[UPDATED] A Savage D&D 5E Campaign Setting From the Makers of PRINCES OF THE APOCALYPSE

Sasquatch Game Studios - made up of WotC alumni Dave Noonan, Richard Baker, and Stephen Schubert - is the company which produced Princes of the Apocalypse for WotC. Now they're turning their eyes towards a 288-page full-colour hardcover setting. This will be a D&D 5th Edition version of their Howard/Lovecraft inspired Primeval Thule campaign setting which already exists for Pathfinder, 13th Age, and D&D 4E.

Sasquatch Game Studios - made up of WotC alumni Dave Noonan, Richard Baker, and Stephen Schubert - is the company which produced Princes of the Apocalypse for WotC. Now they're turning their eyes towards a 288-page full-colour hardcover setting. This will be a D&D 5th Edition version of their Howard/Lovecraft inspired Primeval Thule campaign setting which already exists for Pathfinder, 13th Age, and D&D 4E.

UPDATE: The Kickstarter is live!

Primeval Thule
is described as a "savage, intense campaign setting". With influences from the likes of Conan and Cthulhu, it's an "dangerous place full of barbaric wilderness, decadent city-states, horrific monsters, and eldritch mysteries". If you're a fan of pulp fantasy and horror, Conan the Barbarian, Kull of Atlantis, Hyperborea, Tarzan, and Lovecraft's alien gods, you should enjoy this. Add in a healthy dose of Burroughs' Pellucidar and the Land That Time Forgot, plus the art styles of Frank Frazetta and the likes, and you'll get the idea.

Sasquatch will be producing a 288-page hardcover book in full colour, with a continental poster map. It will contain more than 40 new monsters, plus the range of spells, magic items, and all the other stuff you'd expect to see in a campaign setting. It'll be the first fully-fledged campaign setting for D&D 5E.

They're doing this via a Kickstarter next week. The exact launch date is not decided yet, but it's only a few days away. As Dave Noonan says, "We're going to fulfill this fast! Because this is a new version of a book we've already published, most of the text and all of the art is already done. We'll send files to the printing press as soon as the Kickstarter campaign closes and we know how many books we need." Like others dipping into 5E publishing, the Open Gaming License will be used.

The existing versions of the setting contain a new character race (the Atlanteans), 19 "heroic narratives", over 40 monsters, 3 adventures, a city called Quodeth, City of Thieves, and a continent of "savage adventure".

Below is an image of the Pathfinder version of Primeval Thule. I don't know if the 5E version will look the same, but the 13th Age and 4E version do, so it's a safe bet.

133780.jpg


"Welcome to Thule, a primordial land of fierce barbarians, elder horrors, and savage wilderness. In this ancient age, humankind is a young race, newly arisen on a monster-haunted Earth. Cities of cruel splendor lie scattered across the great lands of the north like a handful of gems strewn from a dead thief's hand.

This is a doomed age, a time of great deeds and inhuman terror destined to be lost and forgotten beneath the numbing cloak of endless winter. But for one glittering moment, Thule lives—and it is a fierce, cruel, splendid, and marvelous moment indeed."


More information as I get it!
 

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RichGreen

Adventurer
I backed the Kickstarter and got all three PDFs (Pathfinder, 13th Age & 4e), and have since purchased the 13th Age hardback. I love Primeval Thule but I'm not sure I want to buy a fifth version of the same book. Will there be an option to buy a 5e rules supplement as part of the Kickstarter?
 

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Wulf Ratbane

Adventurer
I backed the Kickstarter and got all three PDFs (Pathfinder, 13th Age & 4e), and have since purchased the 13th Age hardback. I love Primeval Thule but I'm not sure I want to buy a fifth version of the same book. Will there be an option to buy a 5e rules supplement as part of the Kickstarter?

I'm in the same boat. I backed them the first time even though I did not then and still do not play 4e, PF, or 13th Age.

If I could have had a 5e version, that's absolutely what I would have chosen.

I hope they make the 5e PDF available for prior backers.
 

Banesfinger

Explorer
What makes the setting "Primeval" or Conan-like? For example, are there normal PHB armor/weapons removed (e.g. no Platemail), or changed (e.g. Plate is now 'dragonbone' armor with the same stats)? Is magic 'toned down' or 'bad-for-you' (like most Sorcery & Sandals settings)?
 

MonkeezOnFire

Adventurer
In regards to what I'd like to see previewed I'd be interested in a preview/synopsis of one of the adventures. While I get an idea of the themes and tone of the setting from the description "Conan meets Lovecraft," a sample of a story set in the setting will give me a better idea. Especially since I've never actually read any Conan or Lovecraft literature (I know, I know. I'll turn in my nerd card).
 


occam

Adventurer
Yes! I backed the earlier Kickstarter and got PDFs of all three versions, but decided against a hardcover since 5e was coming out. I was about to start on my own conversions, but they'll get my money for a physical book now!
 

occam

Adventurer
What makes the setting "Primeval" or Conan-like? For example, are there normal PHB armor/weapons removed (e.g. no Platemail), or changed (e.g. Plate is now 'dragonbone' armor with the same stats)? Is magic 'toned down' or 'bad-for-you' (like most Sorcery & Sandals settings)?

Some of that. There are equipment changes: plate armor doesn't exist, and steel is generally hard to come by. Magic isn't changed, but is rare, so your wizard PC works normally, but is one of maybe a handful of arcane magic-users in a large city.
 

MonkeezOnFire

Adventurer
The Traveler's Guide (the book's intro chapter) is free to check out.

Thanks for the link. I've read the first few pages and so far I'm really enjoying it. I like the feeling that the world is a dangerous place to explore and travel. It reminds me of the Greek mythology stories I read a lot as a kid.

I'll gladly support the kickstarter for the 5e version when it launches.
 

CrusaderX

First Post
All core races and classes allowed...and Primeval Thule has a new race: Atlantean.

That said, not every race is equally prevalent. Thule has a lot of untamed wilderness, and it's conceivable that more obscure races are found in only one part of the continent. (I often play PCs like that..."I'm a wandering ______, proud traveler from an exotic land" or "the last of the ______s, whose fell empire once stretched from mountain to sea.")

I like things that are rare in the fictional world but not necessarily rare at my gaming table.

--Dave.

Thanks for the response. This sounds great!
 

CrusaderX

First Post
What makes the setting "Primeval" or Conan-like? For example, are there normal PHB armor/weapons removed (e.g. no Platemail), or changed (e.g. Plate is now 'dragonbone' armor with the same stats)? Is magic 'toned down' or 'bad-for-you' (like most Sorcery & Sandals settings)?

I'm looking at the free Traveler's Guide pdf right now. On page 20 there's a write-up about armor, saying to the effect that any metallic armor your character has is made from bronze scales, and weapons are bronze as well, with no special penalty or bonus in most combat situations.
 

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