New This Week on DM’s Guild and DriveThru RPG : 5-27-2020
Become a viking, get thrown down a well, master all of the elements, and make a ton of music puns this week on Drive Thru RPG and DM’s guild.
Skaldic Sagas: Heroic Journeys in the Viking Age
“From the Fury of the Northmen, Deliver us
Skaldic Sagas: Heroic Journeys in the Viking Age is a roleplaying game rooted in the mythopoetic and cultural traditions of what is now called the Viking Age. Blending the history and the heroism found in the verses of Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, and Beowulf, it tells stories rooted in real-world mythology and archaeology to serve as a vehicle for telling your own stories where kin and community are as important as battle and bloodshed.
Though a complete stand-alone game, Skaldic Sagas is compatible with The Hero’s Journey Fantasy Roleplaying, Second Edition.”
Tabletop role playing with a Norse spin, Skaldic Sagas let’s you explore the mythology, history, and stories of the Viking Age. Take on the adventure and monsters of epic poetry while delving into the anthropology and community of one of antiquities most interesting real-world people.
So You’ve Been Thrown Down A Well
“After a long fall, you’ve landed on something soft. A bit squishy and squelchy, really. And moving. Is it… a worm?
AdvertisementPlunge into the Judicial Well in search of redemption (and possibly escape!) in this fully illustrated adventure, So You’ve Been Thrown Down a Well.
You will also find 6 well-worthy backgrounds for your players to choose from, as well as a handy list of 36 objects thrown in the well (other than you): Well-dwellers and worm-cultists, flooded tunnels, weird mushrooms, and some invertebrates that might be lunch… or allies! Up to you!
This adventure is intended for use with the Troika! rpg. If you aren’t familiar with Troika!, you should be! It’s a rules-light, completely wacky RPG by the Melsonian Arts Council. We’re big fans of the surreal fiction it prompts. In fact, it prompted “So You’ve Been Thrown Down A Well”!
A Miscellany of Backgrounds
And that’s not all! In addition to So You’ve Been Thrown Down A Well, you also get A Miscellany Of Backgrounds, a second Troika! zine containing 12 fully illustrated character backgrounds including “The Manycrowned of Bathe-In-Sky,” “The Runewright,” and “The Two Bound As One.” These character playbooks can be used in any Troika! game, each with their own unique skills and descriptions.
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This games looks so weird and surreal and very very fun. Utilizing a rules-light system, So You’ve Been Thrown Down A Well encourages creativity while including character backgrounds so you can go from zero to game-playing in minutes. Who threw you down the well? What is the worm? Will you meet friends or foes? All questions will be answered in the well.
Ravin’ Under Dark
“Over the course of several journeys, you’ve caught whispered references to a mysterious figure known as “DJ Ishkremshüz.” In out of the way spots, you’ve seen graffiti of a stylized ice cream cone, and picked up DIY flyers advertising a secret, never-ending party.
Subscribe to our newsletter!Get Tabletop, RPG & Pop Culture news delivered directly to your inbox.By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.You’ve asked around at back-alley tea shops and street-side record vendors. What you’ve discovered is that DJ Shooz is real, a legendary underground turntablist, and that he presides over a massive dance party so underground, it’s literally subterranean.
Ravin’ Under Dark is a free, unofficial scenario for Ryuutama that takes travelers into a perilous underground world, developed through twenty encounters, which can be played, dropped, or randomly chosen at the GM’s discretion. Also included are rules for managing illumination in the Underground, and several new monsters like the Üntergoblins — a race of Nekogoblins endemic to this lightless world.”
DJ Shooz throws parties so incredible and underground that they could only possible take place in the Under Dark. Does his party really never end? Will you be cool enough to get in? What does he have to do with these twenty separate encounters? You’ll find out when you start Ravin’ in the Under Dark.
A Song and A Dance
“MOVED BY THE MUSIC!
For a Song and a Dance presents feats, talents, magic artifacts, and other rules inspired by hit songs from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. No… it’s not a collection of magical musical instruments and feats or talents that make will make your characters rock stars (although some of could help them along the way)… this is more general material that was literally based on rock, pop, and Christmas songs.
The material in this book is designed for easy incorporation into d20 Modern and other d20 System games that use the feats and talents. In addition to the magic items and feats and talents, For a Song and Dance contains a series of tables to randomly generate the qualities of enchanted items of clothing; tables to randomly generate destruction-methods of artifacts; and a template that lets players convert their character into a disembodied spirit so the character can be played beyond the end of its mortal existence.”
Referenced based humor is some of the most prevalent throughout tabletop RPGs and For a Song and a Dance wants you to lean into that with tables of randomly generated clothing, artifacts, feats and talents all referencing popular music from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. If you like puns, music, and seeing a wider variety of tools incorporated into gameplay, you’ll want to get in on this song and dance.
Hands of Fate
“The child was taken to the Oracles, who sat down to understand the fate of the child before them. “She shall grow to be a great warrior, but her fate is to die while protecting her friends and family from a cruel ruler.”
With sad hearts, they took the child from the temple and sent her to live in distant lands with her father’s cousin to be raised as a farmer.
But as Fate would have it, a cruel ruler came to the land she was raised in, and when the soldiers come to sack her village she took up arms with others. Blessed by the Goddess Athena she led the resistance from the farmers and routed the soldiers. One little act of rebellion turned into a larger rebellion until soon the Cruel Ruler brought his best troops to wage war on the Farm Girl…
Hands of Fate is a Mini RPG intended to tell stories that fit “Swords and Sandals” tales, Greek Myths, Heroic Epics, and other similar Genres. It also has a format where it can be run without a GM for those who don’t want that dichotomy.
It’s a diceless engine, which uses a form of ‘trick-taking’ mechanics, and gives the players a hand of cards to use in the scenes as a way of driving the drama with interesting choices. Sometimes your Hero will have a ‘hand of cards’ that will lead towards failure… that’s ‘fate’ but also allows you to add more drama to the situation.
Each of the Hero Types (Warriors, Rogues, Magicians) have ways they can manipulate the situation. Warriors can bounce back from near death, Rogues can sneak their way in and neutralize a threat in advance, and Magicians can get knowledge of the future and prepare your band for the upcoming threats.
AdvertisementDesigned for 2 to 4 players (GM+ up to 3, or all players).
Equipment List
- A deck of Tarot Cards (or an online RNG that will let you draw hands of Tarot Cards)
- Somewhere to record which Fate your Hero/ine drew during Character Creation”
Everything about this game is so refreshingly different and neat. The stylized classic epic poetry approach to adventuring is an immediate draw, diceless mechanics are so rarely utilized in tabletop RPGs, and the concept of incorporating a tarot deck maximizes randomness in the game while driving the theme of fate, and plays directly into my personal collection of nerdy tarot cards. Fate wants you to become the kind of hero that constellations depict, will you rise to the occasion?
Greatness From Small Beginnings
“Sometimes the greatest heroes have the most humble origins.
Greatness From Small Beginnings is a comprehensive guide on running a 5th edition campaign of pre-adventuring characters. Watch your characters grow from children to adventurers as they become the heroes the world needs.
Greatness From Small Beginnings Contains:
- A step-by-step process for creating a level 0 adventuring party.
- The Novus: A new class for level 0 characters.
- Snowpeak: A pre-made town designed to function as the centerpiece for the parties’ first adventures.
- Mentor Characters: A list of 13 pre-made NPCs that can act as mentors to the PCs.
- Adversaries: A list of 10 pre-made adversaries designed to challenge (but not kill) a level 0 adventuring party.”
Level 0 characters had never occurred to me, but it makes perfect sense to me. Not every adventurer stats out with any adventuring skills; not every adventurer plans or want to go into adventuring. Some stories are about kids who still have a lot to learn or average townsfolk who’ve gotten caught up in it. If you’re looking for an excuse to play a prequel one-shot for your already established campaign or you just want to build up fresh faced characters from the ground up, start them up from level 0.
All About That Spear
“You are vastly outnumbered. Hand over your weapons.”
“Come and take them.”– Leonidas responding to the Persians, Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC.
Well here it is! The second “All about that weapon” supplement that contains tons of options for the spear weapon! This supplement is perfect if someone in your table wants to play a Spear based character but also if you want to create a sidekick or a villain using the majestic spear.
The reason I made this supplement is that the spear is overshadowed by the polearms and I love adding flavor to weapons. In more detail, in this 10 page PDF you will find:
- The Hoplite Fighter Subclass, a spartan-like warrior.
- Four new feats featuring the spear and other thrown weapons.
- Two brand-new weapons the longspear and the sarissa.
- 11 new magic items including an artifact.
- Three spear armed NPC Star blocks to help or fight your players.”
It’s all about that spear, no dagger. Spears aren’t unknown in D&D, but they are an underutilized weapon, for sure. Get inspired by the spartans or make a character with a knack for long-distance spear throwing. This supplement gives you 4 new feats, 2 weapons, and 11 magic items as well as a subclass and NPCs to get your new life as a spear enthusiast and expert going full speed.
Road to Phandalin
“Road to Phandalin provides three short scenes to serve as prologue to the Starter Kit adventure, Lost Mine of Phandelver. Meet Gundren Rockseeker and Sildar Hallwinter at the Beached Leviathan tavern in the docks of Neverwinter, obtain provisions for the journey at Neverwinter’s Seven Suns Coster Market, and come to the aid of two members of the Order of the Gauntlet as they face off against an ogre on the High Road!”
If you’re first brush with D&D was the starter set’s mini module and you wanted more or you need some short entry level scenes to fill the long hours of social distancing with newer players, it may be time to take a trip down the Road to Phandalin. Get to know Sildar Hallwinter and Gundren Rockseeker before the goblins attack, learn more about the Order of the Gauntlet, and play the starter-set module immediately after to complete the story.
The Elementalist: Channelers and Weavers
“The Elementalist: Channelers and Weavers offers new subclasses for the Elementalist with 185 new spells.
– two subclasses for the Elementalist, for cleric and sorcerer.
– a complete spell list for each aspect: air, earth, fire, water.
The essential building blocks to all that exists within the Material Plane consist of the four fundamental elements of air, earth, fire, and water. Since its creation, these elemental energies continue to flow throughout the planes, on what is described as the Weave. As an elementalist, you are capable of either tapping into this resource through your devotion to your deity or through your natural talents.
The Elementalist: Channelers and Weavers presents two new subclasses, featuring the Elementalist options Channeler and Weaver, subclass builds for the cleric and the sorcerer, with 185 new spells to complete the spell lists available for each elemental aspect. This expansion is not meant to be an all-inclusive dissertation on the subject but a way to reference how elementalists are capable of shaping elemental magic and providing expanded material for play. Fit the builds and the source of magic to the desired setting.”
If you’re especially motivated to make an Avatar inspired character right now for some reason, elementalists could be the way to go. Buildable as a cleric or a sorcerer with different spell-lists depending on the element of your choice these subclasses will let you master the powers or air, earth, fire or water. Tap into the energies that flow through the world around you and and then use those energies to adventure all over the planet.
What are you getting from DriveThru RPG or DM’s Guild this week? Or do any of my picks pique your interest? Are you picking up something else altogether? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
