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Ash and Alabaster | A Daggerheart Story of the Spire's Rebellion
In the shadow of the Spire, your rebellion burns bright. Fight, bleed, and dream beneath the ivory towers of your oppressors.
$20.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Thursday - 4:00 PM UTC
Dec 11 / Session 1
Session Duration / 2.5–3.5 hours
Campaign Length / 50–60 Sessions
5 / 5 Seats Filled
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Schedule
Meet your party members
5/5
About the adventure
The mile-high city of Spire is a monument of cruel beauty—its alabaster towers piercing the heavens while its shadowed undercity chokes on soot, secrets, and despair. From the ivory balconies above, the aelfir, high elves of exquisite cruelty, rule with artistry and iron, shaping lives and deaths as easily as sculpture. Below them, in the cracks of their perfect world, the rebellion stirs—a gathering of dreamers, heretics, and outcasts who refuse to kneel. In Ash and Alabaster, you play one of the desperate and the daring who have chosen to defy the dominion of the Spire’s lords. You are not heroes in shining armor; you are poets, killers, priests, and spies, bound together by fragile hope and shared fury. Every victory you carve from the walls comes at a cost, and every secret you uncover cuts as deep as a blade. The Spire is alive, and it bleeds for no one. This Daggerheart campaign frame blends the emotional storytelling and moral tension of an ill-fated uprising with the dramatic mechanics of Daggerheart. Expect gritty intrigue, desperate action, and slow-burn revolution, where every relationship matters and every act of defiance leaves a mark on the world and your soul. The system rewards courage and conviction—whether you’re leading a doomed uprising, whispering forbidden prayers in the dark, or smuggling weapons through the city’s broken arteries. Ash and Alabaster is for players who crave intense, character-driven stories about rebellion, sacrifice, and the cost of freedom. It’s for those who want to feel the tension of living in a city that hates you and to find beauty in the fight to change it. Together, you’ll shape the rebellion’s fate—will the Spire burn from within, or will its ash fall upon your bones?
Game style
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Roleplay Heavy
Theater of the Mind
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(23)
2 years on StartPlaying
411 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Teacher
Average response time: 3 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
It all began Thanksgiving Day when I was 10 years old. I found my uncle’s Dungeons & Dragons red box with the warrior on the cover battling against a dragon. I was instantly drawn to it and begged my uncle to teach me how to play. Less than a year later, I was running adventures for my friends, igniting their and my imaginations as we told stories of heroics and fantasy. As the child of a Navy sailor who moved around a lot, D&D was always my constant and my way of connecting with like-minded people I met. Fast forward to now. Over the years, I have told hundreds of stories with adventurers and friends. Focusing on heavy roleplay and cinematic combat, I aim to bring years of improv theatre to life by driving stories focused on the player’s characters and the decisions they make. Nothing is too wild as we collaboratively build worlds and create adventures that will fill the halls of the legends of those worlds. Come join me. There are still so many tales to tell.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We'll make characters together in Session Zero using Demiplane. Session Zero will be free of charge, and expect it to last between 3-4 hours. This allows us to build Experiences and Connections together with the group so that we can get started right in the thick of the action.
We are set to begin this adventure with a Session Zero on Thursday, Dec 4. The following week, we will run a prequel one-shot to steep everyone in the history of the rebellion before we jump into the campaign proper the next week.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
I use my hands and facial expressions often when storytelling, so I will be on camera. However, this does not mean that it is an expectation of you. All you need is a Demiplane account (app.demiplane.com), a Discord account, a working microphone, and a sense of adventure and fun!
What Anthony McKinstry brings to the table
I bring to the table 32 years of love for running tabletop RPGs, shared access to the rulebook (and any future supplements) on Demiplane, maps and assets delved from various high-quality mapmakers, strong improv ability, and lots of laughs along the way.
Homebrew rules
We can discuss during our Session Zero the technology level of Spire and decide as a group whether we want the optional Daggerheart firearms to be brought into the campaign. Other mechanics distinctions of the campaign frame will be discussed during our Session Zero, but are: ⚙️ The Weight of Rebellion ⚙️ Shadows & Secrets ⚙️ The Endgame
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Anthony McKinstry creates a safe table
During Session Zero, you will receive a link to this campaign's Deck of Player Safety, allowing you to anonymously inform me of Lines & Veils you may have. Lines & Veils will then be discussed during our Session Zero. If Session Zero has occurred already, I will spend time with you to personally go over Lines & Veils. X cards (for Lines) and N cards (for Veils) are available to all players during play.
Content warnings
Safety tools used