EN5ider Magazine for D&D

Día de los Dinosaurios Muertos

Halloween grows ever closer! Día de los Dinosaurios Muertos is a spooky 18-page adventure by Jensen Toperzer. You've heard of the Day of the Dead... but what happens when the dead are dinosaurs? When the raptors awaken to find their land overrun by hairless apes, they plot to reclaim their legacy. Can the PCs survive the machinations of Miquiztlicoatl, the velociraptor mummy lord, ancient reptilian priest-king of the feathered throne? This adventure for 14th-level PCs includes full-color maps, ...

Heroes of the Night

We continue our Halloween-inspired month with a selection of horrific new archetypes for barbarians, fighters, and warlocks!  Barbarian lycanthropes can master the Wolfsblood path; The Haunted are fighters with spectral companions; and The Evil Eye is a pact for warlocks. By Brandes Stoddard; illustrated by Dan Nokes.

Over the Next Hill: Village of Dreams

Halloween month continues with Josh Gentry's Village of Dreams. Natulog is a sleepy hamlet, but the thick evening fogs deliver messages through the dreams of those who rest there. Part of the Over the Next Hill series, this plug-in settlement includes significant areas, notes on dream reading, and rumors and plot hooks suitable for all character levels. Illustrated/cartography by Michael Tumey.

Template of Horrors

Our Halloween month continues - and we also celebrate our 40th article! - with four horrific templates which can be applied to any creature! Use the zombie, wight, skeleton, and banshee templates to create horrors such as a Wailing Hermit (a banshee ettin), a Rust Monster Skeleton, a Crypt Stalker (a minotaur wight), or a Basilisk Zombie!  By Cedar Collins; illustrated by Jacob Blackmon.

I Ain't Afraid Of No Ghost: Subclasses For Hunting Evil

We prepare for our upcoming horror-themed Halloween month with a range of options for player intent on fighting the ghosts and ghouls who will feature throughout October! Kiel Chenier brings us Spirit, a Clerical Domain; Courage, a Paladin's Oath; and the Witch Hunter, a Roguish Archetype. Arm yourselves, because October is gonna be spooky! Illustrated by Ellis Goodson.

Drinking & Dragons: The World's Greatest Fantasy Drinking Game!

In a slight change of tone before we start EN5ider's horror themed month for October and Halloween, we have a fun "drinking game" diversion from the serious rules, designed to throw some chaos into a special one-shot session or adventure. Five drinking games, and four recipes for fantasy themed drinks, three of which can be made alcohol free if needed, make this article one you'll remember! By Kiel Chenier; illustrated by Indi Martin.

Croaking Sirocco

Croaking Sirocco is an adventure for 5th-level characters that takes the party into the heart of a magically warped, blasted land. Deep in the heart of the expanding desert is a tribe of desert-dwelling bullywugs, whose petty power struggle unwittingly endangers the entire outside world. By Kyle Carty; illustrated by Rick Hershey and Indi Martin.

Hired Hands: Expanded Rules for Hirelings

Meet the apothecary, cook, interpreter, minstrel, porter, scholar, squire, teamster, and torchbearer! These hirelings provide your adventurer with additional benefits - as long as you pay them and keep them safe! Additional traits, quirks, and motives help bring your hirelings to life. By "Jester" David Gibson; illustrated by Jacob Blackmon.

Masters of the Wild

Two new ranger archetypes - the dual-wielding Tempest and the sinister Nightstalker - along with new feats, new fighting styles, and new spells. Your ranger will never be the same again! By Thiago Rosa; illustrated by Nick Cramp.

Chessmasters & Commanders: The Noble Class

We have a special treat to round out August - a new class! The full 20-level noble class is able to command and inspire through three paths - the Path of the Heart, the Path of the Brave, and the Path of the Tactician. By A. Nova; illustrated by Ellis Goodson and Shannon White.

A Spooky Open Call

Department stores are already putting out their Halloween merchandise, and EN5ider is getting in the spirit too! EN World EN5ider is looking for three 2,000 word articles and one 7,000 word adventure to run in the month of October, and we want your submissions now!

The only new rule for this open call is that your Halloween submissions must be fit the ghoulish spirit of the holiday. We're looking fo...

Over The Next Hill: The Town of Rivereave

The second in our "Over the Next Hill" series of small plug-in settlements is a lakeside fishing town on the fringes of civilization - an ideal base camp from which to launch expeditions into the wilderness! With NPCs, locations, and plot hooks, these settlements can be used in any campaign. By Scott Marcley; illustrated by Indi Martin.

The Best of EN5ider?

In our ongoing attempt to make sure we're delivering the content folks want, this is our second Best of EN5ider poll. This will help us decide which article types to commission more of in the future, and which should be consigned to the annals of history!

Use the link below to vote in the poll at EN World!

You can vote for as many articles as you like. If an article stood out to you, give it a vote.

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Friend of the Children

Why do the children of Medvedka Vas not age? Can the answer be found on Bear Plateau? Who is the mysterious "Friend of the Children? And what is the role of Eglantina, the last pixie of Bear Plateau? A dark fantasy adventure for 4th level characters. By Peter Zacchaeus; illustrated by Ellis Goodson.

Volumes of Forgotten Lore: Divine

In the second of his Forgotten Lore series, veteran author Ari Marmell brings you new divine player options. The Protection, Shadow, and Travel domains, the Urban druidic circle, and the Theologian, a new tradition for the wizard. Illustrated by Jeshields.

Over the Next Hill: The Village of Drood

The Village of Drood is a small village bordering a dark wood, founded by a travelling wizard and ready to be plugged in to your campaign. The first in a series of three settlements, this article contains NPCs and plot hooks. By Mark Craddock; illustrated by Jacob Blackman.

As Good As His Blade: A Dozen New Weapon Properties

Expand the list of weapon properties to include barbed, double, awkward, tripping, and more!  Along with nearly 20 new weapons designed to use these new properties, and changes to the entangling and reach properties, this article will unlock the potential of weapon design and introduce more variety into your fighting style!  By Connors; illustrated by Jacob Blackmon.

The Mystery of Mordecai's Monster

From Dan Head comes this adventure of mystery and horror! Who is Mordecai, and what has become of his latest creation? Can the PCs solve the mystery of Mordecai's monster before it's too late? An adventure for 3rd level characters. Illustrated by Nick Cramp and Rick Hershey.

Interview with EN5ider editor James Haeck

The Round Table podcast interviewed EN5ider's editor James Haeck recently.  It's a great interview by host James Introcaso (who you may recognise as the author of some recent articles!) and talks about the vision for EN5ider, how it came about, and how it works behind the scenes.

(In other news, this week's article will be a piece by Connors called "As Good As his Blade"; lots of great new weapon properties for your game!)

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The Right Way To Fudge

When and how should the the GM fudge an encounter?  New and experienced GMs alike will find the advice in this article useful. In this system-neutral article Jeremy Lewit discusses the reasons and the methods, and provides advice on the right way to fudge. Should you alter the enemies, change the goalposts, or add new challenges? Illustrated by Savage Mojo.  This article may include references to different game systems as a cross-system article.

It's Alive!

Does your victim wish to inflict a plague via an obscure ritual at the start of a solar eclipse on the grounds of an accursed cemetary using the blood of an innocent demon? Build rituals to achieve your villain's dark goals. Animate a golem, summon a god, open the Gates of Hell, or banish the sun. Seven tables describe the ritual's purpose, time, location, components, side-effects, price of failure, and - of course - how to foil the dastardly deed! By Mark A. Hart; illustrated by Jacob Blackmon....

Where did you hear about EN5ider?

Hi everyone!  I hope you all enjoyed A Paladin's Dark Vows, which was the outcome of the weekend's vote on which article to release this week.  It's Alive will be coming next week!

I wanted to ask a question which will help me in spreading the word about EN5ider.  Basically, I'd like to know how you found out about it (and what it was that got you to sign up if that was a different thing to the way you initially found out about it).

Did you hear about it on EN World? ...

A Paladin's Dark Vows

Not all paladins are good; some may stray from the true path, while others are pure evil. Josh Gentry presents new flaws and class features for dark paladins. When a paladin turns from the light, flaws of aggression, blind loyalty, and naïveté provide corruptions of the virtues of bravery, loyalty, and wisdom. Additionally, paladins may take oaths of the Purge or Supremacy, or use the new Bloody Hands class feature. Illustrated by Scott Harshbringer.  This also the debut piece from our ne...

Choose the next article!

Happy July 4th to those of you in the US!  Happy Saturday to everyone else! The image shows two articles - the first two from Eric, our new layout designer! I figured it would be fun to show your them and let you choose when they get published. Which do you want first?  I'll publish the most voted one on Monday, and the other one the following week.

The Business of Emotion (Revised)

This is a freebie. Remember The Business of Emotion by Paul Okesh, one of the free sample adventures?  Well, Eric, our new layout designer, used it to practice while gearing up to take over from Justin this month.  So here it is, the same adventure, but with new, tweaked layout (and a couple of minor fixed errata).

This is a sample adventure for 3-5 characters of levels 2-3. You may download it for free before becoming a patron. The village of Lanidor is suffering from an ...

To The Stars: Science Fiction for Fifth Edition

Spice up your game with a little sci-fi action! Meet the Engineer and the Spacer backgrounds, learn how to move in zero-g, and grab an energy shield, ablative armor, or an energy weapon. By Kiel Chenier; illustrated by Indi Martian.  This is also the final article from layout designer Justin Buell; it will be sad to see him go, but exciting to bring on board Eric Life-Putnam to fill his shoes!

Master & Apprentice: Gaining New Levels With Style

A new subsystem to bring realism into your game! Fletcher Haug introduces a mentor-based level training system, along perks and mojo -  ways to give players control over the story of how they level up and to introduce training-based background details that can be called upon during play.  Art from Savage Mojo.

All change!

This is just an informational post.  I just wanted to update you on some changes taking place here at EN5ider.  We're bringing on two new staff members, which I'm personally really excited about.

First, we have a new art director.  You'll start seeing his commissions next month.  Michael McCarthy is committed to bringing you top-notch art, and I've already seen some of the pieces coming in for July.

Secondly, we have a new layout designer.  Eric Life-Putnam was t...

The Art of Peace

In a world of violence and vicious magic, monks of the Shifting Flow and the Watchful Gate audaciously dream of peace. The Art of Peace introduces two new monastic traditions, the all-new Envoy background, and 8 maneuvers for monks who value their karma. By Josh Gentry.

Volumes of Forgotten Lore: Arcane

From veteran author Ari Marmell (Drow of the Underdark, Tome of Magic, The Goblin Corps, Thief's Covenant) comes this look at new player options for the bard, sorcerer, and wizard. The Bardic College of Names, the Dread sorcerous origin, and the Shadowcaller tradition for the wizard make up this first chapter of forgotten lore.