Session 0 is free and first session is half off! Hey all! You can call me swizzle, swizz, whatever you want really! I have been playing and DMing D&D since I was about 7 or 8 years old. Currently 32 I am looking to bring all of my experience running games to some new tables! I have been running a homebrew Ravenloft campaign with the same players for well over a year now, and my campaign before that lasted about a year as well. I would say my style focuses mostly on difficulty, fun, realness, and did I mention fun? In the words of one of my players in my current campaign "Relaxed overall vibe to sessions. Intense action. Extremely well balanced combat scenes. Always feel on the fine edge between success or failure, which makes every decision seem significant. Lots of laughter no matter how intense the moment. Unusual and interesting puzzles and scenarios. A 4 hour session of play feels like an hour" I do change some of the rules from RAW 5e, mostly when they make no sense or for general ease of play and enjoyment, such as potions only taking a bonus action in my games. Even though this is a paid game I am still looking for the right players. I think having a group that is aligned on what it's goals are and what they enjoy doing is going to be the most successful and fun for everyone involved. I also try to run very inclusive tables, all are welcome at the virtual table of Swizzle (as long as you are an adult!). I also like to tailor my content to my group. I frequently will poll my players on how things have been going, what they've enjoyed, what they want more/less of, that kind of thing. I also like to incorporate backstories into my world, and the best way to have your own "arc" is to write a great backstory! All of my maps that I use in my games are made custom for that game, I use Inkarnate. This will be an 18+ game. Now for the long winded part of my write up, some info on my world of Etharia! The adventure will be starting in the city of Elban, in the country of Montverde, on the continent of Etharia. Elban is a large mining city on the shores of Lake Mahter, the lake that births the Mahter river that is the lifeblood of the country of Montverde. Lake Mahter is nestled into the foothills of The Tiraloc Peaks, a vast mountain range with peaks that disappear into the very clouds themselves. Rumor has it that the lake has no bottom, as no one living has ever been to the bottom of it, and strange things and even sea creatures sometimes wash up on it's shores. To the south of Elban is The Locwood, a dark forest that contains all manner of creatures, beasts, and some even say there is a witch living in the densest darkest parts of the forest, but few dare venture there and those who do seldom return. The locwood get's it's name from Tiraloc. A massive lake to the south of the Tiraloc Peaks, that was once the brooding grounds for an ancient and benevolent Golden Dragon named V'zerrak'Veyan, The Cloak of Dawn in stories passed down through the generations. The mighty golden dragon has not been seen for some centuries however, with whispers that he has taken ill from Elban's curse and retreated to his lair atop the peaks. In Elban in particular V'Zerrak'Veyan is a figure held in extreme reverence. A local bard of generations past even composed a poem depicting the Cloak of Dawn's mighty deeds and his liberation of the area from the evil wizard Elban. You see Elban used to be called Elban's Demise and was in an entirely different location along the northern coast of Montverde, but it is said the dying curse of Elban was so strong that within years all the crops in the area had died, plagues ran rampant, and the folk had to flee their homes and relocate. Some folk still refer to it as Elban's Demise, not wanting to forget the atrocities that unchecked magic and power can beget, but as the years have gone on the maps now simply read Elban. The poem reads thus On sunshine's wing the golden one comes to save all ye For it hath been seen the destruction that was wrought by Elban's foul wizardry From Tower to Loc; & from Loc to Mountain The golden breath of lawful death erupted in a fountain Mighty Elban stood melting, in the face of this great beast and with his last breath, burst forth horrible, black speech I curse the lands you live on and the waters of your brood strike me down and be damned false face of law and good And so the tyrant Elban returned to ash as the fire sealed his fate But his words will live on in these lands in remembrance of his hate. The capital of Montverde is Orentheim which lies on the southern coast, some 400-500 miles away from Elban. A city built on top of and on the side of a massive cliff in a bay just south of the Razorcoast. Scaffolding like docks and planks make their way from the docks and the water of Orentheim's massive port all the way up to the top of cliff some 1000 feet above. Shops and even some homes have been carved out of the side of the cliff face and this area is called The Stilts. It is a buzzing hub of trade and activity within the city. The rest of Orentheim is broken up into 14 different districts, with 1 separate central district where the real power lies, and where the main government of Montverde operates. It is an absolutely massive city, covering roughly 80 square miles. Most of the districts are broken up either by race or by function (such as gnome, or manufacturing). Not to say that all of the races don't interact or aren't friendly with each other, for the most part, but where people live does tend to be drawn down racial lines, though there is no strict law declaring this must be the case. Anything and everything can be found in Orentheim. From massive city walls, to clockwork constructs, to a sprawling magical academy, to more seedy elements, all can be found here. In addition to being the capital of Montverde Orentheim is also the largest port in the known world, let alone the continent of Etharia. There are other towns in the rough area of Elban, but Elban is the largest city in the northern half of Monteverde, though not by much, mostly because of it's location at the mouth of The Mahter, making it a bustling location for river based trade. Having the Land Grasp Mine just on the other side of the lake doesn't hurt either, as it turns out valuable metals and gems with relatively few of the problems, at least lately, that can plague many mines. Port Vasper is to the southeast and is the closest city to Elban that is on the actual coast. It is also the only other city on the northern half of Montverde to rival Elban's size, but this makes sense since it is the only port in the area. It is also about the most southern you could have a port on the eastern side of Montverde due to the Vutha Swamp that eats it's way into the ocean itself. Spring valley is another city close to Elban, though to the northeast this time. It is the closest city to the fracture which is just what it sounds like! A very large fracture in the ground running with a diameter of about 75 miles. Strange creatures have been known to make their way up out of the fracture and attack the local farms and sometimes even make it to Spring Valley. Because of this people have been leaving the countryside for the safer walls of Elban and Port Vasper. Tradewind is on the opposite side of the fracture from Spring Valley and is a bit larger as it is on the coast like Port Vasper. Being a bit farther away from the fracture and the way the land sits it hasn't dealt with the same issues as Spring Valley so far. There are countless other cities, villages, hamlets, lakes, rivers, forests, wonders, and horrors here in Montverde and these make up just some of the larger and more important locales and facts about this land. Montverde is connected through a narrow land bridge to the rest of the continent. The next country down being the Diveran Dynasty. The capital of which is Casteross, which sits at the opposite end of the Mahter, where is flows back into the mountains in a violent spray of water that sends mist up for hundreds of feet, through which you typically see rainbows. It is natural, and violent, and beautiful all at the same time, and gives name to the mountains it furiously burrows into. The Rainbown Range. The Diveran Dynasty also houses the cities of Port Foot, Roundtable, Glimarten, Greenbrooke, and the Elven city of El'Aerys. South/Southwest of the Diveran Dynasty is the smaller desert nation of Asahra, whose capital of Sunsear is right across the river Erilyn from Greenbrooke, and both happen to be on the coast as well very close to Lignum Vitae, or The Tree of Creation. The river Erilyn is the first major offshoot of The Mahter and runs into the ocean. The desert cities of Panascus and Musulemana await you if dare brave the hot sun and sand of Asahra. From the Diveran Dynasty across 2 massive cliffs facing each other with a large river forming from a waterfall running in between them l ies Claxxantumarrius. This break in the land is called the Gorge and could almost be called the separation between good and evil. The Western countries of Etharia have long been peaceful with each other. Claxxantumarrius or The Claxx as they are called by many has long been an aggressor attempting to invade The Diveran Dynasty by land and Asahra and even Montverde once by sea. Not much is known about the actual land that makes up Claxxantumarrius but most just assume it to be a scarred landscape of magical deformities and such. This may or may not be the truth, who knows? What is known from the 1 diplomatic mission to ever be allowed into Claxxantumarrius is that the capital is called Xentrophelese, but they never made it there. The Claxx changed their mind and stopped the delegation on the Free Plain which is just past The Gorge. 75 years ago the Claxx invaded, but the free peoples of Etharia banded together and threw them back across the Gorge. Since then it has been a time of relative peace, but there have been whispers lately. A different taste on the air, a slight twinge in the wind. Something is stirring. What will it be and how will it take effect? Well that is mostly up for you to decide! This is a little bit about my world of Etharia! I hope that it got some of your creative juices flowing figuring out your backstory and who you may be and where you may be from! To learn more you must become a part of the story yourself. What kind of character will you be in this story? The hero? The reluctant participant? The anti-hero? It is all up to you and your own choices. Elban, Montverde, and more await you in Etharia! I have a discord server made for the game so just msg me on here or on discord Swizzle#0237. I have hand drawn maps of the world on the server as well as lore information. The way I am doing this is I invite you to my discord server. Once you join we can chat a little and set up a time to speak 1 on 1 for maybe 10-15 minutes, nothing too crazy. Just to see how we vibe and to make sure I am going to be the right DM for you, especially since you are spending your hard earned moneys! From there we will get a group together and then hold a session 0. I have not settled on an exact date and time for this game as my schedule is pretty open so I wanted to leave it flexible for now. The fee is $3/hr and sessions can last anywhere between 3 and 5 hours typically depending on how things are going. Any questions please feel free to hit me up on here or on discord! This will be an 18+ game with sometimes mature themes! <a href="https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/343128/dandd-homebrewery" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/343128/dandd-homebrewery</a> This game will require payment to the Game Master at a rate of $3/hr to be paid weekly via paypal. Roll20 is not responsible for any payment transactions and cannot enforce any private arrangements.