Four elemental spiders, denizens of the Inner Planes from Anthony Jennings. Ranging from CR 2 to 7, the arachnoelementals feed on the flesh of travelers from the Material Plane, stalking and ambushing their prey. Illustrated by Ellis Goodson.
Kyle Pointer discusses the Armature Method of dungeon design - how to use a core idea or concept throughout an entire adventure in order to maintain a consistent tone and atmosphere. If you're creating your own adventures for use at the game table, the ideas in this article will prove useful! Illustrated by Phil Stone.
Spring is upon us, and what better way to celebrate it than to bring some seasonal rites into your 5E campaign? The March of the Wild Men, Lunar New Year, Water Fight, Dance of the Flyers, Ritual of Flaying, and the Candelaria are all magical ceremonies which affect both the environment, and characters who participate in them. By Dion Fernandez; illustrated by Jeshields.
Let your clerics embrace the elements and add some new domains to your 5E game - the flame domain, stone domain, water domain, and winter domain. Experience the Flame Cleric's Avatar of Flames, see how Reverent Stones part before your Stone Cleric, and be awestruck by the Water Cleric's Roar of the Waves! By C. Richard Davies; illustrated by Sade.
2016-03-07 14:47:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Fate and luck are double-edged swords. Deities from ancient cultures - the Aztecs, Egyptians, Greeks, and Welsh - were rightfully wary of the gods of misfortune. This article from Dan Head introduces the god of ill-fortune, Jinx, one of the triumvirate which also includes Fate and Fortuna. Also described is the misfortunate domain, information on clerics of Jinx, and new magic items such as the No-Headed Coin. Illustrated by Sade.
Have you ever wanted an abyssal hide, balor wings, a devil's arm, a wretch's belch, an imp's eye, infernal horns, or vrock feathers? Of course you have! Or at least, your 5E character has. Right? Designer Mike Myler brings you rules for infernal bodily alterations for those willing to make a deal with a devil! Illustrated by Cat Lu.
{Note - if you downloaded this adventure earlier today, please redownload it. This is the corrected file! Thanks to the patrons who helped!}
The eagerly awaited adventure has arrived - the first Act of the Holdenshire Chronicles! 41 pages of sandboxy goodness!
The Holdenshire Chronicles takes EN Publishing’s classic adventure To Slay a Dragon and revamps it for a new generation of gamers. Using fif...
2016-02-15 20:07:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi everybody! I thought I'd let you know about what we have coming very soon from EN5ider. As always, we're working hard to bring you the very best, professionally produced, fully illustrated and edited 5E material. As a side-note, it's almost exactly one year since we launched!
The Holdenshire Chronicles Part 2: the Ills of Holdenshire is next up. You'll see this in the next few days. It's a 40-page adventure, and follows on from the Holdenshire Primer we gave you ...
2016-02-11 16:58:45 +0000 UTC View Post
It's not only monks who fight with their fists - these subclasses for the barbarian, fighter, rogue (and, yes, one for the monk) bring out the pugilist in a variety of classes!
The barbarian's fists are as strong as tempered steel with the Path of the Lodestar; the fighter masters the art of the heavyweight boxer as the Pugilist; the monk combines arcane magic and unarmed combat in the Way of the Arcane Fist; and the rogue moves at blinding speed as the Speedster.
With new weapon...
2016-02-09 17:20:38 +0000 UTC View Post
Brandes Stoddard describes six sinister spellbooks, along with each's properties and associated plot hooks. Be careful how you handle the Codex of Khiruzam or the Libram of the Crimson Wasting; benefit from the illusion properties of the Green Book of Ka-Jorra or the stormy properties of Herim's Final Manuscript; read from the Prophecies of Ni-Shaan or the Fragments of the Luminous World. Each of these six spellbooks can be used to inscribe or alter your spells. Illustrated by Jacob Blackmon.
New for EN5ider patrons! As we round off the first month of 2016, we'd like to thank you all for helping us reach that 1,000 patron target! And we hope that every one of you enjoys this instalment of our Epic Threats series from EN5ider veteran James Introcaso in which we bring you - in standard 5E stat-clock format! - the Magma Elemental (CR 16), Mud Elemental (CR 14), Sand Elemental (CR 13), Smoke Elemental (CR 12), Steam Elemental (CR 11), and the mighty Storm Elemental (CR 15). Illustrated b...
2016-01-29 15:02:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Dion Fernandez discusses campaigns which continue... after the end of the world! Using the Survivor background, along with discussion of omnipotent tyrants, world destabilization, and unknown powers, this article contains suggestions and plot seeds for a different kind of campaign. Illustrated by Sade.
We're making a big push to try to get EN5ider up to 1,000 patrons. Right now, as I type this, we are 47 patrons short of that goal. We've been going for about a year now, and it would be wonderful to break that 1,000 patron barrier!
We'd be very, very grateful if you could help us out a little with this. Maybe a tweet, or a Facebook post, or a message board post somewhere. Every little bit helps! If you've enjoyed EN5ider, perhaps tell someone about it.
We're very, ve...
2016-01-23 01:05:48 +0000 UTC View Post
It's time to delve into alchemy in your 5th Edition games! This article by Matt Roth presents a new Alchemist's Apprentice background (and it variant, the unorthodox Self-Made Master), a bunch of new alchemical items, and three new feats designed especially for alchemists - Alchemical Artillerist, Expeditious Alchemy, and Pernicious Poisoner. Illustrated by Nick Cramp and Jen Tracy.
Due to some licensing changes at WotC's end, we'll be using the standard 5E stat-block format from now on, rather than the custom format we've been using up until now. It was previously an issue of copying trade dress - something we weren't able to do - but that particular element has now been opened up to us. I know that the different format frustrated some folks, so I figured you'd be pleased to hear this!
2016-01-14 22:01:09 +0000 UTC View Post
It's a big day for EN5ider fans! Today marks the start of a new series called 'The Holdenshire Chronicles'. An adaption of Russ Morrissey's TO SLAY A DRAGON, the PCs will start their adventuring careers in the sandbox village of Hengistbury, in the county of Holdenshire, before embarking on a quest to travel across the land and slay a dragon. But first, before the adventuring can begin, we launch with this 23-page Holdenshire Primer which introduces you to the county, its peoples, and locations ...
2016-01-12 13:03:17 +0000 UTC View Post
In the second in our Epic Threats series, James Introcaso brings us a range of goblinoids and orcs designed to challenge high level adventurers. Meet the brutish Bugbear Savage (CR 18), the depraved Goblin Creeper (CR 16), the battle-hardened Hobgoblin Monarch (CR 14), the devoted Orc Godspeaker (CR 14), and the mighty Orog Devastator (CR 20). Illustrated by Jen Tracy.
As we close out 2016, we'd like to gather your thoughts on EN5ider. We launched back in March, and we've published 54 articles since then. In that time we've welcomed about 900 patrons, published several new writers, been through staff changes, and finished the year in - we hope - fine shape! We've really enjoyed producing this content for you!
But, more importantly - how are you, the patrons, finding it? Are you enjoying EN5ider? What are we doing right? What are we doin...
2015-12-31 16:43:10 +0000 UTC View Post
In one of our occasional system-neutral crossover articles with our sister publication, TRAILseeker, these four random encounters focus on roleplaying and problem solving over combat. Baby Monsters, The Tag Along, The One That Got Away, and Snake Oil Salesman present the adventurers with moral and practical dilemmas. And with that, we close out 2015! Happy New Year, folks, and we can't wait to launch the first part of The Holdenshire Chronicles next month!
2015-12-31 16:34:28 +0000 UTC View Post
Happy Holidays! With a Dickensian flourish, we present you with three urchins designed for insertion into your campaign. Hope (and her baby dragonborn, Scales) is a young tiefling orphan; Ketch the Clever is a 10-year old pickpocket and hustler; while Bill Thorpe is a grimy bully of the streets. By Kiel Chewier; colour art by Ellis Goodson.
2015-12-24 12:01:20 +0000 UTC View Post
The latest in our Over The Next Hill series of settlements which can be dropped into any campaign brings you Hverfell, located in a hidden verdant valley in the midst of unforgiving tundra. Investigate the Spitz Bathhouse, the Elemental observatory, or the Aviary. Meet the conjurer Leogard Brix or Mistress Ashley Leon of the Ochre Springs Bathworks. As always, the article presents significant NPCs, locations, plus plot hooks and rumors. By June Bordas; art by Phil Stone; cartography by June Bord...
2015-12-22 15:28:28 +0000 UTC View Post
Meet the Planar Explorer and the Way of Infinite Worlds, two brand new archetypes for adventurers who seek to cross the boundaries between worlds. Whether your preferred destination is the Inner or Outer Planes, a lesser-known demiplane, or somewhere even more unusual, these character options are perfect for those who want just little more than the Prime Material can offer. By Anthony Jennings; illustrated by Ellis Goodson.
Here's a quick look at some of the stuff we have coming up on EN5ider!
Explorers of the Multiverse - I love this article by Anthony Jennings. Two new archetypes - Planar Explorer (ranger) and Way of Infinite Worlds (monk).
The Holdenshire Chronicles - the classic adventure (by me) To Slay A Dragon and the plug-in county in which it takes place will form a series of monthly articles.
The Springs of Hverfell - another of our Over the Next Hill series of locations. A hidde...
2015-12-08 15:29:25 +0000 UTC View Post
In our 50th article, Josh Gentry asks you to sell your soul! Three new warlock patrons include The Sea Lord, The Seducer, and The Trickster, along with six new Invocations. These three patrons represent such legendary beings as Davy Jones, the Leviathan, Dracula, Pan, Loki, or even Rumpelstiltskin. Illustrated by Egil Thompson.
Take your 5E game beyond medieval fantasy with this look at post-apocalyptic, western, cyberpunk, far future, modern, and even superheroic games. This article includes short, simple new rules for genre and technology, new genre-specific feats like Gunfighter, Scientific Wizardry, and Super Powered, along with the Robotic template which allows you to include androids and more in your game. By Mike Myler; illustrated by Jacob Blackmon.
An assortment of character options for those who wield the blade! Three alternate class kits, a new Druidic Circle, two new fighting styles, two new maneuvers, and a brand new feat! Discover the battlemage, commander, and scout, and learn how to perform a hamstringing cut or form a phalanx! By John Lynch; illustrated by Egil Thompson and Phil Stone.
Halloween might be over, but that doesn't mean we can't have one last horror-themed adventure! "You can hear them at night when the mist creeps in off the lakeshore, jibber-jabbering like madmen trying to form words. For years they’ve haunted me, but still I can’t fathom what it means, as if some half-formed mind yearns for the power to speak for itself…" Complete with character hooks, this 14 page adventure by Aaron Infante-Levy is suitable for 2nd-4th level characters. Illustrated by Sad...
2015-11-17 23:47:31 +0000 UTC View Post
Add spice and variety to your random encounters! This article helps you to randomly determine the aims and actions of encountered creatures with a table which covers 40 encounter motivations including merrymaking, suffering, wounded, escaped, and many more. Running into orcs is one thing; running into orcs busy constructing a shrine is another! By Connors; illustrated by Cat Lu.
Challenge your players with five high level NPCs! The Arcane Blademaster, Ascetic Grandmaster, High Priest, Knight Captain, and Master Assassin range from CRs 12-20. By James Introcaso; illustrated by Phil Stone.
Halloween is finally upon us! James Haeck, your trusty EN5ider editor, has penned a whole host of new magical items to help you combat or embrace the terrors of the night. Nine new items, from the Collar of Cerberus to the Crown of the Devourer; from the Ghost Ward Lantern to Skull Liqueur. Illustrated by ShenFei.
2015-10-30 12:41:03 +0000 UTC View Post