Machines of Bone & Blood Brings Industrial Horror to D&D 5E

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

What if the Industrial Revolution was run on human souls and reanimated corpses rather than steam and coal? That’s exactly the premise behind Machines of Bone & Blood, a new third-party campaign sourcebook built on the D&D 5.5E ruleset and developed by indie publisher somanyrobots games.

Drawing heavy inspiration from the real-world Luddite uprisings of early 1800s Regency England, it’s a grimdark, steampunk-adjacent world where player characters can choose to either adapt to the new necromantic regime or pick up a sledgehammer and smash apart the factories of the undead.

The book is being launched via crowdfunding, which runs from now until July 9th, 2026 via Kickstarter. Below, we take a closer look at what to expect in this 5E-compatible world of progress and putrefaction.

What is Machines of Bone & Blood about?

Machines of Bone & Blood is a 300-page sourcebook that’s compatible with both the 2014 version of D&D 5E and the new 2024 D&D 5.5E rules. The setting is focused primarily on the Ivory Empire, a sprawling island kingdom in the grips of an industrial revolution powered by dark magic and necromancy via a mysterious substance called “soul smoke.” It’s a land where elite nobles and ruthless merchant barons now grow in power and influence thanks to hordes of undead servants and twisted sorcery.

The game focuses on themes of corporate greed, body horror and revolution. Players can either choose to join the undead elite or side with underground labor movements trying to shut down the necrofactories spewing soul smoke into the air and turning the cities into industrial slums.

The book includes:

• A setting guide that details the locations, history and NPCs of the Ivory Empire (plus two additional mini-settings)
• Rules for Necrografting, a high-risk body modification system that allows players to slice off their own limbs and replace them with horrifying bio-mechanical components.
• Two new classes: The Necromancer (a three-quarters caster who can summon and command undead minions) and The Abomination (a support character who can enter into a frenzy to transform into a deadly monster).
• 20 new Subclasses, with options like the Path of the Machine-Breaker Barbarian, the Spirits Domain cleric, the Agitator Rogue and the Industrial Soul Sorcerer.
• 4 new species, including The Shadeborn (individuals born under a black moon who possess dark powers), Awakened Trees (monstrous treant-like creatures), The Bonebound (workers forced to augment their bodies to serve the necrofactories) and Fenwyrms (bog-dwelling reptilian humanoids whose environment has been polluted from the Empire).
• 100 new spells and dozens of magic items. These include options for a wide range of character classes and levels.
• Built-in adventures that can be run individually or as a complete campaign covering multiple tiers of play.

What are the backer options for Machines of Bone & Blood?

The primary draw of the Kickstarter is the core D&D 5E/5.5E compatible sourcebook (which comes in both hardcover and PDF). The campaign does, however, also feature a number of add-on accessories, including dice, spell cards, VTT assets, tokens, a GM screen and a map pack. The core backer options are as follows:

• Rebel PDF ($25 USD): Includes the complete digital Machines of Bone & Blood core rulebook.
• VTT Digital Pack ($40 USD): The PDF, plus VTT-ready tokens, map packs and player handouts.
• Hardcover Edition ($55 USD): The physical 300+ page hardcover book, plus the PDF version.
• The Saboteur’s Deluxe Box ($95 USD): The physical hardcover, custom dice set, separate printed handouts, poster maps of the Ivory Empire and the full digital VTT package.
• Grand Overseer All-In ($150 USD): A limited edition leatherette hardcover, illustrated GM screen, metallic dice and an exclusive custom-designed subclass token.

Who is somanyrobots games?

somanyrobots games is an indie tabletop RPG studio created by Ben Somers (who also goes by the online alias somanyrobots).

The company primarily focuses on making content for D&D 5E and 5.5E, having released products including the nautical-themed supplement Songs of the Spellbound Sea, as well as custom classes, subclasses and spells – all of which are known for their high production value and art. Somers also maintains a well-regarded somanyrobots Patreon, which is regularly updated with new D&D 5E and 5.5E content.

Why we’re excited about Machines of Bone & Blood

• A unique campaign setting: We’ve seen standard steampunk and traditional gothic horror before, but marrying the Luddite worker revolts with necromancy feels like an incredibly unique and very cool concept.
• New character options: somanyrobots has a solid track record with creating solid D&D 5E player options. The two new classes and 20 new subclasses they’ve developed for Machines of Bone & Blood sound like they have a ton of potential, both mechanically and thematically (although we’ll have to see how they actually play at the table).
• Necrografting: The concept of augmenting your body with dark magic and rotting flesh sounds absolutely horrifying – and we are 100% on board for it.
• Incredible artwork: For a small indie publisher, the quality of the artwork that somanyrobots is able to produce is beyond impressive. The initial illustrations we’ve seen for Machines of Bone & Blood look amazing and are easily on par with illustrations being produced by much larger publishers.

Final Thoughts

It feels like we’ve seen every possible type of 5E campaign setting under the sun. Yet every once in a while there comes along something like Machines of Bone & Blood that feels like it has something new and different to offer.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this new project in the days ahead. In the meantime, you can back the campaign from now until July 9th, 2026 on Kickstarter.