Come, strangers, into a tale of woe…
You are but a small, frail handful of flickering lights set against great darkness. Many such embers have been consumed over the centuries but perhaps your tale will differ. Perhaps you have a unique destiny in store. It takes but a single strong spark to set the world on fire. Are you that flickering mote of hope? Perhaps… Then again, perhaps not… Time will tell. Enter the land of Barovia. A land of greys and shadows where light struggles against eternal darkness.
The Campaign
This will be a game built on the terrors of things that go bump in the night and the human spirit that fights or fails to fight against the inevitable. The overwhelming presence of a bespoke hell, created for one soul but trapping thousands. Gothic horror at its best! Curse of Strahd is the most popular official 5th Edition adventure for Dungeons and Dragons. And Ravenloft, in general, has been one of the all-time most popular settings throughout D&D history for good reason! My version of this epic classic is filled with new twists and turns and many homebrew changes to the storyline. This is the perfect adventure for someone that may already have played through part of the Curse of Strahd adventure, or even DM’d it in the past. And if you are totally new to the story, you are in for a DREADFUL treat!
The story and realm lend itself exceptionally well to a role-play heavy, character-driven campaign and that is what I intend to bring to the table. While combat will play a significant part in this campaign, there may be many occasions where physical conflict is the least likely option to guarantee you meet the goals set before you. This world is not the domain of adventurers, it is the domain of those that prey upon the stout of heart and many of the creatures roaming it’s misty darkness will take great delight in destroying any that seek them, or simply find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The game will take place on alternating Sunday Evenings Eastern US time at 6:30pm. Games typically run 4 hours but could be a bit more or less depending on how things flow for a given session.
The Perfect Game For You.
An ideal player for this game, first and foremost, is someone looking for an experience that is very different from the heroic fantasy seen at most D&D tables. For you will be heroes, but Ravenloft is decidedly not a heroic story. It is a story of survival. It is a story of human frailty and the agony of choosing the least-bad choice rather than the best choice, for often there are no truly good choices to be had. Additionally, if you are the kind of person that loves to live and breathe the characters they build and truly try and dwell in the imaginary reality we, as a group, will be creating, this is a story for you! Theater geeks, fantasy fanatics, and lovers of web series like Critical Role; who are looking for that kind of immersive, character driven experience, will fall in love with the story we are telling.
So come, forge ahead in to the mists…Who knows what hides in it’s darkest depths.
Who am I?
I have been running table top games since 1988. I’ve played and/or run a gambit of systems, from super-detailed games like GURPS to super-story driven, rules-light games like Fiasco. D&D (2e, 3.x, and 5e), Open Legend RPG, Various Green Ronin products, Batman the RPG, Marvel Super Heroes (TSR), etc.
My non-gaming background is in theatre and historical recreationism. I have a deep passion for medieval and renaissance history and years of experience in improv and live theater, which I bring to my tables to create authentic-feeling worlds and characters with unique personalities and voices.
When it comes to my combat sessions, I am going to challenge you! I have invested hundreds of dollars in top notch, high quality digital map and token products which use Isometric perspective to create a really unique and beautifully immersive combat experience. I also work hard to ensure that my combat encounters are filled with monsters and villains that behave tactically and intelligently when appropriate and instinctively if applicable. In short, in my games, The Monsters Know What They Are Doing!
What You Get
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Most importantly, you will always be guaranteed a safe place to be who you are. Everyone of every stripe is welcome at my table and I will not put up with any personal attacks or derogatory language toward any real-world person. It’s a horror game, and bad things happen in-game but it will never be allowed to flow out of the game.
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Professional quality ambient and story specific sounds and music through Syrinscape.com
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GORGEOUS top of the line map and token art purchased from the best map makers in the industry!
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Experience. I’ve run this campaign already. I have researched it exhaustively, and I know what it needs for an epic story to be told
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Voice acting and descriptive story-telling. As a theater geek and improv enthusiast, I will bring many voices to our table and do my utmost to tell this story as immersively as possible.
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A Discord Server for voice chat, campaign tracking, and chat during the game and between session
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Creative and challenging combat scenarios. In this world, the things that go bump in the night know what they are doing.
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Significant homebrew improvements and changes to the story. Even if you’ve played this adventure before, I will likely bring quite a bit of new material to the story for you.
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An open line of communication with me as the DM. Feel free to reach out to me any time via Discord direct message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. I am always happy to talk shop, character ideas, answer questions, and discuss any concerns that come up during the game.
Your Investment
By committing to a semi-weekly gathering for less than the cost of a night at the movies with popcorn and a drink, you will have the opportunity to explore this dark and fantastical land and help create a truly memorable D&D experience! Our cost for this campaign is only $30 per person, per session and our sessions last 3-5 hours, depending on the pacing of the group.
Applying and Joining the Game
Make sure you meet all these requirements before reaching out to me via Discord:
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You are aged 18 or over.
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You are comfortable with playing in a game with mature/horror themed, Rated-R subject matter.
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Willing to play D&D for 3-5 hours per session, 2-3 sessions per month
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You own a microphone of decent quality (no stutter, background noise, etc)
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You own a decent quality webcam (using video chat for games goes a long way toward eliminating any of the communication issues that crop up with voice-only games)
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You have a free DndBeyond.com account.
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You have the free Zoom app.
If you are interested and meet our simple criteria, please reach out to me.
Apply to play here: https://startplaying.games/adventure/clqmkh1ri000807jv041yh9y4