New This Week On DM’s Guild and DriveThru RPG : 6-3-2020
Visit an endless number of speakeasies, visit the stopping point between worlds, and join a gang of vampire punks this week on DM’s Guild and DriveThru RPG.
Masks of Theros
“In ages long past, when mortals prayed the gods to life, Erebos the Shadow had two lovers. Ainoe was the goddess of the doom that awaits all empires, the end of magic, and the grind of time. Elpis was the god of repose at the end of grueling journeys, the spark from which magic blooms, and wayward souls coming home. When Ainoe and Elpis fell in the war against the Titans, grieving Erebos shaped their visages into memorial masks.
Now the warlady Calisto has the Ainoe Mask, and seeks the shattered pieces of the Elpis Mask. With the power of two gods’ death masks, she will conquer Theros – unless a group of heroes prove mighty enough to oppose her.
Masks of Theros is an adventure path that takes characters from 1st to 11th level, and across the plane of Theros from the polis of Meletis to the Underworld, via minotaur wargames, a drowned city on the back of a kraken, and the machinations of the god of time.
As well as five full adventures, Masks of Theros includes:
- 6 powerful new magic items, the Masks of Elpis and Ainoe
- Write-ups and statistics for several new antagonists from the Daybreak Chimera to the Nyxborn Hydra
- An appendix of NPCs and locations to help you bring the polis of Meletis to life”
Offering five adventures for a wide range of character skill levels, Masks of Theros is the module gift that keeps giving. It’s hard to find games that would be good for higher levels of play, but this one covers the gamut so as you continue through the various adventures you can grow within the game and have the game grow with your players. Plus, the backstory is really intriguing already.
The Crossroads
“The Crossroads is a whole new place for your players to explore. As a lively trading outpost between worlds, it can be easily incorporated in low-to-high level campaigns in any setting, though its planar nature plays particularly well with the Forgotten Realms setting and, to a lesser extent, with Eberron. All it takes is an old abandoned portal in the wild, or maybe the secret gate where the Merchants’ Guild finds that out-of-this-world cider that is so popular among the nobility! You can also run an entire campaign itself there, with intrigue and action to spark the way.
This book includes:
- 56 NPCs that inhabit the plane, with description and stats.
- 40 adventure seeds for a campaign or one-shot adventures at the Crossroads.
- A new class, the Binder, who is able to summon a spirit of nature as companion.
- 5 new feats, representing birthmarks that unlock magical powers linked to the magic of the Crossroads.
- 12 magic items linked to the main factions of the Crossroads.
This manual assumes that you have the fifth edition Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual.
I’ve designed the Crossroads over the last ten years. More than sixty characters with players from all around the world fought, struggled and rose to fame in over a decade of adventures. You will meet some of them in these pages, as they’ve become an integral part of my world. I hope you enjoy the Crossroads as much as I (and my players, hopefully) did!”
The idea of a waystation between worlds or planes is very cool and this book gives you the ability to completely map out and run full games within that space. Whether you want your players to make a stop between adventurers, or you’re looking for a location for an entire story arc or campaign, The Crossroads have all of the hard work done for you in a locale like no other.
Sarvin Greenscale’s Home-Base Handbook
“Sarvin Greenscale, the Sword Coast’s first and only quest-by-mail adventuring tutor, has a new venture: real estate! Using his very own home-base refit system (patent pending), any space can be transformed into a home worthy of champions of the realm.
You have recently become the proud owners of a Greenscale home-base of your very own. Right now it may be little more than a simple basement or a rundown fortress, but this guide will give you all the details you need to transform it into a home worthy of heroes.
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.Inside you will find complete rules for purchasing upgrades and expansions, gaining diverse in-base crafting options to equip your team and improve your gear, and unlock powerful downtime activities that will grant buffs and bonuses for the next time you step out into adventure.”
The idea of becoming a fantasy real estate mogul is very funny to me. My current D&D group has a weird habit of buying businesses and taking them over all over town and checking in on them as B plot, but now you can structure an entire game around that exact concept or add these homebrewed rules to your game for some added flare.
Class Archetypes From The World Below
“There are whispers of a land deep underground, a world below where even the bravest adventurers dare not travel: The terrible realm of the Underdark. A subterreanen world of darkness filled with otherworldly monsters, cruel and insane races, and terrible powers that plot to seize control of the world above. In the darkest corners of such a land, powerful individuals rise, armed with skills, magics, and powers unknown to the world above. In their hands rests the future of this Underdark. Perhaps they shall rise and bring about the redemption the Underdark needs? Show themselves not as the monsters everyone expects, but as the heroes they could be? Or perhaps they too shall succumb to the darkness and bring about the conquest of the underdark all the surface knows well to fear. Only time will tell as adventurers from above and below collide to witness the power of the heroes and villains of the World Below!
This packet contains the following class archetypes for anyone who wants to add class archetypes perfect for any Underdark themed campaign or character and two original new races for the Underdark:
-The Path of the Earthbreaker (NEW Barbarian Archetype): Channel the raw strength of the earth itself to smash through everything in your path, toss your opponents around like ragdolls, cause earthquakes, and tunnel your way through the very earth itself!
-The College of the Buried Stars(NEW Bard Archetype): Light up the darkness of the Underdark with starlight, shield your allies from harm, and redirect the spells of enemies right back at them with the College of the Buried Stars!
-The Domain of the Spider (NEW Cleric Archetype): Listen to the whispers of the demonweb to unlock the power of the spider queen, weave your spells into traps for your opponents, and take on the forms of the powerful handmaidens of Lolth in your bid for total control of the world above!
– The Circle of Decay (NEW Druid Archetype): Tap into the powers of decay to unlock dark druidic magic, summon disturbing fungal minions, and unleash a mushroom cloud of destruction on those who would oppose you!
Advertisement-The Arbalist Martial Archetype (NEW Fighter Archetype): Adapt to the shifting tides of battle by unlocking the potential unique new abilities through the use of many different crossbows, punish enemies for daring to move within your range with a volley of crossbow bolts, and become the quickest draw in the land with the martial archetype of the Arbalist! An archetype for those who want to play a Gunslinger esque character while still playing in a medieval setting.
-The Way of the Unshackled Mind(NEW Monk Archetype): Unleash the terrifying potentional of your mind to punch others with the use of the mage hand spell, unlock a wide variety of psionic abilities, shield your allies with telekinetic barriers, and blast your enemies to kingdom come with this new psionic archetype for monks.
-The Oath of the Inquisition (NEW Paladin Archetype): Lead the inquisition to root out enemies of the faith who lurk behind friendly faces, issue daming accustations to make the closet of allies turn on one another, walk through the shadows to sneak unhindered into your enemies’ dens, and bring the light of truth to the darkness of the Underdark as a Paladin of the Inquisition!
– The Mariner Conclave (NEW Ranger Archetype): Dive deep into the deepest waters of the darklake to discover the conclave of rangers who lurks just beneath. Command the creatures of the seas with magic no other rangers know, unlock a unique fighting style that turns the use of Nets into an art form of traps and steel as a member of the Mariner conclave!
-The Soulblade(NEW Rogue Archetype): Hone your will to a razor’s edge and join an order of psionic assassins to unlock your hidden potential, unleash a variety of psionic abilities, and ignite the most powerful weapon of all of creation: the iconic soulblade!
-The Arcane Savant(NEW Sorcerer Archetype): Delve into the very heart of magic to learn the hidden truths of magic, break all restrictions that others impose on you and rebuild the laws of magic to your very whim with the prodigous sorcerous origin of the Arcane Savant!
-The Shapeless Lords (NEW Warlock Patron): Call upon the powers of the things that crawl in the dark and murky places to unleash a tide of shapeless minions to devour the world at the whim of all shapeless things!
Advertisement–The Pact of the Mask (NEW Warlock Pact Boon): Done the pact of the mask to unlock skills and abilities that will earn you the admiration and respect you deserve!
–The Mimic Ooze (NEW Ooze Monster): Discover the Mimic ooze, a monster who uses its fluid form in order to take on all kinds of shapes and sizes to snare its prey!
–The Beholden Race (NEW and Original Underdark Race): Uncover the persecuted race of the Beholden, creatures born from the darkest depths of a beholder’s nightmare and wield their ocular powers to unleash chaos and death upon those who would dare hunt you!
–The Mandian Race (NEW Original Underdark Race): Rediscover the forgotten race of the Mandians, an insectoid race that uses genetic manipulation and a rigid caste system to follow their hope for the creation of Utopia! (With Concept art drawn by Joshua Shogren).
These Class Archetypes and Race have been playtested for balance in 5th edition campaigns using The Monster Manual, The Player’s Handbook, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, and The Dungeon Master’s Guide.
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–The Mandian Race (NEW Original Underdark Race): Rediscover the forgotten race of the Mandians, an insectoid race that uses genetic manipulation and a rigid caste system to follow their hope for the creation of Utopia!”
So many weird and interesting things can come from the Underdark, and this supplement gives you no small list of them. Providing archetypes for just about every class and a few monsters and races to boot, you’ll be able to add another layer of originality to your game and more options for your players.
The Fantasy Trip: Labyrinth Planner
“Danger awaits . . . if you plan ahead!
When it comes to keeping your labyrinths logical, your monsters managed, and your traps and treasures tracked, you need a plan. You need the Labyrinth Planner! This 48-page book is a blank canvas for your adventuring artistry in The Fantasy Trip, with hex sheets to inspire your overview maps and individual rooms, journal space for encounters and background, and character record sheets to organize friends and foes.”
Planning our your dungeons can be difficult, so why not let the Labyrinth Planner make it a little easier for you? Dungeon friendly hex sheets, organized note space, and helpful management tools will make sure nothing gets lost in the sauce every again and make your players think you’re a DM who never ever forgets anything.
BLM Wasteland Wanderers Bundle
“This content is compatible with the Fifth Edition of the world’s best known d20-based fantasy roleplaying game. Bring a touch of class to a savage world. Wasteland Wanderers presents six all-new and modified classes designed to suit Post-Apocalyptic campaign worlds and pre-published settings. You could also find homes for these classes and their archetypes in modern, futuristic, or even fantasy settings with minimal conversion effort.” Includes Classes and Equipment books.
If you’re looking for a fresh post apocalyptic campaign to run and want to help out a good cause, this Wasteland Wanderers bundle is the perfect addition to your electronic RPG shelf. Complete with the classes and equipment books for one low price, you’ll have everything you need to get your players set up. All proceeds from this bundle purchased before June 14th will be donated to BLM.
Vampunks
“The first content expansion for the cybernetic vampire hunting roleplaying game VAMPUNKS!
New missions, new enemies, and new art for all aspiring vampire slayers of the future to enjoy!
- BAT OUT OF HELL has you and your vampunks on an extermination job gone wrong. Can you face the deadly vampire bats deep below the Earth? Can you uncover the secrets their nest hides? And most of all, can you escape with your humanity intact?
- MALL’D TO DEATH will have you explore the decayed remains of a once prosperous shopping center now long since abandoned…or so we thought. Can you work with the gangs that call this place home and stop it from becoming a mall of the undead?
- NIGHT OF THE VAMPDROID puts your vampunk skills to the test as you face off against the deadliest creation that science and vampirism have made yet! Can you uncover the mystery of the vampdroid and stop its rampage before it’s too late?
- MOONPIRES is an out-of-this-world adventure that will push your vampunks to the limit. A moon base riddled with vampires, a plot that could doom the entire world, and a dwindling supply of oxygen. Can the vampunks take back the moon?
The expansion includes…
- Four new misisons to play through.
- Seven new enemies to face.
- Six new stylish illustrations.
- 16 total pages of vampire slaying fun.
Haven’t played VAMPUNKS before? No worries! The base game is TOTALLY FREE and will teach you everything you need to face off against the undead with your friends.
Good luck, VAMPUNKS, you’ll need it.”
It’s always fun when classic horror and game tropes get a new spin, and Vampunks does just that. This short book packs a wallop with four missions and seven enemies for maximum replayability. Plus, the base game is free, so getting starting on this system is a no-brainier.
100 Speakeasy Encounters
“Speakeasy is a term for an illegal bar or restaurant that sold alcohol between 1920 and 1933 (the time of prohibition). The speakeasy helped to change the United States by ushering in the notion of dating, mixing the races and sexes over drinks, and a new sense of lawlessness into the country. Many cities had thousands of speakeasies during prohibition.
Each speakeasy encounter provides enough information to provide a bit of color to the speakeasy – whether that’s in the form of information, romance, humor, violence or intrigue. This roleplaying tool can be reused over and over to give you dozens of different ways to dress up your speakeasy location without a heavy investment of time or energy. This product works smoothly with another D10 Dimensions product – 100 Speakeasies.
This Roll Percentile list has one hundred possible results in this format:
Roll Result: Brief explanation of the Speakeasy encounter / situation.
Example 101: Rich and powerful bully decides to toy with a PC. He will punish spoilsports.”
We all have a pretty uniform mental image of speakeasies as they pertain to our world, but why not put them in your fantasy game? Or your far future game? Bars are universal and speakeasies add a level of secrecy and intrigue to any meeting with a shady figure or fieldtrip into the underbelly of your city. What will yours look like? What will the bartender act like? Well, this book is ready to let you know.
What are you picking up this week from DriveThru RPG or DM’s Guild? Are there any new picks that didn’t make my list? What’s your favorite new game? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
