[3 seats open; Hoping to do session zero on 9/13]

***New Campaign***

***Strahd Like You've Never Seen Him!***

***Epic Level 1-10+ Campaign.***

🛡️ ***New*** **2024** ***5E Rules***

⚔️ ***Fight to Survive!***

*🌍* ***Experience the Horror!***

***🎭 Rich Roleplay and Mature Themes.***

***Join the campaign on D&D Beyond here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/campaigns/join/69636253458625717

***You should also join my Discord here (make sure to select the Bat Emoji during Step # 2 to give yourself the proper role so you can access the campaign channels: https://discord.gg/adkCzF6S86

***Join the games on StartPlaying: https://startplaying.games/adventure/cmf0kur6y001ylb04ditq8mxn

In Legends of Barovia, your character is an ordinary adventurer that can achieve the extraordinary—but they have to earn it. No one becomes a hero in Barovia until they prove their merit.

Barovia is a unique place, and your character will be out of their element. At least initially, they will not be seen as heroes and will be treated accordingly. This serves to reinforce the shock your character may experience when they first face the darkness and horrors that plague this realm.

**Game style:**

* Players can expect a good balance of fun, rich and rewarding roleplaying mixed with challenging combat, memorable NPCs, vibrant locations and an engaging story. Focused on meeting each player’s play style preference.

* This is a beginner-friendly level 1-10+ campaign. Expected session count 30-50.

* I use Discord for group chat during sessions and ForgeVTT (FoundryVTT on the web) for virtual tabletop. Players will have access to my content on D&D Beyond for character creation, which is recommended, but not required.

* Sessions will be 3 hours with a 10-minute mid-game break.

* Progression is XP based.

* Fun RP, creative solutions and outside-the-box thinking will be rewarded with Inspiration!

* Variant Rules Ratchet Up the Horror and Darkness!

Depression, fear, and darkness cover the land. Talk is cheap, and only results that are hard won through brave deeds are valued. Dozens if not hundreds have ventured into this realm, all believing they would be the triumphant heroes to save this dark place. None have succeeded.

This adventure uses the D&D 2024 rules, but with additional mechanics for Fear, Horror, Despair, Lingering Injuries, and other gritty/horrific elements. Players will not see the DCs for skill checks and saves, but they might know if something should be Easy (10-14), Moderate (15-19), Hard (20-24), etc. We will use the Proficiency Dice variant rule. This rule adds volatility and uncertainty. Barovia resides in a Domain of Dread covered in mists that reduce the reliability of one’s skills.

Death is not only possible, but likely. So, we'll have access to a variety of exciting rules and mechanics that keep the game moving in the wake of a character's death. Maybe your character comes back as a revenant! Perhaps she makes a deal with the same Dark Vestiges that gave Strahd his eternal life! Perhaps Strahd, himself, will bring you back from death for his own inscrutable reasons.

As a DM, I focus equally on all three pillars of gameplay: Roleplay, Combat, and Exploration. Specifically, I see Investigation as an unofficial fourth Pillar (really, a subset of Exploration), and this campaign is full of significant opportunities to do research and roleplay with NPCs in order to learn pivotal clues that have real in-game benefits.

In some ways, this adventure shares a lot with games like Call of Cthulhu, where the horror and despair your character feels as they experience the terrors of Barovia have mechanical effects in-game.

In other ways, I draw heavily from the play style (if not the skill and ability) of Matt Mercer and the Daggerheart system, especially the significance of the choices we all make during our session zero, where we will pick a theme from one of these choices: Dark Fantasy, High Fantasy, Low Fantasy, or Medieval Fantasy. There are also custom backgrounds available that can drastically change the story (Curse of Lycanthropy, Vistani Clan Member, Missing Merchant, Sun Blade Relic Seeker, and more!).

We will make our characters during the session zero based on the choices everyone makes! Of course, you can have a general idea of your character concept, but nothing is set in stone until we play through the session zero!

**DM Style:** I ran a local game store for 10 years and have been DMing for literally decades. My campaigns are character-driven with a strong focus on an open-sandbox-style approach, even for published adventures like Curse of Strahd. That said, Curse of Strahd is an adventure that will challenge new and veteran players alike with a horrifying setting, a powerful enemy, and restrictions that create tension and excitement. Table is a safe-space with no toleration of judgement or bullying. Everyone is welcome.

I am u/GamersaurusLex on Discord. Check out my profile and reviews on StartPlaying: https://startplaying.games/gm/gamersaurus-lex

Join now: https://startplaying.games/adventure/cmf0kur6y001ylb04ditq8mxn