Campaign Setting

“You have travelled through a desolate wilderness and, after braving untold hardships and dangers, reached the base of Mount Othrys, legendary headquarters of the Titans during their war with the Olympian gods. Before you the valley widens out and, at its center, is a small, rugged hill, a ring of large standing stones at its top marking it as a place of worship since the earliest times. On the western side of this mound of rock, the Rematia River expands into a small lake, and on the eastern side a plume of smoke rises from the ground between it and the mountain. Scrubby copses of vegetation cling to the base of the hill, and sparse rolling grassland lies in the quarter of a mile that separates you from it. You know that you have surely arrived at the Shrine of Othrys.”

“At the Shrine of Othrys” is a self-standing, campaign-length 5^th Edition adventure designed for a party of four or five 1^st-level characters and intended to take them to at least 5^th level and to lay the groundwork for continuing scenarios and advancement. This 118-page sourcebook includes:

● A complete, detailed, five-part dungeon, along with history and background of the site and notes on how to run the adventure;

● Descriptions and stat blocks for 63 monsters, including 24 Mephits, six Special Monsters, three Titanic Clergy, 18 Humanoids and Soldiery, and 12 members of the Cult of the Fish-Born;

● An Encounter Table for the region around Mount Othrys that allows for sandbox play;

● Four ready-to-use Pregenerated Characters.

● More than 70 illustrations by artists Bob Greyvenstein, Amanda Kahl, and Brenda Cass;

● Four maps by cartographers Amanda Kahl, Octavius Knorr, and Art Gowie; and,

● Guidelines on concluding and continuing the adventure.

This scenario is was developed for use in Skirmisher Publishing’s bestselling Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting and highlights some of the themes and tensions associated with it. It is, however, suitable for use in any traditional milieu, and the dungeon and even the wilderness area surrounding it can be easily dropped anywhere appropriate in a storyteller’s own world. It is fully supported with free supplemental material on a dedicated “At the Shrine of Othrys” Bonus Content page at d-Infinity Online game magazine.

This free publication provides an overview of the Kickstarter campaign for “At the Shrine of Othrys,” a fun, detailed, and compelling 5th Edition D&D adventure designed to take a party of characters from 1st to 4th level! It includes descriptions for nine reward levels, more than two-dozen colorful stretch goals, samples of images by artists Bob Greyvenstein, Art Gowie, and Amanda Kahl that will appear in the final publication, and two new monsters, the Lightning Mephit and Lightning Mephit Stormrider. 

This project overall will include a complete dungeon, entries for two-dozen new monsters, maps and encounter tables for the wilderness area around Mount Othrys, a detailed novella-length campaign report, and a complete pregenerated character party. It is also intended to both lay the groundwork for and provide a storyteller with the resources needed to continue the campaign into upper levels. 

“At the Shrine of Othrys” begins in the rugged foothills surrounding ominous Mount Othrys, located in a desolate wilderness on the Greek mainland and the legendary headquarters of the Titans during their war with the gods. Characters have learned about the presence of an ancient shrine that has lain untouched and hidden beneath the hills for a century and, even as cultists respond to a call-to-arms and converge on it, set out to explore it. Lost knowledge, treasure, and a chance to strike a blow against chaos and evil await those brave and canny enough to find and breach the cyclopean portals that guard this grim place …

Ethiopia is one of the oldest, strangest, and most fascinating places in the world and its history, peoples, legends, and folklore can serve as rich sources of inspiration for encounters, whole adventures, or even entire campaigns.

Contents of this book are extrapolated from such lore; from references in classical mythology and other external sources to events in Ethiopia; and from firsthand research by the author during a research trip that included visits to sites around the country, from the ancient cities of Axum and Lalibela to numerous museums and the Institute for Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University.

Welcome to Aigyptos!

This 5th Edition sourcebook can be used in a number of ways. One is to provide a backdrop for self-standing Egyptian-style adventures that do not already have a setting associated with them. Another is to provide a mini-setting sufficient to allow characters to visit or travel through a land reminiscent of ancient Egypt. Yet another is to introduce such a country with an eye to using it for ongoing adventures.

Something has invaded Moira's, a popular Dwarven restaurant established in an old mine in the hills outside of the city where your party is currently adventuring! Now, it falls to you to learn what ancient evil has crawled up from the depths, to drive it out if possible, and to rescue an ill-fated squad of Dwarf militiamen if they are still alive. 

"Into the Mines of Moira" contains: 

* A complete small dungeon with nine encounter areas. 

* 15 sets of new or variant monster stats. 

*Custom illustrations by fantasy artist Amanda Kahl. 

* A dungeon map by cartographer William T. Thrasher. 

* Five detailed pre-generated 5th-level Player Characters — Dwarf Fighter Trodecarn, Human Rogue Paros, Half-Elf Cleric Selene, Tiefling Wizard Malyo, and Human Bard Desdinova — each fully stat'ed and equipped and with new and unique Personality Traits, Ideals, Flaws, and Bonds. 

* Guidelines on “Making a Bomb.” 

* Three new spells.

* Two new magic items.

* Three sorts of “Improved Alchemical Substances.”

This adventure is designed for a balanced party of five 5th-level adventurers, one of which is ideally a Dwarf, but should work fine as-is for groups that are lower-level but larger or higher-level but smaller, and can be easily modified to accommodate other needs. It has specifically been designed to be fully compatible with Skirmisher Publishing’s Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, and to reveal more information about and facilitate further play within it, but it can be just as easily dropped into any traditional milieu. 

"Into the Mines of Moira" is fully supported at d-Infinity Online game magazine! Check out the dedicated page there to find tie-in fiction, printable miniatures, new and alternate stats, and more. 

This title contains 44 full-color miniatures by artist Amanda Kahl representing men, monsters, and animals that might be found in a fantasy campaign setting wholly or partially based on or inspired by the history, folklore, and mythology of Ethiopia (and to some extent Egypt). Almost all of these creatures also fit well in any sort of a fantasy campaign setting, of course, and these miniatures are therefore a good fit for role-playing games set in many different milieux and can be used in a wide variety of scenarios and situations. 

All of the creatures presented here are also fully stat’ed in Skirmisher Publishing LLC’s Men & Monsters of Ethiopia sourcebook for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Brief descriptions excerpted from that book of the various men and monsters presented here appear in the publication. They range in size from Small to Gargantuan and four of them also have up to three variants provided for them. 

This free mini-publication is dedicated to bonus content tying in with Skirmisher Publishing’s “Into the Mines of Moira” adventure for the 5th Edition D&D!

All these items described in it — including two 5E backgrounds, a detailed NPC, a downloadable cardstock miniature, and a fun short story — are self-standing and can also be enjoyed on their own, used in conjunction with other scenarios, etc. We very much hope you will enjoy it and the adventure it has been created to support!

In the Footsteps of Hercules is an 86-page system-free sourcebook devoted to a pilgrimage trail that can be used in con­junction with any fantasy role-playing game. This book describes the various sections of the trail and the prevailing terrain and conditions associated with them; how most pilgrims travel them; alternate ways some pilgrims choose to approach the trail overall or specific parts of it; the things they generally hope to accomplish along the way; and things they might encounter on it.

There are many ways this book can be used and en­joyed. One is to simply read it as a work of fantasy fiction inspired by the myths, legends, history, and ge­ography of Greece. Another is to use it as inspiration or a model for pilgrimage trails in your own stories or role-playing game campaigns. Yet another is as a setting for roleplaying game adventures of various sorts.

In the Footsteps of Hercules is a fully-supported product and we have been developing a wide variety of support material for it, to include D&D 5E game content, fiction, and actual-play game sessions. We have created at d-Infinity Online game magazine a special In the Footsteps of Hercules Bonus Content page with links to all of this material and will regularly update it, so keep an eye on it for new additions.

This book was created as a specific example of a Pilgrimage Trail, one of the 85 general sorts of places that appear in Skirmisher Publishing's bestselling City Builder: A Guide to Designing Communities. As written, this trail is dedicated to the titular demigod and is set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Peloponnesian Peninsula of Greece and located within the company’s Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting. It can easily, however, be dedicated to any other appropriate deity or cause and dropped into virtually any other existing milieu and has deliberately been designed to be compat­ible with any of what Gary Gygax used to refer to as “a traditional fantasy campaign setting.” 

Welcome to the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, a swords-and-sorcery milieu set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Mediterranean and the lands surrounding it! It is set a century after a Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world, plunged it into chaos, and reawakened magic and all form of ancient races and monsters. Now, the agents of Gods and Titans struggle against each other on behalf of their masters, nations strive to survive or dominate one another, and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and lost technology.

This publication contains complete system-free encounter tables for one of the nation-states that appears in the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, the Republic of Rome, and for Swamps, one of the terrain types covered in it.

Other country tables that appear in the campaign setting are devoted to encounters in the countries of Kos, Abbadonia, Aígyptos, Amazonia, the Tetrarchy of Anatolia, Attica & City State of Athens, Çatalhöyük, Gades (City of the Dead), the Magocracy of Mesopotamia, the Grand Duchy of Porphyris, the Grand Redoubt of Trinacria, the Kingdom of Tyre, and the Syndicracy of Zueri. Other terrain types covered in it include Coastal, Desert, Forest, Hill, Mountain, and Plains.

These tables can be used either individually or in conjunction with each another, and within the context of the Kos campaign setting or as part of any other appropriate milieu.

Upholding its reputation as a place where people can find beverages from any known land can sometimes be a challenge for the Four Winds Bar and its proprietor, the retired marine Cratinus. Fortunately for him, however, he has managed to establish a mutually profitable relationship with the man known as Nithernos the Ale’er, whose knowledge of beverages and skill with lockpicks and daggers — and access to a very special enchanted item — make him the ideal supplier.

“Nithernos the Ale’er” is a fun, self-standing swords-and-sorcery fantasy short story by author John Giddens that takes place in the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, a Dark Ages fantasy milieu set in the Mediterranean and the lands surrounding it. A century after the old world was plunged into chaos, reawakening magic and all form of ancient races and monsters, the worshippers of Gods and Titans battle each other, nations struggle to survive and flourish, and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and forgotten knowledge. 

“Dark Inheritance: Journey to Kos City,” an exciting 100-page swords-and-sorcery fantasy novella by author Chris Van Deelen, follows Half-Drow Jaeger, Orc-blood Jarem, and Tiefling Viya as they are dispatched on a mission for the Five Animals Monastery that is their home. And, while they are prepared for hazards like bandits and wild beasts, the unfamiliar environment of cities and those that inhabit them might pose the greatest challenges to the young companions …

“Dark Inheritance: Journey to Kos City” takes place in the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, a swords-and-sorcery milieu set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Mediterranean and the lands surrounding it. A century after a Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world, plunged it into chaos, and reawakened magic and all form of ancient races and monsters, the agents of Gods and Titans struggle against each other, nations struggle to survive and flourish, and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and forgotten knowledge. 

This fantasy short story by game developer Eric Lis, M.D., follows three bounty hunters on the track of a fugitive mage and, as they close in on him, reveals how they may have bitten off more than they are able to swallow. Because sometimes there really is such a thing as too much alcohol …

“Pateon Fnordseeker and the Day He Gave Up Drinking” includes illustrations by fantasy artists Phillippe St. Gerard and William T. Thrasher is available at the Skirmisher PDF Shop for 99¢. 

“Pateon Fnordseeker and the Day He Gave Up Drinking” takes place in the bestselling Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, a swords-and-sorcery milieu set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Aegean and the lands surrounding it. A century after a Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world, plunged it into chaos, and reawakened magic and all form of ancient races and monsters, the agents of Gods and Titans struggle against each other, nations strive to survive or dominate one another, and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and lost technology. 

This fantasy fiction short story looks at a chaotic annual street festival through the eyes of a veteran guard officer trying to keep order in his particularly troublesome area of the city! Join Captain Ivan Pieger, commander of the prestigious Hippodrome Commanderie, as he tries to put together the pieces of incidents that have caught his attention and deals with the 100th annual celebration of the victory of the Olympian Gods over the Titans. 

This story is by author Michael O. Varhola and has illustrations by artists Amanda Kahl and William T. Thrasher.

“Hekaton” takes place in the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, a swords-and-sorcery milieu set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Aegean and the lands surrounding it. A century after a Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world, plunged it into chaos, and reawakened magic and all form of ancient races and monsters, the agents of Gods and Titans struggle against each other, nations strive to survive or dominate one another, and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and lost technology. 

 “Swords of Kos: Unfamiliar Ground,” an exciting 66-page swords-and-sorcery fantasy short story by author and artist Sharon Daugherty, opens upon the festive chaos of the “Hekaton,” the biggest party of the century, as it sweeps across Kos City in a maelstrom of revelry, intoxication, and plays depicting the war between the Olympian Gods and the Titans.

A sinister plot is being hatched just out of sight of boozy merrymakers and the authorities alike, however, and when a visiting Gnome stops to help someone who has been badly injured an adventure begins that will carry them away from the bright city and into conflict with a dark and dangerous enemy. 

“Unfamiliar Ground” takes place in the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, a swords-and-sorcery milieu set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Aegean and the lands surrounding it. A century after a Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world, plunged it into chaos, and reawakened magic and all form of ancient races and monsters, the agents of Gods and Titans struggle against each other, nations strive to survive or dominate one another, and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and lost technology. 

“The Price of Land,” a swords-and-sorcery fantasy short story by author and game developer D.M. Fitzgerald, follows three adventurers, wily Sandra, burly Reddog, and clever Alarac, as they enter the tunnels beneath a sprawling city of the dead and, for better or worse, find their fortunes there.

“The Price of Land” takes place in the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, a swords-and-sorcery milieu set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Aegean and the lands surrounding it. A century after a Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world, plunged it into chaos, and reawakened magic and all form of ancient races and monsters, the agents of Gods and Titans struggle against each other, nations strive to survive or dominate one another, and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and lost technology. 

“Bloodsuckers” follows a party of intrepid adventurers as they stumble across a band of undead monsters and resolve to track them across the wine-dark sea to their nest on a tiny, disease-ridden island situated off a marshy coast. As they overcome their fears and push on with their mission, however, they are met with one surprise after another and have revealed to them horrors that go beyond their wildest expectations. Join monster hunter Shovelless, Olympian priest Kord, wizard Zoltar, wily little rogue Loleda, and agent of fortune Desdinova on their dark and dangerous quest. 

“Bloodsuckers” takes place in the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, a swords-and-sorcery milieu set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Aegean and the lands surrounding it. A century after a Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world, plunged it into chaos, and reawakened magic and all form of ancient races and monsters, the agents of Gods and Titans struggle against each other, nations strive to survive or dominate one another, and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and lost technology. 

Swords of Kos: Necropolis follows the adventures of Paros, a streetwise rogue with a penchant for alchemy, Parthenia, a savage female Elf barbarian, and Selene, a priestess of the outlawed Titan moon goddess, as they brave the hazards of a long-abandoned cemetery and the catacombs that lie beneath it. Dangerous though the hazards and supernatural guardians of this place are, an even greater threat might be the Necropolis itself ...

Inspired by the works of classic swords-and-sorcery authors like Fritz Lieber, Jack Vance, and Robert E. Howard,  this bestselling 172-page swords-and-sorcery fantasy novel by author Michael O. Varhola includes striking illustrations by artist Amanda Kahl and maps by William T. Thrasher.

“The Dinner Party” is a fun and amusing short story that follows a party of adventurers on a quest to spend an evening out and find a suitable place to eat!

This self-standing tale is set in Skirmisher Publishing’s Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting takes place shortly after the events described in the bestselling swords-and-sorcery novel Swords of Kos: Necropolis and in the same location as the adventure "Into the Mines of Moira" (5 pages, 50¢).

Welcome to the Necropolis! These downloadable paper miniatures are based on characters and creatures from the Swords of Kos novels Necropolis and Return to the Necropolis and the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting and can be used in any sort of fantasy roleplaying games.

"Heroes and Monsters of the Necropolis" contains 14 different custom miniatures, four of which are provided in multiple sizes and/or color schemes. They include:

Paros, Rogue/Alchemist

Parthenia, Elf Barbarian

Selene, Half-Elf Cleric

Pumayo, Tiefling Wizard/Transmuter

Shade of a Koan Lady

Nithernos the Ale’er

Corporal Conrad of the Kos City Guard

Trodecarn, Dwarf Fighter/Combat Engineer

Animated Shield

Mummy/Embalmed Zombie

“Achilles,” Animated Bronze Statue (in two sizes)

Sarcophagi (Marble, Wood, and Ornate, in four sizes)

Kidna, Fiendish Viper Familiar (in two color schemes and three sizes)

Skeletal Cerberus (in three sizes)

In “The Rite,” a fun and exciting fantasy short story by author Chris Van Deelen, Half-Drow martial artist Jaeger faces the greatest ordeal of his young life when he is forced to battle his two closest friends in the arena of the Five Animals Monastery. Unbeknownst to him, however, that will not be the toughest or most lethal challenge he will face when his past comes back to haunt him and the bonds of blood and friendship are put to the ultimate test. 

“The Rite” takes place in the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, a swords-and-sorcery milieu set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Mediterranean and the lands surrounding it. A century after a Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world, plunged it into chaos, and reawakened magic and all form of ancient races and monsters, the agents of Gods and Titans struggle against each other, nations strive to survive or dominate one another, and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and lost technology. 

“Swords of Kos: The Misadventures of Bjoric” is a tale by author Brenda Cass of two down-on-their-luck Germanic war orphans who emigrated to the Aegean as children. Bjoric and his brother Frantz have only ever wanted to make a simple life for themselves on the island of Kos, but fate always seemed to work against them. Now, after a failed attempt at living the life of an adventurer, Bjoric finds himself in jail with no options, and his brother is lost and maybe even dead. 

“The Misadventures of Bjoric” takes place in the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting, a swords-and-sorcery milieu set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Mediterranean and the lands surrounding it. A century after a Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world, plunged it into chaos, and reawakened magic and all form of ancient races and monsters, the agents of Gods and Titans struggle against each other, nations strive to survive or dominate one another, and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and lost technology.