Please read everything in this thread before you try to apply! Pay special attention to the information listed directly below this sentence! You'll be instructed on the application process at the BOTTOM of this thread! It is recommended that you read EVERYTHING before trying to apply! We can only accept a limited number of applications so this is first-come-first-serve with highest quality applicants being accepted!
Greetings all!
It's been roughly a month and a half since the launch of my three part AURYN campaign and things are going very well! We have an active player base but, unfortunately, life does happen, and we have had a few spots in our campaign open up for players!
I am looking for players who are active and can post once every 24 to 48 hours minimum. You will also need to be familiar with Discord, as we have a board set up where we coordinate EVERYTHING behind the scenes, including dice rolls, team discussions, and DM / player interactions. Our community is relatively active, so if you're not someone that pops in to read posts or talk to your team every day or two you're going to fall behind and you won't be successful.
Our campaign runs the gamut of playable races, and there are even some Homebrew races sprinkled in. With that said, I am more likely to choose players who choose characters that are outside the norm. We also have multiple Homebrew classes (most of which are borrowed from other fabulous creators here on DnDBeyond) such as Sith / Jedi and Witchers, not to mention plenty of Homebrew races and access to all Sourcebook races and Fairy's and Harengon from "The Wild Beyond the Witchlight". Let's see some cool characters! Races I'll give extra attention to during selection will be-
There are multiple clans of Gelfling scattered throughout the world of Hyboria in which our story takes place, all of which are remnants living in pockets left over from the last Great War.
To get access to some of these races, specifically the Homebrew ones, you'll have to turn on Homebrew Content in your character sheet. Additionally, you'll be given access to one of the three Campaign links available for the game if you're chosen to play to give you access to a wide variety of Races and Subclasses, with ranging from Loxodon, Leonin, Minotaur, Kenku, and more. If you're interested in playing a race you don't have access to, please let me know so we can see if you'll have access by joining the campaign.
A soundtrack to get those creative juices flowing...
AURYN
Also known as the Golden Eyed Commander of Wishes, AURYN signifies the will of the Childlike Empress, who is the living embodiment of the world. Whoever wears an AURYN amulet is recognized across all Hyboria as an emissary of the Empress, usually for good, though sometimes for ill. Furthermore, the wearer can call upon the capabilities of AURYN while wearing the amulet in an effort to petition for cosmic intervention in their times of need, though these may not always be answered.
Often bestowed as a sign of trust and good faith from the Empress, AURYN is universally recognized in all of the high courts of Hyboria as a symbol of peacekeeping.
**********
The World is Ending
Hyboria is in peril.
The Dark Crystal, the ever present, all powerful source of magic that maintains the natural and magical order of the world, has weakened to an unsustainable state of degeneration after being damaged a thousand years ago. Without its influence to keep the order, many powerful enemies who have previously been relegated to skulking in the shadows have been emboldened to rise up and vie for control of Hyboria, seizing their moment to cause potential cataclysmic shifts in power. Worse than that is the Blight and the Darkening, precursors of the Nothing, a hurricane of destruction that will remove great swaths of the land from existence before totally annihilating the entire world.
The Childlike Empress, sickened by the world’s fall from grace, harkens across the land for all of Hyboria’s heroes, what few there are, to convene with her at the Ivory Tower so that a fellowship may be formed to offset these fluctuations. The task is overwhelming and multifaceted; to stop these nefarious forces from achieving their goals while also gathering some of the most powerful artifacts in existence. Only then can everyone and everything be saved.
These heroes will have to travel the globe and gather the three fragments of the Triforce as well as the Shard of Division, the missing sliver of the Crystal that has been gone for a thousand trine. When the pieces of the Triforce are combined beneath the Crystal of Truth, they will manifest the power necessary to recombine the Shard and the Dark Crystal into the Crystal of Truth, the pure source of life and energy for all Hyboria.
The task will not be easy. The materials required for such a monumental job are scattered throughout the entire world. Most are guarded by men or monsters that would give their lives to keep them where they are, and it is unlikely that anyone operating in the name of the Skeksis would allow the heroes to gain access to these items without a fight. On top of that, the political dynamic and military environment of the world is rapidly changing, declining into a dangerous state of aggression and unrest. There are others who would just as well have these items for themselves, and will stop at nothing to get them.
The Lord of Darkness, bent on the destruction of his greatest nemesis, light itself, has dispatched a band of Hobgoblins loyal to his cause to destroy the unicorns and dispel the sun once and for all. It is this banner that allows him to attract the fell things of Hyboria that share his ideologies. Worse still, Calibos, hunter of fey things and enemy of the forces of good, has aligned himself with the Dark Lord and intends to see his bidding done.
Ganondorf, the King of Thieves, an avid practitioner of dark magic and power hungry warlord from the depths of the Gerudo Desert, has set his eyes on capturing Hyrule Castle and the three pieces of the Triforce for himself, and more if he can find it. Intent on being the sole ruler of the land and unifying all he may survey for his own purposes, he has positioned himself to be a nigh unstoppable force of harm in Hyboria.
And these are only a few of the foes who have crawled from the chaos to conquer Hyboria. With whisperings of malicious forces guised with names like Keldor, Lord Vader, and Thulsa Doom, it all seems very daunting indeed. But all is not lost. The forces of good, names like King Hyrule and King Randor, the Childlike Empress, and even Augrah herself, circle their defenses, intent on raising the appropriate means to protect Hyboria from falling into endless twilight or, worse still, Nothingness.
“AURYN: The Crystal, The Triforce, and the Shard of Division” is the story of Hyboria, a living world comprised heavily of elements from “The Legend of Zelda”, “The Dark Crystal”, “The Neverending Story”, “Legend”, “The Last Unicorn”, “Labyrinth”, and more. I’ve worked to find interesting ways to combine these elements and have specifically looked at their similar themes, such as the mare unicorn from “Legend” and Lady Amalthea from “The Last Unicorn” becoming the same character in this story.
The world is populated with all manner of beings, from those included in the 5 Edition Source Books to more obscure beings from the mish-mashed elements here; Brownies, Fairies, stuff like that. Some races, such as the Hylians, may be represented by Elves, whereas others, like the Kokiri, might be represented by Gnomes. NPCs abound, be them good or evil. They will react reasonably to your actions; if you burn down the local inn at a town that is mostly lawful good, for example, the police force will come for you and you’ll have to decide how you want to proceed, either through violence of surrender. In contrast, if you if do something good for the NPCs of a village, town, city, or whatever, they will remember your kindness and may rewarded you justly.
Your enemies are vast in number. You may encounter threats in the world that are mundane, like bandits in the wild or marauding goblins, or you may come up with very smart, well organized, and deadly opposition that directly reports to one of the bigger threats like Darkness or Ganondorf. There is also the possibility that you could uncover a new threat, something else deadlier and more cunning than anything you previously known about as it plots to enter the world stage.
Or you could even create the threat yourself.
**********
The Crystal
All of Hyboria centers around the Dark Crystal, formerly known as the Crystal of Truth, the corporeal embodiment of all the magic in the land. Imbued with endless power, the Crystal’s existence maintains the balance of the whole world, of all of nature and of all the magic practiced by the denizens of Hyboria. Now controlled by the vicious Skeksis after their physical split from the urRu, the Crystal is the most powerful object known to exist, and though it doesn’t grant tangible requests like the Triforce does, it does feed the Triforce it’s enchantment.
With the Skeksis in direct control of the Crystal Palace, also known as the Castle of the Crystal, any attempt by an outside interference to interrupt or disrupt their hold on the Crystal is unlikely. The castle is guarded by magical traps and an immense horde of Arathim and Garthim that, so far, have prevented any other faction from capturing control.
As the Childlike Empress rallies heroes to save Hyboria, it is apparent that the Crystal will soon, very soon, become the center of a contest that could determine the fate of the world and everyone in it.
Broken by the Skeksis abuses, the Crystal shed a piece, the Shard of Division, and it is said that this missing piece, and the Crystal of Truth’s diminishment, have not only led to the uprising of so many nefarious forces across Hyboria, but also the arrival of the mysterious Blight and Darkening, precursors of the Nothing that is rumored to be consuming not just pockets of the world, but existence itself.
**********
You Are The Heroes
The Childlike Empress has summoned all the great heroes of Hyboria to the Ivory Tower for an emergency council. Her objective: to send them forth to save the world.
You are an established hero of this world. While not the savior of the whole plain (yet), you’ve certainly risen to at least one challenge, be it for a village, town, city, or county. Not all heroism is an act of martial prowess either. Maybe you are a scholar who found the cure for a plague, or a holy woman who united a district in the name of the greater good. Maybe you’re an inventor who developed a new form of metallurgy or smithing, an amazing flying ship, or a fantastical projectile weapon. Or did you return the flora and fauna to the desolation that has been barren for decades? Or the mage who find a way to enchant the local water supply so that it never runs out?
There is more to being a hero than being a warrior. It is clear that it takes adventurers from all walks of life to ensure the accomplishment of this mission. So ask yourself…who will you be?
You can be almost any sort of character you want for this campaign within the bounds of reason. When you join this campaign, you’ll be given a campaign link which will grant you access to ALL of the sourcebooks except for Strixhaven and Fizban’s. Content sharing is enabled. I’m open to homebrew, but we’ll need to discuss how it works first.
You’ll start at level 3, allowing you to get somewhat of a grip on who you want your character to be. Unless you multiclass, this should at least allow you to get your Race / Class / Subclass figured out from the beginning. Ability Scores will be rolled. This campaign relies on its own personal Discord server for coordinating information and dice rolls. The Avrae bot is ready to go and has been programmed to give you three sets of rolled dice when you request them. These rolls are generous, a reflection of your character’s life in the world as he or she prepares for their next adventure.
An adventurer who has been living in the world will probably have some possessions that are important to them. You can begin the game with 2 Uncommon Items (the green ones when you Add Items).
There are a lot of opportunities to improve your character as they adventure around the world. I fully intend to allow training and educational opportunities for your characters, so if you plan to learn a new Language or improve an Ability Score or learn a new Feat between leveling up, just communicate with me so we can figure out what you need to do to make that happen.
Speaking of Feats, all characters will start with 1. For some builds, this means you could enter the game with at least two Feats. Variant Human, for example.
I know this sort of starting mechanic isn’t for everyone and that some folks feel like starting with good bonuses cheapens the game, but here’s my argument; you play DnD to have a good time and do cool shit. As your Dungeon Master, I’m here to make sure you get what you need to do said cool shit. Again, you’re a hero. You’ve been living in the world. You’re going to have done more than learn the basics by this point.
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The Triforce
Scattered to the winds, the Triforce grants extraordinary wishes to whosoever should unite the pieces. The Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage are separated to the different continents of Hyboria and their locations are not only secret, but also guarded by all manner of horrific monster and machination. The hunt for them, by both friend and foe of the world, never ends.
It is said that Ganondorf, King of Thieves, musters forces in the Gerudo Desert with the intention of capturing the three pieces of the Triforce and uniting them for himself.
**********
The Shard of the Division
The Shard of Division was separated from the Crystal of Truth many years ago when the Skeksis first split from the urRu. The Shard fell into the vast subterranean catacombs beneath the Castle of the Crystal and was lost.
It has never been found.
**********
Here There Be Dragons
The land is home to many vast and diverse ecosystems, each teaming with many varieties of life, some mundane, others exotic and dangerous. Heroes are warned to use caution as they venture into parts of the wilderness where no man has gone in many trine. The races are almost as numerous in variety as they are in individuals. Creatures great and small, plants that can hardly be imagined, even things from other plains of existence and from the depths of Subternia, the paradise of Preternia, or the voids of Etheria, populate the surface of the world, the depths of its oceans, and the darkness of its underground caverns.
Mighty dragons roam the hills in search of treasure to add to their hordes or meat for their bellies. The Tarrasque appears near the time of the Conjunctions to raid villages. Rocs, once used as warmounts by Giants, nest in the mountains. There is a rumor that a Kraken is terrorizing the coastal cities worldwide. And what’s worse, there are whispers in circles of knowing that something else is trying to get in from Etheria, something of immense evil.
The Dark Crystal, its power having dipped below some sort of unknown threshold that kept the world mostly in order, is no longer able to keep these myriad threats in check. The natural order is deteriorating rapidly. As natural and magical ecosystems fail the creatures that rely on them for sustenance flux out of their normal routines and venture out for survival, often bringing them in deadly contact with people. Encountering a monster is no longer a matter of if, but rather when, and it seems that problem will only continue to amplify.
Not every encounter need be a combat encounter. You encounter a Goblin patrol in the woods? Try talking with them. It might not work, but then again it might. There’s also no shame in running from an encounter you know you and your party are not equipped to face.
Monster encounters will increase in frequency the closer the world comes to ending. Conversely, the more that is done to restore balance, the safer the lands will be. It is possible to encounter nearly any CR level of monster at any PC level, so be careful where you go! If you know an Ancient Dragon has been sighted in its lair at the top of a specific mountain you plan to explore, then perhaps that means it is time to turn back…for now.
There is also a high probability that many of these monsters you encounter could be working for enemy forces, supporting the efforts of characters like Ganondorf, who will stop at nothing to secure his seat on the Hylian throne and to capture the three pieces of the Triforce for himself, or even lesser villains like Calibos, who hunts the Last Unicorn for the Lord of Darkness. These boss type NPCs will be very prominent in the story of “AURYN”, so be prepared to encounter some or even all of them in your journeys.
Also, keep in mind that a high number of monster encounters are really just encounters with what is essentially an animal in this world. You may not recognize it immediately as an animal, but remember that this is a complex ecosystem different from our own. There are a lot of strange creatures that live here, and many of them will behave like animals. Not every fight will be a fight to the death. Maybe just leaving the area will deescalate the situation. And remember what I said about talking to goblins? The same thing can be said for the more intelligent monsters too; don’t just view them as monsters. Like some monsters being animals, some may be viewed as people.
It is also very possible, as I alluded a moment ago, that some monsters may not be malicious at all. Some may even be allies to the cause. Attacking them unnecessarily could severely hamper relations with their kind should you need their help later.
Have a hankering for a unique mount? Use your animal handling skills to try to tame something unusual…as long as it isn’t of evil alignment or otherwise obviously hostile.
One last thing. Remember when I said ‘not every fight has to be a fight to the death’? You can die. Your characters can be killed in this world, either through accident, trap, combat, condition, or disease. Never forget that.
**********
The Alicorn
The Lord of Darkness, leader of a cult of goblin’s and fell things that wish nothing more than to plunge the world into eternal night, has killed one of the two unicorns left in all the world. The death of the stallion, and the theft of its horn, the alicorn, has begun a race against time to stop Darkness from laying his hands on the horn, and gaining control of the mare’s alicorn while he’s at it.
**********
A World of Old Magic
Dungeons delve into the depths of the world, catacomb the mountains and stand as timeless ruins in the vast forests. They are built as testaments to the powers of old gods and old civilization, as defenses for artifacts of unimaginable power, and relics of dead communities. They are filled with elaborate traps and nigh unsolvable puzzles. They hold treasures of immense worth and secrets kept so well that they have long been forgotten by the minds and writings of people worldwide.
Powerful weapons have been imbued with the wealth of forces like the Dark Crystal and Castle Grayskull. The Master Sword is only one of these items. There are magical artifacts, armor, weapons, wands and staffs, and things undreamed of by man in many a trine scattered all about the world. Some are mundane. Some wield world altering power. Of these, The Master Sword, the Sword of Power, and the Ocarina of Time are some of the most prominent.
Basic magical items are very common and are often handed down as heirlooms in families, especially families with prominent names and histories of heroism. It is actually more common for families and names like this to come with such hand-me-down weapons, armor, and items than not.
It’s not just artifacts that lay around enchanted. Whole forests are known to be magical, as well as caverns, mountains, seas, and dungeons themselves. Enchantments are numerous and, in many cases, very dangerous, though occasionally some are mundane or even helpful. Still, adventurers should explore with caution and an open mind.
Remember to start with two Uncommon Items. These can be pretty much anything green listed in the inventory section of character creation. These starting Uncommon Items can also be Homebrew, but please take note!- if you want a Homebrew Uncommon Item, either your design or someone else’s, you need to clear this with me first. Send me a PM here or on Discord at J.F. Capps#7996 and we can discuss.
I am a big proponent of allowing players to do cool stuff. I am also a big proponent of bending the rules to supplement this desire to allow you to do cool stuff and to maximize the joy of character development and game play. There are tons of cool magic items, cool spells, cool Feats, just cool stuff in general that we need to take advantage of.
Of course, to offset this, I’ve designed “AURYN” to be unforgiving. Your character can die (we’ll talk about this again later) pretty early on, in the right encounter, and can easily bite off more than they can chew as they are forced up against insurmountable odds, so I feel like these good starting bonuses are justified.
Remember, too, that the world is full of these items. They are in dungeons ready to be earned as loot, in towns and villages ready to be handed out as rewards, or may even come to the characters who are lucky enough to be heard by AURYN.
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The Last Unicorn
The last unicorn, the mare who was able to avoid the goblins sent by the Lord of Darkness to slay her and her mate, has fled the Enchanted Forest in search of safety. Her time grows short, however, as Darkness rallies the children of the night to his cause; to kill her, take her alicorn, and dispel the light for all eternity. She is also hunted relentlessly by King Haggard and his ensorcelled thrall, the Red Bull. She is alone, frightened, and in need of rescue before she can be destroyed, and with her, all life in Hyboria.
**********
The Nothing
The Nothing is the beginning of the end. Not just of Hyboria, but all of the reality in which the world and its inhabitants exist. With threats emerging all across Hyboria and heroes, whose lot have been seldom needed, in short supply, it is no wonder that this indescribable, unstoppable force would emerge as an ultimate equalizer. It seems that the Nothing is extremely limited for now, but many influential people, including the Childlike Empress, Auhgra, and Gandalf, have warned of the appearance of its precursor, known as the Darkening or Blight, that may be seen before something disappears.
**********
A Lion At The Front Door And A Wolf At The Back
Our foes are myriad and many, mighty and malicious. They will stop at nothing to rule or ruin, and all that stands between us and them is…you. You, Hero, are our last hope, the last chance we have to salvage a problem that we have let go to far.
The Lord of Darkness would cast the world into endless night, unyielding cold. With the stallion dead and its alicorn harvested, it is only a matter of time before he finds the mare too. His forces, Blix leading the Children of the Night, and Calibos the Unicorn Slayer, grow closer every day. She may be an expert at hiding, and have an entire world in which to run, but there is only so long that luck can last. Once both of the alicorns have been gathered and presented to him, there will be no way to stop the inevitable; if the Nothing does not destroy the world, then the Lord of Darkness will plunge it into everlasting night. Snow will fall, cold will crawl over the land, and everything shall die. The Children of the Night will inherit Hyboria.
Our foes are not aligned in their desires. While Darkness would cascade the world into cold blackness, Ganondorf seeks to rule it. Already he amasses his forces to take Hyrule Castle and seat himself upon the throne, whereupon he can continue to draw his power into himself and bring Hyboria to bend the knee. With the castle captured and Hylia brought to kneel, there’ll be little to stop him from his own bid to gather the Triforce, the Shard of Division, the Master Sword, or anything that would further boost his power and unseat the Childlike Empress as the ruler of Hyboria.
The major factions of Hyboria will not allow this to happen. War threatens to pull the world apart. King Hyrule of Hylia and King Randor of Eternia have gathered their armies and their most powerful allies and are prepared to march should the need arise. With their enemies responding in kind, including hosts amassing near Vader’s Fist and Snake Mountain, and even rumors of an ancient cult reawakening near the Mountain of Power, it seems that the whole world has descended into a magical arms race.
**********
Become the Legend
While not necessary, it’d be good to have a working knowledge of at least some of the following films, books, and games. I’ve tried to stick with the most accessible and easiest media to brush up on for simplicities sake (i.e. films, shows) (and, to be honest, because a lot of these franchises brought me immense joy as a child and still do to this day!). I’ve tried to list them here in order or greatest importance.
The Dark Crystal
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Legend
The Neverending Story
The Last Unicorn
The Chronicles of Conan
Masters of the Universe
Willow
The Hobbit / The Lord of the Rings
Skyrim
The Witcher
Game of Thrones
Star Wars*
If you’re familiar with at least some of these franchises or their characters, themes, and plots, you should be able to mold yourself right into the campaign. This is a long term campaign that has two main quests and multiple major quests to be completed, as well as some minor events to be tackled along the way. There are also triggerable events that can generate new quests and storylines as you progress. Of course, how important your quests are won’t be revealed immediately, though sometimes it’ll be obvious if it’s a major plot point or not.
I love seeing diversity in players and characters, so anyone and everyone is welcome to join! Furthermore, once you join the AURYN campaign, you’ll be given access to ALL of the source books except for Fizban’s and Strixhaven (although I intend to add these soon).
More than anything else, I want to have fun. And I want you to have fun. That’s why people play D&D. With this in mind, I must insist that if you’re the kind of player that is a rules lawyer, stickler, overly confrontational…well, don’t join. If you do, and this sort of fun-killing behavior starts, I’ll eject you from the game. I’m all about constructive disagreements and so forth, but being a butthole will not be tolerated. Neither will sexism, racism, homophobia, or any sort of discrimination against a protected status, or really anyone for any reason, period.
I do prefer that only adults apply.
There will not be any sexual situations in this campaign. Now then, it will be completely acceptable for a character to be romantically seduced (think Jareth seducing Sarah at the ball or Darkness seducing Lili), but it won’t progress further than maybe, maybe a kiss, and then we’ll decide together what is appropriate.
Show me your awesome characters! You want to make a character that is a homage to an existing character, like Daenerys Targaryen or Luke Skywalker? Please PM me first (on DnD Beyond or on Discord at J.F. Capps#7996) so we can make sure the character fits and that someone else isn’t making that character (or that I don’t already have them inserted into the world as an NPC).
As stated previously, your character is a hero in this world, albeit a minor hero (for the moment). This is what I intend for starting characters-
All characters start Level 3
All characters start with 1 Feat (you can have more than 1 in circumstances where provided by the rules of the game like Human Variant)
Milestone leveling up
Access to all sourcebooks except Fizban’s and Strixhaven
Homebrew allowed!
Already includes homebrew for Gelflings
Jedi subclass
Witcher subclass
Rolled Stats (averaging between 80 and 90 total)
Start with equipment that is appropriate for your character
Start with 2 Uncommon Items
All alignments welcome
You MUST have Discord! I’ll be coordinating most of this campaign through Discord, so I’ll add you to our own Discord server where you can roll your stats and we can talk back and forth about what’s going on in-game. I won’t be cluttering up the game play thread with post orders and all that, so you absolutely MUST be paying attention to Discord for this to work.
One last thing; the more effort you put into your character, the more likely you are to get to join. I don’t have a fixed number of players in mind at the moment, but I might run as many as two or three parties so that different groups can tackle different quests.
DO NOT REVEAL YOUR ALIGNMENT OR SPECIFIC MOTIVATIONS IN THIS THREAD! I will request your Alignment, Personality information, and motivations if I’m interested in your character. If we have an evil character that’s going to sabotage things, I want it to be a surprise.
Character Proposal:
Name-
Race- (remember you have access to almost all of the races and subclasses)
Class and Subclass- (remember you have access to almost all of the races and subclasses)
Hello! kqstark recommended this to me, and it looks great! So here is my application. I am free to tweak anything as needed for the setting and playstyle
Given Name: Prototype #CBP-010 (But he goes by Oten now)
Race: Warforged
Class: Battle Smith Artificer
Backstory: When the Childlike Empress sent forth her summons, Chenwell Spruceman, inventor extraordinaire, was one such recipient. Renowned for providing warmachine prototypes to Hyrule in years passed that helped stave off a looming invasion, Chenwell was an obvious choice for a protector. He could bolster defences with ingenious devices, arm heroes with powerful offensive capabilities, and much more.
Only problem is, Chenwell wasn't interested. He was in the middle of a new obsession. With his body growing old and frail, he wanted to construct for himself a new one, made of steel and chrome to weather the tumultuous times ahead. And so he did. The hardest part was crafting a neural network of sufficient size and complexity to house his considerable intellect and... unique personality (as his most charitable acquaintances would say). But after some trial and error, and 9 failed prototypes, he finally thought he had done it. He set up his workshop to initiate the transfer of his mind into its new chrome housing, and on a stormy night, the process began. All of his intelligence, his knowledge, his memories, moved over into CBP-010...
...Where it immediately found itself taking a backseat to the consciousness that had already begun to form within the neural network. The transfer of Chenwell's intellect provided the last spark the warforged needed to achieve full sentience, and so 010, or Oten was born. He can still feel a vestige of Chenwell's consciousness in the back of his mind as he seeks over time to access more and more of his latent intellect, but he is determined to forge his own path. Though for now, he may need to call on Chenwell from time to time to access his full mental capacity.
NAME: Dagoren RACE: Hobgoblin CLASS: Fighter / War Cleric BACKSTORY: Dagoren was once a legionnaire of his clan. Events led him to become a mercenary, and eventually, quite by accident, someone tolerated by the races of the light. His knowledge of warfare and extensive experience leading mixed armies has made him a prized general, and so he has been called to serve again.
Character Proposal: Warforged Druid (Circle Of Dreams)
Name- Tellerin
Race- Warforged Envoy
Class and Subclass- Druid (Dream Circle)
Backstory- Tellerin was created to protect a small village, as the world and its magic became destabilized however they have been called to assist in fixing the world. Leaving the town to defend itself with Tellerins greatest advice and training that could be given.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
Hello, Brian here! I have a unique idea for a character for you to consider should you pick me. Anthony mentioned you needed some new faces.
Name- Slade
Race- Brownie/Leprechaun
Class- Thief/Artificer
Backstory- Once the powerful leader of a Thieves Guild, now forced into early retirement for health reasons. (a big folk threatened to stomp him if he didnt resulting in a racial emnity) he has been forced to *shudder* adventure in an attempt to rebuild his lost fortune. There is no greater love than that of gold, or perhaps potatoes!
I am willing to adjust this as needed and will collaborate fully with you over the homebrew process of a brownie/leprechaun hybrid.
*edit* I didnt put in any more specifics as I'm not bidding for any particular one of the campaigns. Slade will fit in. Likewise I skipped on the details a bit to not ruin his story, if you want to know more please reach out.
Backstory- Delphinium made a bit of a name for themselves going around and beating up various "tough" guys that gave him or his animal friends a hard time. Early reports of Delphinium has him getting a reputation for showing up into towns near Kokiri Forest finding various hunters and would challenge them for their hunting rights. A friend to a lot of different beings of the forest Delphinium has been seen as a friend to Koroks as well as other various forest dwellers in the Kokiri Forest. Their name didn't really start to spread until they left the Kokiri forest and began to wonder Hylia in general. He appears to be a protector of forests but that is a bit muddled by his reputation of going from tavern to tavern challenging various people to fights and arm wrestling. Oddly, the rumors of this tiny fairy winning many of these contests despite also being reported as very tiny.
Why did they leave the Kokiri forest? No one really knows and based on reports of early sightings of this Fairy it could be anyone's guess as to what his goal is. Perhaps only those who witnessed him smack down orcs, or those who saw him fight a barbarian to a draw would know what he really wants. He does seem to help out where he goes... or maybe that was just a random occurrence of him beating up a group of goblins that were harassing the local farmers. Whatever has brought them to adventuring and wondering around the lands, Delphinium did catch the eye of the Childlike Empress. This will certainly lead to some unique adventures for Delphinium. One wonders what she will have in store for him.
Hello, Edward here…hoping you like my character idea enough to chose me…
Character Proposal:
Name- Og’Den Mar
Race- Variant Human
Class and Subclass- Ranger/Swarmkeeper
Backstory - A tracker and finder of things by trade, Og’Den enjoyed a quiet, solitary existence, up until he found himself following large paw prints through the forest near his home. As he caught up on the beast, and drew his bow for the kill, he saw a large feline creature, bright purple in color, with elongated legs and tail, caught in a hunters trap. Having never seen anything like this before, he carefully freed the creature, only to have it transform into a beautiful Fey Princess. After thanking him, she promised that by the next morning, he would be rewarded greatly for his act. The next morning, he woke to the sound of mewing, lots and lots of mewing. A dozen or more fey kittens surrounded him, begging him for milk, and whatever else he had to eat. As he stared at the mass of fur, he saw one that stood out, a small bright purple kitten, with the same eyes as the princess he saved. He continues his tracking and finding, he is just never alone…and it is rarely quiet..the purple kitten, named Princess, perched firmly on his shoulder, waiting to pounce.
Don't bother rolling any ability scores yet folks. You'll be rerolling them if you're accepted to the campaign. Just stick with the instructions at the bottom of the info dump above in the first post.
I HIGHLY recommend anyone who wants to be a part of this campaign to learn Discord. Even if you don't get to join AURYN right now, you may in the future, and there are TONS of good DnD resources on Discord.
Character Proposal: i have two ideas, i would prefer elil, but depending on your ruling on the darkvision interaction i could go with a warforged wizard instead.
also are optional class features allowed?
umbral sight says "you gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. If you already have darkvision from your race, its range increases by 30 feet."
so RAW i would just get the benefit from the devils sight "You can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 120 feet." but i feel this may have been unintentional with the creator not thinking of other ways to get darkvision beforehand. so how would you rule this working
RAW, 150' of perfect darkvision, or 120' of perfect darkvision then standard darkvision for another 30'?
Name- elil
Race- fairy
Class and Subclass- gloom stalker ranger (eldritch adept- devils sight- feat)
Backstory- elil has walked many paths since the day of his awakening, yet in all his travels he has learned little of meaning to him, darkness binds him, finds him, and hides him, but still he searches, ever seeking the First Question, "who am I?" for a time he found friendship the elves before setting out again wandering seeking sources of darkness and cleansing them of the foul thoughts of men, now he seeks companionship, and perhaps a greater purpose in this joke of a world.
elil stands an impressive foot and a half tall, or he would if he would stay still, which he wont, wearing a small mottledcloak and boots that seem almost elvish but darker he fades from sight whenhe feels the need with soundless steps.
This Mug immediately shared with me a transcendental tale of an Infinite Mug that anchors the Universe and keeps it from folding in on itself. I filed this report under "illogical nonsense" and asked why its sign is in Times New Roman font, when it is basic knowledge that Arial Black is a far superior font. I wondered: How did this mug even get past the assembly line with its theistic beliefs and poor font choices?
quote from Romantically Apocalyptic byVitaly S Alexius
I'm seeing a lot of strong applications here. Just a reminder that I can only take a few of you. For the rest, we'll be discussing how to move you guys forward in the future, as I'm interested in having an auxiliary group ready that I can reach out to in the future and bring in. We'll discuss this later. :)
Class and Subclass- Bard/College of Lore (both flexible depending on what works best for the character, but nothing else quite seemed to fit)
Backstory-
Centaurs were lorekeepers, the bearers of tradition, the fey who remember, as opposed to the fey who bedazzle and forget. They read the stars, and preserve the natural law in their families and communities, the organic flowering of generation and history over the ages, unfolding into evermore beautiful and breathtaking tales of strife, loss, and redemption.
When the Shard was broken, the centaurs scattered. On hooves like the wind their clans went to the villages, the towns, of all the races, to teach them about the world, about the Childlike Empress, about the Crystal of Truth, so that it would not be forgotten. But the forces of darkness didn't want anyone to remember, and there are few centaurs left now, as despite their inclinations to history and natural law they are not powerful creatures. Being fey attuned to the world in its beauty and order, the disintegration and chaos prefiguring the Nothing caused them indescribable agony.
Stasolya is born of a centaur clan called Kiros that has a special devotion to the Childlike Empress. Their stories and teachings of the order and harmony of the world draw on the common bond of all living beings in the world with the Empress and the love they have for her. They were not just scholars, but many of them were also cunning warriors when they needed to be, skilled in pipes, hooves, and battle song. They braided their hair and tails and wore drapes of woven cloth in recognizable colors, almost like a primitive version of heraldry.
Stasolya was still young when a marauding group of goblins ambushed the village that her clan was teaching. The centaurs rushed into battle, hooves thundering, the droning wail of their bagpipes advancing their charge. They managed to protect the village, but many of the centaurs were slain, including Stasolya's parents.
Everyone took such losses as a tragic necessity of the war, but within a few years, armed only with the traditional arts of her clan and their reverence for the Childlike Empress who loves all folk, good and evil alike, in the world, Stasolya went out and sought the goblins. No one quite understood how a shy, quick, woodland centaur with nothing but a loud set of bagpipes made friends with them and converted the hearts of a great many of them to wanting to join the fight to save the world and restore the Crystal. She would always say it was not her, it was the love of the Childlike Empress.
Final decisions are being made this evening. I appreciate the responses that I received. It's obvious that everyone put some good thought into their characters, so it makes this endeavor very hard. For those who didn't make it, it's not necassarily so much about your character as it is a place in the story.
I'll be making records of those who were interested so that they can be referenced in the future in case we are lucky enough to call up an auxiliary group in order to add more characters.
I'd like to thank everyone who applied this go round. I've contacted those who are moving on to the next portion of selection. Obviously we can't accept everyone who applied, so if you're interested in AURYN please keep your eyes out to apply again! I have no doubt we'll have opportunities in the future for more to apply and try again. Almost all of the applications are good, it's just that we had certain needs to be met that some characters will fit better than others, so don't be discouraged.
Once again, thank you all. This recruitment opportunity has closed.
AURYN
Lord of Darkness
The Hunt for the Last Unicorn
The Crystal, the Triforce, and the Shard of Division
Limited Recruitment Thread
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Please read everything in this thread before you try to apply! Pay special attention to the information listed directly below this sentence! You'll be instructed on the application process at the BOTTOM of this thread! It is recommended that you read EVERYTHING before trying to apply! We can only accept a limited number of applications so this is first-come-first-serve with highest quality applicants being accepted!
Greetings all!
It's been roughly a month and a half since the launch of my three part AURYN campaign and things are going very well! We have an active player base but, unfortunately, life does happen, and we have had a few spots in our campaign open up for players!
I am looking for players who are active and can post once every 24 to 48 hours minimum. You will also need to be familiar with Discord, as we have a board set up where we coordinate EVERYTHING behind the scenes, including dice rolls, team discussions, and DM / player interactions. Our community is relatively active, so if you're not someone that pops in to read posts or talk to your team every day or two you're going to fall behind and you won't be successful.
Our campaign runs the gamut of playable races, and there are even some Homebrew races sprinkled in. With that said, I am more likely to choose players who choose characters that are outside the norm. We also have multiple Homebrew classes (most of which are borrowed from other fabulous creators here on DnDBeyond) such as Sith / Jedi and Witchers, not to mention plenty of Homebrew races and access to all Sourcebook races and Fairy's and Harengon from "The Wild Beyond the Witchlight". Let's see some cool characters! Races I'll give extra attention to during selection will be-
Fairy (played as TINY vs Small)
Harengon
Kalashtar
Warforged
Satyr
Kobold
Goblin
Brownie
Korok
Zora
Gelfling
There are multiple clans of Gelfling scattered throughout the world of Hyboria in which our story takes place, all of which are remnants living in pockets left over from the last Great War.
The Gift of Flight (Females Only)
Dousan Clan
Drenchen Clan
Grottan Clan
Sifa Clan
Spriton Clan
Stonewood Clan
Vapra Clan
To get access to some of these races, specifically the Homebrew ones, you'll have to turn on Homebrew Content in your character sheet. Additionally, you'll be given access to one of the three Campaign links available for the game if you're chosen to play to give you access to a wide variety of Races and Subclasses, with ranging from Loxodon, Leonin, Minotaur, Kenku, and more. If you're interested in playing a race you don't have access to, please let me know so we can see if you'll have access by joining the campaign.
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https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoP3mnUt0fGYUtnuWdEZ6VlrcquU_JpQ7
A soundtrack to get those creative juices flowing...
AURYN
Also known as the Golden Eyed Commander of Wishes, AURYN signifies the will of the Childlike Empress, who is the living embodiment of the world. Whoever wears an AURYN amulet is recognized across all Hyboria as an emissary of the Empress, usually for good, though sometimes for ill. Furthermore, the wearer can call upon the capabilities of AURYN while wearing the amulet in an effort to petition for cosmic intervention in their times of need, though these may not always be answered.
Often bestowed as a sign of trust and good faith from the Empress, AURYN is universally recognized in all of the high courts of Hyboria as a symbol of peacekeeping.
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The World is Ending
Hyboria is in peril.
The Dark Crystal, the ever present, all powerful source of magic that maintains the natural and magical order of the world, has weakened to an unsustainable state of degeneration after being damaged a thousand years ago. Without its influence to keep the order, many powerful enemies who have previously been relegated to skulking in the shadows have been emboldened to rise up and vie for control of Hyboria, seizing their moment to cause potential cataclysmic shifts in power. Worse than that is the Blight and the Darkening, precursors of the Nothing, a hurricane of destruction that will remove great swaths of the land from existence before totally annihilating the entire world.
The Childlike Empress, sickened by the world’s fall from grace, harkens across the land for all of Hyboria’s heroes, what few there are, to convene with her at the Ivory Tower so that a fellowship may be formed to offset these fluctuations. The task is overwhelming and multifaceted; to stop these nefarious forces from achieving their goals while also gathering some of the most powerful artifacts in existence. Only then can everyone and everything be saved.
These heroes will have to travel the globe and gather the three fragments of the Triforce as well as the Shard of Division, the missing sliver of the Crystal that has been gone for a thousand trine. When the pieces of the Triforce are combined beneath the Crystal of Truth, they will manifest the power necessary to recombine the Shard and the Dark Crystal into the Crystal of Truth, the pure source of life and energy for all Hyboria.
The task will not be easy. The materials required for such a monumental job are scattered throughout the entire world. Most are guarded by men or monsters that would give their lives to keep them where they are, and it is unlikely that anyone operating in the name of the Skeksis would allow the heroes to gain access to these items without a fight. On top of that, the political dynamic and military environment of the world is rapidly changing, declining into a dangerous state of aggression and unrest. There are others who would just as well have these items for themselves, and will stop at nothing to get them.
The Lord of Darkness, bent on the destruction of his greatest nemesis, light itself, has dispatched a band of Hobgoblins loyal to his cause to destroy the unicorns and dispel the sun once and for all. It is this banner that allows him to attract the fell things of Hyboria that share his ideologies. Worse still, Calibos, hunter of fey things and enemy of the forces of good, has aligned himself with the Dark Lord and intends to see his bidding done.
Ganondorf, the King of Thieves, an avid practitioner of dark magic and power hungry warlord from the depths of the Gerudo Desert, has set his eyes on capturing Hyrule Castle and the three pieces of the Triforce for himself, and more if he can find it. Intent on being the sole ruler of the land and unifying all he may survey for his own purposes, he has positioned himself to be a nigh unstoppable force of harm in Hyboria.
And these are only a few of the foes who have crawled from the chaos to conquer Hyboria. With whisperings of malicious forces guised with names like Keldor, Lord Vader, and Thulsa Doom, it all seems very daunting indeed. But all is not lost. The forces of good, names like King Hyrule and King Randor, the Childlike Empress, and even Augrah herself, circle their defenses, intent on raising the appropriate means to protect Hyboria from falling into endless twilight or, worse still, Nothingness.
“AURYN: The Crystal, The Triforce, and the Shard of Division” is the story of Hyboria, a living world comprised heavily of elements from “The Legend of Zelda”, “The Dark Crystal”, “The Neverending Story”, “Legend”, “The Last Unicorn”, “Labyrinth”, and more. I’ve worked to find interesting ways to combine these elements and have specifically looked at their similar themes, such as the mare unicorn from “Legend” and Lady Amalthea from “The Last Unicorn” becoming the same character in this story.
The world is populated with all manner of beings, from those included in the 5 Edition Source Books to more obscure beings from the mish-mashed elements here; Brownies, Fairies, stuff like that. Some races, such as the Hylians, may be represented by Elves, whereas others, like the Kokiri, might be represented by Gnomes. NPCs abound, be them good or evil. They will react reasonably to your actions; if you burn down the local inn at a town that is mostly lawful good, for example, the police force will come for you and you’ll have to decide how you want to proceed, either through violence of surrender. In contrast, if you if do something good for the NPCs of a village, town, city, or whatever, they will remember your kindness and may rewarded you justly.
Your enemies are vast in number. You may encounter threats in the world that are mundane, like bandits in the wild or marauding goblins, or you may come up with very smart, well organized, and deadly opposition that directly reports to one of the bigger threats like Darkness or Ganondorf. There is also the possibility that you could uncover a new threat, something else deadlier and more cunning than anything you previously known about as it plots to enter the world stage.
Or you could even create the threat yourself.
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The Crystal
All of Hyboria centers around the Dark Crystal, formerly known as the Crystal of Truth, the corporeal embodiment of all the magic in the land. Imbued with endless power, the Crystal’s existence maintains the balance of the whole world, of all of nature and of all the magic practiced by the denizens of Hyboria. Now controlled by the vicious Skeksis after their physical split from the urRu, the Crystal is the most powerful object known to exist, and though it doesn’t grant tangible requests like the Triforce does, it does feed the Triforce it’s enchantment.
With the Skeksis in direct control of the Crystal Palace, also known as the Castle of the Crystal, any attempt by an outside interference to interrupt or disrupt their hold on the Crystal is unlikely. The castle is guarded by magical traps and an immense horde of Arathim and Garthim that, so far, have prevented any other faction from capturing control.
As the Childlike Empress rallies heroes to save Hyboria, it is apparent that the Crystal will soon, very soon, become the center of a contest that could determine the fate of the world and everyone in it.
Broken by the Skeksis abuses, the Crystal shed a piece, the Shard of Division, and it is said that this missing piece, and the Crystal of Truth’s diminishment, have not only led to the uprising of so many nefarious forces across Hyboria, but also the arrival of the mysterious Blight and Darkening, precursors of the Nothing that is rumored to be consuming not just pockets of the world, but existence itself.
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You Are The Heroes
The Childlike Empress has summoned all the great heroes of Hyboria to the Ivory Tower for an emergency council. Her objective: to send them forth to save the world.
You are an established hero of this world. While not the savior of the whole plain (yet), you’ve certainly risen to at least one challenge, be it for a village, town, city, or county. Not all heroism is an act of martial prowess either. Maybe you are a scholar who found the cure for a plague, or a holy woman who united a district in the name of the greater good. Maybe you’re an inventor who developed a new form of metallurgy or smithing, an amazing flying ship, or a fantastical projectile weapon. Or did you return the flora and fauna to the desolation that has been barren for decades? Or the mage who find a way to enchant the local water supply so that it never runs out?
There is more to being a hero than being a warrior. It is clear that it takes adventurers from all walks of life to ensure the accomplishment of this mission. So ask yourself…who will you be?
You can be almost any sort of character you want for this campaign within the bounds of reason. When you join this campaign, you’ll be given a campaign link which will grant you access to ALL of the sourcebooks except for Strixhaven and Fizban’s. Content sharing is enabled. I’m open to homebrew, but we’ll need to discuss how it works first.
You’ll start at level 3, allowing you to get somewhat of a grip on who you want your character to be. Unless you multiclass, this should at least allow you to get your Race / Class / Subclass figured out from the beginning. Ability Scores will be rolled. This campaign relies on its own personal Discord server for coordinating information and dice rolls. The Avrae bot is ready to go and has been programmed to give you three sets of rolled dice when you request them. These rolls are generous, a reflection of your character’s life in the world as he or she prepares for their next adventure.
An adventurer who has been living in the world will probably have some possessions that are important to them. You can begin the game with 2 Uncommon Items (the green ones when you Add Items).
There are a lot of opportunities to improve your character as they adventure around the world. I fully intend to allow training and educational opportunities for your characters, so if you plan to learn a new Language or improve an Ability Score or learn a new Feat between leveling up, just communicate with me so we can figure out what you need to do to make that happen.
Speaking of Feats, all characters will start with 1. For some builds, this means you could enter the game with at least two Feats. Variant Human, for example.
I know this sort of starting mechanic isn’t for everyone and that some folks feel like starting with good bonuses cheapens the game, but here’s my argument; you play DnD to have a good time and do cool shit. As your Dungeon Master, I’m here to make sure you get what you need to do said cool shit. Again, you’re a hero. You’ve been living in the world. You’re going to have done more than learn the basics by this point.
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The Triforce
Scattered to the winds, the Triforce grants extraordinary wishes to whosoever should unite the pieces. The Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage are separated to the different continents of Hyboria and their locations are not only secret, but also guarded by all manner of horrific monster and machination. The hunt for them, by both friend and foe of the world, never ends.
It is said that Ganondorf, King of Thieves, musters forces in the Gerudo Desert with the intention of capturing the three pieces of the Triforce and uniting them for himself.
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The Shard of the Division
The Shard of Division was separated from the Crystal of Truth many years ago when the Skeksis first split from the urRu. The Shard fell into the vast subterranean catacombs beneath the Castle of the Crystal and was lost.
It has never been found.
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Here There Be Dragons
The land is home to many vast and diverse ecosystems, each teaming with many varieties of life, some mundane, others exotic and dangerous. Heroes are warned to use caution as they venture into parts of the wilderness where no man has gone in many trine. The races are almost as numerous in variety as they are in individuals. Creatures great and small, plants that can hardly be imagined, even things from other plains of existence and from the depths of Subternia, the paradise of Preternia, or the voids of Etheria, populate the surface of the world, the depths of its oceans, and the darkness of its underground caverns.
Mighty dragons roam the hills in search of treasure to add to their hordes or meat for their bellies. The Tarrasque appears near the time of the Conjunctions to raid villages. Rocs, once used as warmounts by Giants, nest in the mountains. There is a rumor that a Kraken is terrorizing the coastal cities worldwide. And what’s worse, there are whispers in circles of knowing that something else is trying to get in from Etheria, something of immense evil.
The Dark Crystal, its power having dipped below some sort of unknown threshold that kept the world mostly in order, is no longer able to keep these myriad threats in check. The natural order is deteriorating rapidly. As natural and magical ecosystems fail the creatures that rely on them for sustenance flux out of their normal routines and venture out for survival, often bringing them in deadly contact with people. Encountering a monster is no longer a matter of if, but rather when, and it seems that problem will only continue to amplify.
Not every encounter need be a combat encounter. You encounter a Goblin patrol in the woods? Try talking with them. It might not work, but then again it might. There’s also no shame in running from an encounter you know you and your party are not equipped to face.
Monster encounters will increase in frequency the closer the world comes to ending. Conversely, the more that is done to restore balance, the safer the lands will be. It is possible to encounter nearly any CR level of monster at any PC level, so be careful where you go! If you know an Ancient Dragon has been sighted in its lair at the top of a specific mountain you plan to explore, then perhaps that means it is time to turn back…for now.
There is also a high probability that many of these monsters you encounter could be working for enemy forces, supporting the efforts of characters like Ganondorf, who will stop at nothing to secure his seat on the Hylian throne and to capture the three pieces of the Triforce for himself, or even lesser villains like Calibos, who hunts the Last Unicorn for the Lord of Darkness. These boss type NPCs will be very prominent in the story of “AURYN”, so be prepared to encounter some or even all of them in your journeys.
Also, keep in mind that a high number of monster encounters are really just encounters with what is essentially an animal in this world. You may not recognize it immediately as an animal, but remember that this is a complex ecosystem different from our own. There are a lot of strange creatures that live here, and many of them will behave like animals. Not every fight will be a fight to the death. Maybe just leaving the area will deescalate the situation. And remember what I said about talking to goblins? The same thing can be said for the more intelligent monsters too; don’t just view them as monsters. Like some monsters being animals, some may be viewed as people.
It is also very possible, as I alluded a moment ago, that some monsters may not be malicious at all. Some may even be allies to the cause. Attacking them unnecessarily could severely hamper relations with their kind should you need their help later.
Have a hankering for a unique mount? Use your animal handling skills to try to tame something unusual…as long as it isn’t of evil alignment or otherwise obviously hostile.
One last thing. Remember when I said ‘not every fight has to be a fight to the death’? You can die. Your characters can be killed in this world, either through accident, trap, combat, condition, or disease. Never forget that.
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The Alicorn
The Lord of Darkness, leader of a cult of goblin’s and fell things that wish nothing more than to plunge the world into eternal night, has killed one of the two unicorns left in all the world. The death of the stallion, and the theft of its horn, the alicorn, has begun a race against time to stop Darkness from laying his hands on the horn, and gaining control of the mare’s alicorn while he’s at it.
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A World of Old Magic
Dungeons delve into the depths of the world, catacomb the mountains and stand as timeless ruins in the vast forests. They are built as testaments to the powers of old gods and old civilization, as defenses for artifacts of unimaginable power, and relics of dead communities. They are filled with elaborate traps and nigh unsolvable puzzles. They hold treasures of immense worth and secrets kept so well that they have long been forgotten by the minds and writings of people worldwide.
Powerful weapons have been imbued with the wealth of forces like the Dark Crystal and Castle Grayskull. The Master Sword is only one of these items. There are magical artifacts, armor, weapons, wands and staffs, and things undreamed of by man in many a trine scattered all about the world. Some are mundane. Some wield world altering power. Of these, The Master Sword, the Sword of Power, and the Ocarina of Time are some of the most prominent.
Basic magical items are very common and are often handed down as heirlooms in families, especially families with prominent names and histories of heroism. It is actually more common for families and names like this to come with such hand-me-down weapons, armor, and items than not.
It’s not just artifacts that lay around enchanted. Whole forests are known to be magical, as well as caverns, mountains, seas, and dungeons themselves. Enchantments are numerous and, in many cases, very dangerous, though occasionally some are mundane or even helpful. Still, adventurers should explore with caution and an open mind.
Remember to start with two Uncommon Items. These can be pretty much anything green listed in the inventory section of character creation. These starting Uncommon Items can also be Homebrew, but please take note!- if you want a Homebrew Uncommon Item, either your design or someone else’s, you need to clear this with me first. Send me a PM here or on Discord at J.F. Capps#7996 and we can discuss.
I am a big proponent of allowing players to do cool stuff. I am also a big proponent of bending the rules to supplement this desire to allow you to do cool stuff and to maximize the joy of character development and game play. There are tons of cool magic items, cool spells, cool Feats, just cool stuff in general that we need to take advantage of.
Of course, to offset this, I’ve designed “AURYN” to be unforgiving. Your character can die (we’ll talk about this again later) pretty early on, in the right encounter, and can easily bite off more than they can chew as they are forced up against insurmountable odds, so I feel like these good starting bonuses are justified.
Remember, too, that the world is full of these items. They are in dungeons ready to be earned as loot, in towns and villages ready to be handed out as rewards, or may even come to the characters who are lucky enough to be heard by AURYN.
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The Last Unicorn
The last unicorn, the mare who was able to avoid the goblins sent by the Lord of Darkness to slay her and her mate, has fled the Enchanted Forest in search of safety. Her time grows short, however, as Darkness rallies the children of the night to his cause; to kill her, take her alicorn, and dispel the light for all eternity. She is also hunted relentlessly by King Haggard and his ensorcelled thrall, the Red Bull. She is alone, frightened, and in need of rescue before she can be destroyed, and with her, all life in Hyboria.
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The Nothing
The Nothing is the beginning of the end. Not just of Hyboria, but all of the reality in which the world and its inhabitants exist. With threats emerging all across Hyboria and heroes, whose lot have been seldom needed, in short supply, it is no wonder that this indescribable, unstoppable force would emerge as an ultimate equalizer. It seems that the Nothing is extremely limited for now, but many influential people, including the Childlike Empress, Auhgra, and Gandalf, have warned of the appearance of its precursor, known as the Darkening or Blight, that may be seen before something disappears.
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A Lion At The Front Door And A Wolf At The Back
Our foes are myriad and many, mighty and malicious. They will stop at nothing to rule or ruin, and all that stands between us and them is…you. You, Hero, are our last hope, the last chance we have to salvage a problem that we have let go to far.
The Lord of Darkness would cast the world into endless night, unyielding cold. With the stallion dead and its alicorn harvested, it is only a matter of time before he finds the mare too. His forces, Blix leading the Children of the Night, and Calibos the Unicorn Slayer, grow closer every day. She may be an expert at hiding, and have an entire world in which to run, but there is only so long that luck can last. Once both of the alicorns have been gathered and presented to him, there will be no way to stop the inevitable; if the Nothing does not destroy the world, then the Lord of Darkness will plunge it into everlasting night. Snow will fall, cold will crawl over the land, and everything shall die. The Children of the Night will inherit Hyboria.
Our foes are not aligned in their desires. While Darkness would cascade the world into cold blackness, Ganondorf seeks to rule it. Already he amasses his forces to take Hyrule Castle and seat himself upon the throne, whereupon he can continue to draw his power into himself and bring Hyboria to bend the knee. With the castle captured and Hylia brought to kneel, there’ll be little to stop him from his own bid to gather the Triforce, the Shard of Division, the Master Sword, or anything that would further boost his power and unseat the Childlike Empress as the ruler of Hyboria.
The major factions of Hyboria will not allow this to happen. War threatens to pull the world apart. King Hyrule of Hylia and King Randor of Eternia have gathered their armies and their most powerful allies and are prepared to march should the need arise. With their enemies responding in kind, including hosts amassing near Vader’s Fist and Snake Mountain, and even rumors of an ancient cult reawakening near the Mountain of Power, it seems that the whole world has descended into a magical arms race.
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Become the Legend
While not necessary, it’d be good to have a working knowledge of at least some of the following films, books, and games. I’ve tried to stick with the most accessible and easiest media to brush up on for simplicities sake (i.e. films, shows) (and, to be honest, because a lot of these franchises brought me immense joy as a child and still do to this day!). I’ve tried to list them here in order or greatest importance.
If you’re familiar with at least some of these franchises or their characters, themes, and plots, you should be able to mold yourself right into the campaign. This is a long term campaign that has two main quests and multiple major quests to be completed, as well as some minor events to be tackled along the way. There are also triggerable events that can generate new quests and storylines as you progress. Of course, how important your quests are won’t be revealed immediately, though sometimes it’ll be obvious if it’s a major plot point or not.
I love seeing diversity in players and characters, so anyone and everyone is welcome to join! Furthermore, once you join the AURYN campaign, you’ll be given access to ALL of the source books except for Fizban’s and Strixhaven (although I intend to add these soon).
More than anything else, I want to have fun. And I want you to have fun. That’s why people play D&D. With this in mind, I must insist that if you’re the kind of player that is a rules lawyer, stickler, overly confrontational…well, don’t join. If you do, and this sort of fun-killing behavior starts, I’ll eject you from the game. I’m all about constructive disagreements and so forth, but being a butthole will not be tolerated. Neither will sexism, racism, homophobia, or any sort of discrimination against a protected status, or really anyone for any reason, period.
I do prefer that only adults apply.
There will not be any sexual situations in this campaign. Now then, it will be completely acceptable for a character to be romantically seduced (think Jareth seducing Sarah at the ball or Darkness seducing Lili), but it won’t progress further than maybe, maybe a kiss, and then we’ll decide together what is appropriate.
Show me your awesome characters! You want to make a character that is a homage to an existing character, like Daenerys Targaryen or Luke Skywalker? Please PM me first (on DnD Beyond or on Discord at J.F. Capps#7996) so we can make sure the character fits and that someone else isn’t making that character (or that I don’t already have them inserted into the world as an NPC).
As stated previously, your character is a hero in this world, albeit a minor hero (for the moment). This is what I intend for starting characters-
You MUST have Discord! I’ll be coordinating most of this campaign through Discord, so I’ll add you to our own Discord server where you can roll your stats and we can talk back and forth about what’s going on in-game. I won’t be cluttering up the game play thread with post orders and all that, so you absolutely MUST be paying attention to Discord for this to work.
One last thing; the more effort you put into your character, the more likely you are to get to join. I don’t have a fixed number of players in mind at the moment, but I might run as many as two or three parties so that different groups can tackle different quests.
DO NOT REVEAL YOUR ALIGNMENT OR SPECIFIC MOTIVATIONS IN THIS THREAD! I will request your Alignment, Personality information, and motivations if I’m interested in your character. If we have an evil character that’s going to sabotage things, I want it to be a surprise.
Character Proposal:
Name-
Race- (remember you have access to almost all of the races and subclasses)
Class and Subclass- (remember you have access to almost all of the races and subclasses)
Backstory-
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
Hello! kqstark recommended this to me, and it looks great! So here is my application. I am free to tweak anything as needed for the setting and playstyle
Given Name: Prototype #CBP-010 (But he goes by Oten now)
Race: Warforged
Class: Battle Smith Artificer
Backstory: When the Childlike Empress sent forth her summons, Chenwell Spruceman, inventor extraordinaire, was one such recipient. Renowned for providing warmachine prototypes to Hyrule in years passed that helped stave off a looming invasion, Chenwell was an obvious choice for a protector. He could bolster defences with ingenious devices, arm heroes with powerful offensive capabilities, and much more.
Only problem is, Chenwell wasn't interested. He was in the middle of a new obsession. With his body growing old and frail, he wanted to construct for himself a new one, made of steel and chrome to weather the tumultuous times ahead. And so he did. The hardest part was crafting a neural network of sufficient size and complexity to house his considerable intellect and... unique personality (as his most charitable acquaintances would say). But after some trial and error, and 9 failed prototypes, he finally thought he had done it. He set up his workshop to initiate the transfer of his mind into its new chrome housing, and on a stormy night, the process began. All of his intelligence, his knowledge, his memories, moved over into CBP-010...
...Where it immediately found itself taking a backseat to the consciousness that had already begun to form within the neural network. The transfer of Chenwell's intellect provided the last spark the warforged needed to achieve full sentience, and so 010, or Oten was born. He can still feel a vestige of Chenwell's consciousness in the back of his mind as he seeks over time to access more and more of his latent intellect, but he is determined to forge his own path. Though for now, he may need to call on Chenwell from time to time to access his full mental capacity.
NAME: Dagoren
RACE: Hobgoblin
CLASS: Fighter / War Cleric
BACKSTORY: Dagoren was once a legionnaire of his clan. Events led him to become a mercenary, and eventually, quite by accident, someone tolerated by the races of the light. His knowledge of warfare and extensive experience leading mixed armies has made him a prized general, and so he has been called to serve again.
I'd be careful to stick to the facts of your character's being, folks; don't reveal their personalities, motivations, or alignments in this thread. =)
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
Thank you, my post has been so adjusted!
Character Proposal: Warforged Druid (Circle Of Dreams)
Name- Tellerin
Race- Warforged Envoy
Class and Subclass- Druid (Dream Circle)
Backstory- Tellerin was created to protect a small village, as the world and its magic became destabilized however they have been called to assist in fixing the world. Leaving the town to defend itself with Tellerins greatest advice and training that could be given.
P: The Traveling Ward: Natural Napalm Enthusiast. (AURYN: The Hunt For The Last Unicorn.)
DM:
Hello, Brian here! I have a unique idea for a character for you to consider should you pick me. Anthony mentioned you needed some new faces.
Name- Slade
Race- Brownie/Leprechaun
Class- Thief/Artificer
Backstory- Once the powerful leader of a Thieves Guild, now forced into early retirement for health reasons. (a big folk threatened to stomp him if he didnt resulting in a racial emnity) he has been forced to *shudder* adventure in an attempt to rebuild his lost fortune. There is no greater love than that of gold, or perhaps potatoes!
I am willing to adjust this as needed and will collaborate fully with you over the homebrew process of a brownie/leprechaun hybrid.
*edit* I didnt put in any more specifics as I'm not bidding for any particular one of the campaigns. Slade will fit in. Likewise I skipped on the details a bit to not ruin his story, if you want to know more please reach out.
Name- Delphinium Foxmist
Race- Fairy
Class and Subclass- Way of the Astral Self / Monk
Backstory-
Delphinium made a bit of a name for themselves going around and beating up various "tough" guys that gave him or his animal friends a hard time. Early reports of Delphinium has him getting a reputation for showing up into towns near Kokiri Forest finding various hunters and would challenge them for their hunting rights. A friend to a lot of different beings of the forest Delphinium has been seen as a friend to Koroks as well as other various forest dwellers in the Kokiri Forest. Their name didn't really start to spread until they left the Kokiri forest and began to wonder Hylia in general. He appears to be a protector of forests but that is a bit muddled by his reputation of going from tavern to tavern challenging various people to fights and arm wrestling. Oddly, the rumors of this tiny fairy winning many of these contests despite also being reported as very tiny.
Why did they leave the Kokiri forest? No one really knows and based on reports of early sightings of this Fairy it could be anyone's guess as to what his goal is. Perhaps only those who witnessed him smack down orcs, or those who saw him fight a barbarian to a draw would know what he really wants. He does seem to help out where he goes... or maybe that was just a random occurrence of him beating up a group of goblins that were harassing the local farmers. Whatever has brought them to adventuring and wondering around the lands, Delphinium did catch the eye of the Childlike Empress. This will certainly lead to some unique adventures for Delphinium. One wonders what she will have in store for him.
Hello, Edward here…hoping you like my character idea enough to chose me…
Character Proposal:
Name- Og’Den Mar
Race- Variant Human
Class and Subclass- Ranger/Swarmkeeper
Backstory - A tracker and finder of things by trade, Og’Den enjoyed a quiet, solitary existence, up until he found himself following large paw prints through the forest near his home. As he caught up on the beast, and drew his bow for the kill, he saw a large feline creature, bright purple in color, with elongated legs and tail, caught in a hunters trap. Having never seen anything like this before, he carefully freed the creature, only to have it transform into a beautiful Fey Princess. After thanking him, she promised that by the next morning, he would be rewarded greatly for his act.
The next morning, he woke to the sound of mewing, lots and lots of mewing. A dozen or more fey kittens surrounded him, begging him for milk, and whatever else he had to eat. As he stared at the mass of fur, he saw one that stood out, a small bright purple kitten, with the same eyes as the princess he saved.
He continues his tracking and finding, he is just never alone…and it is rarely quiet..the purple kitten, named Princess, perched firmly on his shoulder, waiting to pounce.
I'm not familiar with discord will learn
Don't bother rolling any ability scores yet folks. You'll be rerolling them if you're accepted to the campaign. Just stick with the instructions at the bottom of the info dump above in the first post.
I HIGHLY recommend anyone who wants to be a part of this campaign to learn Discord. Even if you don't get to join AURYN right now, you may in the future, and there are TONS of good DnD resources on Discord.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
Character Proposal: i have two ideas, i would prefer elil, but depending on your ruling on the darkvision interaction i could go with a warforged wizard instead.
also are optional class features allowed?
umbral sight says "you gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. If you already have darkvision from your race, its range increases by 30 feet."
so RAW i would just get the benefit from the devils sight "You can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 120 feet." but i feel this may have been unintentional with the creator not thinking of other ways to get darkvision beforehand. so how would you rule this working
RAW, 150' of perfect darkvision, or 120' of perfect darkvision then standard darkvision for another 30'?
Name- elil
Race- fairy
Class and Subclass- gloom stalker ranger (eldritch adept- devils sight- feat)
Backstory- elil has walked many paths since the day of his awakening, yet in all his travels he has learned little of meaning to him, darkness binds him, finds him, and hides him, but still he searches, ever seeking the First Question, "who am I?" for a time he found friendship the elves before setting out again wandering seeking sources of darkness and cleansing them of the foul thoughts of men, now he seeks companionship, and perhaps a greater purpose in this joke of a world.
elil stands an impressive foot and a half tall, or he would if he would stay still, which he wont, wearing a small mottledcloak and boots that seem almost elvish but darker he fades from sight whenhe feels the need with soundless steps.
This Mug immediately shared with me a transcendental tale of an Infinite Mug that anchors the Universe and keeps it from folding in on itself. I filed this report under "illogical nonsense" and asked why its sign is in Times New Roman font, when it is basic knowledge that Arial Black is a far superior font. I wondered: How did this mug even get past the assembly line with its theistic beliefs and poor font choices?
quote from Romantically Apocalyptic by Vitaly S Alexius
I'm seeing a lot of strong applications here. Just a reminder that I can only take a few of you. For the rest, we'll be discussing how to move you guys forward in the future, as I'm interested in having an auxiliary group ready that I can reach out to in the future and bring in. We'll discuss this later. :)
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
Character Proposal:
Name- Stasolya
Race- Centaur
Class and Subclass- Bard/College of Lore (both flexible depending on what works best for the character, but nothing else quite seemed to fit)
Backstory-
Centaurs were lorekeepers, the bearers of tradition, the fey who remember, as opposed to the fey who bedazzle and forget. They read the stars, and preserve the natural law in their families and communities, the organic flowering of generation and history over the ages, unfolding into evermore beautiful and breathtaking tales of strife, loss, and redemption.
When the Shard was broken, the centaurs scattered. On hooves like the wind their clans went to the villages, the towns, of all the races, to teach them about the world, about the Childlike Empress, about the Crystal of Truth, so that it would not be forgotten. But the forces of darkness didn't want anyone to remember, and there are few centaurs left now, as despite their inclinations to history and natural law they are not powerful creatures. Being fey attuned to the world in its beauty and order, the disintegration and chaos prefiguring the Nothing caused them indescribable agony.
Stasolya is born of a centaur clan called Kiros that has a special devotion to the Childlike Empress. Their stories and teachings of the order and harmony of the world draw on the common bond of all living beings in the world with the Empress and the love they have for her. They were not just scholars, but many of them were also cunning warriors when they needed to be, skilled in pipes, hooves, and battle song. They braided their hair and tails and wore drapes of woven cloth in recognizable colors, almost like a primitive version of heraldry.
Stasolya was still young when a marauding group of goblins ambushed the village that her clan was teaching. The centaurs rushed into battle, hooves thundering, the droning wail of their bagpipes advancing their charge. They managed to protect the village, but many of the centaurs were slain, including Stasolya's parents.
Everyone took such losses as a tragic necessity of the war, but within a few years, armed only with the traditional arts of her clan and their reverence for the Childlike Empress who loves all folk, good and evil alike, in the world, Stasolya went out and sought the goblins. No one quite understood how a shy, quick, woodland centaur with nothing but a loud set of bagpipes made friends with them and converted the hearts of a great many of them to wanting to join the fight to save the world and restore the Crystal. She would always say it was not her, it was the love of the Childlike Empress.
Final decisions are being made this evening. I appreciate the responses that I received. It's obvious that everyone put some good thought into their characters, so it makes this endeavor very hard. For those who didn't make it, it's not necassarily so much about your character as it is a place in the story.
I'll be making records of those who were interested so that they can be referenced in the future in case we are lucky enough to call up an auxiliary group in order to add more characters.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
I'd like to thank everyone who applied this go round. I've contacted those who are moving on to the next portion of selection. Obviously we can't accept everyone who applied, so if you're interested in AURYN please keep your eyes out to apply again! I have no doubt we'll have opportunities in the future for more to apply and try again. Almost all of the applications are good, it's just that we had certain needs to be met that some characters will fit better than others, so don't be discouraged.
Once again, thank you all. This recruitment opportunity has closed.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH