I'm running the Curse of Strahd for 4 players starting Tuesday (7.25.17) at 12pm Central Standard Time. I have 1 player in the UK and one in Germany. They are playing an Aasimar Paladin and a Changeling Swashbuckler Rogue respectively. Characters will start at Level 3 Custom backrounds are fine (RAW provides for this) as long as any mechanical factors of the background are pulled from officially published material. UA material is subject to GM-approval before use, but I can say that if it would be allowed in an official Adventurer's League game, it'll be fine here. Tuesday is a hard-scheduled day. The start time is somewhat flexible by +/- 1 hour. Not looking for loners. This module is tough enough without adding the difficulty of solo players. While this will be my first time GM'ing D&D, I've run a handful of other systems (Dungeon World, Stars Without Number, Star Wars FFG, FATE, Deadlands: Reloaded), and I'm pretty comfortable heading into this. That said, while my GM'ing style is narratively-focused, I have no problem with tactical operation if it's appropriate. As a GM, I don't pull punches. I don't fudge rolls or significantly strip down encounters. By the same token, I'm interested in the characters of the story and how they react to things. My goal isn't to relentlessly punish them ala Darkest Dungeon. Additionally, I'm not going to require rolls for every thing you try to do--only when there's a question of whether you would be successful at something will there be a roll. You will have to understand that there are things you just won't/can't do within the world. Don't expect to come into this thinking that you have all the tools you need to solve any potential dilemma. That's not a viable expectation for the real world, so it doesn't fit within the context of this game. I'm using the Shaped Sheets and interface authored by Kryx . I have a pretty good understanding of the sheets and 2 other experienced D&D players with me, so if you have questions, feel free to ask and we'll get you sorted out. Lastly, if you're interested in applying to play in this game, feel free to leave a comment in the forums with a character concept and 3 bullet points describing you (either personally or as a player). If the players feel you're a good fit, I'll PM you a link to my discord and get things set up. I look forward to having some fun in Barovia!
