This video and article are sponsored by Flagbearer Games and Nations & Cannons. Find out more on the Nations & Cannons website and follow upcoming campaign sourcebook The American Crisis on Kickstarter.
There have been a number of supplements and additional content created to be compatible with D&D 5E. Though some may have their gripes with that, it can be a wonderful way to expand the roleplay horizons of those who don’t particularly want to move on from Dungeons & Dragons just yet.
Set during the American Revolution, Nations & Cannons gives loyal D&D fans the chance to not only develop some extremely interesting characters and scenarios that they may not have felt confident exploring before, but also provides insight and education on real-life history.
Not only are you going to learn about the pivotal events of the 18th century, you’re going to find out about the often lesser-known activists of the time. Nations & Cannons strives to include a focus on the people of colour and queer folks who made America what it is today. This includes Anna Maria Lane, who was a woman disguised as a male Continental Army soldier, and Seymour Burr, who secured his freedom from slavery by threatening to join the British if he wasn’t allowed to become an American soldier. Also heavily featured are the Indigenous people of America, without whom the concept of this setting would be lacking indeed.
Nations & Cannons provides an alternative for D&D’s fantasy races that doesn’t have any bearing on your in-game statistics. The ‘heritage’ system gives the player mostly roleplay opportunities, as opposed to labelling a character unchangeably by who they were born as.
Some of those who might be interested in roleplaying in the American Revolution might see some crossover interest with Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton’s role in the revolution was to fan the flames of outrage and get people to join the cause, among many other things. This role has been accommodated in Nations & Cannons in the new Firebrand class, allowing a character to use their words to rouse the people and recruit.
Nations & Cannons includes other new backgrounds, feats, items and other gameplay features inspired by historical realism for D&D 5E, with the core rulebook including a starter adventure set during the 1775 Invasion of Canada. The game’s starter rules can be downloaded for free.