LFP
Paid
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in- Marketplace
ᴀꜱʜᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴀꜱᴘɪʀᴇ
Flee the fall of an ancient civilization by fighting through the fires and flames that are sweeping across this snow-covered mountain valley nation!
The world of Winterheart is filled with fraught and fury! As the world stands upon the precipice of oblivion, fleeing refugees must learn how to move past the trauma of a lost life and forge a new one together. Join your fellow players as you attempt to flee from the center of a nation-ending catastrophe and reach safety, making friends - and enemies - along the way. As the nation of Aspire is seared to ash, your party will have to make difficult decisions as you battle ferocious monstrosities, avoid bandit ambushes, navigate a population of frenzied citizens, and battle a bitter winter! Manage your time, your resources, and your strength as you struggle to make your way across the nation to the city of Wyldbark, where you just might be able to flee the ruined nation and find safety once more - after you battle through the Wyldheart Dungeon, of course!
This campaign features themes of horror, diplomacy, deceit, community, and sacrifice, which will serve as the anchors holding the party together and keeping their escape from failing. Individual player skill levels are not important - what’s most important is the willingness to work together, as a group of players, to keep the game engaging and party connected! This table is looking for energetic people who are willing to join conversations without having to first be called upon, who are willing to contribute to the stories of their fellow players and take the time to be a part of both the each party members’ narratives as well as the grander world of Winterheart itself!
This campaign will focus primarily on combat, diplomatic role play, and making critical story choices. There will be many times when the party will have to decide whom they will save, and who will be left to fend for themselves. The outcome of the battlefield will sometimes be determined before the party even arrives, based on the choices they've made up until that point. The campaign will involve a small amount of resource management and wilderness exploration, but it will primarily focus on tactical-driven combat scenarios and intense moments of roleplay and drama. Each character’s backstory will be seen throughout the campaign, so it will be important to pay attention to your fellow players and learn about the characters they have made, since the threats they will be facing might not be apparent to you without understanding the person fighting by your side!
We will be sticking to the 2024 5.5e rules as written as much as possible, with some minor gameplay changes to help players manage the session behind the screen (spotlight mechanics, for example). This campaign will ramp up with time, with the stakes starting out small and eventually spiraling into something truly epic. Throughout the campaign, there will be depictions of blood and gore, intense action scenes, scheming NPCs that are willing to lie and cheat to get ahead, and a blend of both Lovecraftian and thriller horror genres that will become more apparent over time.
If you’re a veteran looking for something new, or if you’re a new player trying to capture the essence of tabletop gaming without following a strict adventure module, then this is what you’re looking for! This game will be a blend of traditional dungeon-crawl and exploration-based travel, intense tactical combat, and modern storytelling and gameplay mechanics. If you are unfamiliar with all of the rules, that is not a problem - I am an experienced DM with over 500 sessions under my belt for Dungeons and Dragons 5th/5.5 edition. Combat scenarios, especially early on, will be designed to give players an opportunity to try new ideas and discover the full mechanics of the 5.5 system - including some mechanics many don’t normally interact with, such as using environmental elements to cause hazards and traps and using basic supplies to conserve character resources and influence the battlefield.
Players will also be given the current Winterheart Campaign Module, a work-in-progress proprietary third party module that is exclusive to Wintersong Games players! Explore up to 5 new classes, each with multiple subclasses, and enjoy hundreds of new feats, backgrounds, weapons, magic items, and a completely revamped firearms combat system that trades movement and action economy to deal deadly blows to your targets! As more of the system is completed, paying players will receive updates, new systems, and more all for free!
If you think this is the campaign for you, go ahead and respond here in this thread or hit me up on Discord at the username argentauthor. You can also contact me on StartPlaying.games at https://startplaying.games/gm/wintersong. Feel free to message me if you have any questions regarding the campaign!
Character Creation:
We will begin creating characters at level 1. We’ll be using tools provided by the DM and from the VTT platform to make our character sheets, and after this, we’ll be doing a session 0 encounter before leveling up characters to level 2 as the official launch of the campaign. Character creation resources will be provided, from books to tutorial videos. Most official and partnered Dungeons and Dragons content will be allowed, but keep in mind if there is a 2014 5e book that has received an update in 5.5/2024, we will be using the updated version. Material published prior to the 2024 rules update will need approval from the DM, which will normally just require slight modifications before it’ll be ready (such as needing to accommodate for weapon masteries). In addition, several new Wintersong Games classes - such as the melee-spellcaster support Argent class - will be available upon Session 0 for players to choose from.
Players get to choose how they would like their stats, either from an array or from a generous roll system. Players may choose between the stats of 15, 15, 12, 12, 10, and 8, or they roll. Our roll system uses 4d6 - players drop the lowest of the die, and the resulting number is the ability score. They perform this 7 times, and drop the lowest total result to get their 6 stats.
Inclusivity Statement:
I pride myself on maintaining a community of players dedicated to standing against bigotry against others. If you stand in opposition to people because of their ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or nationality, then you stand in opposition to not just this community, but myself personally. We do not want you at the table. I don't want you at the table. My tables are inclusive, and I will vigorously fight to keep it that way.