Curse of Strahd

Hello! Welcome to The Curse of Strahd! This is a campaign in progress, and we will be starting our next session on the 7th of January! We hope to have you on board! We've been playing in an atmospheric landscape featuring the classic gothic horror of Castle Ravenloft! Please leave your application below and I'll get back to you if you've been accepted or not. Happy gaming!

Character Creation:
Edit: Characters will be able to start the game as a member of one of the five factions, the Harpers, the Order of the Gauntlet, the Emerald Enclave, the Lords' Alliance, or the Zhentarim. Not being in a faction is also an option. Being in a faction confers a minor bonus in the first session, and is not necessary to play the game.
Edit2: We will be using the average rounded up for HP instead of rolling for it. Level 1 health is an assumed max roll as normal, all succeeding levels will be average rounded up.
Edit3: The edits here are now out of date. Check the Game's details page for up to date information.
We will be creating characters as a group on session 0. We will be using the standard point buy as described in the Player's Handbook for stats. Aarakocra and the Winged variant for Tiefling will be banned, but all other variants for Tiefling will be good to go. The stock Tiefling as described in the Player's Handbook will also be good to go. With the exception of Aarakocra and Winged variant Tieflings, all character creation options described in the Player's Handbook, Elemental Evil, Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, and Volo's Guide to Monsters will be good to go. The Monsterous Adventurers section of Volo's Guide to Monsters will also be good to go for character creation. The Curse of Strahd campaign will feature no natural sunlight, so characters with the Sunlight Sensitivity feature/flaw may not be as hindered as they normally would in a campaign. Magical sunlight may still prove to be an issue for them though. In addition to the character creation options listed in the Player's Handbook, Elemental Evil, Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, and Volo's Guide to Monsters, you may use the "Haunted One" background. A link to this background will be provided below.
Feats and multiclassing will be allowed. Your starting equipment may either consist of the standard equipment given to you by your class and background, or you may use the "Starting Wealth By Class" table shown in chapter five of the Player's Handbook. If you choose to use Starting Wealth By Class, do not roll the d4s as indicated, and instead assume you roll an average result. For example, a fighter will always assume he rolled 12.5 on his 5d4x10gp, and will start with 125 gold pieces to buy equipment with. Do note that using Starting Wealth By Class means you must give up all of your classes stock starting equipment and all of your backgrounds stock starting equipment, money included.
You will be allowed to freely re-spec your character in between sessions when your character is level 1-4. This includes changing background, race, skills, stats and class/classes. Starting equipment/wealth changes alongside a changed background and or class, when applicable. At level 5 and beyond you will need DM permission to re-spec aspects of your character. With the sole exception of the "Haunted One" background, assume that all character creation options not described in the Player's Handbook, Elemental Evil, Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, nor Volo's Guide to Monsters are banned.

Rule Variant:
During the first session, we will be using side initiative as described on Page 270 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Before session two, we will decide as a group if we would like to continue using side initiative, or if we would like to use stock Player's Handbook initiative instead.

Haunted One link:
http://media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/CoS_Character_Options.pdf