LFP [Paid] [DnD5e+Hybrid] Forgotten Realms setting Bi-Weekly Live + PBM Bi-Weekly
About the DM:
Started playing red box Basic D&D in 1986. DMed my first AD&D 1E campaign in 1988. Have been an enthusiast since the beginning and have bought in to each new edition.
FG Version:
FGC Ultimate and FGU Ultimate. No license needed by players.
VTT Addons:
All of Rob2E’s actions and effects along with the Syrinscape SuperSyrin subscription and Syrinscape sound triggers in game.
When:
I am on US Eastern time. I have DMed for players in Europe and on the West Coast. If a time works for everyone then it’s on!
Game System and Setting:
Default to 5E D&D set in the mid 1480s Forgotten Realms. I have all of my earlier edition Forgotten Realms lore books and you can expect a canon world history up until the time 5E was released. If there is something from an earlier edition that does not exist in 5E we can pull from earlier rules and tables. The Forgotten Realms is a high magic, high fantasy, world which differs from the relatively low magic setting depicted in the 5E DMG. Magic shops run by the Red Wizards of Thay are in almost every major city. Halruaan merchants are always on the hunt for new magic to buy/sell/trade.
Play/DM Style:
Generally 75/25 RP vs Combat with adjustments based to table preferences. RP can be dialogue with NPCs or puzzle solving. Quest awards will be 2E centric with lots of gold relative to 5E with the assumption you will use the gold to enhance your character’s story. You can be a delegator instead of a doer. The hireling rules from the 3E Arms and Equipment guide will be brought forward and the 3E Stronghold Builders Guidebook will also be used if you want to buy/build a tavern, temple, or other base of operation. We also generally use elements from Acquisitions Inc 5E for running an adventuring company. You can run any kind of company or guild you want and have your NPCs create passive income for you.
Open World and Scaling:
The game is open world and will also have commercially made adventures from DMs Guild, the WotC hardcover adventures, older edition modules updated to the 1480’s, or some homebrew adventures with a start and end. The stories are not on rails and may be handled in any creative manner. There will also be improv plots that you can stumble upon and expand. We will try to recreate the feel of 1E-3.5E adventures and the PC games such as Pool of Radiance, Neverwinter Nights, and the Newerwinter MMO. Predetermined plot points will generally remain static and not scale up or down with the party. It is possible a quest that is challenging now may be easy after you have leveled up. The inverse is possible where the party may not be powerful enough to successfully complete a zone unless they level up or bring additional NPCs. How difficult the game is and your wealth progression is up to you. You may want to blaze through combat by hiring a small army of NPCs but live a relatively modest lifestyle with your remaining gold or you may want to conserve gold by handling problems yourself to buy a stronghold. It’s your choice.
Permitted Characters:
We do not require Adventurer’s Legue (AL) Rules As Written (RAW). All character components from any 5EWotC publication are allowed. 5E WotC UA classified as Play Test is allowed, but I will need to code the character class in FG. Converting earlier edition prestige classes is possible but will require manual coding.
Magic:
You can also spend your gold on creating custom spells or if you prefer the way a 2E spell works instead of the 5E version that can be created as a custom spell.
Alignment:
We don’t use alignment as a game mechanic. Your character and NPCs are all individuals acting in their individual, societal, guild, religious, etc. Best interest. Your character won’t be penalized for inconsistent behavior to an alignment.
Voice/Text/Video:
Voice and Text will be necessary. Bi-weekly voice sessions will be live group session. In between adventures downtime will take place in a play by mail format on the off week (not real time). You can relax and wait for the next voice session or have your PC or loyal NPCs do simple side quests or tasks to increase your wealth and influence. Webcams are optional. Privacy and anonymity will be respected if you don’t want your true names or faces revealed. Discord is preferred as a one stop shop, but if you prefer Zoom/Skype/Hangouts and email that works too.
Recording, Podcasting, Livestreaming: DM reserves the right to record the audio session and video record the FG program to produce a text based recap that will become part of the adventurers journal distributed to the party. No livestreaming or podcasting unless the players want to go public.
Player Experience:
Players new to D&D and/or new to Fantasy Grounds are welcome in addition to veterans of the game or FG. Session 0 will be time to go over character creation, what you want out of the game, or questions on using FG.
Session length:
3 hours of live time. I strive to setup each adventure to have you back at base camp by the end of the session so you can solo the play by mail session on the off week.
Pricing
$15 Per session via PayPal. This includes one biweekly live session with voice chat and the play by mail session the following week. You also get adventurers journals of each session to look back on in case you missed any clues and a living document campaign handout with all the NPCs and Forgotten Realms lore that may be useful to you that weren’t discussed during the live session. PM to discuss preferred times and what you would like to get out of Session 0. Session 0 and Session 1 are bundled. No payment is necessary until we agree on times for both the live Session 0 and Session 1 and commit to those dates/times.
Why Pay?
Payment is a contract between the DM and players to show up on time and be part of the experience. In addition to receiving use of the Fantasy Grounds Ultimate License. You will be experiencing 3rd party and homebrew adventures. We support content creators on DMs Guild and regularly incorporate commercial content into the campaign. The DM will be teaching the how-to of Fantasy Grounds for new users. One can learn a lot from YouTube or reading the manuals, but having a personal tutor is always a step up.
