Welcome to your next adventure!
Session Zero.
Hail, fellow traveler! You are to embark on your greatest journey within the world of Marasula. This is a Homebrewed world held deeply within the ideas given from Van Richten's guide to Ravenloft, Blades in the Dark, Warhammer AoS: Soulbound, and Call of Cthulhu. This is a story about... well, you. In our world, you will tell the story of the situations budding around you. You will be the guide that shapes the world, while I, your DM, brings the rest of the world to life. Here your characters will tackle their personal mysteries the best they can while also gaining that of new friends and eliminating egregious villians of their past. Will they find love along these misty roads? Will they find satisfaction on closing a chapter of their life? It's all up to you.
For you, this will not be a linear campaign. Each section can and will be chosen by that of the players. Here we will chase your story. There will be moments where the arc of the story centralizes around one person, but still builds the others. If you aren't in the limelight now, don't worry, your time will come.
As the story unfolds, the things you knew about your character may have changed. Throughout their journey, people may die, others may grow strong. Their end may be growing near in a positive or negative way. It's all about your choice, and your choice matters the most.
Character Creation.
Levels
Every character starts at level 10 and will continue to grow from here. There's no real reason why other than I wanted your characters to feel as if they were getting well established into their craft. As if they got to where they wanted to be, but still have time to grow. We also level by milestone and achievements. For every massive encounter, hard puzzle completed, enemy defeated gains exp towards your next level. Bonus points if they are done creatively.
Sheets
You should have had your character created and made accessible through DND Beyond. If you haven't, please make sure it's finished and public. You can add it to the campaign group once it's finished. It doesn't have to have all the intricate detail in it, just all the stats completed. Make sure your interview is completed.
Books?
You're absolutely free to have any of the books used in this game to use for yourself. I'm not gonna stop you using your money. You can probably get them cheaper off amazon. I'll make sure to list the pdf and the amazon link.
- Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft: Amazon
- Players Handbook 5e: Amazon / PDF
- Dungeon Master's Guide 5e (gm): Amazon
- Call of Cthulhu Keeper's Handbook (gm): Amazon
- Call of Cthulhu Investigator's Handbook: Amazon
- Blades in the Dark: PDF / Quick Start / Amazon
- Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Soulbound: Cubicle 7 / Amazon
With the Trove down and everyone unsure of when it'll ever return, I, unfortunately, do not not condone piracy, but also do not have the pdf's for all of my books. However, for note sake: all of my books were bought legitimately.
The Story.
As I stated before, this was supposed to be a short campaign made up of different short stories. As I dug deeper into building each area, I got invested. So now this is a purely character driven actual play story. You, as the players, will be free to interrupt me at any time through the story telling to interject or have your character speak. There will be no maps being used, all purely imagination based.
Streaming?
I mean, you can just do that. Customize it for yourself. If you have your own character art, feel free to use it. If you would like to use mine, go for it. I even have ways for you to make the art more immersive with good old fashioned png vtuber goodness. If you take this route you're gonna need a few things:
- The Discord Overlay Kit
- Quick Discord Reactive Tutorial
- Discord Reactive Images
- More Explained Reactive Tutorial
- Assets from Chell - it's not a lot. more will be added. same goes with backdrops, character sprites/transparencies, maps, etc.
Now go nuts. Go crazy. Go stupid.
Session Zero.
Hopefully we can manage to hold just a 2 1/2 to 3 hour session due to some times games can just go and we lose track of time. The one thing I want to avoid is going past midnight. Talking about the game afterwards and character feelings and that draining onto hours after the game or after midnight? Totally different.
Table Rules.
- If you cannot make a game, please alert us ahead of time.
Games can be cancelled the day of in case of sickness, family, emergency, or whatever. Some things just come up. But I just ask that you let us know either some days in advance or hours before the game starts. Unless it is an emergency or health related, it's understandable. You take your time out. - If there is discomfort between players, please alert your gm or handle it like adults.
We're all big boys now. We can talk things out. But there will be no bad blood at the table. - Please, for the love of god, EAT.
I do not mind food or drink during games. Sessions take forever. We'll absolutely take breaks in between sessions, but please eat. Bring snacks. Have a shit ton of stuff with you. (but please mute if you have crunchy stuff.) - Do not force yourself to become the main character.
That's plainly stated. Everyone will have their moment. No one's story is greater than the other.
Dates and times
Our games will be once every other week/bi-weekly. This will avoid burnout and help with not taking all of your time. Remember your time and your friends time is valuable. We can always wait until the next session.
NPC's
Feel like you're short a player? Feel free to hire a random npc to travel with all of you. You do not need to carry this on two people unless you want to.
Hired NPC's can be found in taverns or in populated areas. They will stand out the most to the players if they are actively looking for a third partner.
Introduced Features
Combat and Dice Rolls.
From a DM point of view and as a player, combat has always been a boring or dragging part of the game. It disrupts the pacing and often pulls players from the immersion. And with combat being very dice heavy, I've pulled the combat mechanic from Dark Dice.
Combat
Rounds will knocked down shorter periods where the players will describe their actions of what they've planned to do to as long as it is practical. Players are still free to use dice to mitigate certain checks for something like a stealth kill.
This comes with the exception of when a player tries to do something more flamboyant or if the action is more ridiculous than practical.
EX: the player wishes to shoot a pin point arrow show through the eye of a guard. **you would have to roll for this.**
Players are free to kill enemies or be non-violent.
Welcome to Drysilia.
High above the church bells ring and the choir boys slowly make their way through that of the midtown streets. In silence, the elite, those decorated in jewels and silks stop dead in their tracks to make way for the sigil-bearer and those illuminating the streets with strong scents from their golden thurables. No one speaks. No one dares to move. Even the visitors awkwardly shift in their spots.
Pronuciation: Dreh-sill-ee-uh
Drysilia sits as a quiet holy land for god unknown. There are no kings here. There are no empires. The leaders of Faerûn barely even know this place exists. Yet it thrives brightly with no sight of poor or misguided among their streets. Those who make it into the city as a commoner or traveler enters on accident. It's seen as a place to lay a weary head rather than deal with the all too casual nature of the forest and main roads, but even the newcomers refuse to linger too long lest the paranoia of the unknown does them in.
Noteworthy Features.
- The city being filled with the affluent keeps the city rather busy. There is always a celebration, party, ball, or gala to attend. It all depends on where you want to go. As players, you are free to travel the city of Drysilia and take in their highlights of plays, dinners, art exhibits, and the markets for high-end shopping.
- Every week ends with a social event that invites the entire city called the Exalted Banquet (or just The Exalted.). It is a culmination party hosted by the heads of each family and clan. They also invite others from different areas and demi-planes.
- If you have a hunch about the city, you may be correct. People here are dangerously in debt, but pretend to be wealthier than what they claim.
- Members of the church are the highest members of the city and are seen as the leaders above even the richest clan or family. They can be spotted wearing all white with bright teal veils. Vicars can be found with solid teal, blank masks.
Important Sites
Darksprawl
Decorated with statues of beasts, Darksprawl sits as a reminder of the first fall of Drysilia. Crawling with creatures unknown and monsters only free from the first introduction of the mists, clans ran by hunters and mobs live freely here in attempts to keep the city wall high and strong. To outsiders, this area feels more accepting, even if clannish, than the others.
Dawngate
The church shines so brightly here. Most, if not all of those affiliated with the church live within this district and control just half of the Shortgate and Four Fields markets. When the church bells ring at noon, the people emerge from their homes in unified prayer as the the choir progression makes it's loop around Claygreen Park and back into the embrace of the Heaven's Dawn church.
Four Fields
Here lie the markets and the most active part of the city. Anything that holds entertainment lies here as the rest of it holds mansions old and new, teeming with that of the most affluential.
The Docks and Losthook
Ferrymen and travelers usually find themselves here. Though mostly seen as the fresh food markets, it's the least expensive area in the city, but also the most ignored. Though the city itself does not hold any one less than upper middle class, they are more on the middle and lower class side and do not care of the main city. More rogues, oathbreakers, tieves, and assassins are found here.
Heaven's Dawn
Is it a clan or is it a cult? No one is quite sure. The only things warned to those outside of the city is that they must never cross the church. Rumors sit high and mighty about how, even meaningless people, have come up missing after a mishap and no one is sure if the church has ordered their end or if someone with sway has done it for them.
Celarin and Ahien
Heaven's Dawn worships that of the twin successors Celarin (pronounced: sela-ryn) and Ahien (pronounced: ah-ee-in). They were the first leaders of Drysilia and assisted with eliminating that of the First Fall.
With Celarin a proud knight, the stories tell of how he fell a dragon on his first adventure and took its wealth as his own. Here Celarin distributed his wealth to that of the people in order to rebuild their home. As he grew older, it was told that within the wealth of the dragon, he kept the foul beast's heart as a treasure of his own. Seeking power, he devoured the heart only to find himself immolated and ascending to the Grand Hall (ie: heaven.)
Hearing of her brother's demise, Ahien gladly took over in hopes that she could do her brother justice. However in truth, she did not wish to become that of a King and layed out power among that of her peers. But in hope, she pressed that the church would live on as a beacon of his power so that others would know that they could achieve greatness as he did. Eventually, she soon passed on to join his side as the Dragon of Marble (Celarin) and the Dragon of Ruby (Ahien).
What the church refuses to speak of is how, even with the positive light shed, the two of them were the Judge and Executioner. Neither of them cared to give jury to those who wanted to prove their innocence. To the two of them, death was the only way to prove your truth and if you died at their hands, you were amended by that of their stars.