Murder in Arabel - One crime. Six heroes. Endless tangled paths.
A family is slaughtered. The killers are caught. Case closed? Not quite. A hidden message, a missing body, suspicious guards-that's where you come in.
$24.50
/ Session
Details
Bi-weekly / Monday - 6:00 PM UTC
Dec 15 / Session 13
Session Duration / 3–3.5 hours
Campaign Length / 12–14 Sessions
3 / 6 Seats Filled
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Schedule
Meet your party members
3/6
About the adventure
You’re about to dive into the most immersive roleplaying experience of your life: 🎭 A character-driven short campaign for fans of roleplaying & storytelling 🔍 A murder mystery single-plot sandbox 🧙 Six highly customizable pre-gen characters, each intricately tied to the plot 📅 12 game sessions (levels 1–5) 🎲 2024 rules –– You’re one of six rookie adventurers unexpectedly drawn into a violent murder investigation that has rocked the city of Arabel. Salvador Ortega and his two sisters were killed in their manor, leaving their fortune and merchant house without an heir. Two days later, the suspected killers were found dead in a warehouse—surrounded by stolen Ortega jewelry and valuables. Case closed? Not quite. An unsigned letter reaches Lord Commander Karin Lhal, prompting him to secretly recruit adventurers to uncover the truth. Now, you must race against time, tracking leads and interrogating suspects through Arabel’s dark alleys—only to discover you may be more entangled in the crime than you thought. As you unearth secrets from the city’s underworld, a larger conspiracy unfolds–along with mysteries surrounding the Ortegas. Whispers of undead and lycanthrope sightings fill the city’s bitter winter nights. Could they be connected to the crime? –– This isn’t just another D&D adventure. Murder in Arabel is packed with innovations to deliver a remarkable experience: 🧭 A Single-Plot Sandbox Freely explore the city’s open world, choosing your path according to your leads. Encounter order shifts based on your decisions, allowing for countless ways the adventure may unfold. 🕵️♂️ A Murder Mystery for Mature Players Unveil a clever plot of greed, love, jealousy, and revenge–with layered characters, situations, and relationships. Inspired by Knives Out, Glass Onion, and Sherlock Holmes, this adventure is rich in suspense, twists, red herrings, and dramatic tension. 🧠 Choices That Matter Encounters offer multiple approaches—stealth, deception, ingenuity, or brute force. Your actions make your path forward easier or harder, rewarding attentive and creative play. 🧬 Character-Driven Storytelling The plot revolves around the player characters. Each has a backstory tightly woven into the mystery. You’ll develop your character arc alongside the main story, with recurring NPCs from your past and personal stakes that make you a true protagonist. 🛠️ Customizable Pre-Gen Characters Choose from six backstories and customize class, species, stats, and skills. Or select one of twelve unique builds (two per backstory). –– I’ll publish Murder in Arabel on Dungeon Masters Guild in Aug 2025. This Alpha Test is your exclusive chance to experience it first—directly from the creator. 🎁 Players who complete the full campaign will receive free copies of all three release formats: 📖 Hardcover color book 🧑💻 Roll20 🗂️ PDF Seats are limited—join our Alpha Sessions now!
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Rules as Written (RaW)
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(57)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
41 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, World Builder
Average response time: 24+ hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
My DM journey began at 12, leaning over the Black Box DnD set and sketching dungeons in school notebooks with friends. Thirty years later, I’ve turned that spark into a full-time path as a game designer and storyteller—creating immersive campaigns that players talk about long after the dice stop rolling. A few years ago, I left a career in strategy consulting and moved to Barcelona. That background trained me to craft layered narratives, design balanced systems, and navigate complexity—skills I now channel into building stories that balance freedom with structure. I’ve built The Deep Dice page on Instagram, where 10,000 DMs and players exchange ideas about deep-immersion play. I’ve published books on Dungeon Masters Guild with over 8,000 downloads—including The Ultimate Guide to Characters That Matter—and my upcoming campaign Murder in Arabel pushes the boundaries of character-driven storytelling in DnD. I’m drawn to themes of mystery, political intrigue, betrayal, and redemption—stories that feel human, nuanced, and emotionally powerful. My goal is always the same: to create that moment when players lean back, smile, and say, “Wow, that was incredible.” So pull a chair, roll some math rocks, and let’s craft those moments together.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Instead of character creation, Murder in Arabel features a character selection step, followed by an optional character customization. I’ll support you in both of those takes before our adventure starts.
💨 MISTY STEP ENJOYMENT GUARANTEE: If, after the first two sessions, you choose not to continue for any reason, you will receive a full refund with no questions asked.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
• Headset, Microphone, and Camera • Free Roll20 Account • Free Discord Account
What The Deep Dice brings to the table
• Six pre-generated character backstories that tie seamlessly into the main campaign plots. • 12 pre-generated character sheets (two per pre-gen backstory, one per core class) for your selection or customization on Roll20. • 62 gorgeous illustrations (like the cover above), specially commissioned for our campaign. • 13 tactical maps specially commissioned for our campaign, set up with dynamic lighting on Roll20. • Several cool and practical handouts. • Roll20 shared access to the 2024 D&D core rulebooks.
Equipment needed to play
Computer
Headphones
Internet
Microphone
Webcam
Platforms used
Safety
How The Deep Dice creates a safe table
Before our campaign begins, we'll have a short SESSION ZERO covering the following topics: • Get to know each other and share our expectations about the campaign. • Select and customize pre-gen characters. • Discuss a few campaign special rules and features. • Discuss campaign content and safety tools. • Introduce the campaign setting. • Review our schedule and agree on preferred channels for communication between sessions.
Content warnings
Safety tools used