Critical Crafting - October Release - Tales by Candlelight

In addition to the release this month, this update contains VERY important information for patrons on the future of Critical Crafting, and updates to tiers, pricing, and release schedules. For paid patrons, the updates to the Patreon can be found HERE.

Loremaster Tier Release

Acolyte Tier Release

Adventurer Tier Release

Apprentice Tier Release

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Because the release is getting up so late this month, if you are a patron who needs access to the release and were unable to access it in October, please message us via Patreon, and we will send you a link to the content. This link will be active through all of November. 

https://discord.gg/haFEzMcjMF

The Discord rises from the ashes! We won’t let some hacker stop our awesome community from joining together in one creative space. 

We have created a new Discord server for everyone to hang out, and for Loremaster’s to enjoy the benefits of their tier.  

At long last, the Weaver’s Web is available to Loremaster patrons. This searchable, sortable sheet can be used to easily find monsters, items, spells, and more in the Critical Crafting Multiverse. 

We will be adding to the Weaver’s Web as we create new releases. The link to this file will be updated monthly, and to sort or filter the document, you will need to download it locally. 

Loremasters can find the Weaver’s Web link can be found in the monthly release folder. 

What happens when the stories you tell around the fire begin to come true?

Autumn has returned, and with it, the flickering candlelight, crisp evening air, and strange festivities of Gristwood! Nestled within an eternally autumnal forest, this peculiar little town is preparing for its most beloved celebration: Unhallowed Eve.

Here, the harvest is plentiful, jack-o'-lanterns glow with mischievous life, and the townsfolk welcome creatures that most would consider monsters. Children wander the streets in costumes, collecting sweets from neighbors, while strange things stir beneath the fallen leaves of the surrounding Shadowed Grove.

But as the sun sets and the candles are lit, an older tradition begins. Families and friends gather around crackling fires to share tales of ghosts, monsters, and things that go bump in the night. And in Gristwood, there's always a chance that the stories being told might take on a life of their own...

This 50+ page Creepy and Cozy Autumnal supplement includes:

5 new monster statblocks - Encounter the mischievous Booholder, candy-obsessed Grabmegotcha, adorable Gummy Owlbear, magically empowered Trick-or-Treaters, and the mighty Harvest Dragon Patch-Keeper!

The Sunscorned Player Class, updated for the 2024 ruleset - Embrace the curse of vampirism while retaining your free will, drawing supernatural strength from the blood of your enemies and the dark traditions you choose to follow. This release also includes 5 Vampiric Tradition subclasses: the Beast, Broodcaller, Night Garden (a brand new Sunscorned tradition), Shadows, and Thralldom!

The Dessid Player Species, updated for the 2024 ruleset - Play as one of these wandering Fey spirits formed from autumn leaves, whose lives are bound to ancient trees. This release also introduces the new Autumnbough Dessid, a towering, fruit-bearing subspecies that offers protective blossoms and supernatural fruit to its companions!

4 Epic Boons and a new Epic Drawback - Push your Sunscorned's supernatural abilities to their limits, or embrace the darker consequences of their vampiric curse. And use our optional Deficiencies rules for characters willing to accept new weaknesses in exchange for additional feats!

7 new Items - Hack security systems, open portable wormholes, steal memories with a baton, cloak yourself from sight, or implant a laser cutter directly into your arm!

6 new Magic Spells - Summon swarms of bats, drain vitality from your enemies, magically transform your companions into costumed monsters, and unleash a little unpredictable trick-or-treat magic!

14 VTT tokens - Bring Gristwood to life in your online games!

New lore and more!

Protect your pumpkin patches with the incredible Harveset Dragon STL. this MASSIVE STL is over 9 inches long!

This release introduces a collection of 5 creepy, cozy, and occasionally dangerous creatures to populate your autumn adventures! Prepare your table for:

The Booholder, a mischievous, sheet-covered aberration that delights in jump scares and practical jokes. These shy creatures are fiercely protective of their ghostly disguises, and uncovering what lies beneath their sheets might earn you a very angry supernatural stalker!

Watch your candy around the Grabmegotcha, a sticky-fingered Fey creature that hides among bowls of sweets, waiting to spring upon greedy trick-or-treaters.

For something a little sweeter, meet the Gummy Owlbear! These adorable, animated candy creatures are as sticky as they are delicious, and can frequently be found wandering the streets of Gristwood or following anyone who happens to be carrying sweets.

Beware the Trick-or-Treaters, children empowered by the strange magic of Unhallowed Eve. Their costumes may be harmless, but their supernatural ability to compel unsuspecting townsfolk to surrender their candy makes refusing their demands a surprisingly dangerous proposition!

And for those looking for something considerably more formidable, behold the Harvest Dragon Patch-Keeper! These enormous dragons are born from carved pumpkins, serving as guardians of the harvest and protectors of the farmlands they inhabit. Their presence brings supernatural abundance, awakens helpful skeletons from their graves, and fills nearby pumpkin patches with mischievous, animated jack-o'-lanterns.

We have taken our debut player class - the Sunscorned - and have revised it for the 2024 D&D ruleset! Sunscorned are individuals who willingly embrace the forbidden curse of vampirism, gaining supernatural powers without surrendering their free will. Bound by ancient Sanguine Tenets, these creatures of the night draw strength from the blood of their enemies, command swarms of bats, stalk the shadows, create vampiric spawn, and eventually learn to defy death itself!

This release includes five Vampiric Traditions (four revised from 2014 and one brand new one subclass), each offering a unique way to embrace the curse! Become a ferocious predator with the Tradition of the Beast, overwhelm your enemies with hordes of vermin through the Tradition of the Broodcaller, or cultivate supernatural flora nourished by blood and moonlight with the Tradition of the Night Garden. Strike unseen from the darkness with the Tradition of Shadows, or bend the minds of others to your will as a manipulative Tradition of Thralldom Sunscorned!

Returning alongside the Sunscorned is our Dessid player species, also updated for the 2024 D&D ruleset! Born from the magic of sacred trees, these wandering Fey are composed of shifting autumn leaves and branches, their lives bound to the trees from which they awakened. Dessid travel the world following the changing seasons, collecting stories, celebrating festivals, and sharing their traditions through elaborate dances around roaring bonfires. Their supernatural nature allows them to vanish in swirling clouds of leaves, shelter woodland creatures within their foliage, and communicate with the natural world.

This release also introduces the Autumnbough Dessid, a new subspecies born from the fruit-bearing trees of orchards and cultivated farmlands. Unlike their wandering relatives, these towering, Large-sized Fey are drawn to rural communities, harvest festivals, and those who tend the land. Their bodies produce supernatural fruit that protects and sustains their companions, while their branches erupt in protective blossoms capable of sheltering nearby allies.

No Unhallowed Eve celebration would be complete without a few magical treats!

This supplement introduces 7 new magical items and a new weapon, perfect for adventurers looking to embrace the season. Enjoy a Candy Corn that restores vitality and sends you sprinting with a supernatural sugar rush, or fill your Endless Candy Bucket with all the sweets your heart desires. Dress up with the magical Couples Costume, granting supernatural vitality to companions who stay close together, or make an unsuspecting animal irresistible with a Cutesy Costume.

Protect your home with a Gnombie Lawn Ornament, a seemingly harmless garden decoration that can spring to life as a miniature undead guardian whenever an unwelcome visitor approaches! For a more restful evening, slip into a Pillowcase of Sweet Dreams, while younger adventurers can safely join the festivities with their very own Toy Weapons.

What would a creepy/cozy Halloween supplement be without a little magic? Tales by Candlelight includes 6 spells to bring even more tricks, treats, and supernatural surprises to your games!

Transform your companions into convincing monsters with Costumed Party, overwhelm your enemies with ridiculous thoughts and uncontrollable laughter using Snickers, or command the creatures of the night with Summon Bat Swarm. Give someone an overwhelming craving for sugary treats with Sweet Tooth, gamble on unpredictable healing or harm with Treat or Trick, and embrace the darker side of vampirism with Vampiric Drain, siphoning vitality directly from your enemies to sustain yourself.

And lastly, this supplement comes with 14 VTT-ready tokens for all of your online needs!

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As previously posted, there will not be new Critical Crafting content in November; instead, we will be providing patrons with a plethora of amazing content donated to us by other creators in the community who heard about our account hack and medical struggles over the past 2 months. 

The release in November will include the following awesome content from some incredible creators!:

Czpeku

20 Maps: Gridded and Gridless

20 Scenes (Art Pieces)

2 Animated Scenes

25 Creature Tokens

3 Token Frames

This bundle focuses on a map, scene, and token collection themed around a druidic circle.

Shiny Press

12 magical items, with various rarities. 

Archvillian Games

One release of their “Chronicles” content - including PDFs, tokens, magic item cards, maps, and more!

Jesse Rodgers

3 original compositions to bring the spooky vibes to your table.

Loot Tavern

2 Subclasses

2 Player Races

2 Creatures (That dragon is kickass)

This bundle is a collection of various usable tidbits from a primal/elemental setting.

Lunchbreak Heroes (5.5e)

10 Backgrounds

7 Origin Feats

4 General Feats

2 Subclasses

This bundle focuses on elements from the industrial setting of Lothburgh, featuring beats such as brick laying and industrial spells.

Rudok’s Tavern

6 Items

4 Creatures

This bundle features a collection of items and monsters with a wholesome spooky vibe, not unlike our Gristwood line.

Mithril Canvas

2 Subclasses

This bundle features two horror themed subclasses.

Adventures Await

A PDF with 40 one-shots

This bundle is a single massive pdf with 40 one-shots included.

Fantasy Atlas

21 Maps: Gridded and Gridless

This bundle features a collection of map variations for a haunted/cursed chapel.

Abyssal Brews

5 Items

This bundle features a collection of deadly and powerful items with full art and item card printables.

Modern Assets

At least 60 map assets

This bundle features a massive collection of map making assets intended for modern or post-apocalyptic maps.

PeaPu Tokens

At least 80 separate tokens

This bundle features a massive collection of horror-themed creature and player tokens.

Dungen

Three claimable codes (good for 1000 claims each)

This bundle contains three redeemable codes to grant free access to the Dungeon Architect Patreon tier.

Anonymous Publisher

30 Maps: Gridded and Gridless

This bundle features a collection of gridless and gridded horror-themed maps.

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As the candles burn low and the last of the trick-or-treaters return home, the people of Gristwood gather once more around their hearths. Outside, the shadows grow longer, the jack-o'-lanterns flicker, and something stirs among the fallen leaves. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a mug of warm apple cider, and join us for Tales by Candlelight.

Just be careful which stories you choose to tell. You never know who, or what, might be listening...

Happy Unhallowed Eve!

-Dillon, Cameron, Connor, and Fitz