FLAME OF UDÛN | Lord of the Rings 5e | Play-by-Post PbP
You only came to find a lost band of dwarves, then leave with haste. But now... you're lost. Why'd you ever listen to that dwimmer-crafty vagabond?
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EXPERIENCE
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About the adventure
"We cannot get out. The end comes, and then drums… drums in the deep…" *** Is revenge alone enough to see you through the end of these vast, endless tunnels of legend and ruin? The name “Moria” was once the crown jewel of Dwarven culture… now its name bears the weight of an evil curse. The Dwarves speak little of what happened there, when the folk of Durin dug too deep and awakened their own demise. Whether they know and keep it secret, or they have been too fearful to investigate, the mines of Moria have been long abandoned by mortal travelers. But your party, whether fueled by lust for treasure, glory, or vengeance, now dares to enter its depths willingly. You have been tasked with killing the foul orc-chief Thu the Firespeaker, a wretched creature who rules deep in the blackest pits in the mountains. He is a scourge of Dwarvenkind, rumored to have wiped out entire family lines with the same fiery staff. Survive the cold and the dark, defeat the worst foes ever enthralled by the Shadow, uncover ancient secrets, slay your quarry, and restore the glory of the Dwarves! **** THE DARK FIRE WILL NOT AVAIL YOU is a campaign for 1st level adventurers using material from Free League's "Moria: Shadow of Khazad-Dûm". These sessions will ultimately lead players through 5th level or beyond!
Game themes
$5.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Tuesday – 11:00 PM UTC
3–4 Hour Duration
2 / 7 Seats Filled
GAME MASTER
DM_Alex | Zoological Gardens
he/him
5.0
(26)
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
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Meet the Game Master
Less than a year on StartPlaying
125 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Teacher
Average response time: 2 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
DISCLAIMERS: 1) I use no A.I. to run or prep my games -- I believe in the real, human experience behind TTRPGs! 2) Enjoying the game is more important than money, always. Nothing makes me more sad than someone having to leave a game because they can't afford it. I'll always be flexible about that, no matter what! Now, more about my DMing style! *** I'm a children's librarian, writer, actor, and musician, but of all my ever-multiplying hobbies, I love running TTRPGs the most. I came to this site to run games for engaged groups who love telling stories, building worlds, and solving problems together.
View Profile →Reviews (26)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Creativity
Storytelling
Teacher
Ben
Played 19 sessions
Alex is a great GM. I am in my first play by post campaign and he is DMing it. He has Discord set up expertly, so that it is very easy to run the game and keep things organized. He is very helpful(I am bad at the tech side of the game) and his writing style as a DM is very engaging and descriptive of the world setting of the game. He has a real knack for drawing you into the world of the game. If you're looking for a good DM who is very helpful and runs fun games, Alex is the one for you!
Brock Lee
Played 19 sessions
Great Gm.
Jackson Vanbuskirk
Played 19 sessions
I've had a great experience in DM_Alex's game. This is my first time playing in Play by Post format and DM_Alex's help and game experience has been awesome! Direction for the party is clear, tooling support through discord is great, and of course the group is great :) Easy 5 star from me!
A.J. Falcon
Played 8 sessions
Alex is engaging and kind, his play by post are fun and give each participant a chance to shine, risk and reward hides behind every corner and the excitement for more is contagious. Take a chance, roll the dice!
Ali
Played 5 sessions
Communicates well with players and does their best to describe environments and keep things moving.
Constance
Played 3 sessions
DM Alex has been very engaged and enthusiastic in our LotRRP PbP game. His NPCs have shine and character and his storytelling is engaging. He is transparent about how he is running the game and the lore and he always communicates with us. He keeps maps and combat and all the crunchy details organized and quickly addresses any inconsistencies or mistakes. He is also very accommodating to player needs and checks up on us if he thinks something is off. His game has been very enjoyable! Thank you DM Alex!
Character creation
Creating your character
Characters will be created on D&D Beyond once invited to the campaign so that players will have access to The Lord of the Rings 5E rules on D&D Beyond (unless they already have access and a character ready!). We will briefly walkthrough the character creation process in our first session as it's a bit different from standard 5th edition D&D. All characters will begin at 1st level. I suggest sticking to The Lord of the Rings 5E book, but I'm very flexible; I mostly just want to be fair to all players. I'm introducing a few additional character options, which I provide a document for in the Discord, allowing players to play as the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost. They include backgrounds like Searching For Roots, Wandering Blacksmith, Keeper Of The Anvil Song, Librarian, Eriador Trader, and Provider! Maps are sent through Discord as well. I have a custom version of the LOTR Roleplaying 5e hex map, where players can choose their journeying destinations, and we log travel separately in a Journey channel.
The scheduled time is for your weekly charge only! Play will continue throughout the week! Please see my GM profile for more details on my super flexible refund policy.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Access to Discord and a D&D Beyond account (any tier) is required, but other than that, I'd love for you to be able to just jump in and play! However, if you've never played D&D, I do recommend at least reading the Free Rules (2024) on D&D Beyond. If you have access to The Lord of the Rings 5E book, you could read the player portion of that, but that will never be required. As for PbP, I will be reaching out with tips and guidance on how to get the most out of a text-based game. The big thing is planning for contingencies -- for example, "If I fail this Stealth check, I'd instead like to roll for Persuasion and try to negotiate my way through." Again, we'll talk through these things during the Session 0!
What DM_Alex | Zoological Gardens brings to the table
How does Play-by-Post work? You'll get access to a private Discord server with an out-of-character (OOC) lobby. In game, I will post AT LEAST three times per weekday (or five days out of the week). I ask that players try to post at least twice per weekday (or five days out of the week). However, I'll never boot someone for their pace; that's what PbP is for! If you were too busy one week, or if there's any other reason, just let me know and I'll give you a refund, no questions asked; I'd rather just have you stay in the game! I track player turns to make sure no one is left behind. We usually are able to get through 2-4 scenes per week, equivalent to about 3 hours of live-action play. We will use 2024 D&D rules since those are integrated with D&D Beyond, but the LOTR Roleplaying system will take precedence when possible -- this will all be covered during session zero! I provide access to a private Discord server, custom maps/tokens, content on D&D Beyond, and even a master-tier D&D Beyond login if you need it. As a GM, I focus on two things: the story, and you, the player. I make them work seamlessly with each other and encourage emergent storytelling as much as possible to make this a memorable, worthwhile experience for all involved.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Platforms used
Safety
How DM_Alex | Zoological Gardens creates a safe table
The content will not push any further than the material shown in the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films or the Amazon Prime Rings of Power show. Think mid-to-hard PG-13. We will do a Lines & Veils survey, which will be compiled and shared as part of a campaign one-sheet for each player. It incorporates many of the resources listed above. X, N, & O's can be privately messaged to be on Discord, or opened messaged if the player feels comfortable.
