Hardcore Waterdeep | Ultra Difficult Campaign

Creating your character

Characters will be created during a session zero on D&D Beyond. All options from the 2024 rules are available. 5e and additional sourcebook options are typically allowed but require permission. No homebrew. Players should come prepared with ideas but be open to adapt and work with the party. We will use point buy for stats and fixed hp on level up.

Preparing for the session

All players will need to join the campaign's Discord server for calling during sessions and communicating outside of them. I encourage players to make a free account on D&D Beyond before the first session but I can also guide that process during the session for those without the time.

What Ethan brings to the table

Voices, music, battlemaps, and grand narratives: my campaigns have the whole shebang. One of my main focuses is immersion. That means I talk in character and support players to do the same. In this campaign, I'll be strict on rules as written. This keeps combat consistent, fair, and predictable. Difficulty is derived from strategy and dice rolls, not random, arbitrary bs. I will be very strict about enemy hp and stats. Absolutely no fudging behind the scenes and I'll do almost every roll where players can see it. I keep my campaigns flexible and adaptable. I want players to feel like their choices matter and sometimes that means you beat my boss in a single turn or I have to make a new side quest on the fly. I normally overprep for sessions and the players will still find a way to surprise me. Ultimately, I am another player at the table who just has a special role as the director of the game. When there is a rules conflict, I'll ask the table what they want and make the executive decision for the sake of progressing the game forward. My goal is not to kill players but to provide a rewarding, highly difficult experience. Players will almost certainly die, but if they don't, that is due to the players' incredible skills. I would not want to punish players randomly just to give the illusion that I had made the combat more difficult than I did.

Homebrew rules

I am strictly following the D&D 2024 rules. This keeps it consistent and there will be no confusion since we all have the same rulebook in front of us. The one exception is enemy statblocks where they will often have unique, custom abilities and increased stats.

How Ethan creates a safe table

In the first session, I will send a survey to all players covering which subjects they are okay or not okay with including in the campaign. At any point during a session if a player is uncomfortable, players may dm me and I will immediately stop and redirect. I will strictly follow people's boundaries. For players, when they accidentally broach an off-limit subject, I will ask them to change the subject or alter their backstory. If a player purposefully breaks boundaries or repeatedly offends others, they will be removed from the game. I have zero tolerance at my table for any form of hate speech or discrimination. If okay with the whole table, fantasy representations of discrimination may be present within the narrative but never directed at real people or groups.