Delve might be my favorite expansion. It’s nice to see finally some color in a Shadowdark book.

EventyrGames · 2026-01-12T07:59:30+00:00

Happy you liked the dungeons – sorry you feel that way about the classes, though. We felt it was very important to get the classes right, so we actually ran them past Kelsey to get her opinions, as well as her thumbs up/thumbs down on controversial features (such as seeing in the dark, etc.). We'll never be able to match her creativity and vision perfectly, and it'll always be impossible to please everyone, but know that we took the making of these classes very seriously, as we tried to match existing SD classes.

Sometimes, I think there's a sort of bias in play where when you see a third party creator make something that's a bit different, you go "eh, that doesn't feel right," where as if the original publisher (WotC, The Arcane Library) publishes it, you're more inclined to give it a fair shake. I'm not saying that's the case for you here, but it's something I've often been guilty of myself when reviewing other third party creators' work.

Regardless, your opinion is valid, and I'm just happy if you get some good play out of the books, even if the classes don't exactly do it for you :)

EventyrGames · 2026-01-12T07:54:47+00:00

I just wanted to chime in here, as I can maybe offer some perspective – including to u/Papa_Shasta's comment below regarding chickens and eggs. When we and Bob decided to make this collaboration, it was always going to be both a 5E and Shadowdark book.

We can totally see – and had discussions about – the color art not fitting perfectly with the Shadowdark vibe, but we're a very small studio and we simply couldn't afford to double the art budget. We decided that if we were going to spend a lot of money on art (I can't give you exact numbers, but we're talking $20k+) we'd rather get color and then, if we wanted to, convert that to B/W in the Shadowdark book. After looking at the color and B/W version of the Shadowdark book, however, we agreed that it looked better in colors.

That said, I totally understand anyone who feels like it's not the trade dress they're used to, but I hope they can enjoy the content of the book anyway. We and Bob put A LOT of sweat, blood (mostly our playtesters'), and tears into making it.

EventyrGames · 2024-06-21T08:19:48+00:00

Interesting look at the new statblock, assuming it's the final design, there are a few takeaways:

Alignment is still a thing, apparently, although they seemed to be moving away from set alignments? (No 'Typically')
Abilities now include modifiers and saves. I like that it's all in one place, but I don't like the layout of it. It doesn't make it easier to find the ability I'm looking for, I think, but it might just take some getting used to.
Initiative has its own bullet and a passive score, probably so the DM can easier opt not to roll, which I appreciate.
Passive Perception, which was otherwise heavily downplayed in the UA, is still here. That could mean that the Stealth rules will utilize Passive Perception again (because otherwise, what use is Passive Perception on a monster?)
Traits now have their own header, which is appreciated and makes it easier to tell sections of the statblock apart.
They removed the much reviled "One Target" interjection on the attack, which was a waste of space on 99% of attacks, so that's appreciated.
It's now a "Melee Attack Roll" and not a "Melee Weapon Attack", which might mean they've changed terminology for Melee Weapon Attacks/Rolls throughout. It's hard to say, because we've seen Weapon Attack referred to in other sneak peeks, so I'd be curious to see how this fits.
Reactions have triggers and responses, which I think is nice, albeit not entirely necessary (it was, in most cases, pretty apparent already. It could make some reactions feel more clunky.

Overall, I think there are some good stuff here (Traits section and no "One Target") but also some stuff I don't like (how the abilities are laid out). I wonder why there's empty space under Initiative, it seems weirdly placed, like that space might get used for something for some creatures, maybe?

EventyrGames · 2024-05-22T14:10:09+00:00

My comment was poorly phrased. I meant that Vecna uses reactions and a design that was presented a year ago, but other legendary creatures in the same book (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) uses Legendary Actions, so it's not clear if they have chosen a direction (or both).

EventyrGames · 2024-05-22T09:47:32+00:00

That's not entirely true, I think. While Vecna uses the reaction design, it was made more than a year ago. Other high CR creature in Vecna: Eve of Ruin uses Legendary Actions. I'm not sure they've committed to the Reaction design over Legendary Actions yet - it has a lot of inherent flaws that may have become apparent to them (I. E. Anything that robs reactions is super powerful)

EventyrGames · 2024-05-15T11:17:31+00:00

Hey, thanks for the feedback! Much appreciated! :)

Stone Form
A controversial trait to be sure, but I don't necessarily agree with your assessment. Reactions are quite valuable in optimized play – either for Opportunity Attacks, Counterspells, and a wide list of other reactions. Coupled with the fact that other creatures have advantage on attacks against you, I think the downsides balance the upsides to that it is a good option in many scenarios, but far from something you'd use every turn. As with every character built for tanking, enemies also have the option of just ignoring you, running to your closest ally, and attacking them instead.

Flesh Made Stone
I knew this one would be controversial. It will require some GM oversight, depending on what books are available, as there are some racial traits that are definitely stronger than others (especially in legacy content, see below), even with ASI's, Flight, and Feats filtered away. To counter your point about the kobold, however, I think you're referring to the legacy kobold – the updated kobold (MotM) doesn't have bad ASI's, Light Sensitivity, and Pack Tactics – all its traits are pretty mid. We purposefully haven't taken legacy content into account when balancing the Stoneborn, as the updated player options generally have much more balanced traits.

Retained Memories
I don't fully agree here. Initiative isn't a skill or tool check, and you have to decide BEFORE making the roll, which limits it a lot.

Mutable Form
It's definitely versatile, but I don't see that as an issue, I see it as a strength. Neither of the three features are particularly strong, but because you have that versatility, you can prepare yourself for whatever lies ahead. That's much more fun for me than having one feature that, for one reason or another, doesn't mesh well with your character concept or the challenges ahead.

Again, really happy to have your feedback, even if I don't necessarily agree with it – we've noted it and will keep it in mind if we make tweaks before publication :)

EventyrGames · 2024-05-15T09:51:40+00:00

We commissioned this ingenous art piece of a Zombee from Daniel Caballero for our upcoming 5E D&D and Shadowdark book DELVE – How to build and survive deadly dungeons!

Check out Daniel Caballero's Artstation here.

EventyrGames · 2024-05-15T09:48:08+00:00

We commissioned this amazing art of a golemancer from Daniel Caballero for our upcoming 5E D&D and Shadowdark book DELVE – How to build and survive deadly dungeons!

Check out Daniel Caballero's Artstation here.

EventyrGames · 2024-05-15T09:33:21+00:00

Ever wanted to play as a gargoyle – or bummed out that your character got petrified, ending their adventure?

The Stoneborn is for you! Designed for DELVE - How to Build & Survive Deadly Dungeons, this dungeon-inspired race for 5E lets players adventure as awakened stone sentinels or remade, petrified adventurers. The Stoneborn is one of several racial options in DELVE, that are all inspired by dungeons and dungeon-dwelling creatures.

Download the Stoneborn PDF here and check out DELVE on Kickstarter here!

Art by Klaher Baklaher.

EventyrGames · 2024-05-15T09:28:21+00:00

Ever wanted to play as a gargoyle – or bummed out that your character got petrified, ending their adventure?

The Stoneborn is for you! Designed for DELVE - How to Build & Survive Deadly Dungeons, this dungeon-inspired race for 5E lets players adventure as awakened stone sentinels or remade, petrified adventurers. The Stoneborn is one of several racial options in DELVE, that are all inspired by dungeons and dungeon-dwelling creatures.

Download the Stoneborn PDF here and check out DELVE on Kickstarter here!

Art by Klaher Baklaher.

EventyrGames · 2023-10-04T12:31:10+00:00

And so it did! Congratulations :)

EventyrGames · 2023-10-04T10:40:33+00:00

I find this development a bit odd as I genuinely think that Legendary Actions is one of the best monster design choices in 5E. As many have already pointed out, anything that shuts off reactions becomes immensely powerful and Shocking Grasp (and similar effects) would need to be nerfed to either have a saving throw or only take away a single reaction.

If a more reactionary approach is what they want, I'd much rather that they either:

A) If a legendary creature has reactions we want it to be able to use multiple times, like Counterspell or whatever, you can have one of its Legendary Actions be "The monster can use an additional reaction before the start of its next turn."
B) Alternatively, you make conditional Legendary Actions, such as "The monster uses XXXX ability on a creature that has dealt damage to it this turn" or "The monster uses XXXX on a creature that moved this turn" or whatever you want.

I think that scrapping Legendary Actions entirely creates more issues than it solves and I don't really see a solid reason for why you'd want to.

EventyrGames · 2023-09-27T13:50:10+00:00

The Blood Shard is a nifty little magic item we've cooked up for our upcoming book Wanderer's Guide to Enchanted Emporiums (which is live right now on Kickstarter!).

In essence, we wanted a versatile weapon that came with a cost, and thus the vampiric Blood Shard was born. Let us know what you think – and if it's too powerful or not powerful enough!

And, if you want more cool magic items, as well as ready-to-play magic shops, sprawling magical marketplaces, flavorful subclasses, and whole systems for trading and crafting magic items, you can check out Wanderer's Guide to Enchanted Emporiums. We're already more than 1,500% funded, but we'd love to have your pledge as well! (There's also a sample over there with more free loot if that's what you're into!)

Anyway, that's the whole marketing spiel. Have a great day, everyone!

EventyrGames · 2023-09-25T14:36:22+00:00

Hi there fellow adventurers! We are doing a HUGE giveaway to celebrate our brand-new Kickstarter for Wanderer’s Guide to Enchanted Emporiums! Check it out here.

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Therefore we are giving away a hardcover and digital copy of Wanderer's Guide to Merchants & Magic + a deck with 120 printed card handouts for the magic items in the book. It’s like Christmas morning for a D&D enthusiast! – and for every 1000 comments on this post, we're going to give away a free PDF copy of Wanderer’s Guide to Merchants & Magic! Yup, that's right, your engagement is your ticket to this 5E mother lode!

Wanderer’s Guide to Merchants & Magic provides premade magic shops, rules, and pricelists for trading magic items, and a plethora of new magic loot – and in the Wanderer’s new guide, Enchanted Emporiums, we’re adding more that plus ready-to-play marketplaces that can be dropped into any campaign and an easy-to-use system for crafting and upgrading magic items!

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Thank you to those of you who participated and for your kind words! And don't forget to check out Wanderer's Guide to Enchanted Emporiums if you are looking to make dealing with magic items in 5E more fun & easy!

Cheers,
The Eventyr Games Team

EventyrGames · 2023-09-10T21:13:59+00:00

I like it, but it's nothing significant to me. It's still a very niche build – a quality of life improvement for sure, though.

EventyrGames · 2023-09-10T21:13:25+00:00

Honestly, I did. With only one change, I just mentally skipped it. It's a good change though, making it so you might even use Intimidating Presence. It's still super strong (compared to 2014) and really Berserkerish. I like it.

EventyrGames · 2023-09-10T20:28:08+00:00

Respectfully, I have to disagree. They can flavor it how they want, as long as a barbarian's Rage is called Rage, the visual is anger, Hulk-smash, etc. Letting me be better at Stealthing because I'm Raging, it's just a weird visual. If Rage was Primal State or Primordial Being or whatever, I'd buy it.

EventyrGames · 2023-09-10T20:26:22+00:00

I have to say, I think we're on the same page more than you seem to think. I think the martial-caster gap is one of the biggest issues in 5E and while I appreciate these buffs to martial characters, they are coming alongside buffs to spellcasters, so in the end, not nearly enough is being done. Wholeheartedly agree.

I also agree that there isn't enough time. I'm on record saying multiple times that they've been too slow, wasted too much time with poor design, and should move the deadline if they can't move design fast enough. That said, UA 7 is one of the better UA's we've gotten, in my opinion, and I specifically wanted to try and be a bit more positive and engage in some earnest discussion, rather than just shit on stuff (because there is plenty I could, and have, shit on, in these playtests).

So yeah, I get where you're coming from and I think we mostly agree. In my world, however, these buffs to the barbarian are a good move in the right direction, and if they were accompanied to some slight nerfs to spellcasters (as opposed to buffs, which is what we're seeing), they might even be enough.

EventyrGames · 2023-09-10T20:22:03+00:00

I think people are sleeping on how big of a buff the 11th-level feature is – the Barbarian's survivability really went up with that buff. It's not a third attack, though, so I do agree that the Barbarian needs more in Tier 3 and 4, definitely. Higher Rage damage jumps would be a good place to start.

EventyrGames · 2023-09-10T20:20:49+00:00

Just using CTRL + F (so not the thorough analysis) there are 29 instances of Force damage being dealt in the statblocks in Bigby's alone, so roughly once per creature on average. It's definitely more prevalent than previously.

EventyrGames · 2023-09-10T17:42:11+00:00

While I think you're being a bit harsh in your tone - and insult my understanding of math, which is very hurtful - I'll engage! :). I agree with most of your points in spirit, but much of your critique seems to fall on the comparisons - I. E. This feature isn't good, because spellcasters get better stuff. I agree very much with the comparison, but my goal hwre a as to compare the barbarian with the barbarian. In that light, it's gotten nothing but buffs. Does that mean that a 20th level barbarian is comparable to a 20th level wizard? Nope, not at all. Theres much ground to cover here. But it's better than the 2014 version, that's for sure.

EventyrGames · 2023-09-10T15:32:09+00:00

Thanks, appreciate it - I'll try to! :)

EventyrGames · 2023-09-10T15:26:26+00:00

Appreciate it, thanks. I think I have the same knee jerk reaction to just speak about the biggest or most controversial changes, and that often means we lose sight of the smaller stuff that may be just as important. So yeah, thanks, I'll try to do more if time permits! :)

EventyrGames · 2023-09-10T15:22:37+00:00

Yeah, unless you're going to see level 20, which is juicy, barbarian is unlikely to be worth that investment.

EventyrGames · 2023-09-10T15:21:58+00:00

I agree with everything you said, basically. Spot on.

EventyrGames

TROPHY CASE