Clockworks and Curses: A D&D2024/Tales of the Valiant campaign
Tales of the Valiant, Dungeons & Dragons 5e | Campaign
About the adventure
Questionable quests in a city with a hundred gods and no masters, and in a nearby forest as old as time, using the new 5e- compatible Tales of the Valiant from Kobold Press and the new 2024 revision of Dungeons and Dragons. Navigate the dark cartways beneath Zobeck as you chart your own course through a greater maze - the arrangements, alliances and aliases of factions and interests vying for power and wealth. Outside the city broods the Margreve Forest, a place where Faerie tales end unhappily ever after. And beyond, the wider world of Midgard, with empires of dragons and ghouls, mage- blasted wastelands, and the shattered remnants of a vanished elven empire. This isn't a campaign for evil characters, but you don't necessarily have to be good, at least not all the time. It is a story about heroes who work together. Don't make a character who wouldn't be a hero or wouldn't be able to work with others. This campaign will begin at level 1, and continue at least to level 12 and possibly to 20. We'll be using the Tales of the Valiant rules, as well as rules and options from the new revision of Dungeons & Dragons. Characters can be built using either. If you already know how to play D&D then you know how to play these as well; the rules themselves haven't really changed. You just have new options to explore!
Party so far: Loxodon monk, elf sorcerer, aasimar cleric/paladin, dwarf paladin. We just lost our bard so we have room for one more. Level 5. Adventures so far: 1) ratfolk crime syndicate at the docks, gained the Mouse King as an ally/patron 2) investigated mysterious death of a mage, followed suspect into the Margreve forest. Rescued survivors of a blood-cultist plot. Confronted and defeated blood mage, we now own his laboratory as our Bastion. Ally: mysterious teenage girl with spooky ties to the forest; she grows ingredients for our alchemy. Research indicates a tie to Baba Yaga. 3) persuaded a clurichaun to move to Zobeck to counter a rum demon infestation. 4) sucked into a retold ancient fairy tale, the primal struggle between the wild and civilization. Killed the would-be King of Wolves, saved the red-hooded sacrifice and restored the balance for the next 33 years. 5) cleared out the aberrant temple of Nargoth - a traditional style dungeon crawl. 6) rescued griffon eggs from bandits who had occupied the tower their nest was in. (Still in progress). I have a prebuilt character or two for anyone who joins at the last minute; you can borrow that character and then either keep it or make a different one before the next session. Characters are level 5 and can be made using either the 2024 D&D rules or Tales of the Valiant rules. I STRONGLY recommend you meet with me before the game to build your character; D&D Beyond does not have many of the resources we have available and will get some things wrong.
5.0
(93)
4 years on StartPlaying
999 games hosted
Highly rated for: Knows the Rules, Teacher, Inclusive
Game Master Reviews (93)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Knows the Rules
Teacher
Inclusive
Shaliel
Played 1 sessions
Being the only person that signed up for this quick tour, he went above and beyond in my tour through the Fantasy Grounds VTT. I greatly appreciate his knowledge and expertise.
Meithoes
Played 1 sessions
What a good first session. All the players were working together. Keith knew the rule of course but was also, so fast doing things in the VTT it made the game a great experience. Meithoes
Bryce
Played 1 sessions
Superb for a beginner trying to learn! Expect Keith's games to be more combat focused and rule focused. If you like strategy and you want a more challenging experience after you have learned the ropes, this is still a great choice! You might not get away with as much rule of coolage here than at another table. And if you are new, Keith will throw you a bone when you all need help. Keith will pretty much run you through how to use the fantasy grounds software and for the one shot that I played, programs custom actions for everyone's characters to automate so many things. Phenomenal!
Dan
Played 8 sessions
Keith hosted a Father/Son game for myself, my best friend and our two 12 year old sons. He was excellent. Organized, on time, responsive, and for us most of all - patient with the kids who were learning the game and happy to teach (admittedly even us old guys only knew a little of what to do). Highly recommended!
MonsterVT
Played 16 sessions
Awesome time, great dm
Rosie
Keith was excellent at going over the rules and clarifying as needed in a way that followed the natural flow of the narrative. The plot was fun and engaging and afforded room for each player to try things out. He also went over table culture and the sort of unspoken rules that really solidify a party above and on the table.
Additional details
How to prepare
Microphone and computer (not a phone or tablet) required. Download and install Fantasy Grounds Unity’s free/ demo version here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/FantasyGroundsUnity.php When you book this game you'll get an automatic email with invites and codes to join us.
What I provide
Ultimate Fantasy Grounds with many extensions that improve gameplay and convenience. Dedicated Discord channel for this game where you can chat, strategize or whatever between sessions. All the resources you'll need to make and play the hero you imagine.
Gameplay details
Zobeck is a hive of scum and villainy. Crime is a major story element and corruption is widespread. Brothels and courtesans exist, murders for hire happen, psychoactive drugs are sold and consumed. Slavery is outlawed in Zobeck but exists in neighboring countries, and ghouls occasionally kidnap people to sell as slaves... or as food. That said, nearly everything in the content warnings is avoidable, if it touches on your lines or veils. I’ll start with MY content lines: no detailed torture/ interrogation ( roll Intimidate and move on), no detailed intimacy/sex (fade to black), no violence to children. This table assertively welcomes and respects all identities, orientations and abilities. By joining you agree to do the same. If you’re an adult human who speaks enough English to play, we’re glad you’re here! NEW PLAYERS ARE WELCOME! One of the things my reviewers emphasize is my ability to make new players comfortable. If you've never played D&D this campaign is a safe, friendly and welcoming place to learn the game. Fantasy Grounds is a great platform for this; it does all the math for you. We'll use Downtime more than the average campaign does; you may have the opportunity to start a business, craft items, research ancient lore, and at higher levels maybe even rule a castle or town. We’re using Tales of the Valiant, a new take on the 5e rules with exciting new player options. If you already know how to play D&D then you know how to play this game! Talents replace Feats, Luck replaces Inspiration, and you have more access to both. Lineage and Heritage replace Race, and Backgrounds are more impactful, and combining those three with your class and new subclass choices creates flavorful and effective characters whose careers will have no “dead levels”. We're also using existing D&D options, adapting them as needed. If you love a subclass from Xanathar's Guide or from Midgard Heroes Handbook we can make it happen. We might even adapt some content from other publishers, like the Beastheart class from MCDM. We'll try to fit everything into the award-winning published setting of Midgard, so grounding your characters in that setting will give you connections and knowledge you can use.
Content warnings
• Alcohol Use
• Animal Death
• Blood
• Character Death
• Classism
• Death
• Devils / Demons / Fiends
• Fire
• Murder
• Insects
• Prejudice
• Violence
• Spiders
• Body Horror
• Racism
Safety tools used
• Breaks
• Lines and Veils
• Open Door
• Session 0
• X, N, and O Cards
How will character creation work
Our session zero will consist of: introducing ourselves (15 minutes) and the setting (30 minutes), planning and making characters together (60 minutes), and learning Fantasy Grounds (15 minutes). Because these rule sets are new and the Fantasy Grounds versions are (as of September 2024) not yet enabled, we'll be making D&D2024 characters on D&D Beyond, or Tales of the Valiant characters by hand, and then I'll need to import/ copy/ code them. So we won't be playing with them during session zero, in terms of rolling dice and killing stuff, but we should have an hour or so for in character introductions and roleplay.
Players can expect
Combat / Tactics
High
Roleplay
High
Puzzles
Low
Experience level
Open to all
Platforms used
• Fantasy Grounds
• Discord
$27.00
/ Session
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
Details
Weekly / Thursday - 11:00 PM UTC
Mar 20 / Session 21
3-3.5 Hour duration
4 / 6 Seats filled
Schedule
Requirements
Experience required: Open to all
Age: 18+