D&D 5E The Bible Is A New 5E Setting

The Adventurer’s Guide to the Bible is a 5E setting and adventure set in the first century AD.

The 350-page book, created by Bible enthusiasts, included four new lineages, a range of subclasses, and an adventure for character levels 1-10, along with a full first-century AD setting with locations like the Library of Alexandria and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, NPCs, and monsters such as giants, seraph serpents, angels, and demons. The adventure itself involves a search for three missing Magi.

It's $25 for a PDF, or $39 for a hardcover.

The Adventurer's Guide to the Bible for 5E

A fifth edition campaign setting with new rule options for players and GMs, and a full adventure for characters of levels 1 - 10.

www.kickstarter.com

Cleopatra is dead. Rome and Parthia struggle for control of the Fertile Crescent in a bid for world domination, while local politics in the Middle Kingdoms become increasingly divisive. The prophecies of the so-called “Messiah” have long been forgotten, and an ancient Evil lurks in the shadows, corrupting the hearts of humankind. Three of the wisest mystics known as the “Magi” travelled to Bethlehem following a star they believed to be a sign. They never returned. Hope grows dim as the world descends into darkness. What we need are answers... and those brave enough to seek them.

This isn’t the first biblical era setting for D&D, although it might be for 5E. Green Ronin released Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era for 3E over a decade ago.

 

[damiller]

I am looking forward to this, I have had so many campaign ideas around this period of time. Its my favorite period in history, and it is interesting to me that the whole world seemed ingulfed in chaos - political, religiously, maybe even economically.

In fact I have had two copies Testament from Green Ronin. I pestered them so muchthey sent me (if the sticky note is to be believed) the first one out of the box. I read that thing religiously. But the Bronze age isn't' my jam.

They also produced a Roman Era supplement. But it didn't talk much about Judea, or the Middle East. And in either case I didn't really like 3e. For a long time I was hoping someone would update either or both of those to 5e.

This will do.

But I think I may have trouble finding players because these are my ideas:

1. PCs are from a Gnostic Christian sect going around trying to prove they are the real Christians, or "fight" for their version thereof. (involving a lot of theological debates about minor points)*
2. Sicarii dagger men targeting political opponents.
3. Gladiators in the Arenas who work their way up through the ranks, and encounter Christians
4. The Players are Roman Investigators (call of cthulhu) who track down a scattered group of cultists that are killing human males and eating them to give themselves occult power, only to find out they just slaughtered a bunch of relatively harmless Christians.
5. PCs are "canonical" Christian disciples.

I appreciate how the writers have answered questions, specifically on the reddit question about pharisees. In a historical game avoiding stereo types is important and I think their answer was great.

Anyway backed and looking forward to it.

*This one intrigues me because of my background as a 'seventh day adventist' (actually I was in the dollar store version of that group, but its not important). They were born out of a huge disappointment about the return of Christ, and at the time, who was right about what was a big issue for those believers, and the cause for a lot of theological debates. Out of it we got Seventh Day Adventism, First Day Adventism, Seventh Day Baptists, and perhaps Jehovah Witnesses. The first century for christianity was very similiar, lots of debates about how and what christianity was and is.

 

[Pargates]

In my area in the 1980s there were quite a few campaigns with varying levels of Christian influence. Mostly this meant that the campaign was pretty much standard D&D with no evil PCs and a general agreement that Christian ethics = Lawful Good. I did play in one that featured the Abrahamic God as a member of the pantheon named "LORDUS". In the context of the time it was expected that you might have to fight deities so He had a statbox with the special note that as long as one faithful follower remained alive, LORDUS could not lose His last hit point.

 

[Professor Murder]

It's amusing. I am curious to see if this is the creation of enthusiasts or of experts. If it's enthusiasts, don't expect either historical or biblical accuracy. If it's experts, I am expecting an attempt to coax a square peg through the eye of a needle. As I am a setting cannibal for the most part, I am most interested in crunch like monsters and magic items.

It is nice to have won the Satanic Panic.

Hard to say how the larger community should embrace this product and it's creators. Game as educational/indoctrination tool. Have to keep an eye on it.

 

[Ulfgeir]

Not my cup of tea. I have a friend who might like it as he is a pastor (and a gamer).

And they seem to be a bit fluid with the time there. Which leads to a few weird thoughts for me... Since they set it in a time before a certain person allegedly started preaching, does that mean that the god there is still the old-testament petty and vengeful god (that for example had no problem letting a bear appear to kill and maul children that mocked a prophet), or when did that being change behaviour? And well, the Romans worshipped a pantheon, so how will they handle that?

And will you be able to interact with the rather monstrous angels (per the description by one of the prophets) that would fit well in with H.P. Lovecrafts stuff? I mean a being with four faces, or a burning wheel of fire with hundreds of eyes..

 

[J-H]

The most rocking, Christian, game I ever played on the Computer was Diablo 2. This is followed by Diablo and Diablo 3.

Many may disagree

But these three took a lot of inspiration from Christianity and Christian mythos and made a rocking game for me

In the last one (#3) they even had Nephilim! Now can you see?

When you really look at it, It really is a game based on Christianity

Eh, they may be inspired by some of the side characters (angels/demons), but any game that has "Humanity can win on their own by might or power" is pretty explicitly tossing the message of the Bible out the window.

 

[Oofta]

It seems like kind of an oddly specific timeframe for the setting. If it's for Christians, then Jesus isn't really a thing yet and it would have made more sense to do something starting around 100 AD instead. If it's old school old testament, I would have set it far earlier.

But maybe it's just my style, years or even decades pass over the course of a single campaign. I'm not particularly interested in the setting (I'd rather pick up the Theros book) but it feels limiting for grander stories. There would be a lot to mine from the persecution of Christians era to the beginnings of the modern church.

 

[The White Sorcerer]

Spartans! Tonight we dine on five loaves of bread and two fishes.

 

[Tonguez]

It seems like kind of an oddly specific timeframe for the setting. If it's for Christians, then Jesus isn't really a thing yet and it would have made more sense to do something starting around 100 AD instead. If it's old school old testament, I would have set it far earlier.

But maybe it's just my style, years or even decades pass over the course of a single campaign. I'm not particularly interested in the setting (I'd rather pick up the Theros book) but it feels limiting for grander stories. There would be a lot to mine from the persecution of Christians era to the beginnings of the modern church.

yeah I would have gone with Hellenistic period myself - you’ve got the Ptolemys and Seleucids on either side of Judea, Hellenized Jews trying to reform Religious Law, the High Priest being assasinated, statues of Zeus being installed in Jerusalem and the Maccabean Revolt and subsequent civil war, fun times …

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

There would be a lot to mine from the persecution of Christians era to the beginnings of the modern church.

I think the setting would have risked being more contentious this way (meeting Jesus and the apostles [if they are statted, they can be killed... not something you'd want in all groups], depicting religious intolerance (not something accepted in RPGs these days)... I think targetting the era just before Christianity became a thing is safe from the point of view of the editor, each group can then play their Judean Adventures with the appropriate treatment of the religious aspect to their taste.

I question the choice of 5e. Mythic Judea with Mythras would have sounded more appropriate to the genre.

 

[Weiley31]

So with this, we can pretty much do our Bibleman and Veggie Tales 5E games, or even crossovers between the two.

If your a Nephilim, does that mean your trying to score brownie points with the big guy upstairs to avoid getting flooded out with the rest of em?

Jesus OP because he Auto-Rezzes every three days.

And the most important: I can FINALLY play as my Jew character from South Park: The Stick of Truth now.

Admit it: you'd pay money to see Jesus Shoryuken a Drider.