D&D 5E Legendary Adventures: Epic 5E Kickstarter

Wish that killer D&D 5E game didn't end at 20th level? Keen on taking up a fight with a god? Looking to sunder worlds? I have a thing for you.



What is this? A 128 page sourcebook for adventuring through 21st–30th level, including epic hazards and a bestiary of 50 lethal monsters.

How much is it? $12 for the PDF, $30 plus shipping and handling for the shiny hardcover.

Why? Many years ago, before the before time shortly after 5E came out, the Hypercorps 2099 Kickstarter (my second project; this is #10) hit a stretch goal for a 5E conversion. I am immensely proud of how the Pathfinder version of that book came out, but the 5E conversion just didn't jive right. It can still be fun mind you—the numbers just didn't work out right for the Hyper Score framework.

That still drives me right up the wall.

This book is my fix for that and after a year of playtesting I am EXTREMELY pleased with how it came out! Not only are the rules tight as a drum, but this is easily the prettiest book I've ever put together.



128 pages sounds extremely short for you. What are you hiding? Your keen instincts are correct—there is more to this project than the book. Throughout the rest of this month I'll be posting Epic Archetype Features to www.epic5e.com for every single D&D 5E archetype. Originally these were going to be included in the book but ultimately I decided that online was the smarter choice. First of all I'd need to run a playtest game every day for more than a year to playtest all of that material, and perhaps more importantly it would have made most of the book into archetype features (roughly 30 pages of material).

That'd hardly be an agile tool! This whole design—the epic class levels, the hazards, the monsters—is fundamentally built on the principles of D&D 5E, reinforcing and strengthening them for high level play. So as much as I love big honking tomes (and I do, I've made several in excess of 300 pages) the right choice design-wise was to go lighter rather than heavier.

When does it end? The Kickstarter closes on Thursday, April 22nd at 4:59 PM EST. You've got just under a month to get your pledge in!

Where can I pledge? Right here! Legendary Adventures: Epic D&D 5E

First Stretch Goal: Epic Depths, an adventure for 21st level characters that'll be unlocked at $10,000

 

[Mike Myler]

After reviewing pitches and working out a few things, I've got details on the next stretch goal (currently $2,500 away).

$16,000 Stretch Goal: HEART OF WAR​

Brazilian game designer and journalist Thiago Rosa is penning an adventure that takes PCs to another world altogether, thrown into an epic conflict between a massive firestorm elemental and volcanic elemental. Each of these titans has created armies to assail the capital city of an alien warlord, eager to claim their prize—the enchanted heart implanted into the warlord’s body. The adventurers may choose a side or fight for themselves, but to learn more of the Trekth they must end the siege and vanquish any forces that would continue the conflict.

What you’ll find in Heart of War:

• An adventure on a different world for PCs of 22nd level.
• Statistics for elite alien shock troops, the alien warlord, and battalions of elementals (air, earth, and fire).
• The Heart of Primordial Flame, a potent artifact that offers whoever takes it great power—but not without cost.
• More details about the mysterious Trekth and the effects of their world runes.
• Pregenerated adventurers of 22nd level for every class.
• A printer-friendly black and white file in addition to the regular PDF.

Check out the Kickstarter and get your pledge in!​

 

[Mike Myler]

Heart of War has been unlocked!​

This seemed inevitable so Thiago's already at work on that adventure and the next one has been announced!

Stretch Goal #3: Forgotten Crowns ($21,000)​

The next stretch goal is for a third adventure (also free for project backers), this one for 23rd level PCs and penned by a trio of talented designers all of which are here on the forums: Jocelyn Gray aka @Xeviat , Josh Gentry aka @Xethreau , and Peter Martin @timespike !

Palatia, the Ruler's Rest, is a dimension of floating isles where those of noble achievements and royal blood spend the afterlife. Eons ago the emperor god Leviatos died and since then his planar home has slowly frayed and weakened, only breaking just now. The long dead kings and empresses that dwell there have slowly gone mad in the absence of their deity, and the broken energies sustaining their home are trapping dimensional travelers—and worse. Things from beyond and below have begun to invade Palatia, hastening its end and the total destruction of any soul within.


What you'll find in Forgotten Crowns:

• An adventure in a dying dimension for PCs of 23rd level.
• Statistics for new epic level adversaries, including planar-eating arnsenons.
• Battles within the rib cage of a dead god and across islands that float in midair.
• More details about the mysterious Trekth and the effects of their world runes.
• Pregenerated adventurers of 23rd level for every class.
• A printer-friendly black and white file in addition to the regular PDF.

Help us unlock this adventure and then get to the fourth!

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Will this project be compatible with Level Up?

 

[Mike Myler]

Will this project be compatible with Level Up?

Initially no—most of the Level Up rules are good to go but not all of them, and Legendary Adventure books are shipping out in May. It just wouldn't be possible time-wise. In the future (early-or-middle 2022?) there'll be another Kickstarter for Legendary Adventures: Level Up Epic (or a similarly titled book).

 

[Waller]

Initially no—most of the Level Up rules are good to go but not all of them, and Legendary Adventure books are shipping out in May. It just wouldn't be possible time-wise. In the future (early-or-middle 2022?) there'll be another Kickstarter for Legendary Adventures: Level Up Epic (or a similarly titled book).

I’m confused. I thought you said Level Up was 100% compatible with 5E books, but it’s not compatible with this 5E book? Is it compatible with 5E or not?

 

[Mike Myler]

I’m confused. I thought you said Level Up was 100% compatible with 5E books, but it’s not compatible with this 5E book? Is it compatible with 5E or not?

This book isn't for Level Up which (as you can see from the playtest documents) alters a lot of the classes. Legendary Adventures is built to work with the original 5E classes.

The 50 monsters in Legendary Adventures are compatible with Level Up, and you could make O5E epic adventurers using Legendary Adventures and play them using Level Up (just like you can take any 5E character to play Level Up), but the 21st-30th level class entries in here don't account for exploration knacks, or combat maneuvers, or the various other tweaks. So if you take your Level Up character and make them epic using this rulebook there'll be spots where things don't sync up and several epic class features won't make sense.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

This book isn't for Level Up which (as you can see from the playtest documents) alters a lot of the classes. Legendary Adventures is built to work with the original 5E classes.

The 50 monsters in Legendary Adventures are compatible with Level Up, and you could make O5E epic adventurers using Legendary Adventures and play them using Level Up (just like you can take any 5E character to play Level Up), but the 21st-30th level class entries in here don't account for exploration knacks, or combat maneuvers, or the various other tweaks. So if you take your Level Up character and make them epic using this rulebook there'll be spots where things don't sync up and several epic class features won't make sense.

Perhaps at some point there will have to be a Legendary Adventures expansion to handle the Level Up character class builds

 

[Mike Myler]

Perhaps at some point there will have to be a Legendary Adventures expansion to handle the Level Up character class builds

Right. Doing epic rules for Level Up means combat maneuvers of 6th and 7th degree, and epic exploration knacks, among other things. Definitely on my list of tasks but not for several months yet.

 

[Waller]

This book isn't for Level Up which (as you can see from the playtest documents) alters a lot of the classes. Legendary Adventures is built to work with the original 5E classes.

Huh. So Level Up isn’t compatible with all 5E material? That was the selling point for me.

 

[Mike Myler]

Huh. So Level Up isn’t compatible with all 5E material? That was the selling point for me.

Level Up is compatible with all the existing WotC 5E material, and most of the material in this book. Unlike most 5E books Legendary Adventures extends the original 5E class builds, which Level Up replaces. LU isn't finalized but I'm pretty sure it's not going to make a lot of sense to take your O5E fighter at 14th level and then at 15th level start using the LU fighter class (and that nowhere did anyone say that it would). Same thing going on here.