The Haunting of Balisco Manor
A haunted Manor, a vengeful ghost, many have entered none have made it out, will you be any different?
About the adventure
Gothic Horror in 5e. Balisco Manor has been empty for decades haunted by who knows what. Many bands of adventurers have tried to solve the riddle and free the manor from its curse. Will your band succeed where so many others have failed? Strong description and a moody feel will have you jumping from the start. Mystery surrounds the old manor house, will you be able to solve the curse and free the tortured souls or are you condemned to join the forever in undeath? I favour strong role play and although there will almost certainly be some combat this wont be a combat heavy game.
Meet the Game Master
3 years on StartPlaying
1363 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Teacher
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
About me
AS FEATURED ON CNN https://edition.cnn.com/videos/entertainment/2023/04/14/hollywood-entertainment-solo-dungeons--dragons-roleplaying-game-startplaying.cnn I started playing DnD in 1977 when elf and dwarf were classes, not races. 45 years as a play 44 as a DM More years live action role play than i care to admit Five years dark age re enactment 789AD to 1066AD saxon viking and norman steel weapon combat and living history displays I do not use a VTT. Instead I live stream a video of a physical tabletop with tokens instead. Whilst I do use some theatre of the mind there is a table top for the more tacticle groups. Since the various lockdowns playing face to face became difficult so I came here. I favour RP-heavy games with dynamic combat. In other words, unless the AC is really obscure and the goblin has a 20 dex I tend to tell my players the AC, after all when you see a 14 miss and a 15 hit the cat is out of the bag. By knowing the AC you know if you hit or miss and can describe what happens rather than I roll 15 you hit roll damage 6 points ok next person, you roll you know you hit you say I slash the goblin across the face for 6 points. Happy to DM groups from their first game to very advanced. I will be running a mix of new modules and some old classics with a little homebrew thrown in for good measure LBGTQ+ Friendly
View Profile →Reviews (138)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Creativity
Storytelling
Teacher
I got to befriend a mimic colony and adopt a baby mimic. All through the power of friendship, problem solving, a high charisma and a changeling character. I could have easily gotten my character killed from the sheer number of potential mimic fights. Instead my character only killed one mimic in self defense. After that she talked her way out of a fight with a baby mimic who initiated initiative from resisting being put in a bag of holding. After apologizing she negotiated with mama mimic to work with a crew so everyone could eat plenty of fish. So not only was the mimic colony issue solved, but they became an economically viable buisness partnership. So now Craft has a baby mimic she carries with her everywhere in a baby sling, taking the form of a doll that she feeds dead enemies to, dresses up and bonds with. The baby Mimic is named Mim, which means wished for Child. It helps that Changelings are somewhat related to mimics, so in a way they are very distant biological family that are now adopted family. This is yet another adorable consequence of Craft being a naive, sheltered changeling exploring the world. She doesn't assume anyone or anything is inherently evil until proven otherwise. With Darren this tends to work out. At the end of the day, everyone is motivated by wanting something. Find a way to solve the problem, and violence doesn't always have to be necessary. I appreciate that Darren lets me go into a rediculous amount of detail. This is probably in part because I'm the only player in our game. Yes, I am the player that spent half an hour shopping and asked about tent colors. He doesn't railroad me into a fight when my character is looking for any way possible to avoid combat. From our conversation afterwards, I think I am the only person to solve the mimic colony oneshot without fighting all the mimics or otherwise destroying the ship. That's more than I can say for most DMs I have played with. To be fair, if a party wants to fight, they will get a fight. Most player groups do not have the time or patience for the level of detail I go into. So I am delighted that I can still enjoy playing the game without all the arguing, social pressure, and anxiety playing with a group has come with.
Hello. now I've done 50+ sessions with Darren and the sessions are absolutely wonderful, he creates a lot of joy in the group. even in solos Darren is a very good DM who knows the rules and is not afraid to come up with something if you go a different way than you should. highly recommend Darren as a DM.
My 10 year old daughter and I have been playing with Darin for a while now. We both enjoy the world he describes and voices he uses for NPCs. He is incredibly talented and has amazing patience to handle a wild imagination of my daughter. He's able to direct her without shutting her ideas down. Any time I've had questions out side of the game Darin has been quick to respond even with the large time zone difference. I highly recommend playing with him, because his passion for the game shows every time we play. Thanks Darin.
Character creation
Creating your character
Characters will be 3rd level. Pre generated characters are available, but premade characters using point buy are welcome. I welcome pretty much any class race to brave the manor.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Players need web cam and mic and their own dice or a electronic way to roll dice. Some knowledge of DnD 5e is beneficial. Players may generate characters ahead of time or I can supply a selection of pre generated ones on the day
What Darren brings to the table
A tense evening of fear as you strive to survive and defeat Balisco manor. Strong storytelling and an evening to remember.
Homebrew rules
House rules Plot card If any player feels the game is getting bogged down in irrelevant issues DM the word PLOT to me and I will get the party to move things along. I will not reveal who sent the PLOT card Critical hits Crits donormal damage plus the max damage they could have done rather than rolling twice the dice or doubling what was rolled Basic healing potions Use bonus action for straight 10hp Flanking Most monsters can be flanked if you can get directly behind them from someone else they have attacked for advantage Rule of Cool I generally embrace the rule of cool Homebrew I am open to most homebrew subject to approval. 1 on a d20 is a fumble something bad will happen Advantage and Disadvantage cancel each other out on a one-to-one basis: If you have more of one than another (1 ADV and 2 DIS, 3 ADV and 1 DIS, etc.), then the one you have more of applies. Regardless, you still only roll one extra D20. AC is Revealed during combat: Enemies' Armor Classes will be told to players at the start of combat so you know if you hit or miss, allowing for deeper roleplay and more expressive descriptions. Passives are Not Used: Passive Perception, Investigation and Insight are not used as they are broken mechanics that serve as a detriment to the roleplay potential of any given scenario. PC to PC violence Player Character on Player Character violence is rare and actively discouraged. However, if a player manages to earn the ire of another and that results in a duel or similar hostile actions taken between their characters, all players involved are required to use D&D Beyond's digital dice using Public Rolls so that all rolls are fair and equal and can be monitored by the DM. As always, this and other contrary-type behavior is permitted only and solely at the DM's discretion. Tread lightly!
Equipment needed to play
Computer
Internet
Microphone
Mobile Phone
Platforms used
Safety
How Darren creates a safe table
This is a haunted house scenario, it contains grisly discoveries, and strong horror elements, basically if you don't love horror films maybe this isn't the game for you