The Waters of Droucia

  A 5E compatible adventure & setting for Dungeons & Dragons;
 Boasting a unique blend of Ghibli-esque fantasy and Lovecraftian horror!

The first session will begin on schedule as soon as we have at least 4 players

Located on the south-eastern region of the continent of Eaqone:

While relatively unexplored, it is pox-marked with the ruins of a long-forgotten civilization.
The region enjoys a mostly temperate climate, the summer seasons can be warm, but not blisteringly hot. The winters however, are often long and harsh. Heavy snowfall in the mountains swell the waters of the rivers every spring. This nutrient rich melt-water provides exceptional fishing & crabbing opportunities along the coast, without needing to make multi-day trips away from shore. This minimizes the risk of running into pirates, who hope to capture ships bound for distant shores laden with the spoils of the mountains.

A long northeast-southwest range of mountains on the western edge of Droucia make passage to the west extremely difficult, but also provide rich veins of copper, iron, tin, silver, and even some gold. In addition to the metals, the mines provide precious minerals such as salt and stones such as jade, onyx, lapis, rubies and emeralds.

Droucia itself exists as a kingdom in name-only, and is actually a loose collection of city-states each known as a túath. These túatha, or regional groups of people, formed an alliance of protection against external threats and for the betterment of trade that Eaqone's riches support.
People who live here refer to themselves as Droucians (usually followed by the túath which they call their home). ex: Emile Amberbraid is a Droucian of Elderthorn

The Treaty of 5, that codified the Kingdom of Droucia, was signed by the representatives of the different túatha 98 years ago, and does not name any formal king. Typically, each year at midsummer, the mayors, governors and leaders of each túath gather together in Armskirk, and discuss how the winters were managed, and any potential threats of which they have learned.
The most recently discussed threat the year prior, besides the usual threat of hostile nomadic tribes, is a band of mercenaries called the "Death Deniers" who have already seemingly been responsible for a series of less-than-legal jobs.

Character Creation

For your ability scores, we use one of several methods. Standard Array; (15,14,13,12,10,8) or the 27 points point-buy method can both be generated ahead of time for your use. If you would prefer to roll stats, reach out to me, and we can arrange a time to roll them in-game with both of us present.

After applying racial bonuses, either of the pre-generated methods can give you a very strong characters that still have a "flaw," or can give you a very well rounded characters. I will work with you on your background/backstory to make sure have plot hooks to draw your character into the adventure.

I accept any WotC endorsed 5e races/classes, and am willing to try out any Unearthed Arcana/Homebrew content, but you must speak with me prior to creating a character with it so I can review it, and I reserve the ability to change features to buff/debuff the brew.

There are two, totally custom, classes available for selection in this adventure:

The Shaman

A divine caster who has gained their powers through a pact with one or many spirits of the world. Typically these pacts are not of ill-intent, or even overly weighted in one side's favor. Most shamans have a symbiotic relationship with their spirits, and regard them as a silent but ever-present close friend.
Shamans are rumored to be the watchers on the edges of the world. Constantly walking the line between the material plane, and that ethereal realm of spirits. Some peoples fear the powers that they posess. Others become perturbed, thinking that the spirits are bent to the will of the shaman; rather than understanding that the spirits' will, and the shaman's, are usually in concert. Others still, worry for the shaman; seeing the toll that channeling the spirits' energy can have on their bodies.
Despite it all, the greatest strength of a shaman in their symbiotic relationship with the ethereal. As a shaman grows stronger, so too do their spirits. Consistently able to wield the full might of their ever-present companions, a fully realized shaman on the field of battle is one that you should always hope is on your side, and never at odds against you.

The Warden

While a druid might be a caretaker of a grove, or a shepherd of the wild beasts, a Warden is the bulwark that halts the encroach of outsiders though the strength of their own body. A warden is connected to the environment in which she learned her craft, but she represents all natural places. A warden can be found in any environment of the material plane, or beyond, but they all feel a kinship and understanding with others who share their convictions. All wardens defend the lands first by the blade, then the fist, and finally by the word if nothing else will suffice.
As a warden, you might be the staunch defender of a tribe, chosen by the spirits to be your people’s champion. Perhaps you were visited by spirits at a sacred grove and charged with protecting it against a spreading corruption. You might have been raised by a bear or nurtured by dryads, chosen from infancy to stand fast against nature’s enemies.
Primal power waits in the ground beneath your feet, surges with every beat of your heart, and flows through your lungs with every breath. The world cries out to you, calling for a champion to defend it. Will you heed its call?

If you have a desire to play an evil character, you must reach out to me ahead of time to have a private conversation prior to setting the character up in roll20. I am not giving an outright "No." but I am enforcing the spirit of "Yes, but..."

As far as the Tasha's Optional Rules go: All of the Customizing Origin rules for your race, are perfectly acceptable. All optional class features are allowed as well.

Once we get the group going (probably after session 0, and before session 3) I will be asking for a brief "elevator-pitch," 60-second, written backstory for your character. This is not mandatory. That said, those who put in effort, will be rewarded for said effort in the form of an uncommon magic item. I will choose it, but I will consider preferences if they make sense within the context of your backstory

My personal house rules:

"Flanking = Advantage"

But keep in mind that even semi-intelligent enemies can and will do it to you as well.

0 HP dying/unconscious/incapacitated

No major change here, except that you remain barely conscious. You can't speak above a whisper (5-foot range), and are otherwise still totally incapacitated as per the standard rules. This means you are vaguely aware of surroundings while dying, and should you expire, there is a brief moment for cinematic last-words.

Resurrection Magic

Resurrection magic exists, but it is difficult and imperfect.
To reflect this, I do use the variant Critical Role rules if we do encounter it at any point. This means that an attempted resurrection is a skill challenge, and there is the distinct possibility of failure. Death is a huge risk. Avoid it at all costs. Additionally, being dead for greater than a minute (Revivify vs. Raise Dead) imparts a permanent death saving throw failure. Making it easier to slip into the void the next time. The only way this can be removed is with the True Resurrection (brings you back with no failures) or Wish (removes failures) spells.

Out-of-table talk

This does not mean 'out-of-character'. This means bringing stuff to the gaming table that doesn't have anything to do with the game. No talks of news, politics, religion, sexual topics etc. (romance in-character is fine if everyone consents to it, but explicit content is handled as a 'Fade-to-black'). You will only ever get 1 warning for ANY of these topics.

This game will require payment to the Dungeon Master at a rate of $30USD per session, paid in advance of the game session via paypal. Your first session is free. Roll20 is not responsible for any payment transactions and cannot enforce any private arrangements.

If you pre-pay for the month in advance, it is a flat $100USD for the month as long as I receive payment before the 1st. This effectively lowers the price-per-session to $25.
Additionally; the price doesn't raise on the 5-week months, meaning you are effectively getting 5 sessions for $20 each on those months!

Why Pay to Play?

Don't be frightened off by the "pay to play" tag. The first session is free so you can see how we play before making a commitment.
You might also like to learn a little more about me or my DM style (see below).

I 'Dungeon Master' (that is definitely a verb now) as my income to help support my family. I do this professionally and I am good at it. You can expect a professional experience for your investment. I am nearly always available to answer questions regarding our game, even during "off" hours. If I am ever 'out of the office' for a few days, I will always put a PSA out there that I will not be able to address any questions until the date I return.

Paying for games provides a distinct incentive for both the DM and players to be consistently on time and ready to play each session. You know that, going in, you are 'sitting down at the table' with other people who are there to have fun and play D&D.

Who is d20Tavern?

You can call me Spencer. I have been loving this game in it's various editions for 15 years now. I have DMed 3.5, 4, Next (during playtesting), and 5e over the years. I have DMed for nearly that entire time, with a stint here and there as a player character.
At my table I like to have a good mix between roleplay, exploration, and combat when I am behind the screen; so you can expect opportunities for all of them. I love doing voices for my PCs and NPCs, but do not require it of anybody I am playing with.
I tend to side on the "Rule of Cool" rather than "Rules as Written" when something is murky. I'm not going to waste your time at the table by looking something up, rather than just making a ruling and double-checking later.

We are here to tell this amazing story together and fill our game with awesome memories.

P.S. D&D 5.5 (or whatever they are calling it now)

I am 100% here for some of it (sorcerer looks amazing in the UA) and definitely not about other parts (they just killed druid's wild shapes imho). I might incorporate some elements as they get more refined, but will not force anyone onto these new classes.