Kobold Press’ “Book of Ebon Tides” Hits D&D Beyond
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Originally published back in September 2022 for DnD 5e, Kobold Press’ Book of Ebon Tides offered a rare glimpse into the magic, monsters, and monsters of the infamous Plane of Shadow, introducing a number of new playable species and subclasses along the way.
Now, a new D&D Beyond version of Book of Ebon Tides has been released, marking a continued relationship between Kobold Press of Wizards of the Coast, and tapping into a larger ongoing effort from WotC to publish more third-party materials on their digital platform.
So just what shadowy secrets await in this rerelease? Below we break out all the details.
What is “Book of Ebon Tides”?
The original version of Book of Ebon Tides is a 250 page hardcover from Kobold Press that explores the dark recesses of the Shadow Realm (also known as the Shadowfell within the larger DnD cosmology). It’s a plane of existence filled with perpetual twilight, where the landscape is a twisted, gloomy reflection of the Material Plane. Historically, the Shadow Realm is known as a plane inhabited by undead creatures and other malevolent entities, but the Book of Ebon Tides seeks to look beyond these trappings and show a more nuanced and complex realm, including cities and lands inhabited by a variety of unique beings.
Notably, the book was the result of a successful Kickstarter from Kobold Press that was launched in 2021 that generated over $180,000 USD in funding. In addition to the print version, the book was ported over to a number of popular virtual tabletop platforms, including Roll20 and Foundry, with digital assets that likely made it easier to port over to D&D Beyond in 2024.
What’s included in the D&D Beyond version of Book of Ebon Tides?
The D&D Beyond version of Book of Ebon Tides is essentially unchanged from the existing print and VTT versions already released by Kobold Press. That being said, it does integrate fully with D&D Beyond’s character builder and other platform features and includes:
- 10 subclasses
- 25 playable species
- 82 magic items
- 12 maps for use with the D&D Maps VTT
- 27 monsters for use with the D&D Beyond Encounters
- 65 spells
Is “Book of Ebon Tides” worth picking up on D&D Beyond?
If you already own Book of Ebon Tides, there isn’t really any new material here that’s going to make it a requirement to pick up. That being said, if you’re a D&D Beyond user who doesn’t own already have the materials, then you may want to give this a spin.
It’s also worth noting that the content in Book of Ebon Tides is definitely going to appeal to a specific type of campaign. Thematically, it’s similar to Wild Beyond the Witchlight in that the fey are actively included and it deals with a unique realm that isn’t always going.
It’s also worth noting that there are plenty of materials here for players, Dungeon Masters are probably going to get the most bang for their shadowy bucks as this is a campaign supplement (although you can always pick up Kobold Press’ Tales from the Shadows, which is also now available on D&D Beyond features a number of adventures in the Plane of Shadows).
Final Thoughts
This marks yet another instance of third-party content hitting D&D Beyond, following Critical Role’s Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting, The Dungeon Dude’s Dungeons of Drakkenheim, Hit Point Press’ Humblewood Campaign, MCDM’s Where Evil Lives and Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts I. It’s particularly noteworthy, however, because in many ways Kobold Press is a direct rival to Wizards of the Coast, particularly given their recent release of their own competing game system Tales of the Valiant.
Book of Ebon Tides also comes at a unique time for Wizards of the Coast, with the new 2024 Player’s Handbook now released and the company struggling to find its footing with the new D&D Beyond “legacy” system. Still, it’s great to see a fantastic product getting its time to shine in the spotlight, even if it is mostly living in the shadows.
Below is also a video from Wizards of the Coast with more details on what’s included.
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Ollie Delano is a Staff Writer who lives in Chicago, Illinois where he majored in Journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He’s been playing Dungeons & Dragons for over 10 years and currently plays in a weekly game group where he rolls way too many natural 1s and chugs way too much Mountain Dew. His favorite D&D campaign setting is Eberron and his favorite character to play was a Tiefling rogue named Draxiss who enjoys both literal and figurative backstabbing.
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