Welcome, fellow adventurers!

The earth is plunged in darkness, and the sun is hidden in shadow. Gibbering horrors from Hell and the unspeakable worlds beyond Hell have overrun the earth, led by the soulless Lur and his dark generals. The Great Old Ones and Elder Gods view impassively as the world is consumed in corruption, and the age of man comes to a close.

But the world is not without hope. Sol and his legions of angels and celestial beings are locked in eternal combat with Lur's army of the damned, and the heavens are stained red with the blood of the holy and the unholy. But in a world where god fights god and demon combats angel, what can we mortals hope to accomplish? 

In an age of darkness, those without hope must become heroes.

I am looking for 6-8 experienced, dependable players who can post regularly. Character creation is intentionally restrictive and underpowered to reflect the gritty and realistic campaign theme. 

Allocate the following ability scores according to preference: 8, 10, 10, 12, 12, 14

You will play a human, with the following racial features:

Ability Score Modifiers: Two ability scores of your choice increase by 2. One ability score of your choice decreases by 2.

Human Feature: Mortal Grit. You gain advantage on Attack Rolls, Ability Checks, and Saving Throws while you are at 1 or 2 hit points.

Class: You do not have a class.

Background: You do not have a background.

Starting Equipment: You may spend up to 100 gold pieces on starting equipment. Any gold pieces you do not spend on equipment you will begin the game with in your possession. 

Starting Proficiencies: You can speak, read and write Common, you gain proficiency in one tool, instrument, vehicle, or gaming set of your choice, and you gain proficiency in five skills of your choice.P

Starting HP: 10 + CON modifier

This campaign will be featuring many custom created Lovecraftian monsters, and I will frequently make use of the Insanity Table. 

Magic does not exist in this world, or in any other plane for that matter.

Encumbrance on.

XP based advancement. Rather than gain new class abilities when you level up, your rewards will vary from character to character according to personality and skillset.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! My first priority is to make sure everyone has fun, and my second is to create a dark and gritty world to frustrate the hell out of you!

I would like to thank H.P Lovecraft, who was a major influence and inspiration during the creation of this world.

Update: Instead of 4-6 characters I am now looking for 6-8. Your strength will be in unity rather than individual skill.

I am prepared to be devoured by eldritch horrors! This campaign looks very interesting, should I post a character concept here or PM you?

Also, is this more of a classic D&D medieval setting, or a sort of more modern setting?

Lumin Kaho (5'4", Carmel skin, Dark brown hair, green eyes, appears 35 years old?, 1" scar on left jawbone)

Strength 8, Dex 14(+2)=16, Constitution 12, Intel 10,  Wisdom 12(+2)=14, Charisma 10(-2)=8

Skill Profs: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception

Rapier, Whip, Explorer Pack, Studded Leather Armor, Net, Manacles, Woodcarver's tools (and proficiency)

25g+2g+10g+45g+1g+2g+1g=86....14gp on person

WT:2+3+(5+7+1+1+10+20+5+10=59)+13+3+6+5= 91 lbs ....carrying capacity total=120 lbs?

I think that's everything. Let me know if I missed anything.

This seems interesting. I'll add a character in the morning.

I’m a big fan of Lovecraft. Would love to try this. Let me know and I will wipe up a character.

Lovecraft favorites:

Lurker at the Threshold

Mountains of Madness

Call of Cthulhu 

Thanks for the interest, everyone. Please feel free to post your character concepts in this thread, because I will be creating a gameplay thread seperately. In answer to Wooby's question, this world is going to have a dark fantasy feel, and technological advancement is equivalent to that of the medieval period.

Quote from Goingcrazy614 >>

I’m a big fan of Lovecraft. Would love to try this. Let me know and I will wipe up a character.

Lovecraft favorites:

Lurker at the Threshold

Mountains of Madness

Call of Cthulhu 

Mine would have to be The Thing on the Doorstep, The Dunwich Horror, Dreams in the Witch House, and of course Call of Cthulhu.

The character builder forced me to fill in areas you said not to but here it is. Let me know if I need to tweak it.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/Goingcrazy614/characters/6353709

“Thing on the Doorstep” is a good one.

Feel free to write your character sheet out by hand or use a less class-oriented character builder. I do not require you to use the D&D Beyond character builder. And @Crazy, I noticed you only chose three skill proficencies. You get five.

I can’t find a character builder that doesn’t require a class so I will have to hand write one.

Here's my character!

Hubert East(5'6'', about 150 lbs., quite pale skin, black hair, blue eyes, in his mid-20s, wears glasses and always has the look of not getting enough sleep.)

Str: 8, Dex: 12, Con: 10, Int: 16(14+2), Wis: 12(10+2) Cha: 10(12-2)

Proficiencies: Medicine, Persuasion, Investigation, Insight, History, Alchemy supplies(unless alchemy is not a thing that can be done in this world)

Equipment: Alchemist's Supplies(50 GP), Explorer's Pack(10 GP), Rapier(25 GP), 2 Daggers(4 GP), Leather Armor(10 GP), Common Clothes(0.5 GP)

Starting Gold: 5 measly silver coins

I'm pretty sure that's everything.

Also, how much HP do we start with?

Thanks for bringing that up, I did not think of starting HP levels. Tell me how you think this system sounds:

Starting HP: 10 + CON modifier (minimum 10)

HP after 1st level: (1d10 or 5) + CON modifier (minimum 1)

Just one thing. For some reason, classes usually allow you to take average rounding up, not down, after first level.

(For example, 1d8 Hit Dice allows you to take 5, not 4)

Character healing rules: As dictated by the gritty style of play, characters cannot regain HP through healing spells, because none exist. The following rules apply to regaining HP.

Long Rest: Regain half your lost HP.

Short Rest: To regain HP through Hit Dice, a character or friendly character must succeed on a DC 10 Medicine check, and the neccessary materials (i.e. a splint for a broken bone, a bandage for a cut) must be present. 

Quote from WoobyDoobyDoo >>

Just one thing. For some reason, classes usually allow you to take average rounding up, not down, after first level.

(For example, 1d8 Hit Dice allows you to take 5, not 4)

I realize that that is the case for class leveling, but I liked the idea of people taking chances and rolling rather than always using the set value. You can also vary from level to level between rolling and fixed.

Custom Damage Rules:

Whenever a character takes any amount of damage, they will be appropriately disadvantaged according to the type of damage taken. These effects will determine your character's disability and the steps neccessary to treat it. For example, if a character takes bludgeoning damage, resulting in a broken leg, they will not be able to walk at full capacity, and it will only heal if treated properly. Unconciousness rules remain the same, but unconciousness could last up to a day instead of the usual few hours and will have permanent and crippling effects.

1st level Wound Severity Table:
Damage Taken:   Severity:
1-3:                        Minor
4-6:                        Threatening
7-10:                      Severe
11+:                       Lethal(?)

As I have mentioned before, your advantage resides in numbers and a wide variety of skills. An ideal party would include...

At least 1 strong tank
At least 1 dextrous scout
At least 1 tough sack of HP 
At least 1 wise healer
At least 1 intelligent scholar
At least 1 charismatic spokesperson
 

Grungle- tall man. 6’2” 210lbs. Short dark hair, dark eyes, and light tanned skin

Str: 12+1=13, Dex: 14, Con: 12+1=13, Int:10-2=8, Wis:10, Cha:8

Proficiancies: Athletics, Acrobatics, Perception, History, Insight, leather tools.

hp-11

I will edit with equipment list