Updates & Upcoming Releases: Improved Accessibility and Spell Packs

In the past months, we've poured an incredible amount of time and energy into optimizing Beneos Battlemaps and Tokens, laying the groundwork for future releases. The future is now and releases are incoming!

From the outset, our goal has been to make the best possible content as accessible as possible. For us, "best possible content" means material that inspires, ignites the desire to further engage with it, and is just plain fun to use.

My ambition for every token, spell, and item we release goes beyond mere visual appeal. I want Dungeon Masters and their players to experience exciting and dynamic encounters, not just pit a party against sacks of hit points with two claws and a bite attack. Encounters are a significant part of the Dungeons & Dragons design space, so why settle for basic back-and-forth of dice  and hit point subtraction? My aim is to make the DM an active and engaged participant in combat, not just a service provider waving players through encounters like a second tier haunted house.

Battles serve as a means of conflict escalation and resolution or as catharsis for dramatic narrative buildup; an encounter must deliver gameplay that matches its narrative promise. 

Each battle is a story because it contains everthying necessary: A protagonist, an antagonist, a conflict, and a resolution. A good fight combines the satisfaction of expectations set by the narrative with dynamic and, above all, enjoyable gameplay. Every opponent must live up to its promise. While some of our tokens may not be inherently complex, they possess a certain depth that results from opening up new layers of gameplay, mechanics, and synergies.

Improved Accessibility: Tactical Guides

To ensure that the perpetually overworked and time-strapped DM gets what they expect from each token, every token release will now come with a breakdown tactical guide, allowing the DM to easily play the monster straight from the sheet with minimal prep work - keyword accessibility.

Synergies will be decoded, interactivity revealed, and best practices disclosed. We've extensively tested this model and found it to be extremely practical and time-saving – we're eager to hear what you think. While new releases (starting with release #147, the Witch Hunter) will have this Tactical Guide in their biography in FoundryVTT, old tokens will also be updated and equipped with guides over time. We are also working on solutions to further improve this model by actively referencing passive or active abilities from within the Biography for even quicker decision making!

We look forward to your feedback!

Beneos Spell Pack Release

Just like the creatures, items, and spells should evoke imagery, create an atmosphere, and then live up to that atmosphere on the gameplay level. The Beneos module now allows us to add modular batches of content – in addition to our regular monthly releases. The first of these content updates will be available soon:

Paladin Spell Pack I: Wrath and Virtue

Death Oath, a 3rd-level evocation.

This pack contains 12 spells tailored to the Paladin - whether gentle martyr or zealous warrior of faith. Sacrifice, charity, and the martial application of faith are the focus of this release, with a number of athmospheric spells guaranteed to give Paladins (and their chosen flock) strong narrative moments full of triumph and tragedy, while also providing an innovative but balanced gameplay experience.

Bondsman, a 2nd-level conjuration.

These spells are designed to expand the limited choice of Paladin spells, allowing them to truly embody their role as oath-bound war-saints with the appropriate intensity that only spells with names like Death Oath, Sin Eater, or Ironclad can provide.

As with the regular releases, the spell pack includes full FoundryVTT integration via the Beneos Module and printable spell cards.

While this pack focuses on the Paladin, some (or all, you're the DM after all) spells will also be available to other classes. This is just the first pack awaiting immediate release, there are more themed curated packs in the works - both for Spells and Items.