Guys, this campaign has exploded. Originally this was supposed to be a loosely connected campaign with no plot, but shit's gotten crazy. We have a wiki, a campaign journal, a discord server, two Dungeon Masters, over twenty short stories, and over 30k words in text roleplays. Sign-ups are closed. Hi, y’all. This is the official Dungeons and Dragons sign-up page. What is D&D? It’s a fantasy roleplaying game where you make a character, roll dice, and have fun with friends. It often involves improvisational acting, creative problem-solving, and math. Typically groups have 3-6 players. We might have more. I’m new. Can I play? Yes. I might not be available to play very often. / I’d like to try one session, but I can’t commit. That’s fine. The campaign is designed to allow people to drop in and out easily. As we play, though, the world grows, and we may develop a long-term plot. You can read about past adventures HERE. What do I need to do? Read the rules. Post in this thread below to sign up. Create a basic character. Later on, in order to actually play the game, you will need to create something called a character sheet. What do I need? The Basic Rules. The basic rules are available for free online. D&D Beyond. D&D Beyond is a popular app for your phone or computer. It will help you create your character sheet, track hit points, track inventory, track abilities, ect. There is both a paid and unpaid version. A 5th Editon Player’s Handbook. This is the full, hard-cover rulebook for players. They cost $28 on Amazon. You don't need to buy this to play, but it's a helpful reference guide. Where do we play? We will host our sessions on a website called Roll20. We play once or twice a week, depending on who is available. You can join our Discord server here. Come join us and ask questions. When do we play? We rotate between Thursdays and Saturdays. Saturday at 1 PM central time. Thursday at 7 PM central time. Check your time zone. Be there or be square. We play minimum once a week, but sometimes we play BOTH Thursday and Saturday if we have enough people available. We play 2-3 hours per session. I’m a more experienced player. What kind of D&D game is this? Lots of roleplaying. Puzzles and creative problem solving. Some combat. Low mortality. What can I expect from you as a Dungeon Master? I like roleplaying. If you create a backstory, I will probably work it into the game. Can I do a homebrew thing? No. Please use the official races and classes from the Player’s Handbook or D&D Beyond. We have a Discord server for questions, off-topic discussions, on-topic discussions, and general chat. Come join us!
RULES No homebrew. No cheating. Do not share links to pirated or otherwise illegal material. If a conflict starts off-forum, it stays off-forum. If you have a conflict with another player (or with me) during a session, don't bring it here. If there is a serious conflict with another player, you are welcome to message me privately and I will try to help you solve it. It gets real gay, so you better be comfortable with that.
THE WORLD The GOLDEN AGE has passed. Centuries ago, there was a great age of magic and wealth. Now—due to constant monster attacks—the empire has fallen. It is the DARK AGES. You work for THE GRAVE RUNNERS’ GUILD. You job—as part of a focused strike force—is to scour ancient ruins for magical technology. You live in SKYPORT, a large independent city-state.
To sign up, please post your character here. CHARACTER NAME: RACE: CLASS: GENDER: BASIC PERSONALITY (optional): BACKSTORY (optional): D&D Beyond Character Sheet Link (optional): PLAYER NAME: (This can be a nickname, forum name, or your real name.) PLAYER PRONOUNS: (The pronouns you, as a player, not a character, prefer.) This is a list of base race options. Spoiler Dragonborn, dwarf, elf, gnome, half-elf, half-orc, halfing, human tiefling. There are also official expanded options, but they're hidden behind a paywall in D&D Beyond. This is a list of class options. Spoiler Barbarian: A savage warrior who uses rage to deal large amounts of damage. Bard: A charismatic jack-of-all trades who uses music to inspire allies and cast spells. Cleric: A holy priest. Healers and spellcasters. Paladin: A holy warrior. Often leaders and soldiers. Druid: A nature-based spellcaster who uses magic to manipulate plants, summon animal allies, and shapeshift. Fighter: Hits things with a sword. Monk: Punches things with fists. Rogue: Assassins, thieves, and shifty con men. Ranger: A nature-themed, dexterity-based warrior. Often archers. Minor magic. Animal companion. Sorcerer: A spellcaster born with innate magic. Often descended from dragons and other magical creatures. Warlock: You made a deal with the devil in exchange for raw magic power. Wizard: You learned magic through studying. Nerd. Please do not make your character a chaotic evil dick. The basic premise of the game is “several people form a cool adventuring party and solve problems together.” Your character needs to work well with others. If you choose to play an evil character— that's okay, but you still need to function within the group. Subtle evil. Smart evil. Not "stab children and shank the paladin" evil.
USEFUL INFORMATION/ FAQS Everyone starts at level one. If you want to DM, talk to me, and you can DM a session (or longer). We will use a milestone leveling system. If you attend two sessions, you get a level. This includes if you DM a session-- that counts towards your character's level. Use the D&D Beyond app. It’s very easy to set up and will guide you through making your character for the first time. We will be using something called a “point-buy” system to decide character stats. This is the default option in D&D Beyond. Alternatively, you can use the standard array in D&D Beyond. If you have questions or just want to chit chat, join the Discord chat. It’s quite active. This is what some people call a “pick-up” game, which means people may be dropping in and out. Each session is a self-contained oneshot, but there may be an overarching plot. I will probably create a progress journal to keep track of what’s happening. As DM, I am probably going to do silly accents, characters voices, and otherwise embarrass myself. You (as a player) don’t have to do a character voice if you don’t want to. The GRAVE RUNNERS’ GUILD is run by guildmaster JOAN RIPLEY— a neutral good human paladin NPC. Ripley will generally give you quests and information. She is a tough, grizzled combat veteran. Think “retired cop.” You can decide what your relationship with her is like. Never met her, old friends, uncomfortable enemies, whatever.
CHARACTER NAME: Rodger Hammerstein the Third (goes by Roddy) RACE: Tortle (humanoid turtle) CLASS: Bard GENDER: Male BASIC PERSONALITY (optional): Charismatic con artist. BACKSTORY (optional): See below D&D Beyond Character Sheet Link (optional): https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/MusingWordsmith/characters/3860590 PLAYER NAME: MusingWordsmith PLAYER PRONOUNS: She/her Backstory: Spoiler Rodger Hammerstein the Third (otherwise known as Roddy) started life like any other tortle. Living life with his parents, having the wisdom of ages passed on, sadly watching them pass away just a few short years into his life. But that's when things got interesting. Rather than hang around in the wilderness, Roddy headed for the first sign of people he saw: a travelling circus. The circus was happy to take Roddy in, Tortles were not a common sight and anything to call attention to themselves meant more money. Plus, Roddy was a good distraction when more stealthy members of the troupe set about picking pockets and the like. Roddy learned a lot from the circus folk. How to play the lute, how to charm, how to wheedle, how to con. Finally he had enough. He was going to strike out, and make his own way! It wasn't as glamorous as he'd expected. Sure, he managed to make enough to get by, but when you spent a lot of time in one city, people started to recognize you as 'that guy'. So Roddy found himself drifting towards an adventure's guild. Gave him an excuse to leave down, and swindle a few new faces, and still leave him a home to go back to. After all, what's the worst that can happen?
CHARACTER NAME: Hansel Granger RACE: Half-orc CLASS: Fighter GENDER: Male BASIC PERSONALITY: Grumpy fretful dad BACKSTORY: [see spoiler tag] D&D Beyond Character Sheet Link: link Spoiler: backstory tl:dr: Hansel was raised by his human farmer mother and stepfather and has never had any contact with his orc father. At 16 he left home and ended up becoming a high-seas pirate, eventually marrying his captain, Mikhail "Mishka" Haeth. The same year, Mishka stole all of his crew's money to make himself a cushy life on land, and Hansel found this unbearably scummy and left him. The pirates struggled with Mishka for about a year before everyone but Hans disappeared at sea in a mysterious incident that he doesn't talk about. Hansel hasn't been back out to sea since. He lives with his adult adopted son Jonn (pronounced "Yon") Sterling, who was an orphan Hansel took under his wing as a child, and who is now a thief. BACKSTORY Hansel was raised (and named) by his human mother and stepfather, dairy farmers named Marion and Elijah Granger. He's never had any contact with his biological orc father, nor does he even know who he was. He also has a younger half-brother named Leigh. He hasn't seen any of them in about fifteen years. He left home at 16, finding farm life too dull and peaceful, and signed onto the first ship he could, looking for adventure and finding work guarding merchant vessels. When one of those vessels was boarded by pirates, he had no problem switching sides. Piracy was much more exciting. When he was 23, he encountered a pair of orphan beggars in a port. Happening to know the town, he took the kids to a nearby convent, where he discovered that the Mother was abusing the children they were fostering. He solved this problem with murder, left a more moral nun in charge, and kept checking up on the kids and sending them money whenever he could. This is how he became friends with Jonn and Lucienne Sterling. By 28, he had met Captain Mikhail "Mishka" Haeth in a seedy pirate bar, and ended up signing onto his crew. Mishka flirted with him unabashedly and eventually won him over, despite Hansel's reluctance to express any mood other than "vaguely grumpy". Mishka coaxed him open somewhat and became the only person he would be emotional and vulnerable around. When Han was 31, the first mate officiated their wedding at sea. The same year, Mishka made off with all of the crew's earnings and sold their ship in order to buy himself a house on land and a vineyard. He tried to get Hansel to join him, but knowing that he probably wouldn't, didn't tell him the plan until it was all over. Han was completely betrayed and chose to stay with the crew instead. Over the next year, the crew floundered to keep their heads above water. Eventually, their busted-up replacement ship sailed into port one day with only one sailor remaining: Hansel. He doesn't talk about what happened to his friends. Since then, he's been afraid of the ocean and making his living as a fighter on land, sometimes on one side of the law, sometimes the other. He lives with his 'son', Jonn (who brings in money through thievery and prostitution), in an inn, but is often away for long periods of time due to work. NOTES: Hansel is a vegetarian. He owns a maple mandolin, which he plays extremely poorly, as well as a copper collapsible spyglass and compass. His hoplon shield is painted black and emblazoned with a red downward-pointing chevron, a recreation of the trademark pirate flag of Mishka's ship, The Red Blade. The symbol is now also the logo of Mishka's wine. He's missing his protruding lower right canine. ALLIES Jonn Sterling -- human 'son', 23 Jonn (pronounced 'Yon'; soft J) was a street urchin whom Han took under his wing about a decade ago. Since Hansel came in from the sea, they've lived together at an inn and pooled their income. Jonn is a thief in his own right and occasional prostitute. Lucienne Sterling -- human 'daughter', 15 Jonn's much younger sister, currently living at the convent where Hansel placed them as kids. She's studying to become a nun and cleric. Han visits her when she can, but the convent is in a different city from where he and Jonn live. They write each other frequently. Mikhail "Mishka" Haeth -- high elf ex-husband, 117 The captain of Hansel's pirating days, until he stole all of his crew's loot and even sold the ship right out from under them in order to buy himself a home and vineyard. He wanted Han to join him in this, but Han found the entire idea repugnant. Mishka is now doing quite well for himself and has no problem helping Hansel out, if Han can swallow his pride/disgust and ask. ENEMIES Captain Dread "Jonesy" Jones -- tiefling pirate, 35 A sworn rival pirate of Hansel's former captain and husband, Mishka. They were feuding before Hansel even met Mishka and she still has it out for both of them, even though neither lives the pirate life anymore. Spoiler: reference picture (large) PLAYER NAME: izzybot / Izzy PLAYER PRONOUNS: he / they
CHARACTER NAME: Bydge RACE: Eternal Elven CLASS: Ranger GENDER: Female BASIC PERSONALITY: Varies BACKSTORY: [see sheet, tbd] D&D Beyond Character Sheet Link: https://ddb.ac/characters/4369840/YGnnT6 PLAYER NAME: EternalElvenBydge (DNDb) / Some Guy PLAYER PRONOUNS: male of the species
CHARACTER NAME: Goro RACE: Half-elf CLASS: Cleric GENDER: Male BASIC PERSONALITY (optional): chaotic evil dick who stabs children and shanks the paladin Nice D&D Beyond Character Sheet Link (optional): https://ddb.ac/characters/4361415/Rg7Wel PLAYER NAME: Lina/Lauren/Dragon Turtle/God Emperor PLAYER PRONOUNS: she/her
CHARACTER NAME: Larkin RACE: Tiefling CLASS: Rogue GENDER: Female BASIC PERSONALITY: snarky, sarcastic, lives for loot will probably help shank the palading BACKSTORY: Spoiler Larkin's a thief turned professional who used to run a fairly successful 'procurement' business together with her partner Finch. When their patron set them upon one especially difficult but profitable job, they botched it, resulting in Finches near-death and arrest. Larkin, realizing any effort to try and save him would be futile at best and get herself killed at worst, bolted and left her partner behind. When she learned he was alive but locked up, she tried to get him free on bail but couldn't come up with the sum on her own, so she had to ask their patron for a loan. Finch, however, wasn't grateful for his release, blaming his arrest on her for leaving him behind. He vanished, leaving Larkin with the debts of both the spoiled job and the loan. To pay off her debts (and spare herself some really uncomfortable consequences shouldn't she be able to), Larkin chose to employ her skills for a treasure hunting guild. And maybe, she hopes, she'll be lucky enough to come across Finch again, getting a chance to stick him with something pointy. D&D Beyond Character Sheet Link: https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/Jenissej/characters/4362256 PLAYER NAME: Jenissej/Alex PLAYER PRONOUNS: she
I’m adding mine. If someone else decides to DM later, this is what I will be playing. CHARACTER NAME: Sugar. GENDER: Female. CLASS: Sorceror. RACE: Tiefling. BASIC PERSONALITY: Fucking adorable. BACKSTORY: under the spoiler cut. Spoiler Most tieflings are born with red or blue skin. Most tieflings are surly, chaotic, and dangerous. Sugar (to her parent's horror) was born pink, with a sunny disposition and bright personality. Her parents named her Nixbixitus. Since most people are completely unable to pronounce this, she has adopted the name “Sugar.” All attempts to teach her to be evil failed tragically. In a last-ditch effort to toughen her up, her parents threw her out and forced her to become an adventurer. Sugar believes she is on “permanent vacation.” Naive, precious, and kind, Sugar’s #1 goal in life is to help other people with her magic.
I'm so tempted to try this out, but I know that I'd probably never be able to make it to a game due to my work schedule. Damn.
If you want to try it and happen to have an opening, you’re welcome to. The campaign is designed to allow people to drop in and out easily. Sessions will be episodic. If you character joins for one session, then drops, or comes in and out, it’s assumed that when you’re “missing” you are “on a different mission for the Guild.”
What about level and stats or are we doing that when we have our first session. (I'm still debating on character options, so I'll post bio later)
CHARACTER NAME: Edith Cumberbottom RACE: Rock Gnome CLASS: Ranger GENDER: Female BASIC PERSONALITY: Edith is logic driven, but is also a bit crazy. She is incredibly intelligent and creative, but is also wreckless and careless. Spoiler: backstory Edith was never interested in politics. Instead, she valued knowledge and storytelling. As a child, Edith’s life was pleasant. Her family was always the talk of the town for its protesting, but her life was still peaceful. Then the old queen, Ezbeth, had died, and her eldest daughter rose to power, when Edith was ten years old. Tessela was a controversial figure, as she had no empathy for “troublemakers.” Edith’s life had changed when she had watched her best friend, Maybell, get slaughtered by Tessela’s army for a crime she did not commit. Edith knew that she wasn’t able to fight against Tessela on her own. Instead, she came up with an alternative theory. She would create a time traveling device that would rewrite history. She would prevent Tessela to become queen. Edith read up on time travel and items she needed to make the device possible. All the materials she needed could only be found in different villages, so she made it her mission to find these items. She traveled from village to village for several years. She returned to Whistlebloom at twenty to discover that her family was dead. She was deeply traumatized by the event and invested every waking moment of her life making the time machine. After a few months, she had built the device, but she had made a huge mistake. She had gotten the wrong stones that the device needed. To her surprise, the machine worked but she was unable to control what time period she could go to. She meant to turn back time just for a few years, not an entire century. Edith’s story begins in a foreign time period. The golden age. D&D Beyond Character Sheet Link: ddb.ac/characters/4399018/n8KdKP PLAYER NAME: EdgeLordess or Kayla PLAYER PRONOUNS: she, her, her's
CHARACTER NAME: Raef RACE: Elf CLASS: Rogue GENDER: Male BASIC PERSONALITY: "You suck, but he loves you anyway." Cynical, loving, relaxed BACKSTORY: Spoiler At some point in a person’s life they have to decide who they want to be. Do they want to continue to follow the laws of their society? Or do they want to say, “To hell with it”, and keep on wandering down the path they’ve chosen? When he was just 289 years old, Raef chose the latter and left his homeland in search of that fabled happiness so many spoke of. It isn’t to say he wasn’t happy back in his home land, but it isn’t to say he was happy. If he was honest with himself, he had grown bored there. He had spent much of his youth honing skills that would serve him later in life, wandering around, and trying actively to not be a nuisance while somehow still being one. It was a fairly easy life and, he often thought, that was why he had grown restless. So he left. The end. The world had had was filled with magic, whimsy, dirt, disuse, and many other unsavory things, but there were all fascinating and the young elf desired to spend every bit of his time seeing just what he could get up to in order to alleviate the boredom that had plagued him for centuries. However, even the greater world can mimic the smaller world he had left behind. There were still rules, still laws he had to obey, and, occasionally, there came along something that he couldn’t say ‘no’ to. Az was one of those things, and Az should not have been one of those things. For, you see, Az was an orc and no elf in their right mind would ever find themselves falling head-over-heels for an orc. Yet, there he was, at 295, staring at an orc lounging back in the booth of a seedy bar. It was dim, it was dark, and yet the orc shown like a beacon. (Or maybe it was just the alcohol he had consumed.) Either way, Raef felt like he had when he was still considered a teenager. He swallowed the last of his ale and drudged up all of the courage he could muster before walking over, trying very hard not to stagger. Within the year the two had eloped to a small cottage within the woods, set up just far enough out of a city to not be noticed and yet close enough that they could take an overnight trip to gather any supplies they were unable to make for themselves. Life was finally happy and that restlessness faded away into nothing. Raef became content within his sedentary life, cherishing the small moments he shared with Az in the secret of their home or in the well-tended garden out back. It was a peaceful time, but, as we all know, peace often comes to an end and it often ends with fiery flames licking at the walls. He had only been gone a day and a half, retrieving some fabric in order to mend the blanket on their bed, but it seemed a day had been all it took for Az’s former clansmen to track them down. As he rounded the corner, the small clearing was lit in orange and yellow hues and he could hear screams swiftly turning towards choked gurgles and then nothing but the roaring of the fire. That night would long haunt the elf. He tried to put out the flames at first, but they only spluttered and resumed their life until he was sitting on the warmed ground with tears etching their way through the soot that stained his face and his clothes. When the cottage was little more than smoldering ash, he picked his way carefully through the remains until he found what he could of Az. All he could find was a soot covered necklace on which hung several fangs that surrounded a melted silver mess that had once been a tree, and a small piece of burnt fabric. He placed the necklace around his neck, tucking it under his shirt because it hung far too long on him though it had fit Az perfectly. The blanket he placed into his satchel. Raef would never know how he made it through the days that followed, but eventually the cold hurt was swept towards a heated desire that would guide his every move. Now he no longer wandered around in search of that happiness that he had eventually found. Now he wandered to quench the fiery revenge that had settled into darkest depths of his soul. D&D Beyond Character Sheet Link: ddb.ac/characters/4417738/Kgizg0 Player Name: Mink Pronouns: He, him, they, their Edit: Backstory done under "spoiler".
We have a new person joining us from off-site, so I’m posting their bio here for them. Character Name: Mormiir Age: About 65ish Race: Mountain Dwarf Class: Barbarian Character Gender: Male Player Name: Jarl Player pronouns: he/him Character backstory: Spoiler I lived my early years happy with the mountain tribesmen, believing I was one of them. You can't really tell the differences between a human child and a young dwarf after all. Well—maybe the red beard I had with 12 should have been a giveaway. When I hit 20 years I realised that I wasn't one of them. They told me I was found as a small child, maybe 1 year old, by hunters near a cave entrance. I had nothing but a small necklace coverd in runes and a red scarf on me. In the cavern was a big pillar holding up the ceiling. Sadly the hunters died 10 years ago and no one had a clue where there old hunting grounds where. I lived for another happy 40 years in that tribe, becoming the chieftain. For a while at least. Because of my terrible leading skills and the fact that warriors who are usually 2.5 m tall don't like being bossed around by a literal dwarf, I decided to leave and search for my family or even clan. I grabbed my axe and backpack and went my way. As I said, my sense for direction is terrible and soon I was completely lost. In a forest. Why was there a forest in the mountains? Luckily some trappers showed me the direction to a near by city: "Skyport". I heard the trappers talk about a guild of treasure hunters. Surely these people come around. Maybe they can help me find my place of birth. I'm just a bit worried about the "kidnapping and skinning" they mumbled about...
We've ended up being quite a bit more serial than episodic, which makes it awkward for new players to join, unfortunately. There's way too much backstory at this point to get caught up on, and it'd be hard for the DMs to fully incorporate a new player character into the current drama. Sorry! You're welcome to check back when/if we start a new campaign
