Dungeons and Dragons is a game that spans many time periods, both real and fantastical. One could spend their whole campaign in a classic medieval town, only to end up in the Lovecraftian sci-fi nightmare of Nautiloid. The fantasy elements of D&D is what makes it so versatile, and I adore when settings play with real-life events through that magical lens.
Even the Industrial Revolution and its consequences.
Machines of Bone & Blood is necromancy-themed sourcebook for D&D 5e set in an 1810s-inspired setting, where necromancy becomes the driving force of industry instead of steam power. If there’s one thing the DnD races have in common, it’s that they all have to die sometime.
Conceptually, I love everything about this. Necromancy, at its core, has so much in common with technology run wild. These days, that means AI. At its worst, AI is a pale imitation of humanity that exists solely to serve the whims of its soulless master. What better way to represent the degeneration of human creativity than the shambling corpse of it?
As with any power that enables cheap labor en masse, necromancy becomes an industry in of itself. Only instead of data centers, you deal with countless corpse wagons, to ensure the laboring class continue to serve even in death. Naturally, the most important of DnD classes for this nightmare world of rotten bottom lines is the Necromancer.
Unlike the disappointing School of Necromancy subclass for Wizard, the Necromancer class’ core features are all about summons. Through the new resource of Spirit Points, the Necromancer class has so many summons to choose from. Do you want multiple meatshields distracting foes, or a massive corpse colossus to crush the living in your way? With nine subclasses planned overall, this class more than makes up for the lack of necromancy love in base D&D.
You can support Machines of Bone and Blood on Kickstarter here.
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Source: Wargamer
