Hello! I am running a West Marches style campaign with two other DMs that will officially be starting this Monday. We already have a fair number of people signed up from our friends and acquaintances, but we would like to invite a few more. The campaign is set on a large tropical island and will have a fairly high degree of difficulty and a lot of custom-built monsters. We have a discord server set up for chatting and will use discord for communication during sessions. The best way I can think of to explain exactly what kind of campaign this is going to be is to include the 'Campaign Basics' handout that is available for all players to read in the campaign already. Please read below. Character Creation Only currently released class options are available (Including Wildmount stuff), but UA's are potentially allowed depending on review. Only currently released race options are available, but re-skinning one race into something else unique is permissible. For example, your Minotaur can look like a goat instead of a bull. Roll 4d6 for each ability score and drop the lowest number re-roll 1. The Macro is [[4d6d1r1]][[4d6d1r1]][[4d6d1r1]] Each player can make two characters, but are not required to. If a character dies and is unable to be resurrected the player cannot make a new one until a transport vessel docks at port. Each character starts at level one. All alignments are allowed, however, criminal actions that are caught by the law will be appropriately punished. Some NPCs will not interact with characters that are known to be opposite of their alignment. All characters have a 'Prospectors License' that gives them the right to adventure and seek crystals on the island. If this license is lost or stolen, the character will have to purchase a new one, otherwise the character will be barred from gathering and selling crystals by the law. Leveling Up Characters will receive experience points for defeating enemies, completing quests, and turning in Aetherian Crystals. When a character gains enough experience points to level up, they must complete a week of training with an NPC instructor of the same class they want to gain a level in. There is one NPC instructor for each class. These trainers have to be leveled as well. See 'Aetherial Crystals'. The level cap for trainers starts at Four and goes up by four levels for each tier. Island Map Each hex on the map has a Challenge Rating that represents the potential difficulty of an enemy encounter a party of 5 characters may run into. The level of the encounter is randomized within the CR range indicated for the hex. The number and type of enemies is variable, but follows a theme based on the environment. When moving through a hex on the map, the party must roll a 1d100 to determine if they encounter an enemy. Each hex the party passes through increases the chance for an enemy encounter by 10%. If the party stops in a hex to search for crystals, they will be taken to an encounter map but will not necessarily have to fight enemies. If the party stops for a long rest in an unsecured hex they will have to roll one more time for an encounter, but will reset the encounter chance after the long rest is complete. Each hex takes one hour to move through. Some hexes are impassible without proper equipment or modes of transport. Water hexes have their own encounter chance and are much more likely to have overwhelming encounters the further the hex is from shore. Aetherial Crystals The primary goal of all guildsmen and adventurers on the Furthest Island, Aetherian Crystals can be found in every hex of the island if searched for, but the higher the CR the better the chances of a higher yield. Searching a hex takes two hours. One small crystal is worth 1000 Gold Pieces, but with guild dues and taxes the takeaway is 500 GP. Split between a party of five, the payout is 100 GP per character. Crystals can be sold on the black market for greater profit, but is strictly illegal. The number of small crystals it is possible to find in a hex is equivalent to the Challenge Rating. Other valuable gemstones are also possible to find and are not taxed, but the higher value ones can be difficult to find buyers for. Crystals can also be given to trainer NPCs to level them up, increasing the levels they can train characters up to. Services and products provided by these NPCs are also upgraded by leveling them up. E.g., the cleric blacksmith will have better wares to sell upon leveling up. If what you just read interests you and you'd like to give this campaign a try, please reply to this post and I will send you a PM with a link to join. Thank you, and happy rolling!
