This idea has been stolen almost completely from the Living Faerun campaign, which is run by the amazing JoesToes. The main difference for this one is that there are a variety of DMs to suit various schedules and play styles and to try to cram in more games per week. EDIT: I have updated this post so that it is rather long but contains pretty much every basic rule for character creation and gameplay in the guild. PLEASE read through it carefully! If you just skim it, chances are you will miss important details! Character restrictions :As the nature of this
campaign is drop in and out I'm going to only place the restriction of
no evil characters. The campaign is about you joining a guild to
complete contracts together as a team. As such I expect you to work
together and not try and steal/sabotage/kill each other. Also if you wish to play a monster race you better come up with a damn good back story. Making a character sheet: Please use myth-weavers.com to make a character sheet. It's free, and it does most of the calculations for you. When you go to make a character sheet, please use the Sheets version rather than the old sheets index as it is superior in almost every way. Additionally, make sure that you pick a D&D 4e sheet to create. Backstory : It's
not mandatory to write one, but I'd like to encourage role play. So if
you do write up a nice backstory for your character expect me to give
GM's favor to them. No specifics on what this means but your efforts
won't be wasted. Attributes : Character attributes are generated by using the standard array (shown below). This comes out of the PHB1. Sorry, but rolling for scores is not permitted. You may use any standard array that can be generated by the 22-point buy system. If you're not 100% sure how it works, please just pick one of the arrays below. Note: these arrays do not include racial bonuses, which you can add on. 14 13 13 13 13 13 14 14 13 13 13 11 14 14 14 12 12 11 14 14 14 14 12 8 15 14 13 12 12 11 15 15 13 12 11 10 16 15 12 11 11 10 16 14 14 12 11 8 16 16 12 10 10 10 16 16 12 11 11 8 17 15 12 11 10 8 17 14 12 11 10 10 18 13 13 10 10 8 18 14 11 10 10 8 18 12 12 10 10 10 If you find this list too limiting, a list of ALL the possible arrays can be found here . If you decide to do a 22-point buy, please confirm that the numbers you picked are on the list in the link!!! Character Race/Class choice: Acceptable races and class builds are from any official 4e publications (PHB 1, 2, 3, Dragon Magazine, Arcane Power, Primal Power, Martial Power, Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms, Heroes of Elemental Chaos, etc. etc.). Homebrew races and classes will just not work for this campaign. I would prefer if you looked beyond just the first players handbook for a character class or race that fits the role you would like to play. Don't get me wrong, rogues are cool, but there's a lot more variety even if you just skim through the options in PHB 2 or PHB 3. It also makes it more interesting for other players to see classes or races they haven't seen before and for DM's to incorporate your story in with the rest of the guild. Side note: the feat "Master Crafter" is not allowed. Special Bonus!: Each lvl 1 character can start out with an expertise (weapon, implement, etc.) feat of your choice for free (You must still meet the listed prerequisites). Most expertise feats can be found either in the Essentials publication or here: <a href="http://dnd4.wikia.com/wiki/Feat" rel="nofollow">http://dnd4.wikia.com/wiki/Feat</a> Post your mythweavers link: You should post the link to your character sheet in two places: 1. In the appropriate thread in the forum ("Post character sheets here") and in the in-game journal entry for your character as the first line of their "Bio and Info" section. You can do this by going to the journal tab in-game, clicking on the character's name, and clicking edit at the top right of the box. While you're there... Post an avatar: You should find a picture of what you think your character should look like and post it as your avatar picture on the in-game journal entry for your character. This picture will be used to create the token for your character. Getting into a game: at the beginning of each game, each player will do a /gmroll 1d20 (No modifiers) to determine who gets in. The top 5-6 (DM's discretion) will play that session, provided they have posted their character sheet and have made their macros. Alts: Having an alt who can fit in with various other groups is an excellent idea (you don't want an all-controller party!), but please limit yourself to one alt (two characters total). When you roll to play, you roll for you the player, not for each of your characters, so you only roll once per session, regardless of alts. Your alt should be of a different character type than your first character! For instance, if your first character is a rogue (striker), don't make your alt a ranger (also striker). The reasoning behind the alt is so you can learn different roles in the game (defender, controller, leader), and play different roles when the party needs something else; repeating the same type defeats that purpose. Please learn the basics ahead of time : The PHB for 4e is widely available from various sources online (make sure you get the right one). You should make a moderate effort to get a grasp on the basics of roleplaying, including skill checks, the basics of how combat works (standard, minor, move actions), the difference between a burst and a blast power or a close burst if you have one or more of those, etc. You should read at least Chapters 1, 8, and 9 of the PHB (covering basics, adventuring, and combat), a total of about 50 pages, so it shouldn't take too long. No, we don't expect you to know all the rules for cover and concealment off the top of your head right away, but it will help everyone immensely if you know a little bit. Macros: before you play, each player will be expected to set up macros (either as # actions or ( preferably! ) as part of their in-game character journal entry) for each of their attacks/actions that requires a die roll ( including initiative rolls! ). Please note, you do not have to set up macros for skill checks
(acrobatics, athletics, arcana, stealth, etc.) unless you really want
to. This makes sure that the game runs smoothly and that people won't have to spend 2 minutes apiece going "ok... so I get a +3 proficiency bonus and my modifier is.... +3, so now I have to type "/roll 1d20+6" ok that's against AC, right? And that does how much damage?..." You get the idea. Setting up macros is actually really easy and we will help you if you get confused! Here's a VERY basic idea for macros. This attack is based off a Ranger 1 at-will /me uses Nimble Strike (at-will, standard action, ranged weapon, range 20/40, one enemy) [[1d20+8]] vs AC. If it hits, it will do [[1d10+5]] Damage /me can shift one space before or after the attack. Note that all the bonuses are already included in the rolls (+5 for dex +1 for 1/2 lvl +1 for bow expertise and +2 for proficiency with longbow) for the attack roll and (+5 for dex mod) for the damage roll. This way all you have to do is type #Nimble (or whatever you name yours) into the chat box for this attack to work, since you set up all your bonuses ahead of time, and the DM can easily compare the attack roll to AC and subtract damage without any confusion! If you are unsure about which bonuses go where, consult this thread , which gives a brief description of the difference between attack and damage rolls. Please include any and all specials or effects that your action causes, as well as if there is an effect if you miss! This will save us from having to consult the PHB or your character sheet every turn! Here is another example of a good macro (for people with more complicated moves than rangers or fighters): Phantom Chasm Daily ✦ Standard action ✦ Arcane, Implement, Illusion, Psychic, Zone range 10 ✦ Burst 1 /me makes a Phantom Chasm attack attack against the target's Will and rolls a [[1d20 +4]]. If the attack hits, it deals [[2d6+4]] psychic damage and the target falls prone and is immobilized until the end of its next turn. If it misses, the attack does half damage and the target falls prone. /me creates a zone from the blast where any enemy that enters the zone falls prone. The zone persists until the end of the encounter. More on macros can be found in the thread I wrote to help you write good macros, or on the roll20 wiki: <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Macros" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Macros</a> . Please note that I prefer the [[1d20]] notation rather than /roll 1d20 because it is less cluttered on the chat screen. If you are planning on playing with an alt, I would recommend that you
put the macros as token actions. (even if you aren't, you still should,
rather than using the # macros under the settings tab, as this allows the GMs to check over your macros for minor mistakes).
Go to the journal tab in-game, click on your character, click on
"abilities and attributes," and on the right side where it says
Abilities, click +Add once for each power you have (don't forget to
include ones for basic attacks and initiative). You can edit the title
and text by clicking on the pen button next to each ability. Be sure
once you have entered in the text for the macro, you click the check
button next to the title or else it won't save! Additionally, when
you do this, you should check the box next to each power that says "Show
as token action." This will make it so that these powers only pop up
on-screen when your token is selected, which will be especially good if
you have more than one character (we don't want you using wizard powers
for a fighter, etc.) Questions, as always, are welcome! THE BEST WAY TO MAKE YOUR MACROS IS TO JUST TAKE THIS TEMPLATE (BELOW), COPY-PASTE IT INTO SEVERAL MACROS IN-GAME, AND CHANGE THE WORDS IN PARENTHESES AS NECESSARY FOR EACH ATTACK/ABILITY YOU HAVE. (Power Name) (Action Class) ✦ (Action Type) ✦ (Keywords) (Range) ✦ (Target(s)) /me makes a (Power Name) attack against the target's (AC) and rolls a [[1d20 +(your attack bonus)]]. If the attack hits it deals [[(Power or Weapon damage)]] (damage type, if any) damage! (If the attack is against Fortitude, Reflex or Will, just substitute that defense in the place where it says AC, above) (If the attack has any special effects, list those here) Everyone must have the following macro : /me rolls for initiative: [[1d20+(add your bonus in here)&{tracker}]] Please have a Skype account and a working microphone: Playing RPGs via text is a long and arduous process, and we will be avoiding it for the most part here. Additionally, before you sign up to play you should check that Skype is updated and functional on your computer. (Hint: If you haven't used it in a week or more, it probably isn't updated. Try to open skype well before the game starts to make sure it doesn't spend everyone's time auto-updating). If you have not sent a character sheet and/or made your macros for a character yet , I think it's only fair that those who are prepared for that session get first dibs on the available spots. If you join a game and don't actually have your macros ready, you are not only wasting your time, but the time of 5 other players and the GM. Again, the GMs are happy to help you out with macros and understanding your powers at any time other than game time. There is almost always someone in-game who can help you out. If not, show up an hour or so before a planned session and some of the more experienced players will assist you. If you roll low and don't get into a session: then you get a multiplier for next time. For instance, say everyone but you rolled a 10 or higher and you rolled a 6. Well, next time you go to play a session, you get a x2 multiplier to your roll. If you still don't get into that one, you get a x3 for the next. Note: you have to show up for a session and roll to get in to get a multiplier. If you miss a session because you have work or something, that doesn't count. Please be respectful of others' time. If you plan to roll to get in, you should plan
to take part in each session for 3 hours. Some may not take that long,
but some will take longer. If you cannot stay for 3 hours (if you have
class or work in an hour and a half), do not roll to get into the game (an
exception can be made if we are short on players for that session and
you are up-front about your need to leave partway through). You are
making a commitment to your allies and companions when you play that you
will be there to back them up until the job is done. If you leave in
the middle of a session, it may result in a temporary or permanent ban
from the guild. Sorry for getting all in-your-face, everyone, but other
similar come-when-you-can games have had issues with people pulling this
sort of crap and leaving their teammates to die. The flexibility of
this game should allow you to play full sessions no matter what your
schedule, so unless we are pressed for players that session, you don't
need to resort to playing half of one. "What if I play a session and I don't like my character or its powers or its personality or anything?" We get that a lot of new people might not know a whole lot about the game and may pick powers that they don't like or characters that don't fit their personalities, and that's ok! Up until your character reaches lvl 3, you can do what I call a "full mulligan." You can either rebuild your character to have different powers, be a different race, or if you really don't like your character or class at all you can make a new character and transfer any XP and items from your old one to your new one. Please note: once you hit lvl 3, you can only retrain your powers/feats/etc. using the official method explained in PHB1. Cheating may result in a permanent ban! Note that honest newbie mistakes don't count, and I can't imagine this being a problem, but I figured it should be said. Hate speech/being an asshole to other players will not be tolerated: For most things, you get one warning, a "Hey, man, that's not ok. Don't do it again." If it is particularly offensive (you decide to go on some Hitler-esque rant), you will be banned with no warning. Again, I don't expect this to be an issue, but I want to keep this place as open and welcoming as possible, so I figured it should be stated up-front.
