New This Week on DM’s Gulid and DriveThru RPG : 4-22-2020
Selkies, necromancer artificers, and a seagull detective agency are just a few of the things you’ll want to download this week.
This week’s selection of favorites starts off strong and ramps up. Blame the quarantine if you want, but this week has seen some inspired experimentation with everything from the comedic to the ominous. Check out a bunch of eccentric magic items, games, and options that you didn’t even know your Artificer needed until now.
Cory McRae’s Filthy, Miraculous, Magical and Monstrous Annotated DM’s Guide for: Seventy-One Comedic, Epic, Trolly, and Just Plain Dumb Items for 5e
“Want to simultaneously laugh your butt off, AND dream-crush your players? Look no further! This incredible 5th Edition resource is seventy-one items deep, and every single item is carefully annotated with hilarious jokes, comedy bits, stories, plot hooks, and other DM ideas on how you might use each item! Quadruple the value of most other DM Item Resources!
Want to add some comedy and humorous spice to your campaigns? Want to giggle like a 4th grader while you work your way through the items contained within? Then this is the Item resource for you! As a disclaimer, Cory will be donating a portion of the proceeds from this project to The Canadian Center for ADHD Awareness! You can find more information on his website “McRae Writes!”
As Cory always makes sure to state for all his readers on his projects – you’re welcome!”
Sometimes I wonder just how many entire game plots come about because the GM wanted to make a bad pun or came up with a really weird item and started basing an entire world around it. It would seem Cory McRae thought about this enough to base an entire book around it, bringing you 71 ways to make your players laugh… or maybe just groan. We’ll see.
Selkie – A Shapeshifting Race From Celtic Mythology
“Shapeshifting creatures of celtic folklore, Selkies are seals that have the ability to remove their skin and roam the lands in humanoid form. Unhampered by the necessity of magic to change their shape, selkies are a race unlike any other in D&D. This race allows you to fill multiple roles in your group: in humanoid form you shine through your class, in seal form you are able to support your fellow adventurers in ways you couldn’t in humanoid form. With new original artwork and 2 subraces to allow you to customise your character, the selkie is a race for the player who wants to try something new.”
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Selkies are very cool and I don’t know how I haven’t seen them incorporated into D&D before! Able to take on water or land roaming forms and magic at their core, selkies are a multi-threat and would be so interesting to see incorporated into D&D adventure. I may put this one on the list next time I have to make a new character.
Carbuncle Quest
“The perfect night of remote role play awaits you!
Introducing the first in a new line of high-quality one-page adventures, suited for social distancing, your next social ZoomTM call or hours of fun you can bring to a bar once this whole thing blows over.
AdvertisementCarbuncle Quest: An abandoned dwarven keep known as Morn Brakk holds the key to unlocking a priceless gem from the head of a sadistic, telepathic beast. Remove the gem and you’ve completed the Carbuncle Quest, based on the 1981 creature first introduced to the world in the 1981 Fiend Folio. The world has never been the same since.
Level 1 adventure: Inside you’ll find all that a Dungeon Master needs to hit the table and go, including a brief introduction, a one-page (front and back) first-level beginner adventure framed in an innovative “narrative map” design, and five self-contained stat blocks. Everything a busy DM needs and nothing they don’t. Just send your players some pregens, grab some dice and you’re set!
One page is all you need: This is the first in a new series of one-shot love letters to the “pen and ink” era of Dungeons & Dragons, focused on simplicity, quality and brevity from author / designer Jason Weitzel. The use of grids and miniatures for this series is entirely optional, but not necessary. Happy gaming, and stay safe.”
A quick and simple game designed specifically with remote play in mind is perfect for right now. This two page module gives you everything you need and nothing you don’t to kick test out a new game with little investment or start your own family game day. Keep your friends and family close as you explore the abandoned dwarven keep… but also make sure they’re all at least 6 feet away, too.
Critical Hits and Fumbles
“Critical Hits and Fumbles is a battle supplement to add flavor to combat scenarios. It contains critical hit charts for each damage type and fumble charts for melee, ranged, and magical attacks.
AdvertisementThis supplement contains both a digital and printer friendly version PDF.”
I really enjoy how some systems have crit tables with 100 ways to super succeed or fail very hard. We used to joke that the FFG Star Wars crit table only seemed to ever hamstring characters, until the one time our force user lost a hand. But the crit table giveth and the crit table taketh away. The idea of adding it to D&D is really appealing to me. Sometimes it’s hard to come up with interesting way to add flavor to that crit, and for those times it would be fun to roll on up randomly.
Tools of the Trade: Artificer Options
“Fill out your utility belt with these new artificer specialties!
Updated for Eberron: Rising from the Last War!
With the recent release of the much-anticipated artificer revision, we wanted to strap on our goggles and get to work on these fascinating class. We hope these artificer specialities let you explore different playstyles while still maintaining the arcane inventor theme.
Advertisement“The impressive part about Tools of the Trade is how different the subclasses feel.” – Christian Hoffer, comicbook.com
“I like how much flavor has been put into each of them.” – Discover RPG stream
What’s Inside?
- The Arcane Botanist—unlock the power of plants and pheromones with this nature-loving specialization.
- The Biomancer—push your body to the limit with deadly chemical cocktails with this monstrous specialization.
- The Golemancer—create a loyal servant from your fallen foes with this shocking specialization.
- The Ironclad—create and modify a powerful suit of armor and join the frontline with this hard-hitting specialization.
- The Observer—use stealthy drones to relay vital information to your companions with this tactical specialization.
- The Sapper—litter the battlefield with dangerous mines with this explosive specialization.
- 10 new infusions!”
I love artificers so much. They’re definitely an interesting addition to 5E that make the world feel a little less Renn Faire and a little more Final Fantasy as magic meets science and usually makes something explode. I’d usually be pretty happy with some more infusions and spells, but I am reeling at some of those sub-classes. Every one of those are evil villains in the most playable and fantastic way. I wonder how the paladin in our group would feel about me adding some Golemancer to my artificer.
In The Footsteps of Hercules
“In the Footsteps of Hercules is a system-free sourcebook devoted to a pilgrimage trail that can be used in conjunction with any fantasy role-playing game. This book describes the various sections of the trail and the prevailing terrain and conditions associated with them; how most pilgrims travel them; alternate ways some pilgrims choose to approach the trail overall or specific parts of it; the things they generally hope to accomplish along the way; and things they might encounter on it.
AdvertisementThere are many ways this book can be used and enjoyed. One is to simply read it as a work of fantasy fiction inspired by the myths, legends, history, and geography of Greece. Another is to use it as inspiration or a model for pilgrimage trails in your own stories or role-playing game campaigns. Yet another is as a setting for roleplaying game adventures of various sorts.
This book was created as a specific example of a Pilgrimage Trail, one of the 85 general sorts of places that appear in Skirmisher Publishing’s Adamantine-bestselling City Builder: A Guide to Designing Communities. As written, this trail is dedicated to the titular demigod and is set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Peloponnesian Peninsula of Greece and located within the company’s Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting. It can easily, however, be dedicated to any other appropriate deity or cause and dropped into virtually any other existing milieu and has deliberately been designed to be compatible with any of what Gary Gygax used to refer to as “a traditional fantasy campaign setting.””
An adventure that’s able to be played in multiple systems is a very interesting concept. We all have different favorite games, and sometimes it’s disappointing to find a module whose story description sucks you in but is written for a system you aren’t familiar with. Sure, you could learn a new game, but not everybody has the time or the groups interested in In the Footsteps of Hercules wants to solve that with a universal pilgrimage for your characters regardless of world or magic system or dice.
Ghosts of Mhifteran
“Veiled in the perpetual shadow of a mighty jagged mountain, the North Gate to Mhifteran was never easy to find. Even for those familiar with the trail network and knowledge of its obscure location, the rear entrance to the Dwarven metropolis was only really used by time constrained merchants unwilling to circumnavigate the mountain to the main entrance. For centuries Mhifteran stood as a thriving subterranean city, until war descended upon the land.
Now, decades have passed since the demise of Mhifteran. Forgotten to time, your Players find the North Gate and what lies within.
Featuring:
- Easy to navigate adventure ready for new or experienced Game Masters.
- Two page full colour Players map
- Single page full colour Game Masters map
- Unique monster
- Unique treasure and magic items
- Original colour artwork
- Suggested ways to additionally interact within Mhifteran
Drop this premade adventure into any campaign and the unique setting of Mhifteran is sure to be remembered! ***This adventure can be used perfectly with “Basecamp Tah-ron” by adding it to “Navigating the trail” section on page 29 of that module***”
Ghosts of Mhifteran is a classic adventure module with everything you need included but the players. Written for experienced or green DMs and certified “kid approved,” it’s ready for any group any time a hidden dwarven city needs to be found. If you need a way to introduce a newer DM or a younger player to tabletop roleplaying games, check out Ghosts of Mhifteran.
The Innsmouth Papers
“The Innsmouth Papers is a Lovecraftian letter-larp: a roleplaying game of Lovecraftian horror which you play by writing letters to one another. Together you will tell stories of investigation, exploration, unease, horror, and madness. At the end of it all, you will have a collection of letters as a physical reminder of this story.
This book includes advice on safety and improvising content, as well as simple rules for character creation and writing letters aimed at producing Lovecraftian stories.
You will need at least two participants, and if you have more than two, someone to act as postmaster, a coordinator who sets up initial contact lists, manages safety, sets expectations, and optionally introduces new elements when things seem to be fading.”
This is possibly one of the most unique takes on RPGs that I’ve seen. Two or three player games aren’t anything unheard of, but the mixing Lovecrafian horror, creative writing, and LARP elements is an intriguing mixture that I want to fall right into. if you’ve ever been into LARP, written RPGs, or the weirder ends of horror, this is a game you may really enjoy.
B’town Beak-tectives
“B’town Beak-tectives is a free-form investigative storytelling RPG that can be played with or without a facilitator. Each player creates their own seagull detective and together they solve crimes by unravelling the clues that they gathered.
3-pages. For 2-4 players plus an optional facilitator. Can be played as a one-shot or a mini-campaign.
What sort of mysteries do suppose seagulls solve? Are they related to stolen scraps of dumpster bread? Or do they live in a noir society of hyper intelligent seagull private eyes? A truly unique RPG concept that promises to be entertaining if not hilarious, B’town Beak-tectives is a short-and-simple system that you’ll have off the ground in no time.
Happy Adventuring!
