By Mike Welham Jun 17, 2019 | Articles, Expanding Codex |
The Expanding Codex series fleshes out monsters from the Creature Codex, giving GMs ways to modify the existing monsters to surprise well-prepared players or to introduce monsters to a campaign. Alternate Traits and Actions The following changes allow GMs to alter a ziphius without modifying its challenge rating: Capsize. If the ziphius moves at least 20 feet straight toward a seagoing vessel and then hits and damages it with a dorsal fin...
By Marc Radle Jun 14, 2019 | Articles, Warlock's Apprentice |
Magical staves are among the most sought-after magic items for many spellcasters. In Midgard, there are a number of unique magical staves, many with rich histories and lore. Spell Sources: While many magical staff spells are found in the SRD, those marked with an asterisk (*) appear in the Midgard Heroes Handbook. Crystal Staff Staff, very rare (requires attunement by a sorcerer, warlock, or wizard) A staff carved from a single piece of solid...
By GM Lent Jun 12, 2019 | Articles, The Sorcery Stop |
Magic is the lifeblood of fantasy. Arguably the dividing line between fantasy and other types of fiction, magic can be strange, mysterious, frightening, comical, or anything in between. And if you’re looking to explore the applications of magic in a fantasy roleplaying campaign, you want to visit the Sorcery Stop! The fey are no friends to mortals, but they are neither necessarily foes—often the faerie courts don’t consider mortals at all in...
By Kobold Staff Jun 10, 2019 | Articles |
An imperial ghoul stands tall and proud, its gray flesh robust and muscled, its sharp talons stained black, and its clothing strangely well kept. Its flickering red eyes have an intelligent, malicious gleam. Shock Troops. Imperial ghouls are the shock troops of the ghoul empire, and eager to expand its power and influence. Treated like auxiliaries, they get the most difficult tasks: to engage and hold foes while the darakhul, iron legionnaires,...
By Nick Landry Jun 7, 2019 | Articles, Kobold FAQ, Midgard |
Considering making a new geomancer or picking up one of the ley magic feats? You might have many questions about ley lines and how they work. I know I did, so I went to the source and asked Dan Dillon, author of the book Deep Magic 5: Ley Lines from Kobold Press. Here is a summary of that conversation, FAQ style. All the answers come from Dan (except for the first two questions, which I added to provide a more complete FAQ). Q: What are ley...
By Lou Anders Jun 5, 2019 | Articles, Preview |
Let’s get one thing straight. There is no way I can write a dispassionate overview of the overwhelming goodness that is the Margreve Player’s Guide. I just can’t. And there’s a very good reason for it. I’m in it. And not only that, but I’m in it three times. Now, while I’m no stranger to writing—I’ve written a children’s fantasy trilogy for Penguin Random House and a Star Wars novel for Disney Lucasfilm, and I’ve got another children’s fantasy...
By Kobold Staff Jun 3, 2019 | Articles, Midgard |
A hungry crow pecks at the eyes of the rotting corpse hanging on a rusty gibbet at the crossroads. The night air is filled with the howling of wolves, the soft hooting of owls, and the occasional human scream. The Blood Kingdom of Morgau is made up of three former kingdoms: the Duchy of Morgau, the Barony of Doresh, and the newly conquered northern province of Krakovar. Morgau and Doresh are located on a forested highland known as the Brom...
By Hannah Rose May 31, 2019 | Articles, Designing with Style |
The Designing with Style series breaks down the official 5th-edition style guide to help designers create content that’s well-written, polished, and precise. The exact language for rules and mechanics is extremely specific for a reason: to avoid ambiguity, the enemy of elegant design and easy play. Understanding the style guide is the key to creating content that’s usable, elegant, and professional. Adventures expect player characters to use...
By Robert Fairbanks May 29, 2019 | Articles, Out of the Frying Pan |
Encounters have consequences. Every slain bandit has friends who will want revenge, and every devil banished back to the Eleven Hells reports its failure to its dark lord. What happens when the PCs’ daring deeds come back to bite them? Weaving Words, Silk, and Steel The following encounter chains are more than just random conflicts. Each event flows organically into the next, sometimes without giving PCs the chance to catch their collective...
By Kelly Pawlik May 24, 2019 | Articles, Tour of the Empire |
A ghastly, green fire flickers in a long-forgotten tomb. From within comes a thunderous crash as the lid of a stone sarcophagus is contemptuously flung aside, followed by the clank of armor and the dread sound of footsteps. Something ancient and evil is coming to claim the night. That ancient evil is none other than Empire of the Ghouls—the new 5th Edition Kickstarter from Kobold Press… THE THROTTLE This wide, rough-hewn cavern has been...
By Lou Anders May 22, 2019 | Articles, Preview |
“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” ―John Muir “Tom’s words laid bare the hearts of the trees and their thoughts, which were often dark and strange, filled with a hatred of things that go free upon the earth, gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning: destroyers and usurpers. It was not called the Old Forest without reason, for it was indeed ancient, a survivor of vast forgotten woods; and in it there lived yet,...
By Kobold Staff May 20, 2019 | Articles |
Watching with many rows of eyes, this mantis creature strikes with slashing claws and recurved barbs dripping with venom. Dimensional Travelers. The clandestine xhkarsh are beings from another cosmic cycle. Their devices and armor are incomprehensible to—possibly even incompatible with— creatures of this reality. Tamper with Fate. The xhkarsh utilize their fate-altering powers to distort personal histories and manipulate mortal destinies like...
By Kobold Staff May 17, 2019 | Announcements, Articles |
Tales of the Old Margreve takes your 5th Edition game deep into the ancient, magical forest, with new spells, monsters, magic items, and wondrous locations, a monster appendix, and twelve adventures for heroes level 1–10. Over 200 pages of adventures and forest secrets! “Hollow” by Richard Pett “The Honey Queen” by Jonathan McAnulty “The Vengeful Heart” by Matt Corley “Challenge of the Fang” by...
By Lou Anders May 15, 2019 | Articles, Preview |
Midgard is my favorite campaign setting, and Tales of the Old Margreve is poised to be my favorite campaign book. Quite apart from my own contributions to the Player’s Guide—about which, more in a later article—I was able to playtest a lot of this in my own Midgard campaign, and it’s just deliciously chock-full of content, from a detailed campaign setting to a host of incredible adventures. With the release of Tales of the Old Margreve right...
