Spire of Secrets | One Week Away!

The recent lack of posts are because I'm hard at work getting ready for the Valda's Spire of Secrets Kickstarter, which launches in about a week on the 31st! In this post, I'm going to tell you everything there is to know about the book itself, with a separate post letting you know about everything else in the Kickstarter later in the week. 

Click here and press the "Notify Me on Launch" button!

Valda's Spire of Secrets is a definitive expansion for DnD 5e. Coming in at 384 pages long, it contains 10 of our base classes, over 150 subclasses, and a ton of other stuff you'd expect from us at this point, including 130+ spells, dozens of feats, a mountain of exotic weapons and magic items, and a lot more.

If you're a regular around here, this is a chance to get the very best Mage Hand Press stuff in print in one place, so you can point at it and say "this is canon" at your table. If all of this is new to you, I'll break down the classes we're including in more detail.

Alchemist. Using half-science, half-magic concoctions, alchemists brew up explosives and transmutative potions on the fly. Play an alchemist if you want to experiment with a wide array of scientific discoveries and lethal bombs!

Captain. Brave commanders and savvy tacticians, captains control a second character in the form of a cohort and enhance their allies in combat with dice-fueled maneuvers. Play a captain if you want to lead your allies to victory!

Craftsman. Master artisans and inventors, craftsmen can forge masterwork equipment and devise entirely new weapons on the fly. Play a craftsman if you want to experiment with a comprehensive array of weapon properties to invent entirely new weapons and armor.

Gunslinger. Narrowed eyes, smoking barrels. Gunslingers live on the edge, brandishing a special resource called risk dice to keep them alive by the skin of their teeth. Play a gunslinger if you enjoy scoring powerful critical hits and having an entire arsenal of guns at your disposal.

Investigator. Inspired by characters like Van Helsing and John Constantine, investigators are supernatural researchers and monster hunters who use precise strikes and tomes brimming with rituals to banish occult threats. Play an investigator if you want access to boundless utility options and the ability to go toe-to-toe with a vampire or werewolf.

Martyr. Chosen by the gods to complete a task, martyrs are set upon a harsh, predestined path, requiring constant sacrifice. Martyrs use their hit points to fuel their divine abilities, but supernaturally resist death's embrace. Play a martyr if you want to experience the push and pull of sacrificing hit points for massive damage, only to heal moments later.

Necromancer. Practitioners of necromancy are an eccentric breed who seek out forbidden spells and unquestionably evil rituals to master the grim magic of death. With a small army of undead thralls, necromancers overrun their foes while slinging spells with critical accuracy. Play a necromancer to balance ethics against ambition and manage multiple monsters at the table.

Warden. Wardens are iron-willed protectors that refuse to give an inch. To that end, they use their Mark ability to single out enemies for combat, and use their Grasp ability to prevent escape. Play a warden if you want to be a tough-to-kill warrior with a focus on crowd control.

Warmage. The undisputed masters of cantrips, warmages turn the most humble spells into deadly weapons via an array of tricks. Play a warmage if you want to be a high-damage spellcaster with deep customization and few spells to learn.

Witch. Afflicted by a sinister curse, witches can spin dark magic into hexes, which they use to disable foes. They are also accompanied by their familiars, loyal magical companions which they use to deal the killing blow. Play a witch if you want to cripple your enemies and cackle while doing so.

And I can already hear some of you saying: where's the Binder? That class is coming in its very own standalone softcover if we reach a high enough stretch goal! Tell your friends and get your DM on board so we can make that softcover happen.

What Else is in the Book?

This book is so long, we'll have to do a rapid-fire roundup of the rest of the content.

Subclasses. Spire has 6 subclasses for each and every base class in core. This is a selection of our best and most popular subclasses from all time, many which have been rebalanced and tidied up for mass consumption. Yes, you too can play a Spider Man rogue or a warlock whose patron is literally the GM! 

Races. Spire of Secrets comes with four new races, the sly and adorable mousefolk, the wise tree-people mandrakes, the creepy and cute geppettins (which you might recall being called matryoshka once upon a time), and the ethereal spirithost. Plus, we've included even more Near Human variants to complement the set presented in Dark Matter. 

Customization. This chapter has 50+ new Feats, plus a new character option called Aux Levels, which are one-level classes that let you get really creative with your character builds. If you've been following closely, you've seen this very concept metastasize here on the blog. The Customization chapter also has a set of free Starter Feats which the GM can allow at 1st level, opening up the game to types of characters never playable before. These are for crazy roleplay and mechanics options which couldn't exist in the game otherwise, like legally-distinct dvati and characters which are blind. 

Equipment. The Equipment chapter is loaded down with arsenals of exotic weapons, guns throughout the ages, switch weapons (think Bloodborne), and suits of exotic armor. It’s enough to keep a craftsman busy for ages! Then the chapter caps off with a HUGE selection of magic items, including random loot tables. Tons of these magic items are brand new, including new class-specific magic items! If we hit a stretch goal, we'll even get our friend Loot Tavern to contribute a baker's dozen new items to the lineup.

Spells. Just a few (read: 130+) new spells! In addition, we're tidied up our Chronomancy and Renaissance spells list to the cream of the crop and included them with tags. This book finally gives you competent chronomancy options and makes gun-mages a joy to play. It even has all the spell lists to use them properly. 

There’s even more content in the book's lengthy appendices, but that’s a subject for another day.

If you haven't already, click here and get reminded of the Kickstarter!

We look forward to seeing everyone turn out for this Kickstarter, which we hope will be our biggest yet!