D&D 5E (2014) Ptolus for 5e
- Thread starter vpuigdoller
- Start date
The Mirrorball Man
Aventurier
What happened?
mach1.9pants
Hero
One of my best purchases, lots of bits to steal. But I am a real city source book fan.
"The new Ptolus will release in two versions: one for 5e, and another for the Cypher System. The book will follow the format of the original as closely as possible, and retain all of its premium design features. The Ptolus Kickstarter campaign launches in February. "
www.montecookgames.com
"The new Ptolus will release in two versions: one for 5e, and another for the Cypher System. The book will follow the format of the original as closely as possible, and retain all of its premium design features. The Ptolus Kickstarter campaign launches in February. "
Announcing Ptolus for 5e and the Cypher System - Monte Cook Games
Monte announces a return to his acclaimed campaign setting Ptolus, a fantasy city wreathed in magic and emerging from Monte's home game during the design of 3rd Edition D&D! The new Ptolus will release in two versions: one for 5e, and another for the Cypher System.
www.montecookgames.com
It got to be overwhelming with the amount of material a DM had to know. Plus there was a constant urge to split the party. Plus the city watch can always come in and take care of stuff. Plus the party could easily retreat and go Nova in one combat a day.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
I've been running a Ptolus/Praemal (the larger world) campaign since preordering the original edition and I've been a player in a Ptolus game for about a decade (to Retreater's point above, our group in that game is a special division of the city watch tasked with dealing with adventurer-level threats that ordinary watchmen can't handle).
It's a great, great setting.
In addition to being one of the main 3E internal playtest settings, where everything that was in 3E at release appears in Ptolus, it's also a steampunk Roman Empire that's in the first years of collapse. There's a three-way succession crisis, the knowledge of how technology works is rapidly fading, and that's to say nothing of the supernatural threats the players likely won't be aware of for quite some time.
You can play it as a strict dungeoneering setting -- that's what I do in my home game, where I typically play with my 12-year-old son, my 76-year old dad, my wife, and some friends -- or as an urban setting where three different crime families are at war. Or you can tackle the big cosmic-level threats to the world, where the machinations of a fallen demigod, devils, the undead and Cthulhu-esque threats all conspire to rip the world apart.
It's a lot, to be sure, but I don't think any one campaign is realistically going to do all of it. My dungeoneers will almost certainly never scratch the surface of the deep cosmic mysteries and threats, but will likely just do dungeon delving and have run-ins with the various thieves guilds when they cross paths. The online campaign I've been running for years is moving into the political realm as a way to let the cosmic stuff sneak up on them, but aren't likely to even notice the thieves wars or use the dungeons as anything other than something to travel through on their way to a drow city deep beneath Ptolus.
This book is going to be crazy expensive, but given how many years I've gotten out of the 3E version, I have no hesitation about backing the 5E one. (What my wife will say about a second one of these bricks, which will likely cost well above $100, remains to be seen.)
It's a great, great setting.
In addition to being one of the main 3E internal playtest settings, where everything that was in 3E at release appears in Ptolus, it's also a steampunk Roman Empire that's in the first years of collapse. There's a three-way succession crisis, the knowledge of how technology works is rapidly fading, and that's to say nothing of the supernatural threats the players likely won't be aware of for quite some time.
You can play it as a strict dungeoneering setting -- that's what I do in my home game, where I typically play with my 12-year-old son, my 76-year old dad, my wife, and some friends -- or as an urban setting where three different crime families are at war. Or you can tackle the big cosmic-level threats to the world, where the machinations of a fallen demigod, devils, the undead and Cthulhu-esque threats all conspire to rip the world apart.
It's a lot, to be sure, but I don't think any one campaign is realistically going to do all of it. My dungeoneers will almost certainly never scratch the surface of the deep cosmic mysteries and threats, but will likely just do dungeon delving and have run-ins with the various thieves guilds when they cross paths. The online campaign I've been running for years is moving into the political realm as a way to let the cosmic stuff sneak up on them, but aren't likely to even notice the thieves wars or use the dungeons as anything other than something to travel through on their way to a drow city deep beneath Ptolus.
This book is going to be crazy expensive, but given how many years I've gotten out of the 3E version, I have no hesitation about backing the 5E one. (What my wife will say about a second one of these bricks, which will likely cost well above $100, remains to be seen.)
R_J_K75
Legend
Selling mine and the vinyl map was my biggest RPG mistake. It was extremely high quality for $100. Glad I'll have the chance to get a 5E copy.
Aldarc
Legend
This is tremendous news, both for fans of 5e and the Cypher System. Ptolus was easily one of the best books that came out of the 3Era. It was a cornucopia of resources for anyone wanting to run a D&D game in an urban setting, along with Keith Baker's book on Sharn.
This announcement also gives me a modicum of hope, however delusional, that Monte Cook Games will update some of the other back products from Malhavoc Press, particularly Arcana Evolved, for 5e. I'm curious what changed legally that gave Monte Cook the freedom to update Ptolus or other Malhavoc properties.
This announcement also gives me a modicum of hope, however delusional, that Monte Cook Games will update some of the other back products from Malhavoc Press, particularly Arcana Evolved, for 5e. I'm curious what changed legally that gave Monte Cook the freedom to update Ptolus or other Malhavoc properties.
R_J_K75
Legend
What was preventing him from doing it?
Aldarc
Legend
My understanding was that the main reason Monte Cook made Monte Cook Games rather than continue publishing from Malhavoc Press was due to his ex-wife effectively being the co-owner of Malhavoc Press. And it's noteworthy that Ptolus is coming out of Monte Cook Games rather than Malhavoc Press.
jerryrice4949
Legend
If I remember correctly it had something to do with his ex having shared rights to the Malhavoc Press material.
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