The Hollow Moon: New Setting and Subclass!

The Hollow Moon first appeared in astronomical charts over ten thousand years ago, arriving in orbit as “a fiery false sun.” Unbeknownst to these early observers, however, it was neither a sun nor a moon—but a life-bearing ship filled with complex organisms, an alien menagerie cultivated by a race of highly evolved creatures. Like their peers, the crew of the Hollow Moon traveled from world to world, collecting interesting specimens for their collection; their mission was motivated by curiosity and a passion for life.

What they didn’t count on was their engine revolting. Iemranten, a dragon born out of the fabric of the Cosmos itself, was captured and kept ensorcelled within the heart of the Hollow Moon as a living battery. For hundreds of years, Iemranten was a prisoner in her own body and mind, powerless to resist as her radiant energies were siphoned away to fuel the ship’s arcane systems. But one day, in an act of rage and defiance, Iemranten broke free from the chains of her ensorcelling: in a cataclysmic explosion—a “fiery, false sun”—she killed most of her captors and shattered the menagerie. Unfortunately for the dragon, it was not enough to completely break her physical cage. She succeeded in freeing her mind, but in doing so, stranded the ship in orbit around the characters’ world.

Most of the crew that survived the initial blastwave died over the following year, as starvation and desperation robbed them of both bodily constitution and will to live. All but one: Styggar, who turned to lichdom to survive. For the next ten thousand years, Styggar would wander the wastes of his former home, not quite living, not quite dead. He would try—and is still trying—to convince Iemranten to reignite the engine and move the ship out of orbit. The dragon, of course, refuses, and delights in the refusal: “Not another inch,” she gleefully repeats. Styggar is her eternal warden, ensuring Iemranten’s prison never breaks; he has time, thousands of years, before his mind goes and the containment fails. Until that day, the dragon slumbers, dreaming of sailing the Cosmos on free wings once again.

Meanwhile, as time passed, the Hollow Moon began to accrete matter in orbit. With matter came mass, with mass came gravity, and with gravity came precipitation. Over thousands of years, a Lunar Sea formed within the cradle of the moon, and the menagerie’s former inhabitants arranged themselves around this Lunar Sea into a complex ecosystem. Even the elements of the ship itself—large, stone slabs—have become sentient thanks to ten thousand years of Cosmos exposure; some have even chosen to eject themselves from the ship’s structure, careening through the atmosphere and landing on the world below as strange, polished Monoliths.

And it is because of these unlikeliest of structures, the sentient Monoliths, that terrestrial beings even know of the Hollow Moon’s true nature. With each passing year, either by complete accident or by the Monoliths’ mysterious design, more and more creatures find themselves transported into the bowels of the ship and thrust into an alien world. It won’t be long until this delicate balance between life and construct—between lich and dragon—is completely upended.

One way or another, the Hollow Moon is about to be irrevocably changed.

The Hollow Moon is a potential late-game adventure point for your games, featuring a hidden-away space ship within one of your world's moons! Within that shuttle is all manner of inexplicable creatures, a sweeping sea of dark mystery, and forces that push and pull as they vie for dominance.

This setting includes a new wizard subclass: the Order of the Spellforge! Wizards of this order are the bookish forgemasters of the multiverse, and use a unique familiar: their own sword! This sword familiar becomes your personal flying sword, which you can command in combat and use as an arcane conduit for your abilities.

Speaking of the subclass, here's a reminder that we also have official subclass playtest sessions on the Discord! So please feel welcome to sign up for them and get early looks and hands-on time with them! As always, further revisions will be made here with published updates as they're released!

What's Included:

• 25 pages of cosmos-faring fantasy, lots of quest options, and characters!
• Explore the world within the moon and become a deciding factor in its future!
• Bonus maps donated by Cze & Peku!
• 7 new creature statblocks!
• New wizard subclass: Order of the Spellforge! Tinker and forge to your heart's content, and use your animated, flying sword to leap into the fray and out of harm's way!

Credits

I was responsible for direction, design, and additional editing for this setting. However, this couldn't be possible without extra help. If you like this setting, consider supporting these other incredible creators:

John Webb — Writing

TheArenaGuy — Monster design, editing

Cze & Peku — Maps

Damien Mammoliti — Monster Art & Subclass illustration

Benjamin Sommeregger — Cover art

Jelke Ludolphij — Additional layout

This release is also made especially possible by the extra generosity of $13+ Legendary Heroes! Thank you all so much for you support, and be proud of your place in the end credits! You've earned it!