Outside the Box: How Sweden Conquered the world of Roleplay

HOW SWEDEN CONQUERED THE WORLD OF ROLE-PLAYING GAMES

OUTSIDE THE BOX reveals the unique story of how Sweden’s tabletop role-playing game industry evolved, from the 1970s until today. In recent years, Swedish role-playing games not only hit jackpot in the influential ENNIE Awards, but also frequent lists of the most anticipated titles.

But why now? Who were the early innovators? And how does Sweden’s tabletop role-playing game history differ from other nations?

In this book, industry veteran MAGNUS SETER tells the tale of how a small Scandinavian country decided to stake out its own path – by combining stunning design with a long tradition of storytelling. And ducks!

North America has dominated the tabletop role-playing game business since the 1970s. Still, Dungeons & Dragons – the most popular RPG of all times – never really got a foothold in Sweden of the 1980s, as it did elsewhere in the world.

In 2022, when Swedish publisher Free League announced a new tabletop RPG called DRAGONBANE, they knowingly revealed to the world the reason why.

Dragonbane is a reimagining of the first influential Swedish RPG, DRAKAR OCH DEMONER, which points back to the beginning of the hobby in 1982. Since, the world has seen a plethora of role-playing game titles coming out of a northern European kingdom that is otherwise mostly known for furniture, pop music, and detective stories.

Games like MÖRK BORG, Kult, Vaesen, Mutant Chronicles, Mutant: Year Zero, Symbaroum, Eon, Coriolis, Forbidden Lands, and Tales From The Loop are all well-known franchises within the industry. Add to this a number of award winning Swedish releases based on international IP’s like Alien, Blade Runner, The One Ring, and Twilight: 2000.

The reason for this development is not a simple one, but rather a complex journey that spans over half a century, and which involves many heroes and heroines. And for the first time in history, the tale of this journey will be told to an international audience – by a man who has experience from both sides, as both a gamer and a creator.

The Author

MAGNUS SETER (born 1969) is an award-winning educational writer and game designer. Today, he is a well known figure in the Swedish RPG industry, both as an avid gamer and as an accomplished creator. Magnus started playing role-playing games in 1982 with the very first version of the aforementioned Drakar och Demoner. Because of this, he began tapping away at the family typewriter, writing extra rules and adventures for his own gaming group – shamelessly copying the style of the trailblazers of the day. Immersing himself in the hobby, Magnus soon discovered other RPGs, such as Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and Cyberpunk.

In 1990, he was given the opportunity to contribute to EuroTour, R. Talsorian Games’ scenario collection for Cyberpunk 2020. This set off a new career as an RPG writer, which has spanned over three decades. A career that includes the first edition of Mutant Chronicles as well as the second edition of KULT. Furthermore, Magnus Seter has contributed to games like CY_BORG, Forbidden Lands, KULT: Divinity Lost, Mutant, Middle-earth Role Playing, and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

The cover of OUTSIDE THE BOX is a magnificent creation by none other than JOHAN EGERKRANS, a critically acclaimed Swedish illustrator and author. Johan has worked as a professional illustrator and concept artist for more than two decades, producing artwork for books, games, comics, and movies.

In recent years, he has picked up writing as well, and has written and illustrated a number of hugely popular books including: VAESEN about Scandinavian folkloric creatures, NORSE GODS about, not surprisingly, the Norse gods, and THE UNDEAD, which sinks its teeth into the lore of vampires and revenants from across the globe. Vaesen has also been turned into a much lauded role-playing game.

The cover of this book presents CANARD THE BARBARIAN, a feared warrior duck who lost his left eye in an encounter with a manticore while he was still but a fledgling in terms of duck years. After his village was attacked, Canard was wrongfully blamed for sleeping during guard duty and was driven from his home, to wander as a lawless outcast. Since then, he has fought his way through life, longing for the moment when he will get his revenge against those who wronged him