Descent Into Avernus

FIFTH PLAYER WANTED

We had a player drop out and I thought about running with 4, but I would like to try for a fifth. We are only 3 sessions into this adventure.

Party Composition: just ascended to Lvl 4; getting ready to depart Baldur's Gate to journey to the great library of Candlekeep soon (probably next session).
- Lawful Evil Paladin of Bane Human
- Neutral Evil Great old one Warlock Yuan-Ti Pureblood
- Chaotic Neutral Circle of Spores Eladrin (Elf)
- Chaotic Good Bard Kenku

Desired Player Characters

Level 4. You can pick a feat at 4 instead of attribute points. Feats not in the Player's Handbook are subject to DM approval (mostly so I know what to expect!)

Pitch a concept! I will be looking for a player AND character that are a good fit.

A combat healer would be cool (cleric) and probably get first look-over.

Background concepts that would be NICE for you to go with, but totally optional ideas based on the current point of the game story:

• Sage / researcher from Candlekeep, or looking to visit Candlekeep
• A wizard's apprentice; the wizard is an expert on interplanar travel, but a bit eccentric.
• The apprentice / assistance / good friend of a Candlekeep sage, an expert in fiends and infernal puzzle boxes
• A mysterious wanderer who sometimes helps road travelers in trouble, but is it for good reasons or otherwise?
• A person eagerly looking for adventure who heard about the eternal winter in Icewind Dale and is traveling North to Luskan from somewhere South of Candlekeep (Athkatla, Calimport, etc.)
• A member of the supposedly benevolent, but secretly malevolent organization, the Knights of the Shield
• A cambion (devil) in disguise (or not)
• An agent of the Harpers or Moonstars on a mission to gather intelligence on Elturel

ORIGINAL POSTING

Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus campaign playing weekly every Thursday except holidays.

If you are going to play BG3 for PC, then you should play Descent Into Avernus! Official blurb:

"Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus is an adventure module for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It will serve as a prequel to the video game Baldur's Gate III."

This will be a fun trip into hell. Are you ready, worms?

EVIL PARTY

Though the party may be partly evil-aligned (so-far), there is no sexual assault or sex at all in my games. This is mostly to protect me from getting sued or whatever, but also because I want to create a fun, safe environment - it's JUST A GAME, folks. I don't usually allow evil parties, but for this literal descent into Hell, it seemed like a bunch of evil adventurers may actually fare well by beating the devils at their own game.

Things this evil party might do (examples):

• kill witnesses to cover up a crime
• rough up agitators and stop riots using force (You are fully deputized by the Flaming Fist)
• take bribes
• rob / mug a stranger
• breaking and entering
• smash things for fun
• violent interrogations, but no torture allowed
• insult someone's mother
• steal a really important/valuable item, regardless of the consequences
• sell out allies (NPCs, not PCs) for coin (not sell into bondage/slavery; this is like "rat out" or double-cross)
• play multiple sides of a conflict for maximum personal gain (think Fistful of Dollars)
• attempt to grab power and wealth when possible; by exploiting weaknesses, using leverage / bribes, using fear and intimidation tactics
• show ambition in the use of force or cunning to further the goals of your faction or allies; read the "Devils" entry in Monster Manual if you have not already: Lawful Evil means you follow orders, but are always looking for loopholes, ways to rise above your boss, ways to humiliate and destroy your competition; you live by deceipt and misdirection, but always under the guise of playing the good little soldier.

Things this evil party will NOT be allowed to do (examples; DM is boss and reserves right to change things at will and with appropriate communication):

• sex / rape / sexual assault / sexual harassment (see the trend here? don't be a perv.)
• harm children in any way; people in this world are very protective of their kids anyway, due to all the magical monsters, so you will rarely/ever see any
• attack or steal from other party members: your self-preservation instincts should tell you that you should at least USE the people in your party by PRETENDING to be their friend. Manipulate them all you want, but you should work together; it's kind of the whole point. I will not be running this like Rime of the Frostmaiden where you have individual secrets; the only secret here is the shared party secret which is that you were all involved in a murder and subsequent cover-up.
• no slavery / human trafficking; if the adventure as published involves the characters being prisoners, we'll go with that; but what I mean is you will not be slave-traders, etc.
• torture

IT'S A GAME - HAVE FUN

Hopefully you get the idea that there is a sense of boundaries here. Toeing the line is fun, but do not cross it.

You may need a bit of a thick skin here! My job is to tempt, torture, and torment you with demons and devils. Don't take it personally, but I'll ask up front what lines shouldn't be crossed - if you actually have arachnophobia, I'm not going to try to trigger a panic attack. But I will make an effort to add flavor to the edgy hellscape atmosphere.

LOOKING FOR PLAYERS MORE THAN CHARACTERS

This will be a good mix of combat and role play. I don't homebrew rules much, sticking to official rules for the most part, but I reward role play with advantage and other things. If you want to pursue weird courses in the game, anything is possible, just work with your DM and role play it.

You should be able to be patient, wait for your turn, don't talk over people when they are taking their turn, and be ready to have fun! I am more into rules as fun, but try to stick to RAW when I can. If I have to spend more than 1 minute looking up or debating a rule I make something up and move on. The point is to tell a fun, shared story! (But I will ALWAYS go back and look it up after the game and then make it up to you later if I ripped off your character somehow)

GAME DETAILS

• Discord for voice and tunes
• we might swear a lot, but in a fun and friendly way.
• Starting at Level 4
• Roll for stats. if you are SCARED of that, mortal, then yes, you can use "standard array" or "point buy" but my imps will poke you with hot...uh, pokers. But you must choose one; you cannot roll low and then decide you now want point buy. Good players roll with the consequences. (And it's a cooperation, not a competition!)
• Restrictions on classes/races: nothing specific. I have the books. I prefer you stick to generally official-ish material. But run something by me and if it sounds reasonable I usually allow it. I don't have a lot of time to answer questions about builds because free games get hundreds of apps. So first think to yourself: "What would a reasonable DM's answer be to this question? Should I even bother asking it?" But for the most part: it's D&D, friends, you can use your imagination! But be a team player, it's a team sport.
• Weekly games. Sessions will usually be 4 hours, with a ten-minute break near the middle. It's not a firm schedule, though, so more breaks as needed, sometimes we stop shorter if it is a good spot, sometimes we rally and play for 5 if everybody's down, etc. Less than 3 hours is not really worth it to me for moving a story forward.

GAME RULES

• NO SEX, no sexual assault, no sexual harassment. PCs do not have genitals. Such is the price of being mighty heroes. The gods are cruel.
• Plenty of violence
• show up weekly; communicate absences; if I see a troubling trend I will deal with it, but I prefer to find responsible, fun players up front who won't flake and bail.
• if you cannot make a session, as long as there are 2 players we will go on, and your PC will just be safely teleported to a pocket plane or hanging out in a tavern or being tickled by dwarves or whatever and can hop back in next session. I know life happens - but I expect you to communicate, and not at the last minute either.
• no involuntary PVP, no party stealing, be nice to each other - all the devils of hell are against you; they don't want any competition.
• no streaming our game session; it's a safe space. I give all due respect to streamers, who are essential to making this game better-known and inspired me to get back into it, but that is not why I do this. I have an attorney on retainer; don't mess with me.
• be inclusive and tolerant. I don't discriminate colors/creeds/genders/orientations/favorite foods/sega vs nintendo/mac vs pc/etc. But when we are playing the game, you are in character. Leave the religion and politics at home. We only discuss religion and politics of the Forgotten Realms here, folks.
• be patient, wait your turn, don't talk over others - I know it is hard over the internet, but we can try to have a civil, fun game!
• Leveling up HP: the usual average is the floor. So if you are cleric, roll d8. If less than 5, just take 5 (the usual average). Otherwise sticking to rules until I say otherwise.
• no to the optional flanking rule; it robs druids (dire wolf) and barbs of feats
• I do allow the rogue bonus action: Aim from UA
• Other UA content available by request only
• Don't go off the rails too much from the published adventure. I do love creative role play, and you are in Baldur's Gate at the beginning, but we do want to play through the adventure story.
• No donations please, I don't want your money, just your time. And my accountant doesn't need any complications, thanks! I'm in this for the love, not the money.