Secrets of Stroddenfel I've been playing D&D for nearly 30 years, DM'ing a considerable amount of that time. The campaign I'm wanting to play through has been nearly 7 years in the making, play tested in part with different groups to create a "greater than the sum" world that is deep in lore, mystery, and intrigue. I love playing with new players, teaching them to play, and giving them a guided shot behind the screen if they wish.
This is the game I consider to be my opus and is the most ambitious undertaking I've ever had in any TTRPG. The game has been designed to be able to run from multiple perspectives. This means you could play through it more than once and have a COMPLETELY different experience. So, what makes this so different than any other module or campaign? I'm running two different parties through the game, each starting at VERY different perspectives. These games will run congruently to one another and what one group does in the world can have an effect on the other. With careful planning and management, the players will reach the end of the story at the same time, coming together to complete the end game at the same time. However, they may not be fighting TOGETHER. Depending on what the parties do, how the characters feel, it may pit one party against the other, or fracture both parties, creating two or more new parties that each have different views, goals, and objectives.
Me as a DM
As a DM, I set very strict rules for myself to manage my party's expectations, gameplay, and survivability. I don't design encounters based on the strengths or weaknesses of my party. Instead, I treat adversaries as living, breathing entities. An enemy won't be trying to stop YOU, they will be trying to stop ANYONE within the limits of their abilities and resources to do so. I think this adds a level of depth to the game.
With that being said, I take things like traps and puzzles very serious. Think about it like this: If you're trying to keep someone out of your house to protect a priceless artifact, why would you create a device that's simply meant to give them a nasty boo boo? They fall into that pit, hurt their knee, their companion helps them out of the pit, and they continue on their way. So...what exactly was the point of the trap to begin with? I'm not afraid of killing a party member, but I don't aim to do so. I believe I should be adversarial to the party, but within the confines of the strict set of rules I set for myself. I think that it makes the game more exciting for everyone if there are real stakes involved in a decision.
My House Rules
Here is an incomplete set of house rules I follow, for you and for me:
1. Most rolls are made out in the open. This includes my rolls. There may be situations where I roll behind the screen or ask you to whisper a roll to me. Some of these situations include:
-Death Saving Throws (This keeps the party from metagaming and makes the decision whether to attack or stabilize a fallen party member much more important. If they know you've made two saving throws and failed none, that could impact their combat style quite a bit)
- Certain QTE type events (There may be triggers or events that occur randomly. I'll roll these in secret so that you aren't aware if/when something is happening)
2. If a party member triggers a trap, I will stated the word "Click". At this point in time, every party member in the area will have an opportunity to tell me a very simple reaction they take (i.e. moving one square to the left or ducking down). Based on how you react to traps, you may gain advantage or disadvantage on any Dex Saves involved in the trap.
3. Here's a big one: 5e rules state that, in the event of an attack roll tying with a target's AC, it's considered a successful attack. I HATE that rule. In my game, defense wins ties.
4. I use flanking rules. If you and another friendly combatant who isn't under the grappled, paralyzed, stunned, prone, or other similar condition, you and that flanking party member gain advantage on all attack rolls against that creature. Party members can be flanked, as well, though, and in the even that a party member who is flanking an enemy becomes flanked, the bonuses cancel each other out.
5. I don't do milestone leveling. I award XP after each session. After each session, I write a quick game recap and award a party base XP as well as bonus experience for each player. The bonus XP is something that will never cause a big disparity between levels inside the party, but it's just a nice little reward for those who shine in a game.
6. Speaking of bonus experience, I really enjoy it when a party beats me. Like I said, I've been playing this game a LONG time and I pride myself on my ability to forecast what my party will do, how they will handle problems, etc. I'll let you try anything you want and see if it'll work out for you. I will never EVER keep you from living up to the Rule of Cool.
7. Metagaming is always a big problem. If you try to complete an action that I believe might be outside your character's knowledge to take the action, I may ask you to explain what your character knows to take that action and how they know it. There are times that I will test YOU, not your character, so at that point, this rule goes out the window.
8. As I stated, I don't TRY to kill your characters, but I'm not afraid to do it. Should a character die and not be resurrected, I don't want you out of the game. You are free to create a new character under the following guidelines: They must be a different class than the previous character and they will be one level lower than said character, with the minimum amount of experience points needed to reach that level.
9. Finally, character creation. For ease's sake, I use the Core Books, XGE, and TCE and I don't ban anything inside these books. If you want to play something different, I'm not closed off to it, I just want to sit down and discuss it first. Also, you won't know what the party's make up is until everyone is done. I do this for two reasons: 1. I want the party to be an organic entity, not one min maxed and balanced to a feather's weight, 2. I want to give all my players the ability to divulge their character's story, class, and abilities as they see fit, so literally any information you have on them will either be from their mouth or your observations of them. I roll for stats with the following Roll20 formula: /r 4d6r1r2k3. Do this six times and then assign your stats how you wish. As for your backstory, make it as long and short as you wish, just give me a few details including: Your family history, 1-3 names of important people in your life, and your motivation for adventuring.
What you can expect, play wise
So we will play on Roll20, so we will use my R20 Compendium. As a pro member, I will also incorporate API scripts (either custom or prebuilt) that will be determined by the party makeup. I don't run a lot of hack and slash games. I try to make combat fun, but also to have a point. Some sessions may be heavily focused on combat, while others are much more focused on RP. I try to make it as balanced an experience as possible and I always enjoy creative solutions to problems.
I enjoy writing player arcs into the story. This really helps to immerse yourself in the world and really feel like you belong here and have a real impact on it. I also hate putting you on rails or taking away your agency. Sometimes, it can't be helped, but I do so very sparingly. I don't do mid battle cutscenes or anything like that.
As far as Roll20 is concerned, I'll write, program, or implement Dynamic Lighting effects, API scripts, Macros, etc. that will make the game more enjoyable or easy to manage. I'll also utilize the Handouts feature and private messaging. So if you pick up and read a note, I won't read the note aloud, I'll give it to you in a handout and you will be able to decide what, if anything, you tell the party about the note. I also HATE the video and audio system on Roll20, so we will use voice chat via discord and rolls on Roll20.
Why is it paid?
The payment is, honestly, to keep people motivated to show up and to recoup the massive amounts of time I spend developing and prepping for games. I don't use prebuilt maps or anything. Everything is custom built for my purposes. That takes a LOT of time, as any DM can tell you. I am willing to work with the right player, though, so if you've made it this far, don't let that stop you. Hit me up and we can discuss it. The cost for this game will be a meager $15 per month per person via Cashapp, *****, PayPal, etc.
How to Apply
Message me on discord grantbob1285#9710 or send me a message here. I look forward to hearing from you!
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Secrets of Stroddenfel
I've been playing D&D for nearly 30 years, DM'ing a considerable amount of that time. The campaign I'm wanting to play through has been nearly 7 years in the making, play tested in part with different groups to create a "greater than the sum" world that is deep in lore, mystery, and intrigue. I love playing with new players, teaching them to play, and giving them a guided shot behind the screen if they wish.
This is the game I consider to be my opus and is the most ambitious undertaking I've ever had in any TTRPG. The game has been designed to be able to run from multiple perspectives. This means you could play through it more than once and have a COMPLETELY different experience. So, what makes this so different than any other module or campaign? I'm running two different parties through the game, each starting at VERY different perspectives. These games will run congruently to one another and what one group does in the world can have an effect on the other. With careful planning and management, the players will reach the end of the story at the same time, coming together to complete the end game at the same time. However, they may not be fighting TOGETHER. Depending on what the parties do, how the characters feel, it may pit one party against the other, or fracture both parties, creating two or more new parties that each have different views, goals, and objectives.
Me as a DM
As a DM, I set very strict rules for myself to manage my party's expectations, gameplay, and survivability. I don't design encounters based on the strengths or weaknesses of my party. Instead, I treat adversaries as living, breathing entities. An enemy won't be trying to stop YOU, they will be trying to stop ANYONE within the limits of their abilities and resources to do so. I think this adds a level of depth to the game.
With that being said, I take things like traps and puzzles very serious. Think about it like this: If you're trying to keep someone out of your house to protect a priceless artifact, why would you create a device that's simply meant to give them a nasty boo boo? They fall into that pit, hurt their knee, their companion helps them out of the pit, and they continue on their way. So...what exactly was the point of the trap to begin with? I'm not afraid of killing a party member, but I don't aim to do so. I believe I should be adversarial to the party, but within the confines of the strict set of rules I set for myself. I think that it makes the game more exciting for everyone if there are real stakes involved in a decision.
My House Rules
Here is an incomplete set of house rules I follow, for you and for me:
1. Most rolls are made out in the open. This includes my rolls. There may be situations where I roll behind the screen or ask you to whisper a roll to me. Some of these situations include:
-Death Saving Throws (This keeps the party from metagaming and makes the decision whether to attack or stabilize a fallen party member much more important. If they know you've made two saving throws and failed none, that could impact their combat style quite a bit)
- Certain QTE type events (There may be triggers or events that occur randomly. I'll roll these in secret so that you aren't aware if/when something is happening)
2. If a party member triggers a trap, I will stated the word "Click". At this point in time, every party member in the area will have an opportunity to tell me a very simple reaction they take (i.e. moving one square to the left or ducking down). Based on how you react to traps, you may gain advantage or disadvantage on any Dex Saves involved in the trap.
3. Here's a big one: 5e rules state that, in the event of an attack roll tying with a target's AC, it's considered a successful attack. I HATE that rule. In my game, defense wins ties.
4. I use flanking rules. If you and another friendly combatant who isn't under the grappled, paralyzed, stunned, prone, or other similar condition, you and that flanking party member gain advantage on all attack rolls against that creature. Party members can be flanked, as well, though, and in the even that a party member who is flanking an enemy becomes flanked, the bonuses cancel each other out.
5. I don't do milestone leveling. I award XP after each session. After each session, I write a quick game recap and award a party base XP as well as bonus experience for each player. The bonus XP is something that will never cause a big disparity between levels inside the party, but it's just a nice little reward for those who shine in a game.
6. Speaking of bonus experience, I really enjoy it when a party beats me. Like I said, I've been playing this game a LONG time and I pride myself on my ability to forecast what my party will do, how they will handle problems, etc. I'll let you try anything you want and see if it'll work out for you. I will never EVER keep you from living up to the Rule of Cool.
7. Metagaming is always a big problem. If you try to complete an action that I believe might be outside your character's knowledge to take the action, I may ask you to explain what your character knows to take that action and how they know it. There are times that I will test YOU, not your character, so at that point, this rule goes out the window.
8. As I stated, I don't TRY to kill your characters, but I'm not afraid to do it. Should a character die and not be resurrected, I don't want you out of the game. You are free to create a new character under the following guidelines: They must be a different class than the previous character and they will be one level lower than said character, with the minimum amount of experience points needed to reach that level.
9. Finally, character creation. For ease's sake, I use the Core Books, XGE, and TCE and I don't ban anything inside these books. If you want to play something different, I'm not closed off to it, I just want to sit down and discuss it first. Also, you won't know what the party's make up is until everyone is done. I do this for two reasons: 1. I want the party to be an organic entity, not one min maxed and balanced to a feather's weight, 2. I want to give all my players the ability to divulge their character's story, class, and abilities as they see fit, so literally any information you have on them will either be from their mouth or your observations of them. I roll for stats with the following Roll20 formula: /r 4d6r1r2k3. Do this six times and then assign your stats how you wish. As for your backstory, make it as long and short as you wish, just give me a few details including: Your family history, 1-3 names of important people in your life, and your motivation for adventuring.
What you can expect, play wise
So we will play on Roll20, so we will use my R20 Compendium. As a pro member, I will also incorporate API scripts (either custom or prebuilt) that will be determined by the party makeup. I don't run a lot of hack and slash games. I try to make combat fun, but also to have a point. Some sessions may be heavily focused on combat, while others are much more focused on RP. I try to make it as balanced an experience as possible and I always enjoy creative solutions to problems.
I enjoy writing player arcs into the story. This really helps to immerse yourself in the world and really feel like you belong here and have a real impact on it. I also hate putting you on rails or taking away your agency. Sometimes, it can't be helped, but I do so very sparingly. I don't do mid battle cutscenes or anything like that.
As far as Roll20 is concerned, I'll write, program, or implement Dynamic Lighting effects, API scripts, Macros, etc. that will make the game more enjoyable or easy to manage. I'll also utilize the Handouts feature and private messaging. So if you pick up and read a note, I won't read the note aloud, I'll give it to you in a handout and you will be able to decide what, if anything, you tell the party about the note. I also HATE the video and audio system on Roll20, so we will use voice chat via discord and rolls on Roll20.
Why is it paid?
The payment is, honestly, to keep people motivated to show up and to recoup the massive amounts of time I spend developing and prepping for games. I don't use prebuilt maps or anything. Everything is custom built for my purposes. That takes a LOT of time, as any DM can tell you. I am willing to work with the right player, though, so if you've made it this far, don't let that stop you. Hit me up and we can discuss it. The cost for this game will be a meager $15 per month per person via Cashapp, *****, PayPal, etc.
How to Apply
Message me on discord grantbob1285#9710 or send me a message here. I look forward to hearing from you!