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LFP - D&D 3.5 - DM Extraordinaire - Home Brew [Paid] - Ember of the North - Friday Nights 6:30-10:30 pm MT (Canada) One Seat Open - 5th Level Game

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Allow me to introduce myself… I’m John, DM extraordinaire (over 36,000 hours on R20). Feel free to check out my profile on R20. Jump to the juice and just email me -&nbsp; <a href="mailto:taibhsear71@gmail.com" rel="nofollow">taibhsear71@gmail.com</a> Or Discord if you prefer taibhsear #7908 I’ll give you a quick summary. I’m 51 and from Canada (Toronto originally but don’t hold that against me). I’ve been DMing since October 1991. I run D&amp;D 3.5 exclusively. Seriously, you can’t even pay me to play 5e anymore. I’ve run dozens of campaigns and games over the years and still love it. The vast majority of my content is homebrew and unique to my game although I have borrowed from many sources over the years. Ember of the North &nbsp;-&nbsp; &nbsp;Sponsored by the church of Lathander, The Ember of the North is a military company that last served in the Great Orc war about a year ago.&nbsp; They disbanded after the peace treaty was signed but not all of them found their place in the post-war reality. Some &nbsp;fragments of this company reunite many months after the war has ended to take on a new adventure.&nbsp; Fate finds them all in the capital city of Ornvir when a new opportunity arises. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqFXZ-2QDNE&amp;list=PL_r6JrdKPLFVJPQXkt7SMcZJVzCtygbt1" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqFXZ-2QDNE&amp;list=PL_r6JrdKPLFVJPQXkt7SMcZJVzCtygbt1</a> The Setting Depending on which game you join you may be in any one of many areas of Thera (the world). Most of my games have taken place in Multras, the primary human continent. Multras is split into five portions (east, west, north, south, and central) each with its own trade language (eastern common, western common, northern common, southern common, and central common), kingdoms, and empires. Some of these kingdoms resemble medieval European countries like France and Germany, and some are completely unique, like the Banite Theocracy of Kallum but they all have their own language and culture. Vaynyke (Vain-ike) is a large island (referred to as the Great isle), nestled to the northwest of Multras. Vaynyke is dominated by a huge mountain range that separates the center (dwarven kingdoms) from the human coastal kingdoms. Vaynyke extends almost as far north as Northern Multras but is much more temperate due to its geological activity. The East Marches is a large archipelago to the east of Multras which is about 2400 miles across (it covers 40 degrees of latitude). It reaches from the tropics to the arctic circle, like Multras. Unlike Multras, this chain of interconnected islands is not dominated by humans. There are many areas ruled by them, but they are separated by vast stretches of wilderness filled with all manner of creatures both friendly and aggressive. Far to the west of Multras is the home of the elves. While the elves spread across Thera from its birth, the majority of them hail from Varanyr (Var-RAIN-nir). These are mostly sylvan elves who live off the land and seek to maintain their culture and traditions. They have a good relationship with the high elves of Varanyr, who they outnumber 100 to 1. To the south, across the maelstrom known as Umberlee’s Playground, is the dwarven homeland of Ardokhan (Ar-do-khan). The ocean around the equator is impassible by ships but it does not matter as Ardokhan has no ports, just sheer cliffs rising up from the ocean floor. There is but one mundane way to travel to and from Ardokhan and that is the great highway, a tunnel under the ocean that opens up in Southern Multras. The tunnel entrance has been held by the mountain dwarves for over five millennia. Flanking Ardokhan, are the goblin and orc savage lands of Krozago (Kro-ZAGO) and Bruhazavo (Bru-HA-zavo). Krozago is the homeland of the goblinoids and Bruhazavo is the heart of the orc horde. While neither race controls either of these continents entirely, their presence is unmistakable. &nbsp; Current Games &nbsp; <a href="https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/343132/embers-of-the-north" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/343132/embers-of-the-north</a> Your Game &nbsp;- If you have an idea for a game and a group interested in playing, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. I run for a minimum of 4 hours and up to 8. I prefer no more frequently than weekly but depending on the campaign I might be able to do it twice a week. I’m open to anything from slapstick Monty Hall farce to hardcore intense RP. I’ve done it all and I don’t care which style you like. We play to have fun. Some people like fart jokes and shaving dwarves’ beards while they are passed out while others wish to build a rich history and become a cannon feature of the world. Spoiler: There are a lot of cannon PCs both mine and other players in my world and I consult these players when you interact with their characters so you have no idea what’s coming down the line. The Lost Empire &nbsp;- 17th level gestalt game Saturdays (2 pm to 10 pm MT) - There are 0 seats open at this table. The Lost Empire 2.0 &nbsp;- 12th level game Tuesdays (6 pm to 10 pm MT) - There are 0 seats open at this table. Plane Escape &nbsp;- 14th level game Alternate Sundays (10 am to 10 pm MT window but scheduling varies) - 0 Seats Available. Dark Force Rising &nbsp;- 16th level game Alternate Sundays (10 am to 2 pm MT) - 0 Seats Available. Embers of the North &nbsp;- 5th level game -&nbsp; Friday Nights - (6:30 pm to 10:30 pm MT) - 1 Seat Available Chaos in the East &nbsp;- 6th level game - Saturdays (3 to 9 pm MT) - 1 Seat Available. Seafaring &nbsp;- 22nd level game - Sundays (10 am - 2 pm MT) - Backup game when others fall through - 0 Seats Available. Gangs of Myska &nbsp;- (this is a NE rogue game) 1st level game - Wednesdays (6 to 10 pm MT) - 2 Seat Available. Expectations &nbsp; I run open, sandbox, player-centric original content games. The main theme is established, and the story is there, but these are elements the players choose to engage and I let the players write their own tales. I'm indifferent about the outcome, which seems to surprise a lot of players. I don't care how the story unfolds, although I try to make the most dramatic things happen, the dice and the players' action are the final arbiters. On that note, I roll everything openly. Secret checks are only rolled by players if they wish to conceal an action or outcome. Some of my games are based on themes and ideas I’ve come up with and others are picked by the players. I play many different styles of games. I’m open to basically anything. If you have an idea for a campaign don’t be afraid to present it. I make most of my own maps when I have time and make custom tokens for each player. I detail my loot with the players in mind. I roll randomly but I like juicy drops so I’m often inclined to pick the next thing on the table if it looks sweet. &nbsp; Rates &nbsp; $3 per hour (with a group of 5) of gameplay (1st-4th level) minimum of 4 hours, usually $12/session. $3.50 per hour&nbsp; (with a group of 5) &nbsp; of gameplay (5th-9th level) , usually $14/session . $4 per hour&nbsp; (with a group of 5) &nbsp; of gameplay (10th-14th level) , usually $16/session . $5 per hour&nbsp; (with a group of 5) &nbsp; of gameplay (15th-19th) , usually $20/session . $6 per hour&nbsp; (with a group of 5) &nbsp; of gameplay (20th+) , usually $24/session but the groups at this tier tend to play longer so it varies. My games have no level limit and we continue on as long as the players wish to play. The highest we’ve made it to is 22nd level. While the PE game is only 14th level, they are already talking about epic level stuff (20+) and post-epic stuff (30+). I have rules for both despite never really getting that high with players. Payment is made via PayPal. Roll20 is not responsible for any payment transactions and cannot enforce any private arrangements. My noob game is free to play if you want to try it out and meet some of the other players. I can also run a session zero if you have a group and want to do a one-shot. Getting Started Before you contact me make sure: You are 18 or over. You’re willing to play D&amp;D for 4+ hours a week. You own a microphone of decent quality. You have Roll20 account. You have Discord account.
After being ransomed back to the party (for 6000gp, they would have taken 5000) and losing all his money and magic items (23,000gp), Vaska has vowed to kill every last duergar in the abandoned dwarven city. I really enjoy it when players have their own motives for adventuring. Up until this point, it's been a treasure-seeking venture. Angry players are exciting players. All his stuff is down there and I told them that. If they clear out all the duergar, he'll recover everything he's lost... assuming they haven't sold or traded any of it before then, lol.
Tonight, Vaska begins his vengeance...
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Sean (spring) sent me this the other day. He and Jagat (lordship) sat down, out of the game, and had this discussion. Thylordship: &nbsp; You'd probably have seen him shining his swords and armor, prepping for the return trip, that kind of thing to keep busy Spring-Skipper: &nbsp; After their near-deaths and Vaska's capture, Farrence approaches Xander in a somber mood. The day evidently weighs heavily upon him. "Xander. Might I seek your counsel on something?" Thylordship: &nbsp; Xander perks up at the words of Farrence and greets him and offers him a chair and a drink. "Of course, I may be lacking but I'd love to talk." Spring-Skipper: &nbsp; Farrence would glance around at the sparse patronage; unusual for how much traffic goes through the trade town but perhaps it's simply the late hour. The priest opts for a weak wine. "During our travels, you've always been the most... supportive, I should say, of my efforts. Yet. I do recognize that spending that effort to save the fallen *must* have played at least some part in our defeat today. It vexes me, to try again and again to save those who simply defy salvation with their every action. I know they can be saved though, I know it!" Thylordship: &nbsp; "That is fair. And strictly speaking, I do agree with you. I think every soul is *capable* of salvation. My main disagreement with that is I just don't know if *we* are capable of providing that service to everyone. But disregarding that, we will rescue Vaska. He's creative. They saved and took him away, which means they weren't trying to kill him. That means he's alive which means we have hope." Spring-Skipper: &nbsp; Farrence sighs, nods, and looks at the wine for a while.&nbsp; "That's wise, yes. I'd noticed as much. But it's such a difficult judgment to make in the moment and I can hardly just not try at all." He holds up a finger, asking to pause the conversation while he takes a deep drink. "What I'm getting at is, rather... I think I need to confess something. Yes. It's been weighing on me. Have you ever had that, impulse? When you're alone with someone else somewhere high up, near a ledge or precipice. Someone who trusts you. That invasive urge to simply... push them?" Thylordship: &nbsp; Xander freezes for a half second hearing that "... When you're in a situation with a lot of tension and adrenaline, it's not unreasonable to have various thoughts and urges as you deal with situations. And someone that trusts you can definitely exacerbate those thoughts... It's not unfair or a problem if those thoughts pass through your mind." Spring-Skipper: &nbsp; Farrence takes a moment to think, seeming to have trouble choosing his exact words.&nbsp; "When... hm... I don't want to paint this too unpleasantly for myself. But I need to be clear. When I was young, well before this war, the conflict took my mother and father. I was left with only my sister. It is, difficult, to describe in exact words those circumstances. It left me speechless. Senseless. I couldn't figure it out; the point or the reason or the... I don't know. The meaning of it all, in the face of that violence. Why it was that the world simply *was* that way. It isn't wrong to say that in some grim way, the unanswered or even unanswerable question of it fascinated me." Thylordship: &nbsp; Xander listens, sipping his drink as he lets Farrence tell the story at his own pace. Spring-Skipper: &nbsp; "It was me and, Isadora." The priest's mood darkens a step further, and he winces to speak the name. "We were left to support each other. My family has never been impoverished really but there were more concerns than that. What I'm getting at is that, well. Proverbially I..." With a short pause, he confesses. "I pushed her. I was meant to console her, to be the older brother but I-I did very much the opposite." He looks up at Xander, eyes searching for a reaction. Thylordship: &nbsp; Xander closes his eyes at the confession of pushing her and reopens them when Farrence finishes, "Was it simply an urge or did you have a reason for it? Was it to spare her the suffering in this world after losing her parents, morbid curiosity, or something more?" Spring-Skipper: &nbsp; He seems relieved that the swordsman was willing to listen, and that his thoughts weren't far from paralleling his own. "Morbid-yes. Yes, I think. I don't... know, really. It seems so distant like someone else was guiding my words. I... was not well. The doubt plagued me. I wonder if I wanted to prove to myself that it couldn't get any worse, even though I must have known, I must have known that it could. But that's... that's such a polite way of putting it. It was *heinous*, and prolonged. I only wish it had been as short as a fall. No. I berated her. I... Lathander forgives me I *blamed* her. I spoke such obscenities. I-I did... I did everything but put the knife in her hand." He looks mortified. Ashamed. Thin tears run down his face as he chokes out a further condemnation. "I was evil. Wicked." Thylordship: &nbsp; Xander begins to understand. His hope that the word 'Proverbially' was a hint that it wasn't a literal attack on his own sister has been bolstered. Surely, that isn't something this Farrence would ever be capable of. "How old were you both?" Spring-Skipper:&nbsp; He puts his head down into his palms to collect himself. Rasps out a quick prayer to Lathander in her name. "I was nineteen. Her fourteen, nearing fifteen. When I... found her..." He tries and swallows dryly. "She... I wasn't really even surprised. I'd told her. Told her more than once to do just that. What evil was that? What emptiness. It was just the same again. Yes, saying it again. It was exactly what I'd wanted to see. I couldn't believe it the first time and so the sniveling little *worm* I'd been had needed to see again." Thylordship: &nbsp; A multitude of thoughts and images swim through Xander's head as he processes all of what Farrence is telling him. Xander is sure that it is tremendous guilt that is binding Farrence in a way that explains so much of his idealogy and behavior. "Well, it seems clear that you love her dearly. I'm sorry, I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you both during that time and even since then for you. It truly was a tragedy." Spring-Skipper: &nbsp; "It was a murder. That's..." He sighs, seeming to be past the parts that were difficult for him. "That's what I'm saying, Xander. I'm a murderer. When I first felt Lathander's light upon me, even then I'm sure I wondered if it might singe the stain away. If penance could make it as though it'd never happened. But I've spent years now in Lathander's service, and I think... and this is what I seek your counsel for, - I would *like* to think that I've changed, of my own accord. I would like to think that those others. The murderers we've fought, the crazed beasts that nevertheless have at least some sense of self... I would like to think that they could do the same." Thylordship: &nbsp; Xander takes a long time thinking over what Farrence has confided. "I... don't think penance is supposed to make things as though they never happened. The devastating fact is it *did* happen. I'm sorry to say that your dear sister, Isadora, has passed. And I do think you've grown from your experiences and become a better person because of it - a person that anyone would be proud of. And I also think that it is possible for any sentient creature to walk the path of the light, even if they do so for less than altruistic purposes. I do firmly believe it is possible, I just don't know if we are the ones that are capable of providing that service. But that doesn't mean you should stop trying. Striving for the perfect outcome is how we improve and it will be the group as a unit that will decide how and when we apply those tenets as reality allows. I think it's as you keep saying, 'the most we can do is try.' After that, it will be up to them to decide what path they take. Respecting that choice and acting accordingly is the best way I know to celebrate and acknowledge their freedom of choice." Spring-Skipper: &nbsp; He nods along with Xander's assessment listening very, very carefully. During a vocal pause, he takes another drink and from the expression on his face, it's clear that he'd forgotten it wasn't water. "Yes, I'd thought that's what penance meant once upon a time but I know better now. Once, I'd thought it impossible at my standing but she's not even so many years dead. The possibility is there that I could buy or perform a miracle to resurrect her. But even then I hold no illusions that what's done could be undone. The years are lost. The trauma is there. It's a strange thought entirely, but I digress. The costs of wishful thinking are growing ever clearer to me. Just look at what it nearly cost us, and what it may yet cost Vaska. Every time I try to reason with a foe they spit in my face or extoll the virtues of evil, and always at the first opportunity they turn any weapon they can against us, and maybe a wiser man could understand why they do so so obstinately but damn me I can't... Yet I'd asked to see the quaggoths slain and so I have, and the senseless violence of it was just as sickening as I recall. I will never shy from acting against that, *blight*, at my own expense but the risk is no longer mine alone. How far is too far? What chance is too generous?" Thylordship: &nbsp; Xander considers the fate of Isadora, "You know, I'd love to hear your story from back then. While you had frustrating times, I'm sure there are positive stories as well to share. Not now of course, but sometimes." "And you know... we both believe in the God of the Sun. The interesting thing about the sun is: it doesn't discriminate on where it sheds its light. From the poorest wretch to the greatest philanthropist, all are exposed to the healing light of Lathander. While there are those that may seek shelter from it, that is not a choice that the sun makes..." Xander clears his throat as he realizes he's a bit off-topic. "My point is I think it's fine to offer them salvation. If any of us have a problem sharing the cost of that, we will let you know; we're not stupid haha, we know you'll do what you feel is right, the rest is for us and the enemy to make our own choice. In this, I think it's fine to rely on your team. Even the sun needs the sky and the clouds to prevent us all from burning in its heat."
Well, this complicates things... Kalfyra attacked the party on their way back to Murkom. Fortunately, it was in the morning when they were fresh and ready for a fight. They managed to fend her off but now they have a real issue. If she catches them depleted and fatigued on the way home, it will be a much different fight.
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Vargas recently join the group to provide some much-needed ranged support. joe's choice to play a divine mind was weird but he likes it.