Eastern Fantasy Noir Steampunk for D&D 5E?

Are you a fan of Eastern Fantasy Noir Steampunk? I'm not 100% sure what that is, but I do know that Storm Bunny Studios is prepping for a D&D 5E supplement called Mists of Akumal which will be Kickstarted throughout May. Designer Mike Myler has sent me along some exclusive peeks at what they have in store - a 200 page book with new races, land and prefectures, backgrounds, and class options. This preview takes a look at some Martial Arts Feats!

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They've also sent me previews of some Imperial Dragons, Tsukumogatami (an animated item), and some new backgrounds, race, and class options, which I'll share soon. Lots of images for one little article!

"The year is 3466; monsoons have become more and more common since the roiling, demon-spewing Mists of Akuma fi rst appeared, and the sun’s light grows duller with every day that passes after the end of the War of Kaiyo more than a century ago. A pall of darkness has fallen on Soburin and even its greatest heroes are mired in the petty intrigues and never-ending slights of aggressive clans. Spellswords and mercenaries cross the countryside in search of fortune, leaving the poor and meek to fend for themselves or die in the harsh reality of a broken world where technology has been either abandoned as heresy or perilously embraced."

Here's what the setting contains, according to the quick primer they sent me.

• Scores of beautiful, brand new illustrations from several talented artists to truly depict the unique world of Soburin in all of its dark, gritty glory
• Detailed workings of Sanbaoshi, the capital of Soburin and home to the Imperial Palace of the Masuto Dynasty
• Information on the Star of the North, Chikan, one of the unique scientifi c prefectures of Soburin
• A section on Nagabuki, Gem of the South and one of Soburin’s most traditional states
• The 22 great clans of Soburin, each with statistics for a unique Bengoshi (government agent) and henchman
• Five different imperial dragons and over a dozen oni, fi lling your game with exciting new monsters
• A treasure trove of new class options!
• Bushibot Martial Archetype, Circle of Blight, Circle of Shifting, Clockwork Adept Arcane
• Tradition, College of the Gun, Detective Rogue
• Archetype, Herbalist Rogue Archetype, Mage
• Arcane Tradition, Martial Artist Monastic Tradition,
• Ninja Rogue Archetype, Priest Monastic Tradition, Samurai Sacred Oath, , Shinobibot Archetype,
• Tsukumogami Hunter Ranger Archetype, Wu-Jen Warlock Pacts (with four patrons for every season of Soburin)
• New races for players in Soburin!
• Humans (Soburi, Ceramian, and Ropaeo),
• Bakemono, Enjin, Hengeyokai (of the
• Cat, Dog, Monkey, Rat, Crane, Fox, and
• Spider varieties), Kappa, Mutants, Necroji,
• Oni-Touched, Psonorous, Pyon, Shikome,
• Steametic, Tanuki, Tengu, Umibozu
• Dozens of new feats for spellcasters, warriors, and dedicated martial artists
• Eastern armor and weapons, as well as a retinue of steampunk equipment
• Two new attributes to instill flavor into your game: Dignity and Haitoku

As I mentioned above, I have more stuff to share, but it's a lot for one article. Keep an eye on the news page for more!

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[Mike Myler]

So I think that I would love this, if it's still on the news page come the 2nd of april...

This would be an elaborate prank indeed, but I promise you it is not: www.mistsofakuma.com. Prepare yourself for what lay in wait because those oni aren't messing around!

"Don't worry about the world ending today, because it's already tomorrow in Australia." -- Charles M. Schultz

On another note, would the humanoid monsters from the Mists of Akuma be known as "Akumen" on account of their superlative abilities at the things they do?

There are a lot of monsters in Mists of Akuma, and while I'll consider Akumen (mostly because I love puns and anything that resembles them, though I'm trying hard to stamp down that urge with MoA), currently the things that emerge most are bakemono, shikome (both player races), and adeddo-oni. There are lots of oni, but adeddo-oni are notably different than your run-of-the-mill bakekujira, harianago, jinmenju, sayona, tikbalang, or (dare I reveal this) yaoguai.

 

[Shasarak]

April Fools is about amusing jokes, not simple lies. It's genuine! I've no idea what the joke would even be, if it wasn't.

It is not the first RPG to be announced on April 1st

View attachment 75957

 

[iltharanos]

?! What's wrong with Friday April 29th?

Oh, TODAY! Ha!
No, I assure you that this is very much a real project. I don't mess around.

Alright, move me firmly into the excited tent located right in the middle of the kickstarter fund camp.

 

[Mike Myler]

It is not the first RPG to be announced on April 1st

View attachment 75957

Sometimes life is stranger than fiction.

Alright, move me firmly into the excited tent located right in the middle of the kickstarter fund camp.

I will prepare a sizable space for you! ^_^

 

[Mike Myler]

THIS is what D&D's "next major mechanical expansion" should look like.

I mean, I'm unsure about the balance and utility of all the mechanical options they present (that looks like WAY too many feats to me), but I love how every piece of it is dripping with flavor.

To add on to the flavor bit, Jaye finally made it into the feats document and had some EXCELLENT naming suggestions that vastly improve the Stance feats

[h=3]Stance of Fire’s Eternal Vengeance[/h][h=3]Stance of the Bellowing Gale[/h][h=3]Stance of the Clear Mind[/h][h=3]Stance of the Evanescent Sun[/h][h=3]Stance of the Forsaken Blight[/h][h=3]Stance of the Frozen Flower[/h][h=3]Stance of the Furious Storm[/h][h=3]Stance of the Inner Force[/h][h=3]Stance of the Poisoned River[/h][h=3]Stance of the Stout Boar[/h][h=3]Stance of the Striking Serpent[/h][h=3]Stance of the Tiger’s Claw[/h][h=3]Stance of the Waning Moon[/h]

Stance of the Wicked Oni​

 

[Stacie GmrGrl]

OMG this looks utterly fantastic. Now this game setting will get me to play 5th edition.

 

[HardcoreDandDGirl]

This sounds so great. I'm totally down for this, and will buy it even if I don't play or run the setting the feats and ideas will be perfect...

 

[Mike Myler]

OMG this looks utterly fantastic. Now this game setting will get me to play 5th edition.

All the playtesting so far has been some of the most fun I've had with D&D 5E.
I've done a good bit of play with the system too (there's this whole big Hypercorps 2099 5E book I did that's coming out this month) but even the adventure books (Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat) didn't work out for me nearly as well as the Mists of Akuma material that's hit the board so far.
You'll be in an excellent spot to enjoy the game!

This sounds so great. I'm totally down for this, and will buy it even if I don't play or run the setting the feats and ideas will be perfect...

In addition to the martial arts stance feats, there are another 11 in the document and I anticipate that we'll have more (preferably as many regular feats as martial artist stances, though that decision will come after more development): Ancestral Weapon, Deductive Mind, Defiler, Descendant of the Imperial Siblings, Metallic Elementalist, Mist Warrior, Nature Touched, Scribe Magical Tattoos, Swordmaster, Tsukumogami Augmetic, and Wooden Elementalist.

 

[Shardstone]

I've been working on a Japanese-themed setting for 5E too for Kickstarter, but I've been beaten to the punch! Ah well, maybe when you go to do an expansion some day I'll sneak in and throw what I have at you. Regardless, I will 100% be backing this--it is very relevant to my interests!

 

[Mike Myler]

I've been working on a Japanese-themed setting for 5E too for Kickstarter, but I've been beaten to the punch! Ah well, maybe when you go to do an expansion some day I'll sneak in and throw what I have at you. Regardless, I will 100% be backing this--it is very relevant to my interests!

There's enough room in the real world for a lot of 5E settings! I am pleased that we'll be the first ones out of the gate, though.
Definitely message me on Kickstarter once funding is underway and we have an idea of how much the project will have to work with (Kicktraq starts giving semi-reliable numbers after about 2 weeks of data is available). There will also be contributor backer levels, and one of them might pique your interest.

I look forward to delivering an awesome book to you! If the response to this article is anything to go by, it is going to be a whopper! ^_^