Homebrew Aerth

SETTING EXPECTATIONS

CAMPAIGN UNIVERSE

The campaign universe uses the D&D 3.5E ruleset (primarily the core books and SRD), with some homebrew sprinkled in to address things that go against the DM's sensibilities (based on decades of play starting with 1E).

Grittiness, verisimilitude, "realism", and occasional creepiness, are the aspirational goals. As is a healthy mix of story development, combat, moral dilemmas, and goal achievement, plus a heavy dose of role-playing. This is a continual work-in-progress that will last a lifetime.

The inspiration and some content sources used for Aerth are:

• The world of Greyhawk, especially the pantheon and mages who provided many of the spells.
• Previous versions of D&D, which provide content and context for much of play style, part old school, part crunch.
• Lord of the Rings, Conan, H.P. Lovecraft and Game of Thrones. Minor magic items being prevalent, but powerful items not being commonplace.
• Materials from Paizo Pathfinder 1E, Raging Swan Press, Alderac Entertainment Group, Necromancer Games, Malhavoc Press, Mongoose Publishing, Kobold Press, White Wolf Publishing, Fantasy Netbook Community Council, Fat Goblin Games, Bastion Press, Green Ronin Publishing, Troll Lord Games, and many, many more, have found their way into the campaign universe. Not all publishers are still standing, having succumbed to the ravages of time, but a deep gratitude is felt for helping present a milieu that I can feel proud of using for our collaborative storytelling and endless adventures

PLAYABLE RACES

Available player races are the standard ones listed in the SRD Races section, with sub-race options from those listed in the Monsters section, as listed below in order from most to least common (the exception being a drow half-elf from the Forgotten Realms Campaign book).

• Humans
• Dwarves: Hill and Mountain
• Elves: High, Wood, Gray, Wild
• Gnomes: Rock and Forest
• Half-elves: Any elf listed above, and Drow
• Half-orcs
• Halflings: Lightfoot, Tallfellow and Deep (a.k.a. Stout)

PLAYABLE CLASSES

Available player classes are the standard ones listed in the SRD Classes section.