Table of Contents Æthercoil Magazine Issue 1 – July 16 Introduction 1 What is Æthercoil? 2 My Character Creation Checklist 8 Player Options in Æthercoil 10 Anthro Races Pt. 1 13 Generalist Wizard 20 Zombies, Fast and Scalable 21 How I design the campaigns, Part 1 24 No God, nor Devil, just 128 Dragons! 29 Lost Mine of Calais Introduction 31 Google + Forum Visit the Æthercoil Google+ Community for videos, side articles, playtesting gameplay, and other conversation, and your input will help me progress Sample file this campaign setting into a published Campaign Setting project https://goo.gl/v8mGmf Page 0 Æthercoil Magazine Issue 1 – July 16 Introduction Allow me to open up with thanking everyone who actually paid money for Before I go on… my three previous Pay What You Want items I have in DriveThruRPG. There are some things I need to let you There’s no better encouragement for me than an occasional cup of coffee, know about some conventions I keep and some of you thought what I wrote was worth a couple of them. I can while I’m writing. It’s in part because of never appreciate that enough. my own personal quirks and in part because of me being autistic. There’s a lot of other material I can share, but a lot of them are too small Fortunately, I keep adequate footnotes for a single document: Hence this somewhat regular periodical. How to keep you on the same page. often I’ll make issues depends on how much stuff I can put in 30- something pages. Æthercoil Magazine will include all the little items like All of the material in this magazine is player races and archetypes, various spells and feats, and other items that compatible with Dungeons & Dragons need a catch-all document to go in. Fifth Edition. However, the best results require the Player’s Handbook™, I’ll also include various essays on the Æthercoil campaign setting, Monster Manual™ and the Dungeon worldbuilding articles, techniques I use to aid my DMing, some short Master’s Guide™. There are some parts adventures, and even some short fiction set in the world. I’ll also be in the publications that I use which isn’t including my own artwork here (returning to my first love, illustration), present in the SRD or the Basic Rules. so there might also be some comic pages in the future. I’ll refer to the First Edition of the My ultimate goal in this is to create a publication for my campaign setting documents for page references. for the world, both a guide and a starting campaign. This magazine is the Attributes are referenced in two ways: all-important first step in this journey. I hope you’ll join me along the Their Scores by their full name way. (Charisma), and their Modifiers by their David Foxfire abbreviation (CHA). Sometimes I use terms taken from 4th Edition to ream things in 5th Edition. ‘Standard’ means the same as the unlabeled ‘Action.’ Ditto with ‘Minor’ for ‘Bonus’ and ‘Long Rest’ for ‘Extended Rest’. If I mention ‘Rest’ Sample file without any qualifiers, it means any rest longer than ‘Short Rest’ One last thing: While I know that there are varying genders out there, I default with binary male pronouns as a writer. I am also an adult who uses adult language and, as a Cis White Male with Autism, not only will I offend people, I am unable to give a fuck about it. You have been warned on all counts. Page 1 Æthercoil Magazine Issue 1 – July 16 What is Æthercoil? some call “The Regressive Left” in the backstory. Before we get started… If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry; if I need to let you know how I create first: you value freedom of speech, think about what someone made over who that person is, and Do you know of a kid who takes his collection of would laugh at someone who says that OSR games Lego Block sets, poach every set down to its causes brain cancer, we can get along. However, if blocks, sorts them out, and then build something what I just said triggered you, what are you doing bigger from all the pieces? That’s what I’ll be in the D&D 5E Homebrew section of DriveThru- doing, only here it’s every bit and piece from RPG, for Christ’s sake? Go to the Forge section Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, rulebooks, where you belong2! modules, and homeruled content alike. If you’ve seen my other DriveThruRPG documents, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Some will scoff at …we come in? this practice, but if a particular wheel is working I started DMing in the middle of Murder in Baldur’s just fine, why should you reinvent it? Gate, picking up the controls that the previous DM left behind. Before I even set my butt down on the This is also done for economics: I’ll be reusing a chair, though, I knew that I had to deviate from the lot of the published campaigns, especially maps, publication, because I know that the players are random events, and generic content. (“The party following along with the copies of the module they approaches a roadhouse by the side of the road. bought themselves. Use the map on Page 41 of Hoard of the Dragon Queen. A listing of the rooms by number follows.”) I proved quite capable of throwing people off If you have this map downloaded and printed out, when, at the end, I had not one with two Chosen of you can use it for your Æthercoil setting. Even Bhaal fighting each other over a crumbling High Wizards has to admit that, at $50 US a pop, a Hall. Frugal DM (or Worldbuilder) will reuse all of The God of Murder has not spoken to me since. these books, and get as much value out of it as humanly possible and then some. Don’t get me started on what I did to Aruil in Legacy of the Crystal Shard. I doubt R.L. Salvatore That’s the foundation of this campaign setting, will ever forgive me for what I did at Lac with the unique parts built on top. Yes, you’reSample file Dinneshere. Oh, the jokes and japes I played in the going to see sausage made, in all its lovely glory. Dessarin Valley, and the Underdark has At this stage, only a small amount of this setting is experienced my naughty caprice. Lolth called me set in stone. Things will be added, replaced, one night and told me straight out: “I’m still discarded, and some places will have something watching you, motherfucker!” put in as filler, with a proverbial Post-it Note on it I don’t know why Strahd likes me so much, saying “Put something here, Idiot!” however. I eat way too much spicy food for him to I’ll listen to any and all feedback you have, snack on me. especially if it’s something I can use. Feel free to The jury’s still out on the giants; for all I know contact me at [email protected], or they’re going, “Gonterman3? Pshaw! Just another go Æthercoil’s Google Plus Community spurgy4 gamer for all I care. I wouldn’t feel (https://goo.gl/v8mGmf 1) and we can haggle anything if I found him squished under my foot!” over ideas. I look forward to hearing from you. Oh, one last thing. There may be some political content in here. There’s a small part about what 1 This is the only Social Media site I will use. I don’t do Twitter, 3 My legal name is David Gonterman. It won’t take you long to don’t talk to me about Tumblr, and I only use Facebook for realize the reason why I use a nom de plume online. That Giant Game Saves. It’s Google Plus, pal, or use E-mail. tried to pronounce it five times before he got it right. 2 You thought I was kidding about that warning? 4 Yes, I am on the Autism Spectrum. Yes, I know ‘spergy’ is derogative. Please look at the context before going off like Ben Solo on me. Thank you and God Bless. Page 2 Æthercoil Magazine Issue 1 – July 16 Face facts, dear reader, I’m no Chris Perkins. No Series, in case you’re wondering.) where western lesser man than Elminister told me that. To my culture has not just fallen, but got eradicated from face.5 memory. This created a dark age up to just over 200 years prior. The cause of which is a Needless to say, I know my style of Dungeon combination of several ‘Shit Hitting the Fan’ Mastering is too wild for Adventurer’s League scenarios, including a war in the Middle East legal play. which went nuclear, social-economic collapse, civil It isn’t just in the blatant disregard of what strife, ethnic, cultural, and religious warfare, and Wizards of the Coast expects out of me—wait til Social Justice Warriors finally taking it to the you see my revision of Curse of Strahd, which I’ll streets. Those who ended up on top when the put in the DM’s Guild, if Tracy and Laura Hickman smoke cleared set up a totalitarian regime that don’t come to my house with white coats, butterfly combining several Dystopic novels: George nets, and needles of happy juice, I have failed Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Louis Lowry, Margaret them— but also that I turned the Forgotten Atwood, Ray Bradbury, Suzanne Collins, you name Realms into an Old School Renaissance style world the author, he or she inspired a part of this with a Steampunk twist.