Echoes of Barovia | LGBTQIA+ Curse of Strahd Campaign!

Creating your character

Onto the fun stuff! Character creation can begin before our Session 0 and I will be answering any questions to help your PC fit into the world. PCs will start at level 3 and Standard Array will be used for Stats. Character sheets must be submitted to me for final approval before Session 1. Using D&D Beyond for your character sheet would be the most helpful, but not necessary if you have a different preference. The major thing to keep in mind story-wise while creating your character is to make them born in Barovia. You can connect them to a major family or landscape from the module; decide if their soul once belonged to someone of importance, etc. I will be providing a Welcome Packet with a lore rundown for anyone who may not be familiar or may want some options to choose from. And, of course, I will be around to help with Character Creation in whatever way needed.

Preparing for the session

You will need a discord and a roll20 account. A D&D Beyond account would be helpful not not necessary. Our sessions will be held in discord over video/voice, so having a mic and webcam is required. I am requesting that any who join this campaign use both video/voice as being able to see people's faces helps me with reading tone and social cues. I also ask that you have a base understanding of how D&D is played. This is a rules light campaign, so an expert understanding is not needed. As well as agreeing to comply with any rules about boundaries at the table. I run horror campaigns and take safety at my tables very seriously. Most of character creation should be done before Session 0 and completed by Session 1.

What Locke brings to the table

I will be providing the discord server link, a link to the roll20 VTT, and D&D Beyond content. I will also make the token for your PC if you provide me with something to use to visualize them. Finally, I will be providing a Welcome Packet that will not only give a small rundown of what to expect from me, but a Curse of Strahd lore information to help with Character Creation. As far as my particular DM style, I am very RP focused. I do not enjoy just throwing combat at the party just for combat's sake; it will always have a story-driven purpose whether that be over-arching or due to consequences of the party's actions. I do my best to give every NPC a distinguishable voice, but I would not call myself a voice actor. I also always provide module official art or a picrew to represent NPCs visually. I implement the Rule of Cool quite often, especially when persuaded by a cool narrative moment. D&D is all about collaboration between myself and my players, so anything you think of, I am always down to have a conversation over how to best make the idea come to fruition in this world. I do ask that those who apply to play at this table be comfortable with being both on video and voice during our sessions in Discord. I have a harder time reading tone and social cues without seeing others faces and I will always have my camera on for those that need the same. This story will be created entirely by us. Generated AI images and writing is not allowed at this table by anyone participating. I appreciate cooperation in this!

How Locke creates a safe table

Ravenloft is a horror setting and thus does deal with many darker and heavier subjects. The content warnings listed are to disclose what can come up in the module, but I want anyone considering this campaign to no that any of those cw's that may be a red/hard line for you can and will be removed. Anything that is a yellow will discussed about beforehand and I am always open to answer questions and alter things as needed. Immediately upon joining, a link to a fillable PDF of the Monte Cook RPG Consent Form will be sent to the player. This must be filled out before the Session 0 and sent to me. The Session 0 will go over any expectations, concerns, and how to use any other safety tools as well as going over anything about table rules and the campaign story itself. This includes how or if any of the PCs may know one another and other character creation questions. Aftercare takes place after every session in the form of decompressing together for 10-20 minutes discussing our favorite parts of what occurred or theorizing about what's to come. This is also an open conversation to unpack anything heavier that happened. I also make myself available to talk one on one with players about anything they would prefer to keep private.