“Valda’s Spire of Secrets” Quirky Character Options Hit D&D Beyond

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If you’re looking for some truly gonzo, off-the-wall character options for Dungeons & Dragons, then Valda’s Spire of Secrets: Player Pack may just have you covered. Originally published by Mage Hand Press back in 2022 after a highly successful Kickstarter, the third-party publication has now officially arrived on D&D Beyond. It introduces a range of bizarre, hilarious and incredibly unique player materials, with everything from muscle-bound mages and psychotic teddy bears, to web-slinging rogues and keg-chugging Paladins.

It also marks yet another popular major third-party publication to appear on D&D Beyond, which until recently has largely featured only official Wizards of the Coast content. So just what kind of secrets await at the top of Valda’s Spire? Below, we uncover all the details.

What’s in the original “Valda’s Spire of Secrets” sourcebook?

The original Valda’s Spire of Secrets is a 374-page player focused sourcebook for DnD 5e that was created by third-party publisher Mage Hand Press after a massive Kickstarter back in 2021. The book offers:

• 10 new classes (Alchemist, Captain, Craftsman, Gunslinger, Investigator, Martyr, Necromrancer, Warden, Warmage and Witch)
• 150+ new subclasses
• 130 new spells
• 100 weapons (including new firearms)
• 85 new magic items
• 50 new Feats
• 5 new Species (Geppettins, Mandrakes, Mousefolk, ​Near Humans and Spirthosts)

The book gained a ton of popularity (not to mention being successfully Kickstarted) due to the sheer amount of content it presented, as well as its humorous and quirky tone. Notably, the lead designer of Valda’s Spire of Secrets is Michael Holik, who in addition to working on a number of other Mage Hand Press books also published the sci-fi conversion for DnD 5e known as Dark Matter. He was one of the most outspoken third-party publisher representatives during the OGL scandal, helping to start and popularize the #OpenDnD hashtag on social media.

What’s included in the “Valda’s Spire of Secrets: Player Pack” on D&D Beyond?

Valda’s Spire of Secrets: Players Pack is not a reprint of the original book, but rather contains a select amount of material for use on D&D Beyond. It’s also important to note the book does NOT use the new DnD 2024 rules. Instead it continues to use the DnD 5e rules from 2014. Specifically, the Player Pack contains the following:

New subclasses

The book includes six of the subclasses from the original Valda’s Spire of Secrets.

• Path of the Muscle Wizard (Barbarian): A brawny spell-slinger who channels arcane might through sheer physical force and crushes enemies with “magic” that looks suspiciously like powerful punches.
• Dungeoneer (Fighter): Master of traps, tombs, and tight spaces, the Dungeoneer is a hardened Fighter built to survive the deadliest dungeons and unearth their secrets.
• Warrior of the Street (Monk): Inspired by 1990s video game arcade brawlers like Street Fighter, this Monk dishes out devastating combo attacks and uses raw grit and ki to dominate close-quarters combat.
• Oath of Revelry (Paladin): Sworn to the sacred tenets of celebration, the Oath of Revelry Paladin is the D&D equivalent of a frat bro who bolsters allies with party magic, divine vibes and the power of unstoppable partying.
• Arachnoid Stalker (Rogue): Gifted with Spider-Man-style powers, the Arachnoid Stalker slinks through shadows, poisons their prey and can scale walls with ease (spidey sense not included).
• Future You Patron (Warlock): These Warlocks make a Pact with future version of themselves, warping time and fate to gain premonitions, twist reality and confound enemies.

New species

The Player Pack includes two of the five species from the original Valda’s Spire of secrets:

• Geppettin: Animated humanoid toys made of porcealin, wood or plush, they range from the creepy to the cuddly and possess unique magical traits and resilience.
• Mandrake: Living humanoid plants shaped like people, Mandrakes Root Magic grants them nature-based spells.

New magic items

The book includes five of the 85 magic items from the original Valda’s Spire of Secrets book.

• Frog Prince Statuette: A clay figure of a frog that, when kissed, transforms into a noble follower who remains in human form until the stroke of midnight.
• Leonora’s Throne of Indolence: A floating throne that when activated releases a musical fanfare and conjures up a feast fit for a king or queen.
• Memento Mori: Uses the power of Chronomancy to provide details on the time, place and exact circumstances of your death.
• Portable Cannonballs: A bag filled with cannon balls the size of ball bearings that can be grown to normal size.
• Ring of Barrels: Allows you to summon empty barrels in adjacent spaces to provide cover or trap nearby creatures.

New feats

The Player Pack includes four of the fifty Feats from the original Mage Hand Press publication:

• Brutal Grip: Allows you to use Two-Handed weapons with just one hand.
• Field Commander: Grants allies the ability to perform a Reaction on your turn.
• Focused Critical: Increases the chance to score a Critical Hit with a chosen Ranged or Melee weapon.
• Iron Hero: Provides bonuses when attacking creatures larger and more powerful than you are.

New spells

The Player Pack includes 15 of the 150+ spells featured in the original Valda’s Spire of Secrets.

• Accelerate/Decelerate: A Chronomancy spell that changes an attack’s damage by either speeding it up or slowing it down.
• Clue: Reveal all signs of other creatures’ activities within an area you specify, causing fingerprints and footprints to become visible.
• Defenestration: Hurl a creature up to 20 feet through a window of your choice. If there isn’t a window within range, the spell summons one for you.
• Delay: Another Chronomancy spell that allows you to push a target creature to the bottom of the Initiative order for the remainder of the encounter.
• Dire Warning: This Chronomancy spell allows you to receive, and then send, a message of warning from your future self/from your past self.
• Finger Guns: Turns your fingers into deadly Force-damage-dealing Simple Ranged weapons.
• Game of Fate: Magically compel a creature into a high-stakes game of chance and skill bound by magic and with wealth, fame, or even your life on the line.
• Hangover: This spell inflicts Psychic damage and makes it harder to maintain Concentration on spells.
• Mandy’s Feral Follower: Transform a Beast into a loyal follower who treats you as their employer and works to assist you, albeit silently.
• Moment to Think: This Chronomancy spell allows you to pause time to collect your thoughts.You can move and use your action to look around or interact with objects.
• Paradox: Lets you use Chronomancy to undo one action taken by any creature within range. The creature that took the action also suffers Psychic damage.
• Polybrachia: You use magic to grant a creature of your choice a pair of tiny glowing arms.
• Recall: You can set a save point using this Chronomancy spell, allowing you to teleport back to the location where you cast it.
• Rumor: You speak a rumour of 10 or fewer words, and any creature within range believes they heard the rumour from someone else.

How Much is “Valda’s Spire of Secrets: Player Pack” on D&D Beyond?

Currently, the Player Pack retails on D&D Beyond for $14.99 USD. Notably, the PDF version of the original Valda’s Spire of Secrets retails for $30 USD and includes all of the material from the original sourcebook (which is substantially more than you get in the D&D Beyond pack). The hardcover copy retails for $60 USD (not including shipping).

What you’re paying for with the D&D Beyond version, however, is really the ability to add the new species, subclasses, magic items and equipment into the character generation system. If you’re not planning on using D&D Beyond, however, you’re probably better off buying it directly as PDF or physical copy from Mage Hand Press.

Final Thoughts

It’s great to see third-party content like Valda’s Spire of Secrets make it onto D&D Beyond. And while it’s a little disappointing that they didn’t include all of the content from the original book on the platform, what’s on offering here looks solid and the price point isn’t bad.

If you’re a D&D Beyond user looking for some character options that are little more on the weird and whacky side, then the Valda’s Spire of Secrets: Player Pack is definitely worth picking up. You can download your copy now on on D&D Beyond.

Below is also a video from the D&D Beyond YouTube channel, with Mage Hand Press lead designer Michael Holik offering a deeper look at what’s included in the content.

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