Rime of the Frostmaiden (Lvl 1-9 campaign) (Beginner Friendly!)

Creating your character

Characters will be created on DnD Beyond (no subscription required). While you are welcome to create and plan your character beforehand, session 0 will be used to finalize characters and provide assistance to anyone who needs help creating their character. Homebrew/Unofficial content is allowed, but I reserve the right to review, edit, or deny the material. Characters will start at level one. As the entire campaign takes place in the Frozen North, think about why your character may be there. Is it their home? Are they part of a academic excavation? A criminal running from the law hiding in the frozen tundra? Creating a reason for your character to not only be in the Frozen North, but have a connection to it is important.

Preparing for the session

Players should have a DnD Beyond account (no subscription required) to create their character, track dice rolls, and see the map. Players should also have a Discord account and a working microphone, as this is how we will communicate with each other during sessions. Other than that, bring your imagination and a sense of adventure!

What Max brings to the table

I have access to numerous materials on DnD Beyond and I'm able to share content so you don't have to pay for anything. I'm very welcoming of homebrew, and if there is something you want that doesn't officially exist, I'm happy to workshop with you! I do voices to try and distinguish NPCs from each other, but players are not required to voice act, though any attempts at immersion are welcome! For combat, puzzles, and exploration: I believe DnD is about telling a story. That my job as a Dungeon Master is to present challenges to the players for them to overcome. While combat may be difficult at times, I am rooting for the players. Hard to tell a story if the main cast gets wiped out, after all! That being said, actions will still have reasonable consequences. Could you stand on a pile of gunpowder and light a match to clear the room? Yes. Will you probably be rolling a new character? Yes. (This has happened). Rule of Cool vs Rules as Written: I'm not perfect, and I don't have all rules, feats, traits, weapons, spells, or other various information memorized. If you want to attempt something really cool, go for it. I'll likely let it slide once, review the rules later, and let you know if that was a one-time occurrence or not. I'd rather have you feel epic and keep the game going than get bogged down flipping through rule books.

Homebrew rules

1. Drinking a potion is a bonus action. Feeding a potion to someone else is an action. 2. Click! If you trigger a trap, I will say "Click" and ask for a reaction, which can help or hinder your ability to avoid a trap. If you react by dropping prone and arrows shoot out, you may have advantage or auto-succeed to avoid the trap. If you fall prone and the floor gives way, you'll probably auto-fail. 3. Party Inspiration: At the end of every session, I will post a poll where you can vote to award others with Inspiration (a free dice reroll). Can't vote for yourself, and can only have one inspiration at a time. Whoever gets the most inspiration over the course of the campaign will get a free homebrew based on their character! 4. Swan Song: If you are at 0 hp and fail all three death saving throws, you can choose to do a Swan Song, entering a last stand with the knowledge these are your final moments. Roll 1d4 + your Constitution Modifier. That is how many rounds of combat you are active. You regain all abilities, spells, everything except HP. All attacks are made at advantage. All hits are critical. If you get hit, you lose one round on your active timer. Once your timer runs out, you are dead. No revivify, no wish spell, you have died permanently. 6. Meta-Survival: If you are proficient in Survival, you may make a survival check after combat for each type of enemy you faced, the difficulty determined by the enemy CR. Based on how well you succeed, you can learn various portions of the enemy statblock. Some enemies may require other proficiencies, such as elementals allowing those with Arcana to make the check instead of survival, or a Devil Warlock to make the check for fiends, etc. 7. Plot Multiclassing: In order to multiclass, you must have a story reason for adopting the new class. Fighter is easy if you've been in a few combats, but if you're taking Warlock, I'll ask who/when/how you made a pact with an eldritch sugar daddy.

How Max creates a safe table

During session 0, we'll cover everyone's expectations and limits. What they wish to achieve/experience, and what they wish to never encounter. After every session, we'll do aftercare: asking if everyone had fun, if anyone has any thoughts to share, etc. At any time, my private messages are open if you need to contact me for any reason.