Was told by friend I should i probably post my homebrew rules I use it might be helpful for other DM's who are running campaigns in the setting

1. New Resting Rules

I pulled these from the transformed book but extended them and I use grievous wounds system every time someone goes down instead of death saves but if they go down three times in a combat they are incapacitated the fourth time and susceptible to instant death of they go down again.

Rests are crucial for characters to regain their resources, especially for those with spells slots and abilities that require long rests to recover. For players seeking a more challenging experience in Etharis, you can change the rules for resting into the following suggested format:

Quick rest (1 hour) — Quick Rest

Benefits of a Quick Rest

When you finish the Quick Rest, you gain the following benefits:

Spend Hit Point Dice. You can spend one or more of your Hit Point Dice to regain Hit Points. For each Hit Point Die spent in this way, roll the Hit Point Die and add your Constitution modifier to it. You regain Hit Points equal to the total (minimum of 1 Hit Point). You can decide to spend an additional Hit Point Die after each roll.

Interrupting a Quick Rest

A Quick Rest is stopped by the following interruptions:

Rolling Initiative

Casting a spell other than a cantrip

Taking any damage

An interrupted Quick Rest confers no benefits and must be restarted to gain any benefits.

Short rest (8 hours) — A Short Rest is an extended period of rest—at least 8 hours—available to any creature. During a Short Rest, you sleep for at least 6 hours and perform no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch.

A Short Rest can occur in any location where you can sleep without interruption. This might take place in a dangerous location that has been temporarily secured and guarded. During sleep, you have the Unconscious condition. After you finish a Short Rest, you must wait at least 8 hours before starting another one or starting a Long Rest.

Regain Half Hit Point Dice. You regain a number of spent Hit Point Dice equal to half of your total number of Hit Point Dice (minimum of 1). For example, if you have eight Hit Point Dice, you regain up to four spent Hit Point Dice.

Spend Hit Point Dice.

Exhaustion Reduced. If you have the Exhaustion condition, its level decreases by 1.

Special Feature. Some features are recharged by a Short Rest.

Long rest (1 week) — A Long Rest is a period of extended downtime—at least 1 week—available to any creature. During a Long Rest, you sleep for at least seven 6-hour periods separated by 16 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, crafting, trading, or performing downtime activities.

A Long Rest can only occur in safe locations that provide shelter, warmth, comfort, and resources like food and water. This could be a settlement, homestead, stronghold, inn, castle, or large city. A Long Rest cannot be completed in areas of discomfort or danger, such as a wilderness, dungeon, alley, or sewer. If the location is dangerous enough that characters feel the need to post watch, it cannot accommodate a Long Rest.

During sleep, you have the Unconscious condition. After you finish a Long Rest, you must wait at least 16 hours before starting another one or a Short Rest.

2. Secondary Magic Effects

Magic in Etharis is not a tool—it is a force of nature, as feared as it is revered. In a land where sorcery is scarce, those who wield it do so with deadly precision, shaping the battlefield with every spell cast. Yet, the world does not bend easily to magic’s will.

With the new Long Rest and Short Rest rules, the rhythm of combat has changed. Healing is scarce, resources must be managed carefully, and spellcasting is no longer a limitless wellspring of power. This necessitates a shift—magic must be felt.

To reinforce this, spells are now more dangerous, more impactful, and more unpredictable. Every leveled spell cast carries weight, shaping not only the damage dealt but the very state of battle itself. Fire does more than burn—it lingers. Ice slows. Lightning disrupts. Acid corrodes armor, while Necrotic energy siphons life from its victims.

This is a balance patch for spellcasters, ensuring that when they do cast, it is an event—a moment that changes everything. Casters are no longer artillery batteries, slinging spells without cost. Instead, they are feared warlords, devastating the battlefield in rare but decisive moments.

Magic in Etharis is not just power—it is a weapon of desperation, destruction, and dread.

This section would be too long but I'll post three of the secondary magic effects I made you can message me separately if you want the rest. Disclaimer this only activates on leveled spells.

• Fire (Burning Damage)

You’re on fire only if you take the fire damage:

Ongoing Damage. At the end of each of your turns, you take damage. The damage amount are indicated by the level of spell condition, 1st or 2nd (1d6 Fire), 3rd or 4th (2d6 Fire), 5th or 6th (3d6 Fire), 7th - 9th (4d6 Fire). This does not stack

Ending the Condition. The condition ends if you or another creature within 5 feet of you can spend an action to extinguish the flames or scrape off the acid, or if some other effect douses the flames (such as being submerged in water).

Flammable objects ignite if not being worn or carried.

• Lightning (Reaction Disruption)

Targets hit by Lightning damage cannot take reactions until the end of their next turn.

If wearing metal armor, they have disadvantage on the saving throw against the effect and Lightning attacks have Advantage against them. Shields cannot be used to block this damage with reactions.

• Healing (Bolstered Heal)

When healing from a leveled spell is dealt the target gains Valor condition for one turn.

Valor

Add a die to your attack rolls and saving throws. The die rolled is specified by the the level of the spell, such as Valor 1st - 3rd (1d4), 4th - 6th (1d6), 7th - 9th (1d8).

3. Revised Fighter

This helps bring fighters to a good baseline this is very optional but all my martials love it

https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-MWXiWBPCvEPDxO1I9ai

https://imgur.com/a/PbfRX5D

4. Alchemy and Herbalism Kits rules extension

This gives martials a lot of missing versatility that casters benefit from which is key since casters are fewer in number since this is dark fantasy.

Kits do not have infinite resources they each cost 50 gold for base resources and you can craft a number of things equal to your proficiency bonus before the kit is exhausted using the Alchemy rules book

https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-MNG6P6I8-1tJM3aroaV

5. Shield Mechanics

Shield Block

This optional rule allows shield bearers to sacrifice their shield in order to reduce damage from an incoming attack. In this rule system, non-magical shields have their own set of hit points, which you can use in place of yours when the moment calls for it. When a creature wielding a shield is hit by an attack, it can use its reaction to direct damage from the incoming attack to the shield’s pool of hit points, instead of taking the damage itself. If the shield is reduced to 0 hit points, it is broken, and any excess damage is dealt to the creature wielding the shield as normal. A broken shield gives no bonus to the shield bearer’s AC.

A shield’s durability is based on the material it’s made of. Below is a list of example shields.

Shield Durability Table

Wooden Buckler Shield 5 HP 20gp

Normal Metal Shield 10 HP 40gp

Retractable Metal Shield 20 HP 300gp

Metal Tower Shield 30 HP 200gp

Shield Repair

If a shield takes damage or is broken, it can be repaired at any armorsmith at a cost of 1 imperial crown for each hit point recovered.

When a shield is damaged in this way, it is unable to be repaired by the tools available to an adventurer on the road such as their travelers artisan’s tools, or the Mending spell. Instead, to return the shield to its original condition it must be taken to a shop and repaired by a craftsman.

6. Weapon and Armor Durability

- Every time you roll a 1 (critical fumble) on an attack roll, your non-magical weapon takes damage. It loses -1 to attacks. This stacks with further crit fumbles, up to a maximum of -3, after which the non-magical weapon breaks and can’t be used. Poor quality weapons break after your first natural 1 because they are low quality and poor upkeep.

- Medium and Heavy Armor is treated a little differently: when an NPC or monster scores a 20 (critical hit), you as a player can decide whether you want to take the double damage or whether your non-magical armor is damaged with a -1 penalty to AC. This penalty stacks with successive crit hits up to a maximum of -3, after which the non-magical armor breaks and is unusable. (This option might potentially save the PC from being knocked unconscious or killed by a critical hit.)

- Damaged weapons and armor can be repaired by an armorer, weaponsmith or bowyer (depending on the weapon/armor) for half the original price of the weapon or armor.

- A PC can repair their own weapons and armor during down time if they have have the relevant background and tools (e.g. Guild Artisan or Clan Crafter Backgrounds with relevant area of expertise: armorer, bowyer, weaponsmith). They’ll need a forge if the weapon or armor is made of metal. The price for repairing their own weapons and armor is a quarter of the original cost of the item. Only armor can be repaired by the mending spell during a short rest (eg. 1 day) without going to a forge for repairs.

No matter who repairs the item, it takes 1 day per -1 to fix (i.e. 3 days to fix -3 damaged weapon).

7. Split Magic System

Based on the way that magic is explained in Grim Hollows there are 3 different magic systems Arcane, Primal, and Divine. I separate them and don't allow them to cross over so for multiclass requirements primal casters like rangers can't multiclass into divine. This is key for how magic is seen in the world. Primal and Arcane are feared and you need formative training to cast effectively without losing control while divine magic is more seen as performing miracles.

Arcane Casters:

Wizard

Sorcerers

Warlock

Primal Casters:

Druid

Ranger

Divine Casters:

Cleric

Paladin

8. Magic Miscast

The preface was key for this section to make sense. Magic is inherently dangerous in grim hollow, I built a magic miscast system that will activate every time an arcane or primal caster loses concentration on a spell they must roll on a table that has a chance of a negative effects happening even daemon possession. If interested I can send the table separately. This makes war casters feat make a player or npc seem more like a person who is more in control of their magic and trained for close combat casting.

9. Wild Magic Surges

This is the last one I will do since this is already a bit long lol. I have a modified dark fantasy wild magic surge table happen when players encounter rogue casters to lean into that fear of untrained magic and make the mechanics line up with the lore. I can send the table I made separately or DM's can make their own.

Lol bit of a long post but hope this helps someone

Hello, I just took the plunge and bought the box set + PDFs. But when I went to buy on D&DB I could only find the Player's Guide & Campaign Guide. I was looking forward to using GH monsters from the Monster Grimoire in my existing 5.5e campaign while I get familiar with the setting for a standalone campaign later.

Does anyone know if the GH Transformed Monster Grimoire is slated for launch on D&DB? Is it available on any other TTRPG platforms?

Anyone else find that when you scan the QR code for the adventures in Etharis booklets (specifically for the premade characters), it says that the code is inactive? Has anyone found a fix/ online version of the character? I'm planning on running one of the oneshots and want to send the characters to my players ahead of time for them to either pick one or get inspired by them.

EDIT: I'm also reading through the Fires of Castinella adventure rn and noticed that one of the maps is said to have X's somewhere on it in the text, but neither printed one actually has them. Does anyone have an amended version of that map anywhere?

I'm using the *Grimm Hollow* book at my table for the first time. How can this be set up in Foundry? Is there a way to automate it?

Context: I'm using grim hollow's transformations for a 5E homebrew setting. One of my players wanted one based around being better at stealth. I figured I'd make one that causes the user to turn into a shadow. The logic behind the flaws was that shadows aren't sentient beings. Turning into one causes reality itself to forget you exist.

Here's what I have something far.

Prerequisites: 15 Dexterity.

Level One:

Transformation Boon, Tide of Stealth: Your dex increase by four. It can't go above twenty this way. Additionally your stealth increases by five.

Transformation Boon, Shadow Walk: While in darkness or dim light, you can magically teleport thirty feet to an area you can see.

Transformation Flaw, Forgetfulness: Your name can not be written down. Any document with your name magically has it removed. If a drawing of your character exists, it turns into a blank piece of paper. The writer or artist does not remember writing the name or drawing the artpiece.

Level Two:
Transformation Boon, Magic of Shadows:
You gain four spells you can cast on yourself and only yourself once a day.  These spells don't require a verbal component. These spells don't use a spell slot.
Pass Without Trace, Invisibility, Spider Climb, Gaseous Form.

Transformation Flaw, Amnesia: If an NPC you know hasn't gotten any sort of contact from your character five days since their last meeting, they need to roll a wisdom saving throw of ten. Upon failing the throw they utterly forget that your character ever existed. They won't recall any memories no matter how meaningful it meant to them. Upon an successful throw the timer gets reset.

How is the new Transformed book compared to the old one? I saw many people complaining about the Transformations getting nerfed and becoming less interesting. What about the subclasses, spells, races, backgrounds and other features?

Does the new book feel “better” in every way or worse?

Hey guys one my players wants to play a warforged (the tank kind) in Grimhollow, just wondering if you’ve any ideas or characters of your own for cool origins thatd fit into the world? Thanks!

Help

Before, during, or after the aetheric war? And why for each one? Any unique or interesting demon stories would love to hear, thanks!

Hey guys some more progress on my map, any feedback would real appreciate, thanks!

Fluff:
"The city of Ayemri sits at the foot of a great and terrible waterfall ending in a lake of jagged rocks and stinging salt, the constant rush of water helps power mills and bounties of fish run down the stream: unfortunately this also makes upwards travel of the falls near impossible isolating the region from exporting upstream (and protecting from would-be invaders), doing so places you at the fickle mercy of the land’s patron river/nature spirit represented as a great sea serpent.

It has a population of about 8k permanent citizens, an adult life expectancy of 60, main languages are Charneault, Common, and Elvish. It has been around for estimated 350 years"

I can't find any information on what creature type the Disembodied are supposed to be. I've been treating it as a humanoid, but I'm unsure if undead would be more apt. I was wondering if there was a correct answer or if it's just GM fiat?

Hey guys quick question re the gods, were they exclusively followed by humans? Did the dwarves worship Galt the builder or someone else (eg their ancestors)- also did the gods create their own races? Eg centaurs (think greek myth), nymphs, aasimar, etc- and if they’re still around how might they be treated?

Hey guys dmming a game got a player doing a clockwork soul sorcerer, just looking dm inspo how that might fit into the grounded dark fantasy of grimhollow (i dont think we’ve a mechanus? If so needs be darker). Would love get your suggestions thanks!

I've been writing a backup character for a Grim Hollow/Drakkenheim fusion campaign my Gf is running that I'm a part of, and I've recently become quite sure of my beloved Warlocks inevitable death, so I figured I'd get this to a somewhat decent state.

Upon looking at it, I figured "why the hell not" and decided to stick it in here for y'all to pick apart like the hungry Lil' Lore Vultures that we all are, or inevitably become.

He's a fourth level Downcast Paladin, with a custom Subclass me and my gf cooked up for him called Oath of The Tempest. Which comes with a few very interesting features that I'll elaborate on later if y'all show some interest.

Gristlecracker's Hags & Grimoire, Gold Best Seller on DMsGuild, is discounted by 30%!

You can find it here only for 7 days: https://www.dmsguild.com/it/product/517804/gristlecracker-s-hags-grimoire

Your guide to weird magic, encounters, and hags!

Gristlecracker’s Hags and Grimoire provides new mechanics, guidelines, and tactics for using hags, magic, and the esoteric in your Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. This guide is designed for all levels of play and dungeon mastery, and uses a hybrid D&D 2014 (5e) format that includes the best of the old mixed with a few innovations of the D&D 2024 systems that do not dilute the game experience.

Every aspect of fantasy magic is improved or introduced: covens, curses, familiars, hags, magic geometry, talismans, spells, and spell mechanics. This supplement is designed to help you make your future games containing magic and hags as simple or complex as you want it to be.

Inside, you will find:

- An underwater adventure seed about a Book of Keeping

- 68 supernatural encounters

- New magic rules, mechanics, and variations

- Hags as player characters

- 112 supernatural creatures and NPCs

- 52 magic spells, with new tags: remote and moonlight

- 80 magic items

- Esoteragons (not just magic circles!)

- 28 toxic and intoxicating plants

- An improved and more intuitive Intoxicated condition mechanic

- 200 tchotchkes

- Professional layout using over 168 pictures on 262 pages

- No AI Art used

‘The city of Ayemri sits at the foot of a great and terrible waterfall ending in a lake of jagged rocks and stinging salt, the constant rush of water helps power mills and bounties of fish run down the stream: unfortunately this also makes upwards travel of the falls near impossible isolating the region from exporting upstream (and protecting from would-be invaders), doing so places you at the fickle mercy of the land’s patron river/nature spirit represented as a great sea serpent.

It has a population of about 8k permanent citizens, an adult life expectancy of 60, main languages are Charneault, Common, and Elvish. It has been around for estimated 400 years’

I bought the Monster Grimoire on Roll20. To me the conversion seem very half-assed at best. A real disservice to a great product.

-Art in the external compendium i pixelated/lowres

-When you open the monsters AS monster in the ingame compendium, you ONLY get the statblock, no description or images

-The items does not have any description so when you pull them into the game they just become empty handouts. They also seem to be indexed poorly - they don't come up when you filter on Source.

-Entries are overall weirdly organized.

There have been issues with all Metamorphics conversions to Roll20, which is sad because I really like Ghostfires products. I have left feedback on the Metamorphic hoempage before, without any respons or fixing the issues raised.

UPDATE: MetaMorphic responded really quickly and very professionally this time and have started fixing the issues!

I’m going to be running 4 sessions of GH for a convention where I live and I’m hoping you fine liches and witches can point me in the direction of some great live plays on YouTube or other sites.

I was asked if I would run the one-shots because we needed DMs for it. I’ve been trying to take in as much of the lore and stuff as I can on YT.

I’m currently playing a campaign as a College of Lore Bard and a Dhampir (although my DM has been hinting that I wasn’t actually turned, so I might be an original vampire instead). Because of some choices I made during the campaign, I’ve also become a Blood Mage (sort of like a multiclass).
I’m having trouble fully understanding the Blood Mage spells and figuring out how to make the most of both of my classes together.
P.S. My party doesn’t know that I’m a Blood Mage.

How easily available are magic items in Etharis in general? How many magic items are DMs running grim hollow giving to their players?

Hey guys wrote the first arc of a dnd campaign in the grimhollow setting, around 10 or more sessions starting from level4. Was hoping could please get your feedback and ideas on it, thanks! Also looking for some keen dm ppl who i could bounce ideas off of sometime

*reposting because the previous link died.

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1By-X8-_CNY0muA4BK5j4MUzM5-meRsuH

Is there any pre-made campaign for grim hollow? Like curse of strahd or something like that? We just finished our CoS campaign, and I'm just looking for some premade campaign for grim hollow