[LFP][D&D4E] The Living Guild

General Info The Living Guild is a group of 140 players and 11 DMs playing D&D4E.  We are always looking for more people as the more people we have the more games that get run, the more games that get run the more people want to play.  We are always looking for new player and new DMs.  With a community as big as we are and as focused on new players we are able to give a lot of guidance and help to players both new to TTRPGS and coming back to the edition.  Players start at level 5 and are given all the tools they need to make their character through a free downloadable program called the Portable Compendium which gives them all the information they need to make a character (although new players benefit heavily from reading the PHB which can also be provided). What days/times do you play? That is completely up to the individual DM. The 10 current DMs run games at radically different times of the day and week and with varying frequencies. While none of these are set in stone, here are some example run times from an example week (In my time zone cause I'm lazy and that's how I remember things): Monday 3pm EDT Tuesday 6pm EDT Wednesday 1pm EDT Thursday 8:30pm EDT Sunday: 3pm EDT So what's a "Living Campaign" and what is so good about it? Living Campaigns are ones where a lot of stories and plot-lines are loosely connected by a core principle of adventure and some basic rules which the DMs and players abide by when running their sessions. Living Campaigns have games when the DMs are available and players who are of the appropriate level are available. This means for the DMs and players there is no scheduled time commitment (For those of us that can't do 'every Thursday' games), a ready supply of players, and a lot of freedom to do your own thing. While some of the games are one-shots in nature, many of the games will carry over story arcs, putting Living Campaigns into the niche between "one-shots" and "Ongoing Campaigns". For Players: Glad to see you are interested!  Everything you will need to play (books, guides, etc) will be provided once you join.  You will never be required to show up to any game nor will you be pressured to DM.  Once you are added to the campaign you can browse the resources and guides to get your character ready whenever you have time.  The Guild has a multi-step process to help guide you from not knowing anything to having a character fully built, getting DM input along the way.  It also has a newly added video walk-through to help those who might need more specific guideance and are better suited to visual learning. For DMS: So you want to be a DM? Awesome. You are a hot commodity indeed (At least that's what the ladies say) ! One of the downsides to being a DM though is that people expect you to know everything about the game, make interesting adventures off the top of your head and be able to manage a room full of cats with ADHD effectively. Yeah, but I know literally nothing about 4e... That's perfectly fine. We aren't going to throw you in front of a bus and/or stampede of oncoming players. People interested in running games are first integrated into the guild with the new players so they can get a good feel for the style/group/system. The veteran DMs are very responsive to questions and can help get you from starry-eyed noob to grizzled veteran in a relatively short amount of time.   Why would I want to DM again?  Once you are a DM you get some special perks, including an increased chance of playing if you are running games frequently, and the ability to run almost anything that you want to run.  The campaign is designed to be very open-ended so we have sessions that take place in Forgotten Realms, Athas and Eberron side-by-side with games that take place in custom worlds.  As a DM you can also run and play at times that fit your schedule and with 100 players from Hawaii to Finland the chances are very good that people will show up to play.  For some they use this as an opportunity to stretch their legs as a DM, tell stories in a non-committal way.  Some people use the guild as a testing ground for encounters in a campaign (I know I did when I first started) and some are looking to build epic years-long story arcs leading towards an ultimate campaign goal (what I do now).  The structure of the guild means that you are able to try any and all of these without worrying if you will have enough players / enough time / be able to commit to a more standard 'every sunday' approach to tabletop. If you are interested check out our posting on LFG: The Guild Living Campaign If you have any further questions feel free to ask and myself or one of the other DMs will address your comments and concerns in the order in which they were received.

Update:  Might be up to 12 DMs now and still looking for more players and DMs.

As a new player totally down for giving this a try, just wondering about the flexibility with making characters.

Players have a ton of flexibility on what they build.  Anything that is published material is fair game.  We don't allow homebrewed stuff just for balance  reasons, however if you want to refluff things that is very much suggested.  For example I play an 'old voodoo' style character who is a hobgoblin bard that describes all of his reroll powers as sacrifices of small animals (squirrels and rats mostly).  There is nothing that says that's how it works, but its cool and not unbalancing so the DMs embrace it.

Alright, so something like an animated suit of armor would be fine for a character?

I mean, an animated suit of armor is pretty much a Warforged.  So yeah, have at it Edward.

I'm new to D&D -- background is MUD/MUSH/MTG -- but would love to learn to DM well so I can run games with friends. Also work from home so I'm available for chat/discussion almost all the time ;)  Please advise!

Yeah, head over to the guild page and post that you are interested for an invite.

I'm interested but the link to your posting on LFG doesn't work for me, says "no listing found" EDIT: My bad just realized I may be a complete twat. 2nd EDIT: Is the campaign page different to the guild page?

So we did just remove our listing from looking for group which means the original link may not work for a bit.  I will address it later today.  If you want more information send me a pm or if it sounds interesting enough that you want to join let me know and I'll toss you an invite. 

Thanks for the invite and looking forward to joining The Guild. 

As someone who has been trying to get into the d&d thing. I'm certainly interested. But so far I've only read the books on 5e, there much difference between 4e and 5e?

There is a lot of difference between 5e and 4e. I don't want to spark an edition war in here, so I'll not say much more.  They are different and we help people learn to play 4e.  There are a lot of people, myself included, that have played/play 5e that can also explain things using the 5e terms as well.

Hello, i would love to join something like this, as a player. As for someone who played 3.5 and 5e is not very good in my eyes. So i would love to try 4e

I tossed an invite your way, welcome to the Living Guild.  4e is very different from 3.5 and 5e but I hope this is something you find to your liking.

This sounds pretty cool!  I'd like to sign up, if possible!

I've been looking for a way to play 4e again. I'd like to sign up.

You two are both welcome.  I'll be sending a PM shortly.

I've only played 1 4e session but I have listened to a few podcasts and am very interested in it. I have a lot of experience in 5e and Played AD&D when I was a kid.

Cool.  I tossed an invite your way Milo.  Hope to see you in skype/at table soon.

Thanks for commenting on my topic Gary! And I would love to try this out. A living campaign feels new and refresing for my roleplaying experience and I would like to give it a shot! Sincerely, Viktor Z.

Hey! Im very much interested, though I think I could use a bit of help, or at least a shove in the right direction to be able to get started. PM me and im in :)!

I would be interested in particapating as a DM and potentially a player. 

I would like some help learning the system though i have the phb 1 and 2. I want to play and eventually DM :D

I'll take some details too

I would also like some details on this session as well.

I have twenty years experience with ad&d 2ND edition, gurps, and white wolf. I never even looked above 2ND edition. I am interested in learning more about 4e.  The link still isn't working. May I get an invite?

@Cave J and LeProns.  What sort of details would you like?  If you ask specific questions I can give specific answers.   @Kwisatz I tossed you an invite with an explanation of why the link still does not work (It will likely work in about a week).

I'm completely new to this whole thing may I get an invite? Also is it possible to sit in on games on here and kind of observe?

I'm new to Roll20, so could I join to get a feel for it?

I would love to join in on this I have no experience with 4E but I have played a little bit of 5E

Specific questions: Are there any alignment restrictions? Will there be a link to the portable compendium from this thread, or does that come from gaining an invite? Is character creation point buy or dice roll based? How permanent is death, or how likely is a TPK in any given one shot? Are Flaws allowed? Mind sending me an invite?

Greetings and salutations! Long time DM here on roll20, in fact started out with 4ED&D as my go-to (gods it has been awhile). I am a rather... off and on sort of scheduled being but have looked a few times into your group. While I would prefer to join as a player, I don't mind picking up as a DM if my schedule allows once getting familiar with the group. Anyhow, I'll cease my typing as I may or may not have been at the ale-house this eve.

Gary M said: @Cave J and LeProns.  What sort of details would you like?  If you ask specific questions I can give specific answers.   I would ask if 4E is good for a beginner in that system, as well as if I could join so I could get a good idea how it would work with so many players.

Cave J. said: I would ask if 4E is good for a beginner in that system, as well as if I could join so I could get a good idea how it would work with so many players. 4E very much lends itself to beginners as for the most part your overall "choices" are pretty straightforward and bookkeeping versus other systems a good bit on the lighter side.

Questions: Are there any alignment restrictions? Yes there are.  You cannot play an evil character.  This does not mean you can't do evil or shady things (we are a mercenary company at heart), it is merely in place to set a civil standard for characters interacting with each other.  In the past people who want to be evil also want to be random and/or have problems when their actions have consequences.  That being said if there is anything you want to play (like a paragon path) that requires something that is not allowed in the campaign (Blood-crazed Berserker for example) we allow you to ignore whatever the pre-req is that isn't allowed by the campaign.  Which means you still have to be a fighter for that PP, but you do not have to be evil. Will there be a link to the portable compendium from this thread, or does that come from gaining an invite? This is on the FAQ and ALL PLAYERS READ THIS thread once you join.  Its a resource handed out to every guild member. Is character creation point buy or dice roll based? Character creation is standard point buy.  You will see detailed rules for character gen when you join. How permanent is death, or how likely is a TPK in any given one shot? True permanent death is fairly uncommon.  TPKs can happen.  Rules for both are listed in the FAQ. Are Flaws allowed? Flaws are not a default part of 4e.  However if you want to describe your character with flaws you are more than welcome to do so.  We operate on a standard of "Use the rules as close to as written as can be done while still allowing a lot of player freedom.  The rules say what mechanically happens, the player says what it looks like." Mind sending me an invite? Sure.  All invites received at the moment contain caveat.  Reading the caveat on the invite you receive is likely to make your experience with the guild much better. I would ask if 4E is good for a beginner in that system, as well as if I could join so I could get a good idea how it would work with so many players? Yes 4e is good for beginners.  Our campaign is slightly harder to do so for beginners because we start at level 5, however we have created some pretty extensive resources for players to use/read/etc when creating characters as well as a very active guild chat for discussing things about the game.  You are welcome to join (invite coming) please read the entire PM with the invite in it.

I am definitely interested. Came here from the reply that you posted on my thread in the forums. 

Hi, I'm interested in joining either as a DM or player. I have quite a bit of experience with 4E as both a DM with my own custom campaigns as well as a player and would be pretty available (usually). I generally prefer being a player but I'm fine doing either roles.

Hi im very interested to join as a player, but im still very new to the game if thats not a problem! :)

This sounds very fun and interesting, I would love to join as a player. It's been a while since I've played 4E, but I do have some experience with it.

I have no experience with 4e, but I do have experience playing and DMing lot sof other systems and this seems like an amazing idea. Please contact me at your earliest convenience. :)

Hey, I'm brand new to this but am very interested and keen to play. my time zone is GMT +10 and am very flexible with availabilities, please let me know if you have spots available :)

Hello. I'm completely new to playing RPG online, and probably considered a newbie playing D&D. I haven't played it in about 30+ years, but very anxious to check it out again. Could I please receive an invite, or is there anything/questions you have for me first? Thank you.

Update: The guild went through some summer cleaning to make sure to shake out the cobwebs.  We are down to 70 members total.  Our 2 new DMs recruited during this big recruiting drive have made it to "Trial DM" status, both looking very hopeful about making it to 12 DMs total.  We still have the LFG status turned off, so the link is off, however if a player is especially motivated and interested they might find themselves able to receive an invite anyway.

Hey, I'd love to join to get some more info, I know and love 3.5 and 5e but I'm sure I'll get the gist of 4e with a few hours of research/reading. I like this less time restrictive format alot eventhough I'd probably pick a day and attend that game then. Mind sending me an invite?

hey guys, played a bit of 5e real life table top game, currently in 3rd session 5e of into the abyss, shoot me an invite if you would like a regulary online player in your ranks for a go at 4e

I'd be interested in joining in.

Hey, So I would be interesting in joining and learning. The thing is, I am new, not the kind of new to have only played a couple of table top games or a couple campaigns kind of new. This would be my first time with any sort of role playing new. I have been trying to get a campaign going with some friends, but that has yet to pan out. So I figured I would try and find a group here, if that is not to troublesome.

Going to go ahead and bump this and edit the OP.  Our recruitment has been reopened.  If you are interested in playing please comment on here, or on the recruitment thread.