Interest for a low-fantasy, low-powered, gritty home-brew campaign?

This is not an application or recruitment thread, merely a place where I throw my campaign proposal around and see if there's any interest in it. I'm a somewhat experienced DM, having run a few D&D and Dungeon World campaigns but I'm new to Roll20. I'm pretty casual, and I prefer running sandbox style campaigns with emphasis on combat and intrigue. I love history so there's going to be a lot of historical influence in this campaign (don't worry, I'm not forcing you to study anything).&nbsp; First I'll quickly define what I mean in the title. Low-fantasy is obvious, while the world has some magic and strange creatures, it is generally recognisable to medieval Europe. This means that magic is commonly confused with witchcraft and monsters exist only in the deepest caverns and darkest forests. Most people live relatively mundane lives, relying on wit and hard work to get by. The campaign is low-powered, which means the PC's are heroes in the loosest sense. Sure, they're a bit more skilled than the average commoner, have an insatiable wanderlust and are somewhat luckier than average but ultimately they're common Joe's that can be slaughtered by one sword thrust (no kidding on this one). The campaign is gritty because there's limited magic, low HP and healing relies on a nourishment and rest. The rules I'm using (World of Hirelings, see bottom of the OP) are really simple, so don't think that this is going to be full of annoying and complicated rules for things like encumbrance, healing and eating. Home-brew means the campaign is going to be set in a world of my devising, loosely based off 14th century Europe.&nbsp; Hopefully all that gives you a general idea of the campaign. If you like what you hear I'll post a write-up of the world in this thread. The rules are free and can be found here:&nbsp; <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxBhVlXSRDSZWktDS1" rel="nofollow">https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxBhVlXSRDSZWktDS1</a>... They're a hack of World of Dungeons which is a hack of Dungeon World which is a hack of Apocalypse world. They're a hack, of a hack, of a hack.

Hello! Yes! Absolutely! I am so on board with this! I love the setting idea as well as your approach to roleplaying (i.e. focus on narrative and drama over being bogged down by mechanics.) And speaking of mechanics I read the rules and they're... interesting. A lot of odd stuff. There's literally no advancement beyond starting a new character. Attributes have extremely minimal (or no) impact on odds of success so outcomes will be almost entirely due to random chance. Healing can leave you with less health than you had initially...? Weird stuff... but if this is going to be a more creative endeavor with an interesting story then I could see it possibly working. Just might lead to situations where characters die due to random chance instead of an actual mistake, which... can be realistic if done right. But can also be frustrating. Just depends on how it's handled. At any rate, I'm certainly interested! What time were you thinking of running it? And on what platform did you intend to communicate? My vote would be weekend and Discord respectively, but I'd be okay with evenings (Central Time) or Skype respectively as well.

Firstly, thanks a lot for responding! Yep, the aim of the game is to keep it quick and fresh. Some people might not like moving characters so quickly, but it works well if you want to try new stuff and roleplay vastly different people in quick succession. If people do drop out, it's a lot easier to accommodate that, no need to worry about levels and balance.&nbsp; Keep in mind that there's a 7/12 chance of succeeding, so attributes can make some of a difference, perhaps not in overall success but in getting a better 'grade' of results. Remember, 7 is the average number so that means that you'll usually succeed but at a cost. No need to roll for things that have no risk or only a remote chance of failure.&nbsp; Getting lower health represents a&nbsp;deteriorating condition (considering healing is just a matter of resting for a bit and nourishment, there's always the threat of infections or blood loss) but if it's really bad... just eat, rest and roll for HP again. But ultimately, think of HP not as an actual meat counter, but a mixture of stamina, bodily endurance, luck, etc. Getting killed by one sword blow is part of the fun. Also, keep in mind of your luck stat which can be used much like fate points from other games such as Warhammer Fantasy RPG.&nbsp; Hmm, I don't really know what to say except that I've already run a Worlds of Hireling campaign and very much enjoyed it. It worked quite well, with danger looming over, but smart and lucky plays by the PC's overcame my obstacles. I noticed a massive emphasis on roleplaying the actions rather than just rolling attack dice, something Apocalypse World and it's hacks do very well. My players didn't 'attack' the wolves, they smashed wolves with oil and set them alight, pushed them off cliffs, kicked them so hard in the gut that they broke through the skin, slashed at their legs and then tried to stamp on them, etc.&nbsp; Now this may be a problem, but I'm more of a text based GM. I don't mind if the PC's use voice but I'm not very comfortable with my own. Is that fine? I don't have a specific time, but somewhere in the evening on weekends (Central Time works well with me).&nbsp;

William S. said: Now this may be a problem, but I'm more of a text based GM. I don't mind if the PC's use voice but I'm not very comfortable with my own. Is that fine? I don't have a specific time, but somewhere in the evening on weekends (Central Time works well with me).&nbsp; If you are into Text games then I know of a group that would love to have another GM post their game in. The&nbsp; Knights of the Written Word 2 is a text only group that functions as a focused LFG group. There are various games recruiting, players posting their looking for games, discussions that are off topic for the general community forums, etc.. If this is something you think would be benificial to you then give it a look over.

I'm not so sure about (and leaning toward not liking the idea of) text-based RPing but I suppose it couldn't hurt to try. Or I should say, I don't really like the idea of text-only. If we're going to be roleplaying through text I'd like to be able to discuss OOCly in voice, to ask for clarification or make plans or whatnot. Also I'm less interested in the idea of swapping characters quickly. So, I'll watch this and see how it goes.

Insomnant said: I'm not so sure about (and leaning toward not liking the idea of) text-based RPing but I suppose it couldn't hurt to try. Or I should say, I don't really like the idea of text-only. If we're going to be roleplaying through text I'd like to be able to discuss OOCly in voice, to ask for clarification or make plans or whatnot. Also I'm less interested in the idea of swapping characters quickly. So, I'll watch this and see how it goes. I'm not asking you to use text at all, only that I as the GM will. If it's a problem I can change it, so that characters don't ascend when they get 5 experience, merely get to add a +1 to one (or two) attribute/s. Would that be fine? Pat S. said: William S. said: Now this may be a problem, but I'm more of a text based GM. I don't mind if the PC's use voice but I'm not very comfortable with my own. Is that fine? I don't have a specific time, but somewhere in the evening on weekends (Central Time works well with me).&nbsp; If you are into Text games then I know of a group that would love to have another GM post their game in. The&nbsp; Knights of the Written Word 2 is a text only group that functions as a focused LFG group. There are various games recruiting, players posting their looking for games, discussions that are off topic for the general community forums, etc.. If this is something you think would be benificial to you then give it a look over. I'm interested in this, might join up.

William S. said: I'm not asking you to use text at all, only that I as the GM will. Hmm, would mixed styles like that... work? I have no idea, I have no experience with that, haha. Like I said, I'm willing to try. William S. said: If it's a problem I can change it, so that characters don't ascend when they get 5 experience, merely get to add a +1 to one (or two) attribute/s. Would that be fine Hey yeah that would certainly work. Even if it's just +1 in one attribute it would provide a small feeling of improving gradually. And new characters could be added with a bit of exp to catch up, wouldn't be too hard.

Insomnant said: Hmm, would mixed styles like that... work? I have no idea, I have no experience with that, haha. Like I said, I'm willing to try. Hey yeah that would certainly work. Even if it's just +1 in one attribute it would provide a small feeling of improving gradually. And new characters could be added with a bit of exp to catch up, wouldn't be too hard. Well it depends. I like it when players discuss and plan among themselves, only butting in when asked a question or needing to clarify something, but yeah that would be a new experience.&nbsp; Slotting in new characters is very easy, making it a matter of roleplaying the introduction rather than working out a character sheet, trying to make a character that is 'useful' and 'makes sense'.&nbsp;

Alright, sounds good. Here's hoping others want to join in!

I'm willing to join if it's available on Monday's or Wednesday's after 5pst! Super willing to play in a low fantasy, as I love stuff like this. (As long as it's still fun and story based!) I'd be willing to answer any questions if you PM me! Thank you for offering the game and I hope others want to join as well!

Noch said: I'm willing to join if it's available on Monday's or Wednesday's after 5pst He already said: "somewhere in the evening on weekends (Central Time works well with me)"

Ah that's unfortunate. My bad, I guess I must have glossed over that part.

Noch said: Ah that's unfortunate. My bad, I guess I must have glossed over that part. That's a shame, but thanks for expressing interest! Hopefully a low fantasy campaign will occur more within your timeframe.

I'm just bumping this up. Don't mind me.&nbsp;