Listing still active as of 6th of July

The Adventure

To the east of the well-known Sword Coast there are many, many dangerous lands. Eastaria wasn’t one of them until recently. A beautiful and rich country of mostly humans was struck by vile, tribal elves and some unseen before monsters, followed by a plague they brought with them. Initially it was considered a trivial threat, just a primitive clan and a disease that would come and go, but reality turned to be much different — a third of the country’s land has already fallen to the hands of the enemy and the army is doing what they can to keep the rest safe from pillaging. The plague cannot be cured by simple spells and the precious diamonds needed for powerful magic are running out faster than is manageable. The borders were closed with nobody coming out and few getting in.

There is more to these elves. Where did they come from, why are they commanding hordes of monstrosities, what are their goals, and how much time do eastarians have?

About Eastaria

Eastaria is a kingdom inhabited mostly by humans. It has a history of about one millennium, and began with small villages revering the local primordial force, the Phoenix. The mighty firebird was the main deity here for more than half a century before being replaced by Sûne, the goddess of beauty.

It has become an important trade center in the area, attracting many merchant ships to its ports. Travelers came here too, seeking adventure in the dark forests, dangerous mountains and distant ruins filled with undead. Some also liked the beautiful landmarks found across the land.

Eastaria is not much different from the Sword Coast, though the magic here is mostly ancient and the army has a much stronger presence.

Where the party comes in

No sane person travels to a warzone like this on a whim. What made you choose to go there? Here are some ideas you can consider and expand, or come up with your own motivation.
A person very important to you is in Eastaria. You want to reach them and get them to safety.
Religious organisations reported receiving strange signs from the gods, as if there was a disturbance in the pantheon.
You had a weird dream, nightmare, or a vision where a woman’s voice was calling for help, speaking the name of the country
When a country is desperate for help, they might pay large sums of money or give out titles for those willing to help. The fruit is ripe for the taking.
Your goal is to help those who need it most. Eastaria seems to match the criteria, though helping here might cost you your life.

Since the borders were closed, you needed more than just a pair of legs to enter the falling kingdom. Or you just needed a specific pair of legs, such as those that belong to Bartos, a trader with a respected record and a valid license that grants him the right to go through the border fortress. Him and his bodyguards. That’s you. Once you met Bartos two days away from Eastaria, you knew that he was your best chance to reach your destination. He and his 10 year old daughter, Tamara, have been your companions since.

As you can probably tell, it’s a dark fantasy story. Dark, serious themes of war and the looming threat of death that awaits whenever you get too far from a town. Whether you wish to find a cure to the deadly plague, vanquish the elves, build foundations for peace or follow your own interest in the war-torn country, this is the adventure your character isn’t going to forget.

Character Creation:
Races: Player's Handbook, as close to a human as possible, without edgy beastfolk
Classes and Subclasses: PHB, XGtE, TCoE are the resources we use, with the Artificer and Custom Lineage being excluded from the list of available options.
Multiclassing: Yes
Feats: Yes, if they make sense for your character
Levels:1-10
Stats: 4d6-lowest, or Standard Array if the result is lower than 72
Equipment: Starting Equipment
Background: Any background available from the books mentioned earlier, without the background abilities

How do we connect?

We meet every Monday at the time specified in the game settings for up to 4 hours, speaking at Discord on a server made just for the game.

Playstyle

I've been a 5e DM and a player for two years now. In my games we try to have a balance of combat and RP, as well as putting an emphasis on learning about the world and things going on in it. The active role of the party is crucial for unraveling a fun story story and creating engaging, memorable moments.

I like playing with Rules as Written, as it ensures consistent rulings and fairness towards everyone at the table.

I prefer player creativity to be more about the story decisions rather than finding loopholes and going around the rules of combat to gain advantage. If we do allow something that isn’t written in the rules, the enemies will be able to do that too.

Extra Rules

Dangerous Magic

We will use giffyglyph's dangerous magic, mainly the burnout system which adds a small and simple risk spellcasting. I’ve tested it already in a game both as a DM and a player, and it works really well, encouraging spellcasters to use their magic in each encounter instead of hoarding spell slots while others are getting beat up in close combat. Check the link below:
(https://www.giffyglyph.com/darkerdungeons/grimoire/4.0.0/en/dangerous_magic.html)

Proper Rest

A change to long rests - in order for them to work, they must take place in a safe, comfortable and inhabited place - most likely an inn, not a dark forest or a dungeon with no air to breathe or Leomund’s Tiny Hut set up.

I think that such changes make it possible for us to reach the 6-8 encounters a day that the rules talk about, and they also make resource management a more important aspect of the game. No more story-irrelevant but deadly encounters on the road just to create an illusion of a challenge

Meaningful Exit

You know that feeling when a character drops to 0 hit points, you spend up to five turns rolling death saves, and then the party just loots your body and your story is over?

To avoid that, upon being reduced to 0 hp, your character is barely conscious, and if the death saving throws are not in their favor, they get little time to say goodbyes, share their final will or request, insult the healers who abandoned them, and perhaps reveal their secrets.

How to Apply

Please answer the following questions in a comment.

1. What's your name and age?
2. What was it that convinced you to apply?
3. What is your experience with D&D?
4. Are you certain that you can be present for our sessions within the specified hours, without background noise and with undistracted presence?
5. Have you read the few homebrew rules we have here, and are you aware of the themes and tone of the game?
6. What character would you like to play, considering the available options? Race,Class, general concept that fits the game style.