[Paid] 5E online (Roll20) Thursdays CST (GMT-6) 8-11pm. Curse of Strahd

EDIT: after getting some feedback, I'm editing my post to show that it will be Curse of Strahd on Thursday evenings US Central time (GMT-6)

Hi All, I’m putting out a feeler to see if there is interest for my paid DM services.

I know this is my first post on the forum, which always looks super sus, but I’m not much of a forum user since my gaming has been done in-person with friends, or via Discord.

I’ll provide more info about me below, but for now, here is the service offer:

Game: D&D 5e: Curse of Strahd. I plan to pick up the new Van Richten's guide and incorporating that info into the game, too. 

Group Type: Online using Roll20 for the campaign module, and Discord for voice.

Player Experience: All players welcome (new players and veterans).

DM Experience: See further down below.

Location/Timezone Thursday night, US Central Standard Time (GMT-6), 8-11pm.  Game would be once per week.

Paid: Yes, but sessions 0 and 1 will be free of charge (try before you buy, so to speak). After that, $10 per player, paid at the beginning of each session via Paypal (using “goods and services”, meaning I eat the fee, and you, the buyer have Paypal’s buyer protections).

Platform: Roll20 (DM has Plus subscription, so you get dynamic lighting, etc) You don't need to purchase anything; a free Roll20 account is all that is needed. I also have a Hero tier subscription here (DNDBeyond) and am willing to bump up to the next tier to share compendium resources with players in the campaign (as well as sharing compendium resources in Roll20, as well).

Playstyle/Tone: I like fun, heroic fantasy, and I want to see PCs succeed as we tell an epic fantasy story (Lord of the Rings as a fantasy analogy—mostly serious, but with some occasional humor. i.e. not “D&D comedy hour”). PG-13, so no graphic violence, sex, etc. Curse of Strahd has some kinda gnarly themes--torture, sacrifice, profane rituals--so we'll definitely need to discuss game boundaries during session zero. Stuff that is outside of the group's comfort level will briefly mentioned (without much, if any, detail) and then the scene will "fade to black", allowing us to move on to the next part of the story plot.

Flexible with regard to combat vs roleplay—tailored to players’ desired RPG experience. There is definitely going to be combat, but there are also a lot of opportunities for role play and social interaction in this module. Open table with regards to toilet breaks etc. Sessions will be 3 hours, with a break half-way. Some flexibility to run a little over time to allow the group to get to a good stopping point if we’re at a point of high action.

Character creation rules: Standard Array for the ability scores; no evil characters; no homebrew or Unearthed Arcana. The group can discuss more nuanced character creation questions during session 0 or via private message in Discord (contact details at the end of the post).

Roles Sought: 4-5 players, ideally. Can stretch to 6 players if there is enough demand.

Language: English

Campaign Estimated Start: May 20, 2021 (or approximately 2 weeks from this week if players want a different day instead of Thursday). Play will not commence with less than 4 players.

Age Limit. 18+. I don’t anticipate that the content would be inappropriate, per se. But I think its just better overall for everyone if we don’t have a situation where you have a mixed group of aged 18+ people and minors.

DM Experience: Started playing D&D back in the 90s in middle school and have been DM/GMing D&D and a variety of other RPGs since then (mostly Fate (Dresden Files RPG—regular and Accelerated), but also other systems such as Rifts (OG Palladium version); 40K: Rogue Trader; Legend of the Five Rings; FFG Star Wars; and numerous others, including the My Little Pony RPG for my two young daughters).

Other notable experience:

I was voted as “Favorite Actor in a Lead Role” in my high school drama department. I know it’s eye-rolling to reference an award given almost 30 years ago, but I mention it because it is something concrete I can point to that says that I have some background in theatre arts (singing and acting) and that my peers appreciated my efforts. I don’t claim to be Matt Mercer, but I do enjoy doing voices for NPCs or other sound effects to the best of my ability.

I also write sci-fi and fantasy fiction as a hobby. I’m not published (trying to be, though!), but it is additional experience in crafting character arcs and interwoven plots.

Lastly, I teach college level professional education classes, so I have experience teaching complex topics to people who have no prior experience in said topic. In other words, I’m happy to teach new players how to play D&D.

Session 0 info:

In addition to character creation, we’ll talk about player expectations and boundaries for the game (i.e. “lines not to be crossed”, etc). We’ll also collaboratively create the story of how the individual PCs met and came together to become an adventuring party before starting out on the campaign proper. I do this for all my RPG games because I find it builds rapport at the table, and it provides additional, fun ways for me to tie a PC’s backstory into the larger campaign story.

Why are you charging?

An excellent question! Partially to help defray the costs of the various subscriptions, modules, and books. But mainly because I think it helps foster a sense of “skin in the game” (for all parties, DM included). I’ve found (in my professional career, and in teaching) that when people pay for something, they have a greater sense of investment. And RPGs, just like many things in life, benefit from that sense of investment.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, if you are interested, please message/add me on Discord Andy-RevRanDoM#6196

I've been playing 5e for a few of years now. My first game was Curse of Strahd, we went four sessions and then our DM ghosted on us. I'm currently playing a campaign with some local friends. I'm free for the most part anytime except Monday nights. I'm in Montana. If anyone has a game or is starting one please let me know! Thank You!

Game: D&D 5e 
Group preferred: Online 
Experience: New / a few years 
Location/Timezone: MST
Availability: Any day except Mondays 
Preferred role: Player
Game style: (casual, hardcore, roleplay, hack'n'slash) it's all good.

Discord Stabs#4758

Hi Stabs! Thanks for your post. I'll reach out to you on Discord and we can speak more there.

Updated to provide more focus and clarity to the game offering -- Curse of Strahd, online via Roll20 and Discord, on Thursday evenings--US central time (GMT-6).

Please send me a PM or contact me on Discord if you are interested. Andy-RevRanDoM#6196

Here is the listing to the game on Roll20: https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/290639/curse-of-strahd

We have two players so far, looking for at least two more.

We have three players now. Looking for at least one more.