Persistent World PBP Campaign | Adventure. Intrigue. POWER.
A living, breathing desert. Twenty adventuring parties. One ticking clock. Will your name be remembered?
$14.99
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Wednesday – 10:55 PM UTC
2–3 Hour Duration
0 / 100 Seats Filled
About the adventure
🌍 Custom setting, open-world MMO-style 5e campaign • Shared Timeline across 20 parties • Lasting Impact ✔️ Rich sandbox world with rising stakes & world events ✔️ Solo GM-led session with intricate world and encounter design & highly detailed NPCs ✔️ Perfect for tactical players & storytellers alike Join the fray--make your mark on the world! Beneath the unyielding sun and the whispering winds of an endless desert, something ancient stirs. For over three millennia, the Tomb Kings lay dormant—undead sovereigns sealed away by the Eternal Sand Veil, their power buried in silence and myth. But now, the Veil has cracked. Storms die mid-gale. Forgotten cities rise from beneath the dunes. And adventurers, scavengers, scholars, outlaws, and heroes flock to the desert’s edge, drawn by rumors of treasure, glory… and doom. The Dunes Below is an MMO-inspired, persistent play-by-post Dungeons & Dragons campaign, set in a sprawling desert filled with political intrigue, ancient horrors, and player-driven change. Join a faction, form a party, carve out a stronghold, or forge your legend solo. Every action affects a shared world, where secrets are uncovered weekly, dungeons shift beneath your feet, and the choices of one party may alter the fates of many. This is a world in motion. The calendar moves forward. Armies rally. Spirits awaken. Empires burn. And somewhere in the shadows of it all… the Tomb Kings prepare to rise. This is a story with a time limit. The prophets say that unless we are able to avert it, a storm of steel and sorcery will sweep the land in two years' time. Join now... before it's too late! This game will run for two real years, and the campaign will conclude, one way or another, on July 4th, 2027. Your choices will matter, and will be the deciding factor in whether the world of Ardia makes it through this catastrophe. The game will be "live" Monday through Friday with at least two (a morning and an evening) posts from the GM per day. On Sundays, a weekly recap will happen, letting players keep tabs on each other and the story's progression! As this is an MMO-style game, pricing will be different than most: 🎠Joining the server and creating your first character (which you can do by joining this game): $17.99 ➕ Each additional character after the first: $9.99 🎲 Live (voice and optional video) session for your party: $9.99 per player (must be scheduled at least 2 weeks in advance) 📜 Personalized, solo questline: $12.99 🤝 Refer a friend and get a free session!
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(17)
1 year on StartPlaying
142 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Rule of Cool, Storytelling
Average response time: 7 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Over the past six years as a Game Master (GM), I have developed a distinct and engaging approach to storytelling in the realm of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). My journey in this captivating world began with a deep-seated passion for rich and immersive narratives. This passion drove me to delve into a wide array of games, ranging from high fantasy epics to complex modern mysteries. This diverse experience has not only broadened my horizons but also honed my ability to adapt to various genres and storytelling styles. My adaptability allows me to cater to different player preferences, seamlessly blending various thematic elements to keep each game fresh and exciting. At the core of my GM style is a profound commitment to player-centric storytelling. I pride myself on creating campaigns that put the spotlight on the characters' backgrounds, ambitions, and development, ensuring that every player feels integral to the evolving story. My forte is in interweaving these personal narratives into grand, overarching meta-narratives, crafting a complex tapestry of stories that are deeply interconnected and engaging. This method has earned me recognition for maintaining a perfect balance between driving the plot forward and nurturing player agency. This balance transforms each session from a mere game into a collaborative, dynamic storytelling adventure. My games are renowned for their immersive world-building, dramatic plot twists, and the strong sense of community they foster among players, making my sessions a highly sought-after experience in the TTRPG community.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
There is a full character creation guide in the discord, but to provide the brief summary, players will start at level 1, using all WotC materials (2024 editions first) and any approved homebrews. We are utilizing a modified standard array (16 14 14 12 10 8), and in place of racial or background stat bonuses, we use a homebrew supplement which helps create rich backstories and tie players to the world at large! After this, you will pick one of the player factions to align yourself with, and you'll be ready to set out on your first quest!
What to expect
Preparing for the session
All you will need is a discord account!
What Kaleb brings to the table
I run deeply immersive, story-driven campaigns with a strong sense of progression and world reactivity. My GMing style blends strategic, tactical combat with high-stakes narrative choices—your actions have consequences, and the world will remember them. While this is a play-by-post game, expect rich character dialogue, cinematic descriptions, and tailored questlines that help your character grow. I fully embrace the Rule of Cool when it enhances the story, but I ground it with logical, fair rulings that respect both the system and your investment. I am bringing hundreds of NPCs, a living world, personal story arcs, and over a decade of GMing experience. Your not buying a game, you're buying the chance to enter into a fleshed-out, evolving world...and the chance to shape it! Each faction, NPC, and region has its own voice, goals, and flavor—and you’ll feel the difference as you explore the desert, build reputation, or make enemies. This is a living, breathing world, and you’re part of its heartbeat. Whether you're negotiating with bandits, uncovering ancient secrets, or battling the remnants of a broken empire, I’m here to make your story unforgettable.
Homebrew rules
We utilize a wide array of homebrew rules, including: A roguelike system for travel and dungeons! A robust, deep crafting system! A custom renown system! A progression- and research-based system for discovering powerful ancient secrets your character can take advantage of! A system for creating guilds, and strongholds to house them in! A detailed system for creating your own adventuring organizations and bringing them into war with the enemy! And more!
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Platforms used
Safety
How Kaleb creates a safe table
As this is a play-by-post game, safety works a little differently than most. The easiest, most direct tool I have for safety is that my DMs are always open. If something makes you uncomfortable (even if it comes from me!) you are always more than welcome to let me know. I believe that while your *characters* should often be uncomfortable and go through hardships, the game we are playing should never cause stress or anxiety in your real life, and I will do what can be done to accommodate each person's specific needs in this area!
Content warnings
Safety tools used