Fellspyre Chronicles

This is a /co/ related article, which we allow because we find it interesting or we can't be bothered to delete it.

"Either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become The Villain."

– Harvey Dent

Fellspyre Chronicles is a grimdark epic fantasy comic by Phillip (two Ls) Kennedy Johnson, set in Cain Anuun and published through DC. The Last God is billed as "Book One".

The story is told along dual plotlines across time - and there's no time travel, so the current line is the later one. In this the current line, the world (rather, as usual, the narrative's Beleriand-shaped corner thereof) has enjoyed a generation of peace and prosperity (on the surface) thanks to the heroics of heroes a generation ago, who now rule as kings. In the previous line we get a shufty on what the heroes of yore had actually done.

It is hardly a spoiler to reveal that the yore heroics weren't nearly as heroic as what the retired heroes have claimed.

Back In MY Day, 329.4 Guild Reckoning (the numerals are base-12: long story), the heroes had put an end to a scourge of zombie-inducing plantlife by putting to the sword, Mol Uhltep; the Melkor of this damaged worldlet. In this day, 358ish₁₂, the bill is due. A new generation of heroes (aided by some of the previous heroes, and by some of their victims) must fix the mess for real.

Johnson has a hankering for lore and an ear for the sacred works of Dunsany and Tolkien, so after every comic he treats his readers to extensive exposition on side-aspects of this world. You might want to keep a notebook handy.

Oh. Right. /tg/.

Johnson brought in Dan Telfer to help design The Last God: Tales From the Book of Ages, with Amedeo Turturro as main editor. This short (under 50 pages!) supplement translates, DL5: Dragons of Mystery-style, the base rules of the comic into something 5e-playable.

The authors start all this with a Trigger Warning for "a brutally repressive environment when it comes to gender roles" totally on their own, and not because content-creators all have to do that in this Enlightened And Modern And Totally Not Oppressive NOR Hypocritical Age if they want to be published outside Castalia House or CreateSpace. Nor because we're being dogwhistled NOT FOR WIMPS hinting at Edge for Edgesake. Sigh.

Besides all that, comes another note. This claims the whole book as an excerpt from, no less, The Book of Ages composed by Mol Choresh Himself and stored at the Guild's Pinnacle, as relayed by Grandmaster Skol 358.1₁₂ Guild Reckoning (GR). This much is a conceit taken from E. Gary Gygax' Glossography.

The book duly transmits those lore and maps we need. But also we get stats: Barrowfiend, Drake, Ebonsnare, the Flowering Dead (the whole point of this arc, with many subdivisions), Gallows Imp, Gryndel, Gyrehawks (sic), Harlot o' the Gale, Harpy, Hearteater, Maertroll, Rimefoot, Ursulon, Water Dragon.

Following that, magic: Fey, Aelvan, Dragon, Guild [Eldritch]. Then four magic items, but you probably won't see 'em since they're Wondrous or Artifact.

Playable Subclasses kick in next. Guild Eldritch, Paladin (Oath of the Grauniad), and Ranger (as "Ferryman", for "Aelvan only").