Life is a speck of hope, dimmer than a charity withheld. Sin is real, and torment is its punishment. The true Hell is not a place to be visited on a whim and left at will. It is as promised by scripture: eternal. Experience it in D&D 5th Edition.
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Demonheart - The Vile Codex for 5E · 716 following
Between a sprawling city carved into a fallen angel's corpse and a colossal satanic figure looming over head, Hell is a brutal landscape. Dream Realm Storytellers brings you Demonheart, now for fifth edition! Will you be joining us in the firery pits of Hell this time, or will we need to drag your soul in….
Demonheart is a sinister campaign where players take on the roles of damned souls who have died and awakened in an infernal world of towering chains and cities built upon fallen angels. To survive, they must embrace the power of sin itself, wielding corrupting abilities and forging twisted alliances as they climb the ladders of damnation. Hell is getting a new order, and this time it is built for 5E. We’re bringing the world, chaos, and infernal mayhem into the 5E ruleset, reworking the experience so veterans and newcomers can jump straight into the fire. Expect familiar favorites rebuilt with new mechanics, options, and tools designed specifically for 5E play. The result is a fresh way to descend into Hell without leaving the madness behind.
Two New Books Expanding the Underworld
Two new books introduce new rules, mechanics, and tools built specifically for 5E, giving you even more ways to bring Demonheart’s brutal gameplay to the table. These books are designed to push the mechanics further, same brutal Hell, but with new ways to suffer. Demonheart leans into darker stories and mechanics that reflect the brutal reality of its setting. Players are not heroes chosen by fate, but damned souls navigating greed, wrath, and the consequences of their own sins. Featuring new mechanics such as Soul Gambit, Sin & Virtue, Demonic Transformation, and Fearful Conditions.
Stay tuned to this page, we’ll be posting more behind-the-scenes work from the team and sharing all the details about Demonheart 5E and how we are bringing this conversion to life!
Latest from the Creator
Dream Realm Storytellers
4 days ago
👹 A Sneak Peek at Demonic Transformation
Hellions! You voted overwhelmingly for me to share more about Demonic Transformation in Demonheart for 5e! Wish granted.
Demonic Transformation
Hell does not just corrupt the flesh. It is a living organism that teaches your flesh to become something else. A demon.
Demons are creatures of impulse, violence, ambition, and supernatural desire. Although many demons are spawned directly from Hell, mortals can sometimes force their souls through the same transformation.
A mortal who becomes a demon does not simply gain demonic powers. Their soul is rewritten around a single overwhelming desire. Some become creatures of slaughter, others tyrants, tempters, hunters, or monstrous embodiments of their own obsessions.
Unlike becoming a lich, demonic transformation does not require the destruction of the soul. Instead, the soul must be opened to Hell and survive what enters it. This can be done through the Ritual of Profanation. Ritual of Profanation
Prerequisites: Ability to speak Abyssal or Infernal
Casting Time: 8 hours
Components: An altar marked with Abyssal or Infernal symbols, all the blood of a CR 13 or higher creature, and an object representing the greatest desire of the creature undergoing the ritual, 13 innocent humanoid sacrifices of CR 2 or higher
Cost: 25,000 GP worth of rare reagents
During the ritual, the performing creature slowly tortures the innocent humanoids. The sacrifices must not be Unconscious during the ritual. Their horror, disappointment, sadness, and all other emotions feed the connection between the place and Hell, slowly opening an interplanar door. All of them should die in the last second of the ritual, simultaneously. This action ends the ritual.
When you successfully complete the Rite of Profanation, you gain the Demon feat. along with a long list of other benefits!
What do you think about what I've shared on Demonic Transformation so far? Let me know in the comments!
The Mechanics Will Change, But Eternal Damnation Remains
Demonheart for 5e is not going to be just a rules conversion of the Daggerheart books. It will be a separate mechanical and structural adaptation of the same damned-souls in Hell premise. What each shares at the core is the setting, themes, and choices.
What will stay the same:
The Premise - Players are damned souls exploring a brutal, biblical Hell. You can expect NSFW content including but not limited to torture, execution, and high-stakes moral compromises that will make your skin crawl. Please read the content warning before backing!
The 7 Deadly Sins are at the core - Sin, corruption, and becoming less human are all main themes that players can expect in the storytelling.
Player-driven storytelling - Players will shape the game through their choices, hopes, and fears.
Some things that will be different:
The Mechanics - Demonheart for Daggerheart introduced a Sin Die mechanic. Demonheart for 5e leans into brand new mechanics like Demonic Transformation (how a mortal can become a demon), Fearful Conditions (upgrades the conditions of the game after characters gain a certain amount of power to match the glory of Hell), Sin & Virtue (how deep are you in the pits of hell and can you still get out without becoming a target?), Soul Gambit (your soul is a currency and can be used in trade), and more.
Characters will be built around 5e classes, subclasses, feats/spells, etc.
The feel of combat.
The Daggerheart version makes Sin an actual physical mechanic in the game, while the 5e version gives you that familiar structure in the same grimdark infernal setting.
What Do You Want to Know More About?
Answer the poll below and I'll dive in deeper in the next update! Want to know something that's not in the poll? Leave a comment! And don't forget - you can get 3 months of free access to our Patreon if you Follow the project here!
We are so insanely excited to bring Demonheart: The Vile Codex (originally for Daggerheart) to 5e! We just loved the setting so much that we decided to adapt it for 5e. But be warned: Demonheart is not for the fainthearted!
You can view the .pdf for the Daggerheart version for free to get a feel for whether or not the content is for you. Just be aware the mechanics will be completely different for 5e (although, we will absolutely have the Daggerheart version available in this campaign, too): View the PDF here.
❗❗❗Content Warning:
Demonheart is the codex of evil, although we do not endorse the acts of evil, this book delves into the darker side of the stories. This book contains mature and potentially disturbing themes intended for adult audiences. Within its pages, readers may encounter references to depictions of physical violence and revenge, narratives shaped by trauma, despair, and psychological distress as well as sexual abuse. The work explores religious themes and reinterpretations that may be considered blasphemous, alongside portrayals of Hell, damnation, and infernal hierarchies. It also includes elements of body horror, transformation, and the loss of identity or autonomy, as well as mechanics and narratives involving moral corruption, coercion, manipulation, and the abuse of power.
Some sections feature suggestive or sexual themes, including desire, temptation, and arousal as part of the broader Hellscape. There are also references to self-harm, ritual sacrifice, and existential or nihilistic ideas concerning the nature of the self, suffering, and purpose. Characters within this work may be subjected to or participate in systems of domination, control, and exploitation.
These themes are presented as part of a dark fantasy setting and are not intended to endorse or trivialize real-world harm. Reader discretion is advised.
All of that being said, we wanted to share some art so you can really get a grasp on the vibe:
If you follow Demonheart for 5e here on BackerKit, you'll get 3 months of free access to our Patreon. In the Patreon, you'll find exclusive access to Demonheart's progress as well as all of the other campaigns the DRS team has put together.
Here is how you can find it:
Sign up to be notified of the campaign here (if you haven't already):
Go to your account or click the hyperlink shown in the photo below to find the DRS Patreon code:
Claim your reward:
Are You Brave Enough to Continue Onwards?
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