Castle In the Sky! Any Experience Level Welcome!

Creating your character

If anyone wants to make a character beforehand, I'd be happy to sit down before the session and make one with you. If not, I will have premade characters ready for anyone who wants to simply show up and play! I prefer story over power when it comes to a character so I like to steer away from power/meta-gaming. Also, I love to reward inspiration for good storytelling or RP, so go ahead, give that character a flaw or two! If you would like to simply show up to the table with a character already made, there are some differences in how I run character creation. Firstly, I use a 3.5 edition 28 point, point buy system for the stat allocation. Here is a handy calculator for those unfamiliar! https://srd.dndtools.org/srd/tools/toolsPointbuyCalc.html Secondly, I do have homebrew versions of Tiefling Bloodlines in my world, so if you want to play one, just ask me about the options available. Thirdly, I do not use Eberron, Strixhaven, or Critical Role Spells or subclasses. Finally, I like to work with my players to bring out the best in their characters and make sure all the abilities they have are understood well, so even if you do have everything ready beforehand, please just run it by me before the session to make sure we are on the same page.

Preparing for the session

If everyone could please have access to a working, decent quality microphone and if possible, a webcam, that would be great. Don't worry about getting a webcam if you don't already have one. Please feel free to use your own dice! If you don't have any, then you can just use a dice roller app or the roller on Roll20 for the games. If you want to print out your sheet that is perfectly fine and I will be happy to help with putting it in a pdf and formatting it for you. Don't worry if you don't know the ins and outs of the game, I am here to help and guide you along so that this is the most fun possible. Also, having a Discord and Roll20 account ready and made, that would be very helpful as I use both of these platforms when I'm running games.

What Ryan M. brings to the table

In terms of style of DMing, I do everything I can to bring the game to life and to make the experience fun for all those involved. I do voices for just about every NPC, I like to use ambient music as much as I can, and I do my best to give vivid descriptions of the world and what the characters do in it. I do like to describe the "ends" of the creatures that the party takes down and how they do it, but I don't go into any particularly gory details. But as always, if anything I say makes one of my players uncomfortable and they let me know, I will instantly stop and change what I'm doing to better fit everyone involved. Finally, I love my rules as they make the game cohesive to play, but I also love to allow flexibility and adaptability to my players. If a player comes up with something they would like to try, as long as it doesn't inhibit anyone else at the table, there is a good shot I'll at least let them attempt it. Everyone having fun is most important after all! I will bring with me everything that I know to bring. I know D&D 5e rules and spells like the back of my hand and have the resources necessary to check myself on all of them. I have PDFs of fillable character sheets and online supplements to share. I will also bring supplemental handouts and item cards so that you know what all of your items do. I have a plethora of tokens for Roll20 and have a token editor that is free and great to use. There are also multiple, small quality of life things that I do/bring with me so that everyone can just focus on the game and have fun.

Homebrew rules

- All potions may be consumed as a Bonus Action - All critical hits are calculated with the base weapon damage being treated as maximum on the first roll, then rolling an additional one. Any extra damage has its dice doubled as normal. - Instant death doesn't only occur by being dropped to your negative HP value. There are thresholds to being dropped into negative HP that can put you at 1, 2, or all three failed death saving throws, making death a real threat at times.

How Ryan M. creates a safe table

Fun and safety are the top priorities at my table. I am happy to sit down and discuss any limits or any questions anyone has about what can/will be brought up in the game. If anyone needs to talk after the game I am happy to do that as well. I have a PDF Consent Checklist I can send to each player to set their boundaries on various topics.