Advent Chronicles RPG - a Full 5E-based Science Fiction Game Done RIght

I stumbled across this completely by accident, unfortunately. I say that because this is a really nice RPG, well designed and filling a much-needed niche: Advent Horizons, an SF RPG powered by 5E mechanics under the OGL. We've needed this for a while, and so far no third party publisher has quite gotten this right.

My quest started with the idea that sometimes (like, every other session) I find myself too exhausted from the day to think about running Starfinder. Starfinder is cool, but my resolve to enjoy the game occasionally falters with a series of tried and true D20-isms: "I would love to play this game tonight, but the thought of a 3 hour combat, 45 minutes of rules look up and debate, and 15 minutes of plot" sometimes gets to me. It's not totally as bad as that.....but it can be. And combat can take longer than needed anytime you bring out the maps and pawns, a thing which feels necessary with Pathfinder/Starfinder games.

Sometimes, also, I concede that there are moments where I just can't imagine exactly what is going on in the Starfinder universe. Sure, sometimes I have moments where I grokk it.....but then, other times, I want to play a science fiction game, with the known rules of science fiction using a D&D-like D20 system, and not a fantasy game with science fiction trappings. This is tough, because I think aesthetically Starfinder has a lot going for it....but it's not SF, you know what I mean? Starfinder's a universe where you don't need to (or want to) ask how or why Drift Drives work. Sometimes...well, a lot of the time....I want to play an SF game where stuff like that matters.

Anyway....I also wanted to grab a copy of Legendary Games' Alien Bestiary for 5E, which is an awesome book (I have the Starfinder version). Unfortunately I have no "SF sourcebook" to go with it, to make the monsters useful. I had tried Hyperlanes back a while ago and wrote a bit about it here, and concluded that the game was well developed in certain spots, but the mechanical underpinnings and understanding of 5E in Hyperlanes was woefully inadequate. It had some brilliant bits....but the whole package was falling short in important places.

So yes, I went trowelling through the listings at rpgnow.com (hey, anyone else notice the site is working again?) and eventually discovered this incredibly under-played, low key "Advent Horizon RPG." Even more, it apparently had a print version through Barnes & Noble's site....unusual, but what the heck...I bought the PDF, then soon thereafter ordered a print copy.

Advent Horizon RPG is the actual SF RPG I've been looking for. While it's not generically designed for GMs to insert their own settings in to, it provides all the material you would need to run it as you see fit (much like how while Traveller makes no effort to hide the Imperium, you can certainly ignore it and do your own thing).

Advent Horizons met these important markers for me:
1. Inspired setting, interesting races and classes
2. Robust equipment; talks about augments/cybernetics and important SF elements
3. Focuses on a hard SF to space opera range, but is not "magic in space"
4. Easy to understand ship and space combat rules
5. It makes the default D&D 5E skill system much more robust for a SF setting
6. The designers understand the D&D 5E mechanics and built their system around this concept, making it properly compatible with other 5E content if desired
7. It's a pretty package (black and white in print, but looks good)

I'll do a proper review very soon, but I wanted to get the word out on this ASAP, because I don't think enough people out there who want this game know it exists yet. Check it out!

Five RPGs That Maximize Your Time (and yes they are all OSR)

In thinking about the issue of time and RPGs...and how much time it can take to get the most out of your average contemporary game, I realized a few things:

1. I remain obsessed with the idea that my "golden age" of campaigning was when I focused on short 5 month-long 10-12 session campaigns in AD&D 2nd edition during my college years as the "gold standard" of enjoyment, but acknowledge that my ongoing campaigns I ran from roughly 1981-1989 prior to college were really like dozens of these 10-12 session games strung together into a coherent arc.

2. My current Call of Cthulhu game, which is running long-term and indefinitely, proves that the "long term campaign" model is not in and of itself the issue that bugs me.

3. While considering OSR games in this regard I realized that most OSR games, by virtue of their design and focus actually have "respect for your time" built in to their model of play. This happens by focusing on three elements of classic gaming that lend well to this approach: procedurally generated content (i.e. roll to see what happens tables), hexcrawl style exploration (move around a literal map exploring and looking for encounters/adventures), and resource management (you have limited resources that deplete, so you are incentivized to explore and replenish those resources).

Point 3 is the one that got me to thinking about this idea: current RPGs that respect your time as a player and/or GM, and provide you with the tools to enjoy a game for one night --or twenty-- and never feel like the burden of playing or running the game demands too much of you. There are actually several games on the market that fit this bill exactly.

In the interest of promoting games which really do respect your time and provide you with a framework designed with the general experience of enjoyment and a greater "return on fun" in mind, I would propose that the following five games are excellent examples of this:

1. Stars Without Number

Stars Without Number shows up first here because I've been reading so much of it lately. It's designed with simple character generation that nonetheless allows for a wide range of interesting options to "flavor" your PCs and make them feel different. For the GM it provides a working toolbox with lots of premade content, but also provides a solid structure for quickly designing worlds, encounters and plots on the fly. Once you've used the World Tags option, for example, you will never want to play a game that doesn't offer this. Or, you know, just use SWN's system for all your gaming needs, regardless of the game you play!

2. Basic/Expert Dungeons & Dragons

The simple fact is, no one has beaten classic 1981's Basic and Expert D&D on ease of use and applicability. Just in the Basic set alone you can run any dungeon with minimal effort, and you have all you need for delving into D&D's worlds without any fuss or muss. Expert D&D adds wilderness exploration, sailing, and some measure of politics. There's simply nothing you can't do for at least 14 levels of play with these rules that requires overt levels of prep. The mechanical structure of B/X is it's only failing....if you don't like racial classes, that is. Otherwise it's perfect. Hell...for most people hexcrawling was essentially invented by this edition of D&D (it wasn't but for most --like me--this was the first actual exposure to the concept!)

3. Beyond the Wall

It makes sense to include this because Beyond the Wall starts with the core conceits of OD&D and Basic/Expert D&D, reimagines the magic system, then, builds the entire game around the concept of the playbook, in which you get to roll a lifepath history for your character while (and this is key) the GM uses a similar playbook to create the scenario you are about to explore. It's simple genius and hard to not want to see this style of game available in every genre once you've been exposed to it. You can literally run Beyond the Wall with all prep starting at the table at the same time as character generation.

4. Traveller

Okay, Traveller may not be technically OSR in one sense, but the current iteration of the game from Mongoose is actually still adhering to the principles that made Classic Traveller just as accessible and fun....just with more stuff to play with. Traveller, like Stars Without Number, provides procedural rules for generating worlds and systems on the fly, rolling quick patron encounters and generally offering procedural adventures that demand only that the referee make some effort at improv. Personally I like spending lots of time engaging in the "subsector generator" minigame myself so I often prep lots of stuff in advance, but it can be a very interesting experience to just sit down and run Traveller cold. You'll learn a lot about how to think on the fly using the tables in the game as the springpoint.


5. All of the White Box Family of Games

I am cheating here, because by "White Box Family" I am including the actual Swords & Wizardry White Box, the "White Box" version of the same, White Star (for SF), and the many, many other iterations that are inspired by OD&D (Warriors of the Red Planet, for example). Each of these games is built on a minimalist rules system which also encourages procedurally generated sandboxk style gaming content. Each offers enough in the way of setting background, encounter data, and rules on how to work the pieces for even average GMs to pick up and play without much effort. Pretty much any game which provides the proper tools for sandbox gaming can do this....and all White Box/OD&D variants excel at this approach.

Honorable Mention: D&D 5E

D&D 5th edition tries hard to provide the tools to do what these games, above, all do very well. And it works! 5E, when you dig in the DMG, has a lot of useful content for running procedural or hexcrawl style gaming. Now that said, there are things in D&D 5E that may or may not capture the magic of what it is like to run a sandbox old school adventure. I think that the overall experience is simply not as sharp as it could be (but it is damned close) if only because some of the core conceits of all of the above systems (which all involve careful management of depleting resources) is not as prevalent in D&D, which puts too many safety stops on those same resources. The net result is one in which D&D 5E often feels like it hits those marks, while accidentally defeating some of the more interesting elements of the resource management game that makes the old school method so fun. But despite that....it still deserves honorable mention as the first iteration of official D&D in 18 years to try and get back to that feel again.

Hyperlanes vs. Starfinder

I've been reading Hyperlanes lately, and also reading Starfinder, and I admit...I'm kind of torn.

Hyperlanes has the following pros:

• Fantastic alien design system for players that gets unique results fast
• Six core classes that appear diverse and interesting
• Hardcore space opera SF thematics; you add magic if you want from D&D 5E, but it assumes nothing
• The gambits are a interesting and effective way of having "spells" without having spells
• A simple but effective chart/template mechanic for designing NPCs and foes quickly with a default balance mechanism

Hyperlanes cons so far:

• As near as I can tell, there's very little escalating damage baked in to the game, but hit points keep accruing. This suggests higher level games will be long slogs of "get shot twenty times" events which has me nervous; 5E usually balances high HP at upper levels with high damage output.
• Absence of any sort of psionic class without reskinning seems like an oversight
• The weapons tables are pathetically small for a SF game, which relies on equipment and tech as a key feature (imo)
• It doesn't appear to have any pending support forthcoming in the future

Contrast with Starfinder....

The Starfinder Pros:

• A robust range of classes, pregenerated alien races, and some interesting mix-ups on the D20 mechanic with themes and archetypes baked in
• A really extensive set of mechanics for equipment, ships and gear
• A very nice monster manual (Alien Archive) that oozes with plot ideas
• Plenty of support for your favorite sci-fi themed space fantasy game that aims for the veneer of "high tech" fantasy
• One could conceivably use Spelljammer universe design principles with Starfinder and get away with it

The Starfinder Cons:

• It's running on the Pathfinder 3.75 D20 system so YMMV
• Why do starships have levels? Why does gear have levels? Why is this all mapped out in a manner which feels suspiciously like the gamey D&D 4E approach?
• Thematically tied to the Pact Worlds setting in a manner which feels hard to easily separate the setting from
• Aimed at high-tech space fantasy only; hard SF need not apply (in it's defense hard SF wouldn't be able to apply at Hyperlanes, either....but it could pretend more easily)

Decisions, decisions.

My group is largely leary of Pathfinder. I have two "hell yeahs" and a mess of "oh nos" to contend with. But if I run it, I think they will give Starfinder a shot. Hyperlanes has so much coolness going for it, though......but I predict a game lasting to level 5-6 before we start noticing that the only dude with escalating damage of note is the muscle. For me, I'm really tired of "high hit point" style games and even D&D 5E gets a bit annoying for it at times. Pathfinder handled it fine until about 10th level when everything started to get too big, too gonzo. 5E remains balanced consistently throughout, and it plays very well as a result....but I am concerned that maybe Hyperlanes' classes weren't thought through so carefully, and their escalating structure is missing as a result.* I'll need to play around with it a bit more, see if I can identify if there's something there I'm just missing.

But Starfinder...wooo! That Alien Archive alone makes me want to run this baby. Hmmmm.


(It doesn't help that I've been thinking seriously about returning to Pathfinder for a campaign again. Sigh)

*Example: most core 5E classes do one of the following: gain extra attacks on their attack action (fighter), gain damage increases for their special (rogue) gain level up bonuses (all casters with at-wills) or similar effects that have a net result of the class insuring that as you level up and foes get tougher, your ability to dish it out gets better. It makes lower CR foes easier to kill, and higher level foes aren't as devastating if you are able to concentrate fire. I'm just not seeing that in the Hyperlanes class structure for most of the options, even though HPs will go up, and creature templated damage goes up. 

To the Creators of D&D 5E content on rpgnow.com and dmsguild.com: please do more high level content

5E is currently very well supported by level 1-5 modules. It is entirely possible currently to run content at this level into the indefinite future. The game itself is exceeding well stocked with the tools to make content at this level: it is low hanging fruit.

5E is just a bit low on content for levels 6-10, but it is is really weak on content for levels 11 and up right now. There are a few decent modules out there that take you up to level 15, and only one or two books out of all the content that address high level gaming beyond that. We have an occasional product on dmsguild.com that address the idea of epic level content (levels 17-20, or looking at what to do after level 20 is reached).

The problem is: designing content for level 1-5 is trivial, and easy. Game writers are doing this at a rate of churn that is simply extraordinary. One of the reasons for this is due to the legacy of D&D (and Pathfinder) being a game which supports 20 levels (or more) of play while in fact being most "playable" at levels 1-5 with a "feasibility cap" at level 8-10. As a result, in most prior editions of the game it was generally accepted that the average game group rarely went beyond level 10 in play, and many groups tended to hit the level 5-6 range and then stopped and moved on from there. The reason for this was primarily a matter of complexity: as you leveled up in prior editions the game got more complex, and that complexity translated into more work for the DM, more work for the players, and more time spent resolving actions in the game.

Here's the problem: I've run D&D 5E up to level 17 now and I am here to tell you that this may be the first edition of the game to keep the complexity level even and measured (if not entirely flat). My level 16-17 games have been playing out with only a modest level of complexity comparable to level 5-10 play previously. Levels 1-5 in D&D 5E remain by far the easiest levels at which to run, and are reasonably considered even easier to run than in prior editions. But from level 5 to at least level 17? The complexity is surprisingly measured and much flatter than it ever was before.

For example: Combats at level 17 are running with the same speed and complexity as the prior ten levels. They are no more or less complex than before. Part of this is the flatter math, but much of it relates to the core mechanics and the ever-important distinction of the concentration element of spells. Simple changes like concentration requirements and more intuitive rules to adjudicate advantage and disadvantage have made high level combat play out exactly like low level combat (just with, you know....more choice).

People don't necessarily realize this, though. The game's default assumptions for most prior editions have been that high level play is complex, more time-consuming and fraught with unanticipated perils for the DM. But this simply isn't true anymore; it's much better now than it ever was before, and is significantly improved over the nightmare that was D&D 3.5/Pathfinder in which DM prep was tantamount to wasted time and spilt tears. Players can, once again, think about carrying out the lives of their characters all the way to level 20 if they want. But to do so, we need more content! More high level modules, high level monsters, high level stuff to help the time-deficient DM.

So to game writers working on D&D OGL content: think about it! There's a market for higher level content, I promise you. It's worth some effort to produce some high level modules. I know I'll buy them. And, being a writer of said material as well, I need to use what time I have (on rare occasion) to try and release some useful high level content as well.

Predictions for RPGs in 2017

I'll venture forth to make a few predictions for the coming year.....maybe wishes or suggestions are more of what these are? Here we go.....

1. Green Ronin needs to produce a Companion Book to Fantasy AGE

My players have one complaint with Fantasy AGE which has blocked my ability to get buy-in on playing the game: it's too skimpy. The core rules give you three classes and twelve archetypes, but it really doesn't give you enough to simulate nearly as many characters as they would like. It's not that my players are that special....but it's that they are used to more robust systems with a range of options, and Fantasy AGE's basic rules are indeed very....basic. They need to release a follow-up book with more archetypes/subclasses, more spells, and more stuff.

2. Wizards of the Coast needs to release at least 1 new rules tome this year, and it better be for players

We've had D&D 5E for three years now, give or take, and the closest we've gotten to a player's companion is in the back of the Sword Coast book. What they need is a formal sequel to the Player's Handbook. I think they are expecting the need for this, as Unearthed Arcana articles have ramped up to a weekly(ish) status with a focus on player options. The latest tome....Volo's Guide to Monsters....was a great book and if I had my way they'd release one of those every year (but I'd be happy with one every other year), but the game is past due for more player content. Same problem as with #1 above, and the longer WotC goes without fulfilling this need, the more likely it is I'll hear quiet dissent and suggestions that there's always Pathfinder to play....and no, I do not want to go back to Pathfinder. Must....resist....

3. Starfinder really needs some straight SF options when it releases

Okay, it may have these planned, but I will wait for the final product before believing it. Right now all information released on this book suggests it's "Golarion....IN...SPAAAACE" but maybe with Golarion missing or something. It sounds cool for what it intends to do, but there's a viable market of SF gamers who are like me: they want a OGL sci fi RPG which is robust and supported, and do not want to mix their fantasy with their SF (and if we do, it's gonna be appropriately gonzo like Spelljammer). Fingers crossed that even if Paizo doesn't do it, some 3PP will take advantage of the hype to do a streamlined "fantasy free" edition.

4. Swords & Wizardry goes mainstream

Between all the different iterations of Swords & Wizardry one could argue this is already a game that's dragged itself out of the niche corner of the OSR and into the "mainstream" of gaming, at least insofar as I bet there are a lot more people playing S&W now than, say, most FATE based games (not all FATE collectively, but any single FATE title is probably carrying a fanbase smaller than S&W does). With Erik Tenkar's S&W Lite, the new 3rd edition Swords & Wizardry Complete and it's art revamp, and a variety of other independent projects like White Box going on....I suspect S&W's gone mainstream and 2017 will show off just how much.

5. GURPS "Returns" 

Stave Jackson Games had a very successful Kickstarter for the new Dungeon Fantasy boxed set, which will be a stand-alone product that you can purchase and play without ever needing the other GURPS books. It's a great proof-of-concept for SJG and especially fans (like me) who've been saying that GURPS would be perfectly viable if they could do a streamlined version that is genre-specific, books which aren't so formidable in their scope that players are either scared away or crippled with decision paralysis. I've just recently started running GURPS again with the After the End sourcebooks as the basis, and my group is rapidly learning how great GURPS is, but the thought that I'll have an accessible rendiiton of Dungeon Fantasy next year is quite exciting. Once SJG has that out, we need a boxed set for GURPS SF Adventures next....a version which walks the line between the hardcore hyper-realism of GURPS Space and the more accessible "roll up some cool planets to explore" of other RPGs like White Star and Traveller. Then GURPS Action Heroes Boxed Set, GURPS Monster Hunters boxed set......sky's the limit!

6. Pathfinder 2.0 Should Start Development

My guess: Starfinder will include some bold and new innovations in game design (by 3rd edition D&D OGL standards) as a way of testing the waters for change. If they fly, Paizo may announce a 2.0 edition of Pathfinder to go in to development and playtesting before the year's end. This could be a good thing, if only because I think Pathfinder's core conceit (a complex, robust mechanically intense system for playing not-D&D) can remain intact while still fixing key issues (which of course is the problem: namely, no one can quite agree on what the key issues are). But they probably can tweak a few specific areas of the system and then clean it up for a very nice revised edition that looks similar to the formatting seen in books such as the Strategy Guide and the Beginner's Boxed Set. Sometimes even just a "cooler, newer look" is enough to make a game stand out.....and as Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition proves, you can make just a few tweaks and that will feel like a lot of change to many people, but a measured improvement in the look, feel and accessibility of a new edition can be accomplished through smart graphic design as well. Pathfinder is a surprisingly robust book as it stands.....but I think it could benefit (greatly) from a revision that improves accessibility and adds in some rules for non-miniatures-based combat, which will at least get it in to the design ethos of the 2010's.

Review: Ultramodern5 - bringing high tech mayhem to your D&D 5E games

Ultramodern5 is a weird product. It's definitely a toolkit, and is full of useful content for creating a specific kind of modern or near-future SF experience to your D&D 5E-powered campaigns. It's published by Dias Ex Machina Games, who are also behind Amethyst, an RPG which tries to create a D&D-powered variant on Shadowrun-esque fantasy and future tech. Ultramodern5 borrows somewhat from that setting, but provides all of the content in a context-free environment, with two sample scenarios at the end modeling zombie apocalypse and alien invasion settings.

The core mechanical bits for U5 are introduced right off the bat, which is mostly a few new rules (such as for auto and semi-auto weapons fire), some skills and a few feats. The new skills include some basic crafting rules (engineering), which are serviceable and in the "scope" of 5E's mechanical depth. U5 also introduces a detailed lifepath generator that's kinda neat, and is strongly reminiscent of the old lifepath systems characteristic of R. Talsorian Games' RPGs (Cyberpunk 2020 and Mekton).

The core character generation rules are modified in some interesting ways: characters are defaulted to human in U5, and the rules, while allowing for other races or species, assume you're running a humanocentric campaign. As you read through the book, this will become increasingly evident just why this is so: the toolkit is aimed at very specific kinds of games.

Character generation now focuses on three items: a ladder, a class, and an archetype. The two new steps are designed to allow for a more customized class experience. There are seven ladders, which each describe a core conceit of your character, such as "born leader," "survivor," or "warrior."

There are ten classes, and these function more or less just like regular D&D 5E classes, with the caveat that they have left room open for the archetype (and ladder) to add level-acquired abilities. The classes include more task-specific skill sets, such as the Infiltrator, Gunslinger, Medic, Sniper and Techie. They are all fairly combat-oriented.

 The archetypes replace the more class-specific format in standard 5E where you gain an archetype, domain, school or other specialist feature at 3rd level with any of the twenty-five archetypes included in U5. These are designed so that any class can pick from them, but some classes will naturally have a better synergy (and those classes are mentioned in the archetype descriptions).

As a result, you can get some really odd and interesting character designs out of this....but with the caveat that some will be mechanically superior combinations. For example:

Veteran martial artist ring fighter
Born leader medic anti-hero
Savant Grounder Selfless Protector

Those are all viable (though not necessarily optimal) builds.

The next section of the U5 core rules consist of a massive amount of equipment, weapons, vehicles and armor with extensive details on various forms and types of power armor. It was around this point that I got the feeling the game was heavily influenced by the likes of Starship Troopers and Bubblegum Crisis. Notably absent from this section are rules on cyberware and wetware, as well as pretty much anything you could otherwise use to craft starships or more exotic SF vehicles. The equipment rules do include lots of high tech equipment and a bewildering array of high tech future weaponry, though. There's enough meat here to run a high tech near-future SF technopunk campaign, just minus the cyberware part.

As I was looking through the weaponry and armor rules it quickly became apparent that the game will feel incredibly deadly at lower levels (levels 1-5 most especially) but as things escalate and hit points grow, the damage dealing value of PCs and enemies will have an interesting impact on how high level play feels. If you get shot and take 78 points of laser fire damage, but you don't drop because your a level 16 grounder....well, I'll have to say I need to reserve my judgement on this until I try some actual high level play, but my intuition already is telling me that the feasibility of this in regular D&D 5E works best when you are assuming semi-mythic fantasy heroes, but I don't think that suspension of disbelief will work as well as one might think in a high tech future version of the same,

Aside from copious equipment rules, the book has an reasonable bestiary of foes (about 35 stat blocks) aimed squarely at the new-future technopunk thematics it is best designed for, and follows up with a section on adventure design that includes several "set piece" locations that are presented as archetypal encounter locations with enough info for the GM to run with as-is. After that are two scenario/setting locations: one is "Biohazard" which deals with a zombie apocalypse taking place in pleasant Happyland, and provides five additional zombie stat blocks. The second, "Invasion Proxy" deals with an invasion of aliens in Baghdad. Each  scenario could reflect a new world/setting in its pages, but they actually work just fine for a single campaign where weird stuff like this happens all the time and the PCs happen to be the special ops dudes who get to fix things.

There's some implication that you can use U5 to run all sorts of high tech, modern, western historical and other campaigns in this book. My take on it is that U5 works best for what I would call the "Tom Clancy/Michael Criton/toned-down William Gibson" futures, and has loads of gear and thematic classes to support such. For example, I had experimented a few blogs back with the idea of using Tom Clancy's The Division for a Savage Worlds campaign....but honestly, a setting like The Division would be a natural fit for U5. However, I don't think there's enough here in U5 for me to comfortably be able to run this as a cowboy western, for contrast....you could probably do it, sure, but it would require a lot of reskinning (so whether that's an issue for you or not depends on taste) of the existing content and careful vetoing of thematically inappropriate choices.

However, if you want to run a future tech setting with lots of hardware, maybe some power armor, and a general vibe that feels like "Bubblegum Crisis" mashed up with more recent films like Babylon A.D., Elysium or even Judge Dredd (the new one) then you are probably exactly the kind of person that U5 is going to really benefit.

I'm kind of hoping Dias Ex Machina puts out a sequel that includes starship rules, cyberware, wetware and maybe even some rules on creating aliens and biogenically modified humans and near-humans --not just the "people are special in weird ways" rules U5 offers, but actual simulant, android, and transgenic rules. If it adds these rules in, then you've got a great set of rules for handling just about any contemporary or future setting using the 5E mechanics to run hard-hitting techno futures with lots of potential for brutal firefights and investigation.

So who would get the most out of this book? I'd suggest that anyone who wants some near-future high tech SF (but without cyberware or starships) or modern gaming will find this a useful tome. It's the only thing we've got right now, and I think it would serve any number of possible modern or futuristic campaigns until (or if) WotC ever decides to cough up a revision to D20 Modern.

The pitfalls could be unintended synergies in the class/ladder/archetype design that lead to suboptimal characters for games where optimizing is preferred....and the other side of that coin, where certain optimizers dominate the game due to their character design. In my read through the game I saw plenty of ways to make a suboptimal character, although nothing egregious (if you're going for an rp-focued PC this will not bother you), but not many ways to make an optimal PC build. I think the stricter design focus, keeping people to three "moving parts" helped.

If you are a fan of D&D 5E and want a toolkit to add modern and future tech themes to your games, or design a new modern/future setting from whole cloth (that sticks within the scope of what this book offers) then I think you'll find a lot to like in Ultramodern5. If you're looking for a broader book in terms of theme, scope and options for design, then I think you'll want to wait to see if U5 comes out with a sequel, or look to other systems like GURPS which provide the largest pool of resources for what might suit you best.

I could also see this book working well for a "Dragonstar" style campaign. If you don't recall Dragonstar, it was a setting for D&D 3rd by Fantasy Flight which merged fantasy themes with a future space-fantasy empire, complete with starships, laser guns, dragons and more. Think Warhammer 40K circa. 1990ish and you've got a good picture of Dragonstar. You could easily use the setting from those books with the rules from this to do a space-fantasy themed D&D 5th; and maybe borrow the starship design rules from Dragonstar to hold you over until U5 gets a proper sequel with such, too.

For me, I'll definitely be using this soon. Probably for a post-apocalyptic style "future tech society that has collapsed" type setting. I'll provide actual play details on how well it all works together soon.

Travels in Lingusia: the Ruins of Arkalor (Octzel)

Arkalor was a weird retro-addition to the history of Octzel. When it was first visited it was in the Warlord of Lingusia campaign, which took place in 3,500 AW. The ruins were identified as over 2,000 years old then. This version reflects the ruins as a six century old legacy of evil in Octzel, CA. 2092 AW, during the Age of Strife....

Ruins of Arkalor (Octzel, Gremna Province, Halale Wilderness, CA. 2092 AW)

   This ruined citadel and the vast and ancient city around it is steeped in mystery. The legends say that six centuries ago it was a seat of dark power, where chaos worshipping tieflings, eladrin, humans and orcs alike gathered to pay homage to the Chaos Pantheon. From its gates rode an army of black knights to crush the forces of Octzel and beyond, and it was a terrifying source of dark power. Little history from that dark period of time was recorded, though historians can tell you that Arkalor’s reputation was so terrible that when at last the city fell all reference to it was erased from the historical records. Neither its people nor its rulers are known today, nor why they chose to worship the Chaos Pantheons. Despite this, bardic tales and curious legends suggest the city itself did not fall to the blades of Octzellan crusaders, but instead was consumed from within by a plague of demons unleashed upon the land.

   Today, the haunted ruins are a bane to all creatures living and only a handful of ogre tribes wander the region, daring to get close to the ruins in search of valuable relics. The ruins are known to be haunted by the dead as well as rife with ancient evils, and demons are believed to ingest the catacombs beneath.     

Encounters in the Ruins of Arkalor:

Encounter 10+ for each hour in the region

D20        Encounter Chart 1

1-2          Roving pack of 2D6 ghouls

3              A band of 2D8 kytons move through the area hunting demons

4              A tiefling witch treasure hunter who claims to have ancestry from the city

5              A tribe of 4D6 ogres searching for relics on the periphery

6              A gibbering Mouther prowls about (25% chance of 1D4 of them)

7              A party of fiendish satyrs prowl the ruins looking for relics to sell (2D4)

8-10       A Chaos Gate manifestation; the region is suddenly warped and twisted as the adventurer’s presence in the ruins creates a tether to the Abyss; an Arcana check DC 12 to escape being transported to the Abyss; 50% chance of demons being dragged from the Abyss in to the ruins as well (20+2D10 levels’ worth of demons)

11           1D8 Shadows inhabiting a crumbling building (10% chance of a greater shadow as well)

12           A sudden surge of ancient chaos energy; 2D10 skeletons and 2D10 zombies arise and attack

13           A lone spectre called Nabasath wanders the ruins seeking company, though he is quite mad and likely to turn on his listeners or flee

14           2D6 wraiths rise up to destroy the “invaders”

15           3D6 dretches materialize from the Abyss, possibly led by 1D4 quasits (25% chance)

16           hell hound hunting pack (2D6)

17           A succubus appears and takes an interest in the group

18           A tether to the Abyss pulls in a very powerful demon, which mistakes the adventurers for summoners initially, giving them a moment to negotiate or flee before it realizes where it is

19           A gray ooze slithers through the ruins

20           1D4 Gibbering Mouthers prowls about

Note:  demons and pulled through Tethers to the Abyss will return to the Abyss in 1D6 minutes.

Travels in Lingusia: Old Chegga (dominion of lord Karukithyak)

Fun fact! Old Chegga was originally depicted in a module I ran at a Phoenix convention 
in 1988 and again in 1989. The first scenario was written for use with GURPS 1st edition
 and the play run lasted around 13 hours. The module was published in an issue of The 
Sorcerer's Scrolls but (damn it all) I no longer have the original issue or even a copy on
 disk or otherwise anymore. Since then I have had two campaigns in which Old Chegga 
was revisited in new areas. Some day I will map the whole thing out.

Old Chegga (Octzel, No Man's Land, Mitra's Forest, CA. 2092 AW)

   Six centuries ago Old Chegga was founded out of the waddle-and-daub mud huts of orcs who settled along the length of the vast and deep chasm in which the curious domain can now be found. These orcs found that the steep walls of the canyon sheltered them from most sunlight year round, letting them move freely between the lower dark and the surface world. These orcs were a strange lot, brought here in the search for an ancient, titanic entity called the Kraken, a name that failed to encompass the horror of what lurked in the vast caverns that adjoined the ancient canyon.

   Chegga became a mecca for deviant worship of the ancient Kraken, and it is said that somewhere along its ancient walls stretched a passage that eventually opened up to one of the vast subterranean tunnels, miles beneath the surface, in which an ancient sea could be found, and within that sea rested a slumbering beast with the head of an immense squid and the body of a foul ape. The worship of this deity was tantalizing to some orcs, but to many more it was considered a sacrilege, an affront to the proper gods of the orcs such as Baragnagor, Orcus and Baphomet. In time, the orcish warlords banded against the cultists of Chegga and crushed them, leaving behind only the mysterious ruins and strange relics that they had unearthed in their time in the ancient chasm.

   About two centuries ago the exiled sorcerer and vampire lord Karukithyak, once of the Haikyndyr serpent men in Galvonar to the south, arrived in the region and settled in Old Chegga. He was a follower of Slithotep, the mad god, and had been cursed with vampirism and exiled by his people for turning his back on Set.

   Karukithyak has long since established a dark reign over Old Chegga, rebuilding the ruins and expanding the underground tunnels, recruiting followers from among his own kind as well as the degenerate local orcs and other foul beings in the region, including deep gnomes, grimlocks and ogres. Though he is a high priest of Slithotep and has taken a vast underground chamber in which to build an immense temple to the dark god, Karukithyak has encouraged the worship among his degenerate followers of the dreaded Kraken, and lets them continue their sadistic worship and sacrifices to the slumbering beast.

   Karukithyak never leaves the subterranean ziggurat he had built a century ago, to serve as the temple of worship to Slithotep as well as his private meditation chambers deep within. He instead relies on his right hand man, the enigmatic chaos knight known as Gohondon Zar, a powerful and vile half-orc death knight who serves the vampire lord with ruthless efficiency. Beneath Zar is a network of enforcers who insure the strange ritual complex that is Old Chegga goes unmolested, seeking out rival orcs and other humanoids who take umbrage at the vile practices of Old Chegga by attacking them and exterminating them, then raising the dead in to more zombie soldiers for the vampire lord.

   Karukithyak also has an uneasy hold on Baron Hroder of Galent, whom he turned in to a vampire some years ago. He knows Hroder schemes against him, rebelling against his own vile nature, but it amuses him to let the young vampire try and best his elder. If Zar had his way, however, he would mount an assault on all the human cities adjacent to Mitra’s Forest and exterminate everyone.

   Old Chegga is a deadly underworld domain, and encounters in this region will be expounded upon more in due time.

Travels in Lingusia: Castle Galent (dominion of the vampire Lord Hroder)

Castle Galent (Octzel, Gremna Province, Halale Wilderness, ca. 2092 AW)

   Although Gerton to the north is the capitol of Gremna Province, Galent is a more robust castle, and has long served as a center of trade for the farmers and ranchers of the southern province.  The Barony is ruled by House Kratim, of which Baron Hroder Kratim is the most respected member in the community. He is second in command behind Duke Kalios in Gerton should a defense need to be mounted against foreign or monstrous invasion.

   Baron Hroder has a secret, however. East of his lands is the vast and untamed territory of Mitra’s Forest, and within that forest is the ruinous domain of Old Chegga, once an ancient bastion of chaos cultists and orcs, now dominated by the mysterious power of the vampiric Karukithyak. Some years ago Hroder sought to extinguish the vile forces that operated within the ruins of Chegga, and he failed, narrowly escaping with his life. What is not known is that he was bitten by the vampire lord, and is now in thrall to Karukithyak. For this reason along Galent proves to be exceptionally resilient against invasion from the orc-dominated woodlands, as Hroder’s inside knowledge of the monstrous lands gives him an edge.

    Hroder’s effectiveness against the orc warlords is what makes him so valuable locally, but behind the scenes he is really being used as a pawn by Karukithyak, slaughtering the enemies of the vampire lord so that Chegga may be strengthened. Mindful of his tool’s usefulness Karukithyak keeps Hroder’s position as a reliable agent safe, to avoid suspicion.

   Hroder is weakened in sunlight but does not suffer damage like regular vampires, for the curse of vampirism he received comes from a serpent man who was cursed by Set himself. Karukithyak’s kin are feared by many of the hidden vampire and undead enclaves throughout the land for this reason. However, should Karukithyak ever be slain, Hroder will no longer be in thrall to the vampire lord, but he will also lose his special resilience, becoming a  normal human vampire as a result.

   Secretly Hroder despises Karukithyak’s hold, and worries that he is funneling great power in to the hands of a madman, one which worships a dreadful subterranean and aquatic being called the Kraken. He has, and will, continue to find quiet ways to defy the vampire lord, including hiring adventures discreetly to carry out assaults and raids against Old Chegga.

   Galent is a military town, and it shows. Though only two regular garrisons of militia are maintained here (approximately 300 soldiers) it also hires and maintains an active mercenary company, and is one of the safe harbors for the rogue orcish mercenaries of Halshaggin’s Raiders. Three local knighthoods claim Galent as their home city, including the Order Triumphant, the Order of the Eternally Vigilant and a local office and tower for the Order of the Crown.

   There are numerous inns, hostels, taverns and brothels, as well as spots of entertainment, including:

The Boar’s Tusk

The Riverside Tavern (more of a creek, though)

Ancheron’s Noble Hostel

Fletch-Feathered Inn

Abroshe Gambling Hall

Arena Sports Pits

Crossroads Tavern

Serpent’s Coils

   Before Chenetoz Forks became the popular place to hang criminals, there was the Crossroads of Galent. A long while back someone bought up the land and turned the region around the old hangman’s tree in to an inn and tavern called the Crossroads. The establishment is currently run by an ogre mage of indeterminate origin and who goes only by the name of Gus. Rumor is the ancient tree at the heart of the building is still haunted, and that a malevolent specter of a dead diabolist named Histior Lokenze manifests at least once a year, on the Eve of All’s Darkness, a night when the tavern never gets any visitors past midnight, except on a dare. In the last decade at least five foolhardy souls who paid to brave the tavern on that night and apparently perished of terror, or so it is said.

   The truth is even spookier; this spirit of a mad diabolist does indeed haunt the tree, and Gus has sealed up the rooms and chambers immediately adjacent to its vast trunk, and warded them against the dead. Histior’s spirit manifests on the night of each new moon, though he is able to pass the wards only on the Eve of All’s Darkness, said to be the night when even the stars are eclipsed by the vastness of Death’s Realm.

   The Serpent’s Coils is another well known establishment, run by the enigmatic half-elf woman Histeria, who raises snakes and dances a mysterious eastern dance with them. She trains a small group of professional dancers, and puts on shows that the local merchants and mercenaries pay good money for. Besides its dances, wine and drink the establishment is a renowned brothel, and it has its own secrets as well. At the center of the building is a great pit with an ancient giant serpent, said to be a pet and perhaps even a lover transformed of Histeria. Histeria herself is a mystery, exceptionally long-lived and of unusual nature; she is in fact a were-serpent, and once was one of the greatest assassins of distant Galonia. Even now she trains her finest women to serve as agile assassins for hire, using the serpent as their key weapon. She is also one of the few citizens of Galent to know that Hroder is actually a vampire.

Encounters in the Galent:

Encounter 14+

D20        Encounter

1-5          A major seasonal market and fair is underway for farmers, ranchers and villagers in the region

6-10       Galent’s mercenary company is hiring after rumors of orcish war parties surface

11-12     A local merchant is felled by a serpent’s bite; rumors suggest he died at the Serpent’s Coils, but Histeria seeks the aid of adventurers to prove this is not true

13-14     A band of local blades seek to rough up the fresh new faces in the city

15-16     Hroder is recruiting mercenaries for a special task; he reveals he intends to send them to Old Chegga to gather information on the cult of the Kraken

17           A wealthy nobleman intends to stay in the tavern on the Eve of All’s Darkness, and his wife hires the adventurers to protect him

18           The local graveyard is apparently having troubles with ghouls and risen dead, and needs help

19           The Halshaggin’s Raiders arrive in town on call from the baron, causing a disruption

20           Rumors of catacombs beneath the city draw the attention of a priest of Enki, who seeks adventurers to escort him to find and sanctify these catacombs

Netherealms of Altavir II: The Gods of Altavir

It's been a while, but time to revisit Altavir, the mysterious new setting I am bandying about with an eye for some future campaign. Here's the last article, for reference. And now...the deities:

Gods of Altavir

   Altavir is dominated by five major cultural groups, including the dead culture of ancient Hapath and Vidari, so powerful in their ways that even long after their civilization was destroyed the memory of their gods lives on.

   The religions of each region are not characterized by any sense of unity, though a number of gods are found in each region, the worship of such deities crossing cultural and political boundaries. Soragul is an ancient Vapari god, worshipped by the long-dead citizens of that ancient city, his grandest temple now in ruins…..but scholars across Altavir still present sacrifice to him before carefully kept shrines to this day.

   The gods of Altavir are enigmatic and distant, but oracular communication, possession and even the summoning of the gods (or their aspects) is not uncommon. Sometimes charlatans pass themselves off as diviners, but other time there are those born with what appears to be a unique tether to the gods.

   There is no consensus on the relationship of the gods to either man or other divinities, other than that such knowledge will always be beyond the ken of human understanding. The gods of Satras in the North are believed to be ancient spirits bent on destroying the world, frozen in their own wave of ice that will one day destroy the land. The Ekasian gods are benevolent spirits of growth and progress, while the Ugandan monotheism suggests a capricious, mad god rules all. The Vidari believe in many gods and spirits, but feel that they are not so powerful as to destroy a world. Behind all of this are the old gods of Hapath and Vapari, regarded as cruel demons of the outer void who would be best left alone, had the Hapathic sorcerers not drawn their attention to Altavir.

Vidaric Pantheon

   The Vidari have a surprisingly mixed cosmology of the divine. The lead god of the Vapari is Sitarnos, a wizened patriarch of the gods who’s temples grace most Vidari cities as a center of commerce, trade and politics. They have Ateinas as the goddess who is both protector, fighter, child-bearer, a patron of women and the family. Heiros is the god of death, gate-keeper of the dead and the sole deity to hold back the demons of the Outer Darkness at bay. Other lesser gods include Ouduan, the god of the great sea and patron of sailors; Merecres, the god of secrets; Adreis, the goddess of love and tranquility, Eris, the goddess of chaos and discord, Targoaes, the god of soldiers and war; and the adopted Hapathic deity Soragul, god of scholars and magic.

Northern Satrasian Beliefs

   The northmen of the Satras Steppes are a dour, stern lot who face an army of ancient, evil gods who are slowly engulfing the world in ice. Their tales of old speak of a cosmic battle in which the Death Gods won, and the old pantheon of light was destroyed. The four key death gods are Yzach, Vexor, Mavag and Thesha. Each is believed to have a legion of lesser undead gods, all undead servitors enslaved to them from prior worlds which they visited and slew all life on. The stories of Satras are that these four arrived as an army, and fought the old gods to a standstill, and the protector god Malevig fought them to a standstill before freezing them in perpetual ice….but as he did they struck and slew him. Now the death gods are frozen in the deep north, slowly awakening. The ice encroaches, for it has been taken over by the will of these destroyers, but one day they will shatter their prison and be free to wipe out humanity.

   Most Northern homes and hearths have a shrine to the memory of Malevig and the old gods, and they believe that a candle or flame must burn at all times to keep his spirit alive, prolonging the inevitable creeping heat-death of the world that much longer.

Hapathic and Vapari Pantheon

   Little is truly known of the old gods worshipped by these enigmatic and very dead sorcerers. The Hapthic belief in Soragul was found and restored in modern times by Vidari scholars, but other gods such as the elephantine Zaggal-Suun and the rapacious thousand-armed Mother of Darkness called Sibasha-Rei remain enigmas, with occasional misguided cults rising up to seek power from these lost beings.

   Most concerning of all were the later cults which worshipped seventeen devils, the so called Sons of the Dark, possibly the children of Sibasha-Rei. It is believed this latter period of devil-worship and summoning was what led to the downfall of Hapath and Vapari. The seventeen are mostly lost to memory, but three devils in particular still have worship in hidden covens today, including Raggus the Black Goat, Simidasei the Lamia Queen and Policari the Breeder.

   Sacred amulets, lost tomes and religious iconography are highly prized in the ruins of old Hapath and Vapari. Adventurers regularly plunder such relics to make a quick buck in their home ports. Occasionally one of these relics contains enough data, or some dark spirit, which accidentally rekindles the lost cult of one of these infernal beings.

Ekasian Gods

   The Ekasian culture is believed to have grown from indigenous nomadic tribes out of the plains of the dead, the Oklos Emanos. Many ancient ruins of a lost civilization are found in that region, the name of which is lost even to memory, and the language of which is mysteriously untranslatable. The Ekasians believe they have a direct lineage to this lost people who likely predated Hapath by thousands of years.

   The Ekasian belief system pays reverence to ancestors. Specifically they regard the ancestors of the ancient dead as guides in the afterlife and even the present lives of their people. The lead ancestral deity is called Nevuar, believed to be the first king of Ekasia, and spiritual guide to the Ekasian kings. Second is Mahulos, a spirit of magic and lost lore. Third is Tynorath, the spirit-goddess of wrath and justice. The fourth and final elder spirit is Makamion, the “maker of better things” who is said to be the ancestor to create all great works of man, the forger. Lesser spirits include Shanasia, the fertility spirit of women, Yamereth, the hearth-protector, and Trialion the spirit of mercantilism. There is a distinct evil ancestor spirit as well, known as Makkod, believed to be the last of the forgotten kings, the one who “brought ruin to the old age of men.”

Ugadan Belief

   The Ugandan worship the “all force” of the being called Sadaqua, which is simultaneously a benevolent and evil being of multiple “faces,” a sort of monotheistic being with pantheistic personalities. Sadaqua manifests as a devil, a savior, a trickster, a caretaker, a warrior, a sage and other roles, all represented within his dark, circular temples dug deep in to the earth.

Check out the new D&D 5E Ranger

Well, in the tradition of this century we now have a ranger revision to compensate for the arguably substandard ranger from the D&D 5th edition Player's Handbook. The new ranger can be found here, and is a full 20 level build for people to test out. I'd say tentatively, without seeing it in action yet that the new design for the class definitely addresses some of the issues with the ranger my game table noticed, and which I house-ruled a bit to fix.

Some of the context of this article is with regards to how WotC needs to approach such larger rule changes in the future for D&D, which up to now they have preferred avoiding. From the looks of it, they have plans in the (near?) future to publish an Unearthed Arcana rules tome with new rules, house rules, alternative class builds like this and other things. For my money, I hope that book comes sooner than later, simply because my table loves more options than less.

Lingusia - the Age of Strife: Fire Knife Assassins in D&D 5E

So the rule of thumb is: as soon as I invest time in another fantasy game, I start pining for D&D 5E again. With that, I offer you the 5E version of the Fire Knives for your enjoyment....

Fire Knives

Group Alignment: Neutral Evil

Leader: Shadulos Elas Boron

Headquarters: An anonymous guild hall in the Guild District

   The Fire Knives are an international organization of illuminated conspirators who have supporters within Hyrkania, Octzel, and Jhakn. Rumors indicate that there are even members operating within the empires of Persedonia and Galvonar to the south, and maybe even as far east as Cretea and Namintha. The Fire Knives are a vicious predatory political organization, motivated less by religious or moral principles than they are by political gain, despite their origins as a cult to Haro, the god of murder. The mysterious Council of Thirteen are a secret council of dissident political radicals from across the Middle Kingdoms who work together to maintain long distance ties and support. Their agendas are many and varied. Some employ magical prowess which is often learned from the Cabal of Southern Hyrkania, while others practice bastard magic, culled from the books of Blue Robes and Geomancers who dared to cross their path. Most members of the guild are common men and kindred folk who rely on stealth and swift assassination to accomplish their nefarious deeds.

   At its roots, the guild looks like some sort of thug-enforcer type of thieves’ guild that seems to have little obvious direct connection to their actions. In some cities, such as Octzel, their movements are silent and unobserved by most people. In Krythia, they wear their shield of stars surrounded by a weapons symbol proudly, and are believed to be a mercenary's guild by most people. In Jhakn the existence of the Fire Knives is unknown, as their movements are so carefully concealed and hidden that not even close allies know who they are dealing with.

   In Octzel, the Fire Knives have few allies and many enemies, often coming to blows with rival organizations and guilds. Of the many thieves and mercenaries guilds in Octzel only the Order of the Blade maintains neutral relations, and is willing to hire out sellswords to the Fire Knives for any unsavory deeds.

   The Fire Knives have the primary support of three Barons, and possibly other nobles, in Octzel. House Boron, House Killaman, and House Agrapor are the primary backers. House Boron, of the Merchant Lord Shadulos Elas Boron, and his wicked daughter Teylayurana Sorinos are the most dangerous members. Hallergan Blacknails is an infamous orc assassin of the order.

   Beside the illegal and secretive activities which likely take place in the shadowed chambers of the manors of each noble house, the Fire Knives own property through indirect channels throughout the city. They own a trade and import shop in the Marketplace which leads to a secret meeting place. They own a Guild Hall that is rented out regularly, except on dark, moonless nights when they convene for a recap of their actions. They own warehouses by the docks, where imports of special relation are often kept, or where bodies can safely be dumped. Members of the Fire Knives learn as much as they can about the back alleys, secret passages, sewers, and catacombs beneath the streets of Octzel.

   Some would say that the Fire Knives go beyond being a society of political assassination and into the realm of a secret society for the sake of secretiveness. Much of this is due to the fact that the three barons behind the house lack the backing or funds of a major political interest, and it is believed that none of them belong to the Thirteen. Yet, since some claim that Fire Knives in Hyrkania, such as Dame Magna Mordent, say that there is a member of the Thirteen in Octzel, then who is he or she, and what are they planning?

The Thirteen

   The Thirteen are an entity unto itself, operating in utter secrecy throughout the Middle Kingdoms and the East to further its diabolical ends, using assassination, slavery, and the sale of opiates (especially of the blue and black lotus) to manipulate the political currents of the realms.

   An agent, follower or servant of the Thirteen is likely to be a lower order member of the Fire Knives, but someone could also have a conflicted relationship if they revere the god Haro, or are independent assassins, and an adversarial relationship could stem from any number of cases where one would see cause to oppose the actions of a murderous guild-cult.

Shadulos Elas Boron

   The guild master of Fire Knife operations in Octzel, Boron is a local merchantman with family ties back to Hyrkania. His rise to power on the surface appears to be one of a shrewd businessman, but behind the scenes he is suspected of being ranked as one of the Thirteen, relying on the bloody death that his guild can heap upon those who stand in his way to further his ambitions.

   Boron has locked down the city for the Fire Knives, eliminating most other rival guilds, and now schemes to find ways to dislodge the Black Lotus and the Guild of the Spheres.

Level 12 Human fighter, NE

CR 6 (2,300 XP)

STR 12 (+1)     DEX 16 (+3)     CON 18 (+4)    INT 15 (+2)      WIS 17 (+3)     CHA 20 (+5)

HPs 114 (HD 12D10+48)         AC 16              Saves STR +5, CON +8, DEX +7

Initiative +3

Skills Intimidation +9, Perception +7, Persuasion +9, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +7

Multiattack Shadulos Boron may make three rapier attacks or three ranged dagger attacks (or any combination) as an attack action.

Melee Rapier Attack +9 attack, 5 foot reach; 1D8+5 piercing damage; any attack may be sacrificed to attempt a disarm: the target must make a DC 18 DEX save or become disarmed (see additional details below).

Ranged Poisoned Daggers +9 attack, 20/40 range; 1D4+4 damage and target must make a DC 17 CON save or become paralyzed for 1 minute (target may make a save each round to end). If Shadulos rolls a critical hit the target also takes 4D8+2 poison damage.

Disarming Personality Shadulos has learned a little magic in his time and may cast charm person 3 times per day and charm monster once per day. Shadulos has subjected his very body to complex rituals to allow for unnatural magical guile.

Entourage Shadulos rarely travels alone. Typically he travels with 1D6 assassins in his presence at all times.

Equipment scale mail, Rapier +2 of disarming, a bandolier of 2 dozen poisoned daggers, 3 vials of paralytic poison (6 doses per vial), 1,230 GP pocket change

Teylayurana Sorinos

   The bastard daughter of Shadulos Elas Boron, Teylayurana has worked her way up the ranks in the Fire Knives to become the premiere assassin in Octzel. She is ruthless and efficient, though regarded as unstable by those who have seen her succumb on occasion to a bloodlust driven by her madness. Some believe that when she experiences these “episodes” she is actually channeling the spirit of Haro himself; no one knows for sure, but her skill has nonetheless attracted the attention of Celiobantes Astiriate in the east, and within the guild it is rumored the two have had relations.

   About two years earlier Teylayurana also traveled with the adventurer Cassius Augustus and was lured into a war between the Fire Knives and the Guild of the Spheres. This conflict led to ongoing enmity between the two guilds.

Level 14 human rogue, CN

CR 9 (5,000 XP)

STR 14 (+2)     DEX 20 (+5)     CON 13 (+1)    INT 16 (+3)      WIS 12 (+1)     CHA 14 (+2)

HPs 77 (14D8+14)                   AC 19              Saves DEX +10, INT +8

Initiative +9

Skills Acrobatics +10, Intimidation +7, Perception +6, Sleight of Hand +10, Stealth +10

Multiattack Teylayurana may make three twin dagger attacks (at 2 attacks per strike) or three ranged crossbow attacks (or any combination) as an attack action.

Melee Twin-Dagger Strike +12 attack (twice), reach 5 ft against 1 or 2 targets; 1D4+7 piercing damage per strike and target is subject to blue lotus poison (see below).

Ranged Hand Crossbow +12 attack, 1D6+6 piercing damage, and target subject to blue lotus poison (see below).

Blue Lotus Poison target must make a DC 19 save vs. CON or target is incapacitated (save each round to end) due to intense and sudden hallucinations.

Sneak Attack if Teylayurana has advantage on the target then she deals an additional 7D6 damage on a single successful attack.

Evasion if Telayurana rolls a successful DEX save she takes no damage. If she fails the save she takes ½.

Blindsense Teylayurana does not roll for disadvantage on attacks and actions in total darkness or while blinded.

Equipment Leather +2 (wyvernscale), 2 daggers +2, 6 vials of blue lotus poison (5 applications per vial), one hand crossbow +2, a case with 30 bolts, pocket change of 500 GP

Hallergan Blacknails

   Hallergan Blacknails is Shadulos Boron’s right-hand man. He is an accomplished mage, a tough fighter, and a tricky devil. Hallergan is approaching middle years, but has worked hard to keep a lean figure, and avoid the bloatedness so characteristic older male orcs. His snout is stubbier than usual, perhaps due to some forgotten human blood in his ancestry, and he will often pass without question in the city streets if he wears heavy robes like a priest. He is a master tactician when it comes to weaving his magic, and he can bring down some rather impressive foes with little difficulty.

Level16 Orc fighter/warlock, CE

CR 7 (2,900 XP)

STR 20 (+5)     DEX 12 (+1)     CON 18 (+4)    INT 15 (+2)      WIS 14 (+2)     CHA 20 (+5)

HPs 141 (11D8+5D10+64)      AC 19              Saves STR +10, CHA +10

Initiative +5

Skills Arcana +7, Intimidation +10, Perception +7, Stealth +6

Multiattack Hallergan may make two axe attacks as an attack action.

Melee Great Axe of the Beheader +13 attack, reach 5 ft; 1D12+7 slashing damage. On a natural 20 the axe deals triple damage and if the target reaches zero hit points is automatically decapitated.

Ranged Spectral Syphon +10 attack, reach 60 ft (one target); 4D8+5 psychic damage and target must make a DC 18 INT save or target gains -1 AC and Hallergan gains +1 AC. This effect continues each round dealing damage and making a save until the target succeeds; AC gain/loss is cumulative and lasts five minutes. This terrifying and unique warlock power Hallergan has taught himself drains spirit energy from the target and does not stop until forcibly interrupted or the target succumbs.

Warlock Abilities Hallergan has a Spell Attack modifier of +10 and Spell Save DC of 18.

Cantrips: eldritch blast, true strike, blade ward

Warlock Spells (3/day): invisibility, Dream, Hallucinatory Terrain, vampiric touch, tongues, dimension door, hunger of hadar, crown of madness, contact other plane, misty step, shatter

Equipment Great axe +2 of the Beheader, full plate +1, loose change of 225 PP and 1,500 GP

Other Fire Knife Assassins

Use the assassin in the MM but substitute blue lotus poison and black lotus poison (below) for master assassins.

New Magic Items and Gear:

Great Axe of the Beheader

Very rare (attunement required) weapon

This +2 great axe deals triple damage on a critical hit. If the target is reduced to zero hit points as a result of being struck by this axe, the target is automatically beheaded (or equivalent, if target does not have a head).

Rapier of disarming

Very Rare (attunement required)

This +2 rapier makes disarming an opponent incredibly easy. Whenever a strike connects, instead of dealing damage the wielder may declare a disarm attack. The target must save vs. DEX at a DC equal to 8+DEX Mod+Proficiency+2 of the wielder or the target’s weapon lands 1D10 feet away from him in a random direction. Target may save at advantage if it is a two handed weapon or larger.

Blue Lotus Poison

Uncommon (poison); typical retail value 250 GP/vial

The blue paste that is made from the leaves of the blue lotus poison is well known for it’s strong hallucinogenic properties, which seem to cause distressing feelings of madness and entrapment within the walls of the City of Nith in the Dreamlands of Ethenur; some mages speculate that the person’s astral self is actually displaced by this poison.

When used the target must make a DC 19 save vs. CON or target is incapacitated (save each round to end) due to intense and sudden hallucinations. One vial contains 5 doses, and each dose will last for one combat.

Black Lotus Poison

Rare (poison); typical retail value 4,000 GP/vial

The incredibly deadly black lotus leaf, when treated correctly with a special alchemical ingredient known only to assassins and poisoners, can be applied in food (for ingestion) or to a blade (for wounding). The poison in minuscule doses causes severe hallucinations and catatonia (DC 19 save vs. CON or become incapacitated) for 1D6 hours; a DEX check (DC 18) is needed to correctly apply the dose at this level (proficiency in alchemy or poisons will grant proficiency bonus to this check). At full doses the user must make a DC 15 DEX Save to avoid accidentally making contact with the poison, subjecting him or herself to its effects (roll at advantage if wearing thick leather gloves; cloth won’t do). Once applied, a single dose will last until a target drinks or eats the poisoned product, or a wound is made. The target then makes a DC 18 CON Save or immediately drops to zero hit points and begins making death saves. If the target stabilizes he or she will remain catatonic and unconscious for 1D6 hours.

A typical vial of black lotus poison contains 3 doses and comes with measuring tools, pestle, and the “vitae mortae” liquid added to bring out the lethal component of the leaf. Rumors that the liquid is derived from the blood of medusae are not entirely unfounded.

Fun notes about statting for 5E vs. 13th Age:

In working out comparable stats for both systems I realized that 13th Age is much quicker, but also very floaty, since you can pretty much make up anything you want as long as you confine your design to something that makes sense....and be ready to revise when it doesn't work as intended in actual play. The incredibly basic core stat block of 13th Age is also a real boon for quick monster design. It's not the fastest system for statting NPCs and monsters (that honorific necessarily goes to Tunnels & Trolls) but it's probably the fastest one for D&D, short of Swords & Wizardry.

D&D 5E has more precision in it than one might realize, since you have lots of design rules and guidelines (those who say otherwise are coming from Pathfinder and 3.5, where the mechanical complexity makes 5E feel spartan), and compared to 13th Age it's rather complicated in that regard. But you can "template" classes as a base of design without having to rigidly adhere to all features of the class (as I did above), instead focusing on those elements relevant to the likely encounter. It takes longer than 13th Age....but if you get used to 5Eisms and memorize the process it can be almost as speedy.