Collection: I Search the Bookcase!

This 3-page collection of ideas for books on your in-game bookshelves should help you figure out what to say when one of your players goes to inspect the mad mage’s books. Books are a great way to embed lore into your world and share it with your players. Additionally, some books may have been owned by magical creatures, or a wizard may have left a note or two in the margins, creating a whole new adventure for your players to chase after. Or maybe you’d rather make your own books? These tables will help you decide what it looks like, how it’s written and what’s so special about your books.

For better, full-page high quality imagery, take a look at the collection “I Search the Bookcase!” at the Homebrewery here!

Playable Race: Reptilian

Were you also underwhelmed by the lizardfolk race, and have you also wished you could play a humanoid snake in 5th edition without having to go evil and more human than snake? Then the reptilian is the race for you. Three subraces comprising of crocodiles, snakes and lizards get you pretty far. These subraces have their own strengths and weaknesses, and allow for a wider variety of lizardlike player characters. Enjoy!

For better, full-page high quality imagery, take a look at the Reptilian Race at the Homebrewery here!

Creature: Mare of Diomedes

“According to the legends of old, these mares were so bloodthirsty and frenzied that their masters would feed them bodies of those they had killed, and the mares would rip the flesh straight from the bone. Feeding on such meat would invigorate them even more, completing a cycle and continuing the downward spiral of meat consumption.”

Inflicted madness. Story goes that the Mares of Diomedes were once normal horses, who were afflicted with great madness by something that they saw or something that was thrust upon them. Some say that the mares always had evil in their hearts, and the punishment came from the gods, who decided to take matters into their own hands. Rather than kill the mares, they instead irrevocably turned them into monstrous horses that can spread their own insanity among mortals.

Herd of destruction. The Mares of Diomedes are almost always seen together. There are four mares, and together, they are a force to be reckoned with: Podargos the Swift, Lampon the Shining, Xanthos the Yellow and Deinos the Terrible. If encountered as a herd and a fight breaks out, the mares are very precisely attuned to one another to wreak havoc as a group, and work together very well to destroy their enemies and feast on them. Because of their insane nature, they do not quite employ tactics, aside from ganging up on the weakest link and using their abilities to spread their madness to everyone who is unfortunate enough to be nearby.

Friends and companions. The Mares of Diomedes do not work together with any creature other than their own, and only a select few humanoids have been able to tame them in history. The process of domesticating the mares enough for them to tolerate one’s presence is long and arduous, and usually results in the mares killing their new master.

Herd mechanics. The mares have an 80% chance to be together as a group (of four mares), a 15% chance to be in a pair (of two mares) and a 5% chance to be a solitary enemy. If you are unsure, roll a d20. On a 1-16, there are four mares, on a 17-19, there are two mares, and on a 20 there is only one mare.

Creature: Fooltergeist

“Those who think joking about death is funny have clearly never encountered a fooltergeist - these irritating, jester-like pests are the bane of anyone delving deep into castle dungeons or neglected festivals. They may look unthreatening and simply seeking enjoyment, but they are more dangerous than they let on. Be careful if you meet one.” - excerpt from “The Delving Troupe” by renowned adventurer Dalyn Ezsthyr.

Jester’s fate. Those who work as jesters in court or at a traveling carnival have a difficult job on their hands of creating laughter where there is none. Skilled jesters may succeed at their job, but those who are truly gifted often have a supernatural or divine being helping them. Those fools that succeed on humoring a crowd at a burial may be blessed by the dark god Cyric, who bestows on them ever-lasting life in death. Once the body of the jester withers away with the years, their spirit continues to animate their brightly-colored costume, thus becoming a fooltergeist.

Court of death. Fooltergeists are pesky, annoying creatures that are often encountered in long-forgotten castles or on deserted festival grounds. They continue to haunt the places they had once livened up, but now, their laughter-inducing dances and harmless tricks have been warped in the face of death, and their tricks have become deadly, their laughter haunting, and their presence dangerous. Fooltergeists enjoy chasing those who intrude on their homes, creating a feeling of paranoia when objects move without reason, or creating a sense of being hunted. Once a fooltergeist tires of its playmates, it kills them, and continues searching its territory for new prey.

Friends and companions. Fooltergeists are rarely seen around other ghosts or undead. They do not enjoy the company of the much more serious specters or ghosts, and would rather spend eternity around cursed dolls, awakened furniture, or even mimics, to which it will gladly lead its prey and cackle loudly when the poor creature is attacked. It also feels attracted to evil creatures with power that hold courts, or something that resembles a court, and may be found in devilish circles, with necromancers, or even in cultist lairs.

NPC: Baron d'Avariss, Aristocrat of the Unseelie Court

“Few of the Unseelie Fey are as well-known as Baron d'Avariss, nobleman of that cursed Court, patron of collectors and the affluent. His warlocks know him as an intelligent, although self-indulged and egocentric being. But below the guise of bestowing magical abilities on those who worship him and helping the rich expand their hoards, the Baron has a secondary purpose. His place in the Court is that of High Treasurer, and he expands his influence upon the Material Plane, too - placing the sin of endless greed and desire upon the hearts of mortal men, twisting their desire into materialistic wishes until they rot to the core, forever tainted by the Baron’s cursed touch.”

Father of greed. The Baron started as a simple fey - a changeling boy left to steal on the streets. He owned nothing for many years, but upon the acquisition of his first gold piece, picked from the pocket of an unnamed god posing as a man, something changed. A certain desire was lit within his heart, and even as he grew and expanded his glimmering hoard, it could not be enough. When another urchin stole from him on the street in an act of pure luck and courage, the changeling condemned the child, and promised his Fey ancestors that he would give anything immaterial for the return of his possession. The Seelie Court refused, but the darkness that had already grown within him did not go unnoticed by the Unseelie Fey, who accepted his bargain, and raised him to the status of archfey, and he became the Baron.

Impostor amongst men. The Baron, now in charge of inciting eternal greed in the non-fey, does not seek out his targets, but simply waits for the right person to pass by him. He travels to the Material Plane, where he poses as a rich noble, parading his wealth until covetous eyes find him. Convincing his targets that wealth is the answer to all their problems is easy, and he bargains with them until they agree their never-ending servitude in exchange for riches beyond measure in this lifetime. The gold provided by the Baron is cursed, and infects the owner with gold-sickness, each coin disappearing eventually, until nothing but empty promises, lies, and cobwebbed vaults remain.

Archfey patron. As a warlock’s patron, the Baron ever bargains with his warlocks. Their powers always come with a prize, and the Baron no longer covets only gold and riches. Each of his followers has something to offer them, and he lures them with promises of power and magic to attain what he desires.

Special equipment. The Baron wears a robe of stars and carries a wand of enemy detection. He also always carries a bag of holding filled completely with illusory gold, gems, and other treasures that look, feel, and smell real to anyone other than the Baron. His magic items aren’t included in his stat block.

Friends and companions. The Baron is loyal only to the Unseelie Court and the Queen of Air and Darkness, although each of the Court’s members schemes against each other Court representative. The Baron allies himself with his warlocks, as their patron, but is fiercely paranoid and does not trust any of his allies.

Requested by anonymous!

Creature: Barkling

It was like a dryad, except its body was brown and made from wood, and it moved as if it were a doll, and where you’d expect a feminine head with pronounced cheekbones, there was only a tangle of thorny twigs that seemed to quiver as the being observed them.

Dryadic. Barklings are plant-like creatures made from wood, and are usually the result of an awakened tree or plant losing one of its branches, which continues to grow with awakened fervor and turns into a barkling. These wooden doll-like beings move much like constructs do, with slow, determined and robotic movements, but they are not true constructs.

Wooden tricksters. Barklings enjoy their freedom and are not keen on sharing their space with other creatures. However, they are not aggressive, and will usually play simple, harmless tricks on intruders to scare them off or to coax them into leaving. Only when a barkling is threatened or attacked, it will use its rapidly-growing roots or spores to deliver a quick blow and then retreat between the trees.

Friends and companions. Barklings can be found with any type of neutral or good-aligned plant creatures, such as awakened trees, awakened shrubs, treants, vegepygmies, wood woads, and such. It may also befriend druids, rangers, or other humanoids that have an affinity with nature, and are occasionally bound to an archdruid or other benevolent humanoid.

Resource: Sablecat Armor

Thieves of the widespread black network known as the Grimalken were blessed by Mask, god of thieves, for their loyalty to him. Mask granted them a shred of his own ebony cloak, which was quickly multiplied by the Grimalken thieves who were skilled in transmutation magic. Talented seamstresses employed by the network sewed the fabric onto boiled leathers, reinforcing it with magically enchanted silver studs and clasps. The final product was the Sablecat Armor, designed, made, worn, and blessed by thieves, black as night and completely soundproof. Lucky initiates into the Grimalken (or some other thieves’ guilds who have duplicated the Armor for themselves) may be able to attain a set - although the armors worn by the Grimalken grandmaster thieves are the most coveted and impressive.

Treat the rogue in your life (or your party) with a set of specialized studded leather armor, and allow them to climb the ranks of their local thieves’ guild and gain more impressive sets. The Sablecat Armor can be easily placed into the hands of any network of your own design, or any existing network, such as the Zhentarim, as a future hint to any sneaky, thieving players that belonging to a faction comes with its own rewards!

For better, full-page high quality imagery, go take a look at the Sablecat Armor at the Homebrewery here!

Collection: Dinosaurs

Ever wanted to run a primordial campaign, set in a time before civilization, where humanoids had to survive against a never-ending onslaught of dinosaurs? Or maybe, in your new cyberpunk setting, the civilization on the next planet over is working in tandem with domesticated dinosaurs? Either way, I’ve never found that the official sources provided enough different kinds of dinos to fulfill my needs. In this collection, you’ll find nine additional dinosaur species, each outlined and illustrated, to drop into your campaign at will. Or maybe your druid/wizard needs a few more options for their Wild Shape or Polymorph. From the fearful carnotaurus and spinosaurus, to the small, playful compsognathus, to everything in between.

For better, full-page high quality imagery, take a look at the “Collection: Dinosaurs” at the Homebrewery here!