"Wagadu Chronicles: The Child & The Oath" - is a 5e compatible setting book and adventure created by Twindrums. Released as part of their push to create an MMORPG based on African lore, I like it a lot - I think the focus on the setting with the minimum necessary extra mechanical things is a good way to go about it. The version I am looking at here is a work-in-progress that is currently being used for the alpha of the MMO and for play on the TwinDrums discord - by the time this gets to your hands some of the details may change but you can get a copy by signing up for their mailing list.
Image from launch page
What is Wagadu? The setting "can be described as some sort of purgatory, a strange and wild place where people from the Upper Realms, the prosperous and more peaceful place where everyone hails from, “fall” and are stuck for good. [...] the only thing that the Fallen can do is band together to survive the beautiful and harsh world of Wagadu. Powerful spirits, fickle ancestors, angry beasts and magical weathers are only some of the challenges that the Fallen face but on the other hand, fertile soils, powerful magic and powerful traditions to be revived are there to reward the hardiest survivors."
What I find I like a lot about Wagadu is the coherency of the art, the alterations to 5e base mechanics and most of all, the way that this has been done with a light enough touch that things that are changed (character creation, the way that certain actions are perceived) feel completely reasonable to getting the setting across. I really appreciate this light touch - change what needs to be changed and leave most of the mechanical underpinnings in place. Classes are modified with 'lore' reskins - otherwise mechanically they remain the same. Races are swapped out for lineages which also drive discovery of the setting.
So what have we got in here?
18 pages of front matter including gorgeous art and a design intent statement
24 pages of introduction to the setting covering classes
82 pages of lineages that are the 'race-equivalent'
2 page map
6 page intro to The Child and the Oath adventure
30 pages of part I of the adventure
28 pages of part II
10 pages of part III
20 pages of part IV
9 pages of appendices
The second half of the file is essentially a monster manual with:
22 pages of creatures for part I of the adventure
7 pages of creatures for part II
9 pages of creatures for part III
13 pages of creatures for part IV
25 pages of additional creatures for 'beyond the adventure'
4 pages of campaign seeds
The premise of the setting - that children will grow up to become spirits and societies are only replenished through the Fallen arriving is an interesting one. There have been many cycles where the Falling have stopped and societies have petered into extinction, before new Falls and new cycles beginning once more. The land shifts and moves between cycles but some landmarks stay the same - a list of 21 sites that persist across cycles gives a good sense of the setting.
For players, the next section addresses how classes and background are translated to the setting - classes remain similar, with backgrounds adjusting for the 'clean slate' memory loss associated with newly fallen. An interesting option is to make 'XP as memories' for fallen. Weapons, currencies, instruments and items of Wagadu are all given - armour changes the most, becoming fetish charms equivalent to PHB armour due to the heat.
Classes by Iga Oliwiak
Lineages are introduced as a replacement for 5e races; all Fallen are humans but their lineage is the physical manifestation of ancestral and spiritual influences. Typically they are inherited, sometimes spontaneous, sometimes something that people switch between during their life. Your lineage guides your looks and how ancestors and spirits interact with you - human as you are, you may have antennae or antlers as your more visible differences depending on your lineage. Cultures of Wagadu spring from these lineages or blends of them - and the groups of African cultures which inspired each lineage are also noted if you want to delve further.
Each of the lineagues is presented individually with some history, cultural cues, view on spirituality and traits to build a character from that lineage. There are multiple sub-groups within each lineage; here being the largest difference to a 'base' D&D setting. This is both where the most attention would need to be paid and the most interesting new stuff is to be found. For the players, the sub-lineages with their traits replace the races of the PHB - so your character creation will be class plus lineage. One point of note is that the societal role section is important as characters will often be identified by others as their role, not their class or lineage - so the final character generation will be a class, a lineage and a social role.
For a DM, each of the lineages and their sub groups are the populations of the world - settlements or groups will tend to be one of these. Reading through all the lineage section you are getting your inspirations on who is in the world, what their motivations are and how they interact with others. The different lineage sections focus on the things most relevant to those lineages - there is always a discussion of their philosophy, societal roles and history - and from these a DM can pull inspirations for adventure hooks. Some societies are kingdoms, others democracies, the roles in each are different.
The art through-out all this is a treat. There are many pieces that appear to be repurposed concept art from the MMORPG which I find very useful as you get a series of takes at the same thing showing the range within classes and lineages. Multiple full spread art piece give a great view into the setting.
The core of the book is an introductory adventure that starts from 'the PCs emerge from coccoons having landed in the rainforest' - a typical 'fall'. The four parts to the adventure are arriving and surviving in the wild forest, making their way to the nearby city of Iledan and finding a place there, dealing with a shared nightmare brought on by a curse, then the final resolution dealing with the root cause of the problems they have encountered so far. The adventure lay out is clear with the nice touch of recommended soundtracks for various scenes.
I have not had a chance to play-test it but it seems great as an intro and showcase for the many interesting aspects of the setting. By the time a set of players have run through this they should have a good grounding in how things work, what is and is not possible in this place and should be acclimated to Wagadu.
The appendices have some legends, items and tables of street sellers wares. There is also a description of creature types that delves into the mechanical translation of spirits, ancestors and how that maps back to 5e standard format. The main difference is that groups can be more ambiguous than the categories of 5e Monster Manual. Extreme ends of the same group overlapping what might be translated as fiends or celestials but the way it is laid out makes sense.
The next part of this download document is a bestiary with a bunch of critters that will be a great thematic addition to any game. Most intriguing is the addition of an appeasement tip for many of the creatures - actions or offerings that can forestall hostilities for many but not all of the creatures and spirits. Throughout there are more excellent art pieces. Some of these are relatively close to creatures one might find anywhere, others are deeply spooky - I do not like the Dyobi, not at all - they could find a welcome home in various horror games.
I backed the Wagadu project for precisely this - a well thought through, solidly based setting that draws on the rich heritage of Africa. I like how it is not just the same things in different clothes but by bringing in lineages all the things you would probably want to play are re-framed as part of the setting in a way that makes sense. You keep all the options you may have wanted for your character building but find them set in a new context that is interesting and gives a reason to play this setting - it is different enough that uncovering how it all interacts and reacts will make a campaign memorable. More than 'just add a new pantheon, some weapons, and hot weather locations' while still being familiar enough to easily pick up.
I think Wagadu makes an interesting counter-point to some arguments saying that D&D is irretrievably one thing; it shows that the engine of the game can be used to tell completely different stories to the base setting. The goal of the project is for 'Black cultures and fantasies to gain a foothold in mainstream society" and to normalise Afrofantasy. The team has done a great job in creating a book that makes it easy to pick up and use. I look forward to getting my hands on some sort of hardcopy. I think this approach could stand as a good example for how to introduce different settings by whole-sale swapping out chunks of the system and keeping others.
For another opinion on this 5e preview document check out What Do I Know?
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