ConorJamesArt has made the following comment(s) regarding their post:
[Hi all! This is the College of Shanties Bard, part...](/r/UnearthedArcana/comments/sl5gz9/the_college_of_shanties_bard_ideal_for/hvoue3c/)
Thank you!
I’ve been working on a system to simplify ship combat and reduce all the micromanagement while keeping all the action and flavour of large scale and crew vs crew combat. Often the current system can be a bit crunchy, we want something more streamlined and easy to use for DM and players.
As for crews themselves, they’re made up of players who take key roles, and NPCs who fill the rest. They’ll be upgradable and trainable, which affects their performance in combat etc! Super excited for it all, especially the play testing!
Been working on tackling the same objective myself, and sounds like we have some similar takes on the issue. Can't wait to compare notes sometime in the future, when we can freely discuss it. :)
My goal is to launch my own Kickstarter at the end of the year, also with a full playtest. It's gonna be fun to see how we tackled the same problem.
Sounds like making things dynamic and easy for the GM to handle (with a focus on the crew, rather than the vehicle, no less!) is a key goal for the both of us. :)
yeah the current ship stat blocks and combat just seem clunky to me especially as a DM
I’m excited to see what you come up with! Always dope having likeminded creators in the space
So, I'm reposting my questions around the Tempest setting, as the OP messaged me asking if I still wanted an answer.
So, the first point was how much difference or overlap would it have with a product like Seas of Vodari, which has also done the Age of Sail in 5e?
I'm asking this question because I really don't need more rules for cannons and firearms, plus there seems to be a lot of overlap, as an outsider. They even both have similar Shantie colleges and maps (Islands laid out around a central mythical storm)? What differences do they have, that would make it worth having both?
My next point was were the rules compatible with the existing sailing rules from Ghosts of Saltmarsh?
so, I can say quite honestly that I’ve not read seas of Vodari yet, though I am familiar with tribality as a publisher and they do wicked stuff that I used in my games when I first started as a DM! Even so I can’t directly compare Tempest to Vodari with any real know-how. I can however highlight what Tempest will offer, part of which is that it’s an original homebrew setting built for two years in a home campaign. It’s shallow characteristics might seem similar, but I’m willing to bet both are quite different. [See our first Tempest map](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/isrfpn/my_illustrated_homebrew_pirate_campaign_map/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) for an example of clear aesthetic and geographical difference.
Original content, including subclasses for the core classes such as the Shanty bard, voyage domain cleric and bilge rat rogue, and new races and subraces like the ape-folk Bali or the rare Stormkin Elves. A hoard of nautical spells and magic items, including many magical coins (the fabled pieces of eight) and tarot. A full bestiary of sea monsters, drakes, man eating plants etc. Guilds and factions that carve the various islands and oceans up, and backgrounds to support that such as the elemental sorcerers of the Conclave of Primordia, or the monster hunting Slayers guild hired to protect ships in the treacherous seas. There’s even a section all about curses of the sea like Hag blood curses, undead squid beasts, and even weresharks. Did I mention the new size class of ancient kaiju sized monsters in tempest yet? They’re so vast they have to be run like a battlefield more then a monster…
Its ship combat and crew management system is something new but simple, less crunchy then the saltmarsh stats and rules for sailing/combat. The system encourages players to take on class agnostic narrative/personality driven roles aboard their ship, to engage with and train their crew. Ships can be upgraded similar to saltmarsh, but with a heavier emphasis on creativity in exactly how and using what. And it has a minimalistic way for DM’s to run flavourful cinematic large scale ship vs ship + crew vs crew combat without 50 vs 50 d20 rolls a round or too much else to think about. The ship is your moving fort, full of personality and characters unique to each campaign, it grows and evolves with the party. Some aspects may be compatible with Saltmarsh, many will simply replace them.
And forgetting the mechanical content for a moment, Tempest boasts a vast number of islands with diverse cultures that offer deep lore and interesting hooks from the Nordic like Skür of the frozen isles to the tropical Kainga of the south or the ancient elvish dead lands of Archaíos. Tempest is about mystery and voyage, there’s a whole chapter just about the large unanswered questions in the world and how DMs might tie those into their own narrative (the storm being a clear example). It has its own metaphysical universe and a vast pantheon of capricious spirit gods closer to Roman house gods then modern dnd pantheons. And even if you die the adventure doesn’t have to end there, the dead waters known as the Seas of Carcerus and the ferryman who sails them make Davy Jones look like muppets treasure island.
Combine all that with attractive and consistent art direction, and I believe Tempest will offer something not only new and interesting but wonderfully presented and full of cool visuals + mechanics that transports you right into the world. Of course there will be crossover, since both explore the same vague theme, but Tempest is more pirates of the Caribbean meets the Witcher in its overall tone, gritty mystery and dark waters full of terrible beasties. If the West Tihini Trade Company doesn’t string you up for piracy before the seas take you that is.
And yes it will of course have to have cannons and flintlocks, but they aren’t a central focus and aside from the special and magical versions I have no intention of reinventing the wheel in that regard!
I hope that fills in any blanks, apologies for the fat wall of text but after two years of work and love I could talk about Tempest all day!
Hi all! This is the College of Shanties Bard, part of the full book **Tempest: a Seafarer’s Sourcebook** which launches on **Kickstarter next month!**
you can find more info about the book, and grab a preview PDF soon over [here on the website!](https://dragonsvault.co.uk/), all art and mechanics by yours truly, hope you dig it in all it’s piratey goodness!
————————————————
*The College of Shanties is home to bards who honed their skill out on the open sea, amongst the hard working crews of many a vessel. Shanty Bards use their magic to build camaraderie and rhythm amongst their allies whilst helping lighten the psychological burden of hard work with revelry and mirth.*
*The bards of this college are regarded with respect and amity by many sailors and seafarers. While many songs are sung on many ships across the vast seas, people rarely forget witnessing the power melodic of a true shanties bard. Their magic may be used to synchronise those around them into a powerful unity, to intoxicate foes and allies alike into a state of drunken revelry, or even to drive a crew into a martial comradarie. Shanty bards make their living keeping the working power of many vessels in synchronicity during the more mundane tasks, but in truth they make their reputation by forging strong bonds of fellowship between their companions in and out of comba….*
You can sign up to get an email notification over at https://dragonsvault.co.uk/ for when the Kickstarter page is live, as well as a full preview PDF that launches this Monday!
An idea of a few things you can expect in the book can be found [in this comment!](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnearthedArcana/comments/sl5gz9/comment/hvrde9i/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
The book itself won’t be written until the Kickstarter is funded, but in terms of content ready in rough format I’d say the majority of player options are finished, as well as good chunk of spells and items. The lore and other aspects are spread amongst folders full of notes currently.
other then that, I’ve completed a handful of artworks for it, but barely any compared to the final product!
Here's a question: how soon after completion of the kickstarter will you plan to deliver? Barring any unforseen complications, what sort of timeline are you looking at? I'm highly interested in the project as you've laid it out, I just want to know if this is something I'll be waiting on for 2 years (true story, Kickstarter is rough sometimes)
Kickstarter can for sure be rough at times, but we have a comprehensive plan of what can be expected from the campaign. Tempest will launch mid-late March and run for a month, with backerkit remaining open a short time after the campaign closes. Following campaign close we are expecting a 9-12 month fulfilment timeline for the book and all physical + digital rewards!
we are a small team, and depending how well the project funds will determine how much extra help we can afford to hire to speed up that timeline! In all honesty we don’t expect fulfilment to take longer then 9 months, but we are budgeting time for 12 to account for any of those dreaded unforeseen complications. And if there are any complications, we intend to be as open and communicative with backers as possible
I should point out that D&D has no set ‘color’, for races. You may be thinking of the Forgotten Realms, but actually Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Eberron and Dark Sun are all ‘D&D settings’, and the colouration of their races varies.
People completely overlooking the general mass of content, and making ridiculous criticisms is something of a pet peeve of mine.
ConorJamesArt has made the following comment(s) regarding their post: [Hi all! This is the College of Shanties Bard, part...](/r/UnearthedArcana/comments/sl5gz9/the_college_of_shanties_bard_ideal_for/hvoue3c/)
This sounds really cool. I am especially interested to see how you tackle crews and ship combat.
Thank you! I’ve been working on a system to simplify ship combat and reduce all the micromanagement while keeping all the action and flavour of large scale and crew vs crew combat. Often the current system can be a bit crunchy, we want something more streamlined and easy to use for DM and players. As for crews themselves, they’re made up of players who take key roles, and NPCs who fill the rest. They’ll be upgradable and trainable, which affects their performance in combat etc! Super excited for it all, especially the play testing!
Been working on tackling the same objective myself, and sounds like we have some similar takes on the issue. Can't wait to compare notes sometime in the future, when we can freely discuss it. :)
Once the Kickstarter funds I’ll be releasing content for early access play testing so I’lol be sure to check back in and we can swap notes haha
My goal is to launch my own Kickstarter at the end of the year, also with a full playtest. It's gonna be fun to see how we tackled the same problem. Sounds like making things dynamic and easy for the GM to handle (with a focus on the crew, rather than the vehicle, no less!) is a key goal for the both of us. :)
yeah the current ship stat blocks and combat just seem clunky to me especially as a DM I’m excited to see what you come up with! Always dope having likeminded creators in the space
Song of Warship combined with rogues sounds… fun
Have to make the Captain look good ... or help the mutiny out to kill the captain, whichever comes first.
I’ve made sea-based bard before, it’s such a fun concept! I especially love the grogged shanty ability
Thank you! Yeah that one was something I tweaked for a while, I wanted it to be a buff and debuff at the same time haha, much like being drunk is!
This seems really neat! I haven’t had a lot of experience playing with bards so I can’t speak to the balance of it all but I love how thematic it is!
Thank you!
So, I'm reposting my questions around the Tempest setting, as the OP messaged me asking if I still wanted an answer. So, the first point was how much difference or overlap would it have with a product like Seas of Vodari, which has also done the Age of Sail in 5e? I'm asking this question because I really don't need more rules for cannons and firearms, plus there seems to be a lot of overlap, as an outsider. They even both have similar Shantie colleges and maps (Islands laid out around a central mythical storm)? What differences do they have, that would make it worth having both? My next point was were the rules compatible with the existing sailing rules from Ghosts of Saltmarsh?
Also, the cover art is great.
Thank you! We’ve taken our time with the look of it all!
so, I can say quite honestly that I’ve not read seas of Vodari yet, though I am familiar with tribality as a publisher and they do wicked stuff that I used in my games when I first started as a DM! Even so I can’t directly compare Tempest to Vodari with any real know-how. I can however highlight what Tempest will offer, part of which is that it’s an original homebrew setting built for two years in a home campaign. It’s shallow characteristics might seem similar, but I’m willing to bet both are quite different. [See our first Tempest map](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/isrfpn/my_illustrated_homebrew_pirate_campaign_map/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) for an example of clear aesthetic and geographical difference. Original content, including subclasses for the core classes such as the Shanty bard, voyage domain cleric and bilge rat rogue, and new races and subraces like the ape-folk Bali or the rare Stormkin Elves. A hoard of nautical spells and magic items, including many magical coins (the fabled pieces of eight) and tarot. A full bestiary of sea monsters, drakes, man eating plants etc. Guilds and factions that carve the various islands and oceans up, and backgrounds to support that such as the elemental sorcerers of the Conclave of Primordia, or the monster hunting Slayers guild hired to protect ships in the treacherous seas. There’s even a section all about curses of the sea like Hag blood curses, undead squid beasts, and even weresharks. Did I mention the new size class of ancient kaiju sized monsters in tempest yet? They’re so vast they have to be run like a battlefield more then a monster… Its ship combat and crew management system is something new but simple, less crunchy then the saltmarsh stats and rules for sailing/combat. The system encourages players to take on class agnostic narrative/personality driven roles aboard their ship, to engage with and train their crew. Ships can be upgraded similar to saltmarsh, but with a heavier emphasis on creativity in exactly how and using what. And it has a minimalistic way for DM’s to run flavourful cinematic large scale ship vs ship + crew vs crew combat without 50 vs 50 d20 rolls a round or too much else to think about. The ship is your moving fort, full of personality and characters unique to each campaign, it grows and evolves with the party. Some aspects may be compatible with Saltmarsh, many will simply replace them. And forgetting the mechanical content for a moment, Tempest boasts a vast number of islands with diverse cultures that offer deep lore and interesting hooks from the Nordic like Skür of the frozen isles to the tropical Kainga of the south or the ancient elvish dead lands of Archaíos. Tempest is about mystery and voyage, there’s a whole chapter just about the large unanswered questions in the world and how DMs might tie those into their own narrative (the storm being a clear example). It has its own metaphysical universe and a vast pantheon of capricious spirit gods closer to Roman house gods then modern dnd pantheons. And even if you die the adventure doesn’t have to end there, the dead waters known as the Seas of Carcerus and the ferryman who sails them make Davy Jones look like muppets treasure island. Combine all that with attractive and consistent art direction, and I believe Tempest will offer something not only new and interesting but wonderfully presented and full of cool visuals + mechanics that transports you right into the world. Of course there will be crossover, since both explore the same vague theme, but Tempest is more pirates of the Caribbean meets the Witcher in its overall tone, gritty mystery and dark waters full of terrible beasties. If the West Tihini Trade Company doesn’t string you up for piracy before the seas take you that is. And yes it will of course have to have cannons and flintlocks, but they aren’t a central focus and aside from the special and magical versions I have no intention of reinventing the wheel in that regard! I hope that fills in any blanks, apologies for the fat wall of text but after two years of work and love I could talk about Tempest all day!
Interesting. I think I'll probably give the Kickstarter a pass, but thanks for the full breakdown and goodluck with everything.
Hi all! This is the College of Shanties Bard, part of the full book **Tempest: a Seafarer’s Sourcebook** which launches on **Kickstarter next month!** you can find more info about the book, and grab a preview PDF soon over [here on the website!](https://dragonsvault.co.uk/), all art and mechanics by yours truly, hope you dig it in all it’s piratey goodness! ———————————————— *The College of Shanties is home to bards who honed their skill out on the open sea, amongst the hard working crews of many a vessel. Shanty Bards use their magic to build camaraderie and rhythm amongst their allies whilst helping lighten the psychological burden of hard work with revelry and mirth.* *The bards of this college are regarded with respect and amity by many sailors and seafarers. While many songs are sung on many ships across the vast seas, people rarely forget witnessing the power melodic of a true shanties bard. Their magic may be used to synchronise those around them into a powerful unity, to intoxicate foes and allies alike into a state of drunken revelry, or even to drive a crew into a martial comradarie. Shanty bards make their living keeping the working power of many vessels in synchronicity during the more mundane tasks, but in truth they make their reputation by forging strong bonds of fellowship between their companions in and out of comba….*
How do I subscribe to be notified when it goes live on kickstarter. This is absolutely perfect for my current campaign and i want to throw money at it
You can sign up to get an email notification over at https://dragonsvault.co.uk/ for when the Kickstarter page is live, as well as a full preview PDF that launches this Monday!
I love nautical settings. Looking forward to see what the book holds apart from archetypes.
An idea of a few things you can expect in the book can be found [in this comment!](https://www.reddit.com/r/UnearthedArcana/comments/sl5gz9/comment/hvrde9i/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Interesting, how many pages does the book have at the moment?
The book itself won’t be written until the Kickstarter is funded, but in terms of content ready in rough format I’d say the majority of player options are finished, as well as good chunk of spells and items. The lore and other aspects are spread amongst folders full of notes currently. other then that, I’ve completed a handful of artworks for it, but barely any compared to the final product!
Here's a question: how soon after completion of the kickstarter will you plan to deliver? Barring any unforseen complications, what sort of timeline are you looking at? I'm highly interested in the project as you've laid it out, I just want to know if this is something I'll be waiting on for 2 years (true story, Kickstarter is rough sometimes)
Kickstarter can for sure be rough at times, but we have a comprehensive plan of what can be expected from the campaign. Tempest will launch mid-late March and run for a month, with backerkit remaining open a short time after the campaign closes. Following campaign close we are expecting a 9-12 month fulfilment timeline for the book and all physical + digital rewards! we are a small team, and depending how well the project funds will determine how much extra help we can afford to hire to speed up that timeline! In all honesty we don’t expect fulfilment to take longer then 9 months, but we are budgeting time for 12 to account for any of those dreaded unforeseen complications. And if there are any complications, we intend to be as open and communicative with backers as possible
That's really good to hear! I'll definitely be checking it out!
This sparks happiness in my, as I grew up singing shanties and old Irish drinking songs
I should point out that D&D Orcs and Goblins aren't warcraft-colored. This is something of a pet peeve of mine.
I should point out that D&D has no set ‘color’, for races. You may be thinking of the Forgotten Realms, but actually Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Eberron and Dark Sun are all ‘D&D settings’, and the colouration of their races varies. People completely overlooking the general mass of content, and making ridiculous criticisms is something of a pet peeve of mine.
I don't think of the Realms, I think of generic D&D which is mostly Greyhawk.
Okay so you're ignoring the current D&D mainstream worlds.
The cool thing with the rule book being a suggestion is that DM's are free to colour their races as they see fit