Midgard Chronicles Campaign Guide

A Living Campaign Overview

Heil og sæl, traveler! The age of heroes is dead, and the bridge to glory is broken – Bifrost fell long ago. The world is lost in an age of war, of dark wilderness, and lost empires sunk beneath the waves. In this dark time, heroes must arise to claim the crowns of Midgard and restore the jewels to her scattered thrones. New heroes must lead a return to glory!

Midgard Chronicles is an Organized Play campaign centered around the Midgard Northlands. Stretching from the peaks of Jotunheim to the war-torn homes and fields of occupied Krakovar, Midgard Chronicles has something for everyone. Players will be able to take their characters from convention to convention, from home play to events in their local hobby stores, and continue their sagas. Judges and store owners may also use Midgard Chronicles documents and adventures as an ongoing campaign for their players and patrons.

Living-style campaigns differ from other Organized Play experiences in that your collective actions help shape the story going forward. Your deeds and decisions in the adventures you play have real narrative consequences in the future, affecting the Northlands in unique ways. Each of the narratives you see in our Kobold Press Newsletter articles are taken from real play experiences at actual conventions and in-store events.

In Midgard Chronicles, you can bring a character you create from one play session to the next. At the end of each adventure, you will be given a Chronicle, a certificate that documents the experience, status, and wealth your character received on the adventure. This also helps track any favors, enmities, or items your character received. You must bring your Chronicles to each session to verify your experiences. To provide an immersive story and to balance player experiences, there are some rules and requirements for creating and advancing Midgard Chronicles characters. In Season 1, the Prologue, we explore the life and culture of lands ranging from occupied Krakovar to the heights of Jotunheim. The restrictions in the guide are made with this in mind.

The Midgard Chronicles Campaign Guide provides all the necessary information and details to create and play in the Midgard Chronicles Living Campaign, created and managed by Warduke Press. This document includes an overview of living campaigns, why Midgard Chronicles is different, materials to create a character for Season 1, and other details about Midgard Chronicles.

It’s About the Story

Warduke Press has created a unique shared storytelling campaign – the tales our authors have spun and the deeds of the player characters have become the stuff of legends. The success of our model has relied upon the passion that we share for telling and becoming a part of that shared story, and it is what sets us apart from other public campaigns. When you are playing a Midgard Chronicles adventure, that narrative focus means that your character’s actions can and will have consequences – both for your character and in the world at large. It is not unheard of in Midgard Chronicles for the player character who attacks a soldier in broad daylight to be imprisoned indefinitely and removed from play.

Similarly, if your character performs great acts of heroism in service to a city, and its citizens build statues to honor these deeds, those monuments may appear in all future adventures set in that location. Consider your decisions carefully in the context of the story.

Stories and Adventures

Each time you sit down at a Midgard Chronicles adventure it will be a unique experience, created by the particular combination of players around the table as well as the individual GM. Some adventures may be a classic dungeon crawl, while others may require you to solve a mystery. Some will be combat-intensive, and others will focus on character interactions with NPCs. Many more will be some combination of the above. You could be hired as guards for a caravan carrying something vitally important or you could be sent to investigate why an ore shipment is overdue from a silver mine. You could be sent to rescue a princess, a merchant, or another adventurer. Or you could be sent to deal with a group of bandits, eliminating the threat once and for all. Most adventures are structured to play in three to four hours including introductions, conclusions and paperwork. Some adventures will be longer and become two-round or even three-round adventures, but these will be rare.

A Horde of New 5th Edition Monsters!

DM: “A collection of hundreds of eyes floats down the corridor toward you, trailing ganglia and dripping caustic fluid that sizzles when it hits the ground. What do you do?”

PLAYER: “I retire, and become a farmer.”

Whether you need dungeon vermin or a world-shaking personification of evil, the Tome of Beasts has it. Here are more than 400 new foes for your 5th Edition game-everything from tiny drakes and peculiar spiders, to demon lords and ancient dragons.

Tome of Beasts includes monsters from the entire history of Kobold Press, with longtime favorites such as:

• Clockwork creatures
• Drakes and dragons
• Devils and arch-devils
• Dangerous flavors of the fey
• Undead-and much more!

Use them in your favorite published setting, or populate the dungeons in a world of your own creation. Pick up Tome of Beasts and give your players an encounter they won’t soon forget!

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 Visits Legendary People and Places!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with cover art by Karl Waller. The interior brings us two Druid circles, plus the dark druid items, elven druid spells and lore, and an overview of the White Forest that surrounds the Scarlet Citadel, a vast expanse of pristine woodland.

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

• “White Forest: the Untamed Wood” by Ashley Warren & Wolfgang Baur
• “Circle of Fermentation: Life in the Winewood” by Ashley Warren
• “Circle of the Weald: Blood on the Leaves” by Jerry LeNeave
• “Baubles of the Darkened Druids” by Jerry LeNeave
• “Elven Druids of Midgard” by Mike Welham

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

Warlock Roars from the Deep Forests and Hill;s!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with cover art by Justine Jones. The interior brings us ursine tidings: Bearfolk lands and chieftains, Bengta the Bear Maiden, goddess of dawn and honey, plus the new Keeper domain, the Oath of the Guardian, and a giant selection of bearfolk magic items and spells—rich honey-soaked pages of legends, items, and lore!

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

• “Bearfolk Baronies and Wandering Tribes” by Sarah Madsen
• “Bengta the Bear Maiden” by Celeste Conowitch
• “Bearfolk Honey Items” by Celeste Conowitch
• “Bearfolk Magic ” by Mike Welham by Mike Welham

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

Expanding Codex fleshes out monsters from the Creature Codex, giving GMs ways to modify the existing monsters to surprise well-prepared players or to introduce monsters to a campaign.

At a full 32 pages, the Expanding Codex brings you variant monsters and magic inspired by the pages of the Creature Codex:

• 17 variant monsters from Creature Codex, including the swolbold, drakes, and unhatched
• 22 new magic items from the Periapt of Proof Against Lies to the Firesight Goggles
• 26 new spells including mindless vengeance and siege of iron
• Plus adventure hooks, 2 feats, and a ranger companion!

Add these variant monsters to your campaign with alternate traits and actions, or outfit your characters with new spells and items inspired by the monsters. Either way, prepare for adventure, choosing from a slew of adventure hooks!

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

To get more out of your Expanding Codex experience, check out the Creature Codex!

By the Power of the Land!

Magic pervades all of Midgard, and ley lines are its wellspring. Those who know how to tap into these rivers of magical power find great reward—and of course risk. Brimming with this new potential, you are able to manipulate this magic like no other, boosting magical effects and powering new spells and items, even traveling the span of the world. There is no limit to what a little knowledge of ley lines can bring.

The 32 pages of Midgard Magic: Ley Lines bring the secrets of the ley lines into your 5E campaign, featuring:

• A new ley line circle for druids and an archetype for rangers, harnessing the power of ley lines
• Guidelines on incorporating and finding ley lines in your game
• New uses for ley lines, such as critical effects and revised effects tables
• Plus 12 spells and magic items, such as ley teleportation and line discharge, a new monster, and more!

Your skill at finding and harnessing the wild, mutable power of ley lines brings you control over the lifeblood of Midgard itself. The power of the land flows through you—channeling through your fingertips into marvelous effects. For you, magic is everywhere and dynamic, offering great power and a bit of the unpredictable. A fine trade for any daring adventurer!

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

To get more out of your Midgard Magic: Ley Lines experience, check out the Midgard Worldbook!

Warlock Roars from the Deep Forests and Hills!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with cover art by Phil Stone. The interior brings us the strange, the fantastical, and the quirky side of fantasy, from the moons of the Astral plane to items found in that haunted attic, decidedly unusual items for rounding out a treasure trove, plus all the details of a very weird season in the Wastes with new monsters—such as the behemoth hill giant, anathema locusts, and asp vines—plus high-fantasy, chaotic terrain and gear!

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

• “The Mad Spring” by Jeff Lee
• “Weird Lists” by Mike Shea
• “Weird Fantasy Items” by Jeff Lee

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

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 Climbs Into the Ferryman’s Boat!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new Midgard 5th Edition Warlock special edition is
here—with design by Brian Suskind and Wolfgang Baur, cover art by Justine Jones, and diagram of the
multiverse by Phil Stone.

We’re heading beyond the lands you know for this one, beyond the branches of Yggdrasil to the various
planes of the multiverse. Weighing in at 40 pages, this special guide has everything you need to get
started:

• Secrets of planar travel, including the World Tree, the Ever River, and portals, plus the afterlife and convergence days
• Details on the planes themselves, the Seven Heavens, the Summer Lands, the Storm Court, the
  Marketplace, the Plane of Gears, Evermaw, and the Yawning Void
• Important locations for each of the planes, from the Court of Heaven in the Hall of Elysian Dawn (the lowest layer of the Celestial Realms) to Node Primary, homeworld of the ahu-nixta in
  Ginnungagap
• Adventure seeds and vital personages, just screaming for adventurers
• A diagram of the multiverse, showing the planes in relation to one another
• And 14 planar magic items, including the giggling orb, impulse crystal, and Verses of the
  Deathbringer

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

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 Ventures Into the Dungeon!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with cover art by the stupendous Justine Jones. The interior reveals the history of dungeons in D&D, as well as cunning traps, deadly inventions, and new magic from a derro architect! Surely that expert architect’s dungeon plans are well-constructed for easy, logical exploration? (Cue maniacal laughter!)

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

• “Killer Dungeons: An Old-School Retrospective” by Steve Winter
• “An Ode to Randomness” by Steve Winter
• “Decorating Your Dungeon: New Obstacles for Adventurers” by Kelly Pawlik
• “Dire Creations of the Derro Architect” by Christopher Lockey

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

Let the Monster Masters Guide You

Classic monsters can get stale, and Game Masters often need to generate their own monstrosities to properly challenge players. But concepting, creating, and using monsters is no easy feat for any Game Master—and that’s where this book comes in.

In these pages, 15 of the brightest stars in the gaming industry share their wisdom for conceptualizing, developing, and maximizing the “Wow!” factor of monsters. Step by step, the writers show how to think up a new idea—or modify an existing one—then refine and test the design and get the absolute most out of the creature.

Ever wanted to build a monster from mythology or pop culture? Use psychology theory to power your monsters’ motivations? Get advice for when your players try to befriend a beast? This book has you covered! Through simple but effective techniques, these experts demonstrate how to:

• put an adversary’s environment and resources to best use
• employ common-sense motivations to guide a creature’s behavior and choices
• develop realistic alternatives to just fighting—and dying
• grab every player’s attention with powerful, sensory-filled descriptions
• make monsters much more than a piece of art coupled with a block of statistics!

Presented in thoughtful progression, this book contains essays by RPG veterans Monte Cook, Wolfgang Baur, Mike Mason, Crystal Frasier, Mike Shea, Shanna Germain, Steve Winter, and many more. They have created your favorite monsters from the most prominent roleplaying game publishers around. Now let them turn you into a Monster Master, too!

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—in a convenient, portable size.

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 Pocket Edition 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 Pocket Edition contains nothing but magic from start to finish!

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 Pocket Edition, 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 Pocket Edition brings you more than 400 new monsters in a portable, accessible form, and includes favorites such as:

• 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!

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

Use them in your favorite published setting, or populate the dungeons in a world of your own creation. Pick up Tome of Beasts 2 Pocket Edition and give your players an encounter they won’t soon forget!

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 Midgard Worldbook for 5th Edition 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!

Fully 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 Midgard Worldbook for 5th Edition hardcover and PDF 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!

Fully compatible with the 5th Edition of the world’s first roleplaying game!

Warlock Rules the Skies!

Thanks to the Warlock Patreon supporters, the new 5th Edition booklet is here—with cover art by the stupendous Karl Waller. The interior reveals the secret lore of dragons, including their powerful magic, strange intrigues, and various powers they share with followers as patrons. Join these masters of fire and sky and unlock their greatest strength!

Weighing in at 24 pages, this zine’s topics include:

• “Dragon Templates” by Celeste Conowitch
• “Barbarian Subclass: Path of the Dragon” by Celeste Conowitch
• “Warlock Patron: The Great Dragons” by Gabriel Hicks
• “Dancing with Dragons: Intrigues of the Mharoti” by Richard Pett”

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

Forty-Fingered Nakresh Has a Hand in Every Pocket!

Forty-Fingered Nakresh is the simian demon‑god of wizards and thieves. His eight hands grasp all there is to take and hold tight. It is said he reserves his lowest left hand for the boldest and most daring of his thefts. And his cult—a pentarchical assemblage of the region’s most infamous scoundrels and their followers—revere their god by emulating this behavior. These five crime lords plot the most spectacular thefts in order to appease their deity and outdo the other members of their organization.

The 19-page Hand of Nakresh PDF includes:

• Cult leaders, organization, and goals with full stats for the five great rival leaders of the cult
• Cult plans and adventure hooks for levels 1 to 12
• Specific and generic cultists with stats, including tengu bravos and roachling lieutenants
• Magic items such as the Monkey’s Paw of Fortune
• A cult vehicle that has to be seen to be believed—the clockwork siege crab!

Expand your campaign with thievery and skullduggery, with the Hand of Nakresh!

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

To get more out of your Hand of Nakresh experience, check out the Southlands Worldbook!

An Arcane Cult with Secret Knowledge

The villainous Emerald Order is devoted to the guardianship and understanding of the mysteries of the Emerald Tablet, whereon the greatest arcane secrets of Thoth-Hermes are inscribed. The inner circle has divined the secrets of the tablets, enhancing their already formidable magical abilities with new understanding.

The Emerald Order for 5th Edition includes:

• Two new cultist subclasses, the Emerald Order Initiate and the Disciple of the Emerald Estorica
• Fully detailed cult leaders, organization and goals with complete stats for 6 general levels of cultist plus specific leaders
• Plots and adventure hooks for party levels 1 to 12, plus the Gyrfalcon Repository, an adventure locale ready to play
• New magic items including an emerald shard ioun stone and the Emerald Tablets artifact
• Two new monsters, the immured and the smaragdine golem, fully illustrated

Give your villains a little arcane boost, or give your players their own secret agenda. Show your players a new challenge with Demon Cults: The Emerald Order for 5th Edition today!