I presently have physiotherapy every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:45 pm PST. Therefore, I will only run one-shots on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am-7pm, unless my physiotherapy is reduced from biweekly to weekly.
Tuesday's Schedule:
9am-1pm PST: A Boy and His Modron (2nd level; 5 players)
A young boy befriends an extra-planar construct that has mysteriously appeared at his family’s farm. Once the boy finds out that other creatures are coming to take it back home, he comes up with a plan to get help from the party to save his new friend.
1pm-4pm: Seeds of Chaos (3rd level; 6 players)
Valentine Manor is beauty entrapped in architecture. The lavish stately home is renowned throughout the realms, and its gardens even more so. However, despite its famed beauty something has found its way into the garden and corrupeted its allure. Could it be something to do with the new gardeners, or something even more sinister?
5pm-7pm: Mercantile Missionaries—Fashion Conscious (1st level; 4 players)
In the metropolis of Baldur’s Gate, a garment-thieving outlaw gang runs rampant, raiding seafront stores and stripping merchants of money. It is your patron’s turn to be struck by the outlaws, and you have been called upon to stop them!
Your eyes don't deceive you. Yes, that's correct...
1 Whole Month of Daily Consecutive One-Shots, from 9am-9pm!
Do you urgently require a quick D&D fix? Perhaps you can't commit to a weekly campaign. Or, you're just itching to try a new character you've conceptualized. The reasons are endless!
From now until August 31, I'm offering anyone and everyone consecutive one-shots run from 9am-9pm, Monday-Thursday* (this week only). Each one-shot will exist as a disparate, standalone adventure. Branching storylines are undeniably fun, but these one-shots are intended to remove the extensive commitment required by campaigns. You only need to commit to a compressed timeslot—thus, one-shots are fantastic opportunities for eternal DMs or new players unfamiliar with mechanics!
If you're interested, please post an application in the corresponding Listing Discussion here!
This game will require payment to the Game Master at a rate of $5 per player via PayPal. Roll20 is not responsible for any payment transactions and cannot enforce any private arrangements.
*I'll be running a Storm King's Thunder campaign on Fridays or Saturdays. The application period will close on Saturday; until that schedule is finalized, I'm only advertising one-shots from Monday through Thursday. By next week, I'll advertise a Friday or Saturday one-shot listing.
A new series of one-shots will be offered every day, and the selection for that day changes weekly. I won't outlandishly claim I'll never reuse a one-shot; I might have plenty of free time but my creativity (unfortunately) isn't limitless. However, reused one-shots will never be organized identically to their previous listings. Furthermore, I'll never run the same one-shot more than once every week. I promise to explicitly identify reused one-shots so players familiar with the premises are forewarned.
I wholeheartedly promise immersion and engagement; perhaps my voice acting needs refinement (lots of refinement), but that doesn't prevent me from butchering a Scottish accent or Philadelphia English. Additionally, players will decide whether we use Voice, Video and Voice, or Text. The listing advertises itself as Voice only, but you may include your preferences in your application.
You can check out my Storm King's Thunder homebrew campaign here! Included in the Listing Discussions is a sample of my custom worldbuilding; I will ensure I provide an identical degree of investment in one-shots.
Why Every Day?
Frankly, I'm still kicking myself for not thinking of this concept sooner. I'm currently taking the summer off from school, as I transfer to a research university in September. I have no other obligations or responsibilities, which means I have no reason not to play D&D every day. As much as I would love to enjoy D&D as a player, I can't deny my indefatigable attraction toward DMing. Thus, I present you this opportunity!
What's the Catch?
There are only two stipulations:
- A proclivity for fun.
- Nothing from DanDWiki.com.
Many other DMs can attest to the sheer hilarity and outright idiocy of the latter. Often, the classes offered on the Wiki are abhorrently overpowered and deceptively playtested.
The above stipulations notwithstanding, you're free to play official; UA; and other homebrew Races and Classes. Whether it's the UA Artificer or a homebrew Class advertised on D&D Beyond, you can try (almost) anything and everything. Ultimately, I do reserve final judgement on homebrew; however, one-shots rarely require party balance or diversity. Therefore, I'm more than happy to run an entire party of Bards or Rogues!
Format
Every week, the listings will outline the available schedules. I will not pre-emptively promise schedules; I wish to avoid overburdening myself, thereby disappointing you. None of the available sessions will run longer than their respective durations. I will ensure each one-shot can be played and resolved within its timeslot; no one will need to wait for their session to begin.
Scheduled sessions will be separated by 30-minute breaks, affording me the opportunity to eat and prepare for the subsequent one-shot. Occasionally, I may arrange 1-hour breaks; I will ensure players are notified of all breaks.
The game listings describe the one-shots as using Voice only. This is merely a placeholder; you will decide what we use: Video/Voice, Voice only, or Text.
Players will generate Ability Scores by rolling: 4d6 drop the lowest, with the cumulative total equaling or exceeding 70. Additionally, players are promised access to the Player's Handbook; Volo's Guide to Monsters; Xanathar's Guide to Everything; and Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. API scripts will be employed to enhance the experience alongside myriad macros.
Sign Up
Every Sunday, I'll advertise the following week's games—this ensures players receive one week to sign up. Games will be officially closed on the following Sunday at 9 pm PST. Should you wish to join after a game is closed, please contact me; exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis. Every session will seat a varying maximum, outlined in the listing; thus, you are encouraged to sign up for numerous sessions. Applications will be reviewed on the previous day (Monday's applications will always be reviewed on Sunday), and accepted applicants will be notified immediately.
Accepted applicants may pay the $5 fee anytime before their session begins. You will receive the PayPal request immediately upon acceptance; applicants who do not pay the fee by the beginning of the session will be removed. Should a scheduling conflict arise or another circumstance preventing you from playing, please contact me immediately. Therefore, I highly recommend applicants with conflicts—guaranteed or uncertain—avoid paying the fee *until* the conflict is resolved or they withdraw. Each player is allowed only one refund. Refunded players will not be blacklisted from other one-shots.
Player applications will be posted in the corresponding Listing Discussions. The premise of each one-shot will be outlined alongside suggested levels; each one-shot will also include the expected duration. Applications posted outside the corresponding Listing Discussions will be disregarded.
Pay-to-Play
University is fantastic, but it has bequeathed unto me the broke student lifestyle. I will neither lie to you nor deceive you—this is also an opportunity for me to earn some cash. I intend to use any money collected to provide a more enriching, memorable experience to players: the fees will go toward maintaining my Pro subscription and purchasing more one-shots from the Marketplace and DMs Guild. Not every one-shot will be purchased; some will be my custom creations, building from the antecedent one-shots and flowing into the subsequent one-shots. The fee is a flat $5 per person; I promise professionalism, extravagance, and originality. Additionally, I offer spectating seats: you can watch a one-shot to determine if we're compatible. If so, you can jump into the subsequent one-shot if seats are available!
About Me
Salutations!
My name is Darren; I'm a university student pursuing an education in the biological sciences (Evolutionary-Development and Genetics) and biological anthropology. Science and accurate science communication is my passion, but my childhood aspirations centred entirely on worldbuilding. In an ideal world, I could wholly devote myself to improving my writing and worldbuilding, thereby crystallizing a career as a science-fiction or fantasy novelist. Fortunately, it turns out D&D is a spectacular substitute!
Admittedly, my experience as a DM is sorely lacking; I was introduced to D&D only a year ago. Since then, I've devoured the core rulebooks and learned the intricacies of roll20. I hope to provide you—the players—with a D&D experience that's memorable, rewarding, and enduring. An absence of a decade of experience might separate me from mechanical intimacy, but it doesn't preclude entertaining games.
I strive to incorporate, embody, and communicate Joseph Campbell's monomyth (or the Hero's Journey) in all my games, individualizing the template for each character. As evocative as the monomyth is, the categorized stages of progression are generalized and frustratingly vague. Thus, I prefer shifting and subverting the Hero's Journey; perhaps you work backwards, paring and disavowing a victory to induce an existential epiphany. I also frequently employ Carl Jung's archetypes: whereas the Collective Unconscious is empirically elusive in our world, fiction and fantasy allow for wide suppositions. Every character invariably demonstrates archetypes; the quintessential Chosen One is indicative of the Child archetype (including the emphasis of its negative or regressive implications), while the Wise Old Woman cements the eternal wisdom of the feminine spirit, typically identified as the Great Mother Goddess; she is primaeval and omnipresent, a personification of the Earth and the nurturing offered by the female parent.
Ultimately, I wish to facilitate your journeys throughout epic, fantastical worlds—akin to the heroes of fiction we idealize. D&D provides us with endless possibilities, each branching into another avenue; I'm equally inspired by video games like Pillars of Eternity and Divinity Original Sin (which are themselves coincidentally inspired by D&D). Your characters are vehicles for your imagination; my only goal is to let your imaginations run rampant.