
Den Femte Konfluxen (SV 4)	Adventure	?	G5	?

HS = Härskarserien
NR = Nidländska reningen
SV = Svavelvinter
ÄV = Ärans väg

The Links

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