The Newcomer's Guide To Phandalin

Are you an adult newcomer who's been looking to play D&D but never had the chance? Ready to play but you're not sure how, or you just don't 'get' the Roll20 interface? Don't know how to play but want to learn? Are you just older and worried about taking that first scary step? Then the Absolute Newcomer's Guide to Phandalin and Beyond may be just what you're looking for!

I'm starting a beginner-friendly campaign to cater to anyone who fits into the description above and is looking to get into D&D for a few fun hours on Sunday afternoons. No experience required, all you need is a desire to play and a friendly attitude! The goal is to create a comfortable, easygoing, fun environment for everyone, even if you've never played before. If you've played D&D for 20 years or you've logged thousands of hours on Roll20, if you've ever developed or published your own elaborate set of custom character classes and homebrew rules for them, if you've ever played a spotlight-loving half-aasimar, half-lizardfolk, half-feyborn hexblade warlock with the power of flight and invisibility and a Deep Dark Past in which you're the Chosen One with a Secret Destiny... that's absolutely fantastic. This is probably not the game for you.

The Campaign

This campaign is based on the Lost Mine of Phandelver, which is designed to be a classic introduction to D&D for first time players or players with little to no experience, possibly with some additional content thrown in along the way. You'll start at Level 1, and progress from there. The premise is simple enough: a Dwarf named Gundren Rockseeker is looking for a caravan guard to transport his supplies from Neverwinter down the High Road to the rough-and-tumble town of Phandalin. Journeying through these roads is known to be a dangerous task, and one that very few undertake on their own; since it's frequented by bandits and with monster sightings not being unusual, it’s always best to be prepared and to be able to defend oneself. A non-negotiable payment of 10 shiny gold pieces can be collected at Barthen's Provisions in Phandalin by each adventurer who undertakes this simple task. It's easy money -- what could possibly go wrong? Other opportunities for adventure and profit may present themselves in Phandalin as well, should any interested parties be inclined to inquire there.

This campaign should last probably 8-10 sessions, with characters progressing to level 5 or 6. If everyone's having fun and wants to continue after that, there's ample opportunities and material to keep the adventure going. Otherwise, you can take all your newfound D&D expertise and swagger on over with confidence and style to join some paid Curse of Strahd or Out of the Abyss campaign, where you can dominate like an absolute boss with your expert D&D skills. You literally can't lose!

Player Guidelines

All players are expected abide by some simple guidelines intended to keep the game fun for everyone. Because it's not fun if you're making it not fun.

• Respect all the other players and the DM. No sexism, racism, bigotry, ableism, or other disparagement of anyone based on sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or anything else. There's no tolerance for intolerance so if that's an issue this is probably not the game for you.
• Keep it generally PG-13. There's obviously some in-game violence, and some occasional light cursing when you take that critical hit from a goblin isn't going to hurt anyone. If you're looking to role-play some weird half-orc sexual fantasy fetish, that's absolutely fantastic... this is probably not the game for you.
• Your character should generally want to partake in the adventure and work with the rest of the characters. If you want to play some sociopathic loner misanthrope when the rest of the party is playing a more well-adjusted group with a sunny disposition, that's absolutely fantastic! This is probably not the game for you.
• Plan to attend and be on time. Of course life happens and things come up and everyone understands, but if you sign up to play you're committing to a weekly 3 hour-ish session for a couple of months. If you know you won't be able to do that, that's great! But probably not the game for you -- maybe leave that slot open for someone else.
• You need a headset for the audio. It's not fun if nobody can make out your muffled voice from your tiny laptop microphone, or if you're broadcasting all the noise happening nearby from your kids/roommates/dogs/etc. But we're in a global pandemic at the end of the world, so everyone's surely got a headset by now for all the Zoom calls.

Schedule

Games will be held Sundays at 1pm CDT and run probably 3-ish hours. We'll start on August 9th with a session zero to make introductions, provide an overview of the rules and the Roll20 interface for everyone who needs it, create some characters and backstories, and establish any guidelines/limits the group wants to abide by (hint: if you're looking for hardcore torture/rape/murder/anything fantasies, that's fantastic! But this is definitely not the game for you.) If initial setup goes quickly we can get the actual gaming started, otherwise we'll start in earnest the following week. The initial campaign should run 8-10 sessions, and we'll decide whether anyone wants to continue from there.

Rules and Materials

We'll use the PHB (that's "Players' Handbook" for you noobs) and XGE ("Xanathar's Guide to Everything"), which provides a pretty decent overall selection of races and classes to choose from. Both are available in the game, so you don't need to purchase anything or bring your own. We're not doing homebrew in a game geared towards beginners. We'll use Roll20's built-in Charactermancer for character creation and leveling up. Players can use the standard array or point-buy strategies for initial abilities, or you can roll 4d6 and drop the lowest die. (But you roll in public and live with the luck of the dice, so if you're rocking a 6 INT or a 7 CHA, that's on you.) Feats are allowed as described in the PHB.

If you have no idea what anything above means, that's OK! We'll explain everything you need to know to get started.

Evil characters/parties are allowed but are generally a bad strategy. Consider carefully that murder and other crimes come with significant consequences, and that low-level characters are relative weaklings and can die. Adventuring is dangerous enough as it is; characters will probably die when they do things likely to make them die, like anger the local authorities/militia through some evil murder/crime spree.

FAQ

• "I'm a professional D&D player with over 7,000 hours logged running paid games on Roll20 and I'm absolutely dying to play this introductory adventure for new players. Am I welcome?" Of course! But I'm going to prioritize new/inexperienced players to give the new folks a chance, so it depends on how many people apply.
• "Are homebrew rules allowed? I've developed a very interesting race/class combination that combines the abilities of a warforged cleric with a drunken master monk, crossed with a hexblade warlock/paladin. My character has wings and is literally made of fire. He's unique in the entire universe, and has a secret destiny I'd like to discuss with you in private in order to help you build the entire campaign around me. Should I apply?" Absolutely! I would love to hear your thoughts on how we can make the entire game revolve around your very special character. However I'll be prioritizing new/inexperienced players to give the new folks a chance, so it ultimately depends on how many people apply.
• "I've played The Lost Mine of Phandelver before and know the entire story and everything that's going to happen. I'm actually running it for another group right now. Can I still play?" Sure, everyone loves spoilers! Note that I'll be prioritizing new and inexperienced players, in particular players who haven't already played this particular module, so it depends on how many people actually apply.
• "I've never actually played D&D before and I'm super intimidated because of not knowing the rules. Should I apply?" Yes! We'll gladly teach you everything you need to know!
• "I want to play, but... I don't exactly know how to say this, but I'm not good at role play. I can't, er, (whispers) 'do the voices.' Can I still play?" Good lord, yes! Start at your own comfort level for role-playing! (And the voices are always awful except when the players all happen to be professional voice actors, so feel free to not sweat it in the least -- your normal voice is just fine.)

Applications

If you've read this far, you're still interested, and you're an adult human person, that's absolutely fantastic... this is the game for you! Please check out the Applications Thread below, read the instructions in it, and post a reply to that thread. I'll review them all, and if we get enough players we'll play. Note that I'll be prioritizing new players, so be sure to mention that in your application if it's applicable.