The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

Creating your character

We will have a session zero to discuss characters, during which time you can share concepts, which books you want to draw from, rough ideas for the story you want for your character, etc. Then each player will be given time to make their character in advance of session one (and I can help if any of the players are new). Each PC will be Level 3, and I request that all but one player plays one of the six common races/species of the setting: humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, valkyr and attuari. Those last two are homebrew races I made. Players are encouraged to use the 2024 ruleset, but they can use 2014 rules if they wish (although I do ask that players maintain some consistency in this regard - I will explain what I mean during session zero). Stats can be decided using Rolling or a modified Standard Array which I allow; the modified standard array gives PCs stats of 17, 14, 13, 13, 10, 9. This is before any increase from background/race. Additionally, each PC has 5 hit points more than typical character creation rules would give (for instance, a Barbarian would gain 17 hit points at level 1 instead of 12; a wizard would gain 11 instead of 6).

Preparing for the session

Each player will need a Discord account and microphone, as well as an Owlbear Rodeo account. I would prefer players read the rules so they have at least a low-level understanding, but as long as I'm informed of a player's confidence level in the system I can take it into account. Players will also have to create characters between session 0 and session 1, but I can provide assistance if needed.

What Egg Eggleton brings to the table

I can give players access to the rulebooks which I own, as well as running the game via a Discord server and using Owlbear Rodeo as a VTT. I will use character voices to distinguish NPCs from each other. My game has a variety of combat, ranging from simple encounters to avoidable monsters to difficult battles. I tend to use rules as intended (rather than rules as written), with Rule of Cool filling in where the intended rules lack.

How Egg Eggleton creates a safe table

Firstly, I should explain that the Content Warnings listed below are by no means guaranteed to show up or to occur regularly throughout the campaign; some are more likely than others (for instance, Death is all but guaranteed at some point due to the nature of D&D as a combat-heavy system with non-sapient monsters). During session zero, as well as discussing characters, themes, and expectations for the game, I will also ask each player if they have any lines or veils (after explaining in more detail what the terms mean). These will then be noted and if they are things I cannot accommodate, I will make that clear in the session zero. After each session, I spend a little time (usually 5-10 minutes) talking with the players above table, making sure everybody had fun and giving each player chance to express any concerns or issues. I take short ten-minute breaks mid-session, usually one break after every hour and a half (roughly) of play. I will also try to check in with players after every few sessions - depending on how quickly I get used to the players, this could be as frequent as every third session or as rare as every seventh-to-tenth - so that they can provide any stars and wishes as well as debrief on how they feel the game is going.