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Heroes' Handbook

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Epic Characters

hero

Within this 112-page handbook you will find a vast array of new player options across all levels of play, starting at 1st level and going all the way to epic levels.

Races
Discover three new races that all offer unique roleplaying possibilities and carry with them deep ties to a particular aspect of the world.

Class Features
You will find two new subclass options for each of the 14 core classes, for a total of 28 subclass options. From the playful Toymaker artificer to the Siege Magic wizard, this book is packed with a little something for everyone at the table.
Also included are a variety of new optional features, giving certain classes access to thematic and fun tools.
In addition, sorcerers unlock new metamagic options and warlocks discover a new pact boon, complete with complimentary eldritch invocations.

Backgrounds
Find backgrounds that let you forge new character concepts such as the Villain or remove your agency from your history entirely as the Amnesiac.

Equipment
Even the mightiest adventurer needs new toys from time to time. You will find new armor and new weapons, complete with new properties that open interesting gameplay options, booth narratively and mechanically. Furthermore, new adventuring gear, poisons, and special materials supply new options for everyone, including those that lack a martial proclivity.

Firearms
Utilize this new and volatile technology with comprehensive, fun, and meaningful rules, by wielding either sidearms, boomsticks, or long guns.

Crafting
Take your crafting to the next level with 29 new materials, each with special properties.

Siege Engines
Not everything can be solved with the casting of a spell or the swinging of a sword. Find rules and properties for a multitude of siege engines and reign destruction upon your foes.

Spells
Learn 44 new spells that let you open up endless new possibilities on your adventures.

Feats
Rediscover existing feats, now re-imagined into appealing options and uncover entirely new feats, including race-specific feats.

Mythic Options
New options for those at the upper echelons of play.

Available

The printed book is available in both hardcover and softcover, both of which come with premium colors.

The PDF is available in both page and spread format, both of which are hyperlinked for easy navigation. The page number is clickable on every page, allowing you to instantly return to the table of contents.
Previews

ToC Classes Blood Hunter Optional FeaturesPhylax Paladin Optional Features Firearms

Other Works

Epic Characters Shadowfell Acheron Heroes' Handbook

Tread the Darkest Path

Doomed Forgotten Realms: Sword Coast Gazetteer Academy of Adventure Rise of Vecna Fall of Vecna Doomed Forgotten Realms Underdark: Reign of Rot Wrath of Zuggtmoy
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    • If you are interested in becoming a playtester, please send us an email via mmp.playtests AT gmail DOT com
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Reviews (0)
Discussions (17)
Customer avatar
Meral S January 19, 2023 2:01 pm UTC
Hello ,I wanted to ask if this book adds epic options to the subclasses that were left out from the Epic Charachterts rulebook,specifically those of Tashas cauldron of everything?
Customer avatar
Ryan B March 05, 2022 11:11 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Still reading through the book and I noticed that some equipment and firearms don't have descriptions like the rest. Uniforms and the Dragon's Roar. Also, The Weapon-Matte is called Weapon black in the chart just wanted to point that out.
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A April 28, 2022 4:49 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Ryan,

Thank you very much for the feedback. It's greatly appreciated.
The books has just been updated with lots of minor tweaks and fixes.
Reply
Customer avatar
Charles L April 23, 2023 7:20 pm UTC
Are these updates added to the POD file versions as well?
Customer avatar
Trevor F February 06, 2022 4:33 pm UTC
Is the Epic Characters PDF needed or would it just enhance this product?
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Customer avatar
Marc A April 28, 2022 4:47 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Trevor,

Most of the content in this book is perfectly usable without Epic Characters.
In fact, Epic Characters is only needed for this if you want to go into epic levels (levels 21-30).
Customer avatar
Alex J January 17, 2022 1:41 am UTC
PURCHASER
So I read through this and it's super cool and interesting. However I'm curious if there is any other way to gain specialized training outside of the class optional features and the weapon master feat? Or are the arduous weapons designed specifically for this sense of exclusivity?
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A April 28, 2022 4:46 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Alex,

Thank you so much for your kind words!

Arduous weapons are indeed intended to be very hard to master.
That said, it is intentionally left a little ambigious as groups might use the rules for Training (as described in chapter 8 of the Player's Handbook or chapter 2 of Xanathar's Guide to Everything) to train additional weapon proficiencies.
Proficiency with an arduous weapon might also be given as a magical boon by completing a difficult quest.
It's really up to the DM.
Customer avatar
James C January 09, 2022 6:30 pm UTC
Are there any plans to convert this to Fantasy Grounds?
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A April 28, 2022 4:38 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi James,

Potentially, yes.
Can't say any more at this point, however.
Customer avatar
Joshua S January 05, 2022 10:56 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Just one minor question: why is Absorb Affliction a conjuration? It reads more like an abjuration spell to me?
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A April 28, 2022 4:37 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Joshua,

I'm inclined to agree. The newly released update reflects this.
Thank you!
Reply
Customer avatar
Joshua S April 28, 2022 5:10 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Thank's for the update Marc!

Just as a side note, I did send an email a while ago about some other small issues I found in the spells section, did you receive it? If you did not, I'd be happy to contact you again. I don't want to sound too negative, of course, I think this is a really great book, and can't wait for your future products, some of the best on the site in my opinion.
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A April 28, 2022 5:42 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi again,

Did a quick search for yours and found it.
Lots of great observations in there. We'll definitely use it for v1.2.

Thank you for your incredibly kind words and your eagerness to help us make this book better.
It is exactly that kind of engagement that will help make it the best book is can possibly be.
Reply
Customer avatar
Joshua S April 28, 2022 6:19 pm UTC
PURCHASER
No problem, glad to help. If I notice any other little mistakes in your other books, I'll be sure to let you know!
Customer avatar
Michael H January 02, 2022 2:29 am UTC
PURCHASER
Hi, I just adore the firearms and the wildcatter ranger class and the work you've done with this resource. Just a question though, is it intended for feats like sharpshooter, skulker, crossbow expert and spells like hail of thorns to have no interaction with firearms? Since they are a 'firearm attack' not a 'ranged attack' like those kind of feats and magic items specifically mention?
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A April 28, 2022 4:37 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Michael,

Thank you so much for your kind words.
I'm probably going to disappoint you now, but the short answer is that the intention very much is for such features to not affect firearms.
Here's the relevant passage from the book (page 68, Firearm Rules):
"This section offers rules for using firearms in your game. Using these rules, every weapon is classified as either melee, ranged, or firearm. If a feature grants you a bonus with weapon attacks, your firearm attacks can also gain that benefit. If a feature grants you a bonus with only melee or ranged attacks, your firearm attacks gain no benefit."

As an example, the skuler feat wouldn't make much sense with firearms, considering all ammunition has the Blare property.
There should, however, be plenty of room to expand firearm usage with feats intended specifically for them (or just for weapon attacks in general).

I should also note, that version 1.1 was just completed. Check it out....See more
Customer avatar
Jonathan D December 28, 2021 5:22 am UTC
Does this cover everything in the epic characters product or is that separate and would need to be purchased in addition to this?
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A April 28, 2022 4:31 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Jonathan,

Epic Characters is the core epic book, taking the base classes and many subclasses into epic levels.
This book expands on that, adding additional character options for all levels of play.
Customer avatar
Alex J December 19, 2021 1:29 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hey I'm trying to purchase but I'm getting an error
{"error":"The requested source file could not be found.: /data/rawpdfs/rpg/Dungeon Masters Guild/819008-HeroesHandbook.pdf"}
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Customer avatar
Marc A April 28, 2022 4:29 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Alex,

Sounds like a technical issue.
If the issue persists, please contact the DMsGuild directly.
Customer avatar
Bradley W November 12, 2021 2:30 am UTC
PURCHASER
For the absolution pali, it's 20th level ability goes as follows:

Diligence. You can't be frightened or suffer from any
effect that would also incapacitate you.

Paladins are immune to fear from level 10 onward. I like this book so just letting you know :)
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A November 15, 2021 2:17 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Bradley,

Thank you for your kind words and for reaching out.
That part of the Diligence option is a superfluous remnant from early development that should have been cut.
The important part of it is the anti incapacitation effect, effectively making you (and your party) immune to the paralyzed and stunned conditions for the duration.
Customer avatar
Riccardo B November 07, 2021 9:01 pm UTC
I've got another question for you Marc A, will you do a book for Epic Monsters that covers the great old ones/ outer gods from Lovecraft mythology?
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A November 10, 2021 7:56 am UTC
CREATOR
Hi Riccardo,

Thank you for your question.
In short, yes. We've got a few Lovecraftian elements in our Ulraunt series already.
Going forward, we're not necessarily talking all the specific entities from the Lovecraft mythos.
But we do want to explore more Lovecraftian monsters and themes.
Customer avatar
Spencer S October 29, 2021 2:32 pm UTC
Hi, the preview looks great, and the firearms, especially, have me excited! I don't see damage values listed for the firearms, however--are they detailed elsewhere in the book?
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A October 29, 2021 3:32 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Spencer,

Thank you for your interest.
Yes, the damage values are tied to the ammunition, not the firearm itself.
There are a total of 11 different types of ammunition which also have their own properties.
As an example, some types of ammunition have ther Wreck property, which makes it deal double damage to objects and structures.

It should also be noted, that the framework surrounding firearms provides enough design space to mix and match different properties and ammunition types.
An example of this is the Redeemer, which is the only firearm to have the Divine Aim and Sanctified properties.
A creative player might want to modify a Persuader to have one or both of these properties and a DM might provide the opportunity to do so.
Customer avatar
Dungeon M October 27, 2021 1:51 am UTC
PURCHASER
Quick question with regards to the Crescent Flow monk's Triangular Footwork ability. The Crouching Combatant section - is it meant to only remove the disadvantage and advantage as a result of being prone, or is it supposed to remove all forms of disadvantage from the user's attacks and all forms of advantage from enemy attacks? As written, I believe it is the latter.
Just to clarify, I don't actually think that's a bad thing. If you meant the former, I don't see why the monk would actually want to be prone. It just wasn't entirely clear to me, so I figured I would ask.
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A October 29, 2021 9:57 am UTC
CREATOR
Hi there,

You're absolutely correct.
It is supposed to symbolize mastering a very different style of fighting that others have a hard time adapting to.
It is, however, also worth to note that attacks from more than 5 feet away are made with disadvantage against a prone target.
Reply
Customer avatar
Dungeon M October 29, 2021 11:49 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Thanks for the prompt response! Also regarding the Crescent Flow monk, I assume they aren't supposed to be literally on the floor when prone, so much as in a crouching sort of stance. You might want to make that more explicit somewhere in the text - something along the lines of "You may enter a crouched stance while prone rather than lying flat." It's a small thing overall, but I did think the subclass was silly at first, when I briefly thought they literally fought while lying on the floor.
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A October 30, 2021 4:38 pm UTC
CREATOR
Gotta say, that's a hilarious visual.
But yea, it's a crouching stance which we can easily clarify.
Thank you for your feedback, it's much appreciated!
Customer avatar
Damian F October 25, 2021 4:45 pm UTC
PURCHASER
I feel like I have to dock points from the races because of the floating ability score thing. They should come with the traditional ASI ones even if they're only recommendations. It's hardly convenient to take what should be an optional rule and force it on the end user - and that's a criticism I apply both to WOTC and any homebrewer that follows suit with what I consider a bad move. And it's a bad move because it makes the end result more bland.
Not to mention, this also makes your products internally inconsistent with one another.

Regardless of WOTC's (in my opinion foolish) choice on design philosophy going forward, the older method is better and should be used as the default with the modern one, which was based on an optional rule, should remain just that.
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A October 25, 2021 5:00 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Damien,

That's a fair point.
Generally speaking we aim to follow WotC in their design philosophy for 5e.
That said, we can easily provide you with some suggested ability score increases for the races:

- Gargun: +2 Str, +1 Con
- Stonechild: +1 Wis
--- Chiselvore: +1 Wis, +1 Con
--- Deepcrag: +2 Str
--- Hamartia: +2 Cha
- Trollkin: +1 Str, +2 Con
Reply
Customer avatar
Damian F October 25, 2021 5:08 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Those are appreciated, and I hope that you would consider in the very least putting those in the book itself.

Oh, also while I have your attention, not related to this book but to the Archeron one, I just noticed today that the Archeron book is missing a 27th level feature for Stormsmith Artificers.
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A October 25, 2021 5:13 pm UTC
CREATOR
We'll definitely consider adding suggested ability scores going forward.
Thank you for your feedback!

As for the stormsmith, their epic level feature isn't missing, though I can see how it might be easy to miss.
It's simply integrated with their 5th-level feature Extra Attack.
The Stormsmith table should also clarify this as Extra Attack (1) and Extra Attack (2).
Reply
Customer avatar
Damian F October 25, 2021 5:15 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Ah, of course! That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification there.
Reply
Customer avatar
Jerry T October 26, 2021 11:31 am UTC
Precisely. An optional rule should be just that: optional.
Customer avatar
Riccardo B October 24, 2021 5:01 pm UTC
Hi will you make a new book in conjunction with this new one, that covers epic and memorable Monsters maybe above CR 45 and that deal with fiends and celestials and maybe some really powerful great old ones like Yog-Sothoth or Tawil at Umr ? And if yes will It be soon?
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A October 25, 2021 5:03 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Riccardo,

Thank you for your interest.
We currently have two books that contain monsters up to CR 45.
These are the books in our Ulraunt's Guide to the Planes series. Currently there's Acheron and The Shadowfell.
We have no plans to create any monsters above CR 45.
We are, however, working on visiting more planes with Ulraunt as our guide.
Reply
Customer avatar
Riccardo B October 26, 2021 8:04 pm UTC
That's awesome thanks, when will se see the new Ulraunts guide books, will It be soon? and how many of them have you in project to write and release?
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A October 26, 2021 8:10 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi again,

It's much too soon for us to make any announcements.
But we're actively working on the next plane and are aiming for a 2022 release.
Customer avatar
Jay W October 22, 2021 6:08 pm UTC
Was wondering how well this jels with Legendary Games's Legendary Adventures: Epic 5E?
Reply
Customer avatar
Marc A October 22, 2021 11:50 pm UTC
CREATOR
Hi Jacob,

It is not designed to work with any third party content aside from the Blood Hunter and Epic Characters.
Epic Characters is another of our titles, also available on the DMs Guild, which introduces epic progression for all classes.
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Author(s)
Marc Altfuldisch, David J. Moore
Artist(s)
Artur Filipe, Dean Spencer, Forest Imel, Harley Dela Cruz, Jimmy Nijs
Rules Edition(s)
Pages
112
Format
Original electronic Click for more information
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These products were created by scanning an original printed edition. Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher.

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For printed books, we have performed high-resolution scans of an original hardcopy of the book. We essentially digitally re-master the book. Unfortunately, the resulting quality of these books is not as high. It's the problem of making a copy of a copy. The text is fine for reading, but illustration work starts to run dark, pixellating and/or losing shades of grey. Moiré patterns may develop in photos. We mark clearly which print titles come from scanned image books so that you can make an informed purchase decision about the quality of what you will receive.
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File Last Updated:
April 28, 2022
This title was added to our catalog on October 20, 2021.
Publisher
Dungeon Masters Guild Dungeon Masters Guild
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