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Ghostfire Gaming and the Dungeon Dudes have a new project on Kickstarter: Monsters of Drakkenheim – 5E Monsters with Lore Lairs & Loot. This project is a 5e sourcebook and accessory collection with content available for Roll20, FoundryVTT, and, for the first time via a Kickstarter campaign, D&D Beyond. Nick Ingamells of Ghostfire Gaming shared the details of the project, some information about working with D&D Beyond to bring this to life, and even provides a link to the stats of the Humongous Fungus Troll from the book, including a look at the creature’s Epic Actions and the Deadly Conditions.
EGG EMBRY (EGG): Thanks for talking with me. What is Monsters of Drakkenheim – 5E Monsters with Lore Lairs & Loot?
NICK INGAMELLS (NICK): Monsters of Drakkenheim is the third book we’re publishing in collaboration with the Dungeon Dudes in their world of Drakkenheim! This time around the Dudes are writing their take on a 5e Bestiary with a focus on more than just monsters. The goal of this book is to provide DMs with everything they need to create engaging encounters and adventures. It includes lairs, deadly conditions, epic boss mechanics and a full, player-driven crafting system!
EGG: For those that don’t know Drakkenheim, what makes this setting stand out?
NICK: Drakkenheim is the ruined city destroyed by an eldritch storm of falling stars. The falling stars contaminated everything around them and now the city is a dismal urban wasteland contaminated by magic and haunted by hideous monsters where rival factions fight over fantastic wealth, lost knowledge and powerful artefacts. The World of Drakkenheim as a wider setting is one built upon the pillars of eldritch horror, political intrigue and warring factions where the events in the city of Drakkenheim has colored the world at large.
EGG: The Kickstarter campaign page talks about 150 monsters, over 10 lairs, and “epic bosses”. Can you share an example of a lair, its boss, and the new monsters that will inhabit it?
NICK: So, the way the Dudes are writing the lairs this time around bucks the established ‘formula’. They’re creating lairs which could feature a host of different monsters as their primary denizen so they can add tactical depth to any encounter without too much reskinning! Regarding the boss monsters, I’ll do you (and your readers) one better! You can grab the sample of our Humongous Fungus Troll monster card here. This is just the statblock as the lore and combat tactics are found inside the pages of the book, but it shows off the Epic Actions and a sneak peak at the Deadly Conditions as well!
EGG: A key feature of this crowdfunding is the digital play options. This project offers D&D Beyond integration as a part of the Kickstarter. Does that mean the full book, monsters, lairs, and all will be available on that platform?
NICK: We’re so excited to be the first Kickstarter project ever offering D&D Beyond integration! The whole book, monsters, lairs, tokens, maps, conditions, items and more will be lovingly translated to the D&D Beyond platform!
EGG: The D&D Beyond offering is endorsed by Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro, correct? How did the relationship between Ghostfire Gaming and D&D Beyond come about? Did you reach out or did they contact you?
NICK: We were thrilled when Wizards of the Coast first reached out to us in order to get Grim Hollow and Dungeons of Drakkenheim on D&D Beyond. Since then we’ve had a great relationship working with the D&D Beyond team to make those initial offerings work perfectly on the platform. As we had Monsters of Drakkenheim in the works we asked WotC if they wanted to be involved and they jumped at the chance.
EGG: On the digital side, are you building the D&D Beyond assets or providing direction so Hasbro’s development team can build the digital content for this project?
NICK: We’ll be creating all the assets, i.e. the art for tokens, content etc. and pass it over to the D&D Beyond team who do the technical side of programming them into the D&D Beyond ecosystem.
EGG: An update of the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset is coming later this year. With your upcoming D&D Beyond content, will the content be “classic” 5e or conform with the updated version of the ruleset?
NICK: As we don’t have a clear view of what the new ruleset will look like we’re advertising this as a 5e compatible project. As this book doesn’t contain player options we’re not expecting the rules update to cause any incompatibilities with Monsters of Drakkenheim. WotC have said that 5e content will be fully compatible with the rules update and have endorsed Monsters of Drakkenheim for a D&D Beyond release, so we’re confident this will be fully compatible with the new edition.
EGG: Is D&D Beyond the only online platform and digital toolset you’ll offer Monsters of Drakkenheim on?
NICK: A core goal of this Kickstarter is provide options that fit everyone’s gaming needs. So we’ve committed to a FoundryVTT and Roll20 release as well. Alongside the wealth of physical items like miniatures and card decks, we’re sure everyone can find a combination of products that fit their gaming habits!
EGG: After Monsters of Drakkenheim, what’s next for Ghostfire Gaming? What’s next for Dungeon Dudes?
NICK: Ghostfire Gaming has a big year in store, with our next Grim Hollow Kickstarter slated for October this year. We’re not revealing too much about it just yet, but live playtesting has already kicked off at conventions! The Dungeon Dudes have their focus squarely on Monsters of Drakkenheim at the moment, but there’s one member of the Drakkenforce without a book to their name at this point 
If you’re interested in the campaign, check out the Kickstarter or the Ghostfire Gaming website or the Dungeon Dudes Youtube channel.
Monsters of Drakkenheim – 5E Monsters with Lore Lairs & Loot from Dungeon Dudes and Ghostfire Gaming
- End Date: Thu, April 25 2024 7:00 PM EDT.
- “150+ New 5e monsters inspired by Eldritch Horrors. Harvest felled foes to craft loot. Engage epic bosses. Explore forbidden lairs.”
Disclaimer: Egg Embry blogged for Ghostfire Gaming; he is not a part of this project. Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
