I am gauging interest and potentially recruiting 4-5 players for a dark fantasy campaign set in a world where ancient magic, arcane technology, and the lingering shadows of the past collide. This campaign will be run as a play-by-post game on Discord. Below is a brief overview to give you a taste of what’s in store, without giving too much away:
Campaign Overview
Tone: Dark Fantasy, Horror, Epic Adventure
Setting: A world shaped by ancient planar wars, demonic invasions, and the lingering influence of otherworldly forces. Imagine Victorian-era technology intertwined with arcane magic, all under the shadow of eerie and mysterious occurrences.
Story: You will begin as survivors retreating from a catastrophic battle at the haunted Fort Archael, deep within the dark and twisted Dreadwood Vale. Your military campaign aimed to stop a cult believed to be summoning a powerful demon—or so it was thought. However, the siege quickly turned into a trap. Some of the greatest heroes of the age had come to put a stop to the cult, only to discover that the cultists had planned for this and used the very presence of these heroes as fuel for their ritual. The siege turned into a desperate retreat.
As you fled into the forest, cultists ambushed your group. Just when hope seemed lost, a sudden explosion ripped through the trees, and a bolt of lightning struck the cult leader with such force that you were blown off your feet and knocked unconscious...
Character Creation:
Starting Level: 3
Stats: Roll for stats (4d6 drop the lowest) or use Standard Array/Point Buy.
Equipment: Standard starting equipment, with the possibility of minor modifications to fit the campaign’s theme (e.g., an item of personal significance or slight technological enhancement).
Leveling: Milestone leveling will be used.
I should also note that I can assist with the backstories for locations, historical stuff, etc. There will be some homebrew rules to work with around corruption, madness etc. This is predominantly to see if there is any interest first and foremost.
I think I might be interested in this. I may need a few more info on the tech, the type of personal item and (Most importantly) the corruption and madness homebrew rules. Can give a little more info on those?
Also if you roll stats and don't like it? Can you then use Point Buy? Or once you roll, you have to play what you rolled?
If you prefer, you can use point buy for character stats, but one of the main aspects of this campaign is dealing with threat and risk, so don't worry too much about playing a character with flaws or drawbacks—they can add depth to your experience.
The corruption system will be point-based, adding an element of risk when dealing with specific enemies, artifacts, and magic. Demons, the Abyss, and the Far Realm are the main sources of corruption. As your character becomes more corrupted, you might experience paranoia, nightmares, hallucinations, short-term madness, or an unsettling aura that affects those around you. In some cases, corruption could lead to physical mutations that your character would need to recover from.
Technology in the world will depend heavily on how close you are to the main City-States. These City-States are the closest thing to nations, and near them, you’ll find machines powered by bound elementals, black powder/ magic infused ranged weapons, telegraphs, street lights illuminated by magical flames, factories, and constructs fueled by magic. The youngest of the City-States is a port city and shipyard for spelljammers and interplanetary trade for instance. However, the further you go from these places, the less technology you’ll encounter. For example, Dreadwood Vale is so remote that there are no transport links, no telegraph poles, and no portal or airship docks for miles. An important part of the history is that the city-states have frequently ended up become the last bastions of the worlds in habitants, while the rest of the world was often left to fend for itself in one way or another, other settlements of various sizes have grown around them and spread out but the further you go out the more err...interesting things get and more scarce technology becomes.
You can use any of the source books on dndbeyond, but I'll consider others where I can. Homebrew player options will depend on what it is and how it fits in.
Hi, looks very intersting but I don’t actively use discord. Would it be possible to do it over the forums on dnd beyond? If not that fine, good luck as well.
Draven Thornweaver, Male Human, (Not Hexblade, got him confused with my other warlock lol) Warlock of the Undead, Background - Sage, Alignment - Lawful Neutral (He leans toward good when he's able, but gotta listen to that Patron and get that forbidden knowledge)
Backstory: (Open to changes/additions) Draven Thornweaver was once a respected scholar in the city of (insert fitting capital city), deeply immersed in the study of ancient and forbidden knowledge. His relentless curiosity led him to uncover a mysterious grimoire hidden deep within the Grand Library, a book tied to an ancient and enigmatic undead entity known as The Archivist. This being, a keeper of secrets beyond mortal comprehension, offered Draven a pact—granting him access to powerful, forbidden magics in exchange for his service in uncovering and recording the hidden truths of the world. Eager to unlock the mysteries of the universe, Draven accepted, though the pact bound him to a path shrouded in secrecy and danger.
As a warlock bound to The Archivist, Draven walks a typically solitary path, driven by an insatiable need to uncover the deepest truths of the world. His research has led him to ancient ruins, forgotten tomes, and cryptic visions, all while struggling to maintain his own humanity in the face of the dark power he wields. This trend however, like all things, was abandoned when his Patron saw an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and artefacts from having him join the battle at Fort Archael.
Item of significance/technological thing: Energy shield, or anything to raise his AC really
If you prefer, you can use point buy for character stats, but one of the main aspects of this campaign is dealing with threat and risk, so don't worry too much about playing a character with flaws or drawbacks—they can add depth to your experience.
The corruption system will be point-based, adding an element of risk when dealing with specific enemies, artifacts, and magic. Demons, the Abyss, and the Far Realm are the main sources of corruption. As your character becomes more corrupted, you might experience paranoia, nightmares, hallucinations, short-term madness, or an unsettling aura that affects those around you. In some cases, corruption could lead to physical mutations that your character would need to recover from.
Technology in the world will depend heavily on how close you are to the main City-States. These City-States are the closest thing to nations, and near them, you’ll find machines powered by bound elementals, black powder/ magic infused ranged weapons, telegraphs, street lights illuminated by magical flames, factories, and constructs fueled by magic. The youngest of the City-States is a port city and shipyard for spelljammers and interplanetary trade for instance. However, the further you go from these places, the less technology you’ll encounter. For example, Dreadwood Vale is so remote that there are no transport links, no telegraph poles, and no portal or airship docks for miles. An important part of the history is that the city-states have frequently ended up become the last bastions of the worlds in habitants, while the rest of the world was often left to fend for itself in one way or another, other settlements of various sizes have grown around them and spread out but the further you go out the more err...interesting things get and more scarce technology becomes.
Hey I thought of a question. How does one reduce corruption and insanity points?
So magic will aid you with this, it gets explained a little bit more in the beginning of the scenes but that cultist died to the backlash of the ritual their leaders were performing in the fort. While it killed him it inadvertently caused your characters to have a link to a entity from the far realms. Bit like warlocks but in this case neither of you wanted it or were even aware of one another until that point, its a bit of a double edged sword but on the plus side your party is actually more resistant than the average population.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The whole premise sounds very very cool. I have homebrewed a Gun-wizard subclass some time ago and i think that could fit very nicely. Im gonna link it here, roll some ability scores and see what kind of character i could play (be it gun-mage or not) Sublcass: https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/1421154-school-of-trajectories I also created a few spells such as hail of thorns that give ranged weapon attacks some cool effects that would go hand in hand with the subclass
Ability scores (rr1n): 17137161510 Nevermind those rolls, they changed because i edited the post. will reroll should it become neccessairy
I am gauging interest and potentially recruiting 4-5 players for a dark fantasy campaign set in a world where ancient magic, arcane technology, and the lingering shadows of the past collide. This campaign will be run as a play-by-post game on Discord. Below is a brief overview to give you a taste of what’s in store, without giving too much away:
Campaign Overview
As you fled into the forest, cultists ambushed your group. Just when hope seemed lost, a sudden explosion ripped through the trees, and a bolt of lightning struck the cult leader with such force that you were blown off your feet and knocked unconscious...
Character Creation:
I should also note that I can assist with the backstories for locations, historical stuff, etc. There will be some homebrew rules to work with around corruption, madness etc. This is predominantly to see if there is any interest first and foremost.
I think I might be interested in this. I may need a few more info on the tech, the type of personal item and (Most importantly) the corruption and madness homebrew rules. Can give a little more info on those?
Also if you roll stats and don't like it? Can you then use Point Buy? Or once you roll, you have to play what you rolled?
Definitely interested, sounds awesome.
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
If you prefer, you can use point buy for character stats, but one of the main aspects of this campaign is dealing with threat and risk, so don't worry too much about playing a character with flaws or drawbacks—they can add depth to your experience.
The corruption system will be point-based, adding an element of risk when dealing with specific enemies, artifacts, and magic. Demons, the Abyss, and the Far Realm are the main sources of corruption. As your character becomes more corrupted, you might experience paranoia, nightmares, hallucinations, short-term madness, or an unsettling aura that affects those around you. In some cases, corruption could lead to physical mutations that your character would need to recover from.
Technology in the world will depend heavily on how close you are to the main City-States. These City-States are the closest thing to nations, and near them, you’ll find machines powered by bound elementals, black powder/ magic infused ranged weapons, telegraphs, street lights illuminated by magical flames, factories, and constructs fueled by magic. The youngest of the City-States is a port city and shipyard for spelljammers and interplanetary trade for instance. However, the further you go from these places, the less technology you’ll encounter. For example, Dreadwood Vale is so remote that there are no transport links, no telegraph poles, and no portal or airship docks for miles. An important part of the history is that the city-states have frequently ended up become the last bastions of the worlds in habitants, while the rest of the world was often left to fend for itself in one way or another, other settlements of various sizes have grown around them and spread out but the further you go out the more err...interesting things get and more scarce technology becomes.
Seems cool. I think I have a few characters that I might want to try for this.
What sources are allowed? Other than your homebrew rules would homebrew player options be allowed?
You can use any of the source books on dndbeyond, but I'll consider others where I can. Homebrew player options will depend on what it is and how it fits in.
I’m interested
When is this starting? Will the 2024 rules be usable then they release or is this strictly 2014 core?
Hi, looks very intersting but I don’t actively use discord. Would it be possible to do it over the forums on dnd beyond? If not that fine, good luck as well.
Characters (Links!):
Faelin Nighthollow - 7th Sojourn
Ability scores: 16 16 9 16 10 10
Draven Thornweaver, Male Human, (Not Hexblade, got him confused with my other warlock lol) Warlock of the Undead, Background - Sage, Alignment - Lawful Neutral (He leans toward good when he's able, but gotta listen to that Patron and get that forbidden knowledge)
Backstory: (Open to changes/additions) Draven Thornweaver was once a respected scholar in the city of (insert fitting capital city), deeply immersed in the study of ancient and forbidden knowledge. His relentless curiosity led him to uncover a mysterious grimoire hidden deep within the Grand Library, a book tied to an ancient and enigmatic undead entity known as The Archivist. This being, a keeper of secrets beyond mortal comprehension, offered Draven a pact—granting him access to powerful, forbidden magics in exchange for his service in uncovering and recording the hidden truths of the world. Eager to unlock the mysteries of the universe, Draven accepted, though the pact bound him to a path shrouded in secrecy and danger.
As a warlock bound to The Archivist, Draven walks a typically solitary path, driven by an insatiable need to uncover the deepest truths of the world. His research has led him to ancient ruins, forgotten tomes, and cryptic visions, all while struggling to maintain his own humanity in the face of the dark power he wields. This trend however, like all things, was abandoned when his Patron saw an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and artefacts from having him join the battle at Fort Archael.
Item of significance/technological thing: Energy shield, or anything to raise his AC really
Character Sheet: https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/130399594/Ji61g1
Ability Scores: 8 11 11 14 12 16
Hey I thought of a question. How does one reduce corruption and insanity points?
So magic will aid you with this, it gets explained a little bit more in the beginning of the scenes but that cultist died to the backlash of the ritual their leaders were performing in the fort. While it killed him it inadvertently caused your characters to have a link to a entity from the far realms. Bit like warlocks but in this case neither of you wanted it or were even aware of one another until that point, its a bit of a double edged sword but on the plus side your party is actually more resistant than the average population.
Rolling stats:
1 5 6 3
3 3 3 2
3 2 2 1
4 1 5 5
3 4 4 1
4 6 4 6
Final Set: [14, 9, 7, 14, 11, 16 ]
I'd like to jump in. I have a deep gnome articifer artillerist I'd like to use, especially since there is some limited tech available.
Couple of the usual questions on limitations. Races, gunpowder?
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/93744202/dcWFUZ
**This Space for Rent**
The whole premise sounds very very cool. I have homebrewed a Gun-wizard subclass some time ago and i think that could fit very nicely. Im gonna link it here, roll some ability scores and see what kind of character i could play (be it gun-mage or not)
Sublcass: https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/1421154-school-of-trajectories
I also created a few spells such as hail of thorns that give ranged weapon attacks some cool effects that would go hand in hand with the subclass
Ability scores (rr1n): 17 13 7 16 15 10
Nevermind those rolls, they changed because i edited the post. will reroll should it become neccessairy
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
Ability scores: 12 11 11 10 11 10
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep