In 1985 Game's Obojima: Tales From The Tall Grass, you'll find a mystical world rife with wonder and mystery. This campaign setting has been added to D&D Beyond's growing list of third-party content, so you can easily explore the island of Obojima using our suite of integrated digital tools!
We sat down with Jeremiah Crofton, one of the lead designers of Obojima: Tales From The Tall Grass, to learn more about what waits in store in this whimsical campaign setting. Read on to discover the magic of Obojima!
What's Inside Obojima: Tales From The Tall Grass
Whether you're brewing potions, befriending spirits, or riding your bicycle to the market, Obojima invites you to step into a world where fantasy meets nostalgic charm.
In this 365-page campaign setting, you'll find everything you need to run games on this enchanting island and beyond, including:
- 11 subclasses
- 3 new species—including the Nakudama and Dara.
- A plethora of abilities to equip your adventurers with, including 20 feats, 6 backgrounds, 48 magic items, and 50 spells.
- A setting guide to the island of Obojima and the realm of spirits beyond, including 4 detailed factions and 60 new monsters and NPCs for your players to encounter.
- A full potion brewing system with 130+ ingredients and 180+ potential potions to brew.
The Obojima Campaign Setting
The campaign setting inside Obojima: Tales From The Tall Grass isn't one of imposing castles, fielded armies, and dark lords. Instead, it's a place where the mundane and the mystical are intertwined—where a strange creature might be a puzzle to solve rather than a monster to slay.
"Obojima is a new D&D campaign setting that kind of hits a nostalgic anime or video game feeling that we all know and love from the mid-80s to the early 2000s,” said Jeremiah.
"It's a world where you get this juxtaposition of First Age technology, which is similar to 80s tech, mixed with fantasy. It really leans into exploration and the state of wonder—this feeling of shock and excitement that you get when you discover something new while traveling through the world.”
The Island of Obojima
Obojima is a quaint island that's alive with stories. Here, vast forests and sprawling fields give way to quiet towns, and spirits drift through woodlands and villages alike.
Each region and settlement of the island has its own unique quirk. Maybe you'll discover a town where the residents have harnessed geothermal air currents to soar around the sky in flying devices. Or, perhaps, you'll head to the shore of the ever-spanning ocean and come across a faction of divers that look for ancient technology along the seafloor.
Spirits, Magic, and Tech
Magic and technology coexist in Obojima, creating a setting where a magical, hand-held gaming device might be sold from a vending machine, or you can summon a bicycle with a level 1 spell.
"Magic is used so often in Obojima," Jeremiah said, "We asked ourselves, what are these tools that were used in the past, and how have they eventually turned into what they are used for today?
Spirits are also ubiquitous across the island of Obojima. In your adventures, you may run into everything from tricky spirits who like to prank their corporeal counterparts, nature spirits who protect the sanctity of a forest's grove, friendly spirits who you can befriend and turn into your companions—and even corrupt, vengeful spirits that wreak havoc on the peaceful way of Obojiman society.
New Character Options
To help players immerse themselves in this whimsical world, Obojima: Tales From The Tall Grass introduces a range of new character options that feel like natural extensions of the setting's themes. Jeremiah said they approached the design philosophy of character options by asking, "How did this spell, subclass, or feat naturally evolve in a world like Obojima?"
11 Subclasses
Whether you want to harness the power of spirits or weave magic into origami, there are 11 new subclasses in Obojima: Tales from the Tall Grass that help you feel like your character's powers stem from the mystical island of Obojima.
“For example,” Jeremiah said, “The Waxwork Rogue subclass started off as a subsect of the Courier Brigade—the group of knights that deliver packages all across the island. Or the Belly Brewer Barbarian subclass, which takes natural ingredients that are found all across the island and utilizes them in a unique way, very specific to a Barbarian.”
20 Feats, 3 Species, and 6 Backgrounds
20 new feats, 3 new species, and 6 new backgrounds give your characters further story-driven connections to the world. If your character trained at one of Obojima's famous sword schools or studied as a potion maker's apprentice, you can customize their traits to fit their backstory or help them evolve throughout the campaign.
"A lot of the backgrounds and feats are connected to the factions within Obojima.” Jeremiah said, “There are different sword schools that exist throughout Obojima, and you can get a unique feat by training at each one of those sword schools. And there are different witch covens, each one of them providing special abilities to its members."
48 Magic Items and 50 Spells
If you're looking to equip your character with tools that feel like they belong in Obojima, the setting offers 48 new magic items tied to the island's technology, resident spirits, and practical enchantments.
From instaprint cameras that reveal magical auras to potions sold from vending machines, these magic items reflect the way Obojima's people blend technology and magic in daily life.
As for the set of practical and setting-specific spells, Jeremiah said, "We wanted you to think, where did the need for this spell stem from? So, we often connected it to a location, character, or desire in Obojima."
What to Expect from an Obojima Campaign
Starting Small
Obojima is as much a frame of mind as it is a location. Adventures here begin small and personal—focused on community, curiosity, and connection—and might build into larger, more mysterious journeys later on.
"I would jump into Okiri Village, which is just a great starting village with small problems," Jeremiah said.
The party might spend their first couple of sessions investigating a missing shipment of magical herbs or dealing with mischievous spirits disturbing the town's gardens.
This slower pace lets players understand the setting, "Especially when you're at a lower level and don't have a lot of options, I would start figuring out how you can solve problems without having to use your sword and think of the ramifications of how you act," suggested Jeremiah.
A Sense of Wonder with Unique Locations
Exploration and discovery are central themes in Obojima, and the island is filled with memorable locations designed to spark that sense of wonder.
For example, you have Yadomon, Obojima's largest and most cosmopolitan city, which features a mix of spirits, markets, and First Age technology. It's a place where spirits and residents barter in bustling streets, where there's no official guard because the community watches out for each other. "If there was a big dangerous thing to occur, the people would step up and work together to try to solve it," Jeremiah explained.
In the Land of Hot Water, you'll find Sky Kite, a city of aeronauts that uses hot water currents to glide through the sky. Jeremiah expanded on this, saying, "There are big celebrities there that are all famed aeronauts, and the town really revolves around the culture of flying."
Between these centers of civilization, the island of Obojima stretches out into forests, streams, mountains, and valleys where you can find adventure—and adventure might find you.
Obojima on D&D Beyond
With Obojima: Tales From The Tall Grass now on D&D Beyond, you can create characters using the setting’s new species, subclasses, feats, and backgrounds right in the Character Builder.
Master Tier subscribers can also access maps and monster tokens from the book in the Maps VTT, making it easy to bring Obojima’s world to life at your table.
Explore Obojima Today
Obojima: Tales From The Tall Grass is available now on D&D Beyond, ready to bring its unique blend of leisure fantasy and nostalgic adventure to your table.
If you're looking for a setting where magic is woven into everyday life, where mysteries wait to be found in the wilds, and where curious creatures aren't necessarily things that need to be defeated, it's time to step into the tall grass and see what awaits.

Mike Bernier is the founder of Arcane Eye, a site focused on providing useful tips and tricks to all those involved in the world of D&D. Outside of writing for Arcane Eye, Mike spends most of his time playing games, hiking with his partner, and tending the veritable jungle of houseplants that have invaded his house.
the artwork gives big studio ghibli vibes
Rip for not mentioning anywhere that its only compatible with the 2014 rules though :')
Are the subclasses not implemented into beyond yet? I have purchased the sourcebook but am unable to to make any of the subclasses even with 2014 rules and partnered content selected.
Edit: figured it out
bruh ive boughten both this and the hunters guide already in pdfs, pleaseee this is so annoying there's no way to translate it to dnd beyond
u mean helianas guide to monster hunting
u can buy it on dnd beyond
That’s the vibe they’re going for. They have a lot of videos on their YouTube page full of fun information and their design process. Very excited it’s on DDB!
This is such a wonderful setting, very unique and well thought out. The creators really made something special here. We’ve been making characters for it and started a PbP on Discord yesterday… after our DM painstakingly homebrewed a lot of our class options and feats lol but still great to see it reach a well deserved DDB audience. This game has Legend of Zelda Studio Ghibli vibes, and it shines in those aspects. I made an elven circle of the petal Druid, spirit kin background with a knack for using her cloud touched boomerang. So many cool subclasses! And sweet feats and awesome new spells! Don’t miss out on the potion crafting in this game!!! It’s so cool!
10/10
I’d somehow never heard of this setting until just now so I am pleasantly surprised and delighted. I have so far enjoyed the art and the worldbuilding, and while I probably won’t run a campaign with it, many of the character and worldbuilding options really vibe with the kinds of games I already run.
edit: WARNING TO ALL WHO ARE LOOKING TO PURCHASE, THIS BOOK SUBCLASSES ARE ONLY AVAILABLE TO THE 2014 CLASSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The ONLY WAY to find this information is to go to the bugs and support: Obojima: Tales from the Tall Grass, thread. It is diabolically EVIL that there is no mention of this ANYWHERE in the marketplace....., hence I am requesting a refund.
Original post:
Can you update the website to have these subclasses work with the 2024 classes?
It is EXTREMELY frustrating that only the 2014 classes are available to use the new subclasses.
OR
HOW ABOUT LABELLING IT LOUD AND CLEAR "THIS IS FOR 2014 CLASSES"
I hope yall udpate this QUICKLY, or I will demand a refund....
Literally Same. It doesnt help when both the new Humblewood + Helianas have the "5e" Tag and yet they work perfectly fine with the 2024 version. Makes me wary to buy things even though id normally be invested in.
Dont think we'll get an update though. None of the ones that didnt work in the past got updated to this day so...
Helianas got updated after it released to work with the 2024 rules though?
I didn't expect this to be on D&D Beyond.
Please, please, please implement The Star Shaman's Song of Planegea next! It is an awesome setting.
It did actually! But it was already updated when it came online, I meant that Material that wasnt updated immediately (Like Kobold Press) never actually did get updated for the new System. Helianas/Griffons Saddleback got that update even before going online here. :)
Thank you! I was slightly confused and I completely understand you now. Hopefully this is updated as it seems extremely interesting and I would love to see some updates so it does fit the 2024 rules
Woah! I backed this on kick starter a while ago, I didn't expect to see it on DnDBeyond.
Really unfortunate that I'll have to pay another $40 just to get access to the content on beyond tho
The new Humblewood does not work properly with the 2024 rules, no.
Also, the creators of Obojima have said on the Kickstarter that they ARE working on implementing the 2024 rules, but they have no eta yet
Thats interesting though - I can use eg the Predator Warlock with 2024 classes just fine :o
Im happy to hear they want to include that though! DnDBeyond is being Abyssmal hat including informations about stuff like this haha :D
So, it means it came a bit late, huh ???
In that case, we'll see if it works or not. In Spain we still are waiting for some books of the 2014 edition ans the new 2024 edition. I hope I will see them translated before I die..... like the ""unfinished"" Sacred Family church in Barcelona.