Alongside official adventures from Wizards of the Coast, some of the most exciting new content for Dungeons & Dragons comes via third-party supplements. From K-Pop Demon Hunters to sci-fi expansions, much of the best new content gets its start through crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter. That’s the case for a new horror and necromancy-inspired expansion called Machines of Bone & Blood, which has already hit over 7 times its original goal and counting.
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Machines of Bone & Blood comes from SoManyRobots, the team behind the iconic seafaring Songs of the Spellbound Sea expansion. Now, they’re back with a new D&D 5e expansion filled to the brim with necroindustrial horrors. Machines of Bone & Blood will add 2 new classes, dozens of subclasses, species, spells, and more for players to enjoy. It will also feature exciting adventure seeds and encounters to begin your necromancy-filled campaign of horrors. It’s one of these adventures that I’m excited to have the opportunity to preview for you today as a ComicBook exclusive.
Machines of Bone & Blood Crushed Its Kickstarter Goal (& There’s Still Time to Back It)
Before we dig into the preview, some details in case you’re new to Machines of Bone & Blood. This is a new horror and necromancy supplement for D&D 5e, from the team at SoManyRobots. This team already has one successful expansion under its belt with the 2024 release of Songs of the Spellbound Sea. Now, it’s time for a new adventure in a world full of necromancy-fueled industrial horrors, geared towards 2014 D&D 5e rules with easy conversion to 2024 revised rules.
Machines of Bone & Blood will deliver 300+ pages of horror goodness, including a Necromancer and Abomination class. To go with those classes, the supplement will add 20+ subclasses from the Path of the Machine-Breaker Barbarian to the Industrial Soul Sorcerer, and over 100 new spells. Reward tiers range from a $30 PDF version of the book up to a $120 physical core bundle with dice, cards, and more. And clearly, D&D fans are eager to get their hands on this new supplement from somanyrobots.
Since it launched on Kickstarter, the project has surpassed its funding goal and unlocked several stretch goals. This means the book will have even more subclasses, mini-settings, weapons, and more. At the time I’m writing this, the Kickstarter campaign for Machines of Bone & Blood has about 2 days to go. It runs through July 9th, which means you still have time to get in as an early backer. You can check out the different backer levels and rewards at the official Kickstarter page.
And if you want to get a sample of what’s in store first, we’ve got an exclusive preview of one of the many adventures you’ll find in this necromancy-infused horror supplement for D&D 5e.
First Look at Machines of Bone & Blood‘s “The Tragickal Murder of the Right Honorable Cartwright Umber” Adventure
The writer and project lead for SoManyRobots was kind enough to share an early look at one of the adventures that will be available in Machines of Bone & Blood. The supplement will include around 8-12 adventures in total, depending on how many of those stretch goals get knocked out before the Kickstarter campaign ends on July 9th. The Tragickal Murder of the Right Honorable Cartwright Umber is an early-to-mid game adventure that pulls players right into the heart of the necroindustrial revolution.
This adventure is written for a party of 4, with options for average party levels of 4, 9, or 14. That flexibility is one way this supplement stands apart from official D&D 5e materials, with clear guidance on how to scale encounters with various enemies to suit each party level. This makes it a supplement friendly to beginner DMs who might not yet be comfortable rebalancing their own encounters. Without giving too much away for those who might hope to play this adventure one day, let’s dig into some of the details to give you an idea of what’s in store when Machines of Bone & Blood arrives.
The Tragickal Murder of the Right Honorable Cartwright Umber sees the Player Characters drawn into a conflict at The Bone Mills, a central hub of the necroindustrial revolution that’s core to this supplement. The titular Cartwright Umber is a necrobaron who runs a massive industrial factory full of bone machines run by overworked necromancers and their skeletal creations. And said workers have had more than enough of Umber’s business tactics. That’s where the PCs come in, as they’re tasked with helping to rid the workers of Umber once and for all. How you get rid of him is entirely up to you, and therein lies the fun… and the challenge. Of course, alongside helping free workers from a tyrannical necrobaron, there’s some loot in it for the adventurers, as well.
Packed with undead enemies to contend with and intrigue, not to mention a fun revenge-fueled mission, this adventure has me excited to see more from Machines of Bone & Blood already. And it’s just one of the adventures D&D fans will encounter in this upcoming expansion, not to mention the new classes and subclasses. If you want to be among the first to experience this adventure and the other exciting content in store with Machines of Bone & Blood, be sure to head to the Kickstarter page before July 9th.
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