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Get Ready for Shanarel – a Whimsical Fantasy World for 5e

by Vortex Verlag

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Shanarel is a whimsical high-fantasy campaign setting for tabletop RPGs, set on a vast and vibrant continent where the strange is ordinary and the impossible feels just within reach. Designed as a 5E campaign setting and easily adaptable to other systems, it offers a rich and inviting fantasy setting guide for GMs and players alike.

It’s a joyful ride for GMs and players who delight in colourful, curious, and delightfully odd adventures – the kind of tabletop roleplaying experience that embraces wonder, playfulness, and discovery. Shanarel is a world you might actually want to live in: gentler than our own, yet still brimming with mystery, magic, and just enough danger to keep things exciting.

Expect curious creatures, peculiar cultures, and moments of quiet beauty woven between bursts of adventure. This is escapism with a smile – a fantasy worldbook where imagination takes the lead and exploration is always rewarded.

Fully compatible with D&D 5E, Shanarel is also flexible by design – a system-agnostic campaign setting you can easily adapt to suit your game and make entirely your own.

Shanarel will be available in English and German.
Shanarel wird es auf Englisch und Deutsch geben.

This is what awaits you:

45 different playable cultures from 21 species, each with their own backgrounds and rules, populating the vast continent of Shanarel,
118 countries, each with a short description, forming a chaotic, lovable, and ever-surprising world,
a thorough guide to culture on this delightfully varied continent – with entries on magic, history, economy, flora, fauna, art, craft, architecture, languages, sex, and many more subjects,
a concise rules section, including notes on character creation, additional subclasses, and guidance for the things that work a little differently in this world,
a starter adventure for levels 1–2, so you know exactly where to begin your journey.

A Pastry Shop in Pisomelier by Arantza Sestao

Crafted by Humans

We are proud to collaborate with a wide range of talented human creators, whose work brings our worlds to life with distinct style and care:

Authors (German): Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann, Tim Struck
German Proofreader: Florian Opitz
English translator: Andreas Wichter
English Proofreader & Editor: Neil Kingham
Maps: Mark Smylie
Illustrators: Ameera Sheikh, Arantza Sestao, Gwenevere Singley, Mark Smylie, Mauro Alocci, Simone Tammetta, Volodymyr Bondar, Thea Gedé, Francisco Vegas, Anna Jäger-Hauser, Roena Rosenberger, Justine Barthel
Layout: Thorsten Janes
Marketing & Kickstarter Management: Melina Sedó

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