Beginner Friendly Short Campaign - The Riverford Dilemma
The Duke's daughter is missing. Riverford is held together by his sheer force of will, but without her his resolve wavers. She needs to be found fast
$15.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Monday - 7:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 2–3 hours
Campaign Length / 4–6 Sessions
4 / 6 Seats Filled
Report Adventure
StartPlaying Money Back Guarantee
If your game doesn't happen, we guarantee a refund. Just reach out to StartPlaying Support. Refund Policy
Schedule
Meet your party members
4/6
About the adventure
Aimed at brand new players, this short campaign takes place in a world of my own making, designed to ease you into the world of Dungeons and Dragons. Whether you've never rolled a dice before or want to get back into the swing of things, I'll take you through everything you need to know so you can be confident playing longer campaigns in the future. We'll start at level 3 to give your characters a bit of survivability and I'll host a free first session - known as a session zero - where we'll make your characters together and get them ready for the start of the campaign. Alternatively, you can choose from a selection of pre-made characters I'll have ready if you prefer to just pick one of those. The campaign will have a focus on the story but will also involve roleplay, combat and puzzles. You'll also be free to explore the City of Riverford, interacting with the different characters and personalities dotted around. If this sounds like the right adventure for you then book your seat now and I'll see you at the table!
Game style
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Roleplay Heavy
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(6)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
7 games hosted
Highly rated for: Teacher, Storytelling, Creativity
About me
I was first introduced to tabletop games by a friend in 2020, and it wasn’t long until I was asking to be the GM for a mid-campaign one-shot. Once I’d done that, I realised how much more I enjoyed writing and running the game instead of playing it, and have since run two separate year-long campaigns and numerous one-shots for friends. Presently, I’m GM in an in-person Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) campaign for a group of friends that is about to enter its sixth month. Most of those players are complete beginners and I particularly enjoy helping them understand the game and discover the realm of fantasy. I still also play in the online game that first introduced me to D&D over five years ago. I’m a huge fan of all things fantasy. I’ve been reading fantasy books for as long as I can remember, and have always loved the world building and escapism offered by the genre. I’m currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing, which enables me to regularly create stories in a variety of formats and support me along with my ambition of becoming a published fantasy author. Writing and running D&D campaigns, is a constant source of inspiration and fuels my creative brain, which in turn helps me to become a better writer. I love introducing people to my passions, talking at length about my D&D campaigns to anyone who will listen. I’ve also recently started a Substack blog about writing, which has its own D&D section, aimed at supporting readers who have never played before.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Character creation will take place during a free first session, known as session zero, where I will guide them through the process. You should come to the session with a general idea of the sort of character you want to play so we can spend most of the time making them! If you have no idea at all, I will bring some pre-made character sheets that you can use for inspiration or adapt into your own character. We'll only be using the basic rules from the Player's Handbook (PHB) and I ask that players stick to the races/classes available there when making their characters to keep everything nice and easy. When deciding stats, you can choose between rolling dice to determine them or using the averages provided by the PHB. We'll also be starting at level 3 to give your characters a bit more survivability and some cool abilities to use throughout the campaign. We'll also be levelling up between sessions to introduce you to how that happens.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
To play in this campaign you will need: - A Roll20 account - A Discord account -Google Chrome -Spotify (optional) We'll be using Discord to communicate and Roll20 to play. You don't need to download either of these platforms, although it's recommended you download the Discord App and that you run Roll20 in Google Chrome. I'll also be using spotify to play ambient music and you will need to have the app installed to be able to listen along, however this is completely optional!
What Jonny Barker brings to the table
I'll bring the story, ambient music, and digital maps for us to use. While I'm no Matt Mercer or Brennan Lee Mulligan, I do my best to voice each non-player character (NPC) that you'll come across. I'm also a big believer in Rule of Cool and will bend things slightly to let you do something awesome. As you'll be new to the game, I won't be strict with the rules and happy to let you retroactively change (retcon) some decisions if they get you into a spot of trouble. Having said that, the combat in this campaign will be light and fun rather than challenging and intense. I'm here for you to have as much fun as possible and explore the world of D&D in a fun and engaging environment.
Homebrew rules
The following homebrew rules apply to this campaign: - No Resource Management: Whether camping supplies or components for casting spells, I'm happy to agree that finding these materials happens 'off-screen' and we can assume you have everything with you. - Rule of Cool: If you want to do it, do it! As long as it's within reason, I'm generally happy for you to play your way.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Webcam
Platforms used
Safety
How Jonny Barker creates a safe table
We'll be using a Lines and Veils document as well as X, N and O cards which can be used by messaging me directly.
Content warnings
Safety tools used