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THORNE Company - A Fantasy Dungeon-Dive
A new continent has risen in the ocean, and with it comes the promise of riches, glory, and danger.
$25.00
/ Session
Details
Bi-weekly / Sunday - 2:00 AM UTC
Dec 28 / Session 16
Session Duration / 2–4 hours
3 / 6 Seats Filled
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Schedule
Meet your party members
3/6
About the adventure
Tactics, Hazard-mitigation, Observation, Reconnaissance, Negotiation, and Extraction Company You are a member of the THORNE mercenary company, one of many such organizations scattered across the nations of Nilgara. Your world rests on the ruins of the Elder Empire, an ancient fallen empire that spanned the world. The structures they left behind have been repurposed by those who now live there, and the machines they once used have been reengineered and refurbished to work in this new era. Not much is known about them, only that their understanding of magic and technology far exceeds the combined knowledge of the world as you know it. Flying machines, airships, constructs, rail machines, and advanced magic are but a few of their accomplishments. Every nation has spent many years studying what was left behind, gathering and hoarding powerful artifacts for study and use. Some will never be used, while others—such as Arcane Batteries—are used almost daily. One such "never" device was used, however. No one knows who did it as no nation has claimed it, but its result is world-shaking. In the ocean separating the northern continent from the southern desert, a massive landmass rose from the depths over several hours. Coastal villages and towns were flooded, earthquakes ravaged the world, and volcanos erupted across the mountains. Thousands died, many more were injured and crippled. This new world is ripe for exploration, covered in Imperial ruins just begging to be delved. As members of the merc group, you were tasked by the Company Commander to take part as a representative of one of the factions vying to find the best stuff. The trip through air or water will take a month, so there's plenty of time to figure out which one has your loyalty. Of course, you can choose not to have any and sell to the highest bidder. With conflict brewing between the Dominion of the north and the Consortium of the south, it's only a matter of time before the land you seek to plunder of its riches and artifacts becomes a hell-blasted warzone. Do what you have to do as part of the Company, and make us all proud! And make sure to wear the pin. We want them to know that it was THORNE that got the pick of the loot.
Game style
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Combat Heavy
Dungeon Crawl
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(24)
3 years on StartPlaying
392 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Rule of Cool, World Builder
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
About me
I have been running TTRPG campaigns since 2015. Started as a player, then moved up to running a session once every couple weeks. Now I'm doing it weekly, and I can't get enough. I love to write and build worlds, and this lets me be every character I've ever written. I'm happy as the Forever DM, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my worlds with others!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Characters will start at level 5 with 750 silver pieces, one uncommon magic item, and normal starting equipment. They can either be made through D&D Beyond and imported or directly through Foundry. You will need to tell me what you want to play - race, class, and background - so I can make sure Foundry has those for you to use. All official books published by WotC are welcome, alongside the Deep Magic book by Kobold Press. Any other third-party-published books need to be run by me to determine whether they will fit or not. Multiclassing will be determined by character and how it fits into the narrative. Going wizard then dipping into rogue, for example, needs to have an in-universe reason and way to achieve that beyond "that's what I want to build it to." We're building a story together; let's make it flow together.
**Half-price for Session 0, and either Session 1 or the first session you join!** If you enjoy combat, puzzles, goofy characters, and exploring places no one has ever visited before, consider THORNE Company! As a member of the esteemed mercenary company, you have been contracted by one nation or another to be their representative in the New World - a massive landmass that rose from the ocean after someone used an Imperial artifact of unknown origins or power to call it up from the depths. It's your job to explore it as part of the Expedition. You'll have Elder Imperial experts, archaeologists, anthropologists, and guards. You get to be the one who delves into the dangerous depths of this new landmass, defeat the semi-aquatic monsters that live there, disarm traps, and solve puzzles to work your way through the seemingly endless ruins you've been sent to explore. Find powerful artifacts that can make some of the puzzles easier, loot magical treasure troves, and wield dangerous weapons forged in a forgotten time. By the time you reach the end, you might not be the same mercenary that left home for riches and adventure...
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You will need an account with Discord, a working microphone for the sessions, and a web browser such as Chrome, Firefox, or Opera to participate (others might work, but I've only used those for it) in Foundry once connected.
What CryptMaster brings to the table
I will be providing the VTT through Foundry with maps, tokens, and content provided by several books and manual input through Foundry. When creating your character, you may either use D&D Beyond and import it into Foundry, or create it in Foundry after telling me what you want to play so I may make sure it is all in there. I do my best to provide different voices for each character or NPC, and I have tried to use appropriate music for areas and events within the campaign. This campaign is reliant on problem-solving, roleplaying, and puzzle-solving. Combat will rely on terrain features for cover, with options to use these features as environmental traps. I tend to allow a lot of out-of-the-box thinking, where if a character has the appropriate skills, they can do almost anything the player can conceive. Let's see how the dice roll and go from there! Appropriate rules will be applied, but they can otherwise be bent or ignored depending on the situation and needs.
Homebrew rules
Bonus action health potions, Brutal Criticals, and Dumb Luck.
Equipment needed to play
Microphone
Computer
Internet
Platforms used
Safety
How CryptMaster creates a safe table
Session 0 will cover both character creation and any limits or triggers for players who wish to participate. These can either be covered through the Discord voice chat or via direct messaging. Breaks can be taken when needed or at the session's halfway mark. I have a zero-tolerance policy for mistreatment of fellow players, and those who choose to participate in acts that make the game less fun with the statement of "it's what my character would do" are not welcome. Phobic statements and toxic acts are not welcome. Meta-gaming is discouraged, but it sometimes happens when things get dicey. We're here to have fun and escape from reality for a bit. This is a homebrew setting that meshes medieval fantasy themes with magitech themes. You have sword and sorcery, robots, vehicles, and machines - all powered by magical devices. Magic is common with most businesses, having at least one worker construct, and using one or more magic items is not unique. Conveyance across great distances is common, with railway machines joining much of the northern continent together. You will have access to the majority of the 5th Edition (2014) catalogue of magical items, alongside unique ones from the Skies of Sordane setting. In terms of coinage, this setting uses the Silver Standard, where all current gold prices will be listed as silver, and only the most extreme things will be sold or purchased with gold. However, with everything being based on silver or copper, buying things with gold coins will be 9/10th the normal price since it's all silver-based. The campaign will focus on exploring the New World, the massive landmass that rose to the surface. It is dotted with ruins and coral beds. You will be part of an expedition to the New World, complete with scholars, spellcasters, guards, and workers. You will also have access to a merchant whose available items change every in-game day as they receive and trade items with other merchants on the landmass. Each floor of the dungeon contains puzzles, traps, and combat encounters that fit within the area of the dungeon. The puzzles lead to getting an artifact from that floor and potentially the way to the next floor. The floors get harder as you go down them until they become extremely difficult. Each character can have one (1) artifact on them at a time. These are specific to the dungeon and the campaign and have far-reaching powers and consequences. Use them wisely. Some will always be useful, while others are situationally useful. You will have a base camp where you can trade artifacts and an underground camp that you can use to rest, do downtime activities, meet NPC's, and trade with the merchant. Unlike my usual games, where we use a custom monetary amount for each item, with the merchant having random goods, we will be using the Sensible Magic Item Pricing list for this setting.
Content warnings
Safety tools used