This
game will require payment to the Game Master at a rate of $10 USD per
weekly session via Paypal. Roll20 is not responsible for any payment
transactions and cannot enforce any private arrangements. There will
be no charge
for Game 0, and a refund (minus Paypal Fees) will be
offered if you do not wish to continue after Game 1.
I
currently have 1 player and I'm looking 2-4 additional players to
join the game.
I'm
a very experienced DM (22 years as of 2020) looking to begin a 5E
version of the 1 st Edition classic dungeon crawl
adventure: Keep on the Borderlands , which will be set
in Greyhawk . If the campaign goes well I'll follow it
up with a second storyline (I have a few options atm). I'm aiming
Session 0 to be on Thursday,
January 23st of this year, assuming a weekday
night would work for everyone. I'll start each game at 5 :00pm
PST , and each game will last 4-5 hours . I have
a lot of experience teaching D&D 5E to new players. Game Zero will be free to anyone who wants to join and build characters, and we'll run the beginning of the adventure. If anyone wants to come in for a later game I'll treat that as an introductory game as well (meaning it will be free for that player for that game).
This
campaign will tie into some of my other campaigns (which are set
between Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms), and they may influence each
other, based the player's actions. I keep a detailed timeline of
events in each game.
I
encourage a lot of roleplaying and voice acting, but I also like a
lot of tactical combat (50/50 split). For good roleplaying I give 1-3
points of inspiration, which I keep track of in an inspiration pool
(which can be used between games if you come into a second game –
up to 30 points).
I'll
be reworking some of the maps in this adventure to work better with
Roll20. I'm a trained illustrator, and I've produced professional
quality map illustrations (mostly for adventurers and for Forgotten
Realms). I'll also be adding descriptive text to the original
adventure, as I like to paint a good narrative picture of what
players come across.
If
you would like to join my game, you can find the LFG listing here:
<a href="https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/189316/keep-on-the-borderlands-5e" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/189316/keep-on-the-borderlands-5e</a>
Intro
to the Adventure
The
Keep on the Borderlands lies between on the southern flanks of the
Dreadwood Forest, where it is sandwiched between the forest and the
Hool Marshes to the south. To the west is The Yeomanry, a freehold
nation ruled from the city of Loftwick, and to the southeast the Hold
of the Sea Princes, a coastal domain that includes the settlements of
Westkeep, Port Toli and Saltmarsh.
An
old road winds from the sleepy village of Saltmarsh, northwest over
the swamps, between the wetlands and the forest. Here travelers come
to the Borderland Keep as a place of refuge, before moving on to the
west, where Longspear and Loftwick lie, as well as lands further
inland. However, those who find shelter behind its old stone bastions
hear rumors of more than just howling wolves out in the wilderness...
but hostile forces of orc and hobgoblins barbarians... and if the
rumors are true... these monsters are lairing dangerously close to
the keep, and something must be done about it before it's too late...
The
World of Greyhawk
The world
of Greyhawk is an expansive, feudal society, with the free city of
Greyhawk being near the center of the largest continent, Oerik, on a
planet called Oerth, which itself is orbited by it's sun and two
moons: Luna and Celene. The northeastern side of Oerik is the lands
of the Flanaess... which itself is divided up into a series of Duchy
states, Viscounties, kingdoms, theocracies and in one cased a
Deicratic Empire (ruled by a wicked, evil god called Iuz). Most
peoples in these lands lean toward neutrality, while pockets and
regions of intense evil and devoted good are dotted here and there.
Many of the common folk follow a druidic religion called the Old
Faith, although an entire pantheon of gods are also worshiped across
the lands as well, depending on the region such as the following:
Blerred:
mining Boccob:
magic Ehlonna:
forests Incabulos:
plague Joramy:
a good aligned god of volcanism Lirr:
poetry Myhriss:
love Olidammara:
music St.
Cuthbert: righteousness Trithereon:
liberty Zagyg:
humor.
...although
there are many others...
Most
people never leave their home towns and cities, thus few people have
even seen maps of the world, let alone their own home region.
Nonetheless, some people dare to travel the backroads and byways
between distant lands, such as those living in the borderland region
near the freeholds of Yeomanry and the loose confederation of
settlements called the Hold of the Sea Princes.
But
out in the wilderness, far away from civilization, hostile, violent
forces dwell. To the immediate south is a wet, grim swamp that
crosses the landscape, and lining the northern road is an imposing
woodland of gnarled, ancient looking trees and dense brush.
About
the DM
My
name is Andrew James Woodyard and I've been DMing since 1998. I
started my first campaign when I was in high school, running a very
loose 2E adventure campaign. I graduated to 3 rd Edition
and 3.5, then continued to run a very roleplaying heavy 4 th
Edition game. My 4E game at the time attracted players who would
ordinarily only play Pathfinder and other 3E systems, mostly because
I wasn't totally focused on combat. I have since embraced 5E as my
core system.
I
prefer a good mix of roleplaying and tactical combat, with a strong
emphasis on voice acting. I grant players a pool of inspiration as a
house rule. Players can earn between 1-3 points of inspiration per
game, and can pool up to 30 points (which I allow to be used across
all my games if you're playing in more than one).
I'm
a very lenient DM, and I tend to allow a lot of class/race/alignment
combinations (although I'd prefer a good background for a weird combo
character or an oddball race). Although I will set up an
adventure/locale for player characters to explore, I like to give my
players a lot of choices, to hand you the reigns of what direction
the group wants to go. Generally, I prefer to give you several solid
directions by the end of the game, where in the next game I will have
finished material ready to follow up on the direction the group
decided on prior.
Most
of my games have been in Forgotten Realms, although I have run a few
in Planescape, Greyhawk and Dark Sun. I keep detailed timelines of
all my games, and I give players the opportunity to effect events
long term in my games. Some of my campaigns have collided with each
other and effected each other, with adventurers that took place a
decade or two ago still leaving their mark on games I'm running
today.
Professionally,
I'm a trained Illustrator (I received my BFA from California State
University Fullerton in 2017 and I'll be completing my MFA, also in
Illustration, at the same university in May of this year). If you've
played in Forgotten Realms then you may have seen my regional maps of
Anchorome, Maztica, Dark Senora and or Lopango, or maybe my city maps
of Yartar or Mirabar. I also do character illustrations, portraits,
landscapes, battle maps, as well as sequential art for commission.
I'm
also a regular contributor on DMG, where I publish many of my older
adventure, new classes, feats (I put the first packet of new feats up
right after the site was launched and it still sells well), monsters
and other supplements. I've run extensive games in Undermountain, and
have detailed nearly half the rooms of the first level of the
mega-dungeon (which can be found in several PDFs on DMG).
Why
should someone Pay to Play and RPG?
I
send a lot of time developing, writing, researching and adding
illustrative elements to my games. In the case of a module, I try to
flesh out the material laid out, to make the world seem real, not
unlike a fantasy novel. In recent years I have been running both
current and old edition modules, and have gotten to the point where
the only way I can afford to run any additional games is to take time
off from my illustration work to run a paid game in order to make up
the difference. I do run a few other personal games with a close
group of friends as well, and I'm not against bringing in good
players into some of those games (free of charge if the chance arises
and the situation would work), on top of the professional games that
I run.
There's
a lot I can offer that less experienced DM's can't:
I
research all the modules and settings that I place my games in. I
want Forgotten Realms to feel like the rich, immersive, insanely
detailed setting that Forgotten Realms is, and I want Greyhawk to
feel as grim and feudal as it is supposed to feel. When I
reference things like the Old Skull Inn, the Lanceboard Room or
the village of Hommlet, then it's because I want you to know that
you're playing in a game where those famous places exist and if
need be you can go there.
I
produce original content, even if I'm running a module. A lot of
times this may be the introduction of a new type of monster, NPC,
or if the group wishes to travel to a new local then I'd produce a
traveling adventure that feels like your characters are on a
journey: complete with weather conditions, the rations you eat,
run down inns you stay at, and travelers you meet on the road.
I
use unique voices for NPCs and creatures that you encounter. Not
every orc is just some pig-headed, dumb brute (some are). Some
have high pitched voices, while some others are oddly friendly. On
more than one occasion a seemingly hostile giant turned out to be
a cheerful fellow, although just as many may be domineering and
brutal.
I
set up all the logistics of my game ahead of time: scheduling
adventurers, planning each game session, and dealing with game
issues between players.
Even
if a campaign ends and the story line is complete then I prefer to
find ways to continue with a group of characters. Most campaigns
don't last beyond 10 th level or so, but I've managed to
piece together higher level characters from many different parties
into new bands that have continued on to new, often perilous
adventurers.
I
use dynamic lighting for my games and prep ahead of time where
difficult terrain lies in game, as well as other terrain features
that groups can interact with. I also have encounters set up ahead
of time so you don't have to wait for me to build them during the
game.
I
keep myself available to communicate as often as I am able with my
players, and to work with players who may have issues making it to
a game, or issues with other players. If you have to miss a game,
for example, I would prefer to write in a valid reason why your
character isn't there. That way the next time you play I can
reintroduce you to the game, and it doesn't seem like you just
missed something big for no reason, as your character probably had
something important to do in the meantime.
I
understand and can take constructive criticism. You may not agree
with every rule I have, every idea I come up with, or with every
decision I make in game, but I'll listen to any issues you have
with my DMing (preferably after a game). Keeping that in mind, I
don't just bend to what any random player thinks, but I do
consider their opinions on how to run a better game.
I
welcome a diverse group of players from all walks of life. I do
not allow racist, sexist, trans/homophobic, or kink-shaming
behavior in my games. I have my own opinions about politics and
religion, but I don't try to sway my players on either side or
bring anything like that up in games. If players wish to discuss
such issues I prefer they do so after a game.
I
will only allow people to play in my games who show respect to
each other, and respect me as a DM as well. Players who are
hostile or aggressive to other players or to me will not be
allowed into future games.
This
game will require payment to the Game Master at a rate of $10 USD per
weekly session via Paypal. Roll20 is not responsible for any payment
transactions and cannot enforce any private arrangements. There will
be no
charge for
Session 0, and a refund (minus Paypal Fees) will be offered if you do
not wish to continue after Session 1.
I
do also accept tips as a DM if you're feeling generous. I put a lot
of energy into my games so a few extra bucks to buy an energy drink
or two goes a long way :)
