OVERVIEW Campaign Theme: In Dreams by Roy Orbison (click the link to listen... I chose this version for a reason :eye_emoji:) Premise: Everyone here on Roll20 is enrolled in Roleplay Academy, a horrifically underfunded and disorganized school in the Plane of Dreams where ordinary people learn to harness the power of their dreams by aligning themselves to Heroic Roles to combat the Nightmare, which seeks to corrupt the Plane of Dreams and through it, the entire world! I am one of the dream masters at Roleplay Academy - for which there are no qualifications - whose job it is to train you to become the Heroes of which you dream. You will be my apprentices, novice human Roleplayers who by the end of this campaign will cease to be the students you started as and become the human/elf/aasimar fighter/rogue/wizard you created in Character Creation. And you'll battle myriad manifestations of the Nightmare along the way. Details: You are not playing yourself. You're playing a character you make up from a fictional modern setting, left explicitly vague because the purpose of the campaign and your characters at Roleplay Academy is to leave the world behind while in the Plane of Dreams in order to align themselves to their Roles. The Role you make is the fantasy character you want to play to go on adventures with in the Plane of Dreams. The Roles come from D&D settings, official and homebrew (i.e. Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, Dark Sun). In a way, you're making 2 characters. The modern student and the fantasy Hero they will become. Story: Your character has come to Roleplay Academy because they're one of the special people able to sense and interact with the Plane of Dreams, sometimes simply referred to as the Dream. This likely started at a young age and developed as they grew, suddenly popping into the Plane of Dreams as a kid, in bed at night, on the bus to school, intermittently on long car rides, until eventually it became something they could do (mostly) at will. Roleplay Academy is a place where such dreamers go to explore their connection to the Dream by signing up for expeditions to entire dream worlds under the guidance of a dream master, but it is under constant attack from a planar disease referred to as the Nightmare. Of all the expeditions your dreamer could have signed up for, they chose John Rosarian's recursive expedition of Roleplay Academy itself. Perhaps they've had encounters with the Nightmare ruining past expeditions, perhaps this is their first expedition and they view this as a good foundation for future adventures, or perhaps they share the Sisyphean dream of Master Rosarian to purge the Nightmare from Roleplay Academy as but a pitifully small part of the insurmountable effort to banish the Nightmare from the Plane of Dreams once and for all. Disclaimer: Beware! The character you've yet to conceive is already battling the Nightmare and will be in ways they don't perceive throughout the campaign. Not everyone who signs up for this expedition will make it to the end. Death is always a possibility, and corruption is guaranteed. Rules: (In general, lean pre-2020 and no UA.) Alignment: Any non-Evil Playable Races (ordered least to most corrupted): P-Aasimar, Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, S-Aasimar, Goliath, Genasi, Half-Orc, Shifter, F-Aasimar Above is for your Role. Your Roleplayer is human. Starting Level: 5 (Milestone) Classes: 3rd party allowed with DM approval (Valda's is great) Session Length: 4 - 6 hours (availability for post-game chitchat preferred) APPLICATION Instructions: I'm not actually going to decide who joins Master Rosarian on this expedition, Master Rosarian is. You're sending your applications to him. I'm just a secretary. Below, I'll relay the hook of the first session, ask you a few questions, and show you an image of John. All you have to do is answer the questions and attach an image of your Roleplayer. Those accepted will be invited to an interview with Master Rosarian, who may then admit you to the expedition for a probation. Hook: Everyone on an expedition is as responsible for everyone's wellbeing as the Dream Master. The Nightmare will use your weaknesses against you and those around you. There is a Frankenstein's manifestation of the Nightmare lurking the halls of the Academy that's recently devoured the Roleplayers of 2 expeditions and stopped a third from starting. It is powered by Roleplayers' weaknesses. We'll have to explore the grounds and look for signs of the Nightmare, though rest assured once it knows we're hunting it, it'll come find us. And be ready, this manifestation will feed off your weaknesses as well. Questionnaire: (Answer in-character, un-bolded please. Good grammar is a plus.) What's your biggest weakness as a Roleplayer? :D Sorry, that may have been a little forward. How about something easier? How long have you been at the Academy? Don't worry if it's your first day, newcomers are welcome! What drives you to go on expeditions? You know that you can eject at any time, what would make you leave an expedition? What if I told you you're not as safe in the Plane of Dreams as you think you are and that the corruption you sustain here invades your personal life in the Material Plane in ways you intentionally cannot perceive because the Nightmare wisely occludes your vision to prevent you from fighting it? Would that frighten you? :D What's the best experience you've had on an expedition? What's the worst experience you've had on an expedition? Oh, I just realized I should probably balance things out and ask: What's your biggest strength as a Roleplayer? What might the Nightmare need to watch out for? Haha. But with that in mind, really, I'd like you to dive a little deeper into what your weaknesses as a Roleplayer are. What influence has the Nightmare already had on you? What foothold might it use against you and the Roleplayers around you, or even a Dream Master? You're being very helpful. Thank you. Now let me pick another side of that brain of yours. What do you think is really going on here? Do you think about things deeply, or do you just go with the flow? Don't think the former is a more desirable answer. Critical thinkers... are often troublesome... So what's your favorite genre of storytelling? The stories we enjoy speak loudly to what we dream about. What are your thoughts on gaslighting and indoctrination? :D Right, I was supposed to ask after the genre question what your favorite story is. Could be any media, books, movies, games, films. Name me a top 3? And why... Yes, yes. This is all looking very good. If you've gotten this far, you're well on your way to becoming an appetiz- I mean apprentice. Sorry. Lunchtime. So do you have any thoughts about the Role you'd be aligning to? Keep in mind. A Role is an entire person, not just a set of abilities. They have a name and a backstory, just like you. Fantastic. Now all we need is a picture of you (your Roleplayer) , and if it could be in proximity to the style of Master Rosarian's picture that would be splendid. Group cohesion is the number one determining factor to a successful expedition! John Rosarian: "To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears."