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Welcome to Halcyon Drop—the last resort & spa you'll ever need! New Playable Race and TWO new Subclasses!
🕑 Added 2025-08-07 17:36:48 +0000 UTCAs you settle into one of the spa’s luxurious guest villas, you find a crumpled piece of paper lost beneath the nightstand—an unsent letter. It reads:
Mother,
It’s not what I expected. The heat is strange, not dry but laden with moisture, like walking through breath. The staff is polite, overly so. They haven’t left me alone since I arrived. I suppose that’s their job.
The treatments feel wonderful. I haven’t used my cane since the second topical application. The swelling is gone. I breathe like I did as a child, before all the doctors and tonics and diets. I slept eight hours without waking. Eight! When I woke up, the pain was gone and I cried. It feels like a mistake, like I’ve been given something I didn’t earn.
The staff calls it restoration. They’re careful not to say the word “cure.” But something about the water fixes you, I know it. I can feel it still moving inside me, like it’s not done. There’s a sound beneath the hot springs I can’t identify. A deep pulsing thing, slow and far away. I thought it was in my ears at first, my own heartbeat made strong by the waters. The staff say it’s the geothermal vents underground. I’m not so sure if that’s accurate, but what do I know?
I think I’ll stay another few days. Maybe longer. I know you want me to come home, but I’m scared to leave. I’m scared of what I was before. I feel as though I’m finally on the cusp of becoming the person I was always meant to be.
Tell Father not to send the courier again. I’m fine.
I’m better than fine.
Love,
M.
Halcyon Drop is a luxurious retreat and health spa set in a blisteringly hot desert—a true (profitable!) oasis. They say that it's nestled in the crater from an old, old meteor. How cool! The staff are attentive, and they're so friendly. And the drinks are so tasty, and the lodgings are so nice, and the waters are so relaxing...why would you ever leave?
Maybe you should just stay.
Stay.
This setting was a lot of fun to make, and fans of the White Lotus series will no doubt have extra fun with it as well. This wasn't intended to be a parallel, but it certainly ended up with some similarities befitting the magical universe of 5e.
There are lots of player options in this release!
Playable Race. This setting includes a playable race: the neurophaged. Neurophaged are characters whose minds have been overtaken by a hivemind parasite (certainly nothing to do with Halcyon Drop of course). These characters service the hivemind brain, but once they're left to their own devices, are capable of free thinking and, more impressively, limited psionic capabilities. This playable race isn't so much a race (or specie) as it is a trait and culture replacement for any race. GMs can have even fun finding ways to give characters another chance at life with the help of these parasites, potentially!
Monk Subclass. The monk subclass included with this release is also psionic in nature: the Way of the True Mind. These monks are capable of levitating creatures and objects with their mind, rendering them helpless against their attacks, or buoying their friends safely over dangerous terrain. Through their functional telekinesis, they also gain an increased range with their unarmed strikes when channeling their ki, and can even perform such magical feats like mind blank or project image at higher levels!
Paladin Subclass. The paladin subclass included with this release isn't psionic exactly, but does deal with the threat of existential knowledge and the dangers of otherworldly beings! The Oath of the Void is an eldritch-flavored paladin that punishes otherworldly beings, and can even make their enemies considered to be such a creature type, even if it isn't normally! Like the neurophaged, they may also have trouble remembering exactly how they made their initial oaths—information better left simply unknown.
Speaking of subclasses, here's a reminder that we also have official subclass playtest sessions on the Discord! So please feel welcome to sign up for them and get early looks and hands-on time with them! As always, further revisions will be made here with published updates as they're released!
What's Included:
23 pages of unsettling resort amenities, things to find (that you probably shouldn't), and mysteries to unravel (that you probably shouldn't)!
Bonus maps donated by Cze & Peku!
3 new creature statblocks!
New playable race: the neurophaged! Use psionic abilities in an existing mortal frame!
New monk subclass: the Way of the True Mind! Levitate your enemies and strike them down from afar using your psionic prowess!
New paladin subclass: the Oath of the Void! Protect the world against the ravages of what lies beyond the known world!
Credits
I was responsible for direction, design, the subclass, and additional editing for this setting. However, this couldn't be possible without extra help. If you like this setting, consider supporting these other incredible creators:
John Webb — Writing
TheArenaGuy — Monster design, editing
Cze & Peku — Maps
Damien Mammoliti — Monster Art & neurophaged illustration
Aaron J. Riley — subclass illustrations
Benjamin Sommeregger — Cover art
Jelke Ludolphij — Additional layout
This release is also made especially possible by the extra generosity of $12+ Legendary Heroes! Thank you all so much for you support, and be proud of your place in the end credits! You've earned it!
