Salve! Welcome to The Vynestra Collection, a series of high fantasy classical-inspired 5th Edition setting and supplementary content books.
Our feature publication is Deveros, The Amethyst Crown, a sprawling, high fantasy city campaign setting inspired by the culture of ancient Rome and modern Venice. Be it the lore-rich Romanesque civilisation of the Aldarins that allures you or simply a selection of new and exciting monsters, NPCs, spells, and magical items, Deveros has plenty in store!
Five detailed publications shall be launching as part of the collection with over 1,000 pages of content:
Explore a deeply diverse metropolis rooted in rich Romanesque culture and Venetian layout comprised of 20 fully realised districts, each with their own unique stories to tell. Deveros, The Amethyst Crown contains:
The Vynestra Collection contains not only a sprawling city to explore but ALSO tonnes of fresh content to raise your 5e games to the next level. Read more about the accompanying books in the collection below!
Following four years of playtesting and production, The Vynestra Collection is finally here! Sign up to pledge to receive your copy in late 2023. Digital copies available just after the Kickstarter ends.
Deveros, The Amethyst Crown. Capital city of the Aldarin Empire. There's always something going on, some job to be undertaken, some quest to be completed. Whether it be for an upstanding patrician family or a devious group of rogues, there's money to be had. And money is the lifeblood of the city. Status and wealth sit above all else, with those of the lower classes scrabbling to claw their way into respectable social standing. Some do this through military service, others through arcane research, and even more through religious devotion to a deific cult. The end goal is that of citizenship, to become Aldarin.
Will you end up as a wealthy patrician, set for life with a luxurious estate atop Marmaros? Or will you start your own mercyr guild, hiring adventurers to squash the empire's most troublesome monsters? Maybe you'll step into the arena and claim glory in the eyes of the public, showered with fame and gold? Perhaps you'll fall short and meet Kistra, The Keeper of Souls, before anyone knows your name. It's time to find out if you're worth your salt, emberblood. Prove to the world what you're capable of.
Deveros is filled to the brim with hostile politics, warring factions, rowdy street gangs, and nefarious criminal organisations. Dare you partner with a politic faction, such as the rowdy party-goers of The Capitans or the shadow-clad assassins of The Umbra Syndicate. Or perhaps join a mercyr guild, fighting off monsters from the coast with Phoenix or tracking down vampires with Transfodium. Whatever your goal, whoever your allies, there'll be a group of interest willing to help out... for a fee.
Deveros hosts twenty sprawling districts, packed full of exciting, lore-rich locations and hundreds of diverse NPCs. Experience the surface level culture through lighthearted adventures or dig deep into the complex inter-political machinations of the Aldarin Empire. Deveros hosts more than enough content to suit any table's playstyle.
Inspired by the people of the Roman Republican era, the Aldarins are a proud kinship descended from the father of the Medial Pantheon, Deos. The Aldarin Empire sprawls outwards along the southwestern shores of the Elosian continent, slowly enveloping all in its path. Their rich culture, inspired by the bounties of ancient Roman tradition, is host to many familiar touchstones of history: oracles, gladiators, legions, myths, temples, and more!
Delve into the rich culture of Aldarin society, crammed with curious political intrigue, luxurious bathhouses, and a whole lot of wine! Will you rise the ranks of the social ladder to claim glory for you and your family? Or will you dig into the underbelly of this teeming metropolis and make dealings within a dangerous underworld?
Embers are Vynestra's unique ability system which allows both players and NPCs to rise as demigods. Select from a bounty of over 200 abilities, level them up alongside your character, and grow into an all-powerful deific being. Or maybe you'll go one step further, sacrificing fragments of your soul to the ember as it spreads over your body, consuming you entirely as you clutch for ever-growing power. Embers take the form of magical tattoos which may be customised to the player's content.
Your players may take on the role as mercyrs within the Aldarin Empire — officially licensed mercenaries and adventurers for hire. Mercyrs are paid eye-watering sums of coin to tackle the empire's most deadly threats from within such as bandits, dangerous artifacts, and deadly monstrosities. Will your party join the ranks of Deveros's famed mercyr guilds or forge their own path down within The Aspen Seed, the city's infamous mercyr watering hole?
Find rulesets and guides for how to setup a mercyr guild, how to setup contracts for your players, and how to run a contract-based campaign!
Deveros provides a number of unique, thematic sub-classes for the Romanesque setting:
Deveros features dozens of monsters, ranging from adorable pseudogryphons and thieving mice-like critters to dangerous entities of urban myth such as the Scarecrow of Agrizzo and the Satyr of Sorrow. There are monsters of all CR ranges, allowing for GMs to build dynamic, memorable encounters. Don't have time to build your own? We've got you covered! Deveros comes with over 15 pre-written encounters by our talented team of writers, as well as roll tables for minor encounters and gossip within each district.
Maybe monsters and gangs are too easy for your party. They have embers after all, and are well on their way to becoming recognised by the gods. Why not throw some demigods at them instead? These high-CR creatures are immortal, requiring complex rituals to solve and enact in order to weaken them. Don't expect to kill a demigod easily without performing their ritual first, otherwise you might become paste along the pavement. Each demigod has their own unique ritual to discover, research, and enact allowing for GMs to create entire exciting arcs based around taking down these poweful deific foes. Reward your players for slaying these powerful foes with legendary weapons forged by gods.
There's magic in the air, and it's turning water into wine! Explore the diverse realm of Vynestra's arcane arts with bespoke spells belonging to each of the major deities or with the creation of magical prosthetics. Become the ultimate arcane meddler by intercepting and modify sending spells or dragging creatures out of teleportation. Bend magic to your whim with these exciting spells that push 5e in new directions!
Discover dozens of new, exciting magical items to equip your characters with! Ranging from common to legendary, there is a magical item for everyone. Create magically projected maps with the curious veilglobe or turn your foes into trees with the deadly dendritic poison.
Not all magical items are born of mankind. Deity-forged weaponry may be gifted by the gods to their most devout followers, granting them powers unseen by other cults. Channel the fury of the stormy seas with Rael's recalling trident or bleed out your foes with the legendary demigod blade, Laika's rapier.
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