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Dundra Digest, Alpha Issue (Patreon)

Published:
2020-07-08 13:30:02
Edited:
2023-01-22 21:03:24
Imported:
2020-07
Tags:
D&D

Content

 

Hello recruits, adventurers, and legends and welcome to the first installment of the Dundra Digest!

The Dundra Digest is a serialized original campaign setting for D&D 5e written and developed by me. I hope at some point in the near future to release new installments on a monthly basis but I’m starting with a slightly more subdued goal of getting this first installment polished. The ultimate goal is to compile the digests and release the content as a full print or print-on-demand book.

I want to help set your expectations of what you’re about to read. This text has not been edited or reviewed by a sensitivity reader, both of which are planned for the future. I am providing this early draft to you for feedback regarding 1.) what you like, 2.) what you don’t like, and 3.) what setting elements you’d like me to expand on. I’ll use this information to expand and revise this installment before it’s “official” release as well as to plan content for future installments.

As this project moves forward, I plan to hire additional writers as well as artists to begin illustrating the world of Dundra. I also hope to provide a new backer tier where you can receive a physical copy of each digest as they are released. All of these plans depend on the reception of the Dundra Digest so please, please let me know if this is a world you’re excited to see more of.

As always, thanks for your ongoing support.

- Benjamin

Files

Dundra Digest Alpha Issue.pdf

Comments

SirRantsalot (edited)

Comment edits

2026-09-07 04:00 Wow I really like this so far! Excited to see what comes next!
2020-07-08 13:49

sterlingvermin

I'm so glad to hear that! Are there any specific topics you're most interested in seeing me explore in the near future? I have a few things planned but a lot is up to patron interest.

Adam J

I'm really excited to read this tonight after work. The poll about setting options, each of those interested me with different hooks.

Adam J

I super dig what's happening - I keep thinking about the setting. I have questions about the logic of factions/groups/entities in the world, and the logistics/details around certain actions. A couple of my questions - did the Gaoler include Archfey/Archdevils/Demon Princes in his/her/their vendetta/mission? Would angels still be around, as options for Celestial Pact Warlocks, for example? Or did the heavenly hosts sing "aaaaaaaiiiii!" after the Gaoler's work and go 'kaput'? Was the Gaoler's work truly so quick or quiet that no bards or anyone made up stories about it, or rumors about his/her/their motivations? And did the gods and the servants of the gods put up a fight at all? Also, slightly related - gods are sometimes considered the source of a cleric's magic. Do you think Clerics can still function, magically? What if a Cleric swears explicitly to a god? I guess they wouldn't, because the people do not believe in the gods anymore... but what if some people believe in the dreaming/imprisoned gods, or they don't believe the stories about the Gaoler? I guess for everyone to believe the reality of the Gaoler, there had to be a real, tangible impact (like Clerics' magic failing, or reputable prophets proclaiming the end of the gods or something). Now that I think of it, I remember you've tweeted recently about how Clerics could change if a god was dead, so I bet you have thought extensively about this already. Do you think any potential gods could seek godhood in the power vacuum? Not many factions or characters truly believe they are the 'bad guys' (haha, https://youtu.be/hn1VxaMEjRU?t=37), so do the dragons think they are just better than everyone? Do they try to make life good for anyone besides themselves, or do they just truly and explicitly want to use humanoid-kind to build their empires for their own benefit? I imagine more digests in the future will describe the culture Above, the intents and cultural zeitgeist of the dragons who want to rule and the way they dominated all other races but the orcs, but I was just wondering after reading this alpha entry. I love the reversal of the drow turning toward a different sort of culture. Perhaps Lolth (is she a demon or a god? I forget the lore) went out of the picture and the drow shrugged that whole burden off their shoulders. And picturing underground metropolises, that's neat. Maybe some of the formerly-Above races create parks where sunlight shines down and they can grow trees and foster other flora/fauna alien to Below. Neat, evocative setting. I'm still hopeful to hear more about Aldarc, but I really want to start a story in Dundra now.

sterlingvermin

These are great questions and, thankfully, a lot of them will be touched on in the next installment which covers (among other things) the role of various classes in Dundra. Gaoler only locked up the gods, who resided either on Dundra or in a realm adjacent to Dundra (in the same way the Feywild and Shadowfell are adjacent to the material plane). The other powers of the multiverse are distant enough that he didn't or couldn't do anything about them. The Gaoler's work was probably relatively quick but not quiet. There would definitely be some kind of oral history of this time, possibly written history on the surface of Dundra, but the migration to the Below means that those living in the Below have lost most records of their history. I would say Celestial Pact Warlocks are just fine in the setting but I'll have to be careful about how I discuss in the digests those archetypes that aren't in the SRD (which includes Celestial). I'm still deciding exactly how cleric's magic might work different, if at all. I'm thinking there will be some kind of wild magic style table they roll on when they cast a spell, possibly modified or based on the god they worship. Clerics in Dundra aren't respected at all and are probably more likely to be viewed as insane and morbid. Clerics will still have a connection to a god, and their power will still derive from the god, but the condition of the gods will have an impact on how that works thematically and mechanically. If there is a way to ascend to godhood in Dundra, no one has found it yet (except maybe the Goaler). The path to divinity would likely be found in the central cell of a god-dungeon. Chromatic dragons are evil, greedy, and power hungry as a rule so their efforts are pretty nakedly selfish. Metallic dragons might have initially seen themselves as saviors of humanoids by "protecting" empires but then gradually, over time, they became less of a military or defense asset and more of a dictator. My understanding of the SRD is that I'm not able to use the words "drow" or "Lolth" so I will likely mostly be ignoring her role in typical drow society. If I do address it in some way, it will be a divinity with similar themes who is now entombed along with the others. There's going to be a lot of interesting things to explore with the Below, how the settlements look, and how Abovelanders have tried to make the Below more homey. I actually did write quite a few words on Aldarc a ways back so you might see it in the future!