City of Salt in Wounds Campaign Setting for PF and 5e

The immortal, unkillable tarrasque has devastated country after country, civilization after civilization. The creature's rampage has been stopped few times in recorded history, only to rise from its grave to haunt a new generation long after its previous destroyers are dead.

But no longer.

The tarrasque has once again been defeated, but instead of killing the apocalyptic kaiju, it has been mystically bound - never dying, constantly regenerating, to empower and corrupt the ecology, economy, alchemy, magic, politics, and citizens of the metropolis called Salt in Wounds.

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The City of Salt in Wounds is one of the most original, dark, and creative settings I've ever read. Developed and expanded over the past year through JM Perkins' Patreon account, Salt in Wounds is now available to the wider world.

I can't recommend this setting highly enough, and at the $50 level you receive a treasure trove of goodies that include my own Alchemist for 5e. Alchemy plays a huge role in Salt in Wounds and I'm honored that JM has included one of my books in this Kickstarter.

Come catch a glimpse into the mind of JM Perkins, and the amazing creative team he's assembled.

You can check out Salt in Wounds in action on the Actual Play podcast, The GM's Showcase, and read tons of playtest material on www.saltinwoundssetting.com!

EDIT: As of the time of this posting, the Salt in Wounds setting is already 60% funded in just a few hours!

5th Edition Builds: Barbarian (Path of the Dragonwyld)

Like barbarians with spirit totems, those that follow the path of the dragonwyld tap into the primal spirit that gave birth to dragons. Dragonwyld barbarians can shrug off elemental damage, summon a breath weapon, project an aura of fear, and even fly for short distances.

Talking Aquatic Campaigns with the Dungeon Master's Block

Pop over to the Dungeon Master's Block podcast this week to hear DM Mitch, DM Chris, and Yours Truly talking about aquatic campaigns in fantasy and scifi RPGs of all stripes.

Tired of your grognards knowing the stats of every dragon, demon, and droid you throw their way? Want to see your new players push the edge of their roleplaying and tactical envelopes? Come find out why aquatic campaigns are the next great frontier of RPGs.

http://dungeonmasterblock.podbean.com/e/ep-19-under-the-sea/

5th Edition Builds: Rogue (Thug)

Not all rogues are either dextrous or smart. Some have learned the tough lessons of the street and turned to their strength and presence to stay alive. Commonly called a thug, this rogue archetype is the cornerstone of many a thieve's guild. Untrained in the fancy techniques of the fighter, the thug relies on brute force and cheap shots to get the job done.

Guest on the Dungeon Master's Block Podcast

Just finished recording a guest spot for DM Mitch and DM Chris at the Dungeon Master's Block podcast. Huge thanks to my wonderful hosts. Had a great time discussing aquatic campaigns from fantasy to scifi, plus classic D&D modules, cross-genre games, and more. I even snuck in some DC comics love; Mitch was very gracious letting a little DC into his Marvel world. :-)

Now that I think about it, I'm not sure why we didn't fold the superhero genre more into this discussion. Probably need to save that for its own podcast since Mitch and I may devolve into a Namor vs Aquaman debate.

The episode is due for posting on Sunday, Feb 1st. I'll update this post when it does.

5th Edition Class Builds: Alchemist (Pyromancer)

The Pyromancer is an archetype for the Alchemist class and is one of eight traditions, including Metamoporhs, Poisoners, Artificers, Reanimators, Herbwardens, and more. You'll need the core class presented in the original article and this to play the pyromancer.

Pyromancer

Bonus FormulaDespite their nom de guerre, pyromancers are experts in fireworks, explosives, and energy manipulation beyond simple fire. Sought after by royalty and warbands alike, both for their ability to entertain as destroy enemies en masse, the skills of a skilled pyromancer go for a high price and their names reach farther and wider than many wizards. 

The majority of mixtures created by pyromancers take the form of bombs, rockets, explosive vials, and empowered ranged weapons and ammunition such as sling bullets and crossbows. Many pyromancers devise their mixtures in the form of primitive firearms and cannons.

As with other alchemical traditions, pyromancers can create simple mixtures outside of explosions. Skilled pyromancers not only create fireball-launching mortars and melf's acid arrow firing crossbows, but healing mixtures and defensive devices such as potions of expeditious retreat, automated field defenses (shield), and force field projectors (mage armor).

For the full archetype, link over to Rich's Gameroom at: http://tribality.com/2015/01/19/richs-gameroom-the-alchemist-pyromancer/

5th Edition Aquatic Builds: Cacaelia

Art by riviel

The history of the cecaelias as a race is all but unknown to scholars of the surface world. Though some surface dwellers believe they are a subrace of merfolk, this race of cephaloids, and indeed the merfolk, would take great offense at the comparison. Most merfolk scholars attribute the race's origins to the Age of Aboleth, paralleling the race's creation to that of the tieflings of the surface world. The subrace of Deep cecaelia embrace the comparison, while the more social and civilized cecaelia found in tropical regions claim no such association.

Cecaelia are not nearly as wide-spread as the ubiquitous merfolk and rarely have direct contact with air-breathing cultures. Cecaelia live in small, nomadic family groups, living with their families until they reach maturity around age 10, at which time they may leave the family group and strike out on their own. Cecaelia settlements average a few dozen members, with any larger than a few hundred being extremely rare. Individual members are often found within the settlements of other sentient aquatic races, such as merfolk, sahaugin, and koa-toa.