The House of the Red Door! Cast bones to determine the future!
Dungeons & Dragons 5e, Dungeon Crawl Classics | One-Shot
About the adventure
Between the blood-orange setting sun and the crest of the hill where a wide dirt road leads into your village, black silhouetted hulks bob up and down. As they descend the slope, the sun limned shades become elephants of dusky blue hue. The animals pull their burden atop the summit. An immense, ornately decorated, wooden carriage glides down the hill on colossal wooden wheels. Diamond paned multi-colored glass windows of every size and shape occupy the walls, dormers, balconies, and turrets. The black enameled, terracotta roof sweeps upwards into two towers topped by cupolas gilded in gold. Generations ago the House of the Red Doors visited your village. Now, so many years hence, could it be passing this way again? As the story goes, its mistress, Jassafae, still untouched by time’s ravages, is a powerful being of unknown origin. Through her, fates are altered and wishes granted, but only to those brave enough to cross her threshold. You toil unceasingly, suffer much, and to what end? Unrequited dreams and the hope of an early grave? You resolve to enter and change your destiny. Play this adventure as either DCC or D&D5e. We will determine your preferences at time of booking. The House of the Red Doors is a one player funnel adventure. Most adventures (funnel or otherwise) are focused on a table of players, this one is more intimate, like visiting a fortune teller. This adventure can quickly create a 1st level adventurer for an ongoing campaign while testing a player’s wits If you and your friend(s) want, it can be run as a tournament where each person books a session and gets scored.
Game style
Rule of Cool (RoC)
“Rule of Cool” emphasizes creative story beats over sticking to a system’s rules as written. Players have the ability to push the limits of the rules or even break core rule mechanics at times if the Game Master thinks it is interesting, fun, or cool enough.
Theater of the Mind
“Theater of the Mind” uses little to no visuals for scene settings and combat. Instead, the narrative imagery comes from the Game Master’s descriptions and character action and movement comes from Players’ descriptions.
Dungeon Crawl
A “Dungeon Crawl” is a scenario where players navigate a dungeon or labyrinth-like environment for the entirety of the adventure. It emphasizes battling monsters, collecting loot, and avoiding traps to survive to the end!
Roleplay Heavy
“Roleplay Heavy” games place the focus on the story, the characters, and the world they live within, and tend to lean hard into the various roleplaying elements of the game. These games will frequently find the party talking with NPCs, exploring the personal elements of their backstories, or even having emotional moments around the camp fire.
The House of the Red Doors is a challenging 0 level adventure for one player and one judge. Three rounds of puzzles with seven different endings await the brave souls that enter the moveable mansionʼs threshold. A dreamland-like setting allows for ease of use in nearly any genre. This adventure can quickly create a 1st level adventurer for an ongoing campaign, test a playerʼs wits, or be run as a tournament. Come play a solo adventure with me where we develop a back story for your character(s)! If you've never tried solo gaming now is the time! The House of the Red Door is a great way to customise your characters by playing out the story before the story. It's also a great way to start a solo campaign. We can develop the character and then play out their life and times over successive sessions.
4.9
(13)
1 year on StartPlaying
155 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Sets the Mood, Knows the Rules
Average response time: 4 hours
Response rate: 100%
Game Master Reviews (13)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Creativity
Sets the Mood
Knows the Rules
GM Gator
New review
Played 1 sessions
Mark does a great job setting the stage in his PbP games, and giving each of the players a chance to shine.
dawwius
Played 17 sessions
Let me preface this review by saying that I am a completely new player with very little frame of reference for what constitutes a good or bad DnD experience. There is a good chance that points I make fall more in line with overall comments on DnD rather than feedback for the gamemaster himself, moreover comments may also reflect my inexperience with the game and would not be relevant for experienced players. The new player experience was overall great, and Mark really shined at helping me assimilate core information, allowing me to establish a firm foothold despite joining mid-campaign and despite my relative inexperience. Outside of combat scenarios, Mark made sure to guide the game in a way that did not feel forced by giving us the necessary information or nudges to handle new developments without removing any sense of our own agency. During combat, I felt a little bit more out of my depth due to the sudden increase in complexity presented and I struggled a little bit with knowing what I was allowed to do and what actions I should take, although Mark did help ease these burdens. On top of this, the pacing of the game felt slower during combat scenarios and there were noticeably long periods where I felt I had less to contribute. Hopefully with a little bit more confidence, these issues will resolve themselves. With regards to world-building, Mark's usage of online visual aids really aided in setting a concrete tone and giving me a stepping stone with which I could better visualise the narrative, keeping the experience both exciting and engaging. Overall, Mark was clearly knowledgeable and very professional, and I really enjoyed the experience. The few issues I had involving combat, owing to my inexperience, did not overshadow the things I did enjoy. I am looking forward to my next game session!
Ben
Played 1 sessions
Great game in the darker more grounded gritty setting. Allowed for players to approach the challenges in different ways then expected. With chances to use Irondice or not, fumble tables or not, it allows the player to tailor their experence.
Taithir
Played 1 sessions
He was agreeable and worked hard to meet us where we’re at as noobs. His patience and flexibility facilitated our fun and learning , wile keeping us on track. Would 💯 recommend to any new players. Our one experience player also had lots of fun!
Jordan
Played 22 sessions
Mark is such a great GM! He brings years of experience to the table and always has answers to questions. He is great at storytelling and actually adds knowledge of medieval warfare, which has been incredibly interesting to learn about. I’d recommend him to anyone. :)
Rory
Played 3 sessions
Mark is a great DM. He has a lot of experience with TTRPGs and D&D, which really comes across in the way he runs games. He is also attentive to the player's wants in terms of whether you're more a roleplayer or perhaps interested in combat. Combat is refreshingly quick. I'd happily recommend Mark to any level of player: beginner or veteran.
Additional details
How to prepare
The Theater of the Mind (audio portion of the adventure) will occur on Discord supplemented by images and battle maps as needed. You will need an account on Discord. Access to the dedicated server will be open prior to the game. Owlbear Rodeo may be used. No subscription is necessary. Some players also enjoy the background music and effects of Syrinscape. A free account is now required for you to log into the site. Once you have the free account, a pregame link will provide you the immersive sounds. While fun, the music and sounds are not required. Characters will be made or provided on Discord. Pre-made characters are always available. Players will make characters during session zero; or, we can make one prior to the game session. Each of your characters will be made with a roll of three six sided dice in order. After the stats are determined, you will then roll for hit points modified by your constitution. Then it's time to roll a D100 for your profession. Other skills and possessions are determined by profession. Thats it! Your character is complete! Yup...it's that easy and believe it or not exciting! I will walk you through the process either before game or in the first few minutes of the session... ...and if they survive, the character will be augmented to full D&D5e status with an interesting backstory.
What I provide
Decades of Experience running a multitude of games and game systems both for fun and professionally as part of team building operations. Ready access to discuss the campaign, concerns and questions. I will be available through discord to answer questions. Players who need direct assistance can schedule a time to chat directly. Each layer will be provided with a direct and private means of communication. Access to relevant books and rules will be provided. Curated Atmospheric Soundtracks if you opt to engage. This is optional. Custom and Curated Battlemaps. Battle maps and tokens will be provided on Owlbear Rodeo. I will also provide maps and images as needed on Discord. NPCs with Motivations, Likes/Dislikes, Personalities, Quirks...no more cardboard standees. Tactical Combat with Roleplay. Official Digitally Produced Adventures by the publishers. Or custom, if you want... Premade Characters for Beginners.
Gameplay details
Players can expect a fast paced combat and a rules light gaming experience. The content warnings will vary depending on the game choice, but it is highly likely the game will have levels of violence involving player characters and non-player characters, with death always being a possibility. SAFETY TOOLS ・During Session 0 we will discuss Lines and Veils. ・A 10 minute break will occur roughly halfway through the session. Additional breaks are always available on request. ・Further details of all tool implementations are provided within the discord server. Feel free to ask any questions for clarification.
Content warnings
• Blood
• Character Death
• Death
• Deep or Large Bodies of Water
• Extreme Violence
• Fire
• Gore
• Lifechanging Injury
• Mental Illness
• Murder
• Snakes
• Spiders
• Violence
• Insects
• Scars
• Drowning
• Execution
• Illness
• Language/Cursing
• Mind Control
• Mutilation of Corpses
• Paralyzation
• Slavery
• Animal Death
• Body Horror
• Cannibalism
• Classism
• Freezing
• Mutilation
Safety tools used
• Aftercare
• Breaks
• Debriefing
• Lines and Veils
• Luxton Technique
• Open Door
• Session 0
• Stars and Wishes
How will character creation work
Characters will start out at level 0 and be made on Discord. A simple process of rolling your stats and background will generate two to four zero level characters in a short time. You will be able to play as many of your characters as you can in the session. I will send you and invite to the campaign on Discord. Pre-Made Characters are available on request.
Players can expect
Combat / Tactics
Low
Roleplay
High
Puzzles
Medium
Experience level
Open to all
Platforms used
• Owlbear Rodeo
• Discord
$35.00
/ Session
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
Details
Once / Thursday - 7:00 AM UTC
Apr 10
2 Hour Duration
0 / 4 Seats Filled
Requirements
Experience required: Open to all
Age: All Ages