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There aren't, we didn't want to mess with core 5E rules too much. However we do re-iterate our rules for "aether" which are core to our setting. Basically, it's an invisible miasma that empowers magic. Without its presence in the environment, magic-users can't cast spells. And they have to...

Sure! Usually just referred to as the "Sorceress Queen," she's a corrupted goddess who, rather than creating new life, is obsessed with twisting living creatures into grotesque monsters. These "Horg" are a shambling horde (reminiscent of the Trollocs from Wheel of Time) who spread like wildfire...

It should die down soon, a sword & sorcery discussion is relevant to a sword & sorcery game, albeit indirectly.

They are our version of playable frog people, probably more similar to grungs than bullywugs. One of the three cursed tribes of Astreas.

Well, sometimes. I dunno if anyone accused Moldvay D&D of being complex, for example. Its just that you started with like 2 HP.

I enforce alignment in the Doom that Came to Astreas. But not for the humans. Humans are decidedly neutral, but the other races are archetypical.

A scene repeated in the movie! The same story has this passage: “I never saw a man fight as Conan fought. He put his back to the courtyard wall, and before they overpowered him the dead men were strewn in heaps thigh-deep about him. But at last they dragged him down, a hundred against one.”

I mostly agree, but there's a certain logic behind this, especially from the OSR crowd. Early D&D was inspired by sword & sorcery -> early D&D was more lethal -> sword & sorcery as a theme must be more lethal. Conan was a superhero. In fact, he inspired a lot of early Marvel superhero comics...

There are! I don't break the core 5E mechanics too much, that's not what it's about, but: -We have strict time keeping requirements. Every day, inside or outside the game, a marauding army of pig-faced orc-like monsters invades the continent. The DM populates these invasion zones by hexgrid...

Thanks! In the adventure, I basically want you to play as Conan or Elric, and not be relegated to just a wimpy adventurer in a tavern. But it's not a super-hero adventure, there should still be plenty of dangerous encounters.

We just published The Doom that Came to Astreas, a sword & sorcery flavored setting primer and complete adventure for 5E! Set against the backdrop of a cursed isle in a savage age, the Doom that Came to Astreas sees a party of legendary heroes strike out to unshackle the land from the thrall of...

We're down to the last two days. Not too late to support and thanks for all those who have!

Thanks a lot! It's very tough writing such a huge adventure! Our ratfolk book was 1/4 this size. I also want to mention that I read your "Existentialist Sword & Sorcery" topic, and I want to say that Astreas already includes some of these ideas, along with many more traditional, pulp-fiction ones!

We made a featurette about our influences for the campaign. Check it out! Kickstarter has 10 days left!

The Kickstarter has been funded! Thanks for your help! There's still plenty of time to support, and we'd love to get to that hardcover run!

Well, they're certainly not essential by any means. These are optional rules in the book (with maybe the exception of the stricter timekeeping... the marauding horde is pretty central to this campaign). The thing is, many people seem to equate "sword & sorcery" with a kind of "OSR" or B/X style...

I don't think that'd be feasible to add with our timeframe and budget, unfortunately. There is a ton of history and backstory in the book, however. More than enough to help flesh out your PC, if you choose not to be one of the pre-written legendary heroes.

Thanks a lot!