[D&D-5e] Adventurers of Dreakgarth

[Zamdall]

Game Name Adventurers of Dreakgarth

Applications Applications are closed

Game System DnD 5e

Intro The political tug of war in the Kingdom of Verogoth has started to put the strain on its people. Funding, troops, and even the most basic of decisions seem to take ages as the nobility squabble among themselves, leaving it's people to fend for themselves. With the coin they do have the citizens turn to adventurers to solve their problems. In the rural town of Eridel fresh faced adventurers know there is always work to be had. Nestled barely within the borders Verogoth local thieves and bandits are the least of their worries. To the east the Grimolon Empire send raids across the borders constantly in an effort to weaken Verogoth. All manner of beasts and demihumans call the forest to the north their own and to the south undead spill forth from a barren wasteland covered in mist. Many inexperienced adventurers hear the rumors and come to Eridel to find work for the first time.

The Pitch The classic, high magic, fantasy Sandbox. Players will be dropped in to the rural town of Eridel surrounded by wilderness and you will have to work things out yourself. This is heavily player directed and you should like those types of games before applying. You should like coming up with character goals for yourself and aiming to accomplish them. There will be no main quest marker only an abundance of rumors. You’ll have to decide what to do but there won’t be time to do everything. Time doesn’t stop while the party isn’t around.

Who am I? Greetings and salutations! My name is Zamdall and as my post count reflects this account is new to the site but wait! Before that discourages you from applying to the game - stay awhile and listen. I am more of a Dungeon Master than I am a player and I have run D&D on and off for years now, both in person and PBP. I use to believe that I would be a writer one day and Play by post brings my love of gaming and my love of writing together. In the real world I work at a board game cafe in the kitchen where I run a pick up, west marches style, D&D group once a week. Rule lawyers beware. I play it loose with the rules as written and allow my players to do things that the rules might not necessarily allow. I err on the side of fun more than I side with the rules. I want players leaving with fun tales to tell. I am comfortable with my experience to make these calls. I enjoy tactical, “war-game” type combat on a grid. I aim for about 50% RP and 50% combat in most of my sessions. On the flip side I don’t tend to hand out regional/city/world maps. I enjoy high magic, fantastical settings, items, and abilities. I have no problem giving out magic items at lower levels. I hope that you’ll give a new dog on the block a chance to prove himself in the sea of great gamers here.

Game Details Expected Post Rate: 5/Week. I can probably post more but people like their weekends off and I am usually working weekends anyways. I would like to get through a minimum of 1 round of combat per day, excluding weekends, to keep things moving. Deadline: Starting Level: 1 Ability Score Generation: 27 Point Buy Hit Points Max for first level. Upon leveling up roll and take the roll or average HP, whichever is higher. Classes: Any. (Multiclassing will be allowed.) Paladin - You may use either your strength or dexterity score when it comes to meeting multiclass requirements. Warlock - You may choose either charisma or intelligence as your spell casting ability. If you choose intelligence replace the charisma saving throw with intelligence. Races: Any. (Variant Human will be allowed. Winged races allowed.) Dragonborn may use their breath weapon as a bonus action Equipment and gold: Everyone begins play with the gear from their class and background. Feat: All characters gain a feat at first level. Reflavoring: You can reflavor basically anything within reason. If you want a bludgeoning polearm then you may take the glaive and call it a lucerne hammer. When taking a spell you may switch a common damage type (Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Thunder, Poison) with another. This change is permanent for that caster. (eg. Fireball to Lightning Ball or Poison Spray to Cold Spray) Sources Allowed: You are free to use any officially released D&D 5e materials from Wizards of the Coast as long as it’s not on the ban list below. If your character uses UA content, and a new version of that feature comes out, you will be required to update to the most recent version. Additionally, when UA content gets its final release in an official book the UA is considered obsolete, and should not be used. Banned Content: Revenant subrace (UA: Gothic Heroes) Arcane Theurgy (UA: The Faithful, UA: Wizards Revisited) Lore Master (UA: Warlock & Wizard) Spelless Ranger (UA: Modifying Classes) UA: Modern Magic Greater Dragonmark (WFGE) Outdated Options from Unearthed Arcana

House Rules The one rule to rule them all - We are all here to play D&D and have fun. Don’t be a dick and we shouldn’t have a problem. Disagreements will happen and at that time they should be resolved civilly. Due to the fact that Play By Post is slower than sitting at the table, give everyone a chance to get their post in before moving on. I allow a lot of common rules from the DMG that I won't post below such as climbing on to large monsters, inspiration, and oathbreaker paladins. House rules may be adjusted as time goes on. If everyone wants a certain rule added, removed or changed then I will certainly think about it.   Critical damage is calculated as Max Dice damage + roll + modifier. Drinking potions are a bonus action but it takes an action to feed it one to someone. Flanking gives a +2 attack bonus instead of advantage like it says in the DMG. I do most of my battles on a grid and use the Diagonals rule from the DMG (5ft-10ft-5ft-10ft and so on). You can swap weapons once on your turn (eg put away bow and draw swords), so can the bad guys. I use downtime days and altered magic crafting rules that will be posted at a later time. Gain a point of exhaustion whenever you come back from death saving throws. You can expend 2 hit dice to get rid of these points of exhaustion during a short rest. Application Thank you for taking the time to come this far. A little bit of advice I want to give you before you fill this out is to leave things open ended. You don’t know who you’ll be playing with yet and you may change a thing or two based on the other selection. Leave room for you to grow into your character. Name: Race: Class: Appearance: Pictures are nice but I’d prefer something written here. Personality: Backstory: Any rivals, teachers, or people you looked up to? Family? What was your home like? Did you leave anyone behind? Feel free to name names of places. I left the setting open ended to share the world building with you. 1 or 2 Goals/Ambitions: Questions and comments anywhere you’d like.

Applicants Player Character Race Class Iffritstorm Aan Roi Wood Elf Barbarian MoldyNolds Innominate Goliath Wizard LordBladefist Varis Liadon High Elf Paladin Krownest Ondros Loxodon Paladin Zwingi Griffin Rake V. Human Rogue SadPanda284 Riversong Tabaxi Trickery Cleric KarlCullinane Eldra Starflower Lightfoot Halfling Rogue Stonk Symryd Warmuzzle V. Human Druid Kymrel Sir Devon Northwall Scourge Aasimar Fighter Tomplum Sotyrtus Centaur Barbarian Vokub Reginald Geoffrey V. Human Warlock anamiac Genna Brighteyes Half-Elf Warlock MrCeej Dyas Kincaid Human Blood Hunter FatherDondo Elise Felixi V.Human Bard Bookwork Silva Firbolg Ranger

[kymrel]

I am interested for sure. I'm thinking about trying out a Warlock of some description. One question, regarding using Intelligence rather than Charisma as a casting stat. How would that affect the Hexblade from Xanathar's? Would they use Intelligence for the Hexblade's Curse and the Hex Warrior abilities? Or would those still be tied to the charisma stat?

[Iffritstorm]

OOC Looks really cool! I love sandbox adventures. One question: could I reflavor a short-sword by saying that it's a short spear? I'm really just interested in having a weapon that looks like a polearm but that I can wield with Finesse. Thanks for your time!

Aan Roi Name: Aan Roi of Czataclan Race: Wood Elf Class: Barbarian Alignment: LG Appearance: Aan holds himself with an almost feral dignity; he steps as though he would dare anyone to challenge his very right to walk. His body is typically Elven: lithe and sinuous, with a taut poise in his muscles betraying a constant edge in his demeanor. His skin is a dark ruddy brown - the color of a chocolate stout. His braided hair is shaved along one side of his head, revealing a stark white tattoo which travels all the way down to his jaw-line. Aan wears the green tunic customarily worn by the Czataclani away from the homeland - a richly dyed emerald cloth worn with open chest and tied with a hemp cord around the waist. He walks with his rather plain short-glaive as though it were a walking stick. A wooden shield emblazoned with painted blue waves is strapped to his back. Personality: Unlike most of the Czataclani, Aan is rather quiet. He is not shy, but he doesn't trust his own ability with Verogoth's language enough to make friends very easily. Not a terribly intelligent man, most would describe him as rather naive. He tends to assume the best in people, and is genuinely shocked at sadism or cruelty of any sort. He is dedicated and loyal to a fault - doing what is expected of him without complaint or question. Aan is a genuinely happy person, and retains a very optimistic outlook even in bleak circumstances. Backstory: Aan Roi hails from the jungles of Czataclan - an unforgiving but beautiful archipelago to the south of the mainland. The majesty of sea and sky were his birthright. Not unfamiliar or isolated from the outside world, the Czataclani nevertheless retain a strict sense of ethnic identity no matter where in the world they choose to explore - for all Czataclani are driven by an intense wanderlust. It was in the spirit of this exploration that the Czataclani, and in fact Aan as well, first encountered the Meritheen. The Meritheen were a warmongering people of similar maritime origin. They quickly began a war of conquest for the isles of Czataclan, the two nations both unleashing the power of their respective sea-gods. It quickly became apparent that the Meritheen would rather destroy the whole of the isles with the dark magics of the Depths than succumb to defeat. And so the high priest of the Golden Shoal devised a plan. He would send out brave heroes into the world to seek aid. Whether political or military might from foreign governments; magical or divine artifacts with which to prevent the Doom of the Depths; or even destroying the Meritheen from within -- somehow these heroes would carry the fate of Czataclan on their shoulders, destined to save the people of the Isles. And so, Aan Roi was chosen - already a promising warrior from the ranks of the Shoal's Guard, he was deemed worthy of this high honor. That very night he bid his last sister Ganha farewell (for his brothers had all been killed in the fighting). On a swift vessel he was carried to the coastal village of Sandslot in the Kingdom of Verogoth: a place of little significance. Aan realized he would find nothing here. He moved to the next village, Celenfield. If anything, it was even less eventful or nationally important than the fishing village. So Aan moved on to the next town. And the next. And the next, until finally, after asking enough questions and reading between enough lines, he discovered that the bureaucracy of Vergoth was so useless as to be of no help to him and his people. Aan decided he needed to find some means of helping them by himself. After asking around enough, he found that the place to go to get things done was the town of Eridel. To Eridel, then. And may the true god of the sea bless this venture. Goals: Aan's long-term goal is to find some source of power, prestige, magic, or something else with which to help his desperate people. As a secondary goal, he is interested in pursuing his faith with more vigor and dedication. He wants to take his religion more seriously, and do more in the name of his god. Meta-role: I'd like to build a Dex-based barbarian moving into the Zealot Path. His primary job in combat would be to tank with a high AC and hit-points. From a character-building point of view, I'd also like to dabble in maybe multiclassing as a Cleric because I think the idea sounds fun. But we'll see where the character goes.

[Zamdall]

Originally Posted by kymrel

I am interested for sure. I'm thinking about trying out a Warlock of some description. One question, regarding using Intelligence rather than Charisma as a casting stat. How would that affect the Hexblade from Xanathar's? Would they use Intelligence for the Hexblade's Curse and the Hex Warrior abilities? Or would those still be tied to the charisma stat?

It would be tied to intelligence instead. So basically it would replace any +Charisma class abilities to +Intelligence.

Originally Posted by Iffritstorm

Looks really cool! I love sandbox adventures. One question: could I reflavor a glaive by taking off Reach and giving it Finesse instead? I really like the idea of a Dex-based polearm fighter. Thanks for your time!

This would fall more into the realm of homebrewing rather than reflavoring. Reflavoring would be something like taking the rapier, swapping it to bludgeoning damage and calling it some sort of staff. That wouldn't allow for the polearm mastery feat however.

If I was to allow something like that (I'm not saying that I will) I'd be worried about it stepping on strength pole arm builds. Off of the top of my head I'd probably decrease the damage die to 2d4 and remove the heavy property. The easier fix would be to add finesse to the spear or trident and allow it to work with polearm master.

[MoldyNolds]

OOC Hi Zamdall and potential players! I am brand new to this site, however I am currently active on gamersplane and looking to branch out. Lots of experience with TTRPG's both at the table and in PBP format. I was looking specifically for sandbox-type game, so I'm excited for this one! This character concept kind of exploded out of me while I was at work so I may revise it somewhat, but the core concept of an escaped slave imbued with unknown magical abilities will remain the same.

Application Name: Innominate, or "Inno" for those who know him. Race: Goliath Class: Wizard (School of Divination) Appearance: At first glance Inno appears to be a fairly typical goliath, standing well over seven feet tall with the tell-tale grayish skin and small rocky protuberances known to his race. Upon a bit closer inspection he is rather frail, definitely thinner than most goliaths. In addition he usually keeps himself hunched over with his gaze kept towards the ground in a submissive pose. Inno wears long robes that cover most of his body and he usually keeps the hood up. People tend to assume it's just part of his quiet and submissive nature, which is party true. However, if one looks closely enough they might catch glimpses of strange tattoos at the edges of his visible skin. Tattoos that appear to have vague resemblances to arcane runes... Personality: Inno is very quiet and skittish. He is hesitant to make his opinion known and usually will remain silent unless addressed directly, although he is slowly trying very hard to overcome his conversational inadequacies. What he lacks in self-confidence, however, he makes up for in intensity. If he gets pushed too far or witnesses something offensive to him he is liable to explode with anger, unleashing all the pent up feelings he refused to express just moments before. Background: Hailing from the far-away volcanic mountain range of Acretius in Grimolon, Inno did not have to wait long before fate intervened in his life. The autonomous and enigmatic guild of magic-users known only as the Stygian Facility is technically part of the Grimolon Empire, however they operate largely automously, feared even by their own leaders. It was fairly common for the Stygians to raid nearby goliath tribes and take prisoners to be used as slaves and experiments, and this is exactly what happened to young Innominate, who has since forgotten his given name and his tribal name. Beaten physically, mentally, and spiritually for many years, it wasn't until a particularly cruel adept by the name of Callistege took an interest in Innominate that he discovered the repeated torture and indoctrination visited upon him by these wizards was no match for the goliath blood running through his veins. Nothing was good enough for Callistege, and despite Inno's best intentions at keeping her pleased she always found a reason to beat Inno within an inch of his life. During one particularly harsh session Inno blacked out only to reawaken and find his mistress had never stopped thrashing him throughout his unconsciousness. In an act of pure survival, Inno raged and threw Callistege off of him and into her experimentation table. He feared the resulting explosion was meant for him, however whatever Callistege was working on caused an unintended consequence. The laboratory apparati mixed with Callistege's spellbook and her own innate magical powers erupted in a spray of uncontained essence which seeked out the nearest living host: Innominate. Now frightened beyond imagination and imbued with unknown abilities, his flight instinct kicked in and Inno reflexively grabbed for those powers now swirling within his being. Not having the slightest inclination of how to properly harness them (or if Callistege was alive or dead), he was lucky all that happened was that he teleported himself outside the tower and fell fifty feet into the snowdrift directly outside the Stygian Facility. Somehow free from his malignant masters and now covered in strange runic symbols that appear to grant magic abilities he never had before, Inno fled. He ran as fast and as far as he could until he found himself in a world wholly unfamiliar to him with completely different rules and no one knew who he was or where he came from or what he had done. The town of Eridel apparently belonged to a completely different empire than the Facility and his tribe, which didn't mean much to him. However it was far, far away from the facility, which meant EVERYTHING to him. Now, having forgotten everything about his tribe and the very short normal life he led, he donned the nickname Innominate, which someone told him meant "nameless" in the old tongue and seemed appropriate to him. Inno vowed to learn all he could about his newfound abilities, and perhaps find out more about his culture to honor the memory of his lost tribe. Goals: 1. Find someone Inno can trust who can help guide him in this new world with these new powers. 2. Learn more about the Goliath culture and perhaps, one day, journey back to the Acretius volcano to find out if anything remains of his family. 3. Avoid anyone from Grimolon, especially anyone from the Stygian Facility who are no doubt hunting him as an escaped slave and theft of magical knowledge (and perhaps for murder??)

[Stonk]

I really dig sandbox game, I will get an app up in a few days

So would Variant humans get 2 feats to start?

[Zamdall]

Originally Posted by Stonk

So would Variant humans get 2 feats to start?

Correct, Variant humans would get 2 feats.

[LordBladefist]

Name
Varis Liadon

Race
High elf

Class
Paladin

Alignment
Lawful Good

Appearance
Varis stand at six feet and four inches. He has golden bronze skin with hair that almost matches the shade of his skin. He keeps his hair short so it doesn’t get into his eyes when fighting. A hundred years of war have left him extremely fit and in shape. His eyes are a shade of gold and seem a little sunken into his face with depression. His armor and shield are dented and dull and have the look that they have seen countless battles. If you pay close attention to his shield you can see the symbol of Vandria Gilmadrith etched into it.

Personality
Varis being raised as a noble tends to believe that everyone has a specific role to fill and that they should fill it to the letter. His being raised in a predominantly elvish kingdom also has given him a slight racial superiority complex, that he doesn’t realize he has. His quest for revenge has caused to be full of vengeance to many different things, yet he has always had a soft spot for the poor and suffering and will step out of his way to help them.

Backstory
Varis Liadon was born into a relatively newer noble family in the elvish kingdom of Casbarad. During his youth a great undead army invaded the kingdom. The war saw the death of many thousands of elves including all of Varis’s family. This nearly broke Varis until a priest of the elven goddess Vandria Gilmadrith, goddess of war, found him drunk in a gutter.

After being nursed back to health by the priest Varis took a paladin vow to the goddess to destroy all undead. Thus began his great fight of vengeance. The war raged on for nearly a hundred years before the undead army was destroyed. By this time the entire kingdom had been decimated and most of the land could no longer be lived on. The few survivors of the war split up to head to other elvish kingdoms.

Yet due to his vow Varis could no longer find peace. He knew there were more undead in the world that had to be destroyed. So he traveled to find them. He soon came across some human merchants who told him about a kingdom called Verogoth that was having some trouble with undead. With a destination in mind, he could begin his quest in earnest and so he travelled to Verogoth.

As he travelled there he asked everyone he met for more information. Varis learned about a town called Eridel that sounded like a perfect place to start his quest. To Eridel he went.

Goals
#1: This may seem obvious from his backstory but he hates undead to an unhealthy degree of passion and wants to destroy them all.
#2: With his friends and family all dead, he wants to fit in but finds socializing hard.

Player goal
This sounds like this is going to be an awesome game. I’m looking to improve my skill at writing along with seeing how Varis changes with his interactions with other characters. And yes, he is somewhat based off of the Thalmor from Skyrim. Any feedback of what I could do to improve the character would also be appreciated.

[MoldyNolds]

Now that I have some time to really dive into this character concept I made a few changes to Inno's backstory and changed his class to Sorcerer, which makes more sense narratively.

[kymrel]

Originally Posted by Zamdall

It would be tied to intelligence instead. So basically it would replace any +Charisma class abilities to +Intelligence.

Good to know. I've always wanted to try out a Hexblade, so I'm working on an application for that. Not sure if I'll go for intelligence or charisma yet.

[Iffritstorm]

Originally Posted by Zamdall

This would fall more into the realm of homebrewing rather than reflavoring. Reflavoring would be something like taking the rapier, swapping it to bludgeoning damage and calling it some sort of staff. That wouldn't allow for the polearm mastery feat however.

Ok, I understand. I will probably stick with a scimitar then. Thank you for your response.

[gnollservitude]

posting interest, but to be honest i'm completely wiped out from work today and grabbed a bit of alcohol with my dinner tonight so... i'll whip up a character after work for ya tomorrow.

[Krow Nest]

Posting interest. Since I saw there are a bunch of new races, will ou except Loxodon?

[Zamdall]

Originally Posted by Krow Nest

Posting interest. Since I saw there are a bunch of new races, will ou except Loxodon?

I have no problem with Loxodon. As a heads up I believe they will be officially released with the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica in a few weeks.

[SadPanda284]

Definitely interested. Since seeing Laura play a trickster cleric on Critical Role, I've been really interested in trying that concept. I'll get my character written up ASAP! Hope to make it into this campaign, since I like your idea of "loose rules" & "a fun RP experience" over "rule correctness" (not that I won't do my best to stick to the rules !