The Dragon of Talanamh

Creating your character

We'll use point buy to create characters during session zero. Please don't do any in-depth character creation until we've talked as a table, as you'll likely want to change things for synergy purposes. Especially because, for this campaign, the only race that isn't on the table is Dragonborn (because they just don't exist in this world.) We'll start at level three. As you brainstorm prior to our session zero: *Please come up with character concepts that have a reason to work with a group. It's a very sand-boxy world, so if your character is the edgy loner who wants to leave after the first encounter, the party will probably let you, and then you're kinda stuck. *Please make sure you're thinking about characters who want to interact with the world. The motivation doesn't really matter, but if your character turns down every quest you're offered, the rest of the table will likely grow annoyed with you. *Please be creative when you're thinking about characters. Anyone can play the dumb and angry barbarian who only knows how to smash things - who is a character that only YOU can play? That's going to be the most fun and interesting. *How/where your character sheet is stored is completely up to you. I just need a copy of it.

Preparing for the session

I'll set up a Discord server for our sessions. All combat will be run through owlbear rodeo. If you're a dice goblin like me, please plan on having a muted phone camera ready to display dice rolls.

What Josh brings to the table

As a DM, I'm just a bard who doesn't play a PC. I try to use voices where appropriate. Although I'm not a voice actor by any stretch of the imagination, there were some standout NPCs that my players have really enjoyed. Most importantly, I bring you a living world. I know what's happening in it at all times, and you're free to explore as you see fit. So, for instance, if you visit a particular location after the pirate civil war, you may be asked for help and asylum by the survivors of the losing side. BUT, if you visit that location before the war happens, you may be asked to pick a side and be able to change who wins! Of course, if you're deeply ingrained in the pirate civil war, then you might not be able to affect other conflicts that are happening at the same time. I'm huge on player agency and use the world as a way to tell YOUR story. It's the reason why I can be excited to run the same campaign a third time.

Homebrew rules

I use a pretty common homebrew rule for potions - use an action to gain the full effect of the potion or use a bonus action to chug it and roll for the effect. I just think it's more fair. I also use a modified version of flanking. While I like flanking, I think it de-values rogues and encourages players to clump together. So, in order to gain flanking, both PCs must be engaged with an enemy while on OPPOSITE sides of that enemy. Basically, the enemy can't possibly hope to look at both attackers for it to count. There are other homebrew rules that might end up being used, and I'll list them at session zero, but as they're slightly more potent, I let the table vote on which ones to use (if any.)

How Josh creates a safe table

All players will contribute anonymously to a lines and veils document, which I'll read out at the beginning of actual play. We may occasionally reference it if needed, but I find that the lines and veils have historically applied mainly to story beats (which are only really under my purview.) In addition, I like to use a red light/yellow light callout system as opposed to the x,n,o cards. I prefer a callout for three reasons - first, it's really easy to miss someone holding up a card, especially if your video focuses whomever's speaking. Second, it's really easy to misplace those cards or forget to have them handy. Finally, a callout is a forced interruption, which the speaker can't really miss and accidentally cross any boundaries. A player calling out "yellow light" means, "you're about to cross a line, don't go any farther than this," and RP/story continue. A player calling out "red light" means, "a line has been crossed, and there needs to be a delay of game." We'll have a discussion about which line was crossed, reference the lines and veils document if it was something that player should've known to avoid, and when we're ready to resume playing, we'll start with a retconned summary to erase the crossed boundary from the canon timeline.