The world is old beyond the memory of all but the longest lived, and heroes who were once renowned for their selfless sacrifices and mighty deeds are long forgotten. The genius minstrel Wol Dreyfoot claimed to have been inspired by the many partial tales and snippets of longer stories held in the bardic college’s vaults as he composed his magnum opus, “Song of the Forgotten Hero”, nearly a century ago.

Hearthenflame occurs on the night of the first new moon of winter and commemorates the bravery of Paneth, the celestial who legend holds brought knowledge of hearth and fire to mortals in direct defiance of the gods. When discovered he was transformed into a pig by the gods and then unknowingly cooked and eaten by the mortals to whom he had given the secrets.

Places of darkness, oppressive heat, and air so thick with humidity it feels like you could drink it—jungles and other tropical rainforests are dangerous even before you encounter the wildlife that hunts even the hunters. Included here are a series of challenging environments for your players to encounter while moving through such an environment, though many would work well for dense forests of all climates.

This article introduces the mechanic of rare skills to Level Up: Advanced Fifth Edition, and details four new rare skills, collectively known as the elemental skills. Mechanically, rare skills function exactly like normal skills except that a character can only attempt a rare skill check if a feature explicitly grants them access to the skill.

Though most eyes look to the future, the past fascinates you, and you have found wisdom in exploring the ruins of civilizations that fell to disaster, or that gave birth to today’s world. Foremost in the public’s consciousness are the prehistoric orcs known as the Ancients, who left massive stone edifices, fantastic golden treasures, and little else. But you might also study the Demonocracy, the brief philosopher state of Pala, pre-Malice Elfaivar, the magically unstable ruins of Methia, or any of the multitude of obscure peoples of the past.