"ICEWIND DALE; RIME OF THE FROSTMAIDEN"

 Some Secrets are Worth Dying For!!!

Feel the cold touch of death in this adventure for the world’s greatest roleplaying game!

RECRUITING FOR WEEKLY CAMPAIGN,

PLAYED ON TUESDAY EVENINGS; 5-9pm EDT (US)! 

HURRY!!! PLAYER POSITIONS ARE GOING FAST!  ONLY 2 LEFT!!!

About the Game: In Icewind Dale, adventure is a dish best served cold.
     Beneath the unyielding night sky, you stand before a towering glacier and recite an ancient rhyme, causing a crack to form in the great wall of ice. Beyond this yawning fissure, the Caves of Hunger await.
     Past this icy dungeon is a secret so old and terrifying that few dare speak of it. The mad wizards of the Arcane Brotherhood long to possess that which the god of winter’s wrath has so coldly preserved—as do you! What fantastic secrets and treasures are entombed in the sunless heart of the glacier, and what will their discovery mean for the denizens of Icewind Dale?
     Can you save Ten-Towns from the Frostmaiden’s everlasting night?
     "Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden" is a tale of dark terror that revisits the forlorn, flickering candlelights of civilization known as Ten-Towns and sheds light on the many bone-chilling locations that surround these frontier settlements.

Game Mechanics: Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, “Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden”.


Campaign:  Home-brew elements along with the official "Icewind Dale" campaign; the Sword Coast region of Faerun in the Forgotten Realms; PC level range from 1 to 15 or more

Group Type:  Online game via Roll 20 and Discord, on the Bipolar Productions Server.


Experience:  All experience levels welcome from new D&D players to seasoned D&D vets.


Timezone:  17:00 - 21:00 Eastern Daylight Time, US; (5pm - 9pm EDT).


Schedule:  Tuesday evenings (barring any pre-scheduled breaks or unforeseen emergencies, of course).


Session Length:  Up to 4 hours


Roles Sought:  Room for only 2 more players left!

DMs Experience Level:  Full time professional game master with over 35 years experience. I ran my first game out of the old red first edition box set for the other kids in my neighborhood! And yes, this IS my only job. I run several paid games each week both online and in person at a local comics-&-hobby-shop.

Game Style:  Generally, the style of game I play is best described as balanced. I encourage character interaction, development and interpersonal roleplay. I have ample experience running efficient, challenging, and satisfying combat encounters as well. I try my best to immerse my players into the world in any way I can; helping to develop character backstories and then fitting that information into the campaign. I use rehearsed NPC voices and use fitting background musical accompaniment in my games. 

      This being said, I work for YOU and will do my very best to tailor my style to the general wishes of the group that is playing!
      Now then... the legal team we have on retainer here at Bipolar Productions Server has informed me that per the arrangement and conditions of my court-ordered probation due to my last campaign, I am strongly advised to make the following disclaimer. This campaign WILL be FILLED with ADULT HUMOR and what some may find to be highly OFFENSIVE CONTENT. If you are easily disgusted by off-beat material, POLITICALLY-INCORRECT and deeply illicit MONKEY-BUSINESS, asinine TOMFOOLERY, and virtual HORSEPLAY, or if you suffer from any known heart conditions, a weak stomach, or loose bowels... I am NOT the DM for you, and this is not the campaign you're looking for!
      IF, however, you enjoy the grittier side of D&D, full-frontal nudity, and enough fart jokes to gag a class of 4th-grade schoolboys, I would be honored to have you play with me! Honestly, I'm actually just tired of only playing with myself. Remember though, if you dare to join me, you have been warned. If you come to play one of my games even though you have no sense of humor for the types of things many find crude and offensive… well then, ”Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!”
      BUT… please make NO MISTAKE about any type of hatred being disguised as a "sense of humor".  I allow absolutely NO jokes, insults, slurs, or aggression in regards to race, religion, politics, gender, sexual preferences, etc. There's simply no place for HATERS in my games.!

About the DM:  My name is Gray, and I sincerely hope to welcome YOU to my newest game on Roll 20 and DISCORD!
      A little bit about myself and my experiences - I am a professional game-master with over 35 years of experience running games, having begun when I was just a pre-teen boy and would DM for the other kids in my grade school, way back when D&D was only a paperback, magazine sized, rule-booklet that came in a thin red box with a cheap set of non-color-matched dice! Yep… it's been a LONG time since then!
      All of this time spent running games has allowed me to hone my craft in a way few can. I love to use various accents that I add to my “radio voice” in order to bring a high level of realism to my games, and I draw on a deep body of knowledge of not just the rules or roleplaying or the various settings (which I’ve dedicated years to learning), but of various little tricks and strategies to make a campaign truly engrossing.
      In addition to running games from many different editions and systems, from D&D 1st to 5th Edition, d20 Modern, Pathfinder, Rolemaster, and many others, I’ve also had other careers in the past which have contributed to my skills at making my games an immensely enjoyable experience for my players; careers such as having been a professional public speaker, a writer, a college-level teacher, and an academic with a doctoral degree in philosophy. While I have a wicked sense of humor that comes out in my games, there is also a surprising amount of depth, debatable moral questions the PC’s are forced to confront, and interesting situations that bubble up to the surface.
      The reason I’ve stayed active in this hobby for so long is because I have an undeniable PASSION for D&D and other roleplaying games. I find these games to be more than a simple recreation. They bring people together and open up our minds to collective imagination in a way that few other activities do. That’s just one of the many reasons that I love D&D, and why I was so happy to connect with “The Bipolar Dice Roller”, perhaps better known just as “Rob”.
      Rob has built a Discord community of like-minded people who are truly passionate about roleplaying, just as I am. Being one of his players and dungeon masters really feels like being part of a special brotherhood/sisterhood that anyone who truly loves roleplaying would be fortunate to be a part of too. I certainly hope you’ll join the Bipolar Productions Server family, even if it's with one of the other fine professional game-masters who call the server home.


Application Process:  Please provide me with the following information in a personal-message… 

   A.  Your Various Names; Here, on Discord, on Roll 20 (if you have accounts already), and what name you like to be called


   B.  What You Are Looking For From the Game: Whatever you feel is important for your enjoyment of D&D games


   C.  Your Discord ID and Number: If you have an account already, of course.  If you're new to Discord, it is completely free and I'd love to help you register for an account

 
  D.  A little Info About Your Character Concept: Your idea, preferred race and class, and a bit of their background, etc. Of course that's only if you've already decided.  I can help you make a character from scratch!

Why $Pay$ for D&D?:  As a pro game master, my ONLY job is to make you happy with your gaming experience. I have over 50 customers currently and run games almost every day of the week.  Since my work consists of prepping for and playing a game that I truly love all day, I honestly love my job!

     However, AS a professional Game Master, I expect a certain degree of skepticism. I believe there is a truly valid question which I am often confronted with… why should I pay for something that I can get for free? When I initially started running paid games, I honestly asked myself the same question... why are people paying me for this? 
     Over the years, I have realized why individuals are drawn to a paid experience over a free one and the reasons are many and quite simple.  I'll give you 5 good ones...

     A.  RELIABILITY - First and foremost, there’s the shared accountability for all in attendance. Game Masters are financially obligated to run a session which is not only consistent but also to a quality people are willing to pay for, as for players, it ensures attendance as nobody likes wasting their money.

     B.  QUALITY - Paying also positively impacts the Game Master’s ability to invest more time and resources into creating a more optimal experience. Professional Game Masters can commit all their efforts towards ample amounts of preparation and research. That’s something a free-to-play GM with a full-time “day-job” just can’t afford to do, and makes the over-all experience of a professional GM’s game something you usually CAN’T get for free.

     C.  AVAILABILITY -  Furthermore, finding a free game is rather competitive, as there just aren’t enough places at tables for everyone with the few Game Masters out there. Joining a paid game guarantees you your place at the table week to week.

     D.  SUPERIORITY - Paying for good tabletop RPG is also a superior entertainment value. At $20 for up to four hours of fun in a hobby you love, you’re spending far less money that you would per minute at a movie! Four hours is roughly the same amount of time you might spend on a round of golf, at a concert, or watching a live football, basketball, baseball, or most other sports, all of which could cost easily well in excess of $100! In our complicated, hectic, and often lonely world, $20 is also a small price to pay for several hours of escape with a few new friends to a place of magic and adventure in the mind, an experience that makes memories that I personally have found in my life to be priceless!

    E.  ACCESSIBILITY - Finally, having a professional GM at your disposal on the Roll 20 platform who has bought a professional account and EVERY SUPPLEMENT published by Wizards of the Coast for D&D there means you will have shared access to all those materials and the advantages that come with them in the game that you play! My Roll 20 library is valued at over $1000, and I am committed to purchase every new supplement that comes out there.

     If you are hesitant to take a chance on paid games, you are more than welcome to join our Discord community and ask others for their opinions on the benefits of our enterprise. I alsogive players at least the first game for free so they can decide for themselves if the experience is worth the cost. And, unlike the majority of pro-GMs out there, I back up my work with a “no questions asked”, money-back guarantee! If you don’t enjoy a particular game, you’ll get your money back from it, whatever the reason.

Character Creation:  I want all of my players to absolutely LOVE their D&D characters, the same way they might love their favorite character from a great book, movie, or TV show.  I am very open to character races, classes, and details so that my players can play EXACTLY the type of character they imagine.  The one issue that I want to avoid, however, is a character being over-powered and "breaking" the game.  That's just not fair to a player's teammates.  With that in mind, the following guidelines are used in my games for Character Creation…

    A.  Characters MUST be recorded on the provided ROLL 20 CHARACTER SHEET!!!  This is an advertisement for a game using the ROLL 20 virtual tabletop server. You may create your character on D&D Beyond, but you are then responsible to transfer the information to ROLL 20!  This is the only way the DM can use certain automated features necessary to running a game on Roll 20.
  

    B.  All official sourcebooks are permitted for character creation, with the caveat that the content must be setting relevant. For example, Ravnican backgrounds and Eberron marked races are not permitted in a campaign based in the Forgotten Realms (without the VERY RARELY granted DM approval and a setting-logical reason). The only books or portions of books ratified for use in a Faerunian campaign are those that are written around or adaptable in the Forgotten Realms setting. 
 

    C.  Unearthed Arcana, Dungeon Magazine, and third-party publications may be used, but must be ratified for use by me before creation. For example, the Mystic is banned in every campaign, whereas the UA updated Ranger is perfectly fine to use.
 

    D.  Home-brew content is not allowed in Bipolar Productions Server campaigns, unless it is homebrew is published on one of the creator Patreons endorsed within our Discord server.
 

    E.  All methods for attaining stats are permitted. When rolling for stats, rolling for a second full set is permitted.  The player must choose one of the two full sets of stats.  All rolls must be made in the game on Roll 20.  
I reserve the choice as DM to change individual stats (to the players benefit).

I want to thank you VERY much for taking the time to look at my thread here on D&D Beyond.  I very much hope to hear from you via personal message to get you involved in one of my games. 

Even if you're not going to be playing with me and my players, I still hope your adventures with Dungeons & Dragons are GREAT!

All the Best,

DM Gray

Terms and Conditions: By applying to one of the Bipolar Productions Server campaigns on Discord, you are accepting the following Terms & Conditions. Payment is due 5 days prior to a game. If you haven't paid 5 days in advance your space will be made available to whomever does pay. If you are applying to a game as a new player, payment is due as soon as possible before the session. There are very few instances where a refund will be issued. The first being if you give advanced notice (5 days before a game) that you cannot attend. The second instance is if the Game Master cancels a session. If you are banned for any of the reasons cited below, you will not be issued a refund. If your conduct is judged to be in any way detrimental to the experience of the other players or to the quality of our sessions in general, you will be banned. Poor conduct can range anywhere between inconsistent character decisions, consistently speaking over other players to distracting levels of background noise. Anyone who we adjudge to be threatening our livelihoods in any way will be subject to a ban. For example, player sniping and unsolicited advertisement will result in a ban. Bullying and abuse will not be tolerated. Anyone seen to be guilty of this will be banned. If you sign up for a session and don't show up, your space will be reserved so long as you continue to pay for it. If you are signed up for a session, haven't paid for it and then don't show up without five days' notice, you will be banned. Each situation will be reviewed by myself personally, rules will only be relaxed in very specific situations. We retain the right to cancel any session at any point, whether it be for personal or financial reasons. This is a situation that we will try my utmost to avoid, but is unavoidable at times. If this happens you are entitled to a refund for any sessions you have paid for that were or will be missed.

I have played with this DM before and have nothing but good things to say about him - join us for a session or two and check it out, we are a good group with just a few slots available so get on it now. 

Great setting and fantastic DM.

I am going to do something naughty this campaign, planning on rolling a Gloomstalker or Way of Shadow monk. 

Would that be considered cheating due to meta-gaming or no?

I shall allow it!  lol

Really enjoy playing in this campaign!

Grey takes the source material and creates a world all his own and then lets us destroy his creation in new and usual ways.  If only the job, wife, and kid would stop being so demanding of my time, I'd gladly a couple more of his other campaigns.

Thanks Kelkas... awesome having you!

Although I am hoping that at some point you truly play a squirrel creature of some kind.

It’s a former military guy thing, not a D&D thing, although - it’s not out of the realm of possibility 😏

Yeah why not... I had a walking talking Pomeranian puppy Monk, a race called a "Pompup" that someone played in a campaign... why not a true "Ninja Squirrel"?!

The world is not ready for a 🥷🏻 🐿 

You're the dude, Squirrel!  Lol!

After talking to my family and friends I have changed my position and, I will play as a little ninja squirrel…the people of the world have suffered enough these past few years, enough is enough. 

I couldn't be happier!  Now I'll have both a humanoid squirrel AND a humanoid Pomeranian puppy in the group!