In a land where history and ambition intertwine, whispers of a long-lost treasure ripple through the kingdoms of Eastern Faerun. The world teeters on the brink of war as remnants of the ancient and advanced Netherese Empire stir, holding secrets and powers beyond imagination.
The realms of Cormyr, the Dalelands, Cormanthyr, and Sembia, themselves find themselves at odds as ancient magic threatens to upend the existing balance of power.
In a world where every decision can tip the balance of power, where alliances shift like the desert sands, "Echoes of Empire" offers an adventure full of danger, mystery, and the lure of forbidden magic. Embark on a quest that will lead you into the heart of a land where your choices can either herald a new era of prosperity or plunge the region into chaos and ruin.
(This is just the general geography. The location of specific points of interest may or may not be accurate)
Game Style
This is my first time running a pbp game but not my first time running dnd more broadly. I typically run games that are more sandbox where I define the setting and the overarching activity in the world and act as a more or less neutral arbiter while the players choose how they want to interact with and influence it. Stakes in my campaigns tend to be high and success isn’t guaranteed. Practically, this tends to result in the following:
Death tends to be permanent. Resurrection that does exist is costly and rare.
NPCs, factions, and enemies tend to operate in their own interest with the information they have. They will be calculating in their efforts to defeat their enemies. As a DM, I will give you as much warning as I can about what that will mean without spoiling things (for example, if a wyvern would typically finish off a downed PC on its next turn, I’d tell you that as soon as the PC goes down)
The world is not balanced to your PCs. Scouting, sneaking, gathering intelligence, listening for rumors, and knowing when to retreat are critical to survival
We’ll make rulings and adapt things during the game to keep things fun but this should give you an idea of my overall style.
PBP Rules
These rules outline how I’ll run the game. This is my first PBP game so I’m open to feedback on these and they may evolve as we play.
Posting cadence will be at least once per 24 hours. I’ll do my best to post as fast as people are responding and will let you know if/when things will slow down on my part.
Players will define their characters default behavior/strategy for combat, exploration, and social encounters. They can update this at any time.
If a player misses their turn window, I’ll decide what action they take based on default behavior they provide for their character
If a player doesn’t take their turn for a week without notifying me they’ll be out, they will be converted to an NPC and I’ll reopen recruitment.
All rolls must be made publicly in the campaign with results shared to the thread
To speed things up, I’ll roll initiative for all characters and enemies in thread
I will also roll all “reactive” checks. For instance, if a wizard hits the party with a fireball, I will roll saves and damage on behalf of the party to keep things moving.
In the event of a permanent character death, you can roll a new character at the same level as your last character and I’ll write you back in as soon as possible
Character Creation
Characters will start at level 1, we will use XP based advancement and take average HP per level
Character creation will be point buy, please keep things AL legal (see this post for specifics)
Please provide a brief summary of your character’s background and personality as well as their default behavior in combat, exploration, and social encounters. I’m using forgotten realms as a general setting but I’m not sticking to a particular era. If you have something in depth or that could cause complications, we can work together to get something figured out.
Hey, I’m moon, i‘m aged between 3 and 300. Pronouns are She/They/It/It’s/Them/Her. I love D&D. I am chaotic neutral irl. I’m not afraid to punch someone. Mess with me and you’ll find out the hard way. extended sig
I am the goddess of the moon, the tides, and the axolotls
Hey, I’m moon, i‘m aged between 3 and 300. Pronouns are She/They/It/It’s/Them/Her. I love D&D. I am chaotic neutral irl. I’m not afraid to punch someone. Mess with me and you’ll find out the hard way. extended sig
I am the goddess of the moon, the tides, and the axolotls
I've dabbled in the past (3.5) but this will be my first 5e game. I have a human ranger who's been cast out from his tribe in The Sword and is now exploring the lands to the south. I'm aiming for Gloomstalker at Level 3.
I'll go and polish up his sheet and then update here.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Cunning Green-moss - Tiefling Barbarian Haj i Rae - Human Gloom Stalker Olan Fargrove - Elf Swashbuckler
Qal Joharge - Human Monk Nyli Bemblade - Gnome Thief
I'd love to throw my name in the hat! Here's my character pitch:
Name: Cal Dresko
Class: Sorcerer
Background: Charlatan
Description, 5'9" medium build, late 20s. Cal can clean up well, but day to day he rocks a less than refined look, easier to pass unoticed in a crowd.
Backstory, It's easier to pick up and move on, adopt a new name, a new personality, a new set of contacts. If you stay too long in one place your list of enemies grows longer than your list of friends. And then things get real rough. Well, that's if you wheel and deal like Cal does, anyway. He's a grifter with real talent, a talent he should be using for good. But a nice inn, some wine and women? It makes you forget how empty your life is. How little you've actually done. But he's in a new town, and this new name sounds upbeat. Maybe this time he'll pretend to be a goodguy? That can't be so bad, can it?
Expected behavior: Support/Control spellcaster, with out of combat utility and lots of social utility. Not at all a heavy hitter. Reluctant face, but probably very good at it. Is trying for a character growth/redemption arc. Will be playing like a conman who's grown a conscience, or, maybe always had one buried deep, all along.
Haj grew up in one of the Bedine tribes that wandered the southern part of Anauroch known as The Sword. He was just another Bedine youth, trained to survive the harshness of his homelands, and to fight with traditional weapons. All that changed in his 15th year when he began to display divine magical abilities. Initially these were looked upon as 'a favour of the gods' but as his abilities grew his tribe became fearful, and he was cast out for being 'a witch'. For a while he lived a solitary existance, using his new abilities to bolster his survival skills. After several months he stumbled upon a small group of traders being led by a D'tarig guide. After helping the group to deal with a Zhentarim attack he was offered the chance to travel with them. Overcoming his initial distrust he joined the group and travelled south. Since then he has wandered through Cormyr and the Dalelands, experiencing new horizons and environments that were mere fables to the Bedine.
Personality is quiet, almost introverted. Keeps his own council, but speaks up when it is needed. Combat preference is ranged but can get up close and personal if required. Plenty of experience with exploring, careful but not too cautious, very observant. Still not quite used to large social gatherings, and initially wary of new people.
What is the length of the daily post that you aim for? More like a statement of actions, or a description in a paragraph of say at least three to five sentences, or detailed insight in the character's behaviour with a few paragraphs? I realise that post length will depend on circumstances but I would like to know what you are hoping for in general.
I'm not sure what is AL legal. Which sourcebooks are allowed? Everything official? Or also partnered content? Only a selection of sourcebooks? (Though I'm not married to the idea, I would have liked to try a Blood Magic Wizard but that is partnered content from the Tal'Dorei setting.)
Optional rules like feats and multi classing are allowed?
What's the expected ratio of Social interactions, Combat, and Puzzles? More or less even, or is there a focus on certain aspects of the game?
1. I’m not a stickler about post length. Enough to get across what you’re trying to accomplish and keep the game moving but the more detail you add the I and others can take into account in replies. I personally will try to be pretty descriptive so you guys have all the info you need to make decisions.
These are just the books I have and am familiar with so I’d like to stick with these for now.
3. Yeah both of those are fine. I’ll update the OP
4. Since this is a sandbox, the split will largely depend on what you as a party decide to do. Anauroch is full of exploration and combat, the kingdoms and their factions are ripe for politics and social interaction, and the roads land more broadly is dangerous so combat will not be uncommon. The setting is complex and has potential hooks for anything you guys pursue. I’ll start things off pretty even and you can decide how to approach things.
Haj grew up in one of the Bedine tribes that wandered the southern part of Anauroch known as The Sword. He was just another Bedine youth, trained to survive the harshness of his homelands, and to fight with traditional weapons. All that changed in his 15th year when he began to display divine magical abilities. Initially these were looked upon as 'a favour of the gods' but as his abilities grew his tribe became fearful, and he was cast out for being 'a witch'. For a while he lived a solitary existance, using his new abilities to bolster his survival skills. After several months he stumbled upon a small group of traders being led by a D'tarig guide. After helping the group to deal with a Zhentarim attack he was offered the chance to travel with them. Overcoming his initial distrust he joined the group and travelled south. Since then he has wandered through Cormyr and the Dalelands, experiencing new horizons and environments that were mere fables to the Bedine.
Personality is quiet, almost introverted. Keeps his own council, but speaks up when it is needed. Combat preference is ranged but can get up close and personal if required. Plenty of experience with exploring, careful but not too cautious, very observant. Still not quite used to large social gatherings, and initially wary of new people.
1. I’m not a stickler about post length. Enough to get across what you’re trying to accomplish and keep the game moving but the more detail you add the I and others can take into account in replies. I personally will try to be pretty descriptive so you guys have all the info you need to make decisions.
These are just the books I have and am familiar with so I’d like to stick with these for now.
3. Yeah both of those are fine. I’ll update the OP
4. Since this is a sandbox, the split will largely depend on what you as a party decide to do. Anauroch is full of exploration and combat, the kingdoms and their factions are ripe for politics and social interaction, and the roads land more broadly is dangerous so combat will not be uncommon. The setting is complex and has potential hooks for anything you guys pursue. I’ll start things off pretty even and you can decide how to approach things.
Update to this, for the setting books, you can sources from any AL legal setting. For example, eberron sources are valid even though we’re playing in FR.
Update to this, for the setting books, you can sources from any AL legal setting. For example, eberron sources are valid even though we’re playing in FR.
Thanks for the clarifications. From the other submissions I see that there are a ranger, bard and sorcerer. I think a tanky fighter can do some good in the party so far.
Personality: Generally quiet but speaks up if she feels someone is treated unfairly. Protector at heart. Loves horses.
Behavior:
Combat: She will try to engage threats and lock them in melee to shield other party members Exploration: Can travel fast, preferably on horseback, not much skill in hiding but knows a thing or two about history and the arcane from her studies Social encounters: She is happy to let someone else lead tough conversations but she doesn't shy away from people and can hold her own
Background:
Taya had the birthmark on her left hand ever since she can remember. She felt it looked a little like a horse head, like the one she'd been caring for the past years. Her grandpa said that her parents insisted that it looked like a dove taking flight, when she was born. Might be their imagination got them carried away, or just wishful thinking projecting their own surreality onto her... They didn’t live to see how it developed. And whatever the mark was, it probably wasn't a dove. That was clear now. Now - after it burnt itself deeper into her flesh. Now - that it begun turning her skin into scales. Almost her entire hand is covered. Will it start to grow again? She still wonders ofttimes, even though its first and only activation had been already a few years back. Taya was initiated by mages of the academy and, by some believed to be the key to a new era. That was just after her birthmark begun smoldering for the first time and scales started to conquer her hand in a crusade against her skin. She still shivers just remembering that first time. It didn't take long for them to come for her, to praise her talents, to convince her to join their ranks. They promised, with proper guidance, she would become a powerful sorcerer, a dragon incarnated surely. Yet somehow that didn't pan out. Maybe she just didn't have the talent, or, at least, not the one which they were hoping for. At the academy, she suffered through classes and she was slow taking in lessons. To sum it all up, she was a sorry disappointment. It didn't take long for her teachers to notice her failures. After a full semester she finally built up the courage to drop out and looked for a new life. Looking for a mundane life and because of her deep admiration for horses, she signed up as a stable girl for a newly levied cavalry division. Only after a few weeks, one of the cavaliers was injured during a routine maneuver and she had to ride his horse back into garrison. On the way, they were ambushed and she was forced to help defending the division’s vitals. Reportedly, she had saved a fellow stable boy from certain death by diverting a bandits lucky blow into his greatest failure. Natural in the saddle and with a spear she was noted for her valiant efforts, great speed and blinding thrusts. After the skirmish she was offered to join the cavaliers, which she accepted gladly.
Recruiting status: Closed
We’ve got quite a few people now so I’m closing recruiting. I’ll reopen it once I’ve gotten a hang of how this is going to run or if people drop.
Current Characters
Chapter 1: Siege of Shadowdale
OOC Thread: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/184776-echoes-of-empire-ooc-thread
Campaign Link (Join after your character is approved in the OOC thread): https://www.dndbeyond.com/campaigns/join/47926191514801110
Setting and Summary
In a land where history and ambition intertwine, whispers of a long-lost treasure ripple through the kingdoms of Eastern Faerun. The world teeters on the brink of war as remnants of the ancient and advanced Netherese Empire stir, holding secrets and powers beyond imagination.
The realms of Cormyr, the Dalelands, Cormanthyr, and Sembia, themselves find themselves at odds as ancient magic threatens to upend the existing balance of power.
In a world where every decision can tip the balance of power, where alliances shift like the desert sands, "Echoes of Empire" offers an adventure full of danger, mystery, and the lure of forbidden magic. Embark on a quest that will lead you into the heart of a land where your choices can either herald a new era of prosperity or plunge the region into chaos and ruin.
(This is just the general geography. The location of specific points of interest may or may not be accurate)
Game Style
This is my first time running a pbp game but not my first time running dnd more broadly. I typically run games that are more sandbox where I define the setting and the overarching activity in the world and act as a more or less neutral arbiter while the players choose how they want to interact with and influence it. Stakes in my campaigns tend to be high and success isn’t guaranteed. Practically, this tends to result in the following:
Death tends to be permanent. Resurrection that does exist is costly and rare.
NPCs, factions, and enemies tend to operate in their own interest with the information they have. They will be calculating in their efforts to defeat their enemies. As a DM, I will give you as much warning as I can about what that will mean without spoiling things (for example, if a wyvern would typically finish off a downed PC on its next turn, I’d tell you that as soon as the PC goes down)
The world is not balanced to your PCs. Scouting, sneaking, gathering intelligence, listening for rumors, and knowing when to retreat are critical to survival
We’ll make rulings and adapt things during the game to keep things fun but this should give you an idea of my overall style.
PBP Rules
These rules outline how I’ll run the game. This is my first PBP game so I’m open to feedback on these and they may evolve as we play.
Posting cadence will be at least once per 24 hours. I’ll do my best to post as fast as people are responding and will let you know if/when things will slow down on my part.
Players will define their characters default behavior/strategy for combat, exploration, and social encounters. They can update this at any time.
If a player misses their turn window, I’ll decide what action they take based on default behavior they provide for their character
If a player doesn’t take their turn for a week without notifying me they’ll be out, they will be converted to an NPC and I’ll reopen recruitment.
To speed things up, I’ll roll initiative for all characters and enemies in thread
General Rules
We’ll play as close to RAW as we can.
In the event of a permanent character death, you can roll a new character at the same level as your last character and I’ll write you back in as soon as possible
Character Creation
Characters will start at level 1, we will use XP based advancement and take average HP per level
Character creation will be point buy, please keep things AL legal (see this post for specifics)
Please provide a brief summary of your character’s background and personality as well as their default behavior in combat, exploration, and social encounters. I’m using forgotten realms as a general setting but I’m not sticking to a particular era. If you have something in depth or that could cause complications, we can work together to get something figured out.
So do you take new players?
Hey, I’m moon, i‘m aged between 3 and 300. Pronouns are She/They/It/It’s/Them/Her. I love D&D. I am chaotic neutral irl. I’m not afraid to punch someone. Mess with me and you’ll find out the hard way. extended sig
I am the goddess of the moon, the tides, and the axolotls
I am not a furry, I am a fishie.
Sure, any skill level welcome as long as the setting, story and style appeal to you.
Ok I will think about it
Hey, I’m moon, i‘m aged between 3 and 300. Pronouns are She/They/It/It’s/Them/Her. I love D&D. I am chaotic neutral irl. I’m not afraid to punch someone. Mess with me and you’ll find out the hard way. extended sig
I am the goddess of the moon, the tides, and the axolotls
I am not a furry, I am a fishie.
I'd like to join if I may.
I've dabbled in the past (3.5) but this will be my first 5e game. I have a human ranger who's been cast out from his tribe in The Sword and is now exploring the lands to the south. I'm aiming for Gloomstalker at Level 3.
I'll go and polish up his sheet and then update here.
Cunning Green-moss - Tiefling Barbarian Haj i Rae - Human Gloom Stalker Olan Fargrove - Elf Swashbuckler
Qal Joharge - Human Monk Nyli Bemblade - Gnome Thief
Awesome! That sounds good but will take a look once you post.
Interested!
Great! Toss over a character sheet when you get some time. I’ll kick off RP once we’ve got at least two characters.
I'd love to throw my name in the hat! Here's my character pitch:
Name: Cal Dresko
Class: Sorcerer
Background: Charlatan
Description, 5'9" medium build, late 20s. Cal can clean up well, but day to day he rocks a less than refined look, easier to pass unoticed in a crowd.
Backstory, It's easier to pick up and move on, adopt a new name, a new personality, a new set of contacts. If you stay too long in one place your list of enemies grows longer than your list of friends. And then things get real rough. Well, that's if you wheel and deal like Cal does, anyway. He's a grifter with real talent, a talent he should be using for good. But a nice inn, some wine and women? It makes you forget how empty your life is. How little you've actually done. But he's in a new town, and this new name sounds upbeat. Maybe this time he'll pretend to be a goodguy? That can't be so bad, can it?
Expected behavior: Support/Control spellcaster, with out of combat utility and lots of social utility. Not at all a heavy hitter. Reluctant face, but probably very good at it. Is trying for a character growth/redemption arc. Will be playing like a conman who's grown a conscience, or, maybe always had one buried deep, all along.
I got quotes!
Looks good to me, toss me a sheet to lock in your spot.
If you need any more, just shout.
Character sheet
Haj grew up in one of the Bedine tribes that wandered the southern part of Anauroch known as The Sword. He was just another Bedine youth, trained to survive the harshness of his homelands, and to fight with traditional weapons. All that changed in his 15th year when he began to display divine magical abilities. Initially these were looked upon as 'a favour of the gods' but as his abilities grew his tribe became fearful, and he was cast out for being 'a witch'.
For a while he lived a solitary existance, using his new abilities to bolster his survival skills. After several months he stumbled upon a small group of traders being led by a D'tarig guide. After helping the group to deal with a Zhentarim attack he was offered the chance to travel with them. Overcoming his initial distrust he joined the group and travelled south. Since then he has wandered through Cormyr and the Dalelands, experiencing new horizons and environments that were mere fables to the Bedine.
Personality is quiet, almost introverted. Keeps his own council, but speaks up when it is needed.
Combat preference is ranged but can get up close and personal if required.
Plenty of experience with exploring, careful but not too cautious, very observant.
Still not quite used to large social gatherings, and initially wary of new people.
Cunning Green-moss - Tiefling Barbarian Haj i Rae - Human Gloom Stalker Olan Fargrove - Elf Swashbuckler
Qal Joharge - Human Monk Nyli Bemblade - Gnome Thief
I'm interested but I have a few questions.
|| Tryncaryn - Halfling Monk/Wizard - Dragon of Icespire Peak || Berry - Fairy Barbarian - Deathworld: Lost Mine of Phandelver || Taya - Mysterious Fighter - Echoes of Empire || Myrla Stardust - Wood Elf Rogue - After the Fall ||
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/112494956/7MLYaM
Background, personality, and defaults to follow.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/112496227
I got quotes!
1. I’m not a stickler about post length. Enough to get across what you’re trying to accomplish and keep the game moving but the more detail you add the I and others can take into account in replies. I personally will try to be pretty descriptive so you guys have all the info you need to make decisions.
2. The sourcebooks outlined under “What rulebooks should I use?” Here: https://assets.ctfassets.net/swt2dsco9mfe/5HsTtt0nV2KIyAGYl4bIi9/6edfd53c11ff71bd647488fe730022ae/D_D_Adventurers_League_Player-s_Guide_v13.0.pdf
These are just the books I have and am familiar with so I’d like to stick with these for now.
3. Yeah both of those are fine. I’ll update the OP
4. Since this is a sandbox, the split will largely depend on what you as a party decide to do. Anauroch is full of exploration and combat, the kingdoms and their factions are ripe for politics and social interaction, and the roads land more broadly is dangerous so combat will not be uncommon. The setting is complex and has potential hooks for anything you guys pursue. I’ll start things off pretty even and you can decide how to approach things.
Hmm, looks like I don’t have access to the sheet. I also need your default behavior.
Looks good to me.
Perfect, thank you.
Update to this, for the setting books, you can sources from any AL legal setting. For example, eberron sources are valid even though we’re playing in FR.
Thanks for the clarifications. From the other submissions I see that there are a ranger, bard and sorcerer. I think a tanky fighter can do some good in the party so far.
Pleased to introduce:
Taya Tenfields, Fighter (Cavalier planned): https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/112500048
Personality: Generally quiet but speaks up if she feels someone is treated unfairly. Protector at heart. Loves horses.
Behavior:
Combat: She will try to engage threats and lock them in melee to shield other party members
Exploration: Can travel fast, preferably on horseback, not much skill in hiding but knows a thing or two about history and the arcane from her studies
Social encounters: She is happy to let someone else lead tough conversations but she doesn't shy away from people and can hold her own
Background:
Taya had the birthmark on her left hand ever since she can remember. She felt it looked a little like a horse head, like the one she'd been caring for the past years. Her grandpa said that her parents insisted that it looked like a dove taking flight, when she was born. Might be their imagination got them carried away, or just wishful thinking projecting their own surreality onto her... They didn’t live to see how it developed. And whatever the mark was, it probably wasn't a dove. That was clear now. Now - after it burnt itself deeper into her flesh. Now - that it begun turning her skin into scales. Almost her entire hand is covered. Will it start to grow again? She still wonders ofttimes, even though its first and only activation had been already a few years back.
Taya was initiated by mages of the academy and, by some believed to be the key to a new era. That was just after her birthmark begun smoldering for the first time and scales started to conquer her hand in a crusade against her skin. She still shivers just remembering that first time. It didn't take long for them to come for her, to praise her talents, to convince her to join their ranks. They promised, with proper guidance, she would become a powerful sorcerer, a dragon incarnated surely. Yet somehow that didn't pan out. Maybe she just didn't have the talent, or, at least, not the one which they were hoping for.
At the academy, she suffered through classes and she was slow taking in lessons. To sum it all up, she was a sorry disappointment. It didn't take long for her teachers to notice her failures. After a full semester she finally built up the courage to drop out and looked for a new life. Looking for a mundane life and because of her deep admiration for horses, she signed up as a stable girl for a newly levied cavalry division.
Only after a few weeks, one of the cavaliers was injured during a routine maneuver and she had to ride his horse back into garrison. On the way, they were ambushed and she was forced to help defending the division’s vitals. Reportedly, she had saved a fellow stable boy from certain death by diverting a bandits lucky blow into his greatest failure. Natural in the saddle and with a spear she was noted for her valiant efforts, great speed and blinding thrusts. After the skirmish she was offered to join the cavaliers, which she accepted gladly.
|| Tryncaryn - Halfling Monk/Wizard - Dragon of Icespire Peak || Berry - Fairy Barbarian - Deathworld: Lost Mine of Phandelver || Taya - Mysterious Fighter - Echoes of Empire || Myrla Stardust - Wood Elf Rogue - After the Fall ||