New 5E West Marches Campaign!

[Erklimir]

Hello Adventurers!

I've taken several months off since my last campaign and I'm looking to start a new one, a 5E West Marches style campaign (google it if you are unfamiliar with the term).

A bit about the campaign

- Think Grim Dark, gritty, a bit on the undead and demon side.
- Will implement a stress mechanic, where downtime activities (ex. quality of food and lodging) will play a roll in helping control.
- Bonus XP for being on time!
- Roleplaying, interest in the setting and plot hooks, etc. is vital. Non-optimized characters are heavily encouraged. Problem players, players who want to argue, take the fun out of the game, etc., will be expunged quickly.
- My world has more magic items than you are accustomed to. Note that these shiny toys will be well guarded however!
- The setting will be in Faerun, for those thinking about the pantheon.
- Like most DMs, I'll have a few rule changes, but for the most part we will play RAW. All rule tweaks will be in my wiki (legendkeeper) before we start so there will be no mid-campaign surprises. However, if 80% of the player base votes for a rule change after we start, we might add a new rule in the off chance something is game breaking enough everyone wants the change.
- I am a rules-light DM, meaning I'll typically go with the flow of how the party thinks things should go. I am vastly more concerned about moving combat encounters along quickly than getting every ruling perfect. I will always error on the side to make sure the players feel things are going fairly.
- Death (difficulty) expectations - IMO, the possibility that a character will perish adds drama, tension, and excitement to the game. Rewards are so much more rewarding. You should expect some characters to die. You should also expect that a good amount of the risk will be determined by the choices the party makes. You might know of five places to explore... you could pick the easiest one, the hardest one (likely with the best rewards), one that is a story line you are working on, etc.

West Marches games consist of a group of players and a 'home base'. You, the players, will be responsible for creating parties, sharing lore, maps, information, etc. A lot of the fun of the game is determined by how the player base interacts with each other.
I should be able to run at least 3 separate sessions per week. Each session should last in the 3 to 4 hour range, longer if the party wants.

Hit me up with questions. I'll add any important new information in [Edit] below.

[Edit]
The discord server is up and players have joined. Working on the campaign document now, looking to start playing around the 13th. Send me a discord message Deathcoilz#7600 if you want an invite.

5/8/22 - Current campaign document.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lj8bL9yDdiExLosAL8QdTSDEJ5nlRSAt0wxk8nSkC9g/edit?usp=sharing

5/8/22 - We have 12 players in the discord server, looking for more West March players!
5/10/22 - We have two games scheduled for this Sunday, one likely following Wednesday, could use a few more players.

Lets play some D&D!

[DarthGinga]

Hello,

I would like to join if you have an opening, but just need to know the start time for those days. I can do anything past 6pm PST.

[Erklimir]

Hi thanks for your interest. This campaign will run in the West Marches style, which means among other things there will be a group of players who will talk and decide among themselves when they want to adventure. For example, a group of 4 might decide to adventure for 4 hours next Friday starting at 7pm EST, another group of 5 might go for 4.5 hours Saturday at Noon. The following Wednesday 2 people from group 1 and 2 people from group 2 might want to adventure from 8pm-11pm EST... its all up to the players. I personally am flexible I should be able to fit most games.

[boxfox13]

Hello. I'm interested in this and would like to gather more information. If this information is available online, feel free to just drop a link.

*Assuming you use a voice program in tandem with FGU, which do you use?

*Are there any other requirements for players in regards to software? You mentioned Legend Keeper, is a subscription to that service required in order to access your wiki?

*How/Where do your players communicate?

*Are you using any books beyond PHB, DMG, and MM?

*How do you handle "life getting in the way"? My specific concern is if one of my kids needs me for a few minutes, or it's time to put them to bed, does that put a player on your "problem player" list?

Many thanks.

[Erklimir]

Hi Boxfox.

-I don't currently use a voice program; I have a friend that does, I might do so in the future.

-Just discord; I have the full FG license and a discord server. The legendkeeper will be free to players.

-Discord should be where the players communicate

-I have Volos, Xanathar's and Morden's books... and a few other smaller ones (I currently have FG turned off I need to turn it on to check, which I will shortly)

-Normal interruptions are ok. Stuff I've encountered in the past that are not ok are players who go afk until its their turn in combat constantly, people that are clearly 1/2 playing 1/2 watching youtube... don't really want players who aren't interested enough to give the game their full attention.

[boxfox13]

Great, thanks for the reply.

This sounds pretty good and I'd like to be involved. I definitely take the game seriously, just like most other DMs do when they're players...we know how frustrating it is.

Is there an application to fill out or something? I could PM you my Discord username, if that works. Let me know how you like things done. :)

[deer_buster]

Sounds fun...always wanted to try one of these style campaigns that don't put so much pressure on players that have r/l things to deal with

[Erklimir]

Hi dear Buster. Yes that is one of the beautiful things about westmarch. You have a pool of players that can get together and formulate a party based on availability and desire. Also is less stressful for the DM trying to Wrangle everybody together to get a session going he just Waits until a group of players tell him that they are ready to go at a certain time.

[Erklimir]

Either this evening or tomorrow I'll send everyone discord information so everyone can hop on the discord server, talk characters, I can share detail about the setting, and setup our first play session.

[Nitrouge]

Hey! I would love to join as well. A grim dark Fearun sounds fun!

[TroyTheTrojan]

If there still is a spot open let me know! Interested in joining

[Paxx]

I know I'm late for this date but I like your sarcasm, if there's still an opening or someone stormed off, let me know .

[Phithis]

Should be plenty of space as that's the nature of west marches. Assuming that is the case, I'm interested.

[deer_buster]

were you sending the discord soon?

[Zidahya]

Hey, I would love to join the player pool.

It would be my first time FG campaign (usualy we do Roll20), but I'm familiar(ish) with 5E.
Playtime is 6PM to 12Pm CET (GMT+2 currently) under the week.

[davrenbashir]

I would be interested in the Friday game. I've owned fantasy grounds for a while, but have never really gotten to use it. Not new to 5e and I have D&D Beyond, but new to actually using FGU.

[Chiron's Cave]

Sounds fun...sign me up!

[boxfox13]

Haven't seen any communication for this in nearly a week. Did I just not make the cut, or is this game still not started?

[GunnarGreybeard]

Haven't seen any communication for this in nearly a week. Did I just not make the cut, or is this game still not started?

Looks like Erklimir's last activity was April 26th but he's been a forum member since 2018 so It's likely he just got busy and will pop in and update the thread soon.

[Erklimir]

Sorry I went dark; I had a family emergency situation. I'll send everyone a DM to see if you are still interested, if you are not I get it.

[Erklimir]

Sorry I went dark for a week; I had a family emergency.

If you are still interested in this West Marches style campaign, please send me a DM with your discord info and I'll invite you and get you on my discord server where you can meet other players and formulate when you want to start adventuring. I'm looking to be available to start on 5/13ish... and the groups get with me to say exactly when and where.

If you lost interest I totally understand.

Ernie

[OracleDave]

Hi all,

Just so you all know, I reached out to the GM and we were quickly able to friend on Discord. He is live and responding, and I am very much looking forward to his campaign. Reach out to him if you are still interested. This thing is happening!

Yours in gaming,
David Bauder

[Phithis]

I dm'd here and haven't heard anything here or on Discord. :/ YMMV?

[DavidSt75]

i would definitely be interested and i have what i think would be a fun character concept but the rules of 5e as stated it wouldn't work it would need to be slightly tweaked and a little homebrewed..no it wouldn't be anything close to OP and i would love to work with you to make her. and you did mention your a rules-light DM so I'm hoping we can bring her to life...but whether you allow this char or not i would be very interested in joining

[OracleDave]

I dm'd here and haven't heard anything here or on Discord. :/ YMMV?

He just got back online. Try DMing again. I did that and got results.

Yours in Gaming,
David Bauder

[Phithis]

He just got back online. Try DMing again. I did that and got results.

Yours in Gaming,
David Bauder

Will do.

[Erklimir]

5/8/22 - Got a link to the campaign document in the original post. Currently 9 players in discord, looking for some more for the West Marches campaign. Send me a discord friend message Deathcoilz#7600 if you want to be part of the fun.

[Erklimir]

Still looking for a few more players. Right now we are running two games this Sunday, and most likely one game next Wednesday.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lj8bL9yDdiExLosAL8QdTSDEJ5nlRSAt0wxk8nSkC9g/edit?usp=sharing

that is the link to the current campaign doc for more information.

[shadowdragonlair]

Hello this looks like something that would be fun i have some ? is there general time on Sunday for starting. Wednesday kind of out for me do to working. other ? is this kind of like a mission board one shout each time with and over all campaign I guess what i"m asking is for the most part at the end of each play session is the plan to be back at home base.

[Erklimir]

Hello this looks like something that would be fun i have some ? is there general time on Sunday for starting. Wednesday kind of out for me do to working. other ? is this kind of like a mission board one shout each time with and over all campaign I guess what i"m asking is for the most part at the end of each play session is the plan to be back at home base.

We have two games scheduled for this Sunday and one for next Wednesday, but there is no set time to play. It is up to the players to talk to each other and setup play sessions. As far as quests go, at the start it will feel more like a mission board where you do a quest and end up back at the Castle at the end of the session. Over time, doing quests will lead to finding other plot hooks, lore, things to to explore, etc. and as the game progresses the party might be out adventuring for several sessions at a time.

[tommenquar]

If there is room i would like to play. Shoot me a msg on Discord The Funk#0139

[Nemthias]

I would like to play, hit me up at Nemthias#9819 If you still have room for players.

[Holykeg]

Still active?

[OracleDave]

Still active?

Sadly, due to family commitments, the game master has currently called an end to the campaign. It was fun, and I will still be interested in playing if his life eases up, but until then, no, not still active.