I'm setting up an adventure set in a post-apocalyptic, high-magic dystopia. The campaign takes place after a event known as The Sundering shattered reality itself. The remnants of civilisation now cling to survival within fortified city-states. Beyond their walls, the world is unstable—haunted by forgotten entities, twisted ruins, and broken laws of nature.
We'll begin in The Gilded Reach, a recently “resettled” frontier outpost with a history no one seems willing to talk about. As reality buckles and corporate interests tighten their grip, players will navigate factional tensions, uncover buried truths, and try to survive in a land where unregulated magic draws the attention of things best left undisturbed. Society is rebuilding—but not everything that returns should have.
Player Info:
I'm looking for Level 1 characters to begin. Your character can have any reason for being assigned to this new settlement—whether by contract, exile, religious conviction, or opportunity.
Play-by-post format on Discord.
Posting pace: Casual and life-aware; once a day or every other day is fine.
Stat generation: We'll be rolling for stats.
Party size: 4 players.
A Note on Magic Users:
In this setting, the source of your magic matters. Magic drawn from unknown origins (like sorcerers, warlocks, or unlicensed druids) is seen by some factions as unstable—or outright dangerous. Wizards, artificers, and rune-based casters are viewed as more “legitimate” because their power is structured, documented, and regulated. Expect potential narrative consequences for playing a “wild” magic user—it won’t prevent you, but it will shape how factions respond to you.
To give a bit more information: for character backgrounds
Your characters, whether forced, contracted, or volunteering, are among the first settlers sent to establish a new frontier settlement. Their mission is to assist in its growth and survival, facing dangers from within and without.
Why is the Party Here?
Indentured Workers or Exiles – The characters were sent here as part of a work contract, either to pay off debts or as a form of exile. They must prove their worth or risk being left behind as expendable labor.
Corporate Recruits – Hired by a mega-corporation to oversee and establish operations, the party members have specialties (security, logistics, magic stabilization) that make them valuable assets.
Frontier Dreamers – Seeking freedom from oppressive city-states, the characters joined this expedition in the hopes of making a better life.
Criminals on the Run – Some are fugitives, using the wilderness as a means of escape, assuming they can survive long enough to build new identities.
Scholars & Researchers – The ruins surrounding Gilded Reach hold ancient secrets, drawing inquisitive minds who suspect this settlement is built upon something much older and stranger.
Religious Pilgrims – Members of a faith believing the frontier holds divine significance, they seek lost relics, spiritual enlightenment, or the remains of a forgotten god.
War Veterans & Mercenaries – Hired blades, fresh off the last war, sent to carve out security or enforce a faction’s interests in the new land.
Lost Lineage – A character has reason to believe they have ancestral ties to the previous lost settlers and seeks the truth about what happened to their family.
Inquisitorial Informants – Sent by an order that believes something wrong lurks in the wilderness, characters may have secret objectives regarding hidden entities, rogue spells.
Saboteurs & Rebels – Some characters are not here to settle but to disrupt. They may be affiliated with a faction that believes the corporations should not expand, and they intend to make sure the settlement collapses from within.
My idea is a human wizard with runic tattoos. He would use the runes to channel and control the flow of the chaotic flow of magic happening in the world right now. My idea for his tattoos and his personality is based off Haplo, from the Deathgate Cycle by Weis and Hickman.
For those creating characters, the below are things that would be known to your characters, the Gilded Reach is pretty much on the edge of the map.
City-States
The remaining mortals of the shattered world exist in heavily fortified city-states, strongholds, clinging to survival amidst raging aetheric storms and cosmic horrors. These cities are built upon the last bastions of stability, utilizing arcane technology and ancient wards to keep the chaotic world at bay.
City-States & Strongholds – Massive bastions of civilization, ruled by councils of wizards, powerful merchant-kings, or ancient bloodlines. They hoard knowledge, magic, and technology to ensure their survival.
Fortresses & Monasteries – Remote, isolated sanctuaries that act as safe havens and research facilities, where scholars, monks, and arcane engineers study the nature of reality.
Fleets, Harbors & Skyports – Fleets, floating harbors, and skyborne trade hubs serve as essential lifelines between isolated civilizations.
The Frontier Beyond the Walls
For centuries, mortals remained trapped within their fortified cities, fearing the unstable lands beyond. However, a new age of expansion and reclamation has begun.
Villages & Towns – Small settlements have begun to emerge beyond the protective walls, seeking to reclaim ruins, resources, and lost magic.
Wandering Settlers & Survivalists – These frontier folk face constant threats from shifting geography, aberrant monsters.
Treacherous Exploration – Living outside the cities is akin to the early frontier expansions of history, where settlers brave the unknown, form trade routes, and carve out an existence in an unpredictable world.
A Dystopian, Survival-Based Society
Mistrust & Isolationism – Many city-states are wary of each other, reluctant to trade knowledge or resources, fearing sabotage or magical disasters.
Technological Inequality – Those within the cities enjoy stability, protection, and advanced magitech, while frontier settlers must rely on grit, luck, and scavenged magic.
Survival Over War – While conflicts and skirmishes occur, full-scale war is rare—resources are too precious to waste on destruction.
The Scarcity of Resources
While agriculture and animal husbandry survived the Shattering, they became far more spread out and difficult to maintain. The remaining civilizations rely on heavy industry, protective reality stabilization, and fortified food production zones to ensure survival.
Food production is a massive industry, requiring magic, technology, and manpower to cultivate stable areas.
Wars have been fought over food supply routes, farmlands, and rare natural resources, with entire city-states clashing over control of vital sustenance.
Hunting and foraging in the wildlands remains dangerous but necessary—some regions can barely sustain themselves and must send expeditions beyond the safe zones.
Resource wars have erupted over everything from wood, food, mining materials, stone, and gems, making exploration and trade high-risk but high-reward ventures.
The Economy of Survival
New resource discoveries bring massive wealth and power—contracts for defending supply chains, operating transports, and providing labor are some of the most lucrative opportunities.
Some city-states have excess resources and live in relative comfort, while others barely scrape by, relying on dangerous expeditions.
Mercenary companies, guilds, and scavenger groups thrive on protecting trade routes, maintaining infrastructure, and securing hard-to-reach resource veins.
Ok thinking initially a thief. Will build on that concept at we grow in levels
Born amidst the shattered remnants of a once-great subterranean Drow city, Virelith "Vire" Duskwalker emerged into a world forever altered by The Sundering. Orphaned at a young age, Vire survived by navigating the treacherous underbelly of the shattered city-states, honing skills in stealth, lockpicking, and survival.
Drawn by whispers of opportunity and the promise of a fresh start, Vire accepted a contract to aid in the resettlement of The Gilded Reach. Officially, he's there to assist with reconnaissance and security. Unofficially, he's seeking artifacts of the old world, hoping to uncover secrets that could grant power or profit.
Vire is wary of authority and trusts few, but he's driven by a desire to carve out a place for himself in this fractured world. His Drow heritage and unregulated magical abilities make him a subject of suspicion, but his skills are undeniable.
Little more on Ed. He's monastery born, didn't shape into much of an individual contributor, so they sent him out to 'Evangelize' spreading the word of peace and community. He's not much to look at, and not good at a lot, but he's got heart and cheer, which is rare in the setting
I submit Jade Clover, a young tabaxi hunter from a small tribe that has survived, even they don't know how, huddled the confines of a ruined town. A hunter for his clan, learning how to scavenge and hunt to sustain his close knit family. Pickings are slim, and they cannot survive much longer. He has joined the expedition against the will of his clan elders to try and find another way to keep his clan alive.
I'm setting up an adventure set in a post-apocalyptic, high-magic dystopia. The campaign takes place after a event known as The Sundering shattered reality itself. The remnants of civilisation now cling to survival within fortified city-states. Beyond their walls, the world is unstable—haunted by forgotten entities, twisted ruins, and broken laws of nature.
We'll begin in The Gilded Reach, a recently “resettled” frontier outpost with a history no one seems willing to talk about. As reality buckles and corporate interests tighten their grip, players will navigate factional tensions, uncover buried truths, and try to survive in a land where unregulated magic draws the attention of things best left undisturbed. Society is rebuilding—but not everything that returns should have.
Player Info:
I'm looking for Level 1 characters to begin. Your character can have any reason for being assigned to this new settlement—whether by contract, exile, religious conviction, or opportunity.
Play-by-post format on Discord.
Posting pace: Casual and life-aware; once a day or every other day is fine.
Stat generation: We'll be rolling for stats.
Party size: 4 players.
A Note on Magic Users:
In this setting, the source of your magic matters. Magic drawn from unknown origins (like sorcerers, warlocks, or unlicensed druids) is seen by some factions as unstable—or outright dangerous. Wizards, artificers, and rune-based casters are viewed as more “legitimate” because their power is structured, documented, and regulated. Expect potential narrative consequences for playing a “wild” magic user—it won’t prevent you, but it will shape how factions respond to you.
Question: Do characters have to be limited to D&D beyond? (Are you using Avrae or something like it?)
I do normally use Avrae as well, its handy with discord.
To give a bit more information: for character backgrounds
Your characters, whether forced, contracted, or volunteering, are among the first settlers sent to establish a new frontier settlement. Their mission is to assist in its growth and survival, facing dangers from within and without.
Why is the Party Here?
This looks great! I'd like to be a part of it. Sent a pm
Lets see what the dice say
14, 17, 12, 13, 11, 15
Oh great Dice Gods, please be kind:
Ability scores: 15 14 16 15 10 9
My idea is a human wizard with runic tattoos. He would use the runes to channel and control the flow of the chaotic flow of magic happening in the world right now. My idea for his tattoos and his personality is based off Haplo, from the Deathgate Cycle by Weis and Hickman.
For those creating characters, the below are things that would be known to your characters, the Gilded Reach is pretty much on the edge of the map.
City-States
The remaining mortals of the shattered world exist in heavily fortified city-states, strongholds, clinging to survival amidst raging aetheric storms and cosmic horrors. These cities are built upon the last bastions of stability, utilizing arcane technology and ancient wards to keep the chaotic world at bay.
The Frontier Beyond the Walls
For centuries, mortals remained trapped within their fortified cities, fearing the unstable lands beyond. However, a new age of expansion and reclamation has begun.
A Dystopian, Survival-Based Society
The Scarcity of Resources
While agriculture and animal husbandry survived the Shattering, they became far more spread out and difficult to maintain. The remaining civilizations rely on heavy industry, protective reality stabilization, and fortified food production zones to ensure survival.
The Economy of Survival
Holding spot for char
Born amidst the shattered remnants of a once-great subterranean Drow city, Virelith "Vire" Duskwalker emerged into a world forever altered by The Sundering. Orphaned at a young age, Vire survived by navigating the treacherous underbelly of the shattered city-states, honing skills in stealth, lockpicking, and survival.
Drawn by whispers of opportunity and the promise of a fresh start, Vire accepted a contract to aid in the resettlement of The Gilded Reach. Officially, he's there to assist with reconnaissance and security. Unofficially, he's seeking artifacts of the old world, hoping to uncover secrets that could grant power or profit.
Vire is wary of authority and trusts few, but he's driven by a desire to carve out a place for himself in this fractured world. His Drow heritage and unregulated magical abilities make him a subject of suspicion, but his skills are undeniable.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/146605341
8, 10, 12, 13, 12, 16
Oh right, roll for stats
Ability scores: 14 9 10 10 7 10
Ooooo a challenge
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/146608593/NAPTH9
Meet Ed Brown. He's... Along for the ride
Little more on Ed. He's monastery born, didn't shape into much of an individual contributor, so they sent him out to 'Evangelize' spreading the word of peace and community. He's not much to look at, and not good at a lot, but he's got heart and cheer, which is rare in the setting
Would love to play, DM sent
Ability scores: 13 10 12 16 12 15
I submit Jade Clover, a young tabaxi hunter from a small tribe that has survived, even they don't know how, huddled the confines of a ruined town. A hunter for his clan, learning how to scavenge and hunt to sustain his close knit family. Pickings are slim, and they cannot survive much longer. He has joined the expedition against the will of his clan elders to try and find another way to keep his clan alive.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/146620128/fMVGZg
Here is Haplo's sheet.
www.dndbeyond.com/characters/146631607/Zd6UqF
If you need/want more info please let me know.
**** it, I'm in. Props to the DM for a pretty thorough outline of the setting, It's always appreciated.
Ability scores: 14 15 15 12 13 14