dmdave

[Monsters of the Day] Days 115-116/366 - Steel Ones

These massive, vaguely-humanoid creatures appear to be made from seamless black iron. They have four long arms and featureless faces. While it's unknown where the steel ones actually come from, it's believed that they are the servant guardians of Zistruenope, the great iron planet that exists at the edge of the Cosmos.

In the adventure, Creed of Iron, the steel ones are mysteriously under the cult fanatic Ozrolos' control. How Ozrolos obtained such power is a mystery even to Oz...

Welcome to Omeria - Campaign Primer

This document is a precursor to the full primer that should be appearing sooner or later. But at least it'll answer a few questions that some folks have had regarding the Long Continent.

Enjoy!

Creed of Iron | New 3rd-Level Adventure for Fifth Edition

Edit: Added a map pack to the adventure. Enjoy!

Before the rise of Odonburg as Omeria’s most powerful nation, the largest and most prosperous country in Omeria was the Glorious Empire of Karnione. Sadly, Karnione collapsed shortly after the Transmuter Wars of the early 7th century, in what many believe the true first Hand of the One. Unlike many modern Omerian civilizations, Karnione worshipped multiple gods, commonly referred to as the Karnionic Pantheon. The Pantheo...

Tentative Release Schedule

Hey all!

Hope you're all having an awesome Mom's Day. Here's the release schedule that we're looking at for the rest of this month (so far).

• Monday 5/11 - Creed of Iron (3rd Level)
• Wednesday 5/13 - Untitled Forest Encampment One-Shot
• Friday 5/15 - Hand of the Eight Chapter 9: A Boy and His Tarrasque
• Monday 5/18 - Untitled Gothic Horror One-Shot
• Wednesday 5/20 - Tusk-Faced Rabble Rousers (9th Level)
• Thursday 5/21 - Top Secret Colla...
  2020-05-10 17:27:18 +0000 UTC View Post

Physical books update

Hey all,

Some folks have asked me about this again, so likely I'll just put up regular updates on this.

All books will start mailing as soon as this week, possibly next week. Coronavirus slowed things down a bit for us (I had stay-at-home orders with threat of $750 fines until last week) but the books will be back on track starting soon.

Here is how it works:

• If you are currently a gold or platinum member, you will receive 1 book for every $25 th...
  2020-05-10 16:49:31 +0000 UTC View Post

[Poll] May 18th One Shot

Hey folks!

Sarge and I have most of the content for the next week planned out. However, we don't have anything set in stone for the 18th yet (it's the Monday after next). I thought I might toss it out to all of you with a survey on what kinda content we should create.

I've created adventure suggestions based roughly on all the major 5e campaign books. Of course, all of these will be Omeria'fied in the end. 

Enjoy!

[366 Days of Monsters] Day 114/366 - Stonearm

When a Castlegrapsian soldier proves his or herself during training, demonstrating immeasurable virtue, they are encouraged to take the March of the Stonearms. The soldier must enter the first mine and seek the dao Gasta-Harrak. From there, he or she must kneel before the dao and offer his or herself to the dao just as the first Khan did two-hundred years prior. If Gasta-Harrak detects the spirit of the Khan within the soldier, they are granted her blessing—an arm of stone. However, if she ...

[Poll] Boxed Texts: Yay or Nay?

Hey all!

I've cut down on boxed texts (sometimes called descriptive text or read-aloud text) recently as a way to streamline the content. But I was wondering... what are your thoughts on boxed texts? Do you like it? Or do you dislike it? Let me in this poll!

Deadrunners | New 7th-Level Adventure for Fifth Edition

Update: fixed a few embarrassing typos. Whoops.

The Wither is the two-million square mile wasteland bordering Aspaeth and Dorithell. Most Central and Southern Omerian traders avoid The Wither. Instead, they travel by sea, evocraft, or along the narrow coasts. However, there are a brave (or mad?) few who dare to travel through the merciless expanse. These traders are known as Deadrunners.

From gnolls to desert bandits to mad druids and month-long sandstorms, Deadrunners fa...

Sorry for a lack of update today!

Hey all!

Sorry no monster earlier today. I've got another adventure hitting tomorrow morning and then another on Monday, so those have kept me busy. PLUS I just hired Jennifer Craig—Scott, BroadSword's chief editor's wife—to handle fulfillment and logistics for BroadSword plus all future DMDave products. Very exciting news all around!

Anyways, look for more great content as I continue to run through my list of goodies for you.

Talk soon!

[366 Days of Monsters] Day 113/366 - Desert Drake

Found primarily in Desolation of Ditimaya, The Obsidian Plain, and The Wither, desert drakes are the much more aggressive and animalistic cousins of the Great Chromatics. Content to do nothing more than hunt, sleep, and procreate, these dragons are the bane of desert inhabitants throughout Central Omeria.

Fortunately, in the Desolation, desert drakes are actively hunted by the Ghosts of the Leash. Their sandy hides are used to line and camouflage Ghost armor, evovehicles, and fortresses...

So what's DMDave working on?

No, I'm not playing solitaire!

Above is a picture of the Project Management Tool that I use called Trello. Everything you see there is pretty much what's slated for the rest of this month. You'll recognize some popular entries such as Hot8 part 9, some one-shots, and also a few commissions I'm working on for pals (Mr. Griffon's Saddlebag is on there).

Now that I'm organized we're crushing content. So expect to see a whole lot more goodies popping up including a M-W-F one-shot cade...

Hunger | New 4th-Level Adventure for Fifth Edition

The FREE download file for the adventure is included at the bottom of this post. For mobile users, there is a button that reads "Become a patron"—this is optional (recommended, but optional).

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Gnolls are pseudo-demonic humanoids possessed by an insatiable hunger. And in The Wither, the great wasteland bordering Aspaeth and Dorithell, gnolls are an incurable plague. Southern Omerian traders are forced with two options: completely avoid The Wit...

[366 Days of Monsters] Days 111-112 - Gnoll Zombie and Gnoll Sand Lord

The following gnoll variants appear in the upcoming 4th-level adventure, Hunger, by DMDave, Tom Cartos, and Paper Forge.

Gnoll Zombie

Those gnolls who die from hunger don't stay down long. Dead gnolls return as withered, undead husks, propped up by the desert's fury itself. Their hollow carcasses writhe with insects that spill forth when the gnoll takes considerable damage.

Gnoll Sand Lord

Shamans who rise above the mortal...

Omeria/Orbea Book Status

Hey all,

Some of you have been asking for an Omeria/Orbea source book. I'm buying original art for it and a lot of it is full-color, so it might be a few days before I can get rolling on it.

In the mean time, I'll probably throw together a primer for the world itself so you all can get started. Also, if you didn't see, the BroadSword #6 preview had a full section on Omeria's geography, so you might check that out, too.

Anyways, thanks for being patient! In the meantime, I've...

[366 Days of Monsters] Days 109-110/366 - Giant Gnoll and Gnoll Scout

The following gnoll variants appear in the upcoming 4th-level adventure, Hunger, by DMDave, Tom Cartos, and Paper Forge.

Giant Gnoll

From back paw to snout, giant gnolls measure over 20 feet in length. Their toothy-maws are as large as alligator jaws with twice the strength. Gnollish war parties use these ferocious creatures as natural siege weapons and bodyguards for the gnoll chiefs and shamans. Surprisingly, they are docile, content to follow the ord...

[366 Days of Monsters] Day 108/366 - Fetch

Certainly, there were countless of horrors spawned by the Transmuter Wars of the early 7th century. However, there were none worse than the disgusting shapechangers known as fetches. Loikiel, unhappy with the freewill his doppelgangers possessed, created fetches to act as covert agents in his armies. Outrageously evil, the creatures would infiltrate humanoid and danaavrakti fortresses, absorb their numbers, and move on to the next location like locusts. Difficult to control, Loikiel commanded...

BroadSword Physical Copies Start Mailing Next Week

Hey all,

Someone asked when back copies are coming. Good news, folks! Today the Stay at Home order lifted for my state, which means I can start up again. 

So here's the protocol:

• First, Scott and are getting proofs sent to us for issues #5 and #6. We should get those (hopefully) by the end of next week.
• If the proofs look good (they usually do), I'll start building out the orders for those of you who are waiting on back issues.
• I...
  2020-05-01 20:48:56 +0000 UTC View Post

[BroadSword Monthly #6] Book and Free Preview

This title has now been retired to the DMDave.com store!

• Get BroadSword Monthly Issue #6 PDF One-Time Purchase 
• Get BroadSword Monthly Issue #6 Print One-Time Purchase 

Exciting news today as BroadSword Mont...

[BroadSword Subscription+] Master Post

For ease of storing files, I'm going to be using this post as a master post. It'll be bookmarked to the archive so if you want to download all the files as one, you can easily do so from here.

[366 Days of Monsters ] Days 106-107/366 - Gnoll Variants

The following gnoll variants appear in the upcoming 4th-level adventure, Hunger, by DMDave, Tom Cartos, and Paper Forge.

Gnoll War Chief

The gnolls of The Wither are vicious humanoids barely a step up from the hyenas with whom they share their appearance. Thus, it's rare for a Wither-based gnoll war party to last more than a few months, but those that do do so thanks to the "leadership" (if one can call it that) of their war chiefs. Gnoll war chiefs are...

Happy May! I Need Monster Suggestions

Hey all!

The last CoS sunk to the bottom of the pile. So I need some more monster suggestions.

Give me your idea for a monster below. Usual rules apply:

• Try not to make your description longer than 140 characters (a tweet's length).
• Nothing that's already someone else's IP (ie I can't make Wolverine).
• Precedence goes in order of Platinum > Gold etc. in terms of which ones I make.

Thanks!

Tomorrow!

Awesome news everyone, but BroadSword #6 will officially hit tomorrow. In addition to this badass cover by Justin David Russell, #6 will include regular artwork from the most excellent Matias Lazaro. Here are a few of those images (bonus points if you know which adventures they go to):

<...

[366 Days of Monsters] Day 105/366 - Striped Man

Although it's rare, sometimes the dire illusionist, Uncle Skeleton, sends his minions out into The Real to cause trouble. Among his favorites for such tasks are the bizarre striped men. A striped man looks like a thin, seven-foot-tall humanoid wearing thick, cloth armor with gray ripples, from which it gets its moniker. The rippled, gray material is then sliced open where its head would be to create a "mouth." Those with upturned mouths are "smilers", those with downturned mouths are "frowner...

Vadriken #3 - Omeria-Based Comic Book by DMDave and Bodie

Vadriken's adventure continues on page 3.  Last we saw Vadriken, he tried talking his way out of trouble with some goblins. Unfortunately, the pickle heads weren't having it.

What is Vadriken?

This comic series is a collaborative effort between myself and Bodieh, one of the interior artists for BroadSword Monthly.  2020-04-30 02:39:21 +0000 UTC View Post

Titan's Heir Ch 3. Grihoo | New 3rd-Level Adventure for Fifth Edition

Note: this is a FREE adventure. The download links are toward the bottom of this post. For mobile users, it has a button that says "become a Patron" but that is optional if you want to upgrade the adventure with DMDave's enhancements.

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This adventure is designed for three to seven 2nd- to 4th-level characters and is optimized for five characters with an average party level (APL) of 3. Characters outside this level range cannot p...

Coming Soon™ (and new adventure tomorrow...)

Yeah, so I added another 30 pages worth of supplemental material to this week's mega adventure, so sorry for the hold up. The good news is that 95% of it has already been proofed, so it's just waiting on me to make corrections.

Also, I've started commissioning the art for the first Campaign Book in Omeria, the infamous city of Orbea. Up top is the working cover, but I'm having a brand new artist work on a redesign for the infamous city of the krigs as we speak.

Anyways, look for t...

Once again, I may have gotten carried away...

This week has been busy as heck! Without a day job to turn to, I dove right into the content, especially the major TOP SECRET release coming out this Tuesday'sh (proofing-pending). While I can't give away too many secrets about what's in store, here are the elements that have gone into this thing:

• A core adventure module with 40+ pages
• A supplement with 20+ pages that includes a new subclass and background plus a handful of revamped monsters (as well as one or two new one...
  2020-04-27 00:35:15 +0000 UTC View Post

[366 Days of Monsters] Days 103-104/366 - Serpent Whisperer Snakes

The Serpent Whisperers of Grihoo have a natural kinship with serpents. Through simple gestures and hissing sounds, they can communicate with snakes and direct them to perform simple tasks.

In addition to the anacondas, cobras, and other snake varieties that exist on The Skeleton Key, the island is also home to two unique serpents: lava cobras and needleblast boas.

Lava Cobra

Although the nameless mountain's three volcanoes haven't erupted in centuries, mag...

Books are coming as soon as the end of next week.

Hey all,

Books #4-#6 will be mailed as soon as next week. For those of you who've been here for a few months, thanks so much for your patience. 

Starting Monday, I'm going to be going through the list of Patrons at the Gold and Platinum levels here and seeing who is owed books. I'll be cross-referencing that list with the books I've already mailed. So if you're owed a few books (say you've spent $75 or so in the last three months and you're currently a gold tier member) you'l...