In May 2025 we presented the complete Undying Corruption campaign and Undying Corruption 5E Player’s Guide for D&D Fifth Edition and compatible systems from Nine Heavens Press.
Based on Korean history and folklore, this spectacular 504-page campaign takes your heroes from level 1 to level 20 as you ascend toward divinity. As a fey Dokkaebi, Gumiho (nine-tailed fox), Jangseung (guardian-angel construct), Lunamorph (rabbit-folk from the Moon), Noru (deer-folk), or Sangun (humanoid tiger), you and your Black Bear Clan will travel across Danguk, a gunpowder fantasy setting created and written by Koreans. Navigate the conflict between the ancient spiritualism of the Mudang and the rationalist Luminist scholars in power. Befriend allies, meet monarchs and primal spirits, and face off against bosses, each with unique strategies: multi-headed titans, arcano-clockwork monstrosities, soul-devouring dragons, nine-tailed elementalists, wicked wraiths, horrors borne from mortal despair, and the Juksekilgeh, or Galaxy Dragons. Rise from the Dark Realm into the paradisiacal Flower Fields of Seocheon and, in the Cradle of the Gods, discover your true potential.
“In writing Undying Corruption we were motivated by the growing interest in Korean culture,” writes designer Minki Kim on the Sept 2022 Undying Corruption Kickstarter campaign page. “We formed our own interpretation of what a Korean fantasy could look like. From trickster Taoist wizards like Jeon Woo-chi to noble thieves like Hong Gildong, and all the way back to heroes turned deities like Abandoned Princess Bari and Jacheongbi, the protagonists of Korean fantasies are often underdogs whose moralities transcend societal limitations.
“We also researched Korean shamanism, or Shinism, a 3,000-year-old religion still practiced to this day. The Mudang, priests of Korean shamanism, helped preserve our rich, native folklore through tumultuous history. The book’s editor, Jin-sol, is a Mudang and has helped proofread the setting lore and adventure text through the lens of both her editorial experience and her faith.”
In Danguk, Undying Corruption develops a varied and complex setting that ranges from the poisoned wetlands of Hangwan to industrial Gungnae (where the buildings are on rails and can be moved to form protective magic circles) to the capital city, Asadal, situated atop a divine sandalwood tree. The worldbuilding doesn’t stop there: The campaign takes heroes onward to the underworld, the afterlife, and the celestial realm of Gucheon, where the gods have engineered an advantageous closed system of reincarnation. There’s much more at the September 2022 Kickstarter campaign page, and Jared Rascher details the contents of the Player’s Guide at What Do I Know.
This short-run offer included both the 128-page Undying Corruption 5E Player’s Guide and the 504-page Undying Corruption 5E Korean Adventure (total retail value $45) as DRM-free, non-watermarked .PDF ebooks.
