For One Fill of Ambrosia: Prove Yourself Before a Muse (lvl 13)
Dungeons & Dragons 5e | One-Shot
About the adventure
It's not going well. In fact, everything is so much worse than you expected, and you're out of ideas, except... You close your eyes and think to yourself: "If only... I wish, if only..." And as you struggle to string together a clear thought, the world around you seem to shift and you hear the cacophony of a crowd cheering rising. You open your eyes, and see yourself standing at the foot of the marble statue of Ourania, the 9th muse: a junoesque, feminine figure holding an orb in one hand and a telescope in the other, and beside her, magnificent doric columns. "You get one last chance," you hear a voice, echoing in your head. So, here we are. Will you prove yourself worthy, claim the Muse's wreath, and have a wish granted? Or die trying. (This Level 13 D&D one shot is based on one of the adventure from Volume II of the Uncaged Anthology: a collection of myth and folklore themed adventures written for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Each original adventure subverts tropes around a female mythological creature or monster including hags, harpies, medusas, and much, much more.) This is a relatively high level one shot, and is therefore geared more towards folks who already have a basic grasp on the 5e system. However, If you're a brand new player and wishes to participate, I'm more than happy to work with you to go through the foundations before game time. Since this is a one shot, there might not be extensive opportunities to play out any character backstories, but I do strive to weave into the narrative as much detail as possible that's related to your character. In fact, I welcome you to send me a backstory. From my profile in case you didn't read: As a player my favourite parts of the games have always been the role play as well as solving the mystery. So there's definitely going to be that at the core of my games. I enjoy combats when they're relevant to the narrative and I believe in the concept of "running away is always an option" so just because there's a combat in my game, doesn't mean you'll have to finish it. Or rather, I don't have a lot of interests in running combats where the only way to finish them is to kill/defeat all your foes. (They are not mindless and will could run away too.) I also pay attention to the lores and details of the world I build so I would love to work with you to weave your characters into the fabrics of my worlds. Even in one shots, I intend to develop stories with depth with all of my players. If you enjoy TTRPG as a medium for collaborative storytelling that focuses on narrative choices and discovering further who your characters are, my games are for you. If you're looking for a fully combat focused one about to test out a build, nothing wrong with that. There are many games available and I advise you to find them as I don't have those games. This is actually the most combat driven game I have but I still ask you to bring PCs who are people first, mechanics second.
5.0
(44)
3 years on StartPlaying
30 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Inclusive, Creativity
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
Game Master Reviews (44)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Storytelling
Inclusive
Creativity
Timothy Madden
New review
Played 1 sessions
Ran is an extremely talented GM who invites you into an immersive and entertaining world. My friends and I enjoyed one of, if not the best, one-shots I've ever played.
Hansa Bergwall
New review
Ran is a master storyteller who made our one shot come alive. Somehow each of our characters had a full story arc. Charming, world, good balance of combat and exploring the world. Highly recommend!
Ryan Hase
New review
Knows story. Open to the things you add and able to involve your characters in interesting ways. Knows that not every encounter ends with a fight. I felt a very satisfied character arc in only a one-shot! (Very rare)
Hammy
New review
Played 1 sessions
Ran is great GM overall, especially at inspiring/immersing players to help set the scenes within an adventure with their input/ideas. Ran gives agency on how the PC's are imagining the scenario unfolding before them, giving yet another avenue for players to emphasize character personalities and moments to highlight their character's perspective and experiences for the moment at hand.
Stacy
New review
Played 1 sessions
Played a lovely oneshot with Ran. The story was compelling, the encounters were challenging, and everything was wrapped up meaningfully. Ran was great at managing the group to make sure every character had a chance to shine and incorporated what we said/did in game fluidly. It was a lot of fun and hope to be back at her table again soon!
Finnbar
New review
Played 1 sessions
Ran is an amazing DM. I joined her for a one shot and was amazing at how she brought it to a satisfying conclusion in only a few hours with five randomly assembled PCs. She invites you into the collective story telling elements of the game in a way that feels organic and powerful. I hope to play at her table again sometime soon.
Additional tables
1 available
Once / Saturday - 11:00 PM UTC
Apr 12
0 / 5 Seats filled
Additional details
How to prepare
You will need to join discord server and there you will see further instructions: https://discord.gg/tyjy26UdgT Prepare character art of your choice ideally at least a day before the game, so I could create your character's token. Please also send any summon/wildshapes so I have that in mind. Webcam is encouraged but not a requirement (It prevents cross-talking) Please have a mic and decent internet connection. Please also have downloaded Beyond20 before the game as we will be using D&D Beyond character sheet and send those rolls to Roll20. https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/beyond-20/gnblbpbepfbfmoobegdogkglpbhcjofh?pli=1
What I provide
VTT, custom maps/tokens Ambient music And years of experience as a professional storyteller (playwright + theatre directing) I try to stick to the rules because, well, they're what most people know and exist as a guideline. I'm sure many of us interpret certain things differently, so when disagreements happen I ask that the table defer to my (the GM's) interpretation of rules rather than spending a long time arguing over it. I very much welcome Rule of Cool as a result of creative problem solving and am happy to come up with ways to use the existing game mechanics to enable folks to do the cool things they want to do. Ultimately I care a lot more about the stories than the rules. Note on combat: I've listed medium as this one shot's combat level but in truth that is in flux. Depending on what your characters do, combat can either be extremely intense, or you can avoid it altogether.
Gameplay details
We'll use a combination of digital X, N, O cards as well as using message functions. I will be checking in with each player regarding their lines and veils. We will go over them at the top of session as well and post a full list in the gaming text channel so we're all aware. At my table, there's a standing line against PvP charm/agency taking spells, that is to say, please do not cast spells like Detect Thoughts, Charm Person, Suggestion, Friends, Hold person, Polymorph, etc., against your fellow Player Characters. Exceptions will be granted for special scenarios with consent from all involved party. Other lines include: PC initiating torture; coupe de grace on an NPC if another PC had decided to use non-lethal force upon them. Gun violence is also a line unless there are special discussions around certain character builds. After the game, I'll be around for a few minutes for any debriefing needs or feedbacks. Bottom line: open communications and be respectful, then we'll be able to have more fun within the safety of the magic circle.
Content warnings
• Blood
• Character Death
• Death
• Violence
Safety tools used
• Breaks
• Lines and Veils
• Open Door
• Stars and Wishes
• X, N, and O Cards
How will character creation work
Level 13 character created with D&D 2024 rules. I allow 2014 version and if you choose legacy background (ones that don't come with a free starting feat), you can choose your own starting feat, but make sure you choose a "starting feat". We will be using 2024 version of spells, however, emanation spells will trigger per 2014 rules. Stats: whatever way you wanna generate stats (if it's rolled, you can do the two sets pick one; and if they are both horrible, switch to point-buy etc). There is a rolling channel in our discord server. I also like this roller. https://rgbstudios.org/projects/dnd-dice/character-roller?r= But you can use whatever you're used to. Please use starting equipment. You may re-sell your starting equipment at half of its original cost. You may have 2 magic items, 1 of them can be up to rare. Stat setting items like amulet of health or belt of XXX strength are not allowed to augment extreme low scores (so that we're not getting barbarians who actually only had a STR 5, please distribute your ability scores within reason of your class/build. And as always, exempts can be made, please talk to me). You also have an additional 100 gold to spend. Make sure you have your spell material components if they cost money. You may also forgo one of your magic items for a spell material component up to 100GP. I do NOT allow custom lineage or conquest paladins. Please build your character with a concept of who they are as people in mind.
Players can expect
Combat / Tactics
Medium
Roleplay
Medium
Puzzles
Low
Experience level
Intermediate
Platforms used
• Roll20
• Discord
More upcoming games
$25.00
/ Session
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
Details
Once / Wednesday - 11:00 PM UTC
Apr 2
3-4 Hour duration
0 / 5 Seats filled
Requirements
Experience required: Intermediate
Age: 18+