Bootcamp for New Players (Fully Customized DoIP)
New Player Bootcamp, taught by a GM with 20+ yrs of experience. Learn to play in a friendly, welcoming, tutoring, custom-built environment and story.
$15.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Friday - 12:00 AM UTC
Dec 19 / Session 3
Session Duration / 4 hours
Campaign Length / 8–12 Sessions
5 / 6 Seats Filled
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Schedule
Meet your party members
5/6
About the adventure
A Masterclass where I teach Dungeons & Dragons through storytelling. Learn the game by living the adventure - teamwork, tactics, and choices that matter. A cinematic campaign built for new players who want to play, learn, and remember. What begins as the familiar Essentials Kit adventure quickly becomes something entirely different in my hands. I’ve transformed The Dragon of Icespire Peak (DoIP) into a complete, cinematic D&D Bootcamp experience - built specifically for new and returning players who want to learn the game while playing it. This isn’t a plug-and-play module. It’s a living world, rebuilt from the ground up to teach, inspire, and immerse. Every quest has been expanded with vivid first-look descriptions, emotional character hooks, and custom artwork designed to make you see the world — not just move through it. Each adventure in the Bootcamp focuses on a specific skill: tactical combat, moral choice, teamwork, exploration, or creative problem-solving. By the time your party reaches the final showdown with Cryovain atop Icespire Hold, you won’t just be rolling dice — you’ll be heroes in a story you helped shape. Unlike the cookie-cutter or AI-generated modules flooding the market, this campaign was built by hand, line by line, by a Dungeon Master with over twenty years of storytelling experience. AI tools were used only as a craftsman’s chisel — to enhance detail, not replace imagination. THERE WILL BE a Session Zero on our first scheduled day, to ensure that everyone is prepared and ready to start the adventure. Session Zero is FREE OF CHARGE, and the first play session is HALF PRICE, so you can "try it before you buy it", to ensure this is the right fit for you. If you’re looking for a patient, professional DM who teaches by doing — and you want your first D&D experience to feel like you’re inside a living fantasy novel — then welcome to my table. Let’s make your first adventure unforgettable.
Game style
Combat Lite
Realm Building
Roleplay Heavy
Theater of the Mind
Rules as Written (RaW)
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(6)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
3 games hosted
Highly rated for: Teacher, Creativity, Storytelling
Average response time: 3 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Classic style. Modern storytelling. Real human imagination. Hello, I'm GM Chris. By day, I’m an Engineer and Project Manager. But by night, I’m a lifelong gamer, Storyteller, and Dungeon Master. I’ve been running D&D since 1992, starting in High School with Basic D&D before diving into AD&D 2nd Edition. In 2000 we transitioned into 3.0/3.5 Edition, where I ran games for 17yrs (collectively), and now 5th Edition. Over the decades, I’ve built and run campaigns for dozens of players, most of whom stuck around for years at a time. I started with Dungeon Crawls, but quickly grew into immersive, narrative-driven campaigns that blend adventure, emotion, teamwork and strategy. My style has been described as "Plain Vanilla with Rainbow Sprinkles" - grounded in Classic rules, classes and races, but full of flair, drama, flavor and heart. My tables focus on story, teamwork, and immersion — not rule mongering. I took a break during the chaos of COVID due to personal health issues, but in 2025 with some motivation from my wife and a good friend, I returned to the hobby with renewed purpose — dusting off my old notebooks and sourcebooks, rediscovering my love of worldbuilding and storytelling, and modernizing my old notes and stories for 5e and virtual play. Whether you’re a brand-new player or a veteran looking for story and substance, my goal is simple: To craft sessions that are memorable, emotional, and worth talking about years later. I hope to see you at my next table.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We can create your character together if you wish, during the FREE Session Zero. If you need assistance, I will gladly set aside some time to help you. I am patient, and I can and will guide you through the process. All characters will start at Level 1, with 0 XP. The best way to create a character is on DNDBeyond.com. Use "Standard Array" (recommended) or "Point Buy" ONLY! No exceptions. Use standard Players Handbook (2024) Only. No Rick & Morty, Minecraft, Acquisitions Inc, or Homebrew rules or content, please. Only original WotC content. Also, please do not use anything exclusively from the Planescape or Spelljammer Campaign settings. There is no Multiverse at my tables. Thank you.
Party Needs: Healer Type - 1 Warrior Type - 0 Rogue Type - 0 Wizard Type - 0 Other Types - 0
What to expect
Preparing for the session
I am here to help and teach, so do not be afraid to ask questions. Everyone should have a Roll20 account, a Discord account, and a DNDBeyond account. You should have the Beyond20 extension installed in your browser of choice (I find that Chrome and Edge work best with Roll20 and Beyond20). Once you have all 3 accounts created, you can reach out to me and I will link up with you in the Discord server to guide you through Beyond20 and setting up your character and your apps appropriately.
What Chris brings to the table
I have been playing D&D for well over 20 years, since long before the Internet and the cool digital apps. That means I lean heavily into a playstyle called "Theatre of the Mind", also known as "The Mind's Eye". However, I do also have custom images and battlemaps that I have created for this adventure to help new players visualize what is going on and understand the flow of the game. In Discord, I keep my camera on most of the time, so that the Storyteller / GameMaster is not just a disembodied voice, but someone you can actually see. I tend to "talk with my hands" a lot when the action gets ramped up. My players are NOT required to turn on their cameras if they choose not to. Player Cameras are ALWAYS optional. I follow a healthy balance between "Rule of Cool" and "Rules as Written", based on the situation (fun takes a higher priority than rule-mongering). I do limited character voices and mannerisms to help you visualize in your mind and help you get a clear mental image. This story is Combat-Medium (so as not to bog down the flow of the story), and Roleplay-Medium (so you have more time to 'live' in the story). The Medium-Balance is to ensure you are not overwhelmed with Combat or Roleplay as you continue to grow into your character and learn how to play. I reward thoughtful and clever gameplay, but I also do NOT punish shyness or a lack of experience. I WILL 'gently nudge' you from time to time to give you opportunities to get in there and give it a try (this IS a teaching class, at it's core). I will never push anyone to do anything they don't feel comfortable doing, but I will gently nudge sometimes. Each 'Quest' and each Chapter will teach a new lesson, or work to reinforce previous lessons (including how to co-exist within a party of other players). The goal here is to provide new players with as many 'flavors' of D&D as possible, so that when you finish this Bootcamp, you will be confident and prepared to join into a bigger, larger and more complicated campaign, armed with all the knowledge you need to not only succeed, but more importantly to have fun playing your character as you see fit.
Homebrew rules
Heroic Inspiration is stackable (you can have more than 1 stack, max of 5 stacks), and is rewarded for clever and thoughtful gameplay/roleplay. Flanking (2+ friendly's in melee range) automatically causes Advantage to everyone attacking that creature. Drinking Potions are a Bonus Action, or can be pre-determined as a Reaction (similar to a contingency).
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Chris creates a safe table
I will cover safety tools in detail during Session Zero, and provide basic aftercare via private Discord voice channels for anyone who wants/needs it. I welcome "Stars and Wishes" after each session.
Content warnings
Safety tools used