The Fantasy Heroes Unbound campaign has cracked 300 backers as it continues to push towards the free adventure scenario $50K stretch goal. Welcome to everyone who has joined us on the journey! In today’s update, we’re offering another sneak peek into the core rules.
Profiling Unbound Species
The Fantasy Heroes Unbound Species are archetypical ancestries for humanoid and humanoid-adjacent sapient folk. The Fifth Edition PHB includes standard fantasy peoples (Elves, Dwarves, Humans, and Halflings) as well as less-common Species like Dragonborn and Tieflings. Unbound provides an additional selection of 12 original Species with diverse fantasy origins.
Each Species provides a set of traits and Attributes (and occasionally Defects) that reflects the baseline capabilities for the majority of folk belonging to that ancestry. Once all individual features were valued, summing their Attribute Points gave each Species’ total Point cost (which ranges from -3 to 20 Points). Assigning the Species to your character means its Point cost is deducted from your starting Build Points.
All Species have a few baseline features that do not require any Points assigned to them, including a movement Speed of 30 feet (±5 feet), being Medium-sized with no game modifiers, and fluency in the Common language, as well as two standard or one rare language.
Since there are an infinite number of possible fantasy worlds to explore, these Unbound Species represent only a small sampling of concepts that can be used in your adventures. Creating your own original Species is quick, easy, and balanced with Unbound’s Point-based framework.
The core Species include:
Anthro – Highly diverse humanoid animals who leverage unique physical aspects, combat skills, and knacks
Aquelf – Sea-adapted elves forming massive ocean empires who protect their underwater realms
Elmin – Primordial beings connected to classical elements, capable of unleashing innate elemental blasts
Faun – Swift, nature-loving sylvan folk who balance lively celebrations with impressive adventuring agility
Goblish – Clever, small fey liberators who use quick reflexes and supportive healing magic
Mander – Agile, wall-crawling humanoids with lightning resistance and fast reflexes who excel in infiltration
Minera – Subterranean stone-folk possessing earth-sensing abilities, slashing resistance, and minor telekinesis over earth
Mycellan – Resilient fungal humanoids who float, camouflage easily, and frequently become motivated adventurers
Pix – Tiny, swift fey creatures with magical light control, scentlessness, and strong spell-resistance
Radian – Living light humanoids who can turn intangible and invisible as pure energy
Risen – Partly undead, ageless beings created by altered resurrections, possessing poison immunity
Treeling – Towering, patient woodland guardians with immense strength, elevated speed, and weapon resistance
Thanks again for your backing Fantasy Heroes Unbound! Have a great weekend.
Thank you all for pushing Fantasy Heroes Unbound funding through the $40K threshold and unlocking a stretch goal! Each hardcover book will now have a satiny bookmark ribbon sewn into its spine to help keep your place when reading. The books include the core rulebook (standard and deluxe), Bestiary, Khromys, and Origins.
$50K Stretch Goal: Unbound Adventure Scenario PDF
The next stretch goal adds free additional content to your pledge. If funding reaches $50K, Khromys author Robin Flanagan will write a short one-shot introductory scenario that you can pick up and play right away. This brief adventure will be made available as a free PDF download for all backers.
Profiling Unbound Classes
The Fantasy Heroes Unbound core rules features 14 original Classes that embrace the game’s expansive selection of Attributes.
As you’d expect, Classes progression through Levels 1-20 unlocks a selection of increasingly powerful features as a character gains adventuring experience. Each Class presents its own progression chart that indicates what new Abilities, proficiencies, Attributes, spells, talents, and Bonus Points your character gains as they advance through their Levels.
The core Classes include:
Adventurist – The most flexible of all characters with the freedom to become anything
Binder – A character with a constant companion who also summons allies to their side
Biohunter – A warrior who develops mutations to enhance their physical capabilities.
Channeller – A master of their focussed element who can bend forces of nature to their will
Dynamancer – A magical manipulator who has extensive control over their chosen domain
Mechanist – An owner of fantastic Items, whether of pure enchantment or combining magic and tech
Nightsworn – An elusive transforming warrior who masters both shadows and telepathic connections
Outworlder – A student of interdimensional energies, often pulled into the world from their home plane
Psytonic – A character who expands their humanoid evolution to unlock formidable mental powers
Skinshift – A shapechanger with one or more enhanced combat forms and multiple disguises
Skydancer – An aerial wielder of motion who can generate tremendous force and convincing images
Soulwarden – A character who unites mind and spirit to heal bodies and manipulate thoughts
Tank – A nigh-unstoppable warrior dedicated to resilience and raw combat prowess
Voidreaver – A swift combatant who directs void energies to empower themselves and weaken foes
Thanks again for your support and helping to spread the word about Fantasy Heroes Unbound!
With your support over the weekend, the Fantasy Heroes Unbound campaign is now over 75% of the way to unlocking the $40K stretch goal — bookmark ribbons for the five hardcovers.
So now, it’s time for another sneak peek!
Unbound Bestiary
The 144-page Bestiary features 132 creatures from across the Challenge Rating spectrum. To make it convenient to find the right monster for your adventures, the Bestiary lists creatures in four helpful tables: alphabetical, by Adjusted Challenge Rating, by dominant creature type, and by primary habitat.
What is an Adjusted Challenge Rating?
Although specific creature examples can vary wildly, the Point-based Challenge Rating calculation assumes that all monsters at each CR have roughly equivalent combat talents. While a CR 13 creature is certainly much more capable than one at CR 4, each CR 13 monster build should fall within the same range as all other CR 13 foes. To account for individual monster variations, DMs should consider its Adjusted Challenge Rating, or ACR.
CR Baseline
Determining a creature’s ACR first requires its normal CR assignment based on its Points. Next, three values are calculated based on the creature’s CR and game stats: weighted Hit Points, weighted attack damage, and Armour Class.
If a threat measurement falls outside its expected range, the monster’s CR should be adjusted up or down from +3 to -3 for each variation. For example, having more Hit Points than average (like an ogre) adjusts its CR up while having a lower AC than average (like a black pudding) adjusts its CR down.
Example Creature: Shadecat
One of the more ubiquitous hunters in the Lower Planes is the murderous shadecat. Not aligned with infernal or abyssal powers, devils, demons, and everything in between is prey for this sadistic killing machine. With its speed, Portal Attribute, and Stealth, the shadecat is one of the more dangerous stalkers amongst fiends.
Its size and limited capabilities also make the monster a target for larger and stronger predators. Shadecats will not hesitate to flee to the Shadow plane if threatened, capable of doing this in response to any attack that they survive. Formed from souls that engaged in mindless violence by ambush, shadecats are rarely brave and always cunning.
Despite their vicious and unruly natures, powerful fiends can sometimes bind shadecats into service. It is laughable to call such familiars “tamed,” but they obey rather than suffer punishment. Servitor shadecats are even more vicious than their wild counterparts.
As the campaign progresses, we’ll give you an advanced look into some of the products you’re backing. Today, here’s a brief introduction to the official Fantasy Heroes Unbound setting of Khromys that’s detailed in a massive 368-page colour hardcover.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Introduction to the World of Khromys
Seventeen centuries. That is all the mortals who call the vast continent of Sapheris home know of Khromys’s history. They know and understand that their world is far older, crafted in a past aeon by the Primordial Gods to be a cosmic wonder. Enough ruins survive to hint at empires past – the monuments they built and the wars they fought. Legends speak of long-lived survivors who remember the ancient world, though the few known appear rarely and speak less.
The world as people know it began with the Two Century War. An empire like no other – a vast nation forged by ambition and malice called the Fiend Empire of Vasartok – spread across their continent and its two neighbours, conquering or burning all in its wake. The main reason so little history survives is because Fiend Emperor Vasar ordered all records prior to his rise erased, so no one would know any world but his. An alliance defeated the empire, but could not destroy it; the next 15 centuries saw the rise of an uneasy co-existence with long periods of cold war.
It is the year 1499 on a calendar that begins with Year 0 at the end of the Two Century War. A new Fiend Emperor has risen in Vasartok, driven by an ambition to undo many centuries of corruption and complacency. Dungeons and lairs dot the Sapherian landscape, overrun by monsters who threaten peace wherever they lurk.
Threats to both continent and world come from beyond the surface as well. Khromys is a world of layers, with Deeplands caverns housing entire civilisations between the outer and inner worlds. Far beneath the surface, an artificial sun composed of all five elements (fire, air, water, earth, and Mana) gives life and light to the Mistlands, its Mantle Moon bringing a familiar night-day cycle to inner Khromys and balance to the hollow planet. A great Aquelf kingdom sprawls beneath the waves to rival Vasartok, its court a place of scheming and murder where the victor might decide the world’s balance of power. Even the vast, blue sky holds floating lands in which the gods once lived while crafting their masterpiece.
Like most worlds of iron and magic, planes of spirits and elements stretch out beyond the physical realm of Khromys. Gods and fiends take direct interest in the affairs of mortals. Their agents enter the world to become heroes or monsters, depending on their natures. Unique to this crafted planet is the Vergence, a realm that vibrates between etheric and astral energies. The Feywhite – a menace separate from dragons and fiends – awaits within to replace Khromys with its own mad reign.
Perils rise from every imaginable direction. Sapheris cries out for heroes. It’s time to step up and answer the call.
$30K Stretch Goal Unlock + Unbound Table of Contents
Thanks to your awesome support, you have unlocked the $30K stretch goal! We are happy we now have the funds to add sleek spot UV coatings to the Fantasy Heroes Unbound hardcovers: core rulebook, Bestiary, Khromys, and Origins. A UV coating really does make a difference compared to an uncoated cover.
$40K Stretch Goal: Bookmark Ribbons for Hardcovers
As we mentioned in the previous update, another physical update will be unlocked if the campaign reaches $40K in funding: a satiny bookmark ribbon will be sewn into each hardcover spine to help keep your place.
Sneak Peek: Table of Contents
You’ve already read through the 32-page PDF Primer linked on the campaign page, right? Here’s another sneak peek that highlights what's in the core rulebook: the Fantasy Heroes Unbound table of contents.
Thank you so very much for helping this campaign fund in the first eight hours! Your support for Fantasy Heroes Unbound has been amazing! 🥳
You can help us keep the momentum going by letting your gamer friends and family know about your pledge. It would also help the campaign to spread the word on your social media feeds (Facebook, Instagram, X, etc.) as well as on your game industry communities (Enworld, RPGnet, Reddit, etc.). Dyskami’s network only reaches so far, so we greatly appreciate the role you play as our Fantasy Heroes Unbound early adopters and influencers.
✅ And if you don’t yet receive email news from Dyskami, sign up to our low-volume newsletter at http://dyskami.ca/signup/
Now, Onto The Stretch Goals!
You may have noticed that we have already posted the first two stretch goals on the campaign page.
If the campaign reaches $30K in funding, you’ll unlock the first physical upgrade: spiffy spot UV coatings will be overlaid onto the covers of all hardcover books (core rulebook, Bestiary, Khromys, and Origins), adding perfect finishes to their gorgeous illustrations.
Then, if the campaign reaches $40K in funding, convenient satiny bookmark ribbons will be sewn into each hardcover spine (the four books above, plus the Deluxe Limited Edition core RPG) to keep your important pages handy. While these bookmarks are not essential upgrades, they sure beat using a pen, ruler, or character sheet to hold your spot while you leaf through the books.
Once again, thank you so very much for helping bring this reimagined Fifth Edition core rules to life with Fantasy Heroes Unbound! We’ll check in again soon.
The Fantasy Heroes Unbound campaign has cracked 300 backers as it continues to push towards the free adventure scenario $50K stretch goal. Welcome to everyone who has joined us on the journey! In today’s update, we’re offering another sneak peek into the core rules.
Profiling Unbound Species
The Fantasy Heroes Unbound Species are archetypical ancestries for humanoid and humanoid-adjacent sapient folk. The Fifth Edition PHB includes standard fantasy peoples (Elves, Dwarves, Humans, and Halflings) as well as less-common Species like Dragonborn and Tieflings. Unbound provides an additional selection of 12 original Species with diverse fantasy origins.
Each Species provides a set of traits and Attributes (and occasionally Defects) that reflects the baseline capabilities for the majority of folk belonging to that ancestry. Once all individual features were valued, summing their Attribute Points gave each Species’ total Point cost (which ranges from -3 to 20 Points). Assigning the Species to your character means its Point cost is deducted from your starting Build Points.
All Species have a few baseline features that do not require any Points assigned to them, including a movement Speed of 30 feet (±5 feet), being Medium-sized with no game modifiers, and fluency in the Common language, as well as two standard or one rare language.
Since there are an infinite number of possible fantasy worlds to explore, these Unbound Species represent only a small sampling of concepts that can be used in your adventures. Creating your own original Species is quick, easy, and balanced with Unbound’s Point-based framework.
The core Species include:
Anthro – Highly diverse humanoid animals who leverage unique physical aspects, combat skills, and knacks
Aquelf – Sea-adapted elves forming massive ocean empires who protect their underwater realms
Elmin – Primordial beings connected to classical elements, capable of unleashing innate elemental blasts
Faun – Swift, nature-loving sylvan folk who balance lively celebrations with impressive adventuring agility
Goblish – Clever, small fey liberators who use quick reflexes and supportive healing magic
Mander – Agile, wall-crawling humanoids with lightning resistance and fast reflexes who excel in infiltration
Minera – Subterranean stone-folk possessing earth-sensing abilities, slashing resistance, and minor telekinesis over earth
Mycellan – Resilient fungal humanoids who float, camouflage easily, and frequently become motivated adventurers
Pix – Tiny, swift fey creatures with magical light control, scentlessness, and strong spell-resistance
Radian – Living light humanoids who can turn intangible and invisible as pure energy
Risen – Partly undead, ageless beings created by altered resurrections, possessing poison immunity
Treeling – Towering, patient woodland guardians with immense strength, elevated speed, and weapon resistance
Thanks again for your backing Fantasy Heroes Unbound! Have a great weekend.
Thank you all for pushing Fantasy Heroes Unbound funding through the $40K threshold and unlocking a stretch goal! Each hardcover book will now have a satiny bookmark ribbon sewn into its spine to help keep your place when reading. The books include the core rulebook (standard and deluxe), Bestiary, Khromys, and Origins.
$50K Stretch Goal: Unbound Adventure Scenario PDF
The next stretch goal adds free additional content to your pledge. If funding reaches $50K, Khromys author Robin Flanagan will write a short one-shot introductory scenario that you can pick up and play right away. This brief adventure will be made available as a free PDF download for all backers.
Profiling Unbound Classes
The Fantasy Heroes Unbound core rules features 14 original Classes that embrace the game’s expansive selection of Attributes.
As you’d expect, Classes progression through Levels 1-20 unlocks a selection of increasingly powerful features as a character gains adventuring experience. Each Class presents its own progression chart that indicates what new Abilities, proficiencies, Attributes, spells, talents, and Bonus Points your character gains as they advance through their Levels.
The core Classes include:
Adventurist – The most flexible of all characters with the freedom to become anything
Binder – A character with a constant companion who also summons allies to their side
Biohunter – A warrior who develops mutations to enhance their physical capabilities.
Channeller – A master of their focussed element who can bend forces of nature to their will
Dynamancer – A magical manipulator who has extensive control over their chosen domain
Mechanist – An owner of fantastic Items, whether of pure enchantment or combining magic and tech
Nightsworn – An elusive transforming warrior who masters both shadows and telepathic connections
Outworlder – A student of interdimensional energies, often pulled into the world from their home plane
Psytonic – A character who expands their humanoid evolution to unlock formidable mental powers
Skinshift – A shapechanger with one or more enhanced combat forms and multiple disguises
Skydancer – An aerial wielder of motion who can generate tremendous force and convincing images
Soulwarden – A character who unites mind and spirit to heal bodies and manipulate thoughts
Tank – A nigh-unstoppable warrior dedicated to resilience and raw combat prowess
Voidreaver – A swift combatant who directs void energies to empower themselves and weaken foes
Thanks again for your support and helping to spread the word about Fantasy Heroes Unbound!
With your support over the weekend, the Fantasy Heroes Unbound campaign is now over 75% of the way to unlocking the $40K stretch goal — bookmark ribbons for the five hardcovers.
So now, it’s time for another sneak peek!
Unbound Bestiary
The 144-page Bestiary features 132 creatures from across the Challenge Rating spectrum. To make it convenient to find the right monster for your adventures, the Bestiary lists creatures in four helpful tables: alphabetical, by Adjusted Challenge Rating, by dominant creature type, and by primary habitat.
What is an Adjusted Challenge Rating?
Although specific creature examples can vary wildly, the Point-based Challenge Rating calculation assumes that all monsters at each CR have roughly equivalent combat talents. While a CR 13 creature is certainly much more capable than one at CR 4, each CR 13 monster build should fall within the same range as all other CR 13 foes. To account for individual monster variations, DMs should consider its Adjusted Challenge Rating, or ACR.
CR Baseline
Determining a creature’s ACR first requires its normal CR assignment based on its Points. Next, three values are calculated based on the creature’s CR and game stats: weighted Hit Points, weighted attack damage, and Armour Class.
If a threat measurement falls outside its expected range, the monster’s CR should be adjusted up or down from +3 to -3 for each variation. For example, having more Hit Points than average (like an ogre) adjusts its CR up while having a lower AC than average (like a black pudding) adjusts its CR down.
Example Creature: Shadecat
One of the more ubiquitous hunters in the Lower Planes is the murderous shadecat. Not aligned with infernal or abyssal powers, devils, demons, and everything in between is prey for this sadistic killing machine. With its speed, Portal Attribute, and Stealth, the shadecat is one of the more dangerous stalkers amongst fiends.
Its size and limited capabilities also make the monster a target for larger and stronger predators. Shadecats will not hesitate to flee to the Shadow plane if threatened, capable of doing this in response to any attack that they survive. Formed from souls that engaged in mindless violence by ambush, shadecats are rarely brave and always cunning.
Despite their vicious and unruly natures, powerful fiends can sometimes bind shadecats into service. It is laughable to call such familiars “tamed,” but they obey rather than suffer punishment. Servitor shadecats are even more vicious than their wild counterparts.
It’s time! Fantasy Heroes Unbound RPG - Unleashing Fifth Edition is officially LIVE!
Thank you to everyone who followed the project, reserved, or helped us spread the word.
Now we get to Unleash Fifth Edition together.
New to Crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding is how projects like this come to life. Instead of one big investor, thousands of people come together to make it happen.
One important thing to know:
You won't be charged for your pledge, add-ons, or shipping until after the campaign ends.
How to Pledge
1. Create a BackerKit account
You'll need an account to pledge. It's also where you'll receive updates and manage your pledge throughout the campaign.
2. Choose Your Pledge Pick the reward tier that's right for you.
3. Choose any Add-ons you may want Want another set of dice? More books? You can add them before checking out.
4. Complete your pledge Once that's done, you're officially along for the ride.
5. After the campaign ends
We'll email you a survey where you'll confirm your selections, update your shipping information, and make any final adjustments to your order.
(If you selected Pay Over Time, your survey will arrive after your final payment.)
Meet the Species of Fantasy Heroes Unbound Now, let's show you a little of what you're backing.
Fantasy Heroes Unbound is built around giving you greater freedom to create the hero you have in mind, and your Species is one part of that process.
Combine your Species with Classes, Attributes, Build Points, and the rest of the Unbound character creation toolkit to start shaping a hero that's distinctly yours.
We'll be taking a closer look at these Species and plenty more throughout the campaign.
Tell us about your dream character! How often have you had a Fifth Edition character idea that you couldn't quite build? Let us know in the poll at the bottom of this update.
Then head to the comments and tell us about your dream character. Give us the character concept you've always wanted to bring to the table, especially one you've struggled to make work quite the way you imagined.
Thanks for being here with us! Let's have a great launch!
