About the D&D Campaign
Vibe
This campaign will be focused on roleplay and solving mysteries, with less focus on combat.
Think Merlin meets Knives Out; a Medieval Murder Mystery
Our campaign will start inside of a medieval castle: exploring its secrets, understanding the people in it's walls, and exploring how life is impacted when losing something taken for granted, such as magic (like the feeling of Saudade).
The campaign is also not going to railroad / be prescriptive of how the story will unfold. The world is set up to be teetering on the edge of change, and how it falls will be entirely up to you.
Character Creation
Create a 4th level character.
The following classes are allowed:
- Barbarian
- Fighter
- Monk
- Rogue
- Wizard
- Custom (talk to me if you'd like to do another class but with modified spellcasting)
The following races are allowed:
- Dwarf
- Elf
- Gnome
- Goliath
- Halfling
- Human
- Orc
- Tiefling
- A Mix Of Two
- Custom (talk to me if you'd like to do another race and we'll make sure it fits)
You can have any Medieval Occupation:
- Knight
- Blacksmith
- Servant in the Kastner House
- Member of a Royal Family
- Wizard's Apprentice
- Traveling Merchant
- Cantriper
- Innkeeper
- Plain ol' Peasant
- etc.
Starting equipment:
- 1 simple or martial Weapon
- Armor appropriate for your occupation (if any)
- 1d6 Silver Pieces
- 1 Rare Wondrous Item
- If the magic item casts a spell, it must come from the Wizard Spell List
In addition to a backstory, your character should also have the following:
- A reason why/how you have your Rare Wondrous Item
- Ways that the lack of most magic has specifically affected you. Examples:
- It pushed me to study Wizard magic
- The lack of healing magic made me lose a loved one, and causes deep resentment
- I wish I was born in the day of mighty Paladins and Sorcerers, they sound so cool
- etc.
(Optional) If you're up for it, give me a handful of "knives" I can use to "stab" your character:
- Youtube video for background on "Knife Theory"
- Examples:
- Sir Gallahop came and destroyed my village, but I escaped. He's my enemy
- I always get called short because I'm only a 2.5 foot tall halfling (everyone else is 3 foot tall)
- I am very close to my sister, and I would be in pieces if something happened to her
- My little toe glows for some reason, I don't know why
- etc.
At The Table
I will only be preparing 1 session in advance. This is not a bug, it is a feature: I want everyone at the table to feel like they are creating and writing the story together, not just getting through a predetermined sequence of events.
By only preparing for the next session, all players can be assured that any actions they take or crazy ideas they want to try will not derail the story.
As part of this, I also want to encourage as much improvisation as you'd like. Examples:
- Come up with in-world events that have affected your character
- "Which one is the King?" "At the flower festival last year, the King came and bought one of my pies! I know exactly what he looks like!"
- Say you have existing friendships and rivalries with NPCs
- "Me and the servant share awkward glances. It wasn't too long ago we broke up...but they would probably be willing to tell me more information about the Steward's health issues."
- Occasionally pull out the "I know a guy..." card
- "How are we going to get horses to ride out to the Faerie Pools?" "Well, I know a guy who has 7 horses, and he owes me a favor"
- etc.
As a DM, I am here to provide guidance to your ideas, and want to make you feel you don't need my permission to add to the story. I will weave your ideas together into something cohesive, as we all are building something together.
Don't just make stuff up willy-nilly. The purpose of this is to progress the story in new and exciting ways. All decisions have consequences.
In order to make this work, we all need to respect and allow space for other characters to have their own moments of improvisation. Avoid taking away the agency of other players, and don't be a dick.
