Theros has always held a special place for me in the MTG multiverse. I have a deep love for ancient Greek mythology and Magic making it into its own theme for a plane was just amazing to me. Just like with Greek mythology, the more you dug into the cards and the lore behind them, the more questions you ended up having and wanting answers too. So obviously, when I heard that DnD would be making a campaign setting for Theros I was ecstatic! Running my 5E adventure in the realm of Theros, now that was something I was excited to do.
Like most campaign settings there is a little bit of everything in this book. There are some new races (which we will touch on later) , a new bard school, and even one new background to take. They go in depth on all the gods and how they interact with each other and the mortals of the plane. There are adventure hooks, a full low-level adventure written out, and some classic era monsters in the back. There is nothing more you will need to run a game here. You don’t need to know a bit of lore from the card game to enjoy this new setting. In fact, the way it is laid out even seems like you could simply fit this into your current campaign as a new continent or just a faraway land.
The races of the plane are mostly ones we have seen before and many of us have even used. There are humans and Tritons, but to me the fun comes in with the new numbers for Minotaurs, Centaurs, and Satyrs. These creatures all have full player attribute numbers and abilities and lore making them feel like a living breathing race of the world and not just another monster race to play. The Leonin of Theros are also given numbers. When I first saw them, I simply thought they were like the Tabixi and just another cat like race, but these tribes are much different and focus on the strength side of the feline tree. With so many new and interesting options there’s no way even an experienced group could get bored.
In the very back of the book there are some new Mythic Level threats. These are monsters that you are fighting on their turf and they truly have the advantage. They get special abilities, aura effects, and just like a Dark Souls boss fight, once you think it is over, it’s only just begun. These are one of the main things I am most excited about fitting into my adventure. I can’t wait for my group to go up against their first one!
Much like when DnD released Ravinica, there is also a new system used here. In Ravinica it was called Renown, but here on Theros it is called piety. How devout are you to your chosen god or all the others? This tends to come into play a lot on Theros and can bring some rewards or curses along the way depending on the god and which side you stand. It adds just one more layer to how in depth this setting really can be.
The only downside to me inside the entire book is the lack of world building when it comes to the individual cities. There are no real maps to speak of and while we get some lore for each city, there is little more than that. What lies to the East? We don’t know, but in the end, it just gives us more to work with and create fresh for our campaigns. It also allows us to fit this into our world a little easier if you ask me.
While I could continue to go on and on about how much I love this new setting and how much you should go check your local LGS to see if they have it in, I need to get back to cooking up this first adventure for the group. Maybe it’ll be an adventure that will one day put them in the stars along with the other gods!
AoE Table Top 