Hi everyone! I'm really happy to share that, thanks to everyone's support, we've already unlocked two of our stretch goals, allowing us to create new mythological items with new artwork!

We're now in the final days of our Kickstarter campaign, so there's still a little time left to support the project and help us unlock even more content.

For anyone unfamiliar with the project, Mythological Items is a D&D 5E and 2024-compatible collection of 300+ magic items inspired by myths, legends, and folklore from around the world. Each item comes with its own history and unique abilities inspired by its mythological origins, and many can even grow in power alongside your characters throughout a campaign.

We're now working towards our next stretch goals, which will allow us to add even more items and new artwork to the book! There's still plenty we'd love to include, and every bit of support helps us make the final collection bigger and better.

You can also download a free PDF preview directly from the Kickstarter if you'd like to take a closer look at what we've been working on!

Thank you so much to everyone who has backed, shared, or supported the campaign so far! It's genuinely exciting to see the project growing thanks to your support, and I can't wait to share more of the new items with you all! ❤️

I'm dmming for my friends who are veteran DND players and Im looking some cool character archetypes that could be hunting them.

Here is the background for my world:

In this world the church of Mystra ruled and had a major say in everything. From politics to magic to diplomacy until the rise of technology from the coming industrial revolution threatened their power. Seeing something that could challenge their authority the church enached brutal restrictions on the technology. People were deported, killed and persecuted.

However a faction that was underground known as the order of iron resisted and eventually their movement became so large that they assassinated several leaders of church leading to a war. After years of brutal fighting the order of iron were victorious and used their victory to persecute any followers of Mystra(The enemies can use technology to replicate spells). Soon this extended towards anyone who had a connection with the weave for fear of the church returning to power again. That's where my players step in. They all have a connection to the weave and are being hunted by the order of iron.

So far I have an oath breaker paladin that I'm planning on having the party encounter early as a way to humble them aswell as hunt them for the love of the game(I'm planning on him defeating the party but giving them several days of preparation to hulide their tracks to make the hunt more interesting)

A range hunter with a sniper like accuracy to pin them down and make exploring a region very difficult.

A ghost hunter who has the ability to turn incorporeal and track down the players

I'm thinking of adding 6 more hunters but I want them to challenge the players in unique and interesting ways. So I would appreciate any brainstorming or ideas you can float! If anyone who likes the idea is interesting I'd love to hear other people's take on it for their campaigns!

Running a campaign, and still trying to finalize all the pieces.

TLDR:

Seven "sin" relics - each will provide a buff and debuff to a specific player in the party (based on their characters backstory/personality established in session 0) - These are found in the infinite dungeon (prison)

Seven "virtue" relics - each will "counteract" the opposing sin, removing the debuff from the player, and leaving an improved buff. - These are mainly found in the city above ground.

The Dungeon - The "infinite" ever-shifting dungeon is a prison for an ancient evil. The combined relics form a powerful artifact that can siphon the ancient evil's power, and power the dungeon/prison.

(undecided final use of relics - IDEAS PLZ?) - The relics will either combine into 1 large item to facilitate their end-game needs, or each relic combo (sin/virtue) will slot into an item/weapon for each player to grant them power to defeat the ancient evil.

The consistent theme of the campaign is light vs dark, sin vs virtue, but beneath that there is an intersection of the opposing concepts. I middle ground where a balance between these opposing concepts can create something good/useful.

Setting the scene: There is a large prosperous city, Sol Verida (City of Sun). After a recent earthquake, an entrance opened to a dungeon beneath the city. Monsters are in the dungeon, and the city guard was handling it, but as they explored deeper the monsters became unmanageable. They outsourced the dungeon containment and exploration duties to a guild. The guild is tasked with exploring the dungeon to discover its true nature. So far, they haven't been able to find an end to the dungeon. It seems bottomless, and on top of that, some floors seem to occasionally shift their layouts.

Players join: The PCs are new recruits to the guild. Session 0 they are all asked to ensure their characters have a unique reason for wanting to join the guild. It can be to find riches in the dungeon, it can be in pursuit of knowledge, it can be they were "chosen by a god", or that they just love a good fight. All of these reasons are important for the main story.

The party has an "initiation" into the guild (basically baby's first dungeon), where they do a mini dungeon simulated by senior guild members. After completing this they can explore the dungeon proper (levels 2+).

Story Hook (seven sins): The players will come across a relic/item/object. It will seem innate to everyone in the party except for one person. It will call to that person. As a DM, set them up to want to get grab that relic. Once they touch it, they will experience an sensation "An intense yearning. You feel a hollowness deep inside of you. You need... more. Magic, gold, power... it feels insatiable. Uncontrollable." This player is the one who entered the dungeon for riches, and they've just been "cursed" by the Greed Relic. The relic will "pull" (encourage) the player deeper into the dungeon. The relic, can be inspected with Detect Magic to get a sense of the aura that is affecting the PC. And an arcana check will reveal some things (like it is one of several pieces). The PC will get a buff from the curse, and a drawback.

Greed Relic:

Buff: 1/long rest - Detect magic items within 100ft for 10min. (useful for dungeon exploring)

Drawback: (WIP) - Disadvantage on charisma checks when haggling. Disadvantage on perception checks when near a (unowned) magic item. (may not see that trap on the chest they are trying to open)

Major Plot points

Seven Virtues: The party will continue to explore, finding more (sin) relics that call to different players, being attracted to a trait that player posses. Eventually, one relic will have a tie back to the city. A story, a rumor, etc. The players will go to the surface to investigate rumors of a person driven mad in the dungeon, who killed his own party in a blind rage (wrath relic). Their investigation leads them to a temple, there they will find this man, cured by the priests of this temple. They will explain that they've long housed a relic, its purpose lost to time, but this man was brought in by the city guard as they thought he may be possessed. This relic reacted to him when he entered. It lit up, it seemed to be pulling towards the man. Bringing the man in contact with the relic relieved him of his ailment. The priests are unsure of how it worked, but know it did. The man, living in the temple now, explains to the party that he touched a "relic" in the dungeon, which caused him to fill with rage. After the story and explanation, the temple may agree to let the party borrow the relic. But insist they report to the dungeon guild leader so that it can be properly documented.

This is how the party learns that the curses (drawbacks) from the sin relics can be negated. If they find the opposing virtue relic, they can keep a buff with no downside.

The Guild & Dungeon

Going back to the guild leader, and presenting information of the sin/virtue relics will trigger an info dump. The guild leader will explain there is an ulterior motive for their exploration. Most of the guild are just meant to help explore. To clear monsters and draw maps. However, there is a small group of senior leaders in the guild that are privy to their the true nature of the dungeon. It isn't just a "dungeon", it is a prison. It's why it is changing and shifting. It's why there are monsters everywhere. It was not meant to be explored, it was meant to keep everything else out.

The earthquake was the first sign of the dungeon (prison) failing. The knowledge is several millennia old and most is lost to time. What they do know is that there are powerful relics that were used to power the prison and seal away an ancient evil. The party sharing information about these relics confirms it.

The guild leader will officially induct them into "The Penumbra Society", a secret division of the guild tasked with recovering the relics and sealing the prison once again.

The seven sin relics are supposed to be scattered within the dungeon itself. Sealed in there as they are dangerous on their own.

And the seven virtues are held by various organizations throughout the city (temples, government, wealth individuals).

The party will need to recover all of them.

This is where I'm stuck:

I want to give the party some choices at the end. Repower the prison/dungeon and seal the ancient evil (boss) for another several millennia. OR use the combined relics to help destroy the ancient evil (boss) OR keep the relics for themselves, becoming their own form of ultimate power.

I think the choices are fine, but how do I facilitate them?

My thought was that the 14 relics combine to create the frame of an item "Mirror of Perdition". It's was created to absorb the sins that gave the ancient evil power, neutralize it with the virtues, and convert that power into something that can power this massive prison/dungeon. So the party could use that again to repower the dungeon, or fight the boss with it (basically debuffing it to not be a "god").

OR

Each person that reached into the mirror could withdraw a legendary item, unique to their sin/virtue combination that would help them defeat the boss.

OR

Ignore the mirror all together. Instead, each player will find a unique magic item (weapon, armor, amulet, etc.) that the relics will slot into. Slotting both will create a powerful item that can later be used in the final battle.

Final Thoughts:

I think I have good bones for a campaign. I can fill in the gaps with encounters, quests, adventures, NPCs. But I think the core of it will be engaging with enough twists to keep it interesting without being convoluted.

I do wonder if the sins/virtues is cliche. But in some searching I don't think I've seen it done like this before.

It is my first time DMing (long time player), and its going well so far. I just need to lock in on some of the main details around these relics as my players are finding them.

How would you use this riddle in your campaign?

So I’m gonna be running a one shot on Halloween for my D&D group and I’m trying to think of questions to ask myself to help with writing it (and any other one shot in the future)

The questions I have so far are:

1. What story do I want to tell?
2. What is the theme? (Whodunnit, Romance, Heist etc)
3. What is the setting? (High Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Noir etc)
4. Am I using pre generated characters?
5. What level are the characters?
6. What are the encounters?
7. How do I expect the story to end?

Are there any other questions that you can think of that would be helpful in writing a one shot?

Also the intention is for this to be useful for anyone who is wanting to write a one shot, so feel free to steal the idea!

Edit to add: Dyslexia strikes again with the title of the post 🤦🏻‍♂️

Hi everyone! This is a continuation of my previous post discussing what type of villain would be at the center of my Murder Mystery.

While the initial choice was between having the killer be either a Werewolf or a vampire, one user actually gave me a rather interesting suggestion: having a vampire frame a Werewolf for these murders.

I think it's an interesting and memorable enough twist for a party with varying degrees of experience and I imagine if I develop this further, this One Shot could lead into an interesting mini campaign if I decide to return to the setting. This incident begining some sort of Underworld Turf war between the City's Vampire Coven and Werewolf Pack the Party needs to intervene in.

With all that said, I do have a new question I've never really dealt with before; How would a vampire pin a murder on a Werewolf?

Now, immediately, i had the simple solution of, "oh, the Vampire's a changeling" but that feels like a cop out. Upon investigating the crime scene, like in any good mystery, I want the players to potentially get an idea that this is not adding up upon a high enough investigation roll.

While I think I can make an investigation scene like this work with normal people, I am a bit lost with supernatural creatures. They have entirely different rules, both in general culture as well as in this game specifically, so if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

So far, I only have a few thoughts. Maybe these can help as a jumping off point:

● Tufts of black hair are littered about the crime scene. Upon further inspection, the unkempt nature fits that of a canine rather than that of a man.

● Deep, long scratch marks are etched into the brick and cobble stone surrounding the body. Perhaps on a nat 20, a player very knowledgeable on Lycanthropes can notice the shape/ depth does not match that of a Werewolf's Claws.

● The victim's body is pale, uncharacteristically, so.

● The victim could be decapitated or have a severed forearm that's nowhere to be found. Whatever is missing was where the vampire siphoned the victim's blood from, removing it viciously both to hide the evidence and simulate a Werewolf attack.

I hope all of this makes sense, lol! Please let me know what you think, and I would love to hear your insight!

I made a one-shot for Halloween! I’d love to hear what you think. Thanks!

Few magic items are as closely tied to witches as a flying broom, so I thought Halloween would be the perfect time to share a little collection of them!

Brooms of the Witching Hour introduces 11 enchanted flying brooms compatible with 5E (2014) and 5.5E (2024), ranging from Uncommon curiosities to powerful Very Rare items and a Legendary multi-elemental relic.

Each broom has its own appearance, magical abilities, and unique flight characteristics. Fly through enemies in a trail of burning cinders, descend upon them with the luck of a black cat, pass through walls in spectral form, summon flying brooms for your coven, or unleash elemental devastation from the skies!

The collection is FREE until Halloween! I've included most of the pages here as a preview, so feel free to grab the complete manual on DMsGuild and use these brooms in your adventures. Have fun!

And if you're looking for a spooky adventure to run this Halloween, I've also just released The Red Tithe, a 75-page folk-horror one-shot featuring an isolated village, ancient sacrifices, custom monsters, and three difficulty tiers for characters of levels 3-4, 10-11, or 17-20.

My Kickstarter for 300+ Mythological Items for 5E and 5.5E is also live now! The campaign includes a physical hardcover, as well as printed editions of my previous manuals.

You can find more of my creatures, magic items, and manuals on DriveThruRPG, my Linktree, or on r/JonnyDM!

Happy Halloween, and enjoy!

its supposed to be more puzzle focused and not combat focused

The situation

A bell rings inside a foundry, followed by another, then a third. Nobody is touching them. A visible silver ripple jumps from one suspended bell to the next, making each ring once as it passes.

Orven Dask, the bellfounder, is scrambling along an overhead maintenance gallery. He points to an enormous cracked bell hanging above the open loading doors. If the ripple reaches it, he says, the entire thing will fall.

There are six intermediate bells between the workbench and the great bell. The ripple has already crossed two when the characters enter the situation. The workshop is packed with chains, tools, spare metal vessels, hanging counterweights, and places to climb or maneuver.

What is actually happening

Orven once captured the great bell's first toll in an enchanted glass vessel so he could preserve its original resonance for future tuning. The bell later developed a severe crack and was taken out of service. Minutes ago, Orven accidentally shattered the vessel.

The imprisoned toll escaped as a magical echo. It can pass through open air and ignore obstacles that would stop a creature, but it is attracted to resonating metal. Whenever it enters one of the smaller bells, it is briefly held there while the bell vibrates. Then it continues toward the bronze that originally produced it.

The great bell's damaged mounting will not withstand another full resonance.

Run the pressure

The echo advances about one bell per minute. Its path is visible as a silver ripple in the air, and the ringing makes its current position unmistakable. As it gets closer, chains tremble, tools rattle across the benches, and the overhead gallery begins to sway.

Orven can often predict its next stop by listening to the changing pitch, but he cannot get ahead of it alone. His help is useful rather than essential: the characters can see and hear enough to work out the route for themselves.

If the echo reaches the original bell, a deafening toll fractures its support brackets. Several tons of bronze crash through the loading platform and into the alley beyond.

The complication

The obvious response is to silence all the bells. That is exactly the wrong thing to do in advance.

Each intermediate bell attracts the echo and briefly slows it. If a bell is muffled before the echo arrives, the sound simply bypasses it and heads farther along the route. Show this directly: Orven stuffs cloth into one bell's mouth, and the silver ripple skips that bell entirely.

The party needs to use the resonance as an opportunity, not eliminate it indiscriminately.

Possible approaches

Trap the sound during a ring. Get to a bell while the echo is still vibrating inside it. Wrap the rim, immobilize the clapper, or otherwise damp its resonance at that exact moment. The trapped sound dissipates. Doing this before the echo arrives does not trap anything; it removes a delay.

Redirect its path. A large metal vessel, spare bell, or suitable hanging counterweight can provide another resonant target. Striking an object with a suitably deep tone can attract the echo away from its usual path. A diversion is temporary, however: the characters must use it to bring the sound into reach of a trap or it will resume seeking the great bell. Repeated strikes also consume precious time.

Interfere with the magic. Dispel Magic can unravel the escaping enchantment. Silence placed directly over the moving echo destroys its ability to sustain itself through resonance. But putting Silence ahead of it, over bells it has not reached, can remove the delays and accelerate the danger.

Prepare for failure. If interception is no longer realistic, reinforce the great bell with chains, braces, or magic and evacuate the loading area and alley. The final toll still strikes with enormous force. Strong enough reinforcement might prevent the collapse, and evacuation can prevent casualties even if the mounting fails.

The encounter works best when players can understand the pattern through what they observe and choose their own solution. The critical distinction is simple: silencing a bell before the echo arrives speeds it up; damping a bell while the echo is inside can stop it.

Greetings everyone!

We are Drias Guild, a small independent group made up of three Italian guys, founded with the goal of writing and publishing one-shots and campaigns for D&D 5e/5.5e.

We've just released our first oneshot: Raven Mood's Carnival, a horror adventure designed for 3–6 players of 5th level, with an estimated playtime of 4–6 hours.

The party finds itself at Raven Mood’s Carnival, the infamous traveling freak show created by Frederick Raven Mood, where street performers, extraordinary creatures, merchants and monsters of every kind gather from across the realm. They soon discover, upon entering the terrifying “Hellish House of Frederick Raven Mood,” that the carnival is merely a ruse orchestrated by Mood himself to kidnap the unfortunate...

The module includes:

• A 15-page adventure
• 18 original illustrations (NO AI)
• 2 maps
• 7 tokens
• 3 original minigames that can be reused in other campaigns
• 1 puzzle
• 1 customizable invitation ticket for your players

If you want to support us you can buy it on DMs Guild!

For generations, the isolated village of Hollowmere has sacrificed one of its own to keep an ancient horror imprisoned beneath Saint Harrow's Church. Now a blood-covered survivor has fled the village, claiming that everyone is dead. Something has gone terribly wrong, and the adventurers must uncover what happened before it's too late.

The Red Tithe is a 75-page dark fantasy and folk-horror one-shot adventure for D&D 5E (2014) and 5.5E (2024), designed for 3-6 characters and approximately 4-6 hours of play.

The adventure combines investigation, exploration, roleplaying, moral dilemmas, and challenging combat as the characters investigate an abandoned village, encounter monstrous creatures, and uncover the truth behind a centuries-old tradition.

What makes the adventure different is its multi-tiered structure. The same story can be played at three separate level ranges:

• Tier I: Levels 3-4
• Tier II: Levels 10-11
• Tier III: Levels 17-20

Each tier features appropriately scaled encounters, DCs, and a different manifestation of the main antagonist, the Blood Moon Beast.

The manual also includes 6 custom monster stat blocks, 3 battle maps with 8 total versions, and 4 tokens for tabletop or VTT play.

Whether you're looking for a Halloween horror one-shot or a dark adventure to integrate into your ongoing campaign, The Red Tithe is designed to work in either setting.

I've included several preview pages, maps, and one of the monster statblocks in the images!

You can find the complete adventure on DriveThruRPG!

My Kickstarter for 300+ Mythological Items for 5E and 5.5E is also live now! The campaign includes a physical hardcover, as well as printed editions of my previous manuals.

You can find more of my creatures, magic items, and manuals on DriveThruRPG, my Linktree, or right here on r/JonnyDM!

We're AAW Games, the publisher of Ashes to Venom.

This preview includes adventure material, locations, maps, and an encounter from the starter. Ashes to Venom is a short level-1 adventure with six ready-to-play drow heroes for both 5E 2014 and 2024.

In occupied Hopeholme, the party must recover a secret dossier from ruined Niss Manor and smuggle it past the Coalition. Their cover story is salvage; their real work is rebellion.

The complete digital starter is free with email signup:

https://adventureaweek.com/after-the-fall-presale/#starter