A Compendium of Custom Species

A Compendium of Custom Species

More ways to decide what your character is.

A Compendium of Custom Species is a digital supplement for Fifth Edition containing a large collection of playable species, lineages, Tiny character rules, new cantrips, feats, and rules for playing fully sapient quadrupedal characters.

The project grew from a simple idea: species should feel meaningfully different from one another.

If your character has wings, claws, a shell, unusual senses, a body made from crystal, or an anatomy completely unlike a human's, those differences should matter during play. At the same time, a character's species should never dictate their personality, morality, class, or story.

Species establish what your character is. What they become is up to you.

What's in the book?

The Compendium contains 25 custom species and 5 Tiny species, each with lore, artwork, playable traits and, where appropriate, multiple lineages. These range from birdfolk, amphibians, canines and felines to insectoids, kitsune, minotaurs, nymphs, sharkfolk, serpentfolk, crystalline beings, constructs, fey creatures and many more.

Alongside these are:

• dedicated rules for Tiny player characters
• 21 original cantrips
• 22 Origin Feats
• 9 General Feats
• a bonus Quadruped species, allowing characters such as intelligent wolves, horses, big cats, quadrupedal amphibians and reptiles, and other four-legged creatures to function as player characters

The book is designed primarily with the modern Fifth Edition rules in mind.

Species Examples 

Below are three complete species examples taken directly from the finished book: the Avian, a diverse family of bird-like humanoids; the Shardborn, sentient beings composed of living crystal; and the Vesperi, winged bat-like humanoids.

Why I made it?

I've always liked character concepts where the species is more than a cosmetic choice. A bird-person should actually be able to fly. A shark-person should feel at home underwater. A creature with powerful jaws should be able to bite something. A tiny creature should experience a world built for people several times its size differently from everyone else.

The aim isn't to make every species mechanically identical. It's to give each one meaningful strengths, limitations and unusual abilities that can inspire different kinds of characters. 

This is a passion project where I wanted their rules to reflect their anatomy, instincts and supernatural nature while keeping them within a reasonable overall power range for Fifth Edition play. Some excel at combat. Others have unusual movement, senses, exploration abilities, social tools, or situational advantages.

Sometimes an unusual ability will solve a problem nobody else could solve. Sometimes an unusual body will create an entirely new problem. That's part of the fun.

Where is the project now?

The important part is that this isn't a concept waiting to be written. The main design and written content is already substantially complete.

The species, lineages, Tiny character system, spells, feats, artwork and layout have already been developed. The remaining work is final proofreading, layout refinement and preparing the finished digital edition for release.

This is deliberately a small, straightforward campaign. As this is my first Kickstarter, I've kept the scope focused and manageable so that fulfilment remains realistic and straightforward. There are no complicated stretch goals or expanding lists of extras dependent on increasingly large funding totals. The project is simple: the completed book as a PDF. 
 

Use of AI

This project has used AI tools as part of the creative and production process.

ChatGPT was used to assist with editing, rules discussion, proofreading, idea development, and the generation of visual assets. The final selection, concepts for all the characeter rules, rewriting, organisation, game design decisions, layout, and overall direction of the book were made by me.

The artwork in the book is AI-generated rather than commissioned from human illustrators.

I want to be completely clear about that so backers know exactly how the project was produced before deciding whether to support it. 

What does Kickstarter fund?

The campaign gives me the opportunity to finish the final production pass, release the book properly, and get it directly into the hands of people who want to use it.

The funding goal is intentionally modest at £500.

The main digital pledge is £12.00

After Kickstarter fulfilment, I intend to make the Compendium available through digital RPG storefronts for approximately £15, so Kickstarter backers receive it at the lower launch price.

Fulfilment

This is a digital-only project.

Backers receiving the book will receive the completed digital edition after the campaign, with fulfilment planned shortly after the Kickstarter funds have cleared. There are no manufacturing queues, shipping charges or international postage delays to worry about. Just the book as a PDF.

Adventure beyond the familiar.

If you've ever wanted your character's feathers, fur, scales, shell, claws, strange biology or magical origin to actually matter at the table, A Compendium of Custom Species was made for exactly that kind of character.

Species establish what your character is. What they become is up to you.