Tales of the Valiant
Welcome to the Labyrinth, infinite worlds linked by twisting corridors of magic. Here, you find realms like Midgard, Hades, the Dreadful Domains, and homebrew creations tied together by the mysterious will of the Maze. These countless worlds rarely resemble one another on the surface, but share a unifying truth—heroes shape them. The Tales of the Valiant RPG is a Black Flag Roleplaying Game from Kobold Press. This means it keeps all the best parts of D&D 5e and adds a Kobold Press spin to the well-loved game. It combines the Creative Commons foundation of 5th Edition with new elements to create a powerful Kobold-style 5E with teeth.
Originally created by Kobold Press
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Tales of the Valiant Reviews (5)
See what other Game Masters and players are saying about Tales of the Valiant
Rob
New review
Ran 3 sessions
Tales of the Valiant is an absolute masterpiece for both players and Game Masters! From the moment our group dove into its rich, flexible system, we were hooked. The rules strike a perfect balance—accessible enough for newcomers but layered with depth for seasoned RPG fans. Character creation is a breeze, offering endless customization that fuels creativity without overwhelming you. Whether you’re crafting a cunning rogue with a mysterious past or a fireball-hurling sorcerer, every choice feels impactful. Combat is where this system truly shines. It’s tactical and dynamic, with encounters that reward teamwork and clever strategies, yet it never bogs down the pacing. Monsters and abilities feel fresh, and our GM loved how easy it was to tweak encounters on the fly. The storytelling tools are a godsend—vibrant world-building prompts, immersive lore, and mechanics that seamlessly blend narrative and gameplay. Our sessions have never felt more alive, with collaborative twists that surprise even the GM! The production quality is top-notch. Gorgeous artwork, intuitive layouts, and tables that make reference a snap. Plus, the community support (online tools, active forums) ensures you’re never stuck. If you crave a system that empowers creativity, delivers thrilling combat, and weaves unforgettable stories, Tales of the Valiant is a must-play. Our group can’t wait for our next session—10/10, would recommend to anyone!
Keith
New review
Ran 377 sessions
Kobold Press set out on a quest to make a game that would be independent of D&D's publishers, whoever they might someday be and whatever they might someday do. They also wanted to support the hundreds of books they've written for the fifth edition of D&D. This meant threading a fine needle, and writing D&D that isn't D&D. They succeeded. If you already play D&D5e you can sit down and play ToV right away. Bonus actions, initiative, spell slots, saving throws - the mechanics are virtually unchanged. Major rules improvements are in three places: character creation, monster design, and the Luck system. Your character chooses a lineage (what you were born with), a heritage (what you grew up with), a background (what you did before adventuring, and maybe still do), and a class (your adventuring career). The varied combinations of these make even first level characters a bit stronger and a lot more interesting than D&D characters. Kobold Press has been famous for their monsters for years; literally nothing in ToV is just a bag of hit points. When skeletons launch their fingerbones at you or the mimic blocks your blow with the adhered body of your ally you'll realize you can't take anything for granted! The Luck system that replaces Inspiration is *ahem* inspired. When you miss, you get a luck point. Use luck points to not miss. Simple, elegant, and players manage it themselves, so the GM doesn't need to get involved. ToV is still fairly new, and more player options and adventures written for it are coming soon, but in the meantime all the 5e content you have is compatible. You can run Curse of Strahd with characters built in ToV, and swap out the Monster Manual vampires for the scarier ToV Monster Vault version, and it's still Curse of Strahd. With minimal work you can even take a D&D subclass or race and turn it into a ToV subclass or lineage and heritage. If you know and like D&D, you'll love ToV. If you don't like D&D you probably won't like ToV either. If you're ready to learn D&D, you might have more fun learning ToV instead!
Kai Solace
New review
Ran 1 sessions
Come for the unique player options, stay for the tantalizing bevy of monsters, and blatantly steal the Luck mechanic for use in your other 5e adjacent games. I've been playing Tales of the Valiant since its public playtest at GenCon 2023, and it's a system that absolutely has my heart. ToV is essentially Kobold Press's take on 5e - that means if you've played the game that involves dungeons and/or dragons, you know how to play Tales of the Valiant! Conversely, if you're looking for a game system that feels very different from 5e, this isn't the system for you. As a player, the unique mix of picking Lineage, Heritage, and Background (not to mention that your stats aren't dependent on any of them) means that the sky truly is the limit in building the character you've always dreamed of playing. Every class has interesting choices to make - I'm usually a spellcaster kind of kid, but I'm currently playing a ToV Fighter in one of my campaigns, and the amount of fantastic tactical options I have to deploy keeps me excited about my build every time I play. On the GM side, the ToV Monster Vault (and soon-to-come Monster Vault 2!) is a treasure chest of baddies that you'll want to use in all of your games because they are just that good. Interesting, tactical, and full of flavor bursting off the page. And of course, if nothing else, the Luck system is, in my humble opinion, worth the price of admission alone. Replacing inspiration, Luck Points are a fluid resource that gives characters a way to fail forward and strategically turn the tides in their favor. The best part? As a GM, you don't have to remember to give it out, or feel bad if a player already has it and you can't give them another. Now we just need to get a solid online character builder for this system and I will have everything I need!
KASAI
New review
Jakože v mnoha věcech předběhlo DnD 2024, ale teď když máme 2024 tak je to jen verze dnd ve které jsou magické povolání velmi silné a ty nemagické časem budou k ničemi. A to mám Kobold press rád a na tento počin jsem se těšin, nenaplnilo moje očekávání.
Sam
Hmm, what can I say about the system. it's very similar to Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition, for both good and bad. There's a lot of cool things about the system, I love the luck system, letting you get some sort of benefit even when you fail a check. There is a big emphasis on having extra reactions and bonus actions, which is nice. I just feel like the game doesn't differentiate itself enough from 5e, and balance doesn't seem to be that great either.
How to play Tales of the Valiant
As with most roleplaying games, the Tales of the Valiant game isn’t very concerned about winning and losing. The goal is to work together to create an exciting story. The GM creates and introduces the basic story and rules, then the PCs interact with those elements. Players can make choices that push the story in new directions. The GM then introduces new ideas, scenes, and characters as a response to those choices. The PCs interact with those new elements and things keep rolling in this back-and-forth way throughout the game.
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Frequently asked questions about Tales of the Valiant
Explore Tales of the Valiant Classes
Barbarian
Some warriors hail from untamed lands deemed inhospitable. These combatants, barbarians by name, are among the hardiest and most physically powerful warriors in the world. Though you may be born in the frozen wastes, the sweltering jungle, or the vast plains, your class options focus around your ability to slip into a state of frenzy, compounding your natural toughness and strength. Barbarian is a class that fights supremely well in bursts. Your class favors offense over defense, and has a lot of hit points to help absorb all the hits you’ll be taking.
Bard
Bards are born performers who complement their diverse skillset with magical prowess. Their breadth of expertise makes them exceptional at whatever options they choose to cultivate. As a bard, your innate charisma makes you the class best suited to dealing with others, whether navigating tense social encounters or ensuring your allies survive a fight. Bard is a class that can do a little bit of everything in a game that often rewards specialization. The signature trick of a bard is your ability to quickly, directly boost your allies. Use this ability early and often.
Cleric
Clerics are as diverse as the gods they serve, but all are united in their mission to act as their faith demands. A cleric’s abilities reflect the strength of their faith. The more powerful a cleric becomes, the more their features resemble those of the god they worship. Cleric is a class that specializes in healing—a crucial part of the adventuring job. Your class features still give you plenty to do when no one is hurt, but no other class is set up to heal and restore damaged allies like yours.
Druid
Druids are the guardians and warriors of the natural world. All druids feel a deep affinity for the environment, whether it manifests as a spiritual connection to the beasts of the land, the plants of the earth, or the elemental energies that keep all things in balance. Druid is a class that interacts with the environment often. Your class is a “pure” spellcasting class, but your Wild Shape feature gives you some ability to mix it up. Lean into exploration with your various spells and capabilities.
Fighter
There are many ways to build a fighter, but at the end of the day, their talents shine brightest in the thick of a fight. Whether archer, knight, wrestler, or general, your class options are designed to make you the best at dishing out damage with your favorite weapons. What fighters are good at is written on the label. Your class gives you more options than just standing and swinging to hit, however. Use weapon options to change up a fight and make things easier for the less martially inclined party members.
Mechanist
Mechanists are inventors, makers, and engineers, interested in the composition of material objects and in the components of creation itself. While others dedicate their lives to mastering magic or science, the mechanist sees such forces as flexible components within a grander design. To walk the path of the mechanist is to open the back of the universe, observe its moving parts, and restructure them as suits your needs. Mechanist is a class that invites creative interpretation by players. Your class can hold up in combat, but finding ways to use the items and objects around you brings out the aspects that make this class shine.
Monk
Monks are martial warriors that might hail from palatial fortresses in the sand-choked desert, forlorn island hermitages where they study the stars, or expansive communes where they toil to perfect their bodies and minds. All monks possess a near-perfect understanding of their bodies and have deeper connections to the world that are indistinguishable from magic, be it anatomical, mystical, or occult in origin. Monk is a class that can more easily stand alone than others. Your class sports powerful attacks, strong defenses, and fast movement.
Paladin
Though many consider a life pursuing divinity to be a life of healing, learning, and worship, there are a few who pledge themselves as unbending instruments of a greater cause. These divinely guided warriors are called paladins, and each of them follows a set of principles—an oath sworn to a god, themselves, or the tides of fate. Paladin is a class that combines aspects of healing and fighting. Your class can hit very hard a small number of times, so stay in the thick of things to be useful when the moment comes up.
Ranger
Rangers are unparalleled explorers with a mystical connection to the natural world. A combination of martial prowess, spellcasting, and supernatural awareness ensures rangers excel as scouts, trackers, and hunters. Few classes prove as deadly as a ranger once their quarry is within sight. Ranger is a class that blends features from multiple classes and has plenty of opportunity for customization. Your class features lend themselves to creating a skirmisher, archer, or warrior focused on high-utility magic.
Rogue
Rogues are clever and cunning with a wide array of skills. Their broad expertise makes them well suited for challenges that can’t be overcome by either brute force or magic. There’s no “standard” rogue; they come in all sizes and dispositions. Rogue is a class that can shine out of combat, but you remain fearsome in the fight. Your class needs someone else around to draw fire, though. Don’t get too far away from allies once weapons come out.
Sorcerer
Though magic courses through all things, some people are so intrinsically tied to it that they can command magic through force of will. These spellcasters, called sorcerers, feel magic coursing through them just as they might feel their own heartbeat. Sorcerer is a class that revolves around manipulating the game mechanics of spells, changing up timing, distance, targets, and effects. Your class doesn't give you a variety of spells, but this is not a hard limit on your play options.
Warlock
Warlocks are ruled by their connection to the supernatural forces that lurk beyond the veil of reality. In exchange for secret knowledge and eldritch power, warlocks make pacts with mysterious entities who dwell in distant realms. The motivations of such beings are often shrouded, but many consent to sell their power to those that hunger for it—until they call in their marker. Warlock is a class that does a handful of things very well. Your class features make you the very best at the things you decide to be best at, and chief among them is ranged combat. For the inevitable gaps that occur, rely on other characters to fill in.
Wizard
The study of magic is infinitely complex, and every wizard develops a different approach to studying its intricacies. Regardless of the specific aspects you study, your class options reflect an ongoing dedication to mastering magic through research and experimentation. Wizard is a spellcasting class that revels in a breadth of options. Your class features make you the expert on magic, and thinking ahead lets you do your best work. You’re likely to have a spell for any occasion if you have time to prepare for it.
