D&D 5E Ancient Adventures is Another Option for D&D Ancient Greece

Adding to Theros, Arkadia, Hellenistika, Land of Myth, Odyssey of the Dragonlords, and the Scarred Lands is another setting book for 5E inspired by the myths of ancient Greece. This one is called Ancient Adventures, and is by Michael Tresca (who is also a columnist here). In this book there are 12 new races, 50 monsters, 20 subclasses, nearly 40 magic items, and more!



Here's the press release:

Stamford, CT, May 3, 2020: Mal and Tal Enterprises proudly presents 5E RPG: Ancient Adventures!

“This supplement was written over a decade ago for 3.5,” said Mike Tresca, Creative Director. “But due to a change in editions it never saw the light of day. Now that I have my own publishing platform, I’m so pleased to have the opportunity to share it for 5E.”

This guide includes everything from an overview of life in Ancient Greece to new species and classes, from changes to how skills work to new arms and armor, from a guide to the Greek pantheon to dozens of new magic items and monsters.

If you’ve ever wanted to play a one-eyed arimaspos, crab-shelled cabiro, or a snake-tailed cecrops, this setting is for you. It also includes familiar species like amazons, centaurs, gorgons, minotaurs, nymphs, pans, sirens, and more. And finally, over 50 new monsters that remain true to their roots—the Ancient Greek basilisk (basiliskos), griffin (gryphus), manticore (mantikhoras), and unicorn (hippomonokeros) are much deadlier than their fantasy counterparts!

So grab your xiphos, strap on your linothorax, and set sail for strange lands to bring honor to your city-state. Ancient Adventures await!

 

[Von Ether]

It makes me wonder what in the water lately.

In the past, that time period (and Roman adjacent) was the focus for RQ. Is there more cross over for that crowd? Or with 5e's expanded audience was it an eventuality as people look into new settings and history to explore?

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I miss Hirborea, the setting of Conan the Barbarian (now it's public domain, isn't it?), and the pre-islamic Middle-East civilitations (Sumerians and company). Couldn't the "jahiliyyah" (age of ignorance, pre-islamic Arabia) pantheons be used as antagonists? Vikings, Romand and Egyptian gods are cool, but I miss more variety.

(We have to remember the future Oriental Adventures should add the Japanese and Chinese pantheons).

 

[Taronkov]

I'm grabbing it off Drive thru now. I'll take a look and post some opinions

 

[Taronkov]

So I grabbed it and have taken just a quick read through and my opinion is... I'm disappointed.

There are many editing mistakes; copy and paste errors, fonts randomly changing, etc...

The new races are ok on a glance, they will honestly require actual in depth reading though before I pass judgement. I do find several interesting on the surface and this might end up being the most useful section besides the monsters.

The new equipment is lackluster and really simply renaming existing items. It's what I expected but not what I hoped for.

The new magic items are a mixed bag. Some are interesting and likewise some are a disappointment.

The new monsters look interesting in many cases but, and this pains me to say, the artwork is frustrating. The wildly inconsistent art styles, heavily pixilated low resolution images and bad Photoshop copy and paste really detract from this section as a whole. Monster descriptions not matching the monster is a major pet peeve of mine and I'm not talking basic equipment swaps. There are several creatures where the description is only vaguely related to the image.

I almost forgot the new classes... I glanced through them and they look alright. I didn't notice any major issues on a quick look but honestly I didn't get super excited for any either. Again a more thorough read-through may change my mind(I hope so).

Overall was the book worth $10? I don't know. I'm saddened by several things but they are mostly cosmetic on the surface. Once I get to really read through it maybe I'll change my mind but as it stands right now I think I would rather be using Dragonlords or Theros. I don't see this contributing much for anyone that is already familiar with Greek culture and mythology. I really hope a full reading of the book will change my mind and allow me to hop back on here and say "Hey I was wrong this book is amazing" because I love studying ancient Rome and Greece(and Egypt but that's a completely different bag). I have an entire bookshelf dedicated to it in my living room. But as a first skimming I can't say I'm excited and that's telling.

 

[talien]

Overall was the book worth $10? I don't know. I'm saddened by several things but they are mostly cosmetic on the surface. Once I get to really read through it maybe I'll change my mind but as it stands right now I think I would rather be using Dragonlords or Theros. I don't see this contributing much for anyone that is already familiar with Greek culture and mythology. I really hope a full reading of the book will change my mind and allow me to hop back on here and say "Hey I was wrong this book is amazing" because I love studying ancient Rome and Greece(and Egypt but that's a completely different bag). I have an entire bookshelf dedicated to it in my living room. But as a first skimming I can't say I'm excited and that's telling.

Thank you for this tough but fair feedback. The good news is that for the most part I can directly address these issues by updating the product. I'll be sure to give the book a hard look again and send out an update with fixes as soon as I'm able.

 

[dave2008]

So I grabbed it and have taken just a quick read through and my opinion is... I'm disappointed.

There are many editing mistakes; copy and paste errors, fonts randomly changing, etc...

The new races are ok on a glance, they will honestly require actual in depth reading though before I pass judgement. I do find several interesting on the surface and this might end up being the most useful section besides the monsters.

The new equipment is lackluster and really simply renaming existing items. It's what I expected but not what I hoped for.

The new magic items are a mixed bag. Some are interesting and likewise some are a disappointment.

The new monsters look interesting in many cases but, and this pains me to say, the artwork is frustrating. The wildly inconsistent art styles, heavily pixilated low resolution images and bad Photoshop copy and paste really detract from this section as a whole. Monster descriptions not matching the monster is a major pet peeve of mine and I'm not talking basic equipment swaps. There are several creatures where the description is only vaguely related to the image.

I almost forgot the new classes... I glanced through them and they look alright. I didn't notice any major issues on a quick look but honestly I didn't get super excited for any either. Again a more thorough read-through may change my mind(I hope so).

Overall was the book worth $10? I don't know. I'm saddened by several things but they are mostly cosmetic on the surface. Once I get to really read through it maybe I'll change my mind but as it stands right now I think I would rather be using Dragonlords or Theros. I don't see this contributing much for anyone that is already familiar with Greek culture and mythology. I really hope a full reading of the book will change my mind and allow me to hop back on here and say "Hey I was wrong this book is amazing" because I love studying ancient Rome and Greece(and Egypt but that's a completely different bag). I have an entire bookshelf dedicated to it in my living room. But as a first skimming I can't say I'm excited and that's telling.

I will 2nd your thoughts on the art work. I think if this had been released on the DMs Guild where you get access to all that free art, that would have helped.

 

[jerryrice4949]

I might look at this but I wish settings did not have to be so european centric always. I am dying for a good mesoamerican 5E setting.

 

[dave2008]

I might look at this but I wish settings did not have to be so european centric always. I am dying for a good mesoamerican 5E setting.

There was successful Kickstarter for one recently, but I can't seem to remember the name.

EDIT: I think I was thinking of Dragons Conquer America which is not 5e - sorry!

 

[plisnithus8]

Has anybody thought about to create a horse-humanoid PC race like the ipotane from classic mythology for the bronies, fandom of my little pony?

Some times I have wondered about if centaurs can breath better with four lungs in two rib cages. Wouldn't they need then bigger nostrils?

Could a centaur scratch his thighs or their arms are too short?

Equiceph - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

 

[talien]

Equiceph - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

View attachment 121690

One of the things I discovered about satyrs is that what we think of satyrs are actually panes. Satyrs where men with human feet and maybe horns. They frequently went into battle (but were not known for their courage). I imagine panes have a direct lineage to the ipotane.