Hellpunk Spires, a Descent into Avernus Remix | Session 0 Free

Creating your character

I like to run character creation very closely with each player, ideally on an individual basis. This is both to help newer players or ones that are unfamiliar with VTT, and to ensure that each character has their place in the overarching narrative, as I like to run very character-driven stories wherever possible. I do point buy, specifically 32-point buy with 16 as the high and 6 as the low, and I allow all official races, classes and subclasses in the 2014 ruleset, with a handful of exceptions and a few houserules, all of which are listed and explained clearly upon joining my campaign. Some homebrew content may also be allowed, pending approval and possibly some modifications by myself. I would recommend coming to me with a character concept more than a completed and fully realized character, to better adjust, but I’m very happy to work with a more complete character concept if it can be made to fit! Characters will be created between session 0 and session 1, and before session given sufficient time to spare for any players joining after session 1. There's a handful of spells, rules, and features I like to alter, which will be dealt with on a case by case basis, but always consistently.

Preparing for the session

You will need a Discord account, a Roll20 account, to join a Discord server and the Roll20 campaign for the game, as well as a microphone. I will say that Roll20 does not support phones and has limited tablet support, so keep that in mind; you will need preferably a computer but at the very least a tablet to play. Keep in mind that session 0 will be free, so you won’t be on the hook for the meet-and-greet part!

What Rich brings to the table

I provide all my Roll20 expertise, as well as my Roll20 Pro Subscription; a vast amount of maps and other assets; and all my skills as a DM of some years.

Homebrew rules

I have a number of homebrew rules. I have an online document which outlines them all, but I will list them here in short: Death saving throws are concealed from other players. Potions take a bonus action or action to drink or administer, but drinking or administering healing potions as an action has heightened effects. I use cover rules, including rules for hitting cover (i.e. an enemy might accidentally shoot its ally if it is providing cover to a PC). As well as a few minor homebrew rules for handling encumbrance (basically it's a 'don't worry about it if it's reasonable' kind of encumbrance system), and finally people can share initiative if they roll the same, but don't have to.

How Rich creates a safe table

Session 0 is my primary preliminary safety tool, where I go over a number of questions and points to make sure everyone is on the same page, and to ask about phobias and the like, which people are free to disclose publicly or privately, as they wish. Everyone is always free to pause the session at any time, privately or publicly, to alert me of any issues that may have arisen. I ask that this is used sparingly and only for serious immediate issues, but it is a right of all my players to feel safe and secure in using it should they need to. I usually run continuously, but if the group would like to take a break around midway I'm more than happy to oblige. Some sessions need one more than others. And I am always happy to discuss any issues that may have happened in session, or even just air out any emotions, good or bad, after the session. If I hear a discord message and see that it's from a player mid-game I will immediately check what it is about, and have no compunctions about stopping the game if it's serious.