Good Afternoon All: This post is to test interest levels; if there is enough interest, and I can get everything set up in time , we can run the first session tonight with a brief Session 0. So let's jump right into it. The party finds themselves in the Cobalt Crab, a small tavern in the small town of Vinyard, which is located in the foothills of the Mountains of Gesh [If this continues beyond this particular "campaign", we may have to suspend disbelief to place this somewhere relevant]. The people of Vinyard don't meet strangers very often, and are eager to gossip and obtain news of the outside world. Versed in the art of negotiations, they freely provide information about local rumors if offered valuable information in exchange. The Cobalt Crab's proprietor, Flann Cobalt, is an amicable and outgoing human who loves nothing more than telling people the Legend of Koralgesh, a story which changes towards the unbelievable each time he tells it. On this evening, Flann Cobalt gathers every new face in the tavern [that would be you] to regale them with the the Legend of Koralgesh; convincing them to hear him out in exchange for free mead throughout the evening. In a deep booming voice, Flann begins the tale while the patrons at the Cobalt Crab heave a collective sigh of exasperation. Flann begins, "As ships sailing towards the rising sun crossed over the dark waters of the Western Sea, their crews viewed with awe the appearance of a great white fortess embedded like a bright jewel in the dark rocks of the coast of Gesh. As the ships approached the Keep, the shining city of Koralgesh slowly came into view over the horizon. Koralgesh seemed a solace, granting safe harbor to all who sailed within. Koralgesh seemed to be truly blessed by her patron Immortal, Kor the Sun King, for the city was a legend among seaports of the Western Sea. Her riches were uncounted, her merchant fleet swift, and her harbor nearly invulnerable to storm or enemy. In addition, the great Keep that overlooked the harbor had more than once repelled attacks by pirates foolish enough to come within range of its catapults and other engines of war. It is said that the stone blocks of the Keep itself were cut from the granite walls of the White Mountains and transported to Koralgesh by the dwarves of that land. Their skill in stonecraft had no equal, and they built the Keep into the very face of the great mountain called Helm's Peak, that towered like an Immortal itself over the harbor. All went well for Koralgesh for many years. Her fame as a seaport spread throughout the land, and her riches grew ever larger. Her very streets were paved in golf, and no citizen within her walls knew sorrow or loss. Then came the ill-fated day of the summer solstice when the face of Kor shone across the land in triumph over the darkness that was Tram, a chaotic Immortal who opposed him. On this day, a vast pirate fleet that followed Tram's way, somehow breached the defenses of Koralgesh and attacked in the midst of the celebration of Kor. Magical fire and death were brought with them, and many of the city's inhabitants died without drawing arms. The King of Koralgesh rallied his troops, and they fought the invaders in desperation; many heroic deeds were done, but to no avail. The defenders of Koralgesh sold their lives at great cost to their enemies until all in the city were slain or had fled, save for those defenders in the Keep above the city. What happened next is only conjecture. It is believed that the last defenders of the city appealed to the Immortal Kor himself for vengeance. If this was so, then Kor heard the pleas. A deep rumbling sounded through the whole of Helm's Peak Mountain. For the first time in the memory of man, Helm's Peak voiced its rage. With a rushing wind, great fissures opened in the side of the mountain. Smoke, lava, and choking ash rained down upon the city. With a tremendous blast, the side of Helm's Peak below the Keep burst out, burying the ruined city in fire and ash. Glowing rives of lava wound their way to the rolling sea to send great vaporous mountains towering into the sky. Finally, the mountain slid back into silence. Lava continued its winding path to the sea and Koralgesh, jewel of the Western Sea was not more - and the pirates who captured that jewel were no more as well. Sailors of the Western Sea still claim to catch occasional glimpses of the Keep in the mists, high on Helm's Peak, but none venture near the treacherous waters below it, which boil and steam with Kor's wrath to this day. What secrets the keep holds, it holds to itself alone." Flann Cobalt places his flagon of mead on the table as he finishes in a somber tone and wipes the foam off his burly red beard. The newcomers digest the Legend of Koralgesh and look at one enother. Oddly, they feel as though the bonded in this moment and feel compelled to introduce themselves; it seems as though they have met for a purpose. [ This is where Session 0 begins ] Application : I'd like everyone interested to follow this as best they can, but doing it differently won't boot you out of the running. Applicant Age : I'd prefer people over 18, but that's more of a proxy for whether or not the game will be taken seriously. ***NOTE*** Please make 2 characters. I will explain more below, but there is a decent chance characters will die. ***NOTE*** I'm not going to try to kill you, or pull nonsense, but this is a dangerous "campaign." ***NOTE*** "Campaign" is not particularly apt here, I am converting something from Dungeon Magazine (authors: Robert Giacomozzi and Jonathan Simons) but it looks like it will take at least 4 sessions _______________ Character Name : Character Class : All published 5e sources, except Ravnica, are fine by me. Character Race : All published 5e sources, except Ravnica, are fine by me. Character Attributes : I generally like the 4d6 drop lowest method, but I'd like to try 27 point buy [PHB p. 13] for this session. Character Level (Multiclass is fine) : Here is where it get's tricky. This "campaign" is designed for "6-8 player characters of 1st-3rd level. This adventure is difficult for a party made up of only 1st level characters." I want to run with a maximum of 5 players,so for this section, pick a level 1 -3, and apply the following rules to your character creation: * If Level 1 : Add 150gp to your character's starting gold, potions and scrolls are 50% off, everything else costs the same. * If Level 2 : Add 50gp to your character's gold, potions and scrolls are 25% off, everything else costs the same. Additionally, if relevant, inform me of your specialized subclass * If Level 3 : Inform me of your specialized subclass, if relevant. A Brief Description of How Your Character Responds to Flann's Telling of the Legend of Koralgesh : This is just so I can add a little flavor vis-a-vis Flann's interactions with you. For example, "looks over at regular patrons, rolls eyes, and says can you believe this nonsense?" would likely leave Flann a little annoyed with you, he loves telling the story after all. Background : No need to go crazy, though preference will be given to people with more developed backgrounds (provided they intend to play their character in a manner that is consistent with their background). Specifically, I'd like to know how you got to Vinyard, and some elaboration on Bonds, ideals, flaws, etc., ***NOTE*** This will help me develop storylines and whatnot if this continues ***NOTE*** If your character dies, they will live on as NPCs in other adventures; I am not trying to kill you though. _______________ Order of Preference : I'd prefer a healthy mix of new and experienced players; my primary concern is having players who are serious about playing (not serious people), and like immersive gaming (I'm not a fan of meta, but I'm aware it's inevitable in most cases; just try not to is all I ask). ***NOTE *** General priority will be given to people who are available tonight at 7:00 PM PST, but if there is not enough interest in tonight, then availability for Sunday 1/6/19 at 2:30 PM PST for about 3 hours will be the preference. ***NOTE *** I may have players from another campaign I have been running join, so that will impact player slots; they are all level 3 atm, so that may impact preference on level 3 characters. For Level 1 Characters : Preference will be given to new players with a strong backstory, class choice will play a smaller role in selection since most people are open to playing their class in a way that helps the team. For Level 2 Characters : Preference to experienced players with a strong backstory, class is irrelevant. For Level 3 Characters : Preference to experienced players with a strong backstory, class is irrelevant. _______________ Additional Information *** As noted, this "campaign" is very dangerous; if you do stupid things that are certain circumstances where a failed saving throw will kill you outright, or within a few turns. As such, the player characters should be wary - if the legends are true, there's some very powerful magic going on, and it would behoove you to be cautious. *** ***The maps won't be particularly great (by which I mean we're going to have to use our imagination to make it cool), since I don't have much to work with off "campaigns" that were published into a hard copy magazine near the end of 1986; also, I'm just not very good at making maps *** *** I intend to try and run things of this nature on Friday evenings and Sundays when the Chargers aren't playing (I wouldn't mind a consistent group), all times are PST*** *** I am not particularly tech savvy, so someone will have to help me set up Discord if the in-game audio isn't working, I have also received complaints about my audio cutting in and out and have no idea how to fix that - this complaints are sporadic though, and not guaranteed to interfere with our gaming. *** ***If you have made it this far, I will also give priority to people who just direct message me their application. That does not mean you are guaranteed to be in if you message me though, some people have such cool character ideas that I can't say no to them. So if you respond on this thread, you will still be considered. *** Thank you for taking the time to read this.
