A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Lord Trimalkes

Lord Trimalkes by Cliff Dunn is a role playing game supplement published by ZealZaddy for use with Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result. This is a single NPC.

The supplement is available as a six page Pay What You Want PDF from DriveThruRPG. One page is the front cover, one the front matter and one the Open Game License.

Lord Trimalkes: Fabulously Rich Nobleman and Notoriously Unpopular Snob gives the background on the NPC. His family is distantly related to that of the ruler of the Free City of Vadashar and owns a lot of real estate. Lord Trimalkes spent his youth learning history and studying foreign cultures and languages. He became a self-taught polymath; unfortunately, no one likes him and his friends tend to be the best money can buy. He is also a decent fighter (though no level is given).

There are brief bits on using Trimalkes in a campaign outside Vadashar as well as within the Free City.

Welcome to the Free City of Vadashar takes up two thirds of a page on two different pages. It gives some background on the city, its history and its present and future.

Lord Trimalkes in Review

The PDF has bookmarks but only some sections are linked. The supplement is short enough that this doesn’t matter. Navigation is okay. The text follows a two-column format, though the ratio of the columns alters, and some minor errors were noticed. There are a couple of pieces of colour art that appear to be stock. Presentation is okay.

This supplement covers an NPC who might be considered comic relief but has genuinely useful knowledge and connections, though is also at best a bore to deal with. He can still be useful to characters as a result of his knowledge and connections, though they might dislike dealing with him. The primary focus of this supplement seems to be as a taster for the Free City of Vadashar setting, but Lord Trimalkes should be easy enough to drop into most setting. Lord Trimalkes is a reasonable supplement and it can be found by clicking here.