...(Continued from OP)
First off: I have absolutely no qualms about converting your toon to a blurred smudge-mark beneath an ogre’s club if that’s what happens. Do I enjoy it? Ya – I sorta do. SORRY! But it’s only because I want the party to feel the only type of fear I can truly create – the fear of being a smudge mark.
Thus: If you are afraid to get smashed and hate not having a stat/equipment advantage all the time, this won’t be the game for you. Not everything in fantasy life is fair – sometimes it’s just plain unfair.
The second thing is that I am an old guy – I played my first D&D in ‘79 and I was a junior in high school then. I prefer [Quote] older players [Unquote]. I also don’t care if you’ve ever rolled a D20 in your life. Good players need nothing more than their imagination - all else is gravy.
I read one thread where a young lady was concerned her gender would be an issue for some people. I cannot begin to imagine such a prejudice, but If you are a woman and harbor such a fear – don’t worry, I’m completely impartial – I’ll gleefully convert your toon to a smudge-mark as soon as anyone’s. Thirdly – I will create characters. (Which may be a nice thing for new players). I will make handful or so and you can choose one of them. Where you start in the game will leave you with no gold, no gear, and no freedom – so you’ll all be equal with nothing. (I think it gives rogues a fairly clear advantage at first).
That being said, I can be swayed to use a player generated character, but it must fit the environment, and it should balance the party. We can meet and discuss players and classes after we have 5 players – I am not going to do it in this thread. I also use Hero Labs and would prefer that your character be in this format so I can import it and maintain it. Despite being a mean DM, I do want you to enjoy yourself… sort of… at least until you are crushed to death by a stone block trap, or your head is eaten by a pack of zombies. I love undead.
As a bonus (or incentive, if you will) - if you use a character I have created I will give you 250 XP towards 2nd level. I do this because it’s easier for me. It may not sound like much, but it is rare that anyone levels faster than every 3-4 sessions, so it is a nice start.
Fourth is death: You will re-start as a new character that begins at one level below (1xp into the level) the character that died. Can you go backwards? Ya, you can. If you keep getting whacked. (As much as I talk about dying, it normally doesn’t happen ‘that’ much). The new toon will be introduced when the story allows it. Meaning if you are 100 feet below ground, a new toon isn’t going to magically appear. Resurrections may be possible, but it would be incredibly rare and highly costly. I am not a fan of the resurrection as I believe it’s a safety net that saps the ‘fear’ from the game.
Fifthly (is that a word?): Because you can be smashed horribly I am open to rule disputes during game play. I will not be swayed by emotion – only by the written word in the great tomes of ‘what should have happened’ (rule books). I also do this because I think it makes me a better DM when I am wrong (infallible I am not), and it teaches us the rules as we are enjoying ourselves. Note: This is not a license to argue about every roll that goes against you.
Sixth: Magic. Spells will require material components. If the books say you can use the spell, and you gain access to it in the game, then you can. Items are a different story. It is rare you will find ‘general’ +1, +2, etc items of any type. As you learn the background of the land, the humans aren’t too crazy about Arcane (or some Divine) magic – most artifacts are destroyed by the Church of Towers which is based on King Uthlandor’s adaptation of what the ‘Gods mean’ and not on any affiliation with an extra-planar entity whether good or evil. (Note: you will begin in a work camp in Uthlandor known as Grollis Prison – where the prisoners work in fields, mines, and swamp-lakes to generate a profit for the Church).
Seventhly. Play time: As stated Wednesdays , 8pm EST. If we get a solid group I am not opposed to having an occasional weekend game where we could play longer if schedules permit.
Lastly: There is no need to message me immediately as the spots aren’t first come, first serve. Keep in mind; it’s a low magic, slow leveling, with lots (I hope!) of NPCs to encounter and banter between the players. There will obviously be fighting, but then – a game could possibly pass without an attack roll.
I will be accepting 5 (3) players.
Two of the slots should be filled with healers - or hybrid type healers. Clerics, I am open to all deities, however the church’s presence in society will be ‘secretive’ where you begin. You should have at least one rogue or bard. Since magic is scarce I highly recommend an arcane caster. The fifth slot can be nearly anything, though it’s hard to ignore a warrior – you could do well with any class. It’s not a bad argument to go with a second caster too - the meta-creation feats would be very nice for equipping the party – assuming you can get the gold to do it.
Note: The reason for a minimum of 2 healer-types is that I will only play if we have 4 players. This guarantees that the party has some form of survivability. I don’t expect everyone to make every game, crap – I probably won’t – so this gives us a little flexibility.
Please: Do not take offense if I do not respond, or I do not respond right away. I’ll give folks a chance to ask questions or make inquiries so they have a clear idea of what to expect at game time, but if I get a ton of messages, or I get the sense that you didn’t read through this, then I may not answer - nothing personal.
