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Set sail for Chelonarch, the traveling Dragon Turtle City! New Setting and TWO new Subclasses!
🕑 Added 2025-10-15 15:03:01 +0000 UTCThe acolyte knelt at the lip of the Sanctum, chalk pigment smeared in wavering lines across her brow. The water was cold here, stagnant, and her hands trembled as she lit the brazier. The fire bloomed pale and green, burning even underwater, and the smell of salt and scorched coral filled the chamber. She placed her offering—a string of tiny pearls, each harvested by her own hand—into the flames. They hissed and dissolved into ink that spiraled upward and vanished into the vaulted dark.
She began the chant, low and halting at first; she didn’t want to get the words wrong. The words were older than the city, syllables drawn from the merfolk’s first pact with Chelon, and though her voice wavered, she felt the others take it up, layering her faltering hymn with steadier tones. Together, the Orra’Thal swam forward and bowed, pressing their foreheads against the great wall of shell that formed the Sanctum’s foundation. It was like leaning against a mountain.
Chelon stirred. The shell vibrated faintly beneath her skin, a sound that was more felt than heard: a slow, immense heartbeat, a reminder that the city lived only because the dragon turtle permitted it. The acolyte pressed harder, whispering the words of prayer into the grooves of Chelon’s shell.
For a moment she felt warmth surge through her body. Images flickered in her mind’s eye: currents twisting through dark trenches, the edge of a fang-blade, a clutch of eggs forgotten long ago. She gasped and nearly lost the chant, but the others carried it forward until the last note dwindled into silence.
When it ended, she floated back with the others. The offering was gone. Chelon had listened, yes—but whether she approved was another matter entirely.
Chelonarch is a traveling merfolk city resting on the back of Chelon, the ancient dragon turtle. The great trade routes of the world meet at Chelonarch whenever she breaches for a span, allowing delegations and trade to flourish as land-dwelling societies come into rare contact with merfolks'. But Chelon's story began long ago, and now threatens to destroy her and the merfolk she protects.
There are two subclasses in this setting release: Martial Sorcery for Sorcerers, and the Trailblazer for Rangers.
As a Martial Sorcerer, you'll be able to rapidly enchant and bolster your allies' weapon strikes and enable them to move when in danger. Furthermore, you can use your Metamagic options to power up the attacks of these enchanted weapons, as if they were spells!
Trailblazer Rangers convert their hunter's mark spell into an area of effect bonus, allowing them to deal their hunter's mark damage to creatures within the space and helping allies standing within it. It's a really exciting and satisfying way to play as a ranger, and I hope you like it!
Speaking of subclasses, here's a reminder that we also have official PAID 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:
20 pages of underwater lore, merfolk interactions, and things to do! Fend off the encroaching stygian merrow, whose aboleth corruption threatens to destroy Chelonarch entirely!
Bonus maps donated by Cze & Peku!
6 new creature statblocks!
New Sorcerer subclass: Martial Sorcery! Command your allies' movements, enchant their weapons, and bolster their strikes with your Metamagic options!
New Ranger subclass: the Trailblazer! Convert your hunter's mark spell into an area of effect bonus that you can shape and transform to help yourself and your allies!
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
Aaron J. Riley — subclass illustrations
Benjamin Sommeregger — Cover art
Jelke Ludolphij — 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!
Comments
The Griffon's Saddlebag
The squares are classic 1" squares that represent 5' square areas!
Cameron Lang
Can you put the maps sizes?
The Griffon's Saddlebag
Done!
ioNetrunner
It'd be nice if the subclass pdf was split, easier to organize.
