Humblewood Review
I originally posted this article on A Pawn's Perspective on November 28, 2021
Enter a world filled with Birdfolk and Humblefolk in Humblewood, a 5e setting from The Deck of Many. Containing over 200 pages of world lore, new playable races, new spells, new monsters, and new adventures, Humblewood immerses you in the land of animal folk in an unforgettable woodland setting. Take up arms and help quell the unrest brewing in the realm as fires spread across the earth while the Birdfolk rest easy in their highborn nests.
One of the most interesting aspects of Humblewood is the wide variety of new playable races it brings to 5e. The Birdfolk brings the Corvums, Gallus, Lumas, Raptors, and Strigs, each representing a different avian type. While each has its own unique characteristics, they all share the common ability to glide. The Humblefolk have the Cervans (deer), Hedges (hedgehogs), Jerbeens (mice), Mapachs (raccoons), and the Vulpins (foxes), each more varied than the next, unlike the Birdfolk. This makes them seem a bit more interesting at face value.
To further customize your character, there are several new subclasses, feats, and spells in Humblewood as well. Each of these further drives homes the theme and animal-nature of the book. A lot of this information is well entwined with the lore of the world, Everden, and its unique pantheon of Gods/Goddesses. Finish off the book with a bestiary filled with a multitude of animal-monster hybrids, demons, and race-specific characters, and you’ve got a self-contained world that only needs the core 5e rules to run a successful campaign with.
The physical book, or PDF if you prefer digital, is extremely well laid out and filled with lush artwork. The print quality is on par with official D&D books and Humblewood fits comfortably on the shelf with any other existing 5e titles. The only real issue with the book is that the pre-generated characters given have to be physically cut out of the book, or scanned and printed. The issue with the latter being that some of the text is a bit small and loses a bit of readability if printed with anything other than a laser printer.
With so many 3rd-party 5e supplements out there it can often be hard to pick and choose which ones are worthwhile to purchase. Humblewood certainly exceeds all expectations and provides so many new options in a single book. It also helps that you get to play as adorable animals, living out all your fantasies of role-playing something right out of Disney’s Robin Hood. As of this writing, the print edition is currently out of stock, but you can still grab the PDF edition. If you do happen to find a print copy out there it’s more than worth your while to pick it up. You won’t be dissapointed.
Of course, if you’re not at all into andromorphic animals, this won’t be your jam. Then again, you may still want to check it out for the new feats, spells, and monsters. There really is something for everyone inside Humblewood’s pages.
A copy of Humblewood was provided free for review by The Deck of Many