So This Just Arrived...

Just now, a heavy package arrived at my door. Inside is Sasquatch Game Studios Primeval Thule campaign setting for D&D 5th Edition. It's a full-colour hardcover, about 270 pages. I haven't had chance to delve into it yet, but I can report that it certainly smells of book. Sasquatch, as you may know, produced Princes of the Apocalypse for WotC. Thule's a little different to that - it's a setting inspired by the likes of Conan, featuring Great Old Ones and dark magic. It's barbaric, savage, and mysterious. Oh, and primeval. Below I've posted a few photos of the book, since I literally just got it and haven't been able to read it yet!

 

[Warren LaFrance]

You can get it at RPG Drive.. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/168149/Primeval-Thule-5e-Campaign-Setting?src=hottest_filtered

Looks like Amazon has a version of it - Not sure it is the 5e version http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...d-keywords=Primeval+Thule+5e+Campaign+Setting

 

[Morrus]

Interesting, I wonder how it varies from the 3e version. 4e's had been bit more restrictive, hadn't?

No, I misspoke. There is *the* OGL at the back.

 

[Von Ether]

So the original from 3e with updates mentioning 5e pubs? Or something new?

 

[Morrus]

So the original from 3e? Or something new?

Yes. *The* OGL. Not the GSL, not anything new, the OGL.

 

[Atlatl Jones]

Looks like Amazon has a version of it - Not sure it is the 5e version http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...d-keywords=Primeval+Thule+5e+Campaign+Setting

Nope. The PF stands for Pathfinder, and the 13th Age version is pretty self explanatory.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this at my FLGS. They have the PF version but I've been waiting for the 5e.

Can you spoil how the heroic narratives work?

 

[Ath-kethin]

I was a backer for the 5e Thule setting book on Kickstarter, so I've had the PDF for a long time and the hardcover for a few weeks now.

The terminology/5e translation is pretty solid, though there are a few minor annoyances ("tactical advantage" used in place of "advantage," stuff like that) and a couple of minor editing oversights (we are told that Thule has no kobolds in one section, but kobolds are listed as speakers of Draconic in another). Overall, though, I'd say the book is incredible.

It's true that while the authors make noise about the rarity and danger of magic, this idea is not mechanically supported within the rules presented in the book. This doesn't bother me personally; I use many ideas from the 3rd party Pathfinder supplement "The Spider God's Bride," and everything works out in my campaign. But be forwarned that while the Thule book itself is designed so it can support traditional gaming styles, and some adjustment will be needed to run it as a low-magic and/or gritty setting mechanically.

I love the narratives. They're really more 2e kits than anything else in my opinion, and carry with them all the potential complications that implies. Many of them give characters followers at 10th level, and the book has a little bit of advice on how to make that work.

There have been a few threads on these boards discussing the setting and adapting it to a low-magic paradigm. There is also a fledgeling Thule forum Morris linked to a while back, which has some more discussion on houserules, grittiness, and other resources.

Honestly, the book is worth it for the fluff alone, in my opinion.

 

[Tony Vargas]

It's true that while the authors make noise about the rarity and danger of magic, this idea is not mechanically supported within the rules presented in the book.

Too bad. But, I suppose it'd be quite an undertaking to scrub enough 'high magic' off 5e to evoke it at a mechanical level, for the PCs. Besides, adventurers are 'rare' & magic is 'rare,' but they could be still be strongly correlated.

 

[Ath-kethin]

Besides, adventurers are 'rare' & magic is 'rare,' but they could be still be strongly correlated.

I think that this is the idea. The book mentions that if a PC is a mgic-user, they would be one of only a handful in their city, for example. One of the issues widely discussed on various forums is the problem of rectifying every-round magic (i.e., cantrips) with the idea of low-magic.

Part of what I like and use from "the Spider-God's Bride" is its new/revised Sorcerer class, which I converted to 5e. It has a great, creepy atmosphere, and also a revised spell list that strips out most flashy magic in favor of more subtle effects.

Depending on your and your group's preferences the magic "issue" might not even matter.

 

[ChrisCarlson]

Part of what I like and use from "the Spider-God's Bride" is its new/revised Sorcerer class, which I converted to 5e. It has a great, creepy atmosphere, and also a revised spell list that strips out most flashy magic in favor of more subtle effects.

Teasing and not sharing is mean...

 

[Ath-kethin]

Teasing and not sharing is mean...

I agree. I'm actually a little gunshy because I don't really know the legality of the adaptation. I'm certainly not going to post the TSGB version, though I strongly encourage everybody interested in Sword & Sorcery type campaigns to drop the $10 it takes to buy the adventure/setting PDF.

But here is the thread on the Thule forum about new Sorcerous origins; mine is a few posts down.

http://mythopoeiathule.freeforums.net/thread/12/new-sorcerous-bloodlines

I'm on my phone so I can't seem to paste that as a link. I apologize.

Edit: I guess the link came through fine. Never mind.