The forest road winds through the trees, swallowed by fog and shadow. The air grows colder with every step, the sun fading behind a veil of gray until even the light seems lost.

The world is unnervingly still. No birds sing. No insects hum. Only the slow creak of branches above and the damp crunch of earth beneath your boots mark the passage of time.

Then — a chill wind rises. The mist thickens, curling around you like ghostly fingers. It carries with it the faint scent of decay and distant rain. Shapes shift within the fog — half-glimpsed forms that vanish when you stare too long.

As the haze parts for a heartbeat, you see massive iron gates looming from the mist. Their bars are black with rust, adorned with leering gargoyles whose stone faces drip with condensation like tears.

The gates stand slightly ajar, a cold breeze whispering through the gap.

Carved into the stone arch above, weathered letters read:

“Welcome to Barovia.”

Behind you, the fog rolls in thick and fast, erasing the road you came from. The forest fades into a gray void.

The gates groan open of their own accord — a sound like a dying breath.

Beyond them lies a narrow mountain pass, and far ahead, through the swirling mist, a single, flickering lantern burns — your only light in a land where even dawn fears to tread.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/campaigns/join/7141752165324741

• Use Point Buy or Standard Array for Ability Scores.
• Choose a Race & a Class from the following Sources, The 2014 D&D PHB, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, Van Richten's Guise to Ravenloft.
• All Characters begin play at 4th level.
• Fill out your Character Sheet.
• Each Character gets max starting gold +100.
• Roll for Hit Points. (You can take max at first.)
• Submit a short (1-2 paragraphs) Backstory (Optional
• Feats are optional.

Remember to create a Character that fits a gothic horror setting.

I will no longer accept new players as of November 1st, 2025.

 I think you need a little more information.

What material will be accepted?

How to generate stats?

What level are you starting at?

Are backstories required?

I see the notes in the campaign page. I added a placeholder for now but will update my character and send you the details tonight.

====UPDATE====

Nathaniel Holloway - lvl 4 Variant Human - Ranger Gloom Stalker

Backstory:
Nathaniel Holloway grew up on the streets, surviving by stealing and spying for whoever would pay. He learned to move unseen, gather secrets, and disappear before anyone noticed. After a job went bad and his crew was killed, Nathaniel went on the run, heading into the woods to escape the bounty on his head. The deeper he went, the thicker the fog became until the road behind him vanished. When he came upon the iron gates marked “Welcome to Barovia,” he thought he’d found another border to slip across. But as the gates creaked open and the mist closed in, he realized he wasn’t escaping anything—he was walking into a prison he didn’t yet understand.

Definitely interested. Will join with a place holder and build from there. 

I'm interested. Will make a place holder character.

Nevermind. I use 2024. That's the PHB I have. You should really put your requirements in the thread so people know if they want to join.

Posting notes from campaign here for reference for others:

• Use Point Buy or Standard Array for Ability Scores.
• Choose a Race & a Class from the following Sources, The 2014 D&D PHB, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, Van Richten's Guise to Ravenloft.
• All Characters begin play at 4th level.
• Fill out your Character Sheet.
• Each Character gets max starting gold +100.
• Roll for Hit Points. (This includes 1st.)
• Submit a short (1-2 paragraphs) Backstory (Optional
• Feats are optional.

Remember to create a Character that fits a gothic horror setting.

Players are allowed to use the following sourcebooks, The PHB (2014), Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, and Tasha's Cauldron of Everything.

Stats are generated using Point Buy or Standard Array. Starting level is 4th. Please keep your back story to two paragraphs max.

@Larren, you want us to roll for hit points, including lvl 1 instead of taking max for lvl 1?

How many posts/week are you looking for? Not sure I can commit, since I can't be on weekends/at times have extended breaks with sporadic/no posting.

I plan to post on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and maybe Saturdays if the demand is there.

You can take the max for level 1 or roll them. it's up to you.

Quote from Larren12 >>

I plan to post on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and maybe Saturdays if the demand is there.

 

K! I’ll draft up a character tomorrow.

I posted a character directly into the game via the invite. I would be very excited to play this campaign.

Thanks for pointing that out.  I went and added the requirements to the thread. Also, if you're not going to play, please remove your character.

Vitals: Rau-negru, Elf (Drow), Wizard (4/Necromancy), Lawful Evil

The rumors would invariably start about one month after Rau-negru arrived in a new village. Rumors about mysterious sights and sounds in the middle of the night. Odd explanations about why maidens and mothers would suddenly act strange around the handsome newcomer, while the men folk would eventually confess to their closest friends that they felt threatened by him. Unsatisfactory speculation about why animals would scatter from his footsteps on those rare occasions he ventured forth during the day. Once those rumors started, he knew he had about one more month to research necromancy before the townsfolk would turn against him and he would need to find a new laboratory. This viscous cycle continued for years until one day he emerged from the mists at the gates of Barovia, a place that he had learned about during his dark studies. And he did something Rau-negru seldom did, which is to smile. 

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/154869646/JzdhVq 

Here's Victoria, a reborn from Lamordia.  I could NOT figure out how to roll hit points and add them to the character.  

I'd appreciate if someone could guide me through it.  She rolled 6+9+10 + 12 for 1st lvl.  Yes, I tried setting the character to "Manual" hp

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/154917538/7othvC

MORWENNA EISENWALD
Dhampir Paladin of Devotion
Character Profile

Morwenna Eisenwald was born in Westgate, a crime-ridden metropolis on the Dragon Coast, home to pirate kings and vampires who lurked in the shadows. She was sired to a human mother by a vampire lord whose name she never learned. Her mother refused to speak of him, and Morwenna's childhood was marked by isolation and sorrow. As a dhampir, her corpse-like pallor and unnatural appetite for blood set her apart. Other children bullied or feared her, and her mother kept her hidden indoors, allowing her to venture out only beneath the cover of night.

It was during those moonlit excursions that Morwenna met and fell in love with a local farmer's son. Their secret romance ended in tragedy when his father discovered them, with a pitchfork-wielding mob in tow. In the shock that followed, Morwenna accidentally bit the boy - and though he begged the mob to spare her, they turned on her in fury. Fleeing with her mother's aid, she was delivered to a distant knightly order and spent the rest of her youth in service of Sune, the goddess of love. Though now a paladin striving to find salvation through a life of virtue, Morwenna still dreams of her lost love. Stranger visions disturb her too, for on those rare occasions when she gives in to temptation and drinks blood, she seems to taste not only life but memory itself. Lately, those dreams have been haunted by the image of a pale, shadowy stranger who feels achingly familiar. She has come to believe he is her father.

Hit Points (rolled in campaign): Max HP + 8 (from CON) + 3 + 1 + 9 = 31
Chosen colour is purple.

@Arthuropodd - To roll your HP manually:

1) Join the campaign with a character.
2) In the character builder, Home > Hit Point Type ✅
3) In the character builder, Home > Enable Dice Rolling ✅
4) On your character sheet, there should be a floating dice button somewhere to the bottom left. Click it and select the type and number of dice you want to roll. 
5) Click 'To: Everyone Roll'.
6) Your rolls will be posted in the campaign log. 

8+10+3+2 was the roll.  Would the 8 or the 2 be the 12?