The Ultimate Resource for Gamers, Game Masters, and Designers

The first edition of the COMPLETE KOBOLD GUIDE TO GAME DESIGN laid out concepts, techniques and advice for designing roleplaying games and enhancing adventures. This second edition brings together essays from the original volume, many updated to reflect the changing game design landscape, as well as new essays by veteran designers Jeff Grubb (Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Guild Wars), Kelly Pawlik (Midgard Sagas, Empire of the Ghouls), Amber Scott (Dungeons & Dragons, Eberron) and Ray Vallese (The Kobold Guide to Magic).

Between these covers, you’ll find practical, thought-provoking essays on worldbuilding, creating magic systems, conflict, and compelling stories, what to expect when you work as a design professional, and much more. Conceptual chapters examine what game design is and how good design can create the best games. Concrete examples provide models to help you create well-rounded designs and exciting adventures.

In his essay, “Seize the Hook,” designer Rob Heinsoo says, “Design a game you want to play but can’t because no one else has designed it yet.” THE COMPLETE KOBOLD GUIDE TO GAME DESIGN, SECOND EDITION will help you do that, and your games and campaigns will never be the same.

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION
Winner, 2012 Gold ENnie Award, Best RPG-Related Accessory

“Highly recommended for gaming nerds everywhere!”
—City Book Review

Warlock Meets the Big Boss Monsters!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with terrific cover art by RPG legend Jeff Easley.

The topic is monsters, especially the big, bad, and dangerous ones at CR 10+ (with a few smaller CR bosses for variety)!

Weighing in at 36 pages, this booklet’s esteemed creatures and their designers are:

• Catscratch (CR 3) by Celeste Conowitch
• Vexxeh (CR 6) by Kelly Pawlik
• Deep Sea Behemoth (CR 9) by TK Johnson
• Pumpkin King (CR 10) by Celeste Conowitch
• Clockwork Archon (CR 12) by Kelly Pawlik
• Necrotech, Death Barque (CR 12) by Richard Green
• Pustulent Shambler (CR 13) by Mike Welham
• Incarnate Gloom (CR 13) by Mike Welham
• Infernal Swarm (CR 14) by TK Johnson
• Necrotech, Bone Colossus (CR 14) by Richard Green
• Vent Linnorm (CR 16) by Kelly Pawlik
• Bathael (CR 18) by Robert Schwalb
• Shadow of Death (CR 21) by Robert Schwalb
• Degmadu (CR 27) by Scott Gable

Support Warlock as we expand the dark fantasy options for 5E!

Warlock Goes Direct to the 11 Hells!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with terrific cover art by Karl Waller.

The topic is the Eleven Hells, their rulers, and the town that leads into them, by two Planescape setting designers, David “Zeb” Cook and Wolfgang Baur!

Weighing in at 28 pages, this booklet’s topics include:

• Infernal Cosmology, with Servants and Vassals of the Hells
• Urgennos, the Lumionous Hell of Fire and Sulfur
• Efrizarr, the Frozen Hell of Ice and Silence
• Qes-Al-Marit, the Shifting Hell of Darkness and Bone Dunes
• Archedantuss, the Riverine Hell of the Styx and Lethe
• Bzeletalet, the Buzzing Hell of Insects
• Snorecksubo, the Lingering Hell of Plagues
• Emwabbik Em, the Alien Hell of the Acid Abyss
• Fleggesun, the Cannibal Hell of Fetid Rot
• Nakhol, the Vanishing Hell of Ignorance
• Sooleleed, the Mirror Hell of Lies
• Chundresh, the Hunter’s Hell of Blood and Fear
• The Town of Smoke, Its Inhabitants, Peculiar Strictures, Duels, and Public Establishments

Don’t say we didn’t warn you! And please, support Warlock as we expand the dark fantasy options for 5E!

Adventure In a Dark World of Deep Magic!

It is an age of war. Civilization slowly gives way to encroaching wilderness, and once-mighty empires now lie beneath the waves. Only magic and the warmth of hope keeps lights aglow when dread things prowl, and priestly wardings are bent by demonic rage.

The omens are dire. The roads to the shadow realm are open again, and the fey have returned to claim their ancient tribute. In the north the giants prepare for Ragnarok, while the goblins in the west grow restless. In the Crossroads, the shadow of the vampire princes falls across the land. The World Serpent is stirring—and not even all-knowing Baba Yaga can say what will happen next.

Now more than ever, Midgard needs heroes to stand against the dark, driving it back with spell, steel, and cunning!

The 460-page Limited Edition Midgard Worldbook hardcover includes:

• Detailed description of Midgard’s empires, cities, and kingdoms, with associated heraldry, rulers, and adventure hooks for each state, large or small
• Characters from Baba Yaga to the lords of the Dragon Empire, from the honest folk of Zobeck to various elven holdouts of Dornig and the vampire lords of Morgau
• Full lore on the pantheons of the Northlands, Crossroads, Elves, and others, including divine domain lists, rituals, divine demands, and the various masks and sacred texts—plus rituals and ambitions of the Dark Gods, for the GM’s eyes alone!
• Revised and expanded lore of the planes, history, calendars, and conflicts of the world
• Forbidden lore of blood magic, void magic, and various dooms and items not meant for players’ eyes!
• And much more!

Warlock Visits the Three Halfling Families!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with terrific cover art by Phil Stone.

The topic is the brave race of Halflings, the three branches of their family tree, and their tricks, customs, special gear, and abilities.

Weighing in at 32 pages, this booklet’s topics include:

• “Winterfolk Halflings: The Hidden People of the Plains” by Kelly Pawlik
• “Riverfolk: The Scattered People of the Trade” by Victoria Jaczko
• “Courtfolk: The Quiet People of the Covenant” by Victoria Jaczko

Enjoy a visit with one of the most elusive races of Midgard! And please, support Warlock as we expand the dark fantasy options for 5E!

Not All Heroes Wear Shining Armor!

The undead ghoul bat drops like rotten fruit, startling a bandit. The hidden darakhul ranger draws an arrow dripping in death on a gnarled black bow.

This 70-page book provides character options well beyond the norm, including eight playable races and options for the 5th edition of the world’s first RPG: derro, mushroom folk, dark trollkin, drow and more.

These new options include all new backgrounds as well, such as the Siwali
Embalmer and Ghoul Imperium Deserter. Uncover new Underworld subclasses that fit
your character:

• Herald of the Ebon Star roguish archetype
• Grave Binder and White Necromancer arcane traditions
• Primal Path of the Ebon Star
• Imperial Hunter ranger archetype
• And many others!

Plus new spells, trinkets, Underworld beasts, familiars, and more! The Underworld Player’s Guide adds layers of grime and death to any game!

Warlock Delivers a Brace of the Twice-Damned Abominations!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with terrific cover art by Justine Jones. This one speeds its way to you on leathery wings and with all the fires of hell at its back!

Yes, we enter the Blood Kingdoms guided by the maleficent and magnificent Christopher Lockey, who offers a band of NPCs no hero wishes to meet all at once, as well as a trio of the most blood-soaked horrors from the crags of Krakovar!

Weighing in at 30 pages, this booklet’s topics include:

• “The Band of the Twice Damned” by Christopher Lockey
• “Abominations of the Blood Kingdoms” by Christopher Lockey

If you are one of the unfortunates bled dry by the hideous creatures within, well, we did warn you!

And please, support Warlock as we expand the dark fantasy options for 5E!

A Horde of New 5th Edition Monsters!

Whether you need scuttling dungeon denizens, alien horrors, or sentient avatars of the World Tree, the Creature Codex Pocket Edition has you covered! More than 400 new foes for your 5th Edition game—everything from acid ants and grave behemoths to void giants and zombie lords. All in a convenient, portable size!

Creature Codex Pocket Edition includes:

• A dozen new demons and five new angels
• Wasteland dragons and dinosaurs
• All-new golems, including the altar flame golem, doom golem, and keg golem
• Elemental lords and animal lords to challenge powerful parties
• Chieftains and other leaders for ratfolk, centaurs, goblins, trollkin, and more
• New undead, including a hierophant lich to menace lower-level characters

…and much more! Use them in your favorite published setting, or populate the dungeons in a world of your own creation. Pick up Creature Codex Pocket Edition and surprise your players with monsters they won’t be expecting!

Compatible with the 5th edition of the world’s first roleplaying game!

***

Also Available: One-shot adventures using creatures from Creature Codex, in the Creature Codex Lairs.

Pawns: A full 300 pawns are available to complement the Creature Codex on your battlemat, from small to HUGE.

Warlock Reveals 6 Masters of Arcane Power!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with terrific cover art by old school legend Jeff Dee (the artist for countless AD&D books from Village of Hommlet to Queen of the Demonweb Pits, and Isle of Dread to Deities & Demi-gods). With all the power of specialized casters and arcane mysteries, the NPCs found here stand ready to confound your PCs!

This time we meet six arcanists created by the mysterious masters Mike Welham and Jon “Ghosts of Saltmarsh” Sawatsky! From electrifying drakes to bards of the shadow roads and sorcerous brawlers, this crew will spice up any tavern or haunt any ancient library of whispering tomes…

Weighing in at 32 pages, this booklet’s topics include:

• “Thaern” by Jon Sawatsky
• “Zoranya Vell” by Mike Welham
• “Yana Harr” by Jon Sawatsky
• “Galvanix” by Mike Welham
• “Bolgoro Netweaver” by Jon Sawatsky
• “Regar Neryan” by Mike Welham

If you seek arcane tutors or a misguided rival for your party of players, look no further!

And please, support Warlock as we expand the dark fantasy options for 5E DnD!

Command 700 New Spells for 5th Edition!

No matter how you slice it, magic is at the heart of fantasy—and nothing says magic like a massive tome of spells.

This tome collects, updates, tweaks, and expands spells from years of the Deep Magic for Fifth Edition series—more than 700 new and revised spells. And it adds a lot more:

• 19 divine domains from Beer to Mountain and Speed to Winter;
• 13 new wizard specialties, such as the elementalist and the timekeeper;
• 6 new sorcerous origins, including the Aristocrat and the Farseer;
• 3 otherworldly patrons for warlocks, including the Sibyl;
• expanded treatments of familiars and other wizardly servants;
• and much more!

This 356-page tome is not just for wizards, warlocks, and sorcerers. Deep Magic also expands the horizons of what’s possible for bards, clerics, druids, and even rangers and paladins. It offers something new for every spellcasting class!

With these new spells and options, your characters (or your villains) can become masters of winter magic, chaos magic, or shadow magic. Seek out hidden colleges and academies of lost lore. Learn new runes, hieroglyphs, and cantrips to break down the walls of reality, or just bend them a bit.

Deep Magic contains nothing but magic from start to finish!

Warlock Brings Monsters and the Scarlet Citadel!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with wraparound cover art by fan favorite Justine Jones . The interior brings monsters including the cecum devil, jack of strings, liminal drake, and more, plus, an adventuring site of great renown, and the village of Redtower itself, with its secrets and characters—and with a two-page map!

Weighing in at 40 pages, this booklet’s topics include:

• ““Lost Lore of Redtower & the Scarlet Citadel” by Wolfgang Baur
• “Redtower Gazetteer” by Victoria Jaczko
• “My Monster: Scarlet Citadel Edition” by Mike Welham

And please, support Warlock as we expand the dark fantasy options for 5E DnD!

A Rampage of New 5th Edition Monsters!

DM: “A mysterious figure in a cloak approaches you in the tavern…”
PALADIN: “Aha! This must be a wizard with a map to a dungeon!”
DM: “…and he’s ticking.”
ROGUE: “RUN!”

Whether you need scuttling dungeon denizens, alien horrors, or sentient avatars of the World Tree, the Creature Codex has you covered! Nearly 400 new foes for your 5th Edition game—everything from acid ants and grave behemoths to void giants and zombie lords.

CREATURE CODEX INCLUDES:

• A dozen new demons and five new angels
• Wasteland dragons and dinosaurs
• All-new golems, including the altar flame golem, doom golem, and keg golem
• Elemental lords and animal lords to challenge powerful parties
• Chieftains and other leaders for ratfolk, centaurs, goblins, trollkin, and more
• New undead, including a heirophant lich to menace lower-level characters

…and much more! Use them in your favorite published setting, or populate the dungeons in a world of your own creation. Pick up Creature Codex and surprise your players with monsters they won’t be expecting!

COMPATIBLE WITH THE 5TH EDITION OF THE WORLD’S FIRST ROLEPLAYING GAME!

Adventure In a Dark World of Deep Magic!

It is an age of war. Civilization slowly gives way to encroaching wilderness, and once-mighty empires now lie beneath the waves. Only magic and the warmth of hope keeps lights aglow when dread things prowl, and priestly wardings are bent by demonic rage.

The omens are dire. The roads to the shadow realm are open again, and the fey have returned to claim their ancient tribute. In the north the giants prepare for Ragnarok, while the goblins in the west grow restless. In the Crossroads, the shadow of the vampire princes falls across the land. The World Serpent is stirring—and not even all-knowing Baba Yaga can say what will happen next.

Now more than ever, Midgard needs heroes to stand against the dark, driving it back with spell, steel, and cunning!

The 460-page Limited Edition Midgard Worldbook hardcover includes:

• Detailed description of Midgard’s empires, cities, and kingdoms, with associated heraldry, rulers, and adventure hooks for each state, large or small
• Characters from Baba Yaga to the lords of the Dragon Empire, from the honest folk of Zobeck to various elven holdouts of Dornig and the vampire lords of Morgau
• Full lore on the pantheons of the Northlands, Crossroads, Elves, and others, including divine domain lists, rituals, divine demands, and the various masks and sacred texts—plus rituals and ambitions of the Dark Gods, for the GM’s eyes alone!
• Revised and expanded lore of the planes, history, calendars, and conflicts of the world
• Forbidden lore of blood magic, void magic, and various dooms and items not meant for players’ eyes!
• And much more!

The world’s oldest roleplaying game isn’t necessarily meant for mass combats, but with a few rules additions, this archetype of fantasy storytelling can easily integrate into your tabletop game. Tools of War, by Basheer Ghouse, is an 8-page PDF that aims to provide mass combat options for busy Game Masters everywhere.

With the innovative group turn rules in this PDF, players can control many creatures at once. Plus, the new bonus action Command allows players to easily issue instructions to underlings.

With advice on allowing players to control NPCs, this PDF is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to expand their games with more than just tactical combat!

Warlock Steps Over the Threshold!

Liminal spaces have captivated us for centuries—they are spaces on the boundaries, at the edge between what’s real and what’s unreal. A liminal space can be neither here nor there, and yet both here and there at the same time. There is eldritch power in these spaces, and from there liminal magic pulls.

In the 10-page Warlock Guide to Liminal Magic, designer Sarah Madsen takes us on a tour of this esoteric power, including presenting the new school of liminality as well as a collection of 13 new liminal spells. From ethereal stairs to physically traverse spaces to mirror realm to create brand new ones, this publication will stretch your imagination to the places between spaces and beyond!

And please, support Warlock as we expand the dark fantasy options for 5E DnD!

Open a Chamber of Hidden Lore!

DARKLY FANTASTIC MATERIAL FOR THE WORLD’S FIRST RPG

Within these dusty pages, uncover the secrets of the world—indeed, of the branches of the multiverse! Collected here are entire lost volumes of esoteric truths. Only for you, the Warlock Grimoire 2!

Dark revelations and wondrous testimonials of dark fantasy monsters and magic, locales and lore of Midgard:

• Details on the indefatigable halflings: the winterfolk, riverfolk, and courtfolk
• Explosive realities of dwarven firearms and airships
• Hidden vaults filled with treasure and danger
• Potent magics and professions from the trenches of wartime
• Magic-slinging NPCs to fill any role, ready to go
• An epidemic of automata and a proliferation of clockwork druids
• Ancient and mysterious vril-powered artifacts
• Gothic horrors of the Blood Kingdom, vampires and more
• Boss monsters to capstone any adventure
• Even a tour of the Eleven Hells and the infernal crossroads town of Smoke
• Plus 10 subclasses, 7 backgrounds, 9 feats, 29 complete NPCs, 2 diseases, 24 spells & invocations, 96 magic items & equipment, 42 monsters, and much more!

The Warlock Grimoire 2 presents the content from issues 10–19 of the Warlock zine and includes an entire issue’s worth of new, never-before-seen lore and game elements, including both the mysteriously desolated Southlands city of Iram and the secrets of Grandmother herself, Baba Yaga.

Uncover the truths of dark fantasy for the Midgard campaign setting—or for the worlds of your own creation!

Command 700 New Spells for 5th Edition!

***
LIMITED EDITION: Printed in a limited quantity with two-tone blue and silver foil stamping and two ribbon bookmarks, this volume is not available elsewhere. When they’re gone, they will not be reprinted.

***

No matter how you slice it, magic is at the heart of fantasy—and nothing says magic like a massive tome of spells.

This tome collects, updates, tweaks, and expands spells from years of the Deep Magic for Fifth Edition series—more than 700 new and revised spells. And it adds a lot more:

• 19 divine domains from Beer to Mountain and Speed to Winter;
• 13 new wizard specialties, such as the elementalist and the timekeeper;
• 6 new sorcerous origins, including the Aristocrat and the Farseer;
• 3 otherworldly patrons for warlocks, including the Sibyl;
• expanded treatments of familiars and other wizardly servants;
• and much more!

This 356-page tome is not just for wizards, warlocks, and sorcerers. Deep Magic also expands the horizons of what’s possible for bards, clerics, druids, and even rangers and paladins. It offers something new for every spellcasting class!

With these new spells and options, your characters (or your villains) can become masters of winter magic, chaos magic, or shadow magic. Seek out hidden colleges and academies of lost lore. Learn new runes, hieroglyphs, and cantrips to break down the walls of reality, or just bend them a bit.

Deep Magic contains nothing but magic from start to finish!

Warlock Visits Legendary People and Places!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with cover art by Egil Thompson. The interior brings us many legends, including those of the North, of the interplanar Stross Library, and of Terminus Island at the edge of the world, plus a legendary ax and the secrets of the Wild Ozku Hills!

Weighing in at 28 pages, this zine’s topics include:

• Forseti’s Axe” by Lou Anders & Jon Sawatsky
• “The Nieder Straits & The Drownstone Road” by Lou Anders & Jon Sawatsky
• “The Stross Library” by Lou Anders & Mike Welham
• “Terminus Island” by Lou Anders & Jon Sawatsky
• “The Wild Ozku Hills” by Lou Anders & Jon Sawatsky

And please, support Warlock as we expand the dark fantasy options for 5E DnD!

A Murder of New 5th Edition Monsters!

WIZARD: “It says it used to be a dragon of the outer darkness…”
FIGHTER: “What does that even mean? Used to be? What is it now? Does anyone else speak Draconic?”
WIZARD: “It says you are not sufficiently respectful to its dragon nature. It says… Run?”
FIGHTER: “Run? In this armor?”
DM: “FWOOOOSH!”

Inside Tome of Beasts 2, you’ll find monsters for almost every location your heroes might journey: from farmlands to forests, dungeons to deserts, and bustling cities to fantastical planar realms—with an emphasis on dungeons and the underworld!

Tome of Beasts 2 brings you more than 400 new monsters including:

• Angelic enforcers and avalanche screamers
• Imperial dragons and swordbreaker skeletons
• Kami and clockwork tigers
• Void drakes and zombie dragons
• Death vultures and demon lords
• Swamp nagas and magma octopuses
• Chameleon hydras and shriekbats
• Walled horrors and wraith bears!

Keep your players surprised, entertained, and terrified with all-new opponents they’ve never seen before—and won’t ever see coming!

FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH THE 5TH EDITION OF THE WORLD’S FIRST ROLEPLAYING GAME!

To expand your Tome of Beasts 2 experience, check out the Tome of Beasts 2 Lairs book, with encounters featuring monsters from the TOB2! Or expand your game with Tome of Beasts 2 Pawns, which work with any tabletop map, grid, or terrain!

A Murder of New 5th Edition Monsters!

WIZARD: “It says it used to be a dragon of the outer darkness…”
FIGHTER: “What does that even mean? Used to be? What is it now? Does anyone else speak Draconic?”
WIZARD: “It says you are not sufficiently respectful to its dragon nature. It says… Run?”
FIGHTER: “Run? In this armor?”
DM: “FWOOOOSH!”

Inside Tome of Beasts 2, you’ll find monsters for almost every location your heroes might journey: from farmlands to forests, dungeons to deserts, and bustling cities to fantastical planar realms—with an emphasis on dungeons and the underworld!

Tome of Beasts 2 brings you more than 400 new monsters including:

• Angelic enforcers and avalanche screamers
• Imperial dragons and swordbreaker skeletons
• Kami and clockwork tigers
• Void drakes and zombie dragons
• Death vultures and demon lords
• Swamp nagas and magma octopuses
• Chameleon hydras and shriekbats
• Walled horrors and wraith bears!

Keep your players surprised, entertained, and terrified with all-new opponents they’ve never seen before—and won’t ever see coming!

FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH THE 5TH EDITION OF THE WORLD’S FIRST ROLEPLAYING GAME!

To expand your Tome of Beasts 2 experience, check out the Tome of Beasts 2 Lairs book, with encounters featuring monsters from the TOB2! Or expand your game with Tome of Beasts 2 Pawns, which work with any tabletop map, grid, or terrain!