[LFP][5e D&D][EST] High Seas Exploration and Adventure!

Hey everyone! I'm opening up my Tuesdays for a game I've really been itching to run. Here is the link to the Roll20 listing: <a href="https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/94583/the-isles-of-alagos" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/94583/the-isles-of-alagos</a> About me as a GM and the kinds of games I like to run: I run by the book. No homebrew stuff, no house rules unless I've clearly spelled them out ahead of time. No UA stuff. In fact, this campaign won't even feature all the stuff from the PHB. It's a specific theme (high-seas swashbuckling adventure) in a specific custom setting, so I've selected the race and class options that best fit that. I'm a player-fun-first, cinematic kind of GM. I want awesome, epic stories to happen, and those happen best when the players get a lot of freedom to try interesting things. My answer to "Can I..." is usually "Yes, if..." I'm not an adversarial GM, no one has plot armor, and I don't think of TPKs as "wins." This campaign is very sandboxy. The world is there to explore. My goal would be about 75% sandbox exploration, and 25% plot, with the plot all coming from developing player backstory elements into features of the game. I don't have much of a preference as far as age, etc. other than wanting a certain level of maturity - but that will come through in your character ideas far more than in your age number. I'm friendly and tolerant to everything except bullshit, more or less. I try to run a mostly serious game - while I like to laugh and joke about as much as the next geek, I like the tone of the game itself to be somewhat serious. In-game jokes are fine (even welcome in a swashbuckling adventure story!), but endless out-of-game or meta-jokes that pull us out of the engagement aren't something I'd like to see. So! That about covers it, I guess. If anyone has questions, feel free to post them here or in Roll20. Actual character idea submissions should probably go in the Roll20 thread so I can have them all gathered in one place. Looking forward to hearing from you!

what time on tuesdays?

6 PM EST. I can be a little flexible there - maybe an hour in either direction if it matters.

thats fine, but on a second reading, im seeing you'll select our race and class for us?

D!ESF1RST said: thats fine, but on a second reading, im seeing you'll select our race and class for us? Sounds like John has picked a specific list of Races & Classes that best fit the setting.

Right. You'll make your own character, I've just narrowed down which races and classes exist in the setting.

Well at that time and with that concept, I'd be interested in giving it a go. I've got a few very loose-sketch character concepts for a swashbuckling game in mind that would probably work, with a little development. Is the setting one of the established D&D worlds, or a homebrew kind of deal?

Very homebrew. If you jump over to the game listing, I've included a synopsis of the setting.

Since someone asked: I'm totes cool with customizing your background. If you have a cool story and none of the existing ones exactly fit, run by me what you want to do.

I've gotten some great submissions, but the game is still open!&nbsp; I'm not doing first-come, first-served; I'm going based on quality of submissions.&nbsp; So if you like the game concept and have a cool character idea, submit it!

I've sent you a PM, John. I'll happily talk things over, if you feel there's something there.

Hey all!&nbsp; In replying to someone who sent me a private message, I realized that my reply was a decent explanation of the kind of game I'm going for (and kind of GM I am in general), and I hadn't really put that in words in this thread, so I'm just going to (mostly) copy and paste that response here so y'all can read what I'm about.&nbsp; Here goes: I love creating rich, living worlds and my primary joy comes in players exploring (and contributing to!) them. Not that I don't love a great fight scene, but I love it for it's cinematic nature - in other words, I don't love combat for combat's sake, I love it for creating dramatic tension (a showdown with a hated rival!), further developing the world (monster ecology is a favorite - all creatures have an actual place in the lore, none just exist at random for the sake of being monsters to kill), or to tell legendary stories (such as Hercules and the hydra, etc.). On this particular game, I'm aiming for a tone that's certainly lighter than Shakespeare, but also more serious than Monty Python. My goal is to aim for a combination of the fun of Pirates of the Caribbean with the gravitas of Lord of the Rings. A seemingly simple journey that grows grander in purpose and scope as the game progresses. There will be a HEAVY emphasis on exploration of new lands and interacting with the cultures there, and seeing the strange ways they've grown in their isolation since Samsul's Blizzard. Mechanics wise - well, fair warning. I run by the book, and my goal as the GM is to find the way to make the story work within the rules, not throw the rules out arbitrarily. That being said, I don't run games where I don't feel like the rules will let me run the kind of game I want. If I didn't think 5e would let me run a game of Swashbuckling adventure, I wouldn't use that system. But one thing I do appreciate in fictional worlds is "internal consistency." If something works a certain way in time X and place Y, I want to be able to see it work that way in all times and places. Running within a set rules system helps establish that consistency. I.e. if a particular spell has this effect, you can base your assumptions about the world knowing that that spell will ALWAYS have that effect, and not do different things arbitrarily in the hands of another user, etc. Also, I am a "gamist" to a certain degree - I recognize that while we are working together to create an awesome, epic story - we're also playing a game, and rules give a game framework that allows (in my opinion/experience) more fun to be had, ultimately. Which is not to say that I expect any level of "system mastery" or anything like that! 5e is an elegant, simple game. For the most part, the core mechanic will carry you through everything you want to do. And for everything else, I'm totally fine with you saying "Hey GM, I want to do XYZ, how do I make that happen?" And I'll work out an answer. And again, if I didn't think 5e allowed things like "Okay, I leap from the rigging onto the Kraken's back and plunge my dagger into its eye!" instead of just "I attack the Kraken," then I wouldn't use 5e. :) Always open to feedback and questions!&nbsp; Cheers!

Well, I'm still very interested. Is there a specific application process you're looking for? I don't really have a specific character ready-made, so I'm not sure how to go about applying here. Edit: I should clarify that I have a few concepts and I'm willing to be flexible to round out the group, but I'd want to work with the DM to make a character that fits the world very well rather than showing up with one made already.

Sure! If you follow the link to the game page, there are instructions at the bottom for submitting a character. Feel free to PM me any specific questions after you've read everything!

I mean... I just said I didn't have a ready-made character, but... okay. I guess nevermind.

Are you still taking applications for this?

Ghost, I'm not sure what you're asking. You asked if there was a specific application process. I said there was. There's a link to the world info, so you can make a character. If you have any questions, PM me. Serdash - yup!

I'll probably keep this open for a few more days before I start the selection process. If anyone is looking for a long-term fun campaign, throw your hat in the ring!

Update: I'm going to officially close applications on Tuesday. Until then, if you like the idea, jump in!

I'll be sending an application then

Last day for submissions!

Okay, closing this out in about 3 hours. If you've got any last-minute submissions, this is the time!

Hey everyone!&nbsp; I've reached out to a few people and some, but not all, of the spots are filled.&nbsp; I wanted to give a shout-out to everyone who gave an awesome submission!&nbsp; Lots of you gave characters that were really cool, but obviously there won't be room for everyone.&nbsp; But the crew isn't finished yet, so I wanted to give an update on where the party is at, and see if anyone wanted to send a second (or third, in some cases!) submission.&nbsp; Lots of you seem very cool people I'd love to play with, and your character just didn't exactly meet the needs of the campaign.&nbsp; So, here's the revised updates on what we're still looking for: 1.&nbsp; No more half-elves.&nbsp; I received such a huge number of half-elves and quite frankly, a party of 4 of them doesn't exactly fit with the rarity of the race in the world.&nbsp; Thematically, we have enough! 2.&nbsp; No more Rogues.&nbsp; It's a swashbuckler game, so I obviously expected some Rogue submissions, but it can't be ALL Rogues, so competition for that role was fierce.&nbsp; That spot is filled. 3.&nbsp; Lastly, a few submissions were VERY cool as characters go, but didn't really have a good reason to fit in the story of the game.&nbsp; To reiterate:&nbsp; The mission of the HMS Marietta is a vital one to the kingdom, a mission of historic importance, similar to the expeditions of people like Columbus, Magellan, etc.&nbsp; Your character needs to not only have a strong, compelling reason to leave their home, possibly for months or even years, but they ALSO need to be the kind of character that an intelligent noble who is staking his entire fortune on the expedition would willingly hire and hinge the dreams of Padrane on.&nbsp; I recognize that that narrows the scope of potential character backstories somewhat, but that's why I wanted to be as up-front about the nature of the game as possible. So, I want everyone to know that if you submitted a character and I haven't reached out yet, it's not because you or your character wasn't cool!&nbsp; I just had a lot of submissions that had very overlapping character concepts and I couldn't pick all of them.&nbsp; So anyone who has submitted a character and I HAVEN'T reached out to you, you're free to submit a different character if you'd be comfortable playing something different. Cheers!