Hello duet-ing friends! Happy summer, to those in the Northern hemisphere, and happy winter to those in the Southern hemisphere!
I have a slightly different post to share with you today, but it’s key to the future of what’s happening with D&D Duet, Grove Guardian Press, and 5e tabletop gaming!
Friends of the blog (and our favorite 5e publisher!), Kobold Press, have been working on a public, open core ruleset that updates 5th edition D&D mechanics and keeps them available for GMs, players, and designers. If you followed what was happening in January with the OGL, you may remember this as Project Black Flag.
But as Kobold Press explains, black flags are about rebellion, and they wanted to create something new, something better, and to stand for something in the ttRPG community. From this desire, the Core Fantasy Roleplaying game emerged.
Core Fantasy Roleplaying
The ruleset and mechanics for CFR should be available in 2024, and we’ll make sure that all of our adventures and campaigns are CFR-compatible from that point forward.
For those who prefer to keep using the 5th edition (official) D&D books, don’t worry! We’ll be 5e-compatible too! Part of what we think is so exciting about Kobold Press’s new direction is that they’re protecting both the creators and consumers in our community. You don’t have to go out and buy a whole new set of books, and creators can make new, innovative content confident in the fact that the foundation of their work will be protected.
We are incredibly thankful that Wizards of the Coast listened to the community and released the SRD with a Creative Commons license. For those who followed everything in January of this year, thank you for your support and encouragement during that time (and since)!
But, if you do want to add to your ttRPG collection, especially if you’re looking for some new and improved mechanics, we have wonderful news for you! (Also if you want to support the wide and wonderful 5e community, this is also for you!)
Tales of the Valiant
Kobold Press has just launched Tales of the Valiant of Kickstarter!
The Kickstarter revolves around the two-book set for Tales of the Valiant: the Player’s Guide and the Monster Vault. (How nice is it that there are two books instead of three?!) There’s also some cool bonus options, like the Partner Adventure Pack, seven one-shot adventures for $25.
So what’s the difference between Tales of the Valiant and Core Fantasy Roleplaying? CFR is the central set of mechanics—like a gaming skeleton—which different creators and GMs can flesh out as they wish. ToV is Kobold Press’s specific iteration of CFR, so it includes mechanics, classes, and creatures you won’t find anywhere else.
You can read more about Tales of the Valiant on their website, and, perhaps even more importantly, you can support the future of 5e tabletop gaming by supporting their Kickstarter!
Example alternative mechanic: Clerics
As an example of the type of tweaks that Tales of the Valiant is making to 5e, they’ve updated the Cleric class so that Clerics (and their GMs) have more options. Instead of Turn Undead or Destroy Undead, they’ve shifted the mechanics to Turn the Profane and Destroy the Profane. This gives Clerics the chance to repel both undead and fiends, which opens up way more creatures, settings, and encounters in-game!
Lineage + Heritage
They’ve also veered away from race and are using lineage and heritage, a move I absolutely love. Lineage reflects a character’s hereditary traits and includes humans, elves, and dwarves. But heritage refers to how and where a character grew up, what their cultural influences were. ToV adds Beastkin to the lineages which will make for some really intriguing characters!
Separating out lineage and heritage is going to give the player in your duet game so many more options for personalizing their character’s backstory and mechanics. (For more ideas on bringing together backstory and class, check out this post.)
Check out the Kickstarter for the ToV preview PDF where you can find these mechanics, new spells and creatures, and more! (Doom points are another personal favorite!)
An Incredible New Setting!
There’s a second Kickstarter running right now that looks absolutely amazing: Koboa, a South American setting created by an entirely South American team that will be available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese!
(Yes, I am already daydreaming about my Druid of the Feral Circle and her best friend, either one of the Rangers of the Sacred Below or the new class of Brujes!)
Koboa will be compatible with CFR, 5e, and Pathfinder 2e. As part of the Tales of the Valiant kickstarter, the designers are creating a one-shot adventure for the Partner Adventure Pack!
There’s also an add-on pledge option for gifting a PDF to a pool for players and creators in the Global South which, if you’re able, I encourage you to contribute to.
The Koboa Kickstarter runs through June 8th. Tales of the Valiant runs through June 23rd.
There are so many cool things happening in our community, and I hope you find these amazing creative projects as exciting and inspiring as I do!
We’d love to hear your thoughts and questions!