Hello! We've recently had some players drop out our hardcore survival campaign. As such, I'm currently looking for two players to join us! Our current party is level 2 and is comprised of a tabaxi rogue, water genasi ranger, goblin wizard, and hafling bard. We lost our frontliner/tanky character, and while this isn't a simple hack-and-slash campaign where the only thing you have to worry about combat, there is a fair bit of fighting, so having a few replacement melee characters would be preferred.
The early parts of the campaign will be very heavily focused on survival (obviously), exploration, and challenges such as natural disasters, predators, combat, etc. The later chapters begin to shift away from the previous as you discover more lore and information. That being said, I believe that the true joy of playing DnD comes from story building, character development, and roleplaying. As such, I will be looking for players who love to roleplay and weave together stories. Think of this campaign more as a collaborative book writing game rather than a number-crunching game.
I will give the players I choose an aspect of control over the events and storyline of the game. For example, if you have a really cool scenario you would like to play out, I can incorporate it into the story. I believe that helps the players feel more invested in the campaign and be less likely to drop out or skip out on juicy narritive and RP moments.
I will be running the campaign here on DnDBeyond and then use Discord for an OOC thread, maps, pictures, and all that good stuff. I know many people don't really like Discord, but I find it much easier to add pictures and organize things, so we'll be using it.
Since the basic set of DnD rules aren't well adapted to a hardcore survival campaign, I had to make several adjustments. These are rather important rules, so I'd appreciate it if you'd read through them before you apply so you know what you're getting into.
The Rules
Banned Content
The following spells are banned:
Create/Destroy Water
Goodberry
Heroes' Feast
Create Food and Water
I might ban others later on if I feel like they ruin the gritty, hardcore survival feel I'm going for
The following player options are banned:
The Outlander background
The Artificer class
The Warforged and Reborn races
Optional Rules from DMG that will be used
These optional rules make it easier or harder for adventurers to recover from injury, either increasing or reducing the amount of time your players can spend adventuring before rest is required.
Healer’s Kit Dependency
A character can’t spend any Hit Dice after finishing a short rest until someone expends one use of a healer’s kit to bandage and treat the character’s wounds.
Slow Natural Healing
Characters don’t regain hit points at the end of a long rest. Instead, a character can spend Hit Dice to heal at the end of a long rest, just as with a short rest.
This optional rule prolongs the amount of time that characters need to recover from their wounds without the benefits of magical healing and works well for grittier, more realistic campaigns.
Safe Resting
Long rests can only be performed at "safe areas:" areas cleared of hazards or places where there is a defensible structure.
Reduced Magical Healing
Magical healing is reduced by half rounded up to put an emphasis on natural healing and to help create a gritty atmosphere. For example, if you rolled a total of 12 to heal someone with magic, you would instead heal them by 6.
Injuries and Damage
Injuries
Damage normally leaves no lingering effects. This option introduces the potential for long-term injuries.
It’s up to you to decide when to check for a lingering injury. A creature might sustain a lingering injury under the following circumstances:
When it takes a critical hit
When it drops to 0 hit points but isn’t killed outright
When it fails a death saving throw by 5 or more
To determine the nature of the injury, roll on the Lingering Injuries table. This table assumes a typical humanoid physiology, but you can adapt the results for creatures with different body types.
d20
Injury
1
Lose an Eye. You have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight and on ranged attack rolls. Magic such as theregenerate spell can restore the lost eye. If you have no eyes left after sustaining this injury, you’reblinded.
2
Lose an Arm or a Hand. You can no longer hold anything with two hands, and you can hold only a single object at a time. Magic such as theregenerate spell can restore the lost appendage.
3
Lose a Foot or Leg. Your speed on foot is halved, and you must use a cane or crutch to move unless you have a peg leg or other prosthesis. You fallprone after using theDash action. You have disadvantage on Dexterity checks made to balance. Magic such as theregenerate spell can restore the lost appendage.
4
Limp. Your speed on foot is reduced by 5 feet. You must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw after using theDash action. If you fail the save, you fallprone. Magical healing removes the limp.
5–7
Internal Injury. Whenever you attempt an action in combat, you must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, you lose your action and can’t use reactions until the start of your next turn. The injury heals if you receive magical healing or if you spend ten days doing nothing but resting.
8–10
Broken Ribs. This has the same effect as Internal Injury above, except that the save DC is 10.
11–13
Horrible Scar. You are disfigured to the extent that the wound can’t be easily concealed. You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such asheal andregenerate, removes the scar.
14–16
Festering Wound. Your hit point maximum is reduced by 1 every 24 hours the wound persists. If your hit point maximum drops to 0, you die. The wound heals if you receive magical healing. Alternatively, someone can tend to the wound and make a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check once every 24 hours. After ten successes, the wound heals.
17–20
Minor Scar. The scar doesn’t have any adverse effect. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such asheal andregenerate, removes the scar.
Instead of using the effect described in the table, you can put the responsibility of representing a character’s lingering injury in the hands of the player. Roll on the Lingering Injuries table as usual, but instead of suffering the effect described for that result, that character gains a new flaw with the same name. It’s up to the player to express the lingering injury during play, just like any other flaw, with the potential to gain inspiration when the injury affects the character in a meaningful way.
Massive Damage
This optional rule makes it easier for a creature to be felled by massive damage.
When a creature takes damage from a single source equal to or greater than half its hit point maximum, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer a random effect determined by a roll on the System Shock table. For example, a creature that has a hit point maximum of 30 must make that Constitution save if it takes 15 damage or more from a single source.
d10
Effect
1
The creature drops to 0 hit points.
2–3
The creature drops to 0 hit points but is stable.
4–5
The creature isstunned until the end of its next turn.
6–7
The creature can’t take reactions and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn.
8–10
The creature can’t take reactions until the end of its next turn.
Day 14
You freeze in place under the dense jungle foliage as you hear chittering claws scrape against wood somewhere above you. Your short time in the jungle has taught one thing: everything was out for your blood. Heart pounding, you slowly glance upward, and your breathe catches in your throat as you see a colossal centipede easy as thick as you are wide slowly crawling across a limb of a tree about twenty feet up is. Spotty shafts of sunlight that have managed to punch through the virtual ceiling of fauna overhead illuminate in dappled patches the carnivorous insect's glistening crimson carapace. Thousands of skittering legs clack across the branch, each one beating a clamorous staccato against the wooded limb as the centipede languidly traverses the canopy.
You dare not move, barely breathing until the creature finally crawls out of sight. You have seen a centipede like that one take out an entire pack of raptors before, and you know you would be no match for a hungry centipede if it noticed you. You stand still for several minutes after the sound of its skittering limbs crawling upon branches fades away, breathing in the hot and muggy air as you wait to move just in case the centipede is still nearby. The sounds of the jungle are almost deafening: birds squawking and shrieking at one another, insects buzzing about you, distant branches toppling to the ground under the weight of hundreds of pounds of moss and vines, and the not-too-distant reptilian screech of a raptor on the hunt. That last sound is what finally encourages you to move once more. If you avoided that encounter with the centipede only to be torn apart by a pack of voracious raptors... No, it was best not to think about that kind of thing. There was only one thing you could focus on right now...
Survival.
The premise of the campaign is that you woke up on a tropical island with no memories of who you are. However, this just isn't any island; this one is packed to the brim with deadly monsters, savage beasts, and harsh terrain. Yet despite your primal surroundings, you will eventually begin to notice that something isn't quite right with the island. There was some sort of... logic to the way things set out. This is no natural island, and you must discover who brought you here and why before something on the island claims your life.
If you're still interested after reading all of that, here's the application form that you will need to fill out and post on this thread:
Character Name
Race
Class and subclass planning on choosing (start at level 2)
Ability scores (4d6, drop lowest, reroll 1's once. If you don't like what you roll you may roll ONE more time and select either result, or you choose standard array or point buy)
Background
Backstory (Your characters will have amnesia, and they only thing they will remember when the campaign starts is their name. Over the course of the campaign, you will determine how quickly and what extent your character's memories return to them. These should be great opportunities to RP.)
Starting equipment (You may select 1 item, excluding packs, granted by your class or background to start the game with)
RP sample from your character's life/perspective (This will be the main determining factor in whether or not you'll be accepted. You should write a sample that is on par with your usual posting style and quality. This is a good time to flex your writing muscles, so make it good!)
Your character's desired role and personality (For example, this is where you would say that in combat, you want to be a tank, but be a versatile outdoorsman/tracker socially. Remember to include their personality, although this should be pretty evident in your RP sample)
Since you'll be a replacement player, you can choose to be new to the island just like the rest of the players. Optionally, you can choose to have woken up on the island several days ago and barely managed to survived before the players find you. Please indicate how long you wish to have been on the island thus far, but try not exceed a couple of weeks or so.
Here's a link to the campaign if you want to catch up on what's happened so far.
My titles are the great Silver Dragon Lord of the Sky, Second in Command of the Dragon Cult, High Warlock of Cynophobia, High Cultist of Jeff, The Lightning Mage. I’m a ✨Chronically online teenage boy✨, and one of the most active posters on the forums (MORE THAN SALEM AND GONZALO). Always open to talk if you’d like to shoot me a PM! Please don’t hesitate to tell me I’m being a jerk or overbearing, I love helpful feedback! Love y’all!
Gonna go for a striker/support hybrid. I am assuming that Tasha's variant class options are fine? Specifically the Dedicated Weapon feature for the monk. I've intentionally left the names of places/people blank since I'm not sure what the setting is outside of the island.
Character Name Keras fal Telial
Race Human
Class and subclass planning on choosing Monk (Way of Mercy)
Background: Gladiator
Backstory
Keras wasn't prepared for the life he was forced to live. He was born to the king of a small coastal nation, third in line for the throne. They were not a rich country, most of the populous were fishermen by trade and the location was politically insignificant to the point that no force had ever bothered invading them. Despite their lack of importance, they were a proud people and the royal family was the figurehead of that pride. As the third son of the king, Keras and his younger sister, Ceri, were under far less pressure and scrutiny than their two older brothers. While he still received a formal education that included everything from training with the sword to memorizing ancient poetry, his favorite activity was spending time with the court alchemist, Telial, learning about medicine and science.
When Keras turned sixteen, his home fell. He was woken by Telial in the dead of night and told to run. An army of black-armored knights from the south had attacked the city and stormed the castle. Keras' people had fine warriors, but they were too few in number and taken unprepared. The rest of the royal family was struck down, but Telial gave his life to distract the soldiers, giving Keras and Ceri the opportunity to escape the castle. If he had not been with his sister, Keras likely would have walked right back into the castle to fight. If not for Ceri begging him to run with her, he would have died that night.
They travelled for weeks, able to go unnoticed through a mixture of luck and the fact that they were presumed dead in the attack. They stayed ahead of the encroaching occupation and managed to smuggle themselves onto a ship bound for a large trading city in the south - a place governed by the very people who killed his family and destroyed his home. During the trip, Ceri grew sick. Keras hoped that when they set down she would recover, but her condition only got worse. Unable to afford the medicine he needed to treat her, he looked for work. After being turned down everywhere he looked, he got desperate and took to thievery. His lack of experience lead him to picking a terrible target - another gang of thieves. They caught him and tried to beat him up, but his combat training was more than enough to keep them at bay. Impressed by his skill, the leader of the gang stopped the fight and told Keras that if he needed money, he should try fighting in the pits. Keras took the advice, and joined the ring using Telial's name as a false identity. He quickly made enough money in fistfights to buy the medicine for Ceri. Despite her protests about the danger, they had no other way of making money. As such, Keras kept fighting. Eventually he made a name for himself, moving from small fights to proper gladiatorial bouts in the main ring. He was a bit of a fan favorite, being young and an underdog, and when he was finally allowed to fight with a sword again his wins became more and more decisive. After three years of fighting and building a new life, his world was once again turned upside down when he woke up on a strange, foreign beach with no memories and no supplies. He'd survived similar chaos once, but that is no guarantee he'll be able to do it again in this vicious and merciless place...
Starting equipment: Longsword (From Gladiator, assuming weapons are covered by 'item')
RP sample from your character's life/perspective
Keras spits into the sandy floor of the arena, the saliva stained pink with blood. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand as he reevaluates his opponent. The man is large, probably three times Keras' weight and at least two feet taller than him. At first Keras thought that his huge bulk would mean he'd be slow, but the throbbing in his left cheek is proof that he was wrong. Keras hefts his long, straight blade, eying the mans large axe. Both weapons are blunt in accordance with pit rules. You can't make money when your entertainment needs to be replaced every fight after all. At his size, that probably means very little. Sharp or blunt, if you get hit by him with that, you're dead either way. Keras thinks to himself as he slowly paces around the pit.
Kell shrugs, dropping his sword, letting it clatter in the sand. His opponent, who was readying to charge, stops short, eying Keras warily. Not dumb, either. Unfortunate. The crowd gasps, murmurs spreading round the stands. They're probably debating whether I have a death wish, or if I am simply stupid. Some of them probably think it's both. He grins "Well, I suppose I'll give them something to talk about" he mutters to himself. Then he charges. Taken aback, the man barely gets the haft of his axe up into a defensive position, but Keras ignores it entirely, ducking under the large blade and forcing himself close. He ducks down, then snaps his left elbow out, taking the man just below his ribs. Keras grins as the man screams, telling him that his strike was true. In short order he hits three more points with deadly precision, forcing the man down to his knees. Not giving him a chance to recover, Keras raises both hands above his head and slams them down onto his exposed neck, dropping him like a sack of potatoes. He looks up, but is greeted by nothing but silence in the stands. He looks at the pitmaster who gives him a small smile and a shallow bow. As understanding dawns on Keras, he smothers a laugh. No-one bet on me to win, just on how long I would last. I've just cost all of them everything. Just how much did the house win? He grabs his sword, giving them a silent salute, then stalks out of the arena before anyone decides that he would be better off in a canvas sack at the bottom of the river.
Hours later, Keras sits crosslegged on a chair at the small table in the tiny room that he calls home, the only thing they could afford on his meager winnings. He slowly pushes a needle through the shallow gash on his upper arm with practiced precision. He barely notices the pain, but every time it enters his skin, the girl sitting across from him winces. "Why do you still fight, Keras?" He finishes the stitch, biting the thread to cut it, then looks up at her. "You know why, Ceri. To take care of you. What would you do if I wasn't around?" A look of sudden determination crosses her face, and she lifts her chin slightly "I'd find a way to survive, I'm strong." He smiles, then stands up and walks round the table. "I know, your highness, but I fight so that you don't have to." She shakes her head, frustrated. "That's not what I'm asking. Every time you fight, you look past the person you're fighting, as if they don't matter. You're not fighting your opponent, you're fighting them."
Keras sighs, looking away. "I...Yes, I suppose you're right. I wish I was more like you, I wish I could let it go" She frowns. "I hate them just as much as you, they took everything from me too." He meets her eyes, anger burning deep inside them. "It's not the same though, is it?" As she looks at him, she draws back slightly. "No." She concedes. "It's not the same. You're scary when you're like that. Don't...Just...Just remember that I care for you. And try not to let it rule you."
"I won't." Keras replies, the lie slipping easily from his tongue.
Your character's desired role and personality In combat Keras will be a frontline striker predominantly, with a secondary support role. Keras is generally affable and easygoing, but can be reckless and struggles with containing his anger when it comes to people threatening his friends or when memories of what happened to his home resurface.
Keras has been on the island about a week, just long enough to get his bearings and realize how totally screwed he really is.
EDIT: Made a couple of edits to the backstory to make it a little less tropey, I think it all fits better now.
I think this could be interesting to me, I checked the game thread and I know some people and I think I would enjoy playing with them. The size of posts is also up my alley. You can always check my signature or post history to decide if I fit in. I'm traveling this week and it might take me a bit of time to fill out the form but I already have a character at level two that is tanky. Here's the scores for now.
Backstory: This is based on a real story -- The real story of this character until her campaign met a tragic end (which played out on Wildemount but names of places can be adapted as long as she is from a cold place).
During a routine check on their traps, members of an elven conclave found a baby girl on the frozen ground next to the path they were following. By all accounts, the naked babe should have been frozen to death and it was even covered in a very thin layer of ice, but it was regarding them with solemn eyes, almost as if judging them. The group, that was accompanied by a dwarf named Urgon Wenth, took in the child and returned with it to Uthodurn. The elves took it in and raised it as their own, deciding to call it Taiga, an ancient word describing the environment where they found it, and the dwarf Urgon checked on her every now and then when he was in town.
Taiga was trained by the elves in marksmanship and as an agile fighter, while the dwarfs taught her the benefits of heavy armor and steadfast close quarters fighting. While not particular bright or wise and growing shorter than even the dwarfs around her, Taiga was as sturdy as a dwarf and agile like an elf. She was an orderly girl and always followed every instruction that was given to her to the letter, never complaining. She was particularly interested in forms and colours of the natural world and, specifically, in wood. At some point during her teenage years, she begun visiting a local carpenter and she started helping out in his shop and before too long she was proficient herself. Urgon frequented her and admired her craft and skill and, one day, regaled her a particularly well-made set of carpenter's tools in a leather Satchel that had an inscription that read, ‘There's no scrap wood just pieces not yet used’.
Taiga didn’t receive well the news of Urgon’s demise and couldn’t even bring herself to visit the body before the official service. When the day arrived she steeled herself and, knowing that she owes this to him, pays her respect at Urgon’s funeral. At the service she learnt that Urgon fell victim to a rare disease that now threatened to extinguish all life in the North, and she took it upon herself (along with a few other valiant adventurers) to find a cure. Their quest lead them to cross icy straits with a small island as their destination but they never arrived. A ghost ship had crossed their sailing route and the last thing she remembers was when the captained warned the crew about the eerie vessel that approached them. Next, she woke on the beach on a tropical island...
Starting equipment: Personalised carpenter tools? Not sure if that would be useful but she might be able to make a few useful things in a world where everything has to be build from the ground up.
RP sample from your character's life/perspective: What follows is an actual post from her (failed) campaign,
With heavy steps Taiga slowly joins Elro and the group at some distance to the ceremony. She nods to the elf and glances over the assembled group, then listens to what Elro has to say and replies, "Urgon told me much about you, wise leader of Palebank Village. If you think that I can help to unearth and fight what has befallen Urgon, I am more than willing to help, I feel that it is my duty." She turns to the rest of the group, while not quite successfully attempting to sweep away her tears with the fur lining of her cloak, and politely introduces herself to the kind spirits that Elro had selected for this quest. "I am Taiga, a friend of Urgon... " and she begins to sob, "... was a friend of Urgon. Thank you. Thank you all for helping." She gladly accepts Brix's offer, "To Urgon. And to your kind hearts. And that together we... may we break this icy curse," she says before taking a sip, "... or whatever it is," she adds with a cough.
"Uhhg, this burns! Brix Philbin!" now her eyes begin watering for an entirely different reason, "But it is good! It is very good."
Your character's desired role and personality: She's the protector type, she tries to get herself in harm's way so that someone else doesn't suffer. The character concept (in battle) relies heavily on temporary HP from Armor of Agathys that synergises with damage reduction from various sources. Socially, she will be reserved and advising caution in unknown situations. Though she prefers to act carefully and proceed well planned, she will not hesitate to jump into action should she feel she needs to protect. (Think like the Windrunner type in terms of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere Fantasy - in case you know that.) She is a skilled carpenter and able to survive in most wilderness areas on her own.
I think being a recent arrival would work just fine. Might be the party shakes her into consciousness on the beach where she had stranded over night, or she already managed to find a cave and gather a few supplies over the last few days before they find her.
Character Name: K'vai Race: Half-orc Class and subclass: Barbarian (Path of the Storm Herald) Ability scores (as rolled above): STR 18 | DEX 15 | CON 17 | INT 10 | WIS 12 | CHA 12 Background: Hermit (or, if permitted, Uthgardt Tribe Member, but that background does carry some of the benefits of the banned Outlander background) Backstory: K'vai knows next to nothing of his parentage or birth. A member of the Grimshard clan since he was three, K'vai has been told by the elders that he was found sobbing among the slain after a battle between his clan and a roving band of orcs. Though not all agreed with the decision, Kvai's life was spared by decree of Rhom, the Grimshard shaman, who claimed the half-orc youth was an auspicious sign from the gods. Fiercely loyal to his clan, K'vai was nevertheless an oddity among his human mates. The old shaman, despite his eccentricities, was the one clan member that K'vai actively sought for conversation and company, and it was through Rhom that K'vai would be introduced to the ancestral magic that would lead him into becoming a Storm Herald.
Starting equipment: Maul
RP sample from your character's life/perspective:
Hunched near the waning fire, K'vai sat silently with the old shaman. The storm would soon be upon them.
"The clouds ... the lightning... the contrast,"spoke Rohm in his usual halting manner. "Consider it. Learn from it, K'vai."
"The darkness of the clouds? The brightness of the light?"K'vai responded with uncertainty.
Rohm answered with the faintest of nods before adding, "Brooding darkness, yes. Blazing brightness, yes. But there is more."
K'vai closed his eyes and imagined himself atop a nearby outcropping, being whipped by the wind and rain that was soon to come. Maybe such a mental exercise would allow him to find the answer that Rohm sought.
The shaman's baritone broke the silence before K'vai could form a reply, "Shapeless and vast are the clouds. But precise and narrow is the lightning. The sky above you, K'vai, is a mirror. Your ashen skin is the darkness. Your fealty is the light. Your mysterious past is the great story without form. Your ferocity is that which is focused, always striking its target. This is the vision that fell upon my mind when I first beheld you so many years ago."
K'vai watched the last gleam of the fire go dim, content to say nothing more as he pondered the shaman's strange idea.
Your character's desired role and personality: K'vai stands where the battle rages hottest, swinging his maul and absorbing as much enemy fire as possible. Secondarily, he can aid the party with his knowledge of the wilderness and medicine. K'vai is stoic in hardship, surprisingly thoughtful in conversation, and, in accordance with his upbringing, inclined to see signs and meaning where others see only the mundane.
NOTE: Being new to the island, just like the rest of the players, seems suitable to me.
Backstory The army was my life, until the crushing defeat that destroyed all of my cohort and most of the army. I escaped that disaster with my life but entered a new disaster of not having a purpose. The bottle was my companion and crutch for weeks afterwards while I wondered why I was alive and what I would do. Eventually, I came to believe it does not matter why but that I am alive and that I use this aliveness. I decided to embrace what had previously been my bane - my race and heritage. I no longer avoid fellow Tieflings but seek them out for knowledge. As a result, I have given up trappings from my army past such as armor and gained some control over my blue dragon sorcerer gift. I still do not know when or how being a sorcerer came to be in my blood, but know that I can be so much more powerful than just a common soldier. Now, I am free of the bonds of the army with its control over both my body and my mind, so plan to use this freedom to the best of my growing abilities.
Starting equipment Dagger
RP sample from your character's life/perspective Back in the day, I would be the one from my cohort who would go to the quartermaster for extra equipment or food. Hah, those were the days when all I had to do was say what I wanted and then grin, either with the possibility of friendship or of harm, depending on how the quartermaster responded to my entry to the tent. The trick, you see, was not to go to the same person twice since the friendship or harm would be remembered and discounted in future transactions. A new face could more easily be persuaded or threatened, as needed. While we were not living the high-life, we also were in better shape than almost any other cohort in the army and my contributions were regularly toasted by the rest of my cohort and the envy of others.
Your character's desired role and personality This will be my first time playing a sorcerer so I have kept him to play any role with cantrips/L1 spells to attack, protect, or otherwise support. He has progressed from Lawful Good to Neutral Evil, so is looking out for himself but has not yet completely escaped his acceptance of restrictions on his actions. He may yet continue to evolve into Chaotic Good or Neutral. As he progresses, I will customize him based on the group's needs. I suggest having just woken up a few days ago - hopefully long enough to have used the dagger to make a quarterstaff as a second weapon, build a fire, and find some drinkable water.
Class and subclass planning on choosing Fighter / PsiWarrior
Ability scores Ability scores: 119910105
Background: Ruined / Neutral Good
Backstory: Azothlin has little memory of what he was before - he thinks he was a soldier. What he knows now is a hunger, a hunger that is can't be satiated by food or drink. A hunger for the blood of others. He started his new life as a half man half undead beast with little control, and to his own horror committed murder when he drank the life away of a victim. Now he tries' to avoid drinking from humanoids, and will only try to drain animals. Hoping not to loose control, while trying to hide his curse from others. NOW: He has woken on this strange island with even less memory, but the hunger remains.
Roleplay example: "Ah, friends, thank you for the invitation. However, I will dine on my own, you see, I have particular dietary needs. Indeed I also have a slight sun sensitivity, nothing to be concerned about, but I think I will step off to have something in the shade. I should be back shortly" Azothlin tries to keep calm, hiding the hunger screaming in his veins, wanting to scream...he can smell their blood and it drives him mad. He waves and steps off into the forest, hoping to find a small animal, anything to quench his thirst.
Your character's desired role and personality: Azothlin will be a front line melee character. He is friendly with people, but very concerned about how they will react if they find out about his secret, and very concerned about loosing control.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hello! We've recently had some players drop out our hardcore survival campaign. As such, I'm currently looking for two players to join us! Our current party is level 2 and is comprised of a tabaxi rogue, water genasi ranger, goblin wizard, and hafling bard. We lost our frontliner/tanky character, and while this isn't a simple hack-and-slash campaign where the only thing you have to worry about combat, there is a fair bit of fighting, so having a few replacement melee characters would be preferred.
The early parts of the campaign will be very heavily focused on survival (obviously), exploration, and challenges such as natural disasters, predators, combat, etc. The later chapters begin to shift away from the previous as you discover more lore and information. That being said, I believe that the true joy of playing DnD comes from story building, character development, and roleplaying. As such, I will be looking for players who love to roleplay and weave together stories. Think of this campaign more as a collaborative book writing game rather than a number-crunching game.
I will give the players I choose an aspect of control over the events and storyline of the game. For example, if you have a really cool scenario you would like to play out, I can incorporate it into the story. I believe that helps the players feel more invested in the campaign and be less likely to drop out or skip out on juicy narritive and RP moments.
I will be running the campaign here on DnDBeyond and then use Discord for an OOC thread, maps, pictures, and all that good stuff. I know many people don't really like Discord, but I find it much easier to add pictures and organize things, so we'll be using it.
Since the basic set of DnD rules aren't well adapted to a hardcore survival campaign, I had to make several adjustments. These are rather important rules, so I'd appreciate it if you'd read through them before you apply so you know what you're getting into.
The Rules
Banned Content
The following spells are banned:
Optional Rules from DMG that will be used
These optional rules make it easier or harder for adventurers to recover from injury, either increasing or reducing the amount of time your players can spend adventuring before rest is required.
Healer’s Kit Dependency
A character can’t spend any Hit Dice after finishing a short rest until someone expends one use of a healer’s kit to bandage and treat the character’s wounds.
Slow Natural Healing
Characters don’t regain hit points at the end of a long rest. Instead, a character can spend Hit Dice to heal at the end of a long rest, just as with a short rest.
This optional rule prolongs the amount of time that characters need to recover from their wounds without the benefits of magical healing and works well for grittier, more realistic campaigns.
Safe Resting
Long rests can only be performed at "safe areas:" areas cleared of hazards or places where there is a defensible structure.
Reduced Magical Healing
Magical healing is reduced by half rounded up to put an emphasis on natural healing and to help create a gritty atmosphere. For example, if you rolled a total of 12 to heal someone with magic, you would instead heal them by 6.
Injuries and Damage
Injuries
Damage normally leaves no lingering effects. This option introduces the potential for long-term injuries.
It’s up to you to decide when to check for a lingering injury. A creature might sustain a lingering injury under the following circumstances:
To determine the nature of the injury, roll on the Lingering Injuries table. This table assumes a typical humanoid physiology, but you can adapt the results for creatures with different body types.
d20
Injury
1
Lose an Eye. You have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight and on ranged attack rolls. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost eye. If you have no eyes left after sustaining this injury, you’re blinded.
2
Lose an Arm or a Hand. You can no longer hold anything with two hands, and you can hold only a single object at a time. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost appendage.
3
Lose a Foot or Leg. Your speed on foot is halved, and you must use a cane or crutch to move unless you have a peg leg or other prosthesis. You fall prone after using the Dash action. You have disadvantage on Dexterity checks made to balance. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost appendage.
4
Limp. Your speed on foot is reduced by 5 feet. You must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw after using the Dash action. If you fail the save, you fall prone. Magical healing removes the limp.
5–7
Internal Injury. Whenever you attempt an action in combat, you must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, you lose your action and can’t use reactions until the start of your next turn. The injury heals if you receive magical healing or if you spend ten days doing nothing but resting.
8–10
Broken Ribs. This has the same effect as Internal Injury above, except that the save DC is 10.
11–13
Horrible Scar. You are disfigured to the extent that the wound can’t be easily concealed. You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.
14–16
Festering Wound. Your hit point maximum is reduced by 1 every 24 hours the wound persists. If your hit point maximum drops to 0, you die. The wound heals if you receive magical healing. Alternatively, someone can tend to the wound and make a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check once every 24 hours. After ten successes, the wound heals.
17–20
Minor Scar. The scar doesn’t have any adverse effect. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.
Instead of using the effect described in the table, you can put the responsibility of representing a character’s lingering injury in the hands of the player. Roll on the Lingering Injuries table as usual, but instead of suffering the effect described for that result, that character gains a new flaw with the same name. It’s up to the player to express the lingering injury during play, just like any other flaw, with the potential to gain inspiration when the injury affects the character in a meaningful way.
Massive Damage
This optional rule makes it easier for a creature to be felled by massive damage.
When a creature takes damage from a single source equal to or greater than half its hit point maximum, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer a random effect determined by a roll on the System Shock table. For example, a creature that has a hit point maximum of 30 must make that Constitution save if it takes 15 damage or more from a single source.
d10
Effect
1
The creature drops to 0 hit points.
2–3
The creature drops to 0 hit points but is stable.
4–5
The creature is stunned until the end of its next turn.
6–7
The creature can’t take reactions and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn.
8–10
The creature can’t take reactions until the end of its next turn.
Day 14
You freeze in place under the dense jungle foliage as you hear chittering claws scrape against wood somewhere above you. Your short time in the jungle has taught one thing: everything was out for your blood. Heart pounding, you slowly glance upward, and your breathe catches in your throat as you see a colossal centipede easy as thick as you are wide slowly crawling across a limb of a tree about twenty feet up is. Spotty shafts of sunlight that have managed to punch through the virtual ceiling of fauna overhead illuminate in dappled patches the carnivorous insect's glistening crimson carapace. Thousands of skittering legs clack across the branch, each one beating a clamorous staccato against the wooded limb as the centipede languidly traverses the canopy.
You dare not move, barely breathing until the creature finally crawls out of sight. You have seen a centipede like that one take out an entire pack of raptors before, and you know you would be no match for a hungry centipede if it noticed you. You stand still for several minutes after the sound of its skittering limbs crawling upon branches fades away, breathing in the hot and muggy air as you wait to move just in case the centipede is still nearby. The sounds of the jungle are almost deafening: birds squawking and shrieking at one another, insects buzzing about you, distant branches toppling to the ground under the weight of hundreds of pounds of moss and vines, and the not-too-distant reptilian screech of a raptor on the hunt. That last sound is what finally encourages you to move once more. If you avoided that encounter with the centipede only to be torn apart by a pack of voracious raptors... No, it was best not to think about that kind of thing. There was only one thing you could focus on right now...
Survival.
The premise of the campaign is that you woke up on a tropical island with no memories of who you are. However, this just isn't any island; this one is packed to the brim with deadly monsters, savage beasts, and harsh terrain. Yet despite your primal surroundings, you will eventually begin to notice that something isn't quite right with the island. There was some sort of... logic to the way things set out. This is no natural island, and you must discover who brought you here and why before something on the island claims your life.
If you're still interested after reading all of that, here's the application form that you will need to fill out and post on this thread:
Here's a link to the campaign if you want to catch up on what's happened so far.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/190825-surviving-the-unsurvivable-story-thread
Looking forward to seeing your applications!
DM- Azalin's Doom
DM- Surviving the Unsurvivable
I am certainly interested in being part of this. Rolling ability scores now and will submit a full application within a few hours.
Ability scores: 14, 12, 15, 14, 14, 14
Sounds awesome!
Ability scores: 10 11 14 18 14 12
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Placeholder
My titles are the great Silver Dragon Lord of the Sky, Second in Command of the Dragon Cult, High Warlock of Cynophobia, High Cultist of Jeff, The Lightning Mage. I’m a ✨Chronically online teenage boy✨, and one of the most active posters on the forums (MORE THAN SALEM AND GONZALO). Always open to talk if you’d like to shoot me a PM! Please don’t hesitate to tell me I’m being a jerk or overbearing, I love helpful feedback! Love y’all!
Extended Signature!
Gonna go for a striker/support hybrid. I am assuming that Tasha's variant class options are fine? Specifically the Dedicated Weapon feature for the monk. I've intentionally left the names of places/people blank since I'm not sure what the setting is outside of the island.
Keras wasn't prepared for the life he was forced to live. He was born to the king of a small coastal nation, third in line for the throne. They were not a rich country, most of the populous were fishermen by trade and the location was politically insignificant to the point that no force had ever bothered invading them. Despite their lack of importance, they were a proud people and the royal family was the figurehead of that pride. As the third son of the king, Keras and his younger sister, Ceri, were under far less pressure and scrutiny than their two older brothers. While he still received a formal education that included everything from training with the sword to memorizing ancient poetry, his favorite activity was spending time with the court alchemist, Telial, learning about medicine and science.
When Keras turned sixteen, his home fell. He was woken by Telial in the dead of night and told to run. An army of black-armored knights from the south had attacked the city and stormed the castle. Keras' people had fine warriors, but they were too few in number and taken unprepared. The rest of the royal family was struck down, but Telial gave his life to distract the soldiers, giving Keras and Ceri the opportunity to escape the castle. If he had not been with his sister, Keras likely would have walked right back into the castle to fight. If not for Ceri begging him to run with her, he would have died that night.
They travelled for weeks, able to go unnoticed through a mixture of luck and the fact that they were presumed dead in the attack. They stayed ahead of the encroaching occupation and managed to smuggle themselves onto a ship bound for a large trading city in the south - a place governed by the very people who killed his family and destroyed his home. During the trip, Ceri grew sick. Keras hoped that when they set down she would recover, but her condition only got worse. Unable to afford the medicine he needed to treat her, he looked for work. After being turned down everywhere he looked, he got desperate and took to thievery. His lack of experience lead him to picking a terrible target - another gang of thieves. They caught him and tried to beat him up, but his combat training was more than enough to keep them at bay. Impressed by his skill, the leader of the gang stopped the fight and told Keras that if he needed money, he should try fighting in the pits. Keras took the advice, and joined the ring using Telial's name as a false identity. He quickly made enough money in fistfights to buy the medicine for Ceri. Despite her protests about the danger, they had no other way of making money. As such, Keras kept fighting. Eventually he made a name for himself, moving from small fights to proper gladiatorial bouts in the main ring. He was a bit of a fan favorite, being young and an underdog, and when he was finally allowed to fight with a sword again his wins became more and more decisive. After three years of fighting and building a new life, his world was once again turned upside down when he woke up on a strange, foreign beach with no memories and no supplies. He'd survived similar chaos once, but that is no guarantee he'll be able to do it again in this vicious and merciless place...
Keras spits into the sandy floor of the arena, the saliva stained pink with blood. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand as he reevaluates his opponent. The man is large, probably three times Keras' weight and at least two feet taller than him. At first Keras thought that his huge bulk would mean he'd be slow, but the throbbing in his left cheek is proof that he was wrong. Keras hefts his long, straight blade, eying the mans large axe. Both weapons are blunt in accordance with pit rules. You can't make money when your entertainment needs to be replaced every fight after all. At his size, that probably means very little. Sharp or blunt, if you get hit by him with that, you're dead either way. Keras thinks to himself as he slowly paces around the pit.
Kell shrugs, dropping his sword, letting it clatter in the sand. His opponent, who was readying to charge, stops short, eying Keras warily. Not dumb, either. Unfortunate. The crowd gasps, murmurs spreading round the stands. They're probably debating whether I have a death wish, or if I am simply stupid. Some of them probably think it's both. He grins "Well, I suppose I'll give them something to talk about" he mutters to himself. Then he charges. Taken aback, the man barely gets the haft of his axe up into a defensive position, but Keras ignores it entirely, ducking under the large blade and forcing himself close. He ducks down, then snaps his left elbow out, taking the man just below his ribs. Keras grins as the man screams, telling him that his strike was true. In short order he hits three more points with deadly precision, forcing the man down to his knees. Not giving him a chance to recover, Keras raises both hands above his head and slams them down onto his exposed neck, dropping him like a sack of potatoes. He looks up, but is greeted by nothing but silence in the stands. He looks at the pitmaster who gives him a small smile and a shallow bow. As understanding dawns on Keras, he smothers a laugh. No-one bet on me to win, just on how long I would last. I've just cost all of them everything. Just how much did the house win? He grabs his sword, giving them a silent salute, then stalks out of the arena before anyone decides that he would be better off in a canvas sack at the bottom of the river.
Hours later, Keras sits crosslegged on a chair at the small table in the tiny room that he calls home, the only thing they could afford on his meager winnings. He slowly pushes a needle through the shallow gash on his upper arm with practiced precision. He barely notices the pain, but every time it enters his skin, the girl sitting across from him winces. "Why do you still fight, Keras?" He finishes the stitch, biting the thread to cut it, then looks up at her. "You know why, Ceri. To take care of you. What would you do if I wasn't around?" A look of sudden determination crosses her face, and she lifts her chin slightly "I'd find a way to survive, I'm strong." He smiles, then stands up and walks round the table. "I know, your highness, but I fight so that you don't have to." She shakes her head, frustrated. "That's not what I'm asking. Every time you fight, you look past the person you're fighting, as if they don't matter. You're not fighting your opponent, you're fighting them."
Keras sighs, looking away. "I...Yes, I suppose you're right. I wish I was more like you, I wish I could let it go" She frowns. "I hate them just as much as you, they took everything from me too." He meets her eyes, anger burning deep inside them. "It's not the same though, is it?" As she looks at him, she draws back slightly. "No." She concedes. "It's not the same. You're scary when you're like that. Don't...Just...Just remember that I care for you. And try not to let it rule you."
"I won't." Keras replies, the lie slipping easily from his tongue.
EDIT: Made a couple of edits to the backstory to make it a little less tropey, I think it all fits better now.
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
I think this could be interesting to me, I checked the game thread and I know some people and I think I would enjoy playing with them. The size of posts is also up my alley. You can always check my signature or post history to decide if I fit in. I'm traveling this week and it might take me a bit of time to fill out the form but I already have a character at level two that is tanky. Here's the scores for now.
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || b'Reh - Stig Cleric - Humblewood || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Zephirah - Demonic Bard - Sands || Merry - Gifted Surgeon - Short || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus || Lan - Dwarf Dragon - Wuxian ||
During a routine check on their traps, members of an elven conclave found a baby girl on the frozen ground next to the path they were following. By all accounts, the naked babe should have been frozen to death and it was even covered in a very thin layer of ice, but it was regarding them with solemn eyes, almost as if judging them. The group, that was accompanied by a dwarf named Urgon Wenth, took in the child and returned with it to Uthodurn. The elves took it in and raised it as their own, deciding to call it Taiga, an ancient word describing the environment where they found it, and the dwarf Urgon checked on her every now and then when he was in town.
Taiga was trained by the elves in marksmanship and as an agile fighter, while the dwarfs taught her the benefits of heavy armor and steadfast close quarters fighting. While not particular bright or wise and growing shorter than even the dwarfs around her, Taiga was as sturdy as a dwarf and agile like an elf. She was an orderly girl and always followed every instruction that was given to her to the letter, never complaining. She was particularly interested in forms and colours of the natural world and, specifically, in wood. At some point during her teenage years, she begun visiting a local carpenter and she started helping out in his shop and before too long she was proficient herself. Urgon frequented her and admired her craft and skill and, one day, regaled her a particularly well-made set of carpenter's tools in a leather Satchel that had an inscription that read, ‘There's no scrap wood just pieces not yet used’.
Taiga didn’t receive well the news of Urgon’s demise and couldn’t even bring herself to visit the body before the official service. When the day arrived she steeled herself and, knowing that she owes this to him, pays her respect at Urgon’s funeral. At the service she learnt that Urgon fell victim to a rare disease that now threatened to extinguish all life in the North, and she took it upon herself (along with a few other valiant adventurers) to find a cure. Their quest lead them to cross icy straits with a small island as their destination but they never arrived. A ghost ship had crossed their sailing route and the last thing she remembers was when the captained warned the crew about the eerie vessel that approached them. Next, she woke on the beach on a tropical island...
With heavy steps Taiga slowly joins Elro and the group at some distance to the ceremony. She nods to the elf and glances over the assembled group, then listens to what Elro has to say and replies, "Urgon told me much about you, wise leader of Palebank Village. If you think that I can help to unearth and fight what has befallen Urgon, I am more than willing to help, I feel that it is my duty." She turns to the rest of the group, while not quite successfully attempting to sweep away her tears with the fur lining of her cloak, and politely introduces herself to the kind spirits that Elro had selected for this quest. "I am Taiga, a friend of Urgon... " and she begins to sob, "... was a friend of Urgon. Thank you. Thank you all for helping." She gladly accepts Brix's offer, "To Urgon. And to your kind hearts. And that together we... may we break this icy curse," she says before taking a sip, "... or whatever it is," she adds with a cough.
"Uhhg, this burns! Brix Philbin!" now her eyes begin watering for an entirely different reason, "But it is good! It is very good."
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || b'Reh - Stig Cleric - Humblewood || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Zephirah - Demonic Bard - Sands || Merry - Gifted Surgeon - Short || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus || Lan - Dwarf Dragon - Wuxian ||
Character Name: K'vai
Race: Half-orc
Class and subclass: Barbarian (Path of the Storm Herald)
Ability scores (as rolled above): STR 18 | DEX 15 | CON 17 | INT 10 | WIS 12 | CHA 12
Background: Hermit (or, if permitted, Uthgardt Tribe Member, but that background does carry some of the benefits of the banned Outlander background)
Backstory: K'vai knows next to nothing of his parentage or birth. A member of the Grimshard clan since he was three, K'vai has been told by the elders that he was found sobbing among the slain after a battle between his clan and a roving band of orcs. Though not all agreed with the decision, Kvai's life was spared by decree of Rhom, the Grimshard shaman, who claimed the half-orc youth was an auspicious sign from the gods. Fiercely loyal to his clan, K'vai was nevertheless an oddity among his human mates. The old shaman, despite his eccentricities, was the one clan member that K'vai actively sought for conversation and company, and it was through Rhom that K'vai would be introduced to the ancestral magic that would lead him into becoming a Storm Herald.
Starting equipment: Maul
RP sample from your character's life/perspective:
Hunched near the waning fire, K'vai sat silently with the old shaman. The storm would soon be upon them.
"The clouds ... the lightning... the contrast," spoke Rohm in his usual halting manner. "Consider it. Learn from it, K'vai."
"The darkness of the clouds? The brightness of the light?" K'vai responded with uncertainty.
Rohm answered with the faintest of nods before adding, "Brooding darkness, yes. Blazing brightness, yes. But there is more."
K'vai closed his eyes and imagined himself atop a nearby outcropping, being whipped by the wind and rain that was soon to come. Maybe such a mental exercise would allow him to find the answer that Rohm sought.
The shaman's baritone broke the silence before K'vai could form a reply, "Shapeless and vast are the clouds. But precise and narrow is the lightning. The sky above you, K'vai, is a mirror. Your ashen skin is the darkness. Your fealty is the light. Your mysterious past is the great story without form. Your ferocity is that which is focused, always striking its target. This is the vision that fell upon my mind when I first beheld you so many years ago."
K'vai watched the last gleam of the fire go dim, content to say nothing more as he pondered the shaman's strange idea.
Your character's desired role and personality: K'vai stands where the battle rages hottest, swinging his maul and absorbing as much enemy fire as possible. Secondarily, he can aid the party with his knowledge of the wilderness and medicine. K'vai is stoic in hardship, surprisingly thoughtful in conversation, and, in accordance with his upbringing, inclined to see signs and meaning where others see only the mundane.
NOTE: Being new to the island, just like the rest of the players, seems suitable to me.
[Bumping for cooperative posterity]
This sounds interesting. I'll brainstorm a concept if this is still open for recruitment.
Noting rolls down because DnDBeyond's comment editor is sometimes a dumb-dumb: 14/11/14/10/16/17
William Brackwater: Human Fighter - The Windward Isles
Tyrgram, the Butterfly Knight: Dwarf Warlock - Secret of Greenwold
Iòlinder Corrach: Half Elf War Cleric - Allansia Adventure
Valerius Sergius Publius: Dhampir Paladin - Vae Victus
Alright, I’ll be closing recruitment by the end of today, so if anyone still wants to apply, now’s your chance!
DM- Azalin's Doom
DM- Surviving the Unsurvivable
Ability scores: 14 16 14 13 13 15
Backstory: Azothlin has little memory of what he was before - he thinks he was a soldier. What he knows now is a hunger, a hunger that is can't be satiated by food or drink. A hunger for the blood of others. He started his new life as a half man half undead beast with little control, and to his own horror committed murder when he drank the life away of a victim. Now he tries' to avoid drinking from humanoids, and will only try to drain animals. Hoping not to loose control, while trying to hide his curse from others. NOW: He has woken on this strange island with even less memory, but the hunger remains.
Roleplay example: "Ah, friends, thank you for the invitation. However, I will dine on my own, you see, I have particular dietary needs. Indeed I also have a slight sun sensitivity, nothing to be concerned about, but I think I will step off to have something in the shade. I should be back shortly" Azothlin tries to keep calm, hiding the hunger screaming in his veins, wanting to scream...he can smell their blood and it drives him mad. He waves and steps off into the forest, hoping to find a small animal, anything to quench his thirst.
Your character's desired role and personality: Azothlin will be a front line melee character. He is friendly with people, but very concerned about how they will react if they find out about his secret, and very concerned about loosing control.