Caverns of the Wise Minister

Caverns of the Wise Minister is a dark fantasy setting using 5e rules. Halfway between the realms of life and death, a new civilization of lost souls has sprung up under the thrall of a creature older than gods that calls itself The Wise Minister.

In Caverns, you play denizens of the city of Sepulchre, descendants of those plucked from their homes on the surface, trying to forge a new life in the darkness of the Underworld. If you’re clever, quick, and fortunate, and you live long enough to find your niche, you might learn how you got here. Maybe you’ll even set things right.

Inside the book, you'll find a complete underworld setting, including a detailed guide to the city of Sepulchre, plus rules and player options for Underworld characters and a 30-page Bestiary.

Once upon a time, there stood an elven city called Silverhome, and an aboleth and a deity vied for power over it. The god Empyrea struck down the aboleth, and in revenge it drowned her favored city. The survivors set out for the Underworld to beg for mercy from the god of death and reclaim the souls of their beloved dead.

They never reached death’s domain.

Instead, they fell under the influence of the being called the Wise Minister, the same vengeful aboleth who had destroyed their home. They built a city in its domain, and it delights in keeping them deep below the earth, tormenting the god they have long forgotten. But that isn’t true vengeance. That can only come when Empyrea is dead. She stole the Wise Minister’s city, and it has nursed that grudge for millennia.

Trapped between life and death, pawns in the games of gods and monsters, thousands of creatures eke out a living in the dark. Those in power know it was not always thus, but it serves their interests to have it remain so.