Obojima Tales from Yatamon 5E
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An island where spirits walk among humans, potions smell of wild herbs, and relics of the lost age await rediscovery.
What it's about
A living island, a campaign that feels like Miyazaki
Obojima is an island where every spirit has a name, every herb has a scent, and every technological ruin from the Age Before tells a story. The setting is by 1985 Games with text by Adam Lee, Ari Levitch, and Jeremiah Crofton — and it's the most funded independent TTRPG project in recent years, with over $2.6 million on Kickstarter.
This isn't your typical dungeon and dragons campaign. Obojima asks players to participate in local festivals, taste village ramen, befriend a wary spirit, and — when needed — take up arms to stop the encroaching Corruption.
The 5.5 edition updates the rules for the 2024 version of D&D, adds over 30 new illustrations, and introduces the Monster Disposition System: each creature now has a dynamic personality and combat behavior.
FroGames Editorial Notes
Obojima is the setting Studio Ghibli fans have been waiting for — a world where adventure is made of relationships, discoveries, and wonder more than loot and levels.
The secret of Obojima in one line
The potion crafting system — with 135 ingredients and 180 recipes — is rich enough to become the heart of an entire campaign.
From the game experience
Obojima: Tales from the Tall Grass
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and play sessionsWhat's inside
385 pages of island to explore
Potion crafting system
135 ingredients, 180 recipes. From Candelcap that grows fiery hair to war, utility, and pure strangeness potions. A complete subsystem that also works in other campaigns.
11 original subclasses
The Origami Mage, the Masked Bard, the Alchemist Barbarian, the Waxwork Rogue who uses ancient boomboxes. Each subclass is designed for Obojima's atmosphere.
60 monsters with personality
The Disposition System gives spirits, corrupted creatures, and NPCs dynamic combat behavior. No two monsters behave the same — even enemies have intentions.
A world rich in detail
Villages, factions, island spirits, technological relics from the Age Before — vending machines, boomboxes, kei trucks. Three ready-to-start adventures.
Your party will return home talking about the grumpy spirit they convinced to become an ally, the wrong potion that turned the warrior into a talking shrub, the village they saved without drawing a sword. This is Obojima.
📖RulesEnglish · Official 1985 Games Website
A five-act session
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
The ferry docks. The island awaits.
The Dungeon Master describes Obojima: the smell of ramen from the port, the lighthouse spirit watching newcomers with suspicion, the peeling sign pointing to Yatamon village. Someone in the group already wants to head into the forest. Someone else has already spotted the potion shop. The session started the moment you sat down.
The first potion goes wrong. Or maybe not.
The character studying alchemy found three ingredients in the forest. They consulted the almanac, chose the combination. The result is a potion that makes hair grow fiery for an hour. It wasn't what they wanted — but the Barbarian absolutely wants it, and tonight's battle might need it.
The spirit is not an enemy — but not a friend either.
The group has encountered the creature that devastated the village's harvest. With the new Disposition System, the spirit has its own motivation: it is frightened by the Corruption advancing from the north shore. You can fight it. You can listen to it. You can help it. The choice changes the tone of the entire campaign.
The relic from the First Era lights up.
At the bottom of the cave was a vending machine with its lights still on. The Wizard uses Jolt — the spell that reactivates machines from the lost era. It opens. Inside is something no one in the group can explain, but which the DM had been waiting three sessions to reveal.
The village festival. No one wants to leave.
The session ends during Yatamon's spring festival. The group earned experience points by participating — not fighting. Someone forged a friendship with an NPC who will return. Someone ate something suspicious. No one is thinking about the Corruption in the north yet — they'll think about it next week.
How it works
The flow of an Obojima campaign
The book is designed to be used — not just read. Each section is structured to guide Dungeon Masters and adventurers step by step.
Choose from the island's races — Nakudama (frog), Dara (mysterious) or the Elves of Obojima — and select one of the 11 original subclasses. The 20 new feats and 4 factions define your role in the community.
The Dungeon Master uses sections dedicated to locations, spirits, factions, and narrative hooks to build sessions. Three ready-to-play adventures allow you to start immediately, with no additional preparation.
With Salvaging you search for ingredients. With Mechanics you repair and disassemble objects. The potion system activates when you combine three ingredients — the result is always from the book, never improvised.
The island's main threat doesn't press until the group is ready to face it. Obojima leaves room for story, characters, and relationships — danger comes, but not in a hurry.
Why it's different from others
Six elements that make the difference
A consistent aesthetic from start to finish
Every mechanic, every monster, every spell is filtered through the Ghibli-Zelda aesthetic. There are no breaks — the island is a coherent artistic object, not a rulebook with added illustrations.
The potion system is a game within a game
180 recipes from 135 ingredients, divided into Combat, Utility, and Whimsy. Rich enough to become the heart of a campaign. Simple enough not to slow down the session's pace.
Monsters with true motivations
The Disposition System gives each creature an emotional state and an objective. Fighting is not always the right answer — and the book supports this mechanically, not just narratively.
1980s technology as magic
Walkmans, vending machines, boomboxes, and kei trucks are relics of the First Era — magical objects no other setting would use this way. Jolt reactivates them. Characters fear and desire them.
Experience points for experiences, not kills
XP comes from festivals, friendships, discoveries, difficult moral decisions. The system encourages roleplay without penalizing those who also want to fight.
Also compatible with other campaigns
The potion system, new Salvaging mechanics, and 50 spells can be extracted and used in any D&D 5.5e campaign. Obojima also functions as a mechanical expansion.
How it ends — or doesn't end
Two ways to experience Obojima
Obojima does not have a single ending. The book offers structure for long campaigns and single sessions — the Corruption is a threat, but the island is a destination.
Complete campaign
- Follow the thread of Corruption from its beginning to its source on the island
- Build relationships with spirits, factions, and inhabitants over time
- The three included adventures guide the first steps — the rest is yours
Single sessions
- Every festival, every village, every spirit can be a story in itself
- The potion system works as a one-shot for an evening
- Obojima also works when integrated into ongoing D&D campaigns
Obojima: Tales from the Tall Grass is the TTRPG setting that shows what an independent publisher can do when it has a clear vision and the tools to realize it. $2.6 million on Kickstarter don't lie.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Obojima: Tales from the Tall Grass
Is it really inspired by Studio Ghibli or is it just marketing?
It is truly inspired — and it shows in the mechanics, not just the illustrations. Experience points for experiences and relationships (not kills), the Disposition System that makes monsters beings with their own motivations, the "leisure fantasy" tone that slows down the pace of the story: all this is Ghibli translated into D&D. It's not just a pretty poster on any game.
Does it work with D&D 5e or is the 2024 version required?
This is the 5.5e edition, updated for D&D 2024. Subclasses still use the 2014 structure in the D&D Beyond Character Builder, but the book is otherwise fully compatible with the 2024 manual. Those still playing with the 2014 manuals can use it with minor adjustments — the core mechanics are robust and do not depend on specific rules of the new edition.
Is prior experience with D&D necessary to use it?
Yes, a basic knowledge of D&D 5e rules is necessary — Obojima is a setting, not a core rulebook. Those who have never played should first have at least one D&D session under their belt. For experienced groups, the book is immediately accessible and the three included adventures allow you to start without additional DM preparation.
Can the potion system be used in other campaigns?
Yes, and the authors explicitly encourage it. The system is designed to be modular: you can extract the 135 ingredients, 180 recipes, and the Salvaging subsystem and integrate them into any D&D 5.5e campaign. This is one of the book's strengths — you're not obligated to play on Obojima to use the potions.
How many sessions does the book cover?
The three included adventures cover 3 to 6 sessions each, depending on the group's pace. The worldbuilding material — locations, factions, spirits, hooks — is abundant for a long campaign of 20 to 40 sessions. Experienced DMs will find more narrative hooks than they can use in a single campaign.
Is it available in Italian?
This is the English language edition. The text is written in clear and accessible English — not technical or academic — but a basic understanding of the language is still necessary. There is no official Italian translation currently available.
Obojima: Tales from the Tall Grass is a 385-page D&D 5.5e TTRPG setting published by 1985 Games, written by Adam Lee, Ari Levitch, and Jeremiah Crofton. Inspired by Studio Ghibli and The Legend of Zelda, the book includes 50 new spells, 60 monsters and NPCs, 11 original subclasses, 3 new races (Nakudama, Dara, Elves of Obojima), 4 factions, 20 new feats, 48 magic items, and a complete potion crafting system with 135 ingredients and 180 recipes. The 5.5e edition adds the Monster Disposition System and over 30 new illustrations. Compatible with D&D 2024. English language edition. Available on FroGames.it.
Obojima Tales from Yatamon 5E
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