Geek Native’s Patrons voted Dunderdagar the February 2025 RPG Publisher Spotlight winner.
Thank you. We appreciate your support and time.
Also, thank you Jörgen Karlsson, who owns Dunderdagar. Jörgen also gave us his time for a Q&A. The timing works out! Even as this interview landed Jörgen had just taken the leap to go full-time. It’s a big month for Dunderdagar.
The prelaunch page for Dragonbane: The Godwolf from the Crooked Mountains is live as well. At the time of writing, there are well over 500 followers for the launch page so Geek Native’s readers aren’t the only ones who think Dunderdagar is worth watching.
Dunderdagar translates to “Days of Thunder”. Let’s see if that’s prophetic.
Getting to know Dunderdagar and Jörgen Karlsson
As it is the Spotlight tradition, I like to start at the start and so I asked Jörgen to go back in time.
What’s the origin story of Dunderdagar, and what do you?
Dunderdagar began 2016 making comic books through Kickstarter. But it is hard to be lucrative in that market, especially in Sweden that always have had a week comic book market. Then Free League opened up the Dragonbane TTRPG for third-party products. Having played Dragonbane since the 80s it seemed like a good opportunity to both fulfill a dream and to make some extra scratch. The fanbase and community for Dragonbane in Sweden is very strong, especially in my generation who grew up in the 80s.
Are tabletop games a big part of your business?
When I writing this I have just left my” day job” and going 100% for myself. I would say that tabletop games takes up most of my time. I haven’t giving up on creating comic books yet but that part of the business is in the backseat right now. I also do some freelance job as a graphic designer.
Congratulations on going full-time on Dunderdagar! Is it scary? What convinced you to do it?
I had noticed that my Kickstarters was doing better and better and had been pondering for months if I should take the step? Then the company I was working for lost some clients and I was moved over to boring tasks that I didn’t enjoyed doing so I thought: If I ever am to take a chance now is the time. And oh yes, it is a bit scary but also exciting. Fortune favors the brave!
What makes a good roleplaying game?
Oh boy, that is the million dollar question, isn’t it. I personally prefer quick games with simple rules. I love the D6 system used in the Star Wars RPG from West End Games. A newer role-playing game I like is Mörk Borg where art meets a grueling death. What I really dislikes are compendiums of 400 pages. I neither have the time nor the energy to read and consume all that.
Dunderdagar and Dragonbane
I first played Dragonbane last year at Tabletop Scotland. I didn’t know anthropomorphic ducks played such a prominent role. Not only does Jörgen have decades of duck RPG on me, Dragonbane seems to be a particular focus of Dunderdagar.
What are you most well-known for?
Being new as a producer I would say for my adventures for the Dragonbane RPG. My first adventure The Creeping Darkness won Best third-party product at the Fenix Awards in 2024. Many fans appreciated the nostalgic feel of the adventure, almost like it was a lost adventure from the 80’s. So I would say that’s what I’m most known for.
Do you exclusively develop for Dragonbane? Are there any other systems that tempt you?
Right now it’s only Dragonbane. I have been looking at Dungeons & Dragons to expand my clientele but that submarket is murderously tough. Mörk Borg would be another candidate if I can find a crazy artist willing to do a lot of work for a small payday. I would like to test other games but I feel that I first must secure my position in the rpg community and the best way to do that is with Dragonbane. But one never nows what the future might hold.
What sets Dragonbase apart from its peers?
There are many great fantasy role-playing games around. What sets Dragonbane apart is that it was the first. Tens of thousands of fans in Sweden fell in love with role-playing thanks to Dragonbane. It has always been the flagship rpg and as the creators of that game often brags about, it was the first, the greatest and the best.
Questions for Swedish RPG Publishers
Is it cringe to talk about another publisher in an interview? Can we talk about trying to run a games company in Sweden without mentioning Fria Ligan?
I decided to tackle the elephant.
What is it like being a Swedish publisher during the reign of Free League/Fria Ligan?
It is great. I have nothing but love for Free League. Everything they touches turns to gold. They seem to have a sixth sense for good moves. Their products are top-notch, they have clear communications, and they listen to their fans. I think their secret sauce is that they are players creating for other players.
You publish games in English, Swedish and Polish! Incredible! Why Polish, and are there plans to add a fourth language?
The Polish thing came about when some polish role-players wanted to do a translation of the scenario The Hand’s Hills. I said go ahead and after that they did more. I’m right now negotiating with an Italian company and we will see what that leeds to. There will probably also be translations to Norwegian too in the future.
What’s next from Dunderdagar?
Right now I’m working on three different product for Dragonbane. The Kickstarter pre-launch page for the adventure The Godwolf from the Crooked Mountains is already up. Then I’m also thinking about doing my own role-playing game but that is discussion for another day.
Thank you to Jörgen for your time!
Dunderdagar
- Dunderdagar’s website.
- Dunderdagar on DriveThruRPG.
- Dunderdagar on YouTube.
- Dunderdagar on Instagram.
- Dunderdagar on Facebook.
