You are on the last bus through a winding mountain road. The bus you're on is half-full as it climbs into the Appalachian mountains. Maybe you are headed home from an extended trip. Maybe you are running from something. Maybe you are chasing work, family, grief, a second chance, or a name you found in an old letter. Maybe you only bought the ticket because it was cheap, late, and going in the right direction. It's past midnight. 3:33AM. A thick fog obscures the road ahead. Rain ticks against the windows. Headlights carve pale tunnels through the fog. The driver mutters at the GPS, which keeps recalculating and recalculating and recalculating, even though the road has not changed in miles. Outside, the mountains rise black and endless. Yet, strange things have been happening. Inside, everyone pretends not to notice the little things. The radio has gone to static. No one has cell service. The old woman near the front keeps whispering prayers under her breath. A child asks why there is a man standing in the trees. His mother tells him not to look. The bus rounds a bend. For one second, the headlights illuminate a figure on the road ahead. Not an animal. Not a person. Not anything your mind has a name for. It is too tall. Too thin. Crowned in bone-white antlers, with a gaunt body, skin pulled taut across its ribs, like it has been starving. Its face, if it could even be called that, turns toward the windshield, and though the bus is moving fast, though rain streaks the glass, though everything in you screams that this cannot be real— no one else seems to notice... Then... *crash* ...! The bus crashes into it! The driver screams, the tires squeal as you are thrown onto your side, smashing your head against the window. Metal tears against guardrail. Windows burst inward. Someone is praying. Someone is laughing. Someone is calling for their mother. The whole world spins into the dark, and for a breathless moment, you are weightless. Your world goes black. When you wake, your world has turned upside down. The wreck lies broken among the trees below the pass, its frame twisted around black trunks and wet stone. The emergency lights flicker red over the bodies of strangers. Rainwater drips through shattered windows. You look around and check for injuries. Your belongings. Your phone still has battery. It has no signal. No map. No emergency calls. The screen says it is 3:33 AM. It stays that way. Above you, where the road should be, there is only forest. No guardrail. No asphalt. No lights. No sound of traffic. Just the canopy pressing close together, as if the mountain itself has swallowed you. Then you notice the marks burned into the side of the bus. A circle split by a crooked black line. Then the whispers begin. They come from the dead passengers first. A man with glass in his throat gurgles warns against the dark. A woman pinned beneath a seat tells you not to follow the lights. The driver, whose neck is bent the wrong way, opens one eye and says: “Run.” That is when you understand, though you cannot yet explain how. The world has been lying to you. The monsters were always real. The old stories were not warnings for children. The prayers, the customs, the stories, the rumors about things in the woods —all of it was true. The crash has torn something open in you. The Veil that hides the world behind the world has failed, and it has failed you. Some of the other passengers will forget what happened. Some will rationalize it. But you will remember. You notice the old road appearing between the trees, slick with rain, leading deeper into a hollow that should not exist. And somewhere under the mountain, something ancient has noticed that you can see. Your first goal is simple. . . . Survive. Hi there! Thanks for taking the time to read through this post. ABOUT ME: Hey there everyone, my name is Rat! I'm 27 years old. I've been a DM of 10 years now, and I've run paid campaigns for about 5. I'm an avid fan of TTRPGs and have a particularly soft spot in my heart for D&D 5E, Blades in the Dark, Call of Cthulhu 7E and Pulp! Cthulhu. I try to foster a healthy environment at my tables where players can have a fun and goofy time, but still be able to stay engaged and serious when the time calls for it. I have run several games for beginners and experienced players alike, so whether you are just starting or are a veteran player, rest assured I will be more than happy to work with you! I am very experienced with the 5E ruleset and adjudicating it, but I am quite the avid homebrewer myself. Beyond preferring the rule of cool, or the "You can certainly try." approach, I also enjoy it when players come up with unique ideas and concepts that we can work together to bring to life. I normally run with some homebrew rules, but those change on a case-to-case basis depending on the setting of the campaign and the overall vibe of the group. I often create my own maps, to provide more tailored experiences for each table. Music and ambient sound is something I like to use to promote engagement and immersion as well. GAME INFO: We will be using Roll20 to facilitate the actual game and campaign. But I do allow people to use DNDBeyond, Dicecloud, Avrae or other sheets if that is their preference, so long as dice are rolled on the actual Roll20 game. All communication will be handled on Discord where we will be playing on a server. SESSION TIME: 6:00PM PST to 9:00PM PST PLAYERS: I'm looking for 3 more players to start the game, to a maximum of 6! PRICING: Session 0 is free! Payment will be settled through PayPal or StartPlaying weekly or monthly. Each session will cost 15USD. CHARACTER CREATION: Heroic Point Buy (33 points to distribute instead of 27, use this link - <a href="https://chicken-dinner.com/5e/5e-point-buy.html" rel="nofollow">https://chicken-dinner.com/5e/5e-point-buy.html</a> - and set the available points in Custom Rules to 33.) Starting Equipment Restricted Races: Anything with a natural flying speed, Human Variant Free Feat at 1st Level Starting Level: 3rd Level Magic Items: Your choice of 1 uncommon magic item and one common magic item. (Please run these by me first. I don't really mind the items you pick, but it would be preferable for them to make sense narratively.) Restricted Alignment: None, just try not to run against the party. Anything else: Run any questions you may have by me. UA/Homebrew Content: Yes, just run it through me first. HP: Your choice of Rolled or Average. (We re-roll 1s and 2s.) Tasha's Cauldron of Everything rules are applicable. Payment / Disclaimer · This is a pay-to-play campaign : $15 USD per player via PayPal or StartPlaying. · Roll20 is not responsible for payments or private agreements. · By joining, you agree to pay the DM directly . Game Listing!