About
The Nexus
We are an inclusive LGBTQ+-friendly Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition gaming community. It's vital that all players understand that respecting each other is not optional, and we do not tolerate sexism, racism, transphobia, or any other kind of discrimination or harassment. Play nice, or don't play at all.
We play on Discord for voice (mandatory) and video (optional), and FoundryVTT for gameplay. We use DnDBeyond for creation and leveling, but all content is provided so you don't need to buy anything.
DATE/TIMES: Variable, depending on player needs.
PARTY SIZE: Games will run with as few as 3 players and up to however many is appropriate for each adventure.
Game Specifics: We are an 18+ (non-explicit, meaning there will be adult themes such as violence and other sensitive topics, but nothing overtly mature will take place) roleplaying community currently building out our tabletop membership.
Only campaigns will have a set, permanent party. One-shots and other special sessions will not have a pre-defined party, nor is there a singular DM. DMs will announce their games ahead of time and those who are available can opt in to play them (often times, we will give a couple different days or times and players can notify the DM of which is most convenient).
Our setting is a vast multiverse custom to our community; at its center lies a place called The Nexus. The Nexus is similar to the city of Sigil, acting as a bridge between worlds, planes, and even universes.
What this means is that a party might consist of characters from worlds across the multiverse, and any given adventure might take them from one world to the next.
Unlike West Marches systems, our community is narrative driven, with lots of opportunities for RP as well as combat encounters. Additionally, players have opportunities to develop their character between adventures with individual side quests (like an open-ended downtime).
How Do I Join?
Join us on Discord here!
Once you arrive, you'll be in the #role-react channel. Click on the D&D icon and you'll get the D&D channels opened up for you. There's instructions on character creation, our backstory, player-written logs of the adventures they've been on, and so on.
Nexus
Backstory
The Nexus sits amidst a spiraling galaxy of infinite possibilities, a citadel of transforming landscapes where all paths must eventually converge. Here, adventurers from across the varied realities and planes regularly arrive, heralded by a glowing beam of light that pulses with their arrival.
Some come of their own free will, with intention and purpose, while others find themselves in the Nexus through no action of their own. No matter how you arrive, you're welcomed by the long-time residents of the Nexus. Given simple lodgings and the basic necessities to survive, you are left to your own devices, the Nexus and its pathways open to you.
Your character can be from any D&D-appropriate background and location* as long as you are not using established non-D&D properties. While the background is up to you, they arrive to the Nexus as a level 1 D&D character, with all that entails. Any special powers or titles they once held no longer apply.
Your characters will travel from the Nexus to a multitude of different realms. DMs (Dungeon Masters) will guide you on explorations far and wide. Create your character with this in mind. You may find yourself in a desert one adventure, and in a lush jungle on the next.
* That is to say, your character cannot be from a modern or futuristic universe, nor can they be from a non-D&D property, such as Warhammer or League of Legends, for example. When in doubt, open-a-ticket and ask.
You may notice the backstory is particularly vague, and this is intentional. You, as players, alongside your DMs, will weave a story together from these loose threads. Make the most of it!
Creating
Your Character
Getting Started
| 1) | Create a DnDBeyond account |
| 2) | Join the DnDBeyond Nexus campaign. |
| 3) | Create a new character. On the first page, it will allow you to set some options. You should enable the following options and disable all others: Sources: - Critical Role Content - Magic: The Gathering Content - Eberron Content - Noncore D&D Content Advancement Type: Milestone Hit Point Type: Fixed Use Prerequisites: Feats, Multiclass Requirements Show Level-Scaled Spells: Yes Encumbrance Type: Use Encumbrance Ignore Coin Weight: Yes Character Privacy: Public |
| 4) | Give your character a name and image. |
| 5) | Choose a race. All options shown for the Sources we enabled in step 3 are valid except for "Custom Lineage". |
| 6) | Choose a class. Everyone starts at level one. |
| 7) | Enter your ability scores. You may use either point buy or standard array. |
| 8) | Determine your character's background and any additional choices granted by that background. |
| 9) | Select your starting equipment. |
| 10) | View your character sheet. Copy the URL for your character and paste it into the character creation channel on Discord. |
Once it's been reviewed and approved, it will be imported into our game. Your comment will receive a ✅ to let you know there's nothing more to do. If your comment receives a ❌ instead, you'll be notified of what needs to be corrected.
About Races
Once you select your race, you may have additional choices to make. These will appear with an exclamation point. When selecting languages that your character might know, you might be overwhelmed at the number of options you're given. Many are obscure and uncommon languages. The most common languages will be those directly tied to a race, such as dwarvish, draconic, elvish, and so on. When in doubt, choosing one of those can be a safe bet!
About Classes
As with your race, you may have additional choices to make here before moving on. Most spellcasters will be asked to choose their known and prepared spells at this time. Look for the tab below your class name labeled "Spells". Click "Learn" next to each spell you wish your character to know and/or prepare. Known spells cannot be changed, however you will be able to adjust your prepared spells anytime your party takes a long rest. Simply notify your DM of the change when this happens.
About Characteristics
You should also enter your character's "Physical Characteristics" at this time (hair, skin, and eye color, height, weight, age, and gender). Sections for "Character Details", "Personal Characteristics", and "Notes" are all optional and only serve to guide you.
About Equipment
When given the option to choose between equipment and gold, please choose equipment. You will be prompted to make choices between different options available to you depending on your class and other aspects of your character. You may uncheck any items you do not wish to claim, but DO NOT add any additional equipment.
About Alternate Characters
Each player is allowed to have one character when they start. However, as your character advances, this changes as described in the "Leveling Up & Progression" chapter, under "Unlocking Alternate Characters".
Leveling
Up & Progression
Character Progression
The Nexus uses the milestone leveling system. As such, rather than using Experience Points (XP), you'll progress based on certain criteria. For The Nexus, that criteria is adventure-based. Here's how it works.
To attain a new level, you must play an additional number of adventures equal to your current level. For example, a level 1 character advanced to level 2 after one adventure. A level 5 character advances to level 6 after five level 5 adventures. To put it another way, that level 5 character will need to play a total of 15 adventures to hit level 6.
This means advancement will slow down considerably around level five, which is the part of the game many players seem to find especially engaging, as characters have interesting and fun abilities, and encounters are challenging and rewarding.
See the progression chart on the right for a leveling breakdown.
Adventure Tiers
Each adventure is separated by "tier". D&D 5e uses a level tier system to indicate, generally speaking, how a character might stack up against the world at large.
Tiers Chart
| Tier | Level Range |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1-4 |
| 2 | 5-10 |
| 3 | 11-17 |
| 4 | 18-20 |
Adventures will generally be limited to characters of the tier listed, though there may be exceptions (for example, if an adventure isn't full, the DM may allow players who are close to the tier to join).
Unlocking Alternate Characters
When a player levels a character to a new tier for the first time, they unlock a character slot and can then create a new level 1 character. For example, when your character reaches level 5 (Tier 2), you unlock another character slot. When your second character reaches level 5, you don't unlock another until a character reaches the next tier at level 11 (Tier 3). This caps out at a total of 4 characters.
Level Progression Chart
| Level | New Adventures Required to Level Up | Total Adventures Required To Reach |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | - |
| 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 4 | 6 |
| 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 6 | 6 | 15 |
| 7 | 7 | 21 |
| 8 | 8 | 28 |
| 9 | 9 | 36 |
| 10 | 10 | 45 |
| 11 | 11 | 55 |
| 12 | 12 | 66 |
| 13 | 13 | 78 |
| 14 | 14 | 91 |
| 15 | 15 | 105 |
| 16 | 16 | 120 |
| 17 | 17 | 136 |
| 18 | 18 | 153 |
| 19 | 19 | 171 |
| 20 | 20 | 190 |
This may appear daunting, but don't worry. We keep track of character progress, and your DM will let you know when it's time to advance.
Opting Not to Advance
You may opt not to progress a character. This would usually be done to keep that character in a certain tier, so you can continue to play games offered at that tier. When you do this, you may choose to advance at any time, however adventures played in the interim will not count towards your advancement.
Joining
The Adventure
You're free to sign up for any adventures in your character's tier, as often as you like.
Signing Up for Adventure
Getting started is easy enough. Keep an eye on the Discord channel titled "#adventure-plotting", where new adventures are planned and announced. Additionally, keep an eye out at the top of the Discord, above the "Server Information" category. There you'll find "Events", where upcoming adventures will be shown.
Downtime
AKA Side Quests
Between adventures, you can post in the side quests with what your character (please specify their name) would be doing.
Please note: your character should take part in their first adventure before pursuing any side quests.
Some things are simple and won't require anything more than you stating that they're doing it. For example, if you simply wish to relax and spend time in a local tavern, you can do that!
However, other things will require additional interaction, and if that's the case, a DM will reach out to you to resolve it. This may or may not lead to new, full-fledged adventures!
Be creative! The official downtime rules in the DMG and in Xanathar's are both a great place to look for some ideas: you could spend time working for coin, seeking out information, crafting something (if you have tools that you're proficient in), or anything you can imagine. Some activities will take more time than others, and unlike other systems, we won't be tracking "downtime points" or anything like that. Instead, each side quest pursuit is different.
DMs will react to your pursuit with ✅ once they're resolved, and ❓ while it's unresolved and being worked on.
If you need inspiration, please check out this helpful video. It should give you an idea of what you might want to pursue.
Side Quest Ideas!
-
Explore ways to make money by taking jobs, or perhaps other more questionable methods.
-
Have a one-on-one conversation with an NPC you met recently.
-
Try to find a buyer for that magic item you just found, but have little use for (though, perhaps check out the information on Player to Player Exchanges on page 6 first!).
-
Ply your trade, crafting items for yourself or others.
-
Or whatever you can imagine!
Economy
Of the Game
Between adventures, whether your character left off in the Nexus or elsewhere, you can safely assume you have access to a basic general shop. There, you are able to buy or sell mundane items (that is, items you would find in the basic equipment section of the Player's Handbook). Gemstones (or other material components) valued at 100gp or less are considered mundane for these purposes and are available for purchase.
When buying, you will pay the rate listed in the PHB (or at the link provided).
When selling, you will receive 10% of that price, rounded down (the owner of the general store needs to make a profit, of course). Gems sell for full value.
Post in the economy channel on Discord with your character's name, starting gold, ending gold, and the items you are buying or selling.
For Example
Tyrim sells a Longsword for 1g5s and buys a Lance for 10g. (Starting gold: 50g, Ending gold: 41g5s)
Then, update your character via DNDBeyond. Before your next game begins, make sure the DM has imported your updated character sheet!
Player to Player Exchanges
Once you have arranged a deal, post the exchange in the general economy Discord channel and "react" to each other's post to confirm the deal.
Dungeon
Masters Needed!
Seeking Dungeon Masters!
Dungeon Masters make the game possible. With an ever-growing community, it's vital that we have DMs offering games at different times throughout the week. If you'd like to contribute, please let us know!
If you're an experienced DM, and you'd like to help The Nexus grow into the very best it can be, we'd love to add you to our family.
Each Dungeon Master runs a campaign, rather than just a series of one-shots, and so if you have a campaign you'd like to run, why not do so with us? Each campaign runs independent of the others, however the possibility for crossover events is there, and players are always free to take part in one or more of them! By running your campaign within The Nexus, you'll have access to a wider pool of players, all eager to engage in the world you're building.
Reach out to OddSquirrel#5418 on Discord if you'd like to bring your campaign into The Nexus. We'd love to have you!
DM Perks?
Of course! DMs receive perks they can redeem for benefits on their own characters, be it special magic items, character advancement, and so on!
Your time running the game shouldn't come at the expense of your own character, so rest assured that your hero will be taken care of while you lead the table to great adventure.
Are You Ready?
Join us on Discord here!
Once you arrive, you'll be in the #role-react channel. Click on the D&D icon and you'll get the D&D channels opened up for you. There's instructions on character creation, our backstory, player-written logs of the adventures they've been on, and so on.