Norelva Confidential | Murder, mystery & magic. | FREE Session 0
Norelva is the city of dreams, the heart of worldwide commerce, but also the city of sin, of blood. Will you be able to keep the peace, detective?
$20.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Friday - 7:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Norelva Confidential is a police drama, detective noir and action campaign that takes place in the new century metropolis of Norelva. Our heroes are a ragtag team of underfunded but surprisingly qualified detectives working for the Norelva Police Department, stretched as thin as possible among a new wave of crime that comes with technological progress: ships used to smuggle drugs between countries, factories hiding weapon production lines, not to mention the ever present danger of magic. Your adventure will start at the door of the NCPD's 8th Precinct, as newly minted detectives, retirees back for a last ride, magic consultants here for an internship, or whatever other fun idea you might come up with. The campaign will take the form of quests (cases) which will advance the storyline and contain mini-stories, which the detectives will be able to select like missions in a game. Expect to be faced with shadowy cabals, capitalist overreach, criminal sovereignty and other obstacles as you try to solve murders, disappearances and the occasional eldritch horror.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(3)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Creativity, Voices, Inclusive
About me
Hello, I'm Zulu! I've been a GM for several years now and I've run campaigns in D&D 5e, SWN and FTL Nomad. I'm an amateur writer, law student and chronic worldbuilder. I started my TTRPG experience with a really small table in my hometown, and from there joined groups online on D&D, Pathfinder, Lancer and a couple of one-shot indie games. My first campaign was a good idea, but it was a mess - it only got better from there, as I hosted for friends and eventually people in my University and others, growing from a disorganized, chaotic DM to a... slightly less disorganized, chaotic one. I write sporadically on my Substack (when inspiration strikes), and I'm almost constantly coming up with new settings and ideas that eventually get converted into new campaigns. My main setting is a homebrew 1920s decopunk fantasy world, but I also have an alt history soft sci-fi world. Currently worldbuilding a modern fantasy setting inspired by True Detective! I run two campaigns right now, in person: a campaign on FTL Nomad, based around a United Nations ship and its adventures, and a second one on D&D 5e, which follows a group of police officers and their attempts to fight crime and paranormality in Norelva, my main homebrew setting!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We will create our characters together during Session 0, in order to let everyone know what the others are playing and to build a cohesive party. Session 0 will also be a moment to meet up, break the ice and establish the setting, clear up doubts and set the foundations for the campaign. Technical details: - we will use a point-buy system to minimize randomness and allow you to customize your character, - we will start at Level 3 to give you a slight edge and skip the dreary single-digit HP levels, - you are free to bring any homebrew material, third-party books and resources, and I'll give them a look to see if they fit and if they can be added (good chance it's a yes), - no Classes, Feats or Spells are banned, feel free to min-max - just know I'll min-max right back! Additionally, reflavoring is 100% on the table. Want to rename a spell or change its visual look? Go ahead. Want to rename a class feature? Sure!
What to expect
Preparing for the session
All you need is a Discord account, a browser to join the Foundry game and a microphone, no video required. You will be invited to the Discord server for voice chat (and more), added to the Foundry game and that's it! Additionally, for Session 0, you should have an idea of what you'd like to play: class, species, general build, a vibe and an idea of what the character will be like.
What Zulu brings to the table
I will bring some cool features I'm pretty proud of: - free Session 0 to establish party dynamic and vibes, - custom tokens based on your descriptions (combat and out-of-combat sprites provided), - 2-3 custom maps for each quest for key locations or combat encounters, - fully acted NPCs, including VoiceMod filters for specific ones, including Skills inspired by Disco Elysium, - ambient music and sounds, diegetic and non-diegetic, - documents, journal entries and other text supplements. Occasionally, I post stories on my Substack. You may end up as cameos in one of them!
Homebrew rules
There's a few house rules taken from supplements or optional choices: - flanking: if two attackers are next to a target, they get +2 to their attacks. If they’re on opposite sides, they get advantage, - glancing blows: if AC and attack roll match, damage is halved, - inspiration collection: inspiration is no longer limited to 1, and you can save a number of Inspiration points, - gentle death saves: if a character is rolling death saving throws and they roll a natural 20, they are brought back to life with 1 HP, - bloodied condition: some enemies may react with heightened aggression or new abilities when their health reaches a particular threshold, typically 1/4 or 1/2, - morale check: ported from SWN, enemies may flee or panic if they are outnumbered or outgunned. Additionally, we use a custom currency, and do not track encumbrance or ammunition.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Zulu creates a safe table
During Session 0, we will discuss the content that will appear during the campaign, make any triggers clear to the table, establish boundaries and limits, and talk about the above, especially given the nature of the setting and campaign. During games, we will mostly keep the X-N-O system in mind, which you can use by messaging on the Foundry chat. At your request, we can also go through the Monte Cook checklist. IMPORTANT: it's possible that additional scenarios not included in the Content Warnings may appear. Please keep in mind the general idea behind the campaign and understand some harsh topics may be discussed or mentioned.
Content warnings
Safety tools used