Game focus: Roleplay. Character driven interactions will be the focus, so players only interested in combat and looting will likely want to look elsewhere.
Player experience: Largely meant for newer players or anyone more interested in roleplay without too much emphasis on following rules to the letter. No murder hobos seeking to gain the system.
Combat level: Depends on players.
Peril level: Homebrew rules are in effect. This adventure's primary focus is to develop characters and for players to get invested in their new level 1's, but there's no point to that if you can be simply one-shotted into oblivion from a single bad roll even when tactics are sound. Until level 3, players cannot be outright killed by a critical strike and cruel dice.
Levelling type: Hybrid. You gain XP only when the DM tells you. Defeating random minions earns no XP, even when combat gets desperate. Surviving story-driven challenges, defeating unique enemies, and accomplishing goals does, however. Not quite XP, not quite milestone. Mix of both.
Homebrew rules: Combat
"Last Stand" (Part 1) When your character reaches negative HP, they are not unconscious or dying(YET). Instead, they are in a 'Last Stand' state. They can still move (half movement speed) and act, though all actions are at disadvantage. If your character is being assisted, they can move at full speed. Your character has taken a mortal wound but still has enough strength to stay standing, but only for 1D6(+constitution bonus) turns, at which point they go into shock and collapse. If they take any further damage, a constitution saving throw against their current deficit of HP (to a maximum of 19) must be made to stay standing or they will go down instantly. After collapsing, death saves will be rolled normally.
"Last Stand" (Part 2) If you are healed while you're in your Last Stand, you will need to be healed of your negative damage first, so if you're limping around at -8 HP and are healed for 14, you'll be taken out of your Last Stand and able to fight at full strength, but you'll only have 6 HP remaining.
"Last Stand" (Part 3) If a character has a status that allows them to keep fighting even after losing all HP for a certain number of turns, then their "Last Stand" condition won't start until that status is consumed. Essentially, they cannot be brought lower than 0 HP until the previous status effect finishes.
"Plot Armour" (Part 1) Players who are reduced to exactly 2 to 0 HP have been seriously wounded and can no longer muster their full strength. Their movement speed and abilities are normal, but all offensive actions are at disadvantage; defensive actions like bandaging wounds or dodging, however, gain advantage. Should they be healed, they can get right back into the fight without penalty at full strength. Essentially, HP represents "Plot Armor", the amount of damage that a character can take that apparently just hurts but isn't enough to incapacitate. When they're almost out of HP, they're out of plot armor and in serious peril.
"Plot Armour" (Part 2) If an enemy is attempting to incapacitate your character rather than kill, Plot Armour is bypassed.
"Plot Armour" (Part 3)Players cannot be killed outright with no saves unless they take DOUBLE their maximum HP in over-damage. This applies only to players and high-level enemies who are allowed to have a Last Stand. As stated before, players cannot be killed by critical strikes until level 3.
"Close Call" If your character is saved from death by being stabilized after collapsing, they will have a lasting injury which can only be removed by 1D6 long rests, either consecutive or spread out over a period of time. If your character is saved from death again before the previous injury has healed, they get ANOTHER lasting injury that will take 1D6 long rests to remove. The injury will give you disadvantage for performing actions associated with the body part that needs time to heal completely as judged by the DM. A medical skillcheck (DC:12) by healers with spells or healer's kits will also remove injuries.
Long and short rests: Semi-realistic. Short rests are defined as being 8 hours long. Long rests last for 1 entire day.
Homebrew rules: Economy
Magic items will be sold in stores. Magic is as much a part of the economy as any other tool. While not understood by the general public, it is accepted as a part of daily life as much as technology, though mostly reserved for only well-off parts of settlements. Shopkeeps may or may not buy used magic goods.
Magic weapons and other combat gear will NOT be sold in stores. Such things are reserved for members of the military ONLY and those caught trying to sell off magic weapons are breaking the law.
Homebrew rules: Character generation
This is where things get VERY experimental. You can roll your stats as per normal (Roll 2 sets of stats, choose the set that you like better.) and build a basic idea of your character's personality. Then choose your race, but do NOT choose your class. You will be playing an immature version of your character, roughly 16 years old, according to the age of your race, with some growing left to do.
You will earn your class through RP in a prologue section of the adventure, by participating in activities that give you class points. Once you reach 20 class points (as determined by the DM) you have officially earned enough to choose a particular class. You do NOT need to choose a class as soon as you reach 20 points, however. You can build class points for other classes to give yourself options. Once you have chosen your class, you are officially level 1.
While you are 'maturing' your character, performing activities may give you additional bonuses to your ability scores; choosing to help out on a farm for hard labour, for instance, may grant you an addition to strength or constitution, depending on how well you perform. In order to increase your ability score by RP, you will need to roll a DC over your current ability score 3 times (NOT consecutively). For instance, if your character is labouring for a day and you have 12 STR, you'd need to roll a DC of 13 or better. You may only roll once an in-character day, so your character will need to labour for at LEAST 3 days to gain a permanent +1 to their STR.
Bear in mind that when you choose to have your character spend a day performing an activity, they must be in good condition; meaning not hungry, exhausted, sick, or injured. They must be in peak physical shape to give it their best effort AND have the appropriate amount of supplies to complete the activity. A character who spends a day training their archery in the woods, for instance, needs not only a full quiver of arrows, but also food and water for breaks, appropriate clothes for the weather, and targets.
The 'prologue' section of the adventure will last until everyone in the party has chosen a class and reaches level 1 or if the RP begins to drag, at which point, you'll have to choose whatever class your ability scores will allow.
Adventure Introduction:
Aden, a land torn asunder by ancient battles between beings of terrible power. Mountains razed, valleys flooded and then filled, forests twisted into alien landscapes only to be reshaped again and again. When the wars of these titans finally ended, they seeded the land with the spark of life and mysterious energies that would eventually be known as magic. From the ruins emerged new creatures who would inherit a world sculpted by conflict, blessed with intelligence and a diversity of forms. These survivors would eventually create civilizations together, using their diversity to thrive in a hostile world, for they would not be the only creatures born from the ashes of conflict. The wilds, once home to simple, more mundane creatures too insignificant to be noticed by the old titans are now overrun with weird and savage life that have no wish to share the world.
The people of Aden have managed to survive by banding together and eventually built walled cities to protect them from the hostility of the wilds and the creatures that seem drawn to them, as if the very existence of civilization is somehow offensive. Driven by the common goal of survival, the people of Aden progressed quickly, mastering the energies of magic and the natural sciences to slowly secure and expand more territory into the wilds, though the cities remain largely isolated and cut off from one another by a lack of safe travel. Trade between the walled cities is conducted through massive convoys for security, though even with these measures, sometimes the convoys simply disappear.
As defense became more important, the people of Aden discovered the power of gunpowder, though the fine flintlock rifles crafted by the dwarves are reserved for city guards and militia only, too rare and too difficult to make to be in the hands of civilians, who are permitted to wear swords or other small armaments inside the city walls. Though the power of magic touches the life of the everyday citizen of the cities, mastery of magic is very uncommon and those who practice it often hold positions of prestige. Magicians have been used to engineer various infrastructures that makes Aden's hostile world more tolerable. Clean, running water is not uncommon, streets are illuminated at night, and watch towers sport light houses to fend off night raids.
Those who studied the wilds began to discover creatures that could be domesticated, including massive, manta-ray like creatures that seemed to somehow swim peacefully through the air. These creatures, affectionately known as kites, proved not only docile but also intelligent, preferring to live in the relative safety of the cities than live wild and were simple to train. A single kite could carry three or four human-sized passengers and their luggage without issue, and soon trade caravans began taking to the skies, at least those whose goods could be carried. Trade increased, but so did differences in ideologies. Some of the walled cities maintained their security through brutal military traditions while others outright refused to trade, preferring a xenophobic, isolationist existence.
One city state, called Skell, had a sudden swell of power. Some say its most powerful magicians and researchers discovered an ancient power or developed magics capable of gaining control of the savage creatures roaming the wilds and used them as canon fodder. Whatever the cause, the Skell embarked on a campaign to swallow up its neighbors under a brutal regime. This crisis has caught most of the other city-states off guard and tensions are high, especially when the savage wilds come clawing at the walls; it's unclear whether the creatures are defending their territory or driven to attack by Skellin influence.
Can the attacks be stopped? What is the motivation for this sudden expansionism? Is survival enough or is there a way to live in the wilds without walls? This is where the adventure begins. The player characters are going to start out as homeless refugees after escaping from a Skell prisoner caravan. They will have to find, steal, or work for food every day until they manage to pull themselves up enough to be self-reliant. The player characters will have no one but each other initially and will need to work together to stave off starvation, defend each other from lowlife gangs, and eventually, afford the equipment of an adventurer. Committing crimes is very risky, as punishments tend to be severe and may even include being exiled from the city, which would be all but a death sentence.
Major Themes:
Survival to start, exploration, and possibly rebellion against a corrupt power in a post-medieval setting. Not quite industrial revolution, but with more modern conveniences made possible by the use of magic.
DM's recommendations:
Definitely play heroic, good characters. Evil characters won't have much to do in this. What the prologue is for is to get the players to get a feel for their character and for the party at large, to get them to form bonds that go beyond class synergy. Whatever the party makeup, the adventure should still be playable even if it's not 'optimized'.
If you made it this far:
Holy crap, you probably want to join! Awesome! You can reply with a little blurb about the kind of character you'd like to play (You can fully generate your character later) so you can see who else is interested and do some networking (If this campaign even fills up.).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM, professional illustrator and comic artist, suffering from severe spinal stenosis, married, middle aged, and nerdy.
I'd be interested... except for the character creation stuff. For starters, I like having control of my character's backstory. Being forced into a situation to then build a backstory from as you do what seem to be common, boring tasks from your description from it, does not appeal to me in the slightest. Second, I like having control of my character. Players should be free to play the class they want to play, and all the prologue bit will be is a player trying to do all the tasks that will give them the points for the class they want, which is just not realistic. That's why there's a difference between background and class. Not all acolytes becomes clerics, but this system would make it so. Finally, this is PbP. What would take one session irl can take weeks or even months. By the time we actually get to play the game we'll all be too senile to type.
The world is really cool, the adventure premise is really cool, but the method of character building you've selected just does not work for me, least of all in PbP.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Hmm, I don't think I explained the prologue character creation part very well then because how you describe it is not how I intended it to work at all. Quite the opposite. The point is to have exacting control of your backstory by actively playing it out rather than simply have your character tell their story in a monologue. Perhaps I should have given an example.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM, professional illustrator and comic artist, suffering from severe spinal stenosis, married, middle aged, and nerdy.
Hmm, I don't think I explained the prologue character creation part very well then because how you describe it is not how I intended it to work at all. Quite the opposite. The point is to have exacting control of your backstory by actively playing it out rather than simply have your character tell their story in a monologue. Perhaps I should have given an example.
Perhaps that might be best. Still, I don’t see a situation where one’s backstory is subject to change based on rolls and random chance as being a very fun one.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
I am also interested to join but want to know if all classes are available. For example you can’t really practice to become a sorcerer.
My ideas is a Half-Elven sorcerer who is the son of a human and a red dragon polymorphed as an elf but I would be happy to change of the prologue calls for it.
At first, I thought 'Ah, this must be boring.' Because I kinda like the combat side. Now, I think it'll be very cool! Especially the prologue part, I really like the idea.
Anyway, I have a question: Since we're not starting with an experienced character, can I play a V. Human but not choose my feat yet, rather taking it later? Think of it as leaving the character's training in something for later, which is kinda like the class choice.
Either way, I'll probably play a human. Variant if the above is allowed and normal if not. I'm thinking towards a rogue, though I am fully open to changing class depending on how the prologue goes. That means I will probably be a dextrous character, at least at the very start.
Also, do we choose a background at the start or is it also something we get from the prologue?
This sounds really interesting, and I'd be up for it. When are you planning on starting, and roughly what times?
I think I have a perfect character for this sort of experimental play, but PrimalBlade took the concept first! XD
My character is also a half-elf looking to be a well, really good (swordsman) fighter, son of an Eladrin and a Changeling (looking like another Eladrin). His changeling powers don't really manifest very well, though.
Seeing as that's really similar........I have another character character concept if that would be better to create more diversity. My other character is a female half-elf (heavily leaning bard) that is mute, but is a budding telepath.
I am interested in this and would like to play a dwarf. I'm usually very flexible in the class I play for any campaign so completely don't mind rolling out to find what I play.
This sounds fun I would like to play as a goliath and I don't care about classes the rp is what I'm looking for and what I have read to me sounds like it would really work
Ability scores: 181210171716
Ability scores: 131216111711 this one I'm a goliath named Bretmyl
I am also interested to join but want to know if all classes are available. For example you can’t really practice to become a sorcerer.
My ideas is a Half-Elven sorcerer who is the son of a human and a red dragon polymorphed as an elf but I would be happy to change of the prologue calls for it.
All races and classes are available. In the case of sorcerers, due to charisma being your chief stat, I can see several avenues you could use to give you class points towards sorcerer; perhaps your character manages to befriend someone in the city who 'senses something within you', or perhaps during a sudden emotional crisis, such as an ally being in mortal danger or even the loss of one, your latent abilities awaken and then your character is noticed by someone in the magician's guild where they're taught how to control their abilities.
Charisma is your most important ability score, so be social, and who knows what might happen.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM, professional illustrator and comic artist, suffering from severe spinal stenosis, married, middle aged, and nerdy.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Ability scores: 141013151616
Ability scores: 121215161112
Raised in a wealthy home, Kallista was the sore spot in her family's 'perfect' image. They were a fine, upstanding family, and to them being born was a scar that they would never live down. So in order to save their reputation they hid her away and pretended she didnt exsist outside their home.
When she finally ran away, Kallista was sure that her parents were happy deep down that they could just ignore her from now on. So she never looked, though she could never hate her parents. She blamed herself for the pain she brought on them.
I plan on playing Kallista as if her infernal heritage hasn't quite manifested yet, because I think that sounds fun ((and im not really sure which one i want XD))
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
This does sound interesting and I'd be up for it. I'm thinking of a halfling rogue or maybe I'll finally try that warlock, an elven warlock. From the description of your world, it would seem ripe for warlocks and I've never played one before. I can even see how my character starts going to a particular part of the city, perhaps a park or maybe one of the poor sections, because when he's there he feels peace and security, or maybe he feels strong. Plenty of RP possibilities to earn class points that way.
I was thinking of playing a Satyr named Lazlo (trying to think of a suitable last name)- I rolled 10,13,12,9,11,14 and 16,14,13,13,12,8 for stats (I'll take the second set). I realized that I couldn't share the link to the character on beyond bc there is no class/background chosen.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Fleabag Fleabane-Tabaxi Ranger | Lenny Coggins- Halfling Barbarian | Sid Shatterbuckle- Dwarf Fighter/Rogue| Lazlo - Satyr Bard in Training
Looks very interesting! I actually find the idea of having like a Rocky Montage where we build our characters using RP to be pretty interesting. I'll throw my hat in the ring.
Name: Leon Dinoran
Race: Variant Human
Preferred Class: Fighter
Leon's come from a long line of warriors and generals- his blood's infused with martial vigor. Yet, his family's recently come on hard times, but Leon hopes to live up to the standard of his ancestors. He's got a chip on his shoulder and something to prove, but the idealistic youth is truly soft at heart no matter how tough he pretends to be.
Okay, it's become clear that I need to better explain how the prologue will work. I'll see if I can give an example that might make it clearer what the intention is.
I also forgot to add the homebrew rule for learning a skill and making ability score increases in the prologue.
Homebrew rule: Learning a skill and gaining ability score increases
Because your character will be untrained, they will have to earn their starting skills through practice, which they can do if they're in good condition and have the supplies, once a day. Learning a new skill is not easy, so you'll need to make a DC of 13 to succeed, and you'll need 3 successes (not consecutive) to gain a skill OR make 3 (non-consecutive) successful DC checks with disadvantage if your skill can be practiced on another living thing, which CAN be attempted more than once a day.
The reason for this? Practicing on another living thing will have consequences. Learning to pickpocket, for instance, would be incredibly risky. A failure means you could be chased by town guards whom you will have no chance of fighting and possibly even kicked out of the city, but if you're feeling lucky, it's an option.
The goal of the prologue part is to give you full control over your background. I thought it might be interesting where rather than your characters meeting up under circumstance and then slowly revealing their back story through monologues, you actively build your backstory through play. This may result in your character having more or less starting gear or 'background effects' than those who start with a background, but that's the point, you are to be rewarded for RPing and getting invested in your character, not aimless grinding.
RPing out your backstory also gives you the opportunity to learn homebrew skills not listed in the base rules. I'm pretty flexible, so don't be afraid to ask about learning unlisted skills.
Here's an example of how some of your prologue MIGHT look:
Player 1 post:
"Generico, being promised enough food to feed himself and the rest of the party for the day, toils away at the blacksmith's shop for 8 hours. He's interested in becoming stronger, so he's really going to push himself with the work and actively trying to learn the smith's craft by watching him carefully. Let's assume Generico's STR is 11, and his player is considering making him a fighter, so he wants to build Generico up. Because of the type of labour he'd be doing, though, the work will also build up his CON of 13 as well. He only gets to roll once a day, but he can build multiple skills or ability scores at once. In this case, because Generico has declared an intention to learn how to smith, he can also try to add a success to learning smithing.
3 DC: 11. (str) 19 DC: 13 (con) 20 DC:13 (skill)
DM post:
I would respond after this post with whether Generico feels like he got stronger or something happened at work that broke his momentum. I would also use this time to mention if anything of interest happened during his work day. In this case, we'll say his work was uneventful, but due to pushing himself, Generico is tired with lvl 1 exhaustion.
Player 1 post:
"After work, Generico returns to the party with a satchel full of hot food. He happily shares it with the rest of the group. "Eat up, friends. Dinner is on me!" he says. He's covered in soot, stinks like an onion patch, but he finds fulfillment in hard physical labour."
Player 2 post:
"Soanso comments on Generico's appearance but mostly his odour and mentions that during he was paid an extra few silver for his day's work. He's willing to give Generico a couple coins so he can go to a bath house and defilthify his grody, grody body for all their sakes."
Player 1 post:
"Generico says something about Soanso's mother, but accepts the silver anyway, proposing that the group all head to the bath house so that they can at least not smell like homeless refugees, despite that being exactly what they are."
Player 2, 3, 4 post:
Characters unanimously agree and bathhouse hijinks ensue.
DM post:
"Despite the shenanigans the group got into, the hot water is rejuvenating and Generico can feel his sore muscles relax, removing his exhaustion. After a good meal and a hot bath, Generico is in great condition and feels like he can push himself again tomorrow."
Because your characters will be likely engaging in mundane activities, there's no reason to go into detail about what happens at work. Sometimes nothing will happen, sometimes they'll get an opportunity to change the party's situation. The meat of the RP in the prologue will mostly happen in the party's downtime, where they discuss how to spend whatever money they earn, whether they should attempt to move to a different part of the city, or even risk some time outside the gates after overhearing that a caravan went missing not far from the city. The prologue is meant to be as malleable as possible.
Point is, because your characters will have nothing but the rags on their back and no skills to speak of, they will need each other to get by. Survival will be a team effort at first, and as their situation improves, they'll mature into adventurers with a bond to one another. Take advantage of the prologue time to get your characters involved with the people of the city and earn opportunities to equip your characters with skills and items, because unlike the standard backgrounds, there is no prerequisite or limit of skill or tool proficiencies you can have before you fully mature into adventurers because you, as a player, put in the effort to make your character different from other adventurers.
Put simply, thoughtful RP will be rewarded, and I will be watching the RP carefully for signs of RP drag. In general, the prologue will end after the party is in a good enough position and have grown enough as characters to warrant being full fledged level 1 characters. Once they're level 1, we'll do an appropriate time skip so that the characters have all fully matured and gain skills and ability score bonuses only by leveling as per usual.
I hope this answers all questions about the prologue aspect of the RP. If you're still interested, hit me up with a direct message or roll your 2 sets of ability scores so everyone can see them along with your character name and race. We'll build your character sheet as we go.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Good morning. I would be interested in this experience. The idea of focusing on the RP aspect sounds fantastic. My though thought would be to play a monk of some sort, either a genasi or shandar-kai. But the class could change depending on what we end up role playing. I'm pretty flexible in regards to class and usually have lots of ideas for characters
Raised in a wealthy home, Kallista was the sore spot in her family's 'perfect' image. They were a fine, upstanding family, and to them being born was a scar that they would never live down. So in order to save their reputation they hid her away and pretended she didnt exsist outside their home.
When she finally ran away, Kallista was sure that her parents were happy deep down that they could just ignore her from now on. So she never looked, though she could never hate her parents. She blamed herself for the pain she brought on them.
I plan on playing Kallista as if her infernal heritage hasn't quite manifested yet, because I think that sounds fun ((and im not really sure which one i want XD))
I took my second set:
Name: Kallista
Race: Varient Tiefling (still deciding on the variant)
Game focus: Roleplay. Character driven interactions will be the focus, so players only interested in combat and looting will likely want to look elsewhere.
Player experience: Largely meant for newer players or anyone more interested in roleplay without too much emphasis on following rules to the letter. No murder hobos seeking to gain the system.
Combat level: Depends on players.
Peril level: Homebrew rules are in effect. This adventure's primary focus is to develop characters and for players to get invested in their new level 1's, but there's no point to that if you can be simply one-shotted into oblivion from a single bad roll even when tactics are sound. Until level 3, players cannot be outright killed by a critical strike and cruel dice.
Levelling type: Hybrid. You gain XP only when the DM tells you. Defeating random minions earns no XP, even when combat gets desperate. Surviving story-driven challenges, defeating unique enemies, and accomplishing goals does, however. Not quite XP, not quite milestone. Mix of both.
Homebrew rules: Combat
Homebrew rules: Economy
Homebrew rules: Character generation
This is where things get VERY experimental. You can roll your stats as per normal (Roll 2 sets of stats, choose the set that you like better.) and build a basic idea of your character's personality. Then choose your race, but do NOT choose your class. You will be playing an immature version of your character, roughly 16 years old, according to the age of your race, with some growing left to do.
You will earn your class through RP in a prologue section of the adventure, by participating in activities that give you class points. Once you reach 20 class points (as determined by the DM) you have officially earned enough to choose a particular class. You do NOT need to choose a class as soon as you reach 20 points, however. You can build class points for other classes to give yourself options. Once you have chosen your class, you are officially level 1.
While you are 'maturing' your character, performing activities may give you additional bonuses to your ability scores; choosing to help out on a farm for hard labour, for instance, may grant you an addition to strength or constitution, depending on how well you perform. In order to increase your ability score by RP, you will need to roll a DC over your current ability score 3 times (NOT consecutively). For instance, if your character is labouring for a day and you have 12 STR, you'd need to roll a DC of 13 or better. You may only roll once an in-character day, so your character will need to labour for at LEAST 3 days to gain a permanent +1 to their STR.
Bear in mind that when you choose to have your character spend a day performing an activity, they must be in good condition; meaning not hungry, exhausted, sick, or injured. They must be in peak physical shape to give it their best effort AND have the appropriate amount of supplies to complete the activity. A character who spends a day training their archery in the woods, for instance, needs not only a full quiver of arrows, but also food and water for breaks, appropriate clothes for the weather, and targets.
The 'prologue' section of the adventure will last until everyone in the party has chosen a class and reaches level 1 or if the RP begins to drag, at which point, you'll have to choose whatever class your ability scores will allow.
Adventure Introduction:
Aden, a land torn asunder by ancient battles between beings of terrible power. Mountains razed, valleys flooded and then filled, forests twisted into alien landscapes only to be reshaped again and again. When the wars of these titans finally ended, they seeded the land with the spark of life and mysterious energies that would eventually be known as magic. From the ruins emerged new creatures who would inherit a world sculpted by conflict, blessed with intelligence and a diversity of forms. These survivors would eventually create civilizations together, using their diversity to thrive in a hostile world, for they would not be the only creatures born from the ashes of conflict. The wilds, once home to simple, more mundane creatures too insignificant to be noticed by the old titans are now overrun with weird and savage life that have no wish to share the world.
The people of Aden have managed to survive by banding together and eventually built walled cities to protect them from the hostility of the wilds and the creatures that seem drawn to them, as if the very existence of civilization is somehow offensive. Driven by the common goal of survival, the people of Aden progressed quickly, mastering the energies of magic and the natural sciences to slowly secure and expand more territory into the wilds, though the cities remain largely isolated and cut off from one another by a lack of safe travel. Trade between the walled cities is conducted through massive convoys for security, though even with these measures, sometimes the convoys simply disappear.
As defense became more important, the people of Aden discovered the power of gunpowder, though the fine flintlock rifles crafted by the dwarves are reserved for city guards and militia only, too rare and too difficult to make to be in the hands of civilians, who are permitted to wear swords or other small armaments inside the city walls. Though the power of magic touches the life of the everyday citizen of the cities, mastery of magic is very uncommon and those who practice it often hold positions of prestige. Magicians have been used to engineer various infrastructures that makes Aden's hostile world more tolerable. Clean, running water is not uncommon, streets are illuminated at night, and watch towers sport light houses to fend off night raids.
Those who studied the wilds began to discover creatures that could be domesticated, including massive, manta-ray like creatures that seemed to somehow swim peacefully through the air. These creatures, affectionately known as kites, proved not only docile but also intelligent, preferring to live in the relative safety of the cities than live wild and were simple to train. A single kite could carry three or four human-sized passengers and their luggage without issue, and soon trade caravans began taking to the skies, at least those whose goods could be carried. Trade increased, but so did differences in ideologies. Some of the walled cities maintained their security through brutal military traditions while others outright refused to trade, preferring a xenophobic, isolationist existence.
One city state, called Skell, had a sudden swell of power. Some say its most powerful magicians and researchers discovered an ancient power or developed magics capable of gaining control of the savage creatures roaming the wilds and used them as canon fodder. Whatever the cause, the Skell embarked on a campaign to swallow up its neighbors under a brutal regime. This crisis has caught most of the other city-states off guard and tensions are high, especially when the savage wilds come clawing at the walls; it's unclear whether the creatures are defending their territory or driven to attack by Skellin influence.
Can the attacks be stopped? What is the motivation for this sudden expansionism? Is survival enough or is there a way to live in the wilds without walls? This is where the adventure begins. The player characters are going to start out as homeless refugees after escaping from a Skell prisoner caravan. They will have to find, steal, or work for food every day until they manage to pull themselves up enough to be self-reliant. The player characters will have no one but each other initially and will need to work together to stave off starvation, defend each other from lowlife gangs, and eventually, afford the equipment of an adventurer. Committing crimes is very risky, as punishments tend to be severe and may even include being exiled from the city, which would be all but a death sentence.
Major Themes:
Survival to start, exploration, and possibly rebellion against a corrupt power in a post-medieval setting. Not quite industrial revolution, but with more modern conveniences made possible by the use of magic.
DM's recommendations:
Definitely play heroic, good characters. Evil characters won't have much to do in this. What the prologue is for is to get the players to get a feel for their character and for the party at large, to get them to form bonds that go beyond class synergy. Whatever the party makeup, the adventure should still be playable even if it's not 'optimized'.
If you made it this far:
Holy crap, you probably want to join! Awesome! You can reply with a little blurb about the kind of character you'd like to play (You can fully generate your character later) so you can see who else is interested and do some networking (If this campaign even fills up.).
DM, professional illustrator and comic artist, suffering from severe spinal stenosis, married, middle aged, and nerdy.
I'd be interested... except for the character creation stuff. For starters, I like having control of my character's backstory. Being forced into a situation to then build a backstory from as you do what seem to be common, boring tasks from your description from it, does not appeal to me in the slightest. Second, I like having control of my character. Players should be free to play the class they want to play, and all the prologue bit will be is a player trying to do all the tasks that will give them the points for the class they want, which is just not realistic. That's why there's a difference between background and class. Not all acolytes becomes clerics, but this system would make it so. Finally, this is PbP. What would take one session irl can take weeks or even months. By the time we actually get to play the game we'll all be too senile to type.
The world is really cool, the adventure premise is really cool, but the method of character building you've selected just does not work for me, least of all in PbP.
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Hmm, I don't think I explained the prologue character creation part very well then because how you describe it is not how I intended it to work at all. Quite the opposite. The point is to have exacting control of your backstory by actively playing it out rather than simply have your character tell their story in a monologue. Perhaps I should have given an example.
DM, professional illustrator and comic artist, suffering from severe spinal stenosis, married, middle aged, and nerdy.
Perhaps that might be best. Still, I don’t see a situation where one’s backstory is subject to change based on rolls and random chance as being a very fun one.
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
I am also interested to join but want to know if all classes are available. For example you can’t really practice to become a sorcerer.
My ideas is a Half-Elven sorcerer who is the son of a human and a red dragon polymorphed as an elf but I would be happy to change of the prologue calls for it.
At first, I thought 'Ah, this must be boring.' Because I kinda like the combat side. Now, I think it'll be very cool! Especially the prologue part, I really like the idea.
Anyway, I have a question: Since we're not starting with an experienced character, can I play a V. Human but not choose my feat yet, rather taking it later? Think of it as leaving the character's training in something for later, which is kinda like the class choice.
Either way, I'll probably play a human. Variant if the above is allowed and normal if not.
I'm thinking towards a rogue, though I am fully open to changing class depending on how the prologue goes. That means I will probably be a dextrous character, at least at the very start.
Also, do we choose a background at the start or is it also something we get from the prologue?
Varielky
This sounds really interesting, and I'd be up for it. When are you planning on starting, and roughly what times?
I think I have a perfect character for this sort of experimental play, but PrimalBlade took the concept first! XD
My character is also a half-elf looking to be a well, really good (swordsman) fighter, son of an Eladrin and a Changeling (looking like another Eladrin). His changeling powers don't really manifest very well, though.
Seeing as that's really similar........I have another character character concept if that would be better to create more diversity. My other character is a female half-elf (heavily leaning bard) that is mute, but is a budding telepath.
I am interested in this and would like to play a dwarf. I'm usually very flexible in the class I play for any campaign so completely don't mind rolling out to find what I play.
Gulgus Stormbrew - Dwarf, Druid (5), Circle of the Shepherd - Dreams Into Journey
This sounds fun I would like to play as a goliath and I don't care about classes the rp is what I'm looking for and what I have read to me sounds like it would really work
Ability scores: 18 12 10 17 17 16
Ability scores: 13 12 16 11 17 11 this one I'm a goliath named Bretmyl
Danys Yarjerit
Interested. My character is a High Elf. Named Hondo Moonriver.
All races and classes are available. In the case of sorcerers, due to charisma being your chief stat, I can see several avenues you could use to give you class points towards sorcerer; perhaps your character manages to befriend someone in the city who 'senses something within you', or perhaps during a sudden emotional crisis, such as an ally being in mortal danger or even the loss of one, your latent abilities awaken and then your character is noticed by someone in the magician's guild where they're taught how to control their abilities.
Charisma is your most important ability score, so be social, and who knows what might happen.
DM, professional illustrator and comic artist, suffering from severe spinal stenosis, married, middle aged, and nerdy.
Ability scores: 14 10 13 15 16 16
Ability scores: 12 12 15 16 11 12
Raised in a wealthy home, Kallista was the sore spot in her family's 'perfect' image. They were a fine, upstanding family, and to them being born was a scar that they would never live down. So in order to save their reputation they hid her away and pretended she didnt exsist outside their home.
When she finally ran away, Kallista was sure that her parents were happy deep down that they could just ignore her from now on. So she never looked, though she could never hate her parents. She blamed herself for the pain she brought on them.
I plan on playing Kallista as if her infernal heritage hasn't quite manifested yet, because I think that sounds fun ((and im not really sure which one i want XD))
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
Do you need more info or is this enough?
This does sound interesting and I'd be up for it. I'm thinking of a halfling rogue or maybe I'll finally try that warlock, an elven warlock. From the description of your world, it would seem ripe for warlocks and I've never played one before. I can even see how my character starts going to a particular part of the city, perhaps a park or maybe one of the poor sections, because when he's there he feels peace and security, or maybe he feels strong. Plenty of RP possibilities to earn class points that way.
How do we apply?
Set 1: Ability scores: 15 12 11 13 10 14Set 2: Ability scores: 16 12 14 14 16 15
Tandor the White, Human Life Cleric
I was thinking of playing a Satyr named Lazlo (trying to think of a suitable last name)- I rolled 10,13,12,9,11,14 and 16,14,13,13,12,8 for stats (I'll take the second set). I realized that I couldn't share the link to the character on beyond bc there is no class/background chosen.
Fleabag Fleabane -Tabaxi Ranger | Lenny Coggins- Halfling Barbarian | Sid Shatterbuckle- Dwarf Fighter/Rogue| Lazlo - Satyr Bard in Training
Looks very interesting! I actually find the idea of having like a Rocky Montage where we build our characters using RP to be pretty interesting. I'll throw my hat in the ring.
Name: Leon Dinoran
Race: Variant Human
Preferred Class: Fighter
Leon's come from a long line of warriors and generals- his blood's infused with martial vigor. Yet, his family's recently come on hard times, but Leon hopes to live up to the standard of his ancestors. He's got a chip on his shoulder and something to prove, but the idealistic youth is truly soft at heart no matter how tough he pretends to be.
Ability scores: 13 6 12 12 10 15
Ability scores: 16 15 11 11 14 17
DMing:
Solo Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Playing:
Baral- Coliseum of Conquest, Lazarus Vernon- Tale of Mercenaries; Bernard Lionsbane- Solo Curse of Strahd
Okay, it's become clear that I need to better explain how the prologue will work. I'll see if I can give an example that might make it clearer what the intention is.
I also forgot to add the homebrew rule for learning a skill and making ability score increases in the prologue.
Homebrew rule: Learning a skill and gaining ability score increases
Because your character will be untrained, they will have to earn their starting skills through practice, which they can do if they're in good condition and have the supplies, once a day. Learning a new skill is not easy, so you'll need to make a DC of 13 to succeed, and you'll need 3 successes (not consecutive) to gain a skill OR make 3 (non-consecutive) successful DC checks with disadvantage if your skill can be practiced on another living thing, which CAN be attempted more than once a day.
The reason for this? Practicing on another living thing will have consequences. Learning to pickpocket, for instance, would be incredibly risky. A failure means you could be chased by town guards whom you will have no chance of fighting and possibly even kicked out of the city, but if you're feeling lucky, it's an option.
The goal of the prologue part is to give you full control over your background. I thought it might be interesting where rather than your characters meeting up under circumstance and then slowly revealing their back story through monologues, you actively build your backstory through play. This may result in your character having more or less starting gear or 'background effects' than those who start with a background, but that's the point, you are to be rewarded for RPing and getting invested in your character, not aimless grinding.
RPing out your backstory also gives you the opportunity to learn homebrew skills not listed in the base rules. I'm pretty flexible, so don't be afraid to ask about learning unlisted skills.
Here's an example of how some of your prologue MIGHT look:
Player 1 post:
"Generico, being promised enough food to feed himself and the rest of the party for the day, toils away at the blacksmith's shop for 8 hours. He's interested in becoming stronger, so he's really going to push himself with the work and actively trying to learn the smith's craft by watching him carefully. Let's assume Generico's STR is 11, and his player is considering making him a fighter, so he wants to build Generico up. Because of the type of labour he'd be doing, though, the work will also build up his CON of 13 as well. He only gets to roll once a day, but he can build multiple skills or ability scores at once. In this case, because Generico has declared an intention to learn how to smith, he can also try to add a success to learning smithing.
3 DC: 11. (str) 19 DC: 13 (con) 20 DC:13 (skill)
DM post:
I would respond after this post with whether Generico feels like he got stronger or something happened at work that broke his momentum. I would also use this time to mention if anything of interest happened during his work day. In this case, we'll say his work was uneventful, but due to pushing himself, Generico is tired with lvl 1 exhaustion.
Player 1 post:
"After work, Generico returns to the party with a satchel full of hot food. He happily shares it with the rest of the group. "Eat up, friends. Dinner is on me!" he says. He's covered in soot, stinks like an onion patch, but he finds fulfillment in hard physical labour."
Player 2 post:
"Soanso comments on Generico's appearance but mostly his odour and mentions that during he was paid an extra few silver for his day's work. He's willing to give Generico a couple coins so he can go to a bath house and defilthify his grody, grody body for all their sakes."
Player 1 post:
"Generico says something about Soanso's mother, but accepts the silver anyway, proposing that the group all head to the bath house so that they can at least not smell like homeless refugees, despite that being exactly what they are."
Player 2, 3, 4 post:
Characters unanimously agree and bathhouse hijinks ensue.
DM post:
"Despite the shenanigans the group got into, the hot water is rejuvenating and Generico can feel his sore muscles relax, removing his exhaustion. After a good meal and a hot bath, Generico is in great condition and feels like he can push himself again tomorrow."
Because your characters will be likely engaging in mundane activities, there's no reason to go into detail about what happens at work. Sometimes nothing will happen, sometimes they'll get an opportunity to change the party's situation. The meat of the RP in the prologue will mostly happen in the party's downtime, where they discuss how to spend whatever money they earn, whether they should attempt to move to a different part of the city, or even risk some time outside the gates after overhearing that a caravan went missing not far from the city. The prologue is meant to be as malleable as possible.
Point is, because your characters will have nothing but the rags on their back and no skills to speak of, they will need each other to get by. Survival will be a team effort at first, and as their situation improves, they'll mature into adventurers with a bond to one another. Take advantage of the prologue time to get your characters involved with the people of the city and earn opportunities to equip your characters with skills and items, because unlike the standard backgrounds, there is no prerequisite or limit of skill or tool proficiencies you can have before you fully mature into adventurers because you, as a player, put in the effort to make your character different from other adventurers.
Put simply, thoughtful RP will be rewarded, and I will be watching the RP carefully for signs of RP drag. In general, the prologue will end after the party is in a good enough position and have grown enough as characters to warrant being full fledged level 1 characters. Once they're level 1, we'll do an appropriate time skip so that the characters have all fully matured and gain skills and ability score bonuses only by leveling as per usual.
I hope this answers all questions about the prologue aspect of the RP. If you're still interested, hit me up with a direct message or roll your 2 sets of ability scores so everyone can see them along with your character name and race. We'll build your character sheet as we go.
DM, professional illustrator and comic artist, suffering from severe spinal stenosis, married, middle aged, and nerdy.
Okay. I forgot the stats. Here you go.
Ability scores: 11 12 9 11 14 13
Ability scores: 9 15 16 13 18 15 (I’ll take this one)
Name: Hondo Moonriver
Race: High Elf.
Good morning. I would be interested in this experience. The idea of focusing on the RP aspect sounds fantastic. My though thought would be to play a monk of some sort, either a genasi or shandar-kai. But the class could change depending on what we end up role playing. I'm pretty flexible in regards to class and usually have lots of ideas for characters
Going with Earth Genasi.
Name: Zed
First set: Ability scores: 13 11 14 8 13 14
Second set: Ability scores: 13 9 11 8 9 10
I chose the second set.
I took my second set:
Name: Kallista
Race: Varient Tiefling (still deciding on the variant)
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard