Want to know what exciting updates the new edition holds?  

Author Daniel Mersey breaks down the changes you can expect from Dragon Rampant: Second Edition.

Having the expanded page count compared to the first edition meant that I could round out the game so much more than was possible in the original “blue book” format. Essentially, the second edition is an expansion of what Dragon Rampant’s first edition achieved, with more pages, more rules ideas, and more inspirational artwork. Basically, more fantasy wargaming all round. 

The new edition is a chunky, 200+ page book (completing my Osprey Publishing hardback trilogy of Lion Rampant / historical medieval, Xenos Rampant / sci fi, and Dragon Rampant / fantasy), beautifully illustrated with photos of classic and modern fantasy ranges to inspire you, atmospheric art by Alan Lathwell (who also illustrated my King Arthur and my Knights of the Round Tables books in the Osprey Adventures series), and retro-themed line artwork by David Needham.  

The Battle Rules have been updated and clarified in line with Lion Rampant: Second Edition’s changes. The rules haven’t been subjected to a major overhaul; they have instead had a few fine tweaks here and there to make for a smoother game but gameplay is pretty much as published in the first edition.  

The rest of the book includes more in-depth information about building your Warband, more options to shape your units with upgrades and special rules, a more detailed exploration of magic, optional rules, scenarios, a complete campaign system, and more of everything else offered in the first edition due to the much larger page count.  

The standard size for a Warband is now 30 army points, but 24- and 36-point Warbands also work nicely. This change was based on player feedback; lots of players told me that 24 points never quite gave them enough scope to buy the units they wished to field along with the special rules they wanted to give those units. 

Leaders no longer have randomly chosen Leader Traits (although these still feature as optional rules), but they gain the old Commanding Trait and can purchase other upgrades. And some measurements are now made from the Leader’s model rather than the Leader’s unit – it just feels better that way. 

With a roll of 9, this Spellcaster successfully casts Superglue You! (Difficulty: 7+). The enemy augmented tigers get stuck in the muck. Models by Temple of the West and Rackham. (Kyle Gibson) 

Spells have had a major overhaul both in number (there are now 20 in the spellbook) and in the way you choose them. I’ve tried to make the new way of spellcasting more fun and certainly more colourful. 

Many fantastical upgrades for units remain as they were in the first edition, but some have been renamed or recosted. Others have been updated or changed and many are completely new additions giving you a far greater choice of fantasy-themed unit upgrades. The original rulebook had 16 upgrades; the new edition has just over three times that number.  

I’ve added a fantasy campaign system that’s in-keeping with Dragon Rampant’s style of play, and more scenarios too. There’s also more detail about using terrain, which now has a chapter of its own.  

I’ve increased the number of sample Warbands shown in the book to help players shape their collection of models and give ideas for buying new ones, but as with the first edition, these are a stepping off point to inspire your own Warband builds.